Senior Project #1

This year was the first in which AP Studio Art was offered as a course at Righetti, obviously as artists Ubi and I would take it. The AP Exam is different than that of a regular AP Exam because we have a year to make approximately thirty pieces of art which is really difficult to do actually. There are three parts to the exam:
Breadth- Twelve pieces of work that show how broad your technical and conceptual skills are.
Concentration- Twelve pieces of work all under a cohesive theme, that are completely original ideas.
Quality- Five of your best pieces of work.
Ubi and I had decided to collaborate on the concentration piece of the AP Exam. Ubi's concentration topic is black and white portraits and so he asked me to take pictures of some people so he could draw from them, in doing this I had gained pieces for the breadth and quality section of my AP Exam. As we continued to work on this, Ubi began to realize that the size and time of his charcoal drawings were just to big so through more collaboration I taught Ubi the art of photography and worked with him in the studio. We successfully completed the AP Exam on time and honestly our stuff is the bomb, check it out.

For all of my personal work visit my website: amandaleannarnold.wix.com/portfolio

In Class Essay

Here it is, I decided not to polish it because I want to see how well I did within the twenty minutes or so I had.

POETRY ESSAY PROMPT #2

POETRY ESSAY PROMPT #1

PRE-WRITE:

Body Paragraph #1: Tone
-Poe is more loving.
-H.D. is furious with Helen for being too perfect and ruining society
-Poe loses himself in her beauty
-H.D. uses words such as hate and reviles

Body Paragraph #2: Imagery
-Poe describes her complexion to that of a flower
-H.D. gives her still eyes
-Poe is says she is a statue in a beautiful way
-H.D. gives her white "blank" descriptions towards her beauty as if soul-less.

Body Paragraph #3: Diction
-Poe's word choice is loving and flows in a charming way
-H.D.'s word choice is hateful and angered

     Beauty is interpreted through the poems To Helen by Edgar Allen Poe and Helen by H.D. as enchanting, hated, captivating, and destructive. Edgar Allen Poe's perception of Helen is that she is the most beautiful of women and he is enticed by her beauty while H.D.'s views are different in the sense that  he sees Helen's beauty as destructive. Throughout the poem's both authors utilize tone, imagery, and diction in order to display their views of her beauty and how it affects them.

     Through Poe's version of Helen's story, she is displayed as an idol beauty to Poe by his tone. In Poe's poem he uses syntax in order to develop his tone by using descriptive words like that of a flower. Overall Poe's tone is romantic and loving. On the other hand, H.D's tone is malicious due to the fact that he despises Helen. Throughout H.D.'s interpretation of Helen's story, he utilizes syntax with descriptive words such as wan and unmoved which establishes the author's tone of being so hateful.

     Being compared to the beauty of a flower and perfumed seas obviously states that Poe is infatuated with the woman he is writing about in his poem. Through his use of imagery he creates an understanding of his love for her beauty by observing it in contrast to hyacinths. H.D. utilizes imagery in order to show his hate for her and that stating her beauty is ruining what Greece once was by comparing her to this gloomy statue that is hated by all of Greece. 

     As one reads Poe's understanding of Helen, their is an obvious flow in his writing that portrays his, almost, obsession for Helen. All through Poe's explanation of Helen's story, his diction is rather charmed and has a certain light flow to it that is consistent. In H.D.'s grasp of who Helen is, his word choice of hate and wan show how his diction tends to be more angered.

     Helen's beauty has been evaluated both by Edgar Allen Poe and H.D. and has been interpreted into their poems in very contrasting ways. Poe is more loving while H.D. seems to despise Helen, even though both have their own understandings, they establish their points through their use of tone, imagery, and diction. They may disagree on how her beauty affects them, but they are both captivated by her either in an obsessive or hateful way. 

GROUPTHINK

Will and I discussed the main topics of the poem and how we would interpret them in an essay format. We had similar ideas and said how Howl was about society and people changing into something else, Cat was a quirky poem, and Hope was something to feel lively about and interesting. We both decided that there should be a basic foundation for writing the essays and that if we understood that we really should NOT emphasize merely summarizing the plot.

