Tools That Change The Way We Think

"Back in 2004, I asked [Google founders] Page and Brin what they saw as the future of Google search. 'It will be included in people's brains,' said Page. 'When you think about something and don't really know much about it, you will automatically get information.'

'That's true,' said Brin. 'Ultimately I view Google as a way to augment your brain with the knowledge of the world. Right now you go into your computer and type a phrase, but you can imagine that it could be easier in the future, that you can have just devices you talk into, or you can have computers that pay attention to what's going on around them and suggest useful information.'

'Somebody introduces themselves to you, and your watch goes to your web page,' said Page. 'Or if you met this person two years ago, this is what they said to you... Eventually you'll have the implant, where if you think about a fact, it will just tell you the answer."

-From In the Plex by Steven Levy (p.67)
Answer this not-so-simple question: How does use of the Internet, media, and/or technology change the way you think?
-The use of the Internet has completely changed the way I think. I feel like the Internet has made researching new facts so simple but at the same time we no longer feel the need to remember things if I need something I just look it up on a search engine such as Google. Before I got a cell phone I had to memorize phone numbers but now I don’t need to. Although it’s nice not to have to memorize things, I have become reliant upon technology for everything. On the positive side by using technology we are able to connect with people from all over the world. If I need help on homework, I just look it up and somebody else has already had the same question. We are able to collaborate with one another and help solve problems.

To Be Or Not To Be!! Attempt #2

Here's the link to a second video that I did with Whitney Houg!!!

Vocabulary #9

Aficionado: enthusiast: somebody who is enthusiastic and knowledgeable about something

Browbeat: intimidate into doing something with stern or abusive words

Commensurate: corresponding in size or degree; in proportion

Diaphanous: light, delicate

Emolument: a salary, fee, or profit from employment or office

Foray: a sudden attack or incursion into enemy territory

Genre: a category of artistic composition, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter

Homily: commentary that follows a reading of scripture

Immure: enclose or confine against their will

Insouciant: showing a casual lack of concern; indifferent

Matrix: an environment or material in which something develops

Obsequies: funeral burial

Panache: flamboyant manner and reckless courage

Persona: the image or personality that a person presents

Philippic: a bitter attack or denunciation

Prurient: having or encouraging an excessive interest in sexual matters

Sacrosanct: regarded as too important or valuable to be interfered with

Systemic: of or relating to a system opposed to a particular part

Tendentious: expressing or intending to promote a particular cause or point of view

Vicissitude: a change of circumstances or fortune, one that is unwelcome or unpleasant

To Be Or Not To Be!

Here's the link to my video!!! I did this video with Rachel, Sarah, and Amara!!

What I Think Of When I Think Of Act III

So basically in Act III we see King Claudius's reaction to the play, Hamlet murdering Polonius, and Queen Gertrude's reaction to Hamlet telling her that Claudius murdered Hamlet Sr. So I feel like Claudius's reaction to the play was extremely dramatic and in the eyes of Hamlet made him extremely guilty. When Hamlet murdered Polonius I was shocked at how casually he just killed him and took his body away. Also, the way the Queen Gertrude responded to Hamlet telling her that King Claudius murder Hamlet Sr. made me think that maybe she didn't know anything about it to begin with which I previously thought she did.

Literature Analysis #3

The Great Gatsby

Summary:

• To summarize the plot, the book is focused on a man named Nick Carraway. Nick moved to West Egg from the Midwest and found himself living in a wealthy neighborhood. His neighbor is a man by the name of Jay Gatsby. Gatsby is a mysterious man who throughs lavish parties every weekend. One night Nick gets invited to one of Gatsby’s parties and he runs into Jordan. Nick had previously met Jordan at his cousin Daisy’s house. Jordan tells Nick everything she knows about Gatsby. Nick soon realizes that Gatsby is extremely in love with his cousin Daisy. However, Daisy is married to Tom. Nick agrees to help his new friend Gatsby and sets up a meeting with Daisy. After meeting at Nick’s house Gatsby and Daisy begin an affair. At the same time Tom is having an affair with a mechanics wife, Myrtle. It is revealed that Gatsby and Daisy were in love earlier in life and Daisy was going to no marry Tom but she did because Gatsby wasn’t rich enough. So Gatsby made a lot of money and through lavish parties so that Daisy would eventually stumble into one of his parties. Tom becomes suspicious when Daisy spends a lot of time at Gatsby’s house and invites Gatsby and everyone to a hotel where all is revealed about Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship. Gatsby urges Daisy to tell Tom that she never loved him but she panics and leaves. She takes Gatsby’s car and accidentally runs over Myrtle, killing her. Gatsby doesn’t tell anyone that Daisy was the one who ran her over and because of that Myrtle’s husband believes that Gatsby killed her when he was done having an affair with her (he new she was having an affair but didn’t know it was Tom). Angered by Myrtle’s death, he kills Gatsby and then kills himself. Daisy moves on and stays with Tom and Nick moves back to the Midwest.

Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. 

• I think that there are more that just one theme. I think one theme is love. Gatsby does everything because he loves Daisy and just wants to be with her. Also, both Daisy and Tom cheat on each other because they don’t really love each other. Another theme is the deterioration of the American Dream. Money and social status became the most important thing and cheating was okay.

Tone:

• The authors tone is calm and almost a little judgemental. The author demonstrates this when Myrtle is run over by Daisy, when Gatsby is killed(shot), and when Tom breaks Myrtle’s nose for disrespecting him.

Literary Techniques: 

• Symbolism-
• "A single green light, minute and faraway, that might have been the end of a dock."
• Foreshadowing-
• "He snatched the book from me and placed it hastily on its shelf muttering that if one brick was removed the whole library was liable to collapse.”
• Imagery-
• "All the cars have the left rear wheel painted black as a mourning wreath and there's a persistant wail all night along the North Shore.  
• Irony-
• "I like large parties. They're so intimate. At small parties there isn't any privacy." 
• Metaphor-
• “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
• Hyperbole-
• “I'm stiff. I've been lying on that sofa for as long as I can remember."
• Personification-
• Myrtle pulled her chair closer to mine and suddenly her warm breath poured over me the story of her first meeting with Tom. 

CHARACTERIZATION:

Direct Characterization:

• “ Her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it, bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth-but there was an excitement in her voice that men who had cared for her found difficult to forget.”

Indirect Characterization:

• “I noticed that she wore her evening dress, all her dresses, like sports clothes-there was a jauntiness about her movements as if she had first learned to walk upon golf courses on clean, crisp mornings. ”

Diction:

• The diction changes throughout the story. When characters change so does the diction. For example, when Gatsby talks his words are not as intense as the other characters. He is very playful and only thinks about good things because he’s in love.

Protagonist:

• Jay Gatsby is a dynamic protagonist because the more we know about Gatsby the more he changes in our minds and how we feel about him. He is also a round character because we know a lot about him. We know his characteristics, his personality, and how he feels.

Feeling:

• After reading this book, I came away feeling as though I had met many characters. Fitzgerald went into such detail so when you read this book you feel like you were actually there. For example, when Nick goes to Gatsby’s party. You feel like your actually at the party.

Dear Ophelia...

Dear Ophelia,

Well I’ve never been told “I love you” by a prince before but I could imagine that he is quite the charmer. I would recommend being careful with him because he comes from wealth and power. As for your father and brother telling you what to do; don’t listen to them. They are only looking out for their own self-interests. If a wealthy and powerful man tell you he loves you, you marry that man. You could have anything you want, marry for money not for love. You can marry for love the second time around.

Sincerely, 

Breanna Timmons

Vocabulary #8

Abase -to reduce or lower, as in rank, degrade.

Abdicate - to renounce or relinquish a throne, right, power, claim.

Abomination - anything abominable; anything greatly disliked or abhorred

Brusque - abrupt in manner; blunt; rough:

Saboteur - a person who commits or practices sabotage.

Debauchery - excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures; intemperance.

Proliferate - to increase in number or spread rapidly and often excessively

Anachronism- something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time.

Nomenclature- a set or system of names or terms, as those used in a particular science or art, by an individual or community.

Expurgate- to amend by removing words, passages.

Bellicose- inclined or eager to fight.

Gauche- social grace, sensitivity, or acuteness; awkward.

Rapacious- given to seizing for plunder or the satisfaction of greed.

Paradox- a statement or proposition that seems self.

Contradictory - or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. 

