My Walk

Its funny, i walk through my neighborhood all the time so i can go to the store or get something to eat, but i never realized how beautiful it is. I'm always walking with someone or my music blasting through my ears so I've never noticed how credible the world around me really is. The warmth of the sun, the slight breeze and the faint yet crisp scent of flowers underneath my nose. It was all so beautiful and relaxing. It gave me time to think. Even though of what i was thinking was stressful the atmosphere kept me from feelings that way. I had a lot of fun on my walk and i think more people should take them. Its clears the mind and opens your mind to a wider perspective.

Romanticism

http://www.uh.edu/engines/romanticism/poets.html
 Romanticism Poets

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5670
Romanticism Definitions

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/rom.html

A dream within a dream

The first thing i thought after reading this was "Is he describing waking up from a good dream.?" because I know I've had some nights when my dreams are off the charts and then my alarm wakes me up when i can tell its getting to the best part and while I'm waking up I'm grasping onto the dream wishing i could stay asleep for just a few more minutes. But then i reread it and it sounded like he was reminiscing on something special.  Maybe even a precious memory of his and hes trying to hold onto it but he cant so he calls it a "dream within a dream" because hes dreaming of that memory but the memory was so real that it felt like he was dreaming. Its difficult to explain but its got me thinking. I cant wait to discuss what its really about in class tomorrow.

Vocab #6

Adroit: clever or skillful in using the hands or mind
            * My dad is very adroit, so he was able to add on to our house.

Amicable: Having a spirit of friendliness

*People find my little sister very amicable
 averse: Having a strong dislike or opposition to something
            *A lot of people have an averse opinion towards religion

Belligerent: hostile and aggressive
            * Many people become very belligerent when they’re drunk

 Benevolent: Well meaning and kindly
            * My moms advice is always benevolent.

 Cursory: Hasty and therefore not thorough or detailed
            * Sometimes my work appears to be cursory when I’m in a rush

 Duplicity: deceitfulness         
                                                          * Many criminals go to jail for their duplicity          

 Extol: praise enthusiastically
            * People at my church begin to extol when the music starts.

 Feasible:  Conveniently
            * Groceries are feasible because I live by a grocery store

 Grimace: twisted expression on a person’s face
            * I grimaced as I watched the gory movie

 Holocaust: mass slaughter or destruction
            * The holocaust was a very tragic event in history

 Impervious: not allowing fluid to pass through

            *My water bottle is impervious so I can carry my water wherever I go.

Impetus: a moving force; impulse or stimulus
            *When someone’s hair is messed up I get an impetus to fix it.

 Jeopardy: danger of loss, harm, or failure
            *After losing a bet, his life savings was in jeopardy

 Meticulous: showing great attention to detail.
            *People with OCD tend to be meticulous with the way they do things.

 Nostalgia: a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past
            * She had a nostalgia to see her grandma one more time

 Quintessence: the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class
            *Royalty is known to be a quintessence.

 Retrogress: go back to an earlier state typically a worse one.
            *When she stopped using her medication her it caused her to retrogress back into depression.

 Scrutinize: examine or inspect closely and thoroughly
            * The manager has to scrutinize job applications

 Tepid: lukewarm

            *She prefers her coffee at a tepid temperature

YGB Essay

I got a C + !! for being absent i would say that's pretty good! :)
While discussing my essay with Dr. Preston i realized some keys to doing better on my next essay.

• Fully incorporate the prompt throughout the essay and cover everything it asks
• Don't ask so many questions!(My essay had its share of rhetorical questions)
• Organize my thoughts by creating an outline.

American Novel

Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
Honestly,  i know nothing about American Literature, but when i Google'd  for some a lot of people suggested this book, i know Sparknotes isn't the best way to look into a book but when i went on the website it had a 10 minute video description of the book. Though there were many scenes that i can see being inappropriate and difficult for some of the immature classmates to read, it actually sounded very interesting. I think the book would be interesting to read regardless of the mature content.

