Qtr1Vocab+Rachel

RACHEL.Y TIMED ESSAYS ORIGINAL DRAFTS/REVISED

AP English Literature VOCAB
b) An effigy || Themes: Insecurity; disguise of beauty and fame to hide vulnerability. Mystery; ‘You can’t get away’ to Takahashi. He thinks the phone call is intended for him. Repetition: repetition of mistakes. || Related to politics (the apocalypse). Ex. Major piece of art work Wrong Ex. Student Paper, Wiki. || Venus – the god of love Venereal Venial - Something that is excusable ex. Venial sin (small sin) || 2. Included in the list of sacred books officially accepted as genuine 3. Accepted as being accurate and authoritative 4. Belonging to the literary or artistic canon 5. According to recognized rules or scientific laws ||  || • a device, action, or opening remark, typically one entailing a degree of risk, that is calculated to gain an advantage || In //The Fly,// we were able to see gambit when the old man dropped ink on the fly. In each drop, the old man was taking risks because each drop would determine the fate of the fly.
 * **Vocabulary Word** || **Definition** || **Notes** ||
 * 1. Simulacrum || a) A slight unreal or superficial likeness or semblance
 * 2. Apocryphal || Dubious authenticity || Talking about authorship.
 * 3. Venal || Open to bribery, corrupt || Vendre – to sell
 * 4. Canonical || 1. According to or ordered by canon law
 * 5. Gambit || (in chess) an opening in which a player makes a sacrifice, typically of a pawn, for the sake of some compensating advantage.

The old man seemed to find amusement out of the ability to control the fly's life. For once he had control over something, unlike his son's death, that the old man takes on the cruel action of killing the fly for his own advantage. || Although I am not certain what their purpose was from the beginning, the ideas of Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius may have been ideas to deceive the way people perceive things. || a certain area 2. Native or restricted to a certain country or area || **Write a journal entry (a bulleted list) containing the word and one other about the Breen essay
 * 6. Inveterate || Having a particular habit, activity, or interest that is long-established and unlikely to change ||  ||
 * 7. Pinguid || of the nature of or resembling fat; oily or greasy || Phrase: "The pinguid swell of the river shows how people are not thinking enough about the environment they live in." ||
 * 8. Sophism || A fallacious argument, esp. one used deliberately to deceive || Sophism is used in Borges' //Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius// because places like Tlön and Uqbar are imagined. "A secret and benevolent society... arose to invent a country."
 * ||  || The Boston Common, a public area in downtown Boston, is the main setting for the short story 'The Patriot,' which is about a man who argues to such an extent that it became venal. ||
 * 9. Endemic || 1. Regularly found among particular people or in

-** Malaria is __endemic__ in Sub-Saharan Africa. - Breen talked about how after the tragedy of September 11, terrorists were viewed as __endemic__ in Muslim countries.
 * -** Terrorists attacks became endemic in the United States. ||
 * 10. Inculcate || * Instill (an attitude, idea, or habit) by persistent instruction
 * Teach (someone) an attitude, idea, or habit by such instruction ||  ||
 * 11. Castration || Removal of the testicles (of male animals or men)

To castrate: (can also mean) deprive of power, vitality, or vigor || Castration according to Freud:

The castration complex: The father thinks the mother is his own. The boy gives up his intimacy with his mother because he knows that his 'mother as not having a penis.' This makes the boy think that his mother is 'lacking.' This is the birth of female inferiority and male dominance.

A quotation from the article shows an interesting idea: "the masculine position is to look, the feminine is to be looked at, and that the feminine is to be seen as lacking." ||
 * 12. Epicurean || A disciple or student of the Greek Philosopher Epicurus.

