Blog Post #2: Eatonville Restaurant Special | East meets West

"Food is not rational. Food is culture, habit, craving and identity." 

~Jonathan Safran Foer

“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” ― Philip Pullman

New Trimester, New Beginning.

PART 1 - THE ESSAY

In "The Rainbow," D. H. Lawrence uses repetition, personification, and parallelism to contrast the dominant, open life of a man with the inward, shielded life of a Brangwen man, to characterize the woman as an onlooker of the harsh, unfair reality of her man's life, that she is confined to herself, fueling her quest for knowledge.

"It was enough that the man had the world working at his command, and "it was enough" that he was credited for the world's work. Lawrence repeats "it was enough" to not only emphasize the frustration the woman (wife to a Brangwen farmer) feels towards the lack of respect her husband's work receives in the grand scheme of things, but how "it was enough" for her husband, himself. The woman "craved to know" and "craved to achieve" a higher being, "that which makes a man strong," and as the woman craves for the prosperity of her family, as well as the prosperity of knowledge for herself, among non-Brangwen men (in the outside world), she craved to no longer to be confined to her world to her Brangwen men, solely by marriage.

To further differentiate between the man and a Brangwen man, Lawrence personifies the nature to show how the world works for the man, whether as a Brangwen man works for the world, and the woman must live the same life, as she is forced through "blood-intimacy," and cannot pursue her quest for knowledge. For a Brangwen man, "the earth heaved and opened its furrow to them," "the wind blew to dry the wet wheat;" but "the teeming life of creation poured unresolved into their veins." For the man, turning on "the pulsing heat of creation...enlarge their own scope and range freedom." Lawrence says the woman must stand "to see the far-off world of cities and governments...the magic land to her," to show that the woman feels helpless in a situation she is married into - helpless in being able to help her husband see more than just his farm, and helpless in pursuing her quest for knowledge - and that can never obtain entrance into the outside world, so long as her Brangwen husband is detained to his world, and his world is undermined

The use of parallelism contrasts the man's life with the Brangwen man & woman's life. The woman "faced outward" to see the man turn his back on her husband, who has creation coursing through his veins, whereas the Brangwen man himself "faced inwards" to creation, yet - frustratingly to the woman - satisfied with that life. The man "looked out" to the back at sky and harvest and beast and land," whether as the woman "looked out" towards "the activity of man in the world at large," and she "strained her eyes to see what man had done in fighting outwards." Lawrence portrays the woman as a helpless observer of her husband's success/failure, and lack of motivation - a shadow of either situation. She cannot help but be the only one who notices that her husband's soul "was master of the other man's," and she can only watch and ponder of life outside of her husband's.

Larence's literary device choices show how a woman long for the outside world - full of sights, experiences, opportunities, and most importantly, knowledge - that she cannot have, so long as her Brangwen husband is confined to his life she is married into; the same life the Brangwen man sees as just "satisfactory."

Blog #19: Final Portfolio Reflection | "Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia." ~ E.L. Doctorow

One assignment I am most proud of is a tie between two of my TBD group presentations on the Marxist Perspective and the Myth of Tiresias (Blog posts #5 & 6, respectfully), and my Summer Reading "Identity" Prompt essay. For the group presentations, not only did my group get A+'s on both of these projects, but for the Marxist perspective PowerPoint  we walked in with the most difficult perspective to analyze "Where Have You Been, Where Are You Going" by Joyce Carol Oates, and we pulled it off; with a witty tweet and a clear, step-by-step explanation of an extremely difficult story from an even more difficult (and seemingly impossible, at first) perspective, we earned our A+. The mythological PowerPoint was downright fun - the hilarity of the myth of Tiresias itself that we had to research to see how it enhanced the meaning of Carol Ann Duffy's dramatic monologue poem "Mrs. Tiresias" made it impossible not to enjoy (plus we had another amazing tweet to top it off) - but the most enjoyable part of the presentation had to be the grade. Overall, I think my group did an amazing job slaving over these two particular presentations to make them as good as they could be.

The other assignment I am personally most proud of was my Summer Reading Prompt essay, which became an 8/9 paper. But more than the grade, I feel that my writing that is exemplified in that paper was writing I was particularly proud of, as I felt like it was sophisticated, but I didn't sound too formulaic or bland, and that you could tell it was still me and my writing. The best part was I truly felt as though I was making sense; that small detail may seem petty, but for me I tend to lose myself in my writing, and completely forget/disregard the prompt at hand. I am too conditioned for freestyle writing, so I still struggle quite a bit with structured, prompt-based essays. So knowing I executed one well was a great feeling. 

