Literature Analysis *extra*

Looking for Alaska by John Green

1. Miles Halter sets off to boarding school his junior year of high school to seek a "Great Perhaps". He finds it. It turns out to be a crazy new group of friends, who drink, smoke, prank, and live an exciting reckless teenage life. This new life changes Miles, who is now nicknamed Pudge, but what changes him most of all is Alaska. She is a crazy emotionally reckless girl with a troubled past and a boyfriend and he falls head over heels in love with her. His life falls apart the night Alaska kisses him and then leaves in a hurry. She was drunk and drove off and died in a car accident. The school was in mourning, but Pudge was devastated him and his roommate became obsessed with discovering the details of the accident. However, they didn't like what they found. They concluded that Alaska's death was a suicide. Why would she do that to them? Why did they let her go? Pudge is left with trying to find his way out of the labyrinth that Alaska created. 
2. A major theme of the novel is rebuilding your life after tragedy. Pudge struggles with guilt and anger after Alaska's death. He blames himself, but then after discovering it was Alaska's choice, is angry at her. In the end, he learns that the only way out of the labyrinth is forgiveness. He needs to forgive himself and Alaska. 
3. The tone is straightforward and earnest.
• "You must understand I am a deeply unhappy person."
• "Y'all smoke to enjoy it, I smoke to die."
• "That's why I'm going. So I don't have to wait until I die to start seeking a Great Perhaps."
4. Literary Devices:
• Setting: This story must be set in a boarding school for it to make sense. The fact that Pudge and his friends have so much freedom leads to many of their crazy adventures.
• Foreshadow: When Alaska says "Y'all smoke to enjoy it, I smoke to die." that foreshadows her suicide.
• Point of View: Since Pudge was the narrator the audience got insight on his thoughts and feelings.
• Internal Conflict: The whole story after Alaska's death is Pudge dealing with anger and regret.
• Imagery: Green paints the picture of Pudge's dorm room and perfectly describes all of Alaska's mannerisms.
• Dialogue: The audience learns about Alaska's and Pudge's other friends' personalities through Pudge's conversations with them.

Characterization

1. Direct Characterization : "And now is as good as time as any to say that she was beautiful...She had the kind of eyes that predisposed you to supporting her every endeavor."Green used this because the story is told from the point of view of Pudge he can learn about a character throught his thoughts on that character. Indirect Characterization : "She didn't even glance at me. She just smiled towards the television and said, 'You never get me. That's the whole point.' "Green also used this because he left it up to the audience to discover the character's personalities and why they did what they did. This made the book more relatable, because the reader can make their own inferences on character's personalities. 
2. The syntax and diction is the same throughout, because the whole story is told through Pudge's point of view. 
3. The main character, Pudge, is extremely dynamic. He begins the story as a simple nerd with an unexciting life, but takes a chance on the Great Perhaps. He transforms into a daring, adventurous teenager. Also, he falls in love for the first time, which was a giant reason behind his transformation. With these new feelings the depth in his personality grew and with the loss of his love the depth and strength of his personality grew even more.
4. YES. This is my favorite book by far. It was beautifully written and full of amazing quotes applicable to anyone's life. I recommend this book to everyone. Green creates a new world and characters that are so real and easy to fall in love with. I cried at Alaska's death. How do you find your way out of the labyrinth that is life? You can't tell me that doesn't get your wheels spinning. I loved it. 

I CAN READ

I CAN READ....barely. This is me reading Dr. Suess' Fox in Socks. This was my first take so it was a little rough. I made about ten mistakes in 6 minutes and 19 seconds.

Literature Analysis *extra*

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

My literary circle group decided to collaborate on this Literature Analysis, so the rest of it is on 
Hannah, Meghan, Annette, Serena, Ian, and Bailey's blogs.

Literary Devices:

• Metaphors- Dickens uses metaphors like, "I might have been an unfortunate little bull in a Spanish arena, I got so smartingly touched up by these moral goads." These metaphors are eyecatching and keep the readers attention. Also the are more interesting then just stating things directly.
• First Person Narration- The story is told by a grown Pip, he is looking back on events that happened in his childhood. This is significant because the audience usually knows more than young Pip does. Also, Dickens does a good job of conveying both the all-knowing narrative side and the real-time Pip experiencing these things as a child.
• Symbolism- Dickens uses a lot of symbolism. For example, he uses mist to symbolize situations that are hard to understand, because it is difficult to see through mist. When Pip first meets the convict it is misty, meaning that the situation is uncertain and Pip can't predict what might happen next. 
• Imagery- Dickens use of imagery, ties into the symbolism and tone of the story. He describes most of the setting as dark and gloomy, which adds to the eery, creepy tone. For example, Pip describes the marshes as "a long black horizontal line … and the sky was just a row of long angry red lines and dense black lines intermixed."
• Allusions- Dickens uses literary, historical, and pop culture allusions throughout this novel. For example, when Herbert mentions trade in the West Indies and refers to Miss Havisham as a Tartar. 

The Allegory of the Cave Sonnet

Blurred shadows, muffled echoes
Shackles and chains hold them down
Sights and sounds their only Truth
Prisoners to a dark world underground

The cave is escapable
The chains can be snapped
They can learn a new reality
Fear and ignorance keep them trapped

An enlightened few rise above
At first blinded by the light
They are unaccustomed to this Reality
In awe if a new world so bright

Once accepting of the sun
Which put to shame his native thoughts
He descends back to teach the others
But more shadows and echoes was all he taught

The line between light and dark, appearance and reality
Some live forever in darkness, while others rise to clarity

My Notes

It has taken me awhile to get these posted, but here are my notes on sonnets, The Allegory of the Cave, and Plato.

Plato Study Questions

1. According to Socrates, the Allegory of the Cave represents the people who are chained down by ignorance and deny or do not seek an enlightened truth that exists.
2. The key elements of imagery used are the cave and the light. The cave represents the world as it is experienced with merely our senses, what it is at face value. The light represents a higher knowledge and intellect through which to better understand the world.
3. The allegory suggests that the process of enlightenment might be denied by some, because it is at first uncomfortable. Also, that enlightenment is attainable to those who seek it and are open.
4. The shackles and the cave suggest that the prisoners are living in darkness, which symbolizes the lack of higher knowledge. The shackles represent the close-mindedness of the prisoners.
5. Religion and tradition are two common "shackles" in today's society. Religion because it states what it thinks is the "truth" and renounces those who question this "truth". Tradition is similar in that something has been the same for so long that people feel uncomfortable questioning or changing it.
6. The freed prisoner is enlightened and has realized that there is more to life and the world than he used to know. However, the other prisoners ignorantly accept that what they see is all there is, so don't reach the same enlightenment.
7. Lack of clarity can come from refusing to search for the truth or denying the truth once you have seen it.
8. The prisoners can be freed whenever they choose to get up and turn around. This suggests that knowledge and enlightenment are attainable for anyone who seeks them.
9. I agree. Appearances are merely what we see or experience through our own two eyes, but there is so much more to the world than that. Reality includes emotions and thoughts and abstract things that can be physically seen. 
10. If Socrates is incorrect in his assumption, then the world is a simple place with no meaning. What you see is all there is and abstract things such as love and emotion don't exist.

Sonnet Remix

Took me a while, but I put the final touches on my sonnet remix and here it is. It's titled "The Moralists", by Yvor Winters.