A person devoted to sensual enjoyment, esp. that derived from fine food and drink.

adj. of or concerning Epicurus or his ideas adj. relating to or suitable for an epicure. ||  ||
 * 13. Iniquity || Immoral or grossly unfair behavior. || //ex. a den of iniquity

ex. a liberal lawyer could uncover the iniquities committed on his own doorstep.// || 1. Applied varnish to 2. Disguised or glossed over (a fact)// || //ex. we stripped the floor and varnished it. ex. The White House is varnishing over the defeat of the president's proposal. ex. varnish over the truth// ||
 * 14. Diaphanous || Light, delicate, and translucent || //ex. a diaphanous dress of pale gold// ||
 * 15. Rapacious || Aggressively greedy or grasping || //ex. rapacious landlords// ||
 * 16. Varnished || //Adj.
 * 17. Sepulcher || n. A small room or monument, cut in rock or built of stone, in which a dead person is laid or buried.

v. lay or bury in or as if in a sepulcher

v. serve as a burial place for || v.

ex. tomes are soon out of print and sepulchered in the dust of libraries

ex. When ocean shrouds and sepulchers our dead. ||
 * 18. Veneration || v. regard with great respect; revere ||  ||
 * 19. Mizzen || n. A for-and-aft sail set on the mizzenmast

n. A mizzenmast (The third mast or the mast aft of a mainmast on a ship having three or more masts) ||  ||
 * 20. Emissary || n. a person sent on a special mission, usually as a diplomatic representative ||  ||
 * 21. Cipher || n. a secret or disguised way of writing; a code

v. 1) put (a message) into secret writing; encode || In the Heart of Darkness, cipher is used in that the author uses words that are quite ambiguous. For example, there are words that readers have to encode. On page 78, "senseless delusion."

Marlow is the emissary in the "Heart of Darkness." ||
 * 22. jocund || Cheerful and lighthearted || Synonym: Cheerful, blithe, elated

Antonym: sad, morose, serious ||
 * 23. abscond || v. leave hurriedly and secretly, typically to avoid detection of or arrest for an unlawful action such as theft || Synonym: v. escape, bolt, flee

Antonym: abide, continue, endure ||

Rachel's Blog: http://krachy10.edublogs.org/

I am sitting in the library. I hear the gentle whirring of the printer, and the relaxed footsteps of teachers and students passing by. The soft typing on the Macbooks reach my ears. The library is always tranquil and refreshing. The smell of the library is fresh and clean. Books are piled together, organized. There is no sense of discord or chaos in the library. The mood is happy and yet, there is a sense of urgence as students quickly try to finish their homeworks.
 * d. Sit somewhere (a cafe, the mall, your roof, the bus. . .) for 5 minutes and jot very specific notes about the place. What does it sound like, taste, see, what do you notice when you close your eyes? Then spend 5 more minutes organizing the details to create a mood. Try to think in opposites. If you are on a playground, try to give a sense of evil. If you are on the bus, maybe convey a sense of peace.**

[] This blog is considered ‘good’ because although his blogs are not long like essays, the author has a clear voice, and his word choices and ideas capture the reader’s attention. He uses first person and does not waste space with useless words or information. Looking at his blogs, it seems every word he writes, he writes with care. This makes each blog made up of solid paragraphs and thought-provoking ideas.

[] This is a blog that could serve as a college essay because compared to other blogs on my list this blog seems to be more formal and has bodies of paragraphs explaining the idea that the blogger wants to convey. Compared to the blogs on __talkingpointsmemo.com__, this blog talks more about the subject and less about the author’s point of view.

[] I think this blog is very well written because there is much description and thought-provoking ideas addressed. The writing is quite formal but the blog is still very interesting to read. The fact that newspapers are disappearing due to the rise in advanced technology is shocking news. There is a lot of information that is new and fascinating to me, especially the fact that blogging is one of the reason newspapers are dying slowly. But technology provides us with some advantages. For one, we are able to save trees and communicate ideas throughout the world effectively through videos and podcasts.


