In the cave only shadows were envisioned
They were unaware there was light somewhere
The people in the cave were imprisoned
They had no sense of reality and what was fair
The prisoners in the cave were afraid of the unknown
They knew nothing about the outside reality
The shadows were the only things they were shown
They could not escape their own ignorant mentality
The freed prisoners were forgotten
They were able to find answers
To all the questions they had gotten
And live the life of a happy prancer
We cannot be a small fish in a big pond without any knowledge
But a small fish in a big pond with the education of college
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
Monday, November 12, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Snow White Sonnet
The mirror never lies? How damned delicious!
The fairest one of all was little Snow...
Well, wicked witches knew how to be vicious,
this Snowy-Whitey rival had to go!
The axe man had instructions that he dreaded,
the Queen was quite specific: Kill her, dead!
He couldn't see this lovely girl beheaded,
so left her in the deepest woods, instead.
A bunch of miners found her in their chalet,
they let her stay to cook and wash and sew,
she acted like a kind of female valet,
and waited every evening for "Hi Ho."
They all lived happily amongst the pines,
what next occurred's another fourteen lines...
The mirror told the witch: "Snow White's still fairer!"
The Queen went into deep psychotic gloom,
then turned into a poisoned apple-bearer,
and headed for the forest on her broom.
One bite, and Snow White turned into a sleeper,
the dwarves came home and saw her on the ground,
they took a vote - decided they should keep her,
so locked her in their cabin, safe and sound.
Well, there was just one magic item missing,
to break the spell and foil the witch's plan,
she needed someone who was fond of kissing,
was tall, and dark, and handsome - and a man!
The Prince showed up, and answered true love's call,
they both lived happy ever, after all!
The fairest one of all was little Snow...
Well, wicked witches knew how to be vicious,
this Snowy-Whitey rival had to go!
The axe man had instructions that he dreaded,
the Queen was quite specific: Kill her, dead!
He couldn't see this lovely girl beheaded,
so left her in the deepest woods, instead.
A bunch of miners found her in their chalet,
they let her stay to cook and wash and sew,
she acted like a kind of female valet,
and waited every evening for "Hi Ho."
They all lived happily amongst the pines,
what next occurred's another fourteen lines...
The mirror told the witch: "Snow White's still fairer!"
The Queen went into deep psychotic gloom,
then turned into a poisoned apple-bearer,
and headed for the forest on her broom.
One bite, and Snow White turned into a sleeper,
the dwarves came home and saw her on the ground,
they took a vote - decided they should keep her,
so locked her in their cabin, safe and sound.
Well, there was just one magic item missing,
to break the spell and foil the witch's plan,
she needed someone who was fond of kissing,
was tall, and dark, and handsome - and a man!
The Prince showed up, and answered true love's call,
they both lived happy ever, after all!
Vocab #11
Affinity- relationship by marriage
Bilious- of or indicative of a peevish ill nature disposition
Cognate- of the same nature
Corollary- A proposition inferred Immediately from a proved proposition with little or no additional proof
Cul-de-sac - a pouch
Derring-do- a daring action
Divination- The art or practice that seeks to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge due to the interpretation of omens
Elixir- A substance capable of prolonging life indefinitely
Folderol- a useless accessory
Gamut- an entire range or series
Hoi polloi- the General populace
Ineffable- incapable of being expressed in words
Lucubration- to study by night
Mnemonic- intended to assist memory
Obloquy- abusive language
Parameter- an independent variable used to express the coordinates of variable point and functions of them
Pundit- a learned man
Risible- provoking laughter
Symptomatic- having the characteristics of a certain disease but arising of a different cause
Volte-face- a reversal in policy
Bilious- of or indicative of a peevish ill nature disposition
Cognate- of the same nature
Corollary- A proposition inferred Immediately from a proved proposition with little or no additional proof
Cul-de-sac - a pouch
Derring-do- a daring action
Divination- The art or practice that seeks to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge due to the interpretation of omens
Elixir- A substance capable of prolonging life indefinitely
Folderol- a useless accessory
Gamut- an entire range or series
Hoi polloi- the General populace
Ineffable- incapable of being expressed in words
Lucubration- to study by night
Mnemonic- intended to assist memory
Obloquy- abusive language
Parameter- an independent variable used to express the coordinates of variable point and functions of them
Pundit- a learned man
Risible- provoking laughter
Symptomatic- having the characteristics of a certain disease but arising of a different cause
Volte-face- a reversal in policy
Monday, October 29, 2012
Literary analysis: The Crucible
1. The Crucible is a playwright that is based on the Salem Witch trials. A bunch of nonsensical girls in Danforth try a few spells and other forbidden things with a black servant. They soon get found out, but deny it all. They then proceed to act like they've been cursed and possessed by witches, all in order to stay out of trouble and to also gain things they wanted. The Puritan community is scared by the girls' actions, and many innocent women accused of being witches are sent to jail. The proctors are targeted by the lead girl, Abigail Williams, because she wanted to be with John Proctor. Ultimately John himself is sent to the gallows, and a year later the witch trials had caused lots of trouble, and came to an end.
2. I picked up two themes from this book. One big one is how quickly people can succumb to fear. When a few people started becoming afraid of the Devil and witches in their community, all the citizens began to panic, and started to think irrationally. The effect of this widespread panic was the death sentence of many innocent women accused of being witches. Another theme would have to be the way they treated the people they charged. Many of the women sent to death by the trials were women (and a few men) who didn't really fit into the community that well. They were known for odd things here and there, but not something that would've made them a witch before the girls started with the accusations.
3. Since this was originally a playwright, the author provided different tones for each person that was talking in different situations, since 85% of the book was dialogue. Yet a common thing between all character's voices and the bit of narration was how solemn it sounded, and sometimes even fearful. The story took place in a time of panic and fear.
