Thinking Outside the Box

Plato with  "Allegory of the Cave" and Satre with "No Exit" both write about the limitations of human thinking. However, they do this is distinct ways. They both use metaphors and extended metaphor to essentially convey the same message.

 In " Allegory of the Cave" the people were limited to what surrounded them. They were hidebound to anything that they were not familiar with and therefore did not believe what the man who had left the cave told them. They purposely limited their thinking to what they knew and was familiar with them. They didn't want to bother with what was outside their comfort zone.They never searched for more than what was available to them. They simply relied on what was at reach to them.The shackles represented what was holding the prisoners back. A cave is usually thought of as a dark, dank place. The cave represents how they were "in the dark" with their knowledge. It is important that we do not wait for knowledge to come to us but that we go out and look for it and be open minded about things that may be new to us.


 In "No Exit" the characters are limited with their thinking because of isolation and also limited by what the people they are with tell them. In the play, people in hell is used instead of prisoners in a cave. Instead of being limited to the people that surround you,  listen to others' opinions and thinking instead of being limited to those that surround you. Garcin, Inez, and Estelle only have each other to listen. This is especially visible with Estelle. She validates her existence based on what Garcin and Inez tell her. She, in a sense, depends on the thinking of others instead of also trusting her own thinking. She is open to the thinking of others but is perhaps too dependent on it. Also, Garcin not leaving the room when he was given the chance shows that many people do not venture out in search of knowledge when they are given the opportunity. Again, we need to seek knowledge rather than being limited to what is already at grasp

Plato and Satre both express about the limitations of our thinking through "Allegory of the Cave" and "No Exit." Both show that many are not willing to accept new concepts or ideas that they are no used to. That is one way in which our thinking is limited. Our thinking is also limited if we are dependent on the thinking of others, as it is seen in "No Exit."

AP Literary Term: Simile

Definition: A simile is a figure of speech that compares two different things by linking them together with words such as "like" or "as."

• Similes have a more profound impact when trying to explain something, rather than just stating it.

Example:
 -Sally runs really fast.
-Sally runs as fast as a cheetah.

*Similes can be mean, serious, funny, etc.

The following video and picture provide further examples of similes.








Difference Between Metaphors and Similes: 
A metaphor is an analogy that compares two different things in an imaginative way. It states what something is rather than what it is like.

Example:
-It is raining cats and dogs.
-The homework was a breeze.

Literature Analysis #3: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read.

• This story is narrated by the protagonist of the novel Scout Finch. She lives in the small town of Maycomb  with her older brother Jem and her father,a lawyer, Atticus Finch. During this particular summer a boy named Dill comes to stay in the neighborhood for the summer. Together they become fascinated with Bo Radley, and together they try to make him come out of the house he has been in his entire life. They are unsuccessful and never get to see him. Boo Radley , meanwhile, watches them from his house leaving them gifts in a hole on the tree in front of  his house. During this time, most of the people in the city of Maycomb are still racist towards blacks. Alexandra, Jem and Scout's aunt, comes to stay with the kids and tries to impose more womanly ways on Scout. Atticus Finch is then asked to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman. It is the Ewell's who have raised these charges. The Ewell's are the poorest white family in Maycomb and are frowned upon by the rest of the community. As the trial begins, it becomes more obvious that Tom Robinson was not responsible for raping Mayella Ewell, it was her father. Despite this, Tom Robinson is still found guilt. He later attempts to escape prison but is killed.  Even though Mr. Ewell won the case he still vows to take revenge on Atticus. One day when the kids are walking home from a festival, Mr. Ewell follows Jem and Scout home and attempts to kill them. Boo Radley shows up and saves Jem and Scout. Scout gets to see Boo Radley, Jem doesn't because he's sleeping while Boo is at his home. Scout then walks him home and never sees him again.

2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.

• The major theme in this novel is the inequality in society. This is seen in throughout various characters in the novel: Boo Radley, the Ewell family, Cunninghams, Tom Robinson, etc. Each of them represent a different levels of society. 

3. Describe the author's tone. Include three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).

At some points in the novel, the tone can be very humorous. There were times where I found myself laughing in certain scenes. One in particular is when Scout is rolls into the Radley house inside of a wheel.

