1. I'm really bad at writing about myself.
2. Um....I have a cat? And two brothers and a mom and a dad. They're all pretty cool people, I must say.
3. If I had to eat one thing for the rest of my life it would be bagels with cream cheese.
4. When I crash in a plane on a deserted island like on LOST, I hope the three things that I have with me are some good books, my iPod, and a tent.
5. I'd die without my mother. She's my best friend even though we don't get along sometimes, and I don't know what I'd do without her. I've learned so much from her and I can only hope to be half the person she is.
6. I'm addicted to the internet.
7. Oh I'm a Leo! I find things like zodiacs and tarot cards really fascinating.
8. If I ever got a hedgehog or a kitten or a puppy or any small animal I'd name it Mozart.
9. I'monlyfourteenandI'vegotmyweddingcompletelyplannednbd
10. I LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE EVERYTHING IS A LOST REFERENCE AND NOTHING EVER HURTS.
11. I'd do anything for my friends.
12. Oh how I wish I could go dancing in the rain.
13. When I grow up I want to go to culinary school and become either a pastry chef or open my own cafe bookstore.
14. If I woke up as a cat one morning I'd be so happy.
15. Books are my favorite thing in the world.
16. I can't make a decision to save my life.
17. I like all months, but particularly summer and fall.
18. Jason Mraz has consistently been my favorite musician for like ever.
19. A collection of all the things I like can be found here: http://fortuitoushappenings.blogspot.com/2011/01/this-just-about-sums-me-up.html
20. I am, sadly, very superstitious, but I adore going to church and I love Jesus with all my heart.
21. I think it would be really cool to be a tree. Seriously, just think about it!
22. When I was little I wanted to be a fairy. I still do I MEAN somewhat kind of not really pshh.
23. I cannot wait for summer. I can't wait for the beach, can't wait for those lazy mornings when you wake up whenever and then head down to the beach and then stay there all day only to come back when the sun disappears from the horizon and forces you back home.
24. I have really bad anxiety about basically everything. I over-think and stress and sometimes even make myself sick out of worry.
25. There will forever be derbis in my Kool-Aid.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
The Battle for the Title of REAL TRAGIC HERO: Brutus vs. Caesar Edition
Marcus Brutus
picture from: http://www.florin.ms/mshawthorne.html
Julius Caesar
- Has a lot of honor for his country, wants what he thinks will be the best for Rome and its citizens
- Only in favor of killing Caesar, doesn't want to have to kill anyone else
- Very well-liked, regarded highly
- Always works for the good of Rome no matter what
- Prevalent leadership skills, kind heart
- Wants to help everyone, but trusts too easily
- Takes things to the extreme sometimes
Julius Caesar
- Ambitious but proud, as he turned down the throne 3 times
- Believes in himself and his abilities
- Powerful leader
- Has strong ideas about society and government
- Would be a renowned leader of Rome
- Manipulative and over-confident
picture from: http://www.desitin.no/index.php/artgallery/detail/1296
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Parting is such sweet sorrow...especially when you have to go back to school the next day.
Mrs. Zurkowski's Honors English Purples and Yellows took a field trip yesterday to Folger Shakespeare Theater in Washington D.C. It was such a fantastic trip, from beginning to end! The show was great, and so was going to Union Station. I was disappointed that our group didn't get to go to the Library of Congress though, because it's a wonderful place.
Anywho, I actually got a lot out of seeing the show at Folger. They went through a lot of different scenes from a variety of Shakespearean plays, and seeing them being acted out helped me make sense of what Shakespeare was trying to say. Although I didn't think the three different ways they demonstrated of how to better understand Shakespeare really helped, I thought it was a fun way to keep the smaller kids interested in what was going on. I really do think that Bill's Buddies know exactly how to cater to their audience of all ages, because from what I could tell, everyone loved the show. My favorite part of the show was watching the scenes being acted out.
Oh and the rest of the trip was tons of fun too, nbd. I liked walking around to get to where we needed to be because we got to see a lot more than we would have on a bus. Eating at Union Station was awesome, it's really pretty there. Well okay, the lowest floor with all the food stalls was a little sketchy, but still. Overall this was a great trip, 4 and 3/4 out of 5 stars!
