Why This Book?

The book that I chose to read is Silas Marner by George Eliot. I chose this book because I was supposed to read this book over the summer for English 2 and I didn't. Many of my friends really enjoyed this book so I decided that I wanted to actually read it.

Beowulf Notes

Sorry I couldn't figure out how to rotate the picture on here.

Vocabulary #2

Accoutrements- personal clothing, accessories

Apogee- the highest or most distant point; climax.

Apropos- fitting; at the right time; to the purpose; opportunely.

Bicker- to engage in petulant or peevish argument; wrangle.

Coalesce- to grow together or into one body.

Contretemps- and inopportune occurrence.

Convolution- a rolled up or coiled condition.

Cull- to choose; select; pick.

Disparate- distinct in kind; essentially different; dissimilar:

Dogmatic- asserting opinions in a doctrinaire or arrogant manner; opinionated.

Licentious- unrestrained by law or general morality; lawless; immoral.

Mete- to distribute or apportion by measure; allot; dole 

Noxious- harmful or injurious to health or physical well-being.

Polemic- a controversial argument, as one against some opinion, doctrine.

Populous- full of residents or inhabitants, as a region.

Probity- integrity and uprightness; honesty.

Repartee- a quick, witty reply.

Supervene- to take place or occur as something additional or extraneous.

Truncate- to shorten by cutting off a part; cut short: 

Unimpeachable- above suspicion; impossible to discredit; impeccable.

Beowulf Comprehension Questions

Credit for these questions go to Professor Boyer of St. Xavier University of Chicago:

(http://english.sxu.edu/boyer/201_rdg_qsts/beo_n7_qst.htm)

I partnered with Amara Sharp, Whitney Houg, Sarah Stevens, Rachel Nolan, and Connor Albright for these questions. 

BEOWULF AND GRENDEL (lines 1-1250, pp. 32-60)

Prologue: The Rise of the Danish Nation] (lines 1-85, pp. 33-34) 

1. Realize that this prologue introduces the Danes, not Beowulf or his people the Geats. What was unusual about the way Shield came to be ruler of the Danes? What was his funeral like? What relation is Hrothgar to Shield?

-The unusual thing about the way Shield came to be ruler of the Danes was that he was abandoned by his parents as a young child. That is unusual because power came from family status and since he was abandoned he didn’t come from wealth or power. At his funeral, he was put into a boat with many treasures and floated away in the sea.  Shield is Hrothgar’s grandfather.

[Heorot is Attacked] (lines 86-188, pp. 34-36)

1. What magnificent work did Hrothgar undertake? Who attacked it, and with what result? How long did the attacks last? What was the response of the Danes?

-The magnificent work that Hrothgar undertook was making Danes prosperous and building a spectacular mead hall for celebrations. Grendel attacked Danes and murdered 30 men. The Danes responded by making offerings to the pagans in hopes of destroying Grendel.

[The Hero Comes to Heorot] (lines 189-490, pp. 36-42) 

1. What does Beowulf do when he hears of Hrothgar's problems with Grendel?

-When Beowulf hears of Hrothgar’s problems with Grendel he and 13 of his warriors travels to Danes to help them with the demon.

2. Whom do the Geats first meet when they arrive in Denmark? What does he do, and what do they do? 

-When the Geats first arrive in Denmark they meet the of the watchman. He initially questions the Geats motives for coming to Denmark. After the guard questions them, they tell him why they are there.

3. They next meet Hrothgar's herald. Who is he? What does he tell them? What does he tell Hrothgar? What does Hrothgar respond? Are you surprised that Hrothgar knows Beowulf so well?

-Hrothgar’s herald is Wulfgar. His job is the messenger of news. He tells them that he needs to know what their business with Hrothgar is. He takes their message to him and he remembers Beowulf. 

4. What does Beowulf tell Hrothgar when he enters? What did Hrothgar do for Beowulf's father?

-Beowulf tells Hrothgar that he and his men have come to fight Grendel. In return, Hrothgar sends treasure to the Wolfing tribe in hopes of mending the feud between the Wolfing tribe and Beowulf’s father.

[Feast at Heorot] (lines 491-661, pp. 42-46) 

1. What does Unferth accuse Beowulf of? How does Beowulf answer him? How is this episode relevant to the poem as a whole? What does Beowulf accuse Unferth of?

-The Unferth accuse Beowulf of losing a swimming match against Breca. Beowulf responds to him by telling his views on what really happened. This episode is relevant to the poem as a whole because it shows how highly he thinks of himself. Beowulf accuses Unferth of being a drunkard. 

2. What is Queen Wealhtheow doing during the feasting?

- Durning the feasting, Queen Wealtheow passes around her ceremonial goblet tells that she wants Beowulf to take care of her children and provide them with protection in the unfortunate event that Hrogthar dies. 

