Applied Modernism

So what is modernism anyway?
From what I've gathered on Modernism, it can be a very difficult word to define because it can be seen and understood in many different shapes and forms. Modernism is a style or movement of the arts that aims to break away from traditional and classical forms of life. I find it funny how Modernism was considered to be low quality compared to Romanticism when they both tie together in the sense that they try to break away from tradition. . .

Anyways, every story we have read in Dr. Preston's class has been considered to be a form of Modernism. For example;

Fahrenheit 451:
Genre: Modernism
How is this Modernism you might ask?
Well if you've read the book it practically screams why it's important to break away from certain rules and traditions. The entire story the main character is going against the law and the government because society was destroying peoples thought processes. Only but a few throughout the story actually had their own opinions and most of those opinions were only meant to save their own asses.  This book had not only unintentionally predicted today's brainwashed society but also pointed out what the world will become of if people don't break away from some of the insane traditions some expect us to follow.

Another example you ask? I'll name three more for you.

Theme for English B
Genre: Modernism
This poem's modernist nature is rather subtle in my opinion. At the time Langston Hughes wrote this poem some of the "traditions" of his time were that blacks were not to be treated equal as the white man was. This poem was about racism and how it should cease to exist and never should have existed. He wrote about how we are all human so we should be treated equally. Do you recall my definition of modernism earlier? "to break away from traditional and classical form of life. ." Langston Hughes wanted to be heard regardless of the color of his skin, he wanted people to shake away the residue of racism so they could begin to build a wall of equality. Racism was a "traditional" form of life when this poem was written, so when he were to write against it? That is what made it modernism

Richard Cory
Genre: Modernism
Have you ever heard of the phrase "money can't buy happiness.?" Though the saying is very straight forward and in most cases it's true many people fail to see the big picture of it all. I feel as if this was a modernist poem in the sense that many people DO believe that money can buy them happiness. I mean, who wouldn't be happy if they could pay all their bills and still have a little somethin' somethin' to upgrade their car or plasma screen? But does that material thing give you real happiness? If a relative passes or your significant other leaves you, does that item still bring you happiness.? Not a damn chance.
But then again, one might say;

"Whenever Richard Cory went down town, we people on the pavement looked at him. He was a gentleman from sole to crown, Clean favored and imperially slim." I mean, he's rich and he appears to be happy right? "In fine we thought he was everything, To make us wish that we were in his place." And look.! His money even brought him admirers and friends! Why money can obviously get you more than material items right? RIGHT!?

Simmer down, simmer down now. If you take no less than three seconds to skim the last line . . "And Richard Cory, oine calm summer night, Went home and put a bullet through his head."

Didn't expect that did you? One might wonder HOW and WHY someone with so much wealth and power could be so depressed to the point of suicide. As i stated earlier money does not bring you happiness. You could ask Oprah Winfrey herself if having a little extra change made her life more joyful. And just like any other human being with money would say, her answer would be a big N to the O, NO. In fact i know some of the most less fortunate people around and even they seem to live a life for of more joy and happiness than mine. Apologies for the rambling, the main point i tried to get across was that money never has and never will bring you happiness. I consider this modernism in the sense that the world idolizes money. All these commercials and upgrades for technology, who wouldn't want more money? Richard Cory was a poem that reminds us that you can have all the money in the world but still never have enough to buy your true happiness.

And last but very far from the least;
The Seven Years. (You can watch the story here )
Genre: Modernism
I'm going to sum this eight page story up in less than eight sentences so those who have not read the story (though i recommend you read most of the things i post about), will understand where i'm coming from. Basically this is a story about a shoemaker(Feld), a college student (Max), his assistant (Sobel) and his daughter (Miriam). Feld's daughter Miriam is a very hardworking and bright young lady, though regardless of her intelligence she would rather be independent than go off to college. This troubles Feld so he set's his eyes on one of his customers, a college student named Max. He hopes that Max will rub off on his daughter and convince her to go to college and provide her a secure future. He sets up an outing for the two and this upsets Sobel and leaves work and does not return. Miriam and Max go on two dates before Miriam tells her dad she no longer wishes to see Max because of his materialist nature. Feld goes looking for Sobel after failing to find a replacement assistant, when he goes after Sobel he finds out that he left because Sobel is deeply in love with Miriam. After becoming rather angry at Sobels feelings, Feld decides Sobel may marry Miriam when she turns 21. Sobel returns to work the next day.