Anywho, I actually got a lot out of seeing the show at Folger. They went through a lot of different scenes from a variety of Shakespearean plays, and seeing them being acted out helped me make sense of what Shakespeare was trying to say. Although I didn't think the three different ways they demonstrated of how to better understand Shakespeare really helped, I thought it was a fun way to keep the smaller kids interested in what was going on. I really do think that Bill's Buddies know exactly how to cater to their audience of all ages, because from what I could tell, everyone loved the show. My favorite part of the show was watching the scenes being acted out.
Oh and the rest of the trip was tons of fun too, nbd. I liked walking around to get to where we needed to be because we got to see a lot more than we would have on a bus. Eating at Union Station was awesome, it's really pretty there. Well okay, the lowest floor with all the food stalls was a little sketchy, but still. Overall this was a great trip, 4 and 3/4 out of 5 stars!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Imagery in Their Eyes Were Watching God....but it's not even a picture book!
Imagery is a literary device which provides the reader with vivid visual descriptions using figurative language. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston flawlessly uses imagery throughout her writing to enhance her book.
Chapter 1
1. "Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men." (pg. 1)
2. "...because it was sundown. The sun was gone, but he had left his footprints in the sky." (pg. 1)
Chapter 2
1. "Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone. Dawn and doom was in the branches." (pg. 8)
2. "She had glossy leaves and bursting buds and she wanted to struggle with life but it seemed to elude her. Where were the singing bees for her?" (pg. 11)
Chapter 3
1. "She knew that God tore down the old world every evening and built a new one by sun-up. It was wonderful to see it take form with the sun and emerge from the gray dust of its making." (pg. 25)
2. "Janie's first dream was dead, so she became a woman." (pg. 25)
Chapter 4
1. "..he did not represent sun-up and pollen and blooming trees, but he spoke for far horizon." (pg. 29)
2. "The morning farad air was like a new dress. That made her feel the apron tied around her waist. She untied it and flung it on a low bush beside the road and walked on, picking flowers and making a bouquet." (pg. 32)
Chapter 5
1. "The idea was funny to them and they wanted to laugh. They tried hard to hold it in, but enough incredulous laughter burst out of their eyes and leaked from the corners of their mouths to inform anyone of their thoughts." (pg. 37)
2. "They, all of them, all of the people took it up and sung it over and over until it was wrung dry, and no further innovations of tone and tempo were conceivable." (pg. 46)
Chapter 6
1. "Every morning the world flung itself over and exposed the town to the sun." (pg. 51)
2. "That was the rock she battered against." (pg. 54)
Chapter 7
1. "The years took all the fight out of Janie's face. For a while she thought it was gone from her soul." (pg. 76)
2. "Then one day she sat and watched the shadow of herself going about tending store and prostrating itself before Jody, while all the time she herself sat under a shady tree with the wind blowing through her hair and her clothes. Somebody near about making summertime out of lonesomeness." (pg. 77)
Chapter 8
1. "Death, that strange being with the huge square toes who lived way in the Weest. The great one who lived in the straight house like a platform without sides to it, and without a roof. What need has Death for a cover, and what winds can blow against him? He stands in his high house that overlooks the world. Stands watchful and motionless all day with his sword drawn back, waiting for the messenger to bid him come. Been standing there before there was a where or a when or a then. She was liable to find a feather from his wings lying in her yard any day now." (pg. 84)
2. "Rumor, that wingless bird, had shadowed over the town." (pg. 84)
Chapter 9
1. "Janie starched and ironed her face and came set in the funeral behind her veil. It was like a wall of stone and steel." (pg. 89)
2. "She sent her face to Joe's funeral, and herself went rollicking with the springtime across the world." (pg. 89)
Chapter 10
1. "So she sat on the porch and watched the moon rise. Soon its amber fluid was drenching the earth, and quenching the thirst of the day." (pg. 99)