My Opinion Isn't (A) Right

• Interdependance- shared authority based on each other.
• Our opinions aren't our right because 50% of the time the other person is going to be upset because your violating their rights.
• How the author defines the word "right" makes his argument.
• The document is up to interpretation.
• You have right to say what you want but others don't have to listen.
• Limbic- emotional part of brain.
• Schema- routines of thinking to make our lives economical.

Reflections On Week #1

1.  The only factor that may affect my participation in this class is that I travel a lot on the weekends for softball tournaments and I don’t always have access to Internet.
2.  I think the best learning experience that I have experience was in chemistry when I finally understood how to do stoichiometry. I was in class and he did an example on the board and it finally just clicked. It literally felt like a light bulb moment. I learned about myself that I need to be able to connect the dots in my brain before I can fully understand a topic. I also learned that I need to keep trying until I get it and not give up or I will never learn.
3. I am definitely most excited about becoming a good blogger! I look forward to becoming a better writer as well as a deeper thinker. I think by learning how to do most of this work online I will be able to apply to college. 

Vocabulary #1

Adumbrate- to produce a faint image or resemblance of; to outline or sketch.

Apotheosis- the elevation or exaltation of a person to the rank of a god.

Ascetic- a person who dedicates his or her life to a pursuit of contemplative ideals and practices extreme self-denial or self-mortification for religious reasons.

Bauble- a showy, usually cheap, ornament; trinket.

Beguile- to influence by trickery, flattery, etc.; mislead; delude.

Burgeon- to grow or develop quickly; flourish.

Complement- something that completes or makes perfect.

Contumacious- stubbornly perverse or rebellious; willfully and obstinately disobedient.

Curmudgeon- a bad-tempered, difficult, cantankerous person.

Didactic- intended for instruction; instructive

Disingenuous- lacking in frankness, candor, or sincerity; falsely or hypocritically

Exculpate- to clear from a charge of guilt or fault; free from blame; vindicate.

Faux pas- a slip or blunder in etiquette, manners, or conduct; an embarrassing social blunder or indiscretion.

Fulminate- to explode with a loud noise; detonate.

Fustian-pompous or bombastic, 

Hauteur- haughty manner or spirit; arrogance.

Inhibit- to restrain, hinder, arrest, or check (an action, impulse, etc.).

Jeremiad- a prolonged lamentation or mournful complaint.

Opportunist- the policy of adapting actions, decisions, etc., to effectiveness regardless of the sacrifice of ethical principles.

Unconscionable- not guided by conscience; unscrupulous.

Definitions courtesy of dictionary.com

Essay Assignment #2

Montaigne/Austen Essay

Everybody writes differently and has their different perspective on things. Austen and Montaigne have contradictory styles of writing. Austen’s is organized while Montaigne is free thinking. Each of their styles is portrayed throughout their novels. 

Montaigne’s writes what he thinks and that goes along with the idea of the stream of consciousness. He is very complicated and that supports Foster’s notion that “what goes on inside is just too fast and huge and all interconnected for words to do more than barely sketch the outlines of at most one tiny little part of it at any given instant.” He was very scattered and therefore writes very unorganized. Montaigne often goes from topic to topic never fully creating characters. 

Austen, on the other hand, planned out her story. She created details and developed characters in full depth. Her riding was easier to read and follow unlike Montaigne’s writing which I had a hard time following at times. The vivid descriptions throughout her novel makes reading it much easier to picture and to come to your own conclusion. 

All in all, Montaigne wrote what he thought and Austen organized and planned her story line. Between the two novels I enjoyed reading Pride and Prejudice much more than reading Montaigne’s novel.

1987 AP Exam

I did not do as well as I would have liked to on the multiple choice but it shows me that I have a lot more room to improve on for next time. I am not a very good test taker so I need to work on test taking strategies. I also need to improve my vocabulary. I missed 18 and scored a 29/47. 

1. E
2. B
3. C
4. E
5. D
6. C
7. D
8. B
9. C
10. C
11. D
12. B
13. A
14. C
15. C
16. B
17. C
18. E
19. E
20. B
21. D
22. D
23. A
24. A
25. E
26. E
27. D
28. C
29. B
30. B
31. D
32. B

47.B

48.A

49.E

50.D

51.C

52.A

53.E

54.B

55.D

56.C

57.C

58.D

59.C

60.B

61.E

Question 1

 The idea of what leisure is depends on the eye of the beholder. As Eliot describes this man’s day and what he does, she is showing what she believes to be a life of leisure. She reflects on the style of life that this man, who she refers to as “Old Leisure”, had and conveys her thoughts that she wishes her society was like that. I feel as though she admires him and doesn’t want him to be persecuted by their modern standards.