My strengths in both (technically all 3) assignments were my thesis statements, but my biggest weakness also lied in them. I know my thesis statements are strong and always answer the prompt at hand, but they are always very wordy, as I am a very wordy writer. If my thesis statements were sharper and to the point, they would be much more effective in not only conveying what I am trying to explain, but help me overcome my difficulties in brainstorming the structure of my essay in the first place. Overall, I've learned how to work in a group and be patient in a group (as when we were working on the presentations, all of my group members, including myself, had different work schedules that we each needed to work around and delegate duties to), become less protective of my writing so I can let others skills and strengths shine through and let me improve for myself, and I've learned to start writing more "economic" theses. 

When it comes to the dynamic of the entire class, I am very hesitant to participate, for the fear of being wrong. Even though I consciously know that it is ok to be wrong in interpreting literature, and in fact it is perfectly normal and (socially) acceptable. But part of me puts a lot of pressure on myself to be right more often than I find myself being in that class, therefore when a question is presented to the entire class, my first instinct is to hold back, not "give it a go." 

However, when it comes to smaller group dynamics, I am a very active participant - I like discussion, I like building off of other peoples' ideas, and collaborating to create an amazing product that was the work of many people, not just one. For our group presentations back in September, my strengths were writing theses and conclusions, Amulya's strengths were making writing more economic and creating topic sentences to match the thesis, Rachel's strengths were pulling quotes of the given text to support the topic sentences, and Will's strengths were creativity and research abilities to qualify our presentation. But even though those were our individual strengths, we each reviewed each other's work and had lengthy discussions with each other before we changed any of each other's work, so that we were all on the same page and everyone in the group agreed with the final presentation. Besides actual group projects, I have always been available to read over theses of other people for various class papers (such as the Comparison/Contrast essay), and give my opinion(s), only when requested. I believe that in classes such as Literature & Composition, the positive feedback that grows from building off of other peoples' strengths and weaknesses is the best (and quite frankly the only) way to succeed in the class. 

By biggest goal is to be able to write an open-ended prompted essay with a score of 8 by the end of the 2nd Trimester (March 2014). I seem to do ok with structured prompted essays (ex. identifying literary devices and how they enhance the piece), but with open-ended prompts, I never seem to be able to decide on a direction for the essay, much less pick the correct direction the essay should be heading. Another goal would be to complete at least 2 practice essays prior to the AP exam in May 2014 - last year for Language & Composition I walked in completely blind with no preparation, and I relied a little bit too much on sheer luck to get me through the exam and receive a good score. 

Another goal I would like to accomplish would be to get a 90% or above on an AP Multiple Choice (practice) test we take in class (after test corrections), by the end of 2nd Trimester (March 2014). A minor (but still important and doable goal) would be to create AP Lit flashcards by the end of Winter Break (early January 2014). I want to accommodate information learned first trimester (literary periods, significant vocab to know, types of pieces, tone words, etc.), and build on material from second trimester, so for the multiple choice AP exam in May, I will have a study tool that is convenient and I will have easy access to. 

Hamlet | Blog Post #6: "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark." It's Madness.

Hamlet | Blog Post #3: To be, or not to be.

PART ONE

Uncertainty of Death -

"To be, or not to be? That is the question—

Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

And, by opposing, end them?" (3.1.57-61)

Negative Experiences of Life -

"For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,

Th' oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,

The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay,

The insolence of office, and the spurns

That patient merit of th' unworthy takes,

When he himself might his quietus make

With a bare bodkin?" (3.1.71-77)

Appeals -

Ethos:

"And enterprises of great pith and moment

With this regard their currents turn awry,

And lose the name of action - " (3.1.87-89)

Pathos:

"Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,

And thus the native hue of resolution

Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought..." (3.1.84-86)

Logos:

"Who would fardels bear,

To grunt and sweat under a weary life,

But that the dread of something after death,

The undiscovered country from whose bourn

No traveler returns, puzzles the will

And makes us rather bear those ills we have

Than fly to others that we know not of?" (3.1.77-83)