GRIDLOCK Hope by Emily Dickinson

Meaning	The meaning of this poem is that hope can be found anywhere, and even though it is something delicate, it can keep many people warm and full of life.
Antecedent Scenario	Dickinson was a religious poet and this particular poem had a reference to her struggle with religion.
Structural Parts	Through the author's use of symbolism she has a light take on the happiness of hope rather than the why-bother-to-hope attitude. She is able to create an insightful poem through a very few words. The bird is the most symbolic because something so delicate has such huge meaning for everyone such as peace.
Climax	The climax is in the second stanza.
Other Parts	The first stanza shows describes what hope is through the use of metaphors. In the second stanza the author shows the effect of hope. Finally, the last stanza shows creativity due to the proposed question of hope.

Skeleton	The first stanza is light an happy, the second stanza becomes more serious, and the third stanza is interesting because it proposes the topic of hope never asking for anything in return.
Content Genre- games	The hopeful poem. I understand this is a bit literal, but the author clearly explains what hope is through metaphors such as comparing hope to birds. Therefore the author is following the rules.
Tone	Happy, insightful, curious
Agency	The bird is the main subject.
Roads Not Taken	I think this poem is fine the way it is and I could not see it taking on another form because its classic and doesn't really need to be changed in order to make it applicable to a different era of people.
Speech Acts	There is a lingering question in the back of the mind at the end of the poem when the author discusses hope of being selfless by not asking for anything in return even though being hope is a very demanding job.
Outer and Inner Structural Forms	The outer structure form is ABCB and has alterations in iambic pentameter. The inner structural form is based off of her feeling with God and has strength through her personal struggle.
Imagination	I think the author believed that hope was like bird and she received her imagination from God.

GRIDLOCK Howl by Allen Ginsberg (vendler model)

Meaning	In the poem there is a lot of references to personal experiences, and throughout the poem you realize little pieces of his life and the meanings that it takes on for Ginsberg.
Antecedent Scenario	This poem wasn't written for any particular reason, but it was just an artistic way of Ginsberg portraying his life through poetry.
Structural Parts	In almost every phrase in Howl, there is a personal reference to Ginsberg's life saying what he went through. Through his constant referencing you have an inside look to his personal life and the struggles he had through being gay and as an artist that made him struggle. "...ah, Carl, while you are not safe I am not safe, and now you're really in the total animal soup of time..."
Climax	There's no real climax in Howl because its this ongoing list of how people have been destroyed by society.
Other Parts	I feel as if when reading this that the momentum continues to build and build whilst bagging on society.

Skeleton	The curve of emotion is probably love because this poem was written about Ginsberg's life and he dedicated it to his first "true" love.
Content Genre- games	The destroyed poem. Meaning that how society has influenced people to become something they aren't. I think Ginsberg is completely original and therefore could not have changed any rules because he created them, thus being perfect.
Tone	Depressed, emotional, and insightful.
Agency	Allen Ginsberg, himself.
Roads Not Taken	I think that if this was re-written in the 90's it would become some sort of edgy poem about how society doesn't understand the teenage world of Nirvana lovers and that it could have taken on a new meaning there.
Speech Acts	There is a constant repetition of the word who that starts of phrases and I can connect this to the fact that Ginsberg is blaming someone indeed and referencing them indirectly so that the reader can also take on a personal meaning for someone they know who has shared the same fate.
Outer and Inner Structural Forms	The poem's outer form is structured through constant repetition, while the inner form is based off of personal feeling that has been felt by the author and has referenced personal memories that he is putting in an artistic way.
Imagination	The rhythm/pace of the poem kept me reading more because there was just this list of problems wrong and right in Ginsberg's life that made it interesting.

Seventh Reading

Step 1: Group- Will Boerger and Myself
Step 2: Hope by Emily Dickenson
           Cat by J.R.R. Tolkien
           Howl by Allen Ginsberg

Multiple Choice Answers

E
A
D
C
A
A
D
B
C
B
A
E
A
D
C
C
A
E
D
C
A
B
B
B
C
D
B
C
E
C
D
A
E
D
C
D
E
A
D
C
E
C
A
C
C
D
D
D
A
D
B
A
C
E

Literature Circle Prose Essay Questions: Fahrenheit 451

A little late, but here they are...


1. Through Ray Bradbury's use of indirect characterization of society, how is the theme of censorship created throughout the course of the novel?

2. Characterize briefly the world and the way of life described in the novel, discuss the effect of the theme as a whole, and analyze those elements that achieve this effect.

3. Analyze Bradbury's use of symbolism throughout the course of the novel and how it predetermined ideas and themes throughout the story.