 * Rachel's Meal** (in Borges' Style)

Around 7:30 A.M, while my sister reads the newspaper: Joongang Daily (a popular Korean newspaper) I make my own sandwich made up of five layers, for breakfast. Even today, there is a dilemma between whether I should add bacon or tuna. The latter is more likely. Some of the incredible aspects of my five-layered sandwich (which I call “Rachel’s Delight”) would be its taste or its appearance; it is reasonable to say each bite tastes like drops of heaven, and its appearance is so colorful and toothsome. Just thinking about my sandwich makes my mouth water…

**Reflection after reading the article: "In Your House: Wrestling as Televised Spectacle"** By Rachel The article mentions a lot about Freud’s ideas, but I found the idea about the castration complex most interesting because I would never have analyzed women’s inferiority in the way that Freud did. The castration complex, to me, meant that men, since they were born, found it inevitable to find women inferior and ‘lacking’. It also means that women were, in a way, ‘castrated’; they were born ‘powerless’ and subordinate. Men, on the other hand, are born with testicles, the symbol of superiority and dominance.

If I had known that there was not an AP Statistics test today, if I had not taken the TOEFL test on Sunday, then I would have done my AP French homework.
 * My Example of a Dependent Clause**

The listening section of the TOEFL test, which I took yesterday, was harder than I thought it would be.

**Book Report #1**

 * __Mrs. Dalloway__ by Virginia Woolf **

The climax is when Clarissa goes to a small room during her party, where she mulls over the suicide of Septimus. She sympathizes with Septimus and is actually glad that he had done it.
 * a. identify climax, major conflict, resolution or denoument, what type of plot (see page of literary terms)**

The major conflict is that Clarissa and other characters in this novel try to ‘preserve their souls’ during the repressive time period after World War I.

The resolution is at the party after Clarissa stops contemplating on the death of Septimus in her small room. She returns to her party, and the readers are given a third-person objective view of Clarissa.

The time setting is a day in mid-June, 1923. But there are flashbacks to when Clarissa was eighteen years old in the early 1890s at Bourton during summertime. The place setting is the place where the Dalloways live: in the rich neighborhood of Westminster, London, England.
 * b. comment about setting**

A major symbol would be The prime minister; Peter Walsh’s pocketknife and other weapons; the old woman in the window; the old woman singing an ancient song
 * c. identify one major symbol and one minor.**

The first character I will discuss is Clarissa Dalloway. I would describe her as a round, dynamic, and archetypal. I find it a bit difficult to label Clarissa Dalloway as either extremely dynamic or static of a character. Clarissa lives a typically repressed life of a woman during the early 1900s, and she is not a character who takes matters into her own hands, but ponders and reflects on her past, her experiences with Peter Walsh, and whether she had made the right choice marrying Richard. In such an oppressive society during post World War II, Clarissa cannot react to her surroundings, but continues to feel unhappy with the choices she has made in her life. Up to this point, Clarissa is a somewhat static character. However, she becomes a different kind of person mentally after the climax. Up until the climax, she feels she has no purpose in life, she dwells in her past, and she believes she has no self-identity. But, after she learns that Septimus ended his life, and then thinks about it deeply, her thoughts change and readers for some reason feel ensured that Clarissa will be able to endure.
 * d. discuss two characters. Label as round or flat, dynamic or static. Are they archetypal or foils?**

The second character is Septimus Warren Smith. Septimus could be labeled as a round, dynamic, and foil character because we see that he does react to changes in the society. His character shows a clear change at the end of the novel when he, a World War I veteran, stops feeling guilty of Evan’s death and decides to end his life. He takes action and responds to the ever-more oppressive society that surrounds him. Up to this point, he knows only to feel guilty and suffer through the pain. But, because he develops as a round character, he takes the initiative to end his life and anxiety. He therefore could be regarded as the opposite of the main character – Clarissa. That is why we can call him a foil character.

**BOOK REPORT #2**

 * __To the Lighthouse__ by Virginia Woolf**

The climax would be Mrs. Ramsay's dinner party. The major conflict is the striving of the characters to create order and direction in their lives that are in turmoil. The resolution is Mr. Ramsay's visit to the lighthouse with James and Cam. Another resolution is Lily's finalization of her painting.
 * **a. identify climax, major conflict, resolution or denoument, what type of plot (see page of literary terms)**

The time setting is the years before and after the World War I. The time frame is what makes the direct and indirect portrayal of gender discrimination, so much more interesting and a significant issue to the fore. The place setting is the Isle of Skye in the Hebrides (in Scotland). This place is basically the core of where everything happened. Woolf used every aspect of this place to help the readers get a sense of each of the characters and their backgrounds.
 * **b. comment about setting**