• " The tire bumped on the gravel, skeetered across the road, crashed into the barrier and popped me like a cork onto pavement. Dizzy, nauseated, I lay on the cement and shook my head still, punded my ears to silence, and heard Jem's voice....I raised my head and stared at the Radley Place steps in front of me. I froze."

There are also many points in the novel than in which the tone can get very dark and serious. The tone is usually serious when Atticus is talking to his children and trying to give them advice. 

• "Atticus crossed his knees and folded his arms. 'I'm trying to tell you the facts of life'.......Atticus suddenly grew serious. In his lawyer's voice, without a shade of inflection of inflecion, he said...."

The scene that I found to have the darkest tone was when the kids are getting attacked by Mr. Ewell. It takes place at night while the kids are alone, this contributes to the dark tone. 

• "Maybe it was the wind rustling the trees. But there wasn't any wind and there weren't any trees...Our company shuffled and dragged his feet, as if wearing heavy shoes...I felt the sand go cold under my feet...We stopped and listened."

4. Describe five literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the theme and/or your sense of the tone. Include three excerpts that will help your reader understand each one.

• The author uses a lot symbolism in this novel. The most prominent symbolism in this novel is the one found in the title: the mockingbird. The mockingbird represents those that are innocent and do nothing but to help others. Atticus Finch tells Scout that it is a sin to kill one, Miss Maudie further expands on this.

-"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy...That's why it's a sin to kill a                           mockingbird."

• Another literary technique in that I found in the novel is indirect characterization. I found this technique especially used towards characterizing Atticus Finch. We get to see what kind of a person he his through the advice he gives his kids. 

        -" You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view- until you climb                                      
           into his skin and walk around in it."

• The point of view that the novel is told in is also very important. It is told in first person point of view, by Scout. We are able to see her maturity and therefore get different perspectives. Sometimes we get the point of view of a child, sometimes that of an adult. 
• The setting is also very important in developing the theme of the novel. This novel takes place in the 1930's where there is a lot of racial inequality towards blacks. Also, women at this point are still thought of as inferior. They are not even allowed to serve in the jury at the time. 
• The author also uses a but of foreshadowing in the novel. The threats that the Mr. Ewell tells Atticus after the trial is over, foreshadow his attack on Jem and Scout. 

        -"...Mr. Bob Ewell stopped Atticus on the post office corner, spat on his face, and told him he'd get him      
           if it took the rest of his life."

     
     

The Big Question

How do investigators collect evidence and apply the scientific method to topics outside the mainstream such as paranormal activity?

Performative Utterance: Hamlet Essay

Hamlet is often thought as an indecisive man spoke a lot rather than acting on what he said. There is even a moment in the play where Hamlet reflects his inability to carry out his revenge and in doing so, he is unable to continue on with his revenge. When he is reflecting on this, he is speaking out loud to himself- self-overhearing.The fact that he is outwardly expressing his thought process allows him to make certain choices. His performative utterance comes to have a strong impact on the plot and the rest of the characters in the play. Unlike Hamlet, my own experiences with self-overhearing never directly effects the people that surround me, only myself.

To begin with, in the play the audience is given the impression that Hamlet only talks about what he is going to do but never does anything about it and that he can be indecisive. According to deBoer, Hamlet's speech is performative utterance. This means that Hamlet is not just describing what is happening within and around him, he is changing it. It's in this way that he able to impact the plot and the characters in the play. The most prominent example is that he is able to convince everyone that he has gone crazy or mad. In reality, he is only pretending to be mad. Polonious then because a bit more involved in the plot because he believes he knows the source for Hamlet's madness. Everyone becomes preoccupied with trying to figure out why Hamlet has gone mad, including Rosencratz and Guildstern. The king himself states, “Madness in great ones must not unwatched go.” His madness later serves as a sort of justification for him killing Polonious and not earning immediate punishment.

When I talk to myself, it is usually when I have to make difficult decisions. I wont usually talk to myself about the weather or what I'm going to wear the next day. I ask myself questions and try to predict how others will react to my choices. I then imagine how it will effect me immediately and in the future. I do this to ensure that I am doing the right/correct thing., much like Hamlet in his “to be or not to be” soliloquy. I am always to talk myself into doing something or not doing something, For a more recent example, I was debating whether I should attend a university or go to Hancock College. This was the question that I kept asking myself. I then though about how my family wold react. I talked to myself and knew they would be filled with bitter disappointment and that it would effect me negatively in the future. Another experience with self-overhearing is the memorization of the “to be or not to be” soliloquy. The more I said the soliloquy out loud the better that I was able to memorize and understand the soliloquy. Ding this brings a bit of awkwardness but with practice I am able to ignore this.