I had a few mixed feelings about this pieces but none the less it has quite a few messages within it. I'm not entirely sure what the modernist nature in this was but i think because of the fact that when this story was written, women were not considered to have the ability of independence. The shoemakers daughter Miriam is a very unique character considering the time the story was written. Not only was she offered a college education but she also had the ability to do things on her own. In a sense Miriam was the modernist of the story, she didn't care to be a housewife but a independent worker with a business of her own. For her time that was considered to be rather unusual. She didn't care about the rules (breaking free of traditional or classical forms of life ) as long as she did what she wanted to do.



And that Ladies and Gents, is how i applied Modernism.

Modern Writing Today

As i stated in my journal earlier, to me modern defines as "now". As in anything happening right now  is considered modern in my point of view. What was modern 5 years ago and what's modern now are completely different when you take the time to think about it. Five years ago it was considered abnormal for children to own apple products and cellphones. Now, its considered normal and "modern" for one to own an expensive phone along with their children. Modern technology and literature changes like fashion, what was modern yesterday might be old fashion compared to whats modern today. It changes and progresses quickly without notice. The "modern me" definitely changes on a regular,  i learn new things about myself and create a new image physically and mentally. Those things affect the way i write. As i grow and progress in life i modernize myself more, causing my writing style to mature and have a deeper meaning. Modernizing is equivalent to an upgrade, you need it to keep up with today's society.

My Modernist

Picking someone from history to research isn't really my thing, so the first thing i did was Google the small handful listed. I figured that i'd pick based on if anything caught my eye in the first sentence that i had read from their biographies. At first i clicked the few that had a link attached  then as i began to Google the others, one name in particular, caught my eye.

Langston Hughes

I thought to myself, "Wasn't he the one who wrote that swim deep poem on what it was like to attend school as an African American student?" 

I was immediately captivated. Though my plans to journey my history this month of February came to an abrupt halt when i nearly began searching, i love embracing my culture and ancestors. African American poets and writers have always captivated me in ways so deep i can hardly comprehend. Something about the fact of how our history is about how we came from the lowest of the seas and managed to swim to the top and build our own legacy. Something about their struggle . Their pain and confusion. The emotion, captivates me. It draws me in so deep i feel the need to grab hold to something of reality so i can stay afloat. That being said i look forward to searching deeper, unleashing the emotions behind his work that built the meaning in his legacy to get a whole different perspective of understanding about LIFE. . . it captivates me. I'm very much looking forward to this, and i hope to get back to you all very soon. So please...stay tuned. .

The Seven Years

I thought this story was very interesting. It pointed out something a lot of teenagers and people struggle with these days. They keep searching for a love that they can't get when their true love was right in front of them the entire time. I didnt relate to any of the characters though i did feel bad for the assistant because i had a feeling he had an interest in the shoemakers daughter from the beginning  of the story so when the shoemaker went off on him i felt for him in a small way. All in all this was a nice story. Though i still find myself wondering what went down with max and Miriam. .

Spring Vocab 5

brouhaha: A noisy and overexcited critical response, chaotic  

cloy: Disgust in overly sweet people (like how squidward hates spongebob) 

demeanor: Outward behavior or bearing 

deference: Humble submission and respect. 

enigmatic:  Difficult to interpret or understand 

definitive: serving to provide a final solution or to end a situation; serving to define or specify precisely bumptious: Arrogant  

choleric: bad-tempered 

bulwark:  solid wall-like structure raised for defense  

curtail: To cut short or reduce adamant: extremely hard substance 

profligate: freely , excessively  

mawkish: Overly emotional  thwart: 

Prevent (someone) from accomplishing something 

onus: Used to refer to something that is one's duty or responsibility 

requisite: Made necessary by particular circumstances or regulations. 

mollify:Appease the anger or anxiety of (someone). 

sartorial: Of or relating to tailoring, clothes, or style of dress 

presentiment: An intuitive feeling about the future 

impromptu: Prompted by the occasion rather than being planned in advance

 forbearance:  refraining from the enforcement of something 

remit: Cancel or refrain from exacting or inflicting

BOB I

Here is the ranking for period one in Dr.Preston's AmLit class

1.Teanna Silvera:  57 posts; work is thoroughly done
2. Chance Miranda: 49 posts, not only did I enjoy the blogs set up but the work posted is very well done3.Miya Velazquez : 49 posts; plain design but good work