This Class

I Love Family Members

Best thing I've seen on Facebook in a while, thought Preston might enjoy it.

writingas5pectatorsport (#2)

http://cwestrhsenglitcomp.blogspot.com/2013/02/writingas5pectator-amanda.html

Here's the link to Christa's blog about me being victimized by the Sphinx.

writingas5pectatorsport (#1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1r7wHXmGso

Here's the link to the YouTube video that Rheanna, Will, and I gave to Kaitlyn for her prompt which was the 1988 AP Exam Essay Prompt. Check it out.

Last of the Lit Terms

Scansion: the analysis of verse in terms of meter.

Setting: the time and place in which events in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem occur.

Simile:  a figure of speech comparing two essentially unlike things through the use of a specific word of comparison.

Soliloquy: an extended speech, usually in a drama, delivered by a character alone on stage.

Spiritual: a folk song, usually on a religious theme.

Speaker: a narrator, the one speaking.

Stereotype: cliché; a simplified, standardized conception with a special meaning and appeal for members of a group; a formula story.

Stream of Consciousness: the style of writing that attempts to imitate the natural flow of a character’s thoughts, feelings, reflections, memories, and mental images, as the character experiences them.

Structure: the planned framework of a literary selection; its apparent organization.

Style:  the manner of putting thoughts into words; a characteristic way of writing or speaking.

Subordination: the couching of less important ideas in less important  structures of language.

Surrealism: a style in literature and painting that stresses the subconscious or the nonrational aspects of man’s existence characterized by the juxtaposition of the bizarre and the banal.

Suspension of Disbelief: suspend not believing in order to enjoy it.

Symbol: something which stands for something else, yet has a meaning of its own.

Synesthesia: the use of one sense to convey the experience of another sense.

Synecdoche: another form of name changing, in which a part stands for the whole.

Syntax: the arrangement and grammatical relations of words in a sentence.

Theme:  main idea of the story; its message(s).

Thesis: a proposition for consideration, especially one to be discussed and proved

or disproved; the main idea.

Tone: the devices used to create the mood and atmosphere of a literary work; the        

author’s perceived point of view.

Tongue in Cheek: a type of humor in which the speaker feigns seriousness; a.k.a. “dry” or “dead pan”

Tragedy: in literature: any composition with a somber theme carried to a disastrous conclusion; a fatal event; protagonist usually is heroic but tragically (fatally) flawed

Understatement: opposite of hyperbole; saying less than you mean for emphasis

Vernacular: everyday speech

Voice:  The textual features, such as diction and sentence structures, that convey a writer’s or speaker’s pesona.