Chapter 11
1. "He looked like the love thoughts of women. He could be a bee to a blossom- a pear tree blossom in the spring. He seemed to be crushing scent out of the world with his footsteps. Crushing aromatic herbs with every step he took. Spices hung about him. He was a glance from God." (pg. 106)
2. "Janie awoke next morning by feeling Tea Cake almost kissing her breath away. Holding her and caressing her as if he feared she might escape his grasp and fly away." (pg. 107)
3. "In the cool of the afternoon the fiend from hell specially sent to lovers arrived at Janie's ear. Doubt. All the fear that circumstance could provide and the heart feel, attacked her on every side." (pg 108)
Chapter 12
1. "The next morning Pheoby picked her way over to Janie's house like a hen to a neighbor's garden. Stopped and talked a little with everyone she met, turned aside momentarily to pause at a porch or two- going straight by walking crooked." (pg. 112)
Chapter 13
1. "But, don't care how firm your determination is, you can't keep turning round in one place like a horse grinding sugar cane." (pg. 118)
2. "She had waited all her life for something, and it had killed her when it found her. The thing made itself into pictures and hung around Janie's bedside all night long." (pg. 120)
3. "Her heart all but smothered her." (pg. 120)
Chapter 14
1. "Some came limping in with their shoes and sore feet from walking. It's hard trying to follow your shoe instead of your shoe following you." (pg. 131)
2. "All night now the jooks
(I couldn't find anything good for Chapter 15 or Chapter 17, considering that Chapter 15 was short and Chapter 17 was all about the townspeople getting drunk and not much else.)
Chapter 16
1. "Mrs. Turner was a milky sort of woman that belonged to child-bed. Her shoulders rounded a little, and she must have been conscious of her pelvis because she kept it stuck out in front of her so she could always see it." (pg. 138)
2. "Her god would smite her, would hurl her from pinnacles and lose her in deserts, but she would not forsake his altars." (pg. 145)
Chapter 18
1. "Morning came without motion. The winds, to the tiniest, lisping baby breath had left the earth. Even before the sun gave light, dead day was creeping from bush to bush watching man." (pg. 155)
2. "So when Janie looked out of her door she saw the drifting mists gathered in the west-that cloud field of the sky-to arm themselves with thunders and march forth against the world. Louder and higher and lower and wider the sound and motion spread, mounting, sinking, darking." (pg. 158)
3. "It woke up old Okeechobee and the monster began to roll in his bed. Began to roll and complain like a peevish world on a grumble." (pg. 158)
Chapter 19
1. "And then again Him-with-the-square-toes had gone back to his house. He stood once more and again in his high flat house without sides to it and without a roof with his soulless sword standing upright in his hand. His pale white horse had galloped over waters, and thundered over land. The time of dying was over. It was time to bury the dead.
2. "Saw the hand of horror on everything. Houses without roofs, and roofs without houses. Steel and stone all crushed and crumbled like wood. The mother of malice had trifled with men." (pg. 169)
3. "She looked hard for something up there to move for a sign. A star in the daytime, maybe, or the sun to shout, or even a mutter of thunder. Her arms went up in a desperate supplication for a minute. It wasn't exactly pleading, it was asking questions. The sky stayed hard looking and quiet so she went inside the house. God would do less than He had in His heart." (pg. 178)
Chapter 20
1. "The light in her hand was like a spark of sun-stuff washing her face in fire. Her shadow behind fell black and headlong down the stairs. Now, in her room, the place tasted fresh again. The wind through the open windows had broomed out all the fetid feeling of absence and nothingness." (pg. 192)
2. The whole last paragraph of the novel was quiet long, so I didn't write it, but it should definitely be considered part of this list. (pg. 193)
My favorite line of imagery in the novel is, "She knew that God tore down the old world every evening and built a new one by sun-up. It was wonderful to see it take form with the sun and emerge from the gray dust of its making." (pg. 25). This is my favorite quote from the novel because I love the way it explains how every day is a new day.