 Throughout her story, she describes everything that Old Leisure does thus showing her admiration for the way this old man lives his life. However, she does more than just reflect on his life; she is showing her dissatisfaction for her current day and longs for the old ways. She also respects the old man for his honesty as pointed out in lines 23-29 which by her time was not normal. People went to church and didn’t complain but Old Leisure wasn’t afraid to speak his mind.

 Eliot’s style of writing, although choppy, was simplistic. It was simplistic because she merely jotted down the things that the old man did while adding bits of her own thoughts. She constantly shows her delight in Old Leisure and wishes things were that way that they used to be. 

Senior Resume

Breanna Timmons

Academic Status:

GPA: 4.07 Class Rank: 21/528

Student Activities:

• Participated in High School Varsity Softball: Freshmen- Present
• Most-Improved (Freshmen)
• Athlete of the Week (Sophomore)
• Undefeated League Championship (Junior)
• CIF Championship (Junior) 
• Played Club Softball: 7^th Grade – Present
• Central Coast Express- Softball- 2007-2010
• California Waves – 2010-2013
• Verbal Commitment to play softball for Seattle University
• Attended Fellowship of Christian Athletes: Sophomore- Present
• Participated in High School Volleyball: Freshmen- Sophomore year
• Coaches Award (Freshmen)
• Best Offense Award (Sophomore)

Community Activities:

• Volunteered at the Rescue Mission: Sophomore- Present
• Helped feed the hungry
• Cleaned tables after dinner was finished
• Traveled to Mexico for a missions trip: Summer of Junior year
• Helped cook and clean at the residence
• Sang and danced with the little children throughout Tijuana
• Taught Jesus to the people of Tijuana
• Contributed at church: Freshmen- Present
• Watched the four and five year old children
• Participated in Vacation Bible School: Summer of Junior year
• Took lead role in the play
• Lead the games for all age groups

Special Awards:

• 2nd team all-league for Varsity softball
• Scholar Athlete:
• Softball
• Volleyball
• Golden Warrior
• Renaissance:
• All 5 Quarters: Freshmen- Present

Poetry Assignment #1

1. From what poem/author does this commercial borrow (wit;thout credit)? 
1. The Laughing Heart by Charles Bukowski
2. Why might the use of this poem by a corporation be considered ironic? 
1. The use of this poem by a corporation would be considered ironic because the poem is promoting being who you are and empowering the individual yet the commercial is asking you to buy their pair of Levi jeans and be part of the crowd that are wearing the jeans.
3. Does the poem reflect the reputation of the author? Why/why not?
1. The poem does reflect the reputation of the author because he had a difficult life but he was able to come out of it and that is reflected through this poem.
4. How did you find the answers to #1 & #3? Describe your research process and your sources in detail. 
1. I found the answer to #1 by typing some of the lines from the video into the yahoo search and the name popped up. I found the answer to #3 by typing in Charles Bukowski to the yahoo search and I read what it had to say about his life. 

Essay Assignment #1

Exile is considered tragic to most people when they first hear the word. However, when you really look into it exile can also be, as Edward Said put it, “potent, even enriching”. In The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver we are confronted with both the positive and the negative affects of exile. Exiled from their home because of their Baptist father, the Price family moved to the Congo and that changed everyone one them. Leah began the story as a “daddy’s girl” and believes in whatever her dad does however the Congo changed her. As the story develops she realizes that life in the Congo was not what she thought it would be. Living in a place like that was difficult and painful. However, the source of Leah’s happiness came from having moved to the Congo. She discovers her inner strength and becomes fully involved in the native people.

Leah had to go through many obstacles to end up where she did. As the story progressed she lost faith in her father and in her country. She realized that people aren’t what she thought they were. Being in the Congo, away from everything she knew, broke her spirit and changed her views on life. She was forced to choose between what she thought was right and her family. Fortunately her family stood beside her when she disowned her father. She constantly was forced to step outside her comfort zones and those of the black society that she was surrounded by.These obstacles made her who she became and changed her for the better. 

Leah’s exile was horrible but helped her become open-minded and independent. If the Price family had never moved to the Congo she would have never seen what she saw and never realized that the world was not what she had imagined. She was able to find the strength to overcome her father and his religion, although feeling guilt about it, it later led to her meeting her husband. Although the Congo was a place the her father brought her and her family and basically held them captive, it became her home.

Being confronted with the harsh reality of the Congo, Leah had to overcome many things including the separation between her and her father. She became open-minded and strong. 

My Big Question

I know that when I am in a situation and I am not sure how it is going to come out I go straight to the worst case scenario so.....
Why do people automatically assume the worst in each situation? Are we born like that or are we raised up in a society that thinks like that?