Zeitgeist: the feeling of a particular era in history

FEBRUARY'S LITERATURE ANALYSIS: The Shining by Stephen King

GENERAL
1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read, and explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).
     This novel is about a a three-member family including Jack Torrance (Father), Wendy Torrance (Mother), and a six year old boy named Danny (Son) who stay the winter at the Overlook Hotel. Jack Torrance received the job of watching the Overlook Hotel over the winter because the hotel is seasonal and he needed money. There is something weird about the Overlook Hotel and since Danny posses a power called the shining the Overlook Hotel takes over his power and tries to ruin the family's trust in each other in order to get to Danny. From moving topiary to a room with a dead woman in a tub, Danny has to help his parents escape the Overlook Hotel while keeping them together.
2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
     The theme of the novel is kind of difficult to describe because this is a horror book but if I had to pick (which I do) I would say that it is overcoming your fears because Danny had to face the scary pictures that Tony showed him, Wendy had to realize that she needs to do what's best for her family even if she is scared of what will happen between her and Jack, and Jack needed to realize that he can't let his addiction to a good feel ruin his relationship with his family.
3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
     Throughout the novel, Stephen King does this wonderful thing where he changes his tone whenever he's talking about a character as if he's talking in a first person narrative, but he isn't (it's freaking awesome). So when Danny's character is prominent the tone is very innocent, naive, and childlike because Danny is only six but very educated and it makes for a delightful read when you switch from character to character. When Wendy is brought into the novel the tone is worried and troubled, but it's always about Jack because she will never let go how he broke Danny's arm when he was drunk, but towards the end the tone becomes empowered and triumphant because she overcomes her fear of the relationship conflicting between her and her husband. Jack is a completely different story when he is relevant in the story because the tone becomes angry, frustrated, and tired and I think that is his character because he is a recovering alcoholic of being sober for fourteen months which is like getting over the hump for recovery and he's holding it all in and won't let his anger out.
4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)
     1. Ambiguity: Danny's power of the shining isn't really gone into in detail, but if you read the book you understand what it is because it's this strange connection between people however it's uncertain throughout the whole book. Pg. 117 "'You've got a knack,' Hallorann said, turning to him. 'Me, I've always called it shining. That's what my grandmother called it, too. She had it. We used to sit in the kitchen when I was a boy no older than you and have long talks without even openin our mouths.'"
     2. Colloquialism: Hallorann is the perfect example of how he is obviously a southern character possibly from Louisiana and talks like he is from there by not pronouncing g's. Pg. 120 "'You never mind her,' he said. "And don't go askin your mom, either. You'd only upset her, dig what I'm sayin?'"
     3. Farce: Pg. 119 "'I know she doesn't,' Danny said earnestly. 'But do you know the man in the gray uniform that gets the cars?'
     'Mike? Sure, I know Mike. What about him?'
     'Mr. Hallorann, why would she want his pants?'
     'What are you talking about, boy?'
     'Well when she was watching him, she was thinking she would sure like to get into his pants and I just wondered why-'"
     I almost cried when I read this due to the hilariousness of it all, but this is why thoughts are private and why adults don't say these things in front of four year olds. Just to clarify, Danny was reading a woman's mind and didn't understand what she was thinking so he asked Hallorann out of curiosity.
     4. Figurative Language: I love how he made everything practically come to life as the story went on everything seemed practically real by the end of the story. Pg. 313 "Gravel rattled on the path."
     5. Imagery: The way Stephen King made the topiary a real danger and scary thing had heightened the fear factor while reading it, the topiary was almost sadistic if I had to describe it. Pg. 313 "The lion on the left had advanced all the way to the fence now; it's muzzle was touching the boards. It seemed to be grinning up at him."
     6. Motif: REDRUM constantly is a reoccurring feature that almost foreshadows that there will be a murder at the Overlook Hotel. Pg. 193 "(then REDRUM) (Come out here and take your medicine, you fucking crybaby!)" Pg. 194 "(roque... stroke... roque... stroke... REDRUM)"
     7. Personification: I think this book shows personification at it's finest; topiary coming to life, a hotel taking power from a six year old boy, and a dead man on the hunt to kill (how ironic?).
     8. Symbol: REDRUM is the perfect symbol in this story because it symbolizes fear, murder, misunderstanding, and the innocence of a boy. Pg. 49 "He could see that limp hand dangling over the edge of the tub with blood running down one finger, the third, and that inexplicable word so much more horrible than any of the others: REDRUM."
     9. Tongue in Cheek: Pg. 1 "Ullman stood five-five, and when he moved, it was with prissy speed that seems to be the exclusive domain of all small plump men." I believe that tongue in cheek humor is right up Jack Torrance's ally because he is constantly making lame jokes and lame judgements of people that are funny in a sick sort of way.
     10. Foreshadow: Pg. 194 "(roque... stroke... roque... stroke... REDRUM)" This foreshadows Jack Torrance's death because the Overlook Hotel takes over his body and kills him with a roque stick.

CHARACTERIZATION
1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization. Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?
     Direct characterization used in The Shining would be when Jack Torrance described how Mr. Ullman looked by saying how he acted and the way he looked and another example would be when Mr. Hallorann was being described as black. An example of indirect characterization would be in the beginning of the novel, I could completely tell that Jack was kind of an ass and this line was my favorite: Pg. 8 "... and Jack flashed the PR smile again, large and insultingly toothy." Another example of indirect characterization would be how Danny is basically daddy's little boy, in the sense where he always wants to please his dad because in a certain chapter he struggles with his reading because he's just learning and will push himself until he figures it out. I think he uses both approaches because it's important to paint a picture for a reader by using direct characterization, but the fun part about books is also adding the small details through imagination which comes through indirect characterization.
2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character?  How?  Example(s)?
     Yes, for each character it changes completely. Each character has their own voice and you can tell when the story is about a certain character as if they are telling the story as I said in question 3 of the general question.
3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic?  Flat or round?  Explain.
     The protagonist would probably be Danny, so in this case I would say that he is a dynamic character because he goes through this traumatic experience of his father basically bashing his face in and tries to empower through it. He would also be a round character because Danny significantly changes (if you can at the age of six) into a brave, young man who overcomes the scariest thing that will probably happen in his life.
4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character?  Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.
     I know each character as if they were my best friend because the in-depth characterization Stephen King went through to characterize the people in the story was perfect. For example, in the chapter titled "Tony," Danny realizes that he is Tony later on in life and has his own climactic experience in his life to see that he becomes someone and has the chance to make something of himself. Throughout this chapter Danny has many epiphanies about life and the choices he has to make in order to make it out alive while trying to save everyone else at the same time. It would be great to meet Danny and see how his life is at this age (as in probably 46 or something around that number).