Vocab list #5

allude: suggest, call to attention indirectly, a hint.
ex:  some authors like to allude the themes throughout the stories
 clairvoyant: Ability to read minds
ex: Miss Cleo was known to be a clairvoyant psycic
 conclusive  decisive, final decision
ex: My moms answers to my questions are always very conclusive.
 disreputable: Poor reputation
ex: Hitler is known to be a very disreputable man in history
 endemic: Native to an environment
ex: The pilgrims were endemic when they came to America
 exemplary: serving as a warning
ex: clouds are a exemplary that it is about to rain
 fathom: to understand after much thought
ex: Most of the class began to fathom Young Goodman Brown after reflecting on it.
 guile: trick
ex: She was beguiled into cleaning her room
 integrity: moral principles
ex: My father is a man of integrity
 itinerary: a planned route or journey
ex: She followed the itinerary her father built for her trip to China.
 misconstrue: misinterpretation 
ex: Her explanation was misconstrued by the class.
 obnoxious: Abrasive, rude or loud
ex: My little sister is very obnoxious
 placate: Calm down
ex: We were only able to placate the child for a few minutes after we told him the bad news
 placid: calm and peaceful
ex: She is always very placid in high maintenance situations.
 plagiarism:  To take someone else's work and pass it as your own
ex: My friend thought it would be a good idea to plagiarize her report but the teacher caught her. 
potent: powerful
ex: Some cheese's have very potent smells
 pretext: a reason given for an action that is not the truth or and excuse
ex: The child decided to use a pretext to get out of trouble but was grounded in the end
 protrude: to stick out or extend
ex: The dolphins fin protruded past the surface
 stark: bare or obvious
ex: The teacher was stark mad when she caught the students cheating
 superficial: shallow surfaced
ex: A lot of teenagers these days are superficial.

The Laughing Heart

#1. The poem is called "The Laughing Heart" by Charles Bukowski
#2. This poem is ironic because the poem is about living life to the fullest but its a commercial about the clothing brand levis
#3. The poem doesn't really reflect the authors reputation but maybe his life as an adult. "There is light somewhere. It may not be much light but it beats the darkness", reading this line was kind of like him stating "My past wasn't an easy one but i chose to go forth with my life". His reputation became a good one because he decided to go forth in life so in a way it does reflect his reputation in a deeper way.
#4. I got the information on the poet by typing in the commercial name in the Google search engine. When i typed it in it showed the name of the poet and the poem. I then typed in Charles Bukowskis name and skimmed through a few different articles about him so i had enough information to answer the questions.

Vocabulary #4

melancholy: long lasting sadness or depression.
ex: Young Goodman Brown died of melancholy
exemplary: Serving as a model or warning
ex: Faiths dream appeared to be exemplary
peculiar: Uncommon or strange
ex: Young Goodman Brown found it peculiar to see Goodie Cloyse in the woods.
dread: to fear greatly
ex: Young Goodman Brown was filled with dread when he saw faith at the ceremony.
bough: a branch of a tree
ex: The old mans staff looked as if it was made from a bough
pious: Deeply religious, loyalty
ex: Goodman Brown was a pious man
communion: sharing thought or emotions
ex:  Most churches have communion to express their feelings for Christ.
auditor: Someone who checks or observes something
ex:: My cousin is a tax auditor.
multitude: a great number
ex: There were a multitude of people in the woods.
eloquence: Fluent or persuasive speaking or writing
ex: Hawthorne wrote with great eloquence when Goodman Brown entered the woods
despair : loss of hope or faith
ex: Goodman Brown was in despair when he saw Faith at the witch trials
hoary: Grayish white
ex: Faith's skin was very hoary at the witch trials

Hack to school night

1. What is the purpose of this class?
The purpose of this class is to help up make a difference by gaining different forms of knowledge that will later benefit our futures.

2.Describe something interesting you learned, read/or written in class.
Something interesting i learned in class is that we have the right to our own opinions as long as our opinions have a coherent background.

3. What is the easiest/hardest work you have done so far?
The easiest thing I've done so far is get to class, the hardest has to be all the work. I'm used to English classes with homework once a week, not daily assignments and weekend reading.