Conundrum- a riddle, the answer to which involves a pun or play on words, anything that puzzles. 

Anomaly- a deviation from the common rule, type, arrangement, or form. 

Ephemeral- lasting a very short time.

Rancorous- full of resentment or ill will.

Churlish- like a churl; boorish; rude.

Precipitous- of the nature of or characterized by precipices.

Hamlet Questions

1)What is the play about?

• The play is about the ghost telling Hamlet to avenge his death. The ghost, King Hamlet, tells him that his brother, King Claudius, murdered him by pouring poison in his ears. Hamlet is unsure of the ghost, so he must find proof that Claudius killed the ghost. When he gets proof he seeks out revenge but encounters obstacles. In the end, Hamlet and everyone dies and Hamlet avenges his father’s death.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet#Synopsis

 2)Why is interpreting the play such a challenge? Why doesn't everyone agree on what the play "says" or  "means"?

• I think that interpreting the play is so hard because Shakespeare writes in a unique style and the meaning of what he is saying is left up to interpretation and the meaning of words mean something different to everybody.

Green Eggs And Hamlet

• What do you know about Hamlet, the "Melancholy Dane"? 
• I don’t know much about Hamlet other than it’s a Shakespeare play and that Hamlet talks to his father’s ghost.

• What do you know about Shakespeare? 
• Shakespeare wrote many plays that were really popular such as Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, etc. His writing is sometimes hard to understand.

• Why do so many students involuntarily frown when they hear the name "Shakespeare"?  
• -I think so many students frown when they hear the name “Shakespeare” because the way he words things are hard to understand and in order to fully understand what he is saying you have to reread it and read it slowly. I also think that because his plays are so well-known teachers tend to make learning the material stressful and overwhelming.

• What can we do to make studying this play an amazing experience we'll never forget?
• -I think that in order for studying this play to be an amazing experience we should act out the play and make it a group activity. Each group takes a scene and acts it out in front of the class. I think that by doing that we can put an image to the writing.

What I Meant To Say

I have to admit that my first thesis statement was rushed and I didn’t really put much thought into it. Now that I have the time to put thought and effort into the thesis statement I hope that it is much better.

New Thesis: Because of Chaucer’s first hand experience with the people who he wrote about he was able to write his stories from a unique point-of-view. His use of imagery, allusions, and subject matter allow him to convey his purpose.

*Please feel free to comment on my new thesis because I am not sure if my thesis is strong or not.

Vocabulary #7

Credits to Rachel for writing this!

We were all traveling through Candyland on our way to defeat the dragon very ebullient. Our moods were ephemeral as we neared the castle. Ice Queen Sarah who was usually loquacious was quiet. Professor A started to think that our plan was inchoate and we would fail at our mission. This capricious behavior started to make Princess Rachel feel unsure of if they should follow through with this whole plan. Connor while he was driving was still up to no good shenaniganstrying to stop us from killing his dragon. Whitney was garrulous speaking in complete codswallop. Breanna on the other hand was attemting to give us a harangue that ended up coming out a little wonky. As we drove through the castle gates we all got ready to go to battle with this hellish dragon. We had a plethora of weapons. Connor was the sehsim of the group he planned toeschew the weapons. His plan completely ricocheted when we came to find that the dragon was already dead. The dragon was covered in mungo laying in the moat of the castle. Connor announced that his plant his whole time was to save the dragon and dispose of the rest of the group. Breanna laughed at him because his whole plan was juxtapose. Sarah was perspicacious to Connor because Connor really loved the dragon. Because we were all interdependent on each other for a ride out of Candyland we decided to make our trip in to a vacation and drive to Egypt to do some sightseeing.

*I could not find the meaning of dipthong or sesquipedalian.

If I Just Had More Time

I could improve my preparation for today's midterm by instead of having someone say a word and I just repeat the definition I could have someone say the definition and I say the word. Also, really memorize the words in context like in sentences not just by their definitions. I thought I did pretty good on the vocabulary part of the midterm but I just couldn't remember all of the words. If I saw the word I could give you the definition and that was the hard part of the vocabulary part of the test; I had to come up with the words myself.