FIRST QUARTER REVIEW

a.) So far, so good. I have successfully been collaborating with Ubi Kim, Kaitlyn Furst, and Rheanna Crawley on our Senior Projects and everything has been set in motion. I'm behind on my literature analyses, but I'm working on it. However, for the most part I think I'm doing a decent job.
b.) Do more literature analyses, pass this class, improve vocab, incorporate photography and things I love into projects, and be on time to class.
c.) Be punctual, it's not like it's hard to do things on time. I just want to make sure all my priorities are set for this quarter.

Lit Terms 83-108

Pacing:  rate of movement; tempo.

Parable:  a story designed to convey some religious principle, moral lesson, or general truth.

Paradox:  a statement apparently self-contradictory or absurd but really containing a possible truth; an opinion contrary to generally accepted ideas.

Parallelism: the principle in sentence structure that states elements of equal function should have equal form.

Parody:  an imitation of mimicking of a composition or of the style of a well-known artist.

Pathos:  the ability in literature to call forth feelings of pity, compassion, and/or sadness.

Pedantry: a display of learning for its own sake.

Personification: a figure of speech attributing human qualities to inanimate objects or  abstract ideas.

Plot: a plan or scheme to accomplish a purpose.

Poignant:  eliciting sorrow or sentiment.

Point of View: the attitude unifying any oral or written argumentation; in description, the physical point from which the observer views what he is describing.

Postmodernism: literature characterized by experimentation, irony, nontraditional forms, multiple meanings, playfulness and a blurred boundary between real and imaginary.

Prose:  the ordinary form of spoken and written language; language that does not have a regular rhyme pattern.

Protagonist: the central character in a work of fiction; opposes antagonist.

Pun:  play on words; the humorous use of a word emphasizing different meanings or applications.

Purpose: the intended result wished by an author.

Realism:  writing about the ordinary aspects of life in a straightfoward manner to reflect life as it actually is.

Refrain:  a phrase or verse recurring at intervals in a poem or song; chorus.

Requiem:  any chant, dirge, hymn, or musical service for the dead.

Resolution: point in a literary work at which the chief dramatic complication is worked out; denouement.

Restatement: idea repeated for emphasis.

Rhetoric: use of language, both written and verbal in order to persuade.

Rhetorical Question: question suggesting its own answer or not requiring an answer; used in argument or persuasion.

Rising Action: plot build up, caused by conflict and complications, advancement towards climax.

Romanticism:  movement in western culture beginning in the eighteenth and peaking in the nineteenth century as a revolt against Classicism; imagination was valued over reason and fact.

Satire:  ridicules or condemns the weakness and wrong doings of individuals, groups, institutions, or humanity in general.

BOB I

Rosa Alvarez: Girl, you need to catch up on posting your stuff like literature analyses,vocab, and homework posts.
Will Boerger: Post most recent stuff and catch up on literature analyses.
Gus Blundel: Catch up yo.
Rheanna Crawley: I wish my blog looked as good as yours.
Michelle Crosby: You need to post the most recent stuff.
Vince Cruz: Up to date, nicely done.
Jose De Leon: You're new, so I'll cut you some slack.
Lizbeth Estrada: Looking good girl.
Bernardo Gonzalez: Such a try-hard, good job.
Iliana Gutierrez: Great job!
Mackenzie Greeley: You're Greeley's daughter, I mean what more can I say than perfection?
Taelor Griego: Pleasantly surprised, well done.
John Han: Nice job!
Elizabeth Hotchkiss: Catch up! Post some stuff!
Pablo Nicacio: Not bad.
Elizabeth Pereyra: Very informative, nice layout.
Eddie Pineda: Good job Eddie, keep it up!
Alex Ramirez: Nice job, you're all up to date.
Torre Reddick: You have five posts... I mean really.
Christa Weston: You're awesome and like the coolest person, well done.