4.Danny George:  47 posts, capturing blog setup and thoroughly done work
5.Syerra Fox:  46 posts, beautiful  blog setup and good work posted
6.Vanessa Vargas: 45 posts; eye catching design and nice work
7.Alyssa Barajas: 41 posts, colorful blog with great work
8.Michalia Bohard: 39 posts, nice blog but some could be confused why work isn’t in front of them when they click on the blogs link
9.Roman Davis: 38 posts, nice blog and excellent work
10. Cameron Reese: 32 posts; nice work and interesting blog set up
11.Karla Paredes:  31 posts, beautiful blog and nice work
12.Alicia Ramierz: 30 posts, beautiful blog and consistent work for the most part
13.Matt Reynolds:  28 posts but very nice work
14.Nick Paulus:  28 posts; great content but not too much is associated with the course
15.Diego Tejada-More: 22 posts; nice design but litter description with work
16.Jarrett Anzalone:  22 posts, I like the background of the blog but the work could use a little more information.
17. Shelby Hennick:  about 21 posts, beautiful blog setup
18.Carlos Serranos: 21 posts; plain blog but good content
19.Patricia Tuttle: 16 posts; plain design but very nice work
20. Derek Gonzalez:  16 posts, plain blog but some of the work is there
21.Jacob Bigelow: 15 posts, nice blog. Background and work are very nice
22. Jessica Wilkins :  12 things posted; beautiful design
23.Frank Limon: Only has 12 posts but his blog makes many people smile regardless of the lack of content
24.Jonah Maher:  11 posts, new student and is caught up very well for his first semester

25. Jose Farias:  10 posts?  Im not entirely sure how much was posted but the work posted is good

26.Taylor Martinez:  10 posts, not much work besides the vocab and nothing particularly interesting about it.

27. Joseph Beas:  10 posts, not very much work

28. Amanda Cagle:  7 posts, new student. Appears to post good work

29. Kyler Stickler:  7 posts, calming background but not much work is posted

30.Melissa Hernandez:  7 posts, gorgeous blog but lacks much of the course work

31. Miguel Moreno:  I think 6 posts? This blog was nice but difficult for me to navigate compared to the other blogs

32. Shelbi Nunes:  6 posts, eye catching background but not much work

33. Cory Grant:  5 posts, nice blog but not much work

34. Trevor Henson:  1 post, that’s about it. . .

  

          Not Ranked 

Joshua Salcido: 0 posts. . . no..comment..

Joe Ortiz:  0 posts…plain background..no work..hmm..

Rosario Mena Ortiz: 0 posts?  I’m done, no more comments on blogs with 

nothing posted.

I am here. .

Do you ever feel as if the only person that notices your existence is you? Like life is lost and and it's taken you with it? Wanting to run up to someone, waving and jumping around screaming "HERE I AM! I'M RIGHT HERE!"? Those feelings your body tries so hard to solve but deep down you feel like that puzzle is only but a sweet nothing of your wildest dreams and fantasies. .

Most people do feel lost and hopeless and many more will find themselves giving up on themselves. This course has helped me a lot. I haven't figured out much but i'm slowly able to piece together who i am and who i want to be. I feel as if I've done pretty well in the first grading period of this semester so far, but i also know i can do so much better. I know that mentally i am capable of a lot of things but i just need to be able to carry it out physically. Physically the educational "fire" i had when i started this course is beginning to get run down by just life in general so i hope i can manage to rekindle it while I'm still ahead of the game. My SMART goal. . . hasn't really made much progress. As much as i know i want to go to college what i plan on achieving by going there is still a blur. My SMART goal was to help people get a better understanding of scholarships while i taught myself more about them but i don't even know what i want to do with myself after i graduate high school besides moving out and trying to create a better future for myself. There are so many things to do in this world and so many things people can make money off of, but when it comes to myself i feel lost and clueless. I guess it's going to be hard to figure out my future until I've figured out who i am today. Sometimes i even feel as if people know me better than i know myself. Before my SMART goal can be achieved i have to find myself so i can help others do the same.

So. . where are you?

Fahrenheit Facebook?

Add our characters on Facebook to see the book through their eyes.!