One of the important symbols I found was the window. While Lily Briscoe tries to paint Mrs. Ramsay, sitting at the window and reading to James, the window seems to capture Mrs. Ramsay in a fixed spot. While Mr. Ramsay is walking, the children are playing, and Lily Briscoe is painting, Mrs. Ramsay is statically at the center of the art piece. Her being caught in the domestic life, separated by the window pane both physically and mentally, told me that she is detached from everyone else and the society. On the other hand, interestingly I found this symbol was trying to tell readers that she was the very heart of the household, just as she was in the tableau.
 * **c. identify one major symbol and one minor.**

One of the minor symbols is the hen in Mr. Bankes' memory. This is the scene where Mr. Bankes and Mr. Ramsay have a stroll down the road and they see a hen trying to protect its chicks. Mr. Ramsay says, 'Pretty, pretty,' while Mr. Bankes does not. He says their friendship ended there because Mr. Ramsay's comment on the chick that was trying to protect its chick (which symbolizes domesticity) told Mr. Bankes that Mr. Ramsay had turned to the family life.


 * **d. discuss two characters. Label as round or flat, dynamic or static. Are they archetypal or foils?**

Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay’s mutual love and affection for their children are similar. However, they are foil characters because the way they see life is very opposite. Mr. Ramsay is not a cold person under the surface, however, he does not express his affection outwardly as much. He is a little awkward in the society and quite frigid. Even with his children, he is not such an ideal father because he is quite strict and serious. He is obviously not portrayed as a character who is sufficiently affectionate. This is probably why his children do not show intimacy towards him either. He is, therefore, quite a static character throughout the novel. His personality does not change as much, however, we see his ways of thinking and mentality change towards the end of the novel (especially at the last scene when they visit the lighthouse together as a family). This shows that though he seems like a static character because we do not see any immediate or physical change, Woolf successfully shows the gradual development and maturity of the character. We see that as the novel progresses, his insecurity improves to one that is at ease, and his love for his children and his wife, Mrs. Ramsay, was genuine.

On the other hand, Mrs. Ramsay is beautiful, very affectionate, loving, selfless, and considerate. She drenches her life with the idea of marriage between a man and a woman (though later, she unfortunately sees the shortcomings of her marriage). She is quite a static character on the outside, however, we see her mentality and belief also matures and develops into one that meets that of Mr. Ramsay. At the beginning, her warm and tender attitude towards everyone seems obviously different to the character of Mr. Ramsay. However, they are similar in that she has a similar oppressive character as Mr. Ramsay, just in a subtler fashion. Lily Briscoe brings this up when she tells Mrs. Ramsay that her obduracy and undeniable beauty might be causing others around her to be forced into doing things without even realizing it (like the marriage of Paul Rayley and Rita, which ultimately was disastrous).

Though they have clear differences in personality, they also share the idea that human life and merriment is determined to discontinue. But their entirely different ways of comforting themselves from this harsh knowledge and reality is what makes them have greater distance; while Mrs. Ramsay tries to get practical in order to ‘soothe her consciousness,’ Mr. Ramsay takes this realization and allows himself to slither into despondency and despair.


 * **e. Open to the exact middle. What page? Write one paragraph about how this one page relates thematically, symbolically,** **or other (just not all plot) to the rest of the book.**

// '[S]he could not say it. . . . [A}s she looked at him she began to smile, for though she had not said a word, he knew, of course he knew, that she loved him. He could not deny it. And smiling she looked out of the window and said (thinking to herself, Nothing on earth can equal this happiness)— “Yes, you were right. It’s going to be wet tomorrow. You won’t be able to go.” And she looked at him smiling. For she had triumphed again. She had not said it: yet he knew.' //

This was my favorite quote in the novel. Throughout the book, it seemed Mr. Ramsay was the kind of person who needed proof in everything. He relied on what was studied, heard, and done physically; he did not look to understanding what could be beneath the surface. On the other hand, Mrs. Ramsay is a woman who expressed her love for others in subtler ways. For example, she expresses her affection for the guests when she orchestrates a beautiful evening for them without straightforwardly telling them with words. I think Woolf was trying to convey to the readers the idea that there is a difference between men and women’s ways of expressing to others their emotions. There is the stereotype that Mrs. Ramsay and Mr. Ramsay have to adhere to. However, this quote shows that although their ways of expressing may be different and not always direct, they come to a mutual understanding and trust.