"Mrs. Putnam, softly:Aye. Her voice breaks; she looks up at him. Silence." - Act One, pg. 39
"Hale: Believe me, Mr. Nurse, if Rebecca Nurse be tainted, then nothing's left to stop the whole green world from burning." - Act Two, pg. 71
"Mary Warren, hysterically, pointing at Proctor, fearful of him: My name, he want my name. 'I'll murder you,' he says, 'if my wife hangs! We must go and overthrow the court he says!'" - Act Three, pg. 119
4. There is dramatic irony used in this story. Most of the time I knew what the girls were really up to, while the other characters did not. Arthur Miller is also very descriptive with some of his character's dialogue. The dialogue itself can be considered a literary element, since he uses it to provide indirect characterization of his characters. There is conflict between the innocent accused (Proctors, others) and the "possessed" girls and the juries and judges of the trials.
1. Direct Characterization:
“Proctor was a farmer in his middle thirties. He need not have been a partisan of any faction in the town, but there is evidence to suggest that he had a sharp and biting way with hypocrites.”
“He was the kind of man- powerful of body, even-tempered, and not easily led- who cannot refuse support to partisans without drawing their deepest resentment.”
Indirect Characterization:
“In Proctor’s presence, a fool felt his foolishness instantly- and proctor is always marked for calumny therefore. But as we shall see, the steady manner he displays does not spring from an untroubled soul.”
All of the dialogue between the characters can be used as indirect characterization of all the characters, e.g. how evil Abigail really is.
Miller uses both to show his character’s true colors, in a way that is obvious and a way that you have to really listen/read closely to figure out. This really helped me in order to see what the characters were really up to, like Abigail and her reasons for her acting possessed.
2. Since Miller is writing with dialogue for 85% of the story, each character has their own unique diction. Most characters share the same kind of Puritan-style speaking, while there are some uneducated characters speaking differently, like Tituba. She speaks with words such as “git” and “goin,” showing she can speak English, but not properly.
3. John Proctor is a dynamic and round character. He changes completely through the book. He starts out as a kind of quiet, farmer man who was having marriage troubles after he was fooling around with Abigail Williams. But towards the end he gives his own life for his wife and to make a statement about the wrongdoings of the girls accusing people of witchcraft.
4. To me, I felt like I was reading a part of a history book, and not in the bad way. This is very close as to what really happened in the Salem Witch Trials, with a few exaggerations to make the story more interesting. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters, even though I did sympathize toward John Proctor and his wife.
2. I picked up two themes from this book. One big one is how quickly people can succumb to fear. When a few people started becoming afraid of the Devil and witches in their community, all the citizens began to panic, and started to think irrationally. The effect of this widespread panic was the death sentence of many innocent women accused of being witches. Another theme would have to be the way they treated the people they charged. Many of the women sent to death by the trials were women (and a few men) who didn't really fit into the community that well. They were known for odd things here and there, but not something that would've made them a witch before the girls started with the accusations.
3. Since this was originally a playwright, the author provided different tones for each person that was talking in different situations, since 85% of the book was dialogue. Yet a common thing between all character's voices and the bit of narration was how solemn it sounded, and sometimes even fearful. The story took place in a time of panic and fear.
"Mrs. Putnam, softly:Aye. Her voice breaks; she looks up at him. Silence." - Act One, pg. 39
"Hale: Believe me, Mr. Nurse, if Rebecca Nurse be tainted, then nothing's left to stop the whole green world from burning." - Act Two, pg. 71
"Mary Warren, hysterically, pointing at Proctor, fearful of him: My name, he want my name. 'I'll murder you,' he says, 'if my wife hangs! We must go and overthrow the court he says!'" - Act Three, pg. 119
4. There is dramatic irony used in this story. Most of the time I knew what the girls were really up to, while the other characters did not. Arthur Miller is also very descriptive with some of his character's dialogue. The dialogue itself can be considered a literary element, since he uses it to provide indirect characterization of his characters. There is conflict between the innocent accused (Proctors, others) and the "possessed" girls and the juries and judges of the trials.
1. Direct Characterization:
“Proctor was a farmer in his middle thirties. He need not have been a partisan of any faction in the town, but there is evidence to suggest that he had a sharp and biting way with hypocrites.”
“He was the kind of man- powerful of body, even-tempered, and not easily led- who cannot refuse support to partisans without drawing their deepest resentment.”
Indirect Characterization:
“In Proctor’s presence, a fool felt his foolishness instantly- and proctor is always marked for calumny therefore. But as we shall see, the steady manner he displays does not spring from an untroubled soul.”
All of the dialogue between the characters can be used as indirect characterization of all the characters, e.g. how evil Abigail really is.
Miller uses both to show his character’s true colors, in a way that is obvious and a way that you have to really listen/read closely to figure out. This really helped me in order to see what the characters were really up to, like Abigail and her reasons for her acting possessed.
2. Since Miller is writing with dialogue for 85% of the story, each character has their own unique diction. Most characters share the same kind of Puritan-style speaking, while there are some uneducated characters speaking differently, like Tituba. She speaks with words such as “git” and “goin,” showing she can speak English, but not properly.
3. John Proctor is a dynamic and round character. He changes completely through the book. He starts out as a kind of quiet, farmer man who was having marriage troubles after he was fooling around with Abigail Williams. But towards the end he gives his own life for his wife and to make a statement about the wrongdoings of the girls accusing people of witchcraft.
4. To me, I felt like I was reading a part of a history book, and not in the bad way. This is very close as to what really happened in the Salem Witch Trials, with a few exaggerations to make the story more interesting. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters, even though I did sympathize toward John Proctor and his wife.
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