Montag: http://www.facebook.com/guy.montag.7927

Mildred: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005241609938

Beatty: http://www.facebook.com/beatty.captain.56

Clarisse: http://www.facebook.com/clarisse.mcclellan.509

Essay Postgame Analysis

I personally don't think my essay was worthy enough for the grade. Before i walked into class i felt very confident on writing the essay and when i read the prompt i got an extreme writers block. I thought i had something to go off of but in the end i not only ran out of time but it was all a bunch of pointless gibbering.  I think the best way for me to improve for the next essay assignment is to practice staying on the main points and following my essay outline. I also think it would be smart for me to start thinking
"Whats the theme of this book?"
"How does this relate to me?"
"Are there any hidden meanings within the text?"
"Will ____ be an important part of the story later on?"
And etc. I feel like because i read the book last year, reading the book this year was literally just reading. I didn't and haven't been putting my absolute best foot forward lately with my work and i need to step up my game hard core. I personally don't know how to grade my paper but i give in an A for effort! And i think that counts for something! (:

Parlor Poetry

So why did Bradbury chose Dover Beach of all poems for Montag to recite to the women in the book?

I recall discussing this question in class a few days ago, i believe it was Matt Reynolds who stated that this poem was an emotional poem but it was recited in an emotionless world. The poem is about love and happiness and these characters in the book are constrained by rules and media. The emotions expressed in this poem were so powerful and deep that it depressed Mildred's friend who had a deep melancholy they've been trying to kill off for so many years.

I wouldn't consider myself a deep poetry person so i tried to find a poem in the course that i would chose if i was in Montags place. The one that i found actually rather relevant turned out to be an essay instead of a poem but i figured poetry and essays are both forms of literature so they are similar enough for me to use the essay instead of a poem. I chose Emerson's essay on Self Reliance. Now i don't remember every nook and cranny of this essay but the one memory that drew me to the conclusion that this was the best candidate was the fact that it discussed how many of us are easy blinded by our generation. Many of us spend so much time on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,Tumblr and our cellphones that we rarely go outside and build strong social life's, Hell I've been one of them. Technology is an addiction and just like any other addiction, we lose ourselves in it. I know i can't stand those teachers who get so uptight about cellphones claiming they're willing to take my phone away if i'm caught texting because apparently "it takes away my ability to think". I do believe that cellphones are distracting but telling a student not to use their phone in class is like a parent telling their rebellious teenage daughter not to go to the biggest party of the school year. But what's the real reason we can't turn away from technology even just for a day? Because we are addicted to the lifestyle we live, and that's exactly what happened to Mildred and her friends. Seashells, parlor walls and cars we're who they were, they spent so much time using them that it became apart of them. What i like about Emerson's poem is how he claims that if we would just take the time to break away from the rules and the life's we live then we could easily find out who we really are. Mildred and her friends lost who they were, if they would have been willing to turn off "the family", take out the seashells, stop speeding and start cruisin' downthe street and pick up a book then i think they would behave like "normal" people should. I think Emerson's essay is a great eye opener and if Mildred and her friends took the time to listen they'd learn how to be their own people.

The Beebe Reunion.! I mean...recital...

I know guys, this assignment is way past its due. Don't mean to sound cliche but its better late than never.! but then again...never late is even better (:

This is my recital video, or in other words, Busted Beyonce. Not only is our singing a little hurtin', so are our faces so please be patient with us lol. Getting this was a beating, I video chatted with various people to sing with me and my computer wouldn't open the files so i ended up singing with my little sister. We normally can sing and harmonize a lot better than this, our practice together was cut rather short due to all of the technical and vocal difficulties.

Apologies once again, I had an off week so my works a little funky. I plan on getting caught up with everything and beginning my Black History Month post's sometime this week. Just catching up on a few things.! Hope you enjoyed

Modern to Postmodern

I was reading/skimming one of the recent posts Dr.Preston had uploaded on our blog and was reading these paragraphs written by David Foster Wallace, this one quote stood out to me a lot. Many teenagers live this quote in life daily. Dress, talk and act a certain way when they are in certain places just so they don't feel so alone. This quote is the average high school student. It addresses the issue so simply and gently but the message is so strong and loud.

"We enter a spiritual puberty where we snap to the fact that the great transcendent horror is loneliness, excluded encagement in the self. Once we’ve hit this age, we will now give or take anything, wear any mask, to fit, be part-of, not be Alone, we young." 

― David Foster Wallace

Spring Vocab Baby!!

Praetorian: having power of a person who administers law
Sieve: Utensil of a wire of plastic mesh strain.
Veiled: Partially concealed
Saccharine: artificial sweetener
Harlequin: traditional pantomime
Toil: work extremely hard
Delinquent: Young person who has committed minor crimes
Gibbering: speaking rapidly, unintelligibly
Insidious: proceeding in a gradual, subtle way with harmful side affects.
Strown: ???