Figurative Language -

Paradox - Death is a gift that is dreaded

Tone - somber and reflective; the serious contemplation of suicide is sometimes too great

METAPHORS - Death is like sleep, Death is like an Undiscovered Country

Comparisons -

Life on earth: “to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles” (3.1.57-59)

“To grunt and sweat under a wear life” (3.1.77)

Afterlife: “But that the dread of something after death, / The undiscover’d country from whose bourn / No traveler returns” (3.1.78-79)

Death: “To die: to sleep; / No more; and by a sleep to say we end / The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks / That flesh is heir to” (3.1.60-63)

Humans: “Th’ oppressor wrong, the proud man’s contumely,” (3.1.71)

Thinking: "There’s the respect/That makes calamity of so long life." (3.1.69-70)

Oppositions -
"To be, or not to be? That is the question—" (3.1.57)

"Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

And, by opposing, end them?" (3.1.58-61) 

Philosophical Questions -

Is it better to keep living, or to die a noble death?

Is death a gift to the suffering, or is death the tragedy it is always represented as?

Conclusions -

Fear of the afterlife is enough stop one from committing suicide.

PART TWO

Kenneth Branagh: Very simply portrayed, just with some very dramatic background music (that builds up throughout the scene). The setting is in a very grand hallway, mirrors reflecting Hamlet's image everywhere, as he stares at himself from all directions, and goes through his philosophical siloloquy. The mirrors and the overall somber setting and mood of the scene emphasizes Hamlet's self-reflecting and loneliness (especially with the focus being primarily on his face).

Laurence Olivier:  Again with the very dramatic, orchestral music - but the music leads into Hamlet's famous speech. This scene was the most authentic, in my opinion, in terms of the Shakespearean setting and costuming. This scene in particular shows Hamlet as a whole.

Ethan Hawke: The moderness of this scene makes the speech much more lackluster. Music was for comedic purposes, rather than building up the tension of Hamlet's speech. Hamlet is stuck in a video store with tough decisions to make, paralleling the words of his siloloquy. Camera focus is primarily on Hamlet's face, like the first scene.

Hamlet | Blog Post #2: "Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something."

Scaling the Cliffs of Insanity, Battling Rodents of Unusual Size, Facing torture in the Pit of Despair - True love has never been a snap.

Inigo Montoya, a clumsy yet master Spanish fancer, has spent his entire life seeking to avenge his father, killed by a ruthless and elusive six-fingered man. Although he is not a leading man throughout the film, his drive in life exhibits one of the most prominent and impactful themes of the movie: revenge.

Inigo Montoya isn't the only being seeking revenge, however.

Hamlet has been acting mad lately - and I do not understand why. "...I was sewing in my closet/Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced/.../and with a look so piteous in purport as if he had been loosed out of hell/to speak of horror" (2.1.77, 82-83). I felt my heart drop to the pit of my stomach, as I stand there, watching him, not knowing what do or where to go. "He took me by the wrist and held me hard./.../Long stayed he so" (2.1.87, 91). I was "so affrighted" (2.1.75)! Then "he lets me go/And, with his head over his shoulder turned/He seemed to find his way without his eyes/For out o' doors he went without their helps/And to the last bended their light on me" (2.1.96-100). I ran to my father, purging everything that had just occured. My father suggests that Hamlet is "Mad for [my] love" (2.1.85), but I do not know - I am frightened he might be. "I did repel his letters and denied/His access to me" (2.1.109-110), as my father and brother requested.

Why has Hamlet gone mad? Is he really this upset about us that he would to such lengths as becoming a pale, avengeful ghost of a man? Or is there more - perhaps like Inigo Montoya?

Inigo Montoya has rehearsed his line of revenge for his entire life - "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." Although a bit humorous and even a bit crass, his valiant determination avenges his father, finally. But I am frightened as to what Hamlet will do me, or worse - what my father will do to Hamlet. My father said "I am sorry that with better heed and judgment/I had not quoted him.../.../...go we to the king" (2.1.12-13, 117). What will the king do?

I am not even certain anymore if revenge for revenge is what we should be seeking. As my father simply says "This must be known, which, being kept close, might/move/More grief to hide than hate to utter love" (2.1.118-120), I dwell upon the words of Inigo Montoya, after so many years finally avenging his father - "Is very strange. I have been in the revenge business so long that, now that it's over, I do not know what to do with the rest of my life."

What should I have done? What shall I do now?