Literature Analysis #2

Old Man and the Sea

The story starts with an old man named Santiago who loved fishing and there was also a boy who was is apprentice named Manolin. When the time for the big fish and they still had not caught anything by the 85th day. The old man said that he had gone to 87 days before but there was no way that could happen again. The man and the boy talked  about baseball. Manolin’s parents put him on another boat but he still cared for the old man so he would come back and help him out. The old man describes how the birds have it worse than him, because they are "looking and almost never finding". The man fishes for many years and becomes very good at it.  He uses the tuna he catches to catch bigger fish. Then finally he caught a marlin. He wishes the boy was there to help him. A little before sunrise the next day while he is fighting with the marlin, he caught another fish and wished for the boy to be there again after he cut it loose. Hours into the fight with the marlin, the marlin cuts the old man below the eye with the fishing line, and the old man thinks "to death do us part". The old man seems crazy because he just talks to the fish and the birds. He catches a dolphin on another line and clubs it in the head, and is still battling with the huge marlin. The fish jumps out of the water repeatedly and cuts the old man's hands which once again makes him wish that the boy were there. Then on the third day he finally catches the marlin. On the way back to land sharks eat all of the marlin that he caught. The old man says that a man can be defeated but not destroyed. When he returns home Manolin is horrified by Santiago’s hand and he cries for him.  The boy cries and cries when he sees his hands. The old man and the boy begin to fish together again.

• The theme of this story is perseverance. The old man spent so much time fishing and he never gave up no matter how long it took to finally hook that fish. He continued to persevere when he fought with the fish for many hours. 

• The authors tone is calm and sad but still hopeful. Santiago is an lonely old man and lives a sad life but the boy and fishing gives him hope and allows him to make the best of his situation. 

1. "I could just drift, he thought, and sleep and put a bight of line around my toe to wake me. But today is eighty-five days and I should fish the day well."  

2. If the others heard me talking out loud they would think that I am crazy. But since I am not, I do not care.”

3. “Let him think that I am more man than I am and I will be so.”

1. Direct Characterization:

• "Thank you," the old man said. He was too simple to wonder when he had attained humility. But he knew he had attained it and he knew it was not disgraceful and it carried no loss of true pride."
• "The old man had taught the boy to fish and the boy loved him."

Indirect Characterization:

• "And the best fisherman is you." "No. I know others better."' 
• "After he judged that his right hand had been in the water long enough he took it out and looked at it.  "It is not bad," he said. "And pain does not matter to a man." 

Explanation:

• The author uses both styles of characterization because it allows the author to show different perspectives. It show how the old man viewed himself and how other characters viewed him. As a result of using both styles the reader can see the characters personality like how the old man was humble but at the same time we can see that other people think he is great. The old man could not say that he was great without us thinking the old man was not humble.

1. The author uses syntax and that does not change throughout the story. As Santiago’s feelings change the syntax still remains the same. Hemingway merely describes how Santiago felt.
2. Santiago is definitely a static protagonist. Although static I think he is a round character because he maintains a positive spirit and shares deep emotions throughout the book.
3. I felt as though I met a new person after reading this book. Hemingway really makes Santiago’s character relatable and I found his thoughts and actions intriguing. 

The Comparison's Tale

My group and I read the Wife of Bath's and it had many similarities to the other story we heard in class. First of all, in the other tale we heard Chaucer refer to the Bible and characters in it. Second, Chaucer writes as if the person he is writing about is actually telling the story. Third, he satirized marriage in both of the stories and he tells his stories with great detail that you can feel the emotions of the characters. Fourth, both stories are scandalous and immediately grab the reader's attention.

Tale of a Canterbury Tale

My group and I read the Wife of Bath's Tale and we split the reading up into 6 sections and I got the first one. 

Summary:

- The story starts off with the women explaining how the Bible says that having more than one spouse is bad but as she progress with telling the story she begins to justify why she has had so many spouses and that people in the Bible people such as Abraham and Jacob had more than one spouse. She thinks that if her husbands die she can marry again and its okay and that she can marry many men. She then goes on to talk about virginity and that its sacred but pointless because God intended men and women to be together so why keep it just for marriage. 

Chaucer's purpose in telling this story is to show a different perspective that the world hasn't seen before. This story is scandalous and that's exactly why he told this story. He was giving a voice to a women who otherwise would never have her story told. She is able to explain her point of view and why she does the things she does.