In this case, I resolve to attending a university. This gives me real results because it is something that effects my entire future as well as my parents' future. Self-overhearing helps me to develop better memorization and understanding of something. This was the case with Hamlet's soliloquy but also the case with anything else that I have to memorize.

In conclusion, Hamlet's perfomative utterance has a big impact on the characters and thus the entire plot. As with my own self-overhearing, it doesn't have an effect right away or directly effect those that surround me. In many ways my self-overhearing creates a sense of memory, expectation, and real-world.

Language: Hamlet vs. Epic Heroes Essay

Hamlet is well-known for his long soliloquies and strong use of language. Unlike many other epic heroes, Hamlets use of language serves other vital purposes. Three purposes that Hamlets language shows his though process, displays his feelings, and provides insight on what will happen next in the plot. With other epics, such as Beowulf, the characters language does not have as much of an impact and seems more like straight-forward dialogue.

One of the thing that differentiates Hamlet's language from that of other epic heroes is that he shows his thought process in his language. A short example would be "To be, or not to be..." This short excerpt from his soliloquy shows what he was thinking at the time. In this case, he was debating whether he should continue to live or not. In Beowulf, the reader doesn't see much of his thought process develop throughout the course of the epic poem. This is neither perceived through Beowulf's own language or that of others in the epic poem.

Furthermore, another thing that separates Hamlet's use of language from other epic heroes is that he openly displays what he feels. Throughout the course of the play, the reader isn't left guessing what Hamlet is feeling. An example of this would be when he says, "A little more than kin, and less than kind!" In one line he is able to state how he feels towards Claudius and explain their relationship. Much like the reader doesn't pick up on what Beowulf thought process, we don't pick up on what Beowulf is thinking. The reader is only able to pick up what kind of character is through his actions and how others react to him, not through his language.

Also, through Hamlet's speeches and language he is able to show insight on what is happening and what will happen in the play. Through him we learn his plan for revenge and what happened in the past with Fortinbras and such. When Hamlet says, " That ever was I born to set it right!" The reader then knows that he plans to take on revenge. He is letting us know what is going to take place in the rest of the play. With Beowulf, he doesn't do much of this. His actions, not language, play a more important role.

In conclusion, Hamlet's use of language greatly differentiates him from other epic heroes such as Beowulf. Three main reasons why his language differentiates him is that it shows his thought process, what he is feeling, and what is going on or will happen later on in the plot. Beowulf makes a stronger impact through his actions and not his language.

Major Concept

One major concept that I have learned in this class is how to take efficient notes. I had always been a terrible note taker and always wrote too much or too little. Last year, all my notes were given to me so not much thinking was involved. When this school year started and we were required to take notes, I knew that I lacked the basic fundamentals to taking good notes. After having lessons on taking notes, retaking notes, and then having quizzes to test our note taking abilities, I feel more confident about the way I take notes.

In the video below, the girl wearing the black sweater reflects how my notes were before. The girl on the green and white shirt reflects how my notes are now. The part that you should focus on is up to 1:20. Up until that point in the video, it shows a kind of before and after comparison of my notes.

Roy Christopher Conference

During our talk with Roy Christopher, there were some key points that really caught my attention:

•  I think that all the things that were mentioned were important points. The one thing that caught my attention the most was Roy said, "Multitasking is a myth." I remember Dr. Preston telling us this sophomore year. Since were working with more with technology this year, I have been "multitasking" more than I normally would.It was nice to have the idea of multitasking not existing reinforced again.
• There was a point in the conversation in which someone asked if we would ever reach the point where we would become tourists instead of being that digital natives. Roy responded in a reassuring way, stating that we are smart and will be able to keep up with the pace of technology. We will not fall behind and should not fear this. 
• We were asked if we should be embarrassed by our behavior.. I agreed with Hannah Hosking's answer stating that we should only be embarrassed that adults do not trust us. Roy also agreed with this answer saying that we should be trusted with technology. I do think that we deserve it and that their mistrust is based on  negative stereotypes of teenagers.