Hamlet | Blog Post #1: Hopeless in Love, Hopeful for Love

My name is Ophelia, and I am an honorable woman. But I may not seem that way to you, but please... I am confused - and I seek your help.

My dear brother, Laertes, and even my father, Polonius, have forbidden me from pursuing my love, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Laertes told me Hamlet's love is "A violet in the youth of primy nature/Forward, not not permanent, sweet, not lasting" (1.3.7-8); but that cannot be true. I suppose "He may not, as unvalued persons do/Carve for himself, for on his choice depends/The safety and health of this whole state" (1.3.19-21), and I realize it is petty to constantly fixate on him and yearn for us to be one, despite "His greatness weighed" and that "he himself is subject to his birth" (1.3.17-19), but I myself am a subject to my daughterly duties. I want to oblige to my family, as a daughter should - but as my brother continually looks down upon me, and reminds me that I am young, and "youth to itself rebels, though none else near" (1.3.44), I want to break free even further. I asked Laertes to "not, as some ungracious pastors do/Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven/Whiles, like a puffed and reckless libertine/Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads/And recks not his own rede" (1.3.47-51). But assured me, and said "O, fear me not" (1.3.51).

Must I trust my brother's words? Please, I seek your advice - what path must I take? To honor the wishes of the family, or to honor the wishes of the heart?

Blog #12: I am Ophelia

I have chosen to write as Ophelia. I wanted to write as one of the only two female characters in the play, because I believe that detail foreshadows complexities in the play as it unfolds. From what has been read of the play up until now, Ophelia seems very naive, and her hopeless romantic persona juxtaposed with the mysterious and conniving personas of the other characters (who seem to know more than what she does) creates dramatic irony, where Ophelia remains "one-dimensional" among the main characters. According to the Shakespeare online resource, Ophelia will also serve as a juxtaposition between Hamlet's misogynistic and juvenile perspective of women, such as herself, with Ophelia's true heart, as she is actually one of the most pure and innocent of all the characters in Shakespeare's Hamlet (even though she is a mistress). Blogging as Ophelia will allow me to make Ophelia more than just one-dimensional, diving into her head to see exactly how she plays a pivotal role in the play, despite being an underestimated supporting character in the play.

Blog #10 & 11: Six Degrees of Separation

Blog #9: "The Sense of an Ending" - Creative Project Assignment + Explanation

Blog #8: "Angela's Ashes" Comparison/Contrast Essay

Blog #7: Jack and "The Beanstalk" - TBD.

Blog #6: Mr. and Mrs. Tiresias - TBD.

Blog #5: The Marxist Perspective - TBD.

Blog #4A & 4: We're TBD. So is Porphyria's Lover.

Blog #3: "Fiction is the truth inside the lie." ~ Stephen King

You nor I would normally turn to myths, legends, fairy tales and folklore to embody your literary archetype in a group project setting. But as I divulged deeper into finding what I represent in a group, the more I see the ancient stories that have shaped cultures for hundreds, or even thousands of years, come into my life.

Within in a group setting, I sometimes see myself as the Harmonizer, adding calm back into the chaos, neutralizing a situation that was once going to shambles. Because sometimes, it happens. The group falls of out "harmony" - disagreements, misunderstandings, or even the pure lack of chemistry between group members to work efficiently, can cause about as much hectic disorder as trying to recover your sister's head from a gang of troll girls, like in the old tale from Norway, "Mop Top." I believe it to be very valuable to have a harmonizer - not just because I claim I am one (I'm not that conceited), but because if the whole group isn't in this "harmony" where it will flourish, make sure at least one person is.

But perhaps one of the, if not THE most important aspect of group dynamics is to be able to give and to take. To offer ones' ideas or thoughts, like a gift, in exchange for something even better; the group works in a way the makes each person better. All you need to do is be a Wali Dad - offer kindness selflessly, and you will be reciprocated with kindness yourself. Never asking anything in return, but hoping through a naive faith in humanity, you make someone a better person, a form of communicating in a kind, not sour, manner. I like to think that I am a Coordinator in a group - opening up the communication channels in a group, so every individual understands each others' ideas and opinions, to then find what works best by encouraging (or tastefully discouraging) each other to create the best product. No one man should be the best or the worst in the group - however, if you find this is happening, perhaps "The Gifts of Wali Dad," a beautiful Indian/Pakistani folktale, could shed some light through the block you and your team members have formed. Communication, in the kindest of ways, is the answer to many of your group's problems.