 * **f. Tell me one thing other that really only someone who has read the book will get.**

a. Bill played a musical number by Bach; Joan, Beethoven. b. Lou Williams was in for adultery; John Jones for gambling. c. His mother told him to rent a car; his sister, to pack the suitcases.
 * 1. Which of the following doesn't work? Why.**


 * 2. Write your own original example.

3. Find one from something you have read (this may take a couple of weeks).

11/05 Write a short 4-5 sentence paragraph concerning your reading about Frankenstein. Include a colon.**

The prologue introduces a stranger by showing a series of letters written by R.W. to Mrs. Saville. Readers are not told much about this stranger who seems to have an illness, but we do know one thing: he strongly believes in his fate and destiny.

EXERCISE -- Copy and paste this entire exercise into your own page. Write your answers in a different color or font. We will chose two people's in class to go over. 1. Look carefully at the following sentence. Does it work? If so, why? If not, where can the sentence be broken into two or shorter ones that are not overwhelming. Robert Mondavi's father, Cesare, came from Sassafarento near Ancona, on the Adriatic coast of the Marches -- not a particularly rich or fertile part of Italy even now, nor, except for Verdicchio, much of a wine-growing region, and a good deal less so, no doubt, in 1883, when Cesare was born, the son of a large, simple family and possibly the first member of it, I have read somewhere, to be able to sign his name. -- by Cyril Ray "Robert Mondavi of the Napa Valley"
 * 12/01**

If we go through each punctuation, they are not used incorrectly. But the readers do get confused because this is a rather long sentence with different punctuations used for different reasons.

Though the sentence is not incorrect, we could improve it by putting in parentheses and possibly cutting the sentence in half.

Robert Mondavi's father, Cesare, came from Sassafarento near Ancona on the Adriatic coast of the Marches (not a particularly rich or fertile part of Italy even now, nor, except for Verdicchio, much of a wine-growing region and a good deal less so, no doubt, in 1883, when Cesare was born, the son of a large, simple family and possibly the first member of it) I have read somewhere, to be able to sign his name. -- by Cyril Ray "Robert Mondavi of the Napa Valley"

2. Does this sentence work? If so, why? If not, please correct. The typical teenage user of snuff is white, active, and athletic, and subjected to very heavy peer pressure.

I think the sentence works but it could not hurt to eliminate the 'and' before athletic.

T he typical teenage user of snuff is white, active, athletic, and subjected to very heavy peer pressure.

3. Same instructions -- The children gathered around the clown wishing for a balloon, angling for a smile, bowing before the childhood consumerism.

Yes, the sentence works because the sentence follows a parallel sentence structure.


 * Grammar Jan 8, 2010**

1) Starting a gasoline-fueled lawn mower takes three simple steps: open the choke, pull the starter cord, and close the choke once the engine is running.

2) As a result of his first riding lesson at the Sage Ranch, Jason learned one thing about horses -- when they are hungry, they stop to eat.


 * Grammar Jan 11, 2010**
 * Review vocab and punctuation. Write a sentence with a vocab word (that demonstrates the meaning of the word) and uses one of the punctuation methods discussed in class.**

The rapacious landlords stripped the farmers of their money, their home, their future.

In __Frankenstein__, the first four letters and the preface I read weren't mainly about the story - it covered the intention of the writing and background of the narrator. The book starts with an exploration of the narrator and covers a lot of topics through his letters. For example: loneliness, risks taken by discovery of new knowledge, and etc. it seems like the letters are foreshadowing what's coming up in the future of this book.
 * Grammar Jan 13, 2010**

-- Try for 3 sentences. There is a possibility of a colon AND a dash.