4. What is a Socratic seminar? What is a blog? What is 2.0 and how are you using it?
A Socratic seminar is a group discussion about a specific topic, a blog is an online site used to post work, notes, and even feelings. This blog is used to pots our assignments and communicate with out classmates. I have no idea what a 2.0 is :)

Aha!:)

YGB: Aha!!, i got nothing. . . i didnt read it and go "Oh snap! Theres a whole new meaning to this story". The only "Aha" moment i had was that i made it through the story and it actually made sense. The symbols were revealed and the meaning of the story became a little more clear. Though i had a different perspective on the theme, Matthew told me its about the struggle between good and evil, so that opened a new way to interpret the story for me.

MSS: AHA!! I now understood what DP(Dr. Preston) was discussing in class, though i was negligent when it came to reading the articles i brought myself to read it a few minutes ago. It wasnt really an "aha!" moment it was more of a "I just learned something" moment. When MSS stated how our words are symbols it kind of blew my mind. Because everything we say really is a symbol. MSS used the example of parents, the word "mom" is the interpretation and connection to a female parental figure making it a symbol. Which was pretty cool to me.

Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown

Honestly, i dont think this will be the most important thing i ever learn, but i do think it was a valuable lesson. Im not sure what the exact moral of the story is but according to Dr. Preston its a story about acquiring knowledge. I think people should always be open to learn, but i think there's a limit for everything. "Curiosity killed the cat", this quote is saying there are just something people shouldn't know. I personally don't think Goodman Brown should have gone in the forest because in the knowledge he gained it brought him nothing but depression and loathing. So yes and no, it was an important lesson, but i also think this story was a warning. After all, its called the "unknown" for a reason, dontcha think?

Vocabulary # 3

1. Encomium- A formal expression of high praise;eulogy.
2. Coherent- Logically connected; consistent.
3. Belabor- To explain,worry about, or work out repeatedly or more than necessary.
4. Eschew- To abstain or keep away from; shun; avoid.
5. Acquisitive- Tending or seeking to acquire and own, often greedily.
6. Emulate- To try to equal or excel.
7. Arrogate-To attribute or assign to another.
8. Banal- Devoid of freshness or originality.
9. Excoriation- To strip the skin of a human or an animal.
10. Congeal- To curdle; coagulate, as a fluid.
11. Carping- Characterized by fussy petulant faultfinding.
12. Substantiate- To establish by proof or oe competent evidence.
13. Temporize- To treat or parley so as to gain time.
14. Largesse- Generous bestowal of gifts.
15. Tenable- Capable of being held, maintained, or defended.
16. insatiable-Incapable of being satisfied or pleased.
17. Reconnaissance- The act of reconnoitering.
18. Germane- Obsolete. Closely related.
19. Ramify- To divide or spread out into branches.
20. Intransigent- Refusing to agree or compromise

Young Goodman Brown Symbols

There were many different symbols in the story, here are some that caught my attention

• Faiths Ribbons: Danny stated how her ribbons represented innocence and the irony in the ribbons when she was still wearing them even though she had lost her innocence at the witch trials
• The Staff: As soon as they mentioned a serpent it immediately reminded my of the devil in the garden of Eden. The staff was Goodman Browns temptation, just like the apple was temptation for Eve in the garden.
• The Forest: I had many different interpretations for the forest. Micheala stated how it reminded her of Hell but to me the forest is like the apple tree in the garden of Eden. It pertained the knowledge of reality, just as the apple tree did.
• The Old Man: Satan, hands down. He was sly, convincing and persuasive. Because of this it helped him trick Goodman Brown into attending the ceremony.

*Late* Online Security Notes

• Online security is very important when your constantly on the internet, Without it you can lose a lot of data and important information.
• It is very important to be secured when your on the internet because there are many different scams
• Scams sometimes look like advertisement, even scroll bars
• Do not click on any shortened URL's, they will infect your computer 
• Online security protects your computer and yourself if you have any important data stored on your PC