Blog #2: "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug." - Mark Twain

Blog Emphasis has shifted to "Pray," momentarily.

So today we took a pretest in class today, to introduce us to what the AP multiple choice test for literature and composition would look like. And I've drawn quite a few conclusions from that rather bearably unpleasant experience.

I find it so ironic that people stress out about English - English is supposed to be more free-spirited, therefore you would think (or at least I would think) it would be less stressful. And it's humorous when I see analytically-minded people over-analyze English classes. Yes, today's task required analyses of different types of literature, so you would think that particular denomination of people would excel. But when you try to dissect a passage, rather than comprehend it and truly feel what the passage is trying to evoke first, you're just mixing oil and water - have fun making that work. Since I am a more creatively-minded person rather than analytically-minded, English comes more naturally to me than others - I won't lie. Things like literary analysis, composition, rhetoric, and writing in general are actually very enjoyable to me, so critical reading passages don't make me nervous. English isn't necessarily difficult, but I'll admit, it definitely takes a certain mindset. Those would be my strengths - not being intimidated by creative freedom. I am actually good at the actual analyses of texts, such as identifying purpose and symbolism, as well as mechanics, such as identifying figurative language.

My weaknesses would definitely be the different types of texts. I'll be able to tell you what is going on in a passage, but I cannot for the life of me tell you what type of passage it is. Shakespearean sonnet vs. 3 other types of sonnets vs. a lyric vs. a ballad...that is one big blur. I couldn't even make an educated guess towards a potential answer, to be quite honest. I've also realized that I am an incredibly slow reader - which is problematic for a timed test, and also problematic since I normally suffer from test anxiety on an actual test-taking basis. I finished with a few minutes to spare today, but I still got quite a few questions wrong. I find myself rereading entire paragraphs of a passage because I read it the first time, and realize halfway-through that I wasn't paying attention at all to the passage - just breezing over words on a page. It becomes highly inefficient for me - if I could comprehend the passage the first time around, my time would be managed much more efficiently, and I would probably get fewer questions wrong, and be more confident than anxious of my answers themselves. 

My goals are to know how to identify between at least 4 different types of sonnets by mid-September. From there, I'd like to identify the difference between a lyric and ballad by the end of September. Throughout the month of October, I want to learn the types of passages that I presently do not know (which I would state some examples here, but as I said, I don't know what they are). I'd like to learn 5 new types of passages by the end of October. 

As for reading, I'd like to be able to do 10 questions every 10 minutes (plus reading the passages) with an 85% accuracy rate, by the end of September. By the end of October, I'd like to be able to do the same thing, but average 90% accuracy. By the time the trimester ends, I'd like to complete the entire test, no matter how many questions, with between 5-10 minutes to spare, to look over questions I may have been unsure of, so I can keep at least a 90% on the actual multiple choice test.

Blog #1: "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you." ~ Maya Angelou

Not to get too boring, but what I have done with this blog is pretty planned out. The purpose of my blog is to write and post serious things, but with a friendly feel. This sounds contradicting, but that's a running trend in my life: I am a laid-back perfectionist. Personable, but professional. Introverted, but social. Polite, but sarcastic. Compassionate, but blunt. Cultured, but naive. Passionate, but easily distracted. Intelligent, but not smart. Purebred Indian, Westernized heart. 

So yes, the content of this blog will be more serious, but with a colloquial edge. I say "serious" lightly, however - because if you actually knew me, you'd experience quite the opposite in everyday situations. But my speaking style and my writing style are worlds apart. I like to think that I am a very approachable person, so that is what I plan to convey - not with the content, but with the design, font style, and font color. The blue waves in the background give a sense of calm and serenity. My font style I chose was Arial, to be formal, but informal (catch the trend again?). My regular font color for my blogs is orange, to give a sense of warmth and homeyness, but a bit of energy (trend sighting #2). Finally, my title and subtitle font colors are white and a watermelon-red color - white is to give a sense of purity and spaciousness, and the pinkish-red is to give a small, girly flare to my blog, as well as having a bold, but calming effect (and there's the trend one more time). 

I will also title each blog post with a quote - to not only foreshadow the post the follows, but as a "little something" that can perhaps inspire you, as it has inspired me. 

And so the journey begins...