Chapter 1
1. "Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men." (pg. 1)
2. "...because it was sundown. The sun was gone, but he had left his footprints in the sky." (pg. 1)
Chapter 2
1. "Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone. Dawn and doom was in the branches." (pg. 8)
2. "She had glossy leaves and bursting buds and she wanted to struggle with life but it seemed to elude her. Where were the singing bees for her?" (pg. 11)
Chapter 3
1. "She knew that God tore down the old world every evening and built a new one by sun-up. It was wonderful to see it take form with the sun and emerge from the gray dust of its making." (pg. 25)
2. "Janie's first dream was dead, so she became a woman." (pg. 25)
Chapter 4
1. "..he did not represent sun-up and pollen and blooming trees, but he spoke for far horizon." (pg. 29)
2. "The morning farad air was like a new dress. That made her feel the apron tied around her waist. She untied it and flung it on a low bush beside the road and walked on, picking flowers and making a bouquet." (pg. 32)
Chapter 5
1. "The idea was funny to them and they wanted to laugh. They tried hard to hold it in, but enough incredulous laughter burst out of their eyes and leaked from the corners of their mouths to inform anyone of their thoughts." (pg. 37)
2. "They, all of them, all of the people took it up and sung it over and over until it was wrung dry, and no further innovations of tone and tempo were conceivable." (pg. 46)
Chapter 6
1. "Every morning the world flung itself over and exposed the town to the sun." (pg. 51)
2. "That was the rock she battered against." (pg. 54)
Chapter 7
1. "The years took all the fight out of Janie's face. For a while she thought it was gone from her soul." (pg. 76)
2. "Then one day she sat and watched the shadow of herself going about tending store and prostrating itself before Jody, while all the time she herself sat under a shady tree with the wind blowing through her hair and her clothes. Somebody near about making summertime out of lonesomeness." (pg. 77)
Chapter 8
1. "Death, that strange being with the huge square toes who lived way in the Weest. The great one who lived in the straight house like a platform without sides to it, and without a roof. What need has Death for a cover, and what winds can blow against him? He stands in his high house that overlooks the world. Stands watchful and motionless all day with his sword drawn back, waiting for the messenger to bid him come. Been standing there before there was a where or a when or a then. She was liable to find a feather from his wings lying in her yard any day now." (pg. 84)
2. "Rumor, that wingless bird, had shadowed over the town." (pg. 84)
Chapter 9
1. "Janie starched and ironed her face and came set in the funeral behind her veil. It was like a wall of stone and steel." (pg. 89)
2. "She sent her face to Joe's funeral, and herself went rollicking with the springtime across the world." (pg. 89)
Chapter 10
1. "So she sat on the porch and watched the moon rise. Soon its amber fluid was drenching the earth, and quenching the thirst of the day." (pg. 99)
Chapter 11
1. "He looked like the love thoughts of women. He could be a bee to a blossom- a pear tree blossom in the spring. He seemed to be crushing scent out of the world with his footsteps. Crushing aromatic herbs with every step he took. Spices hung about him. He was a glance from God." (pg. 106)
2. "Janie awoke next morning by feeling Tea Cake almost kissing her breath away. Holding her and caressing her as if he feared she might escape his grasp and fly away." (pg. 107)
3. "In the cool of the afternoon the fiend from hell specially sent to lovers arrived at Janie's ear. Doubt. All the fear that circumstance could provide and the heart feel, attacked her on every side." (pg 108)
Chapter 12
1. "The next morning Pheoby picked her way over to Janie's house like a hen to a neighbor's garden. Stopped and talked a little with everyone she met, turned aside momentarily to pause at a porch or two- going straight by walking crooked." (pg. 112)
Chapter 13
1. "But, don't care how firm your determination is, you can't keep turning round in one place like a horse grinding sugar cane." (pg. 118)
2. "She had waited all her life for something, and it had killed her when it found her. The thing made itself into pictures and hung around Janie's bedside all night long." (pg. 120)
3. "Her heart all but smothered her." (pg. 120)
Chapter 14
1. "Some came limping in with their shoes and sore feet from walking. It's hard trying to follow your shoe instead of your shoe following you." (pg. 131)
2. "All night now the jooks
(I couldn't find anything good for Chapter 15 or Chapter 17, considering that Chapter 15 was short and Chapter 17 was all about the townspeople getting drunk and not much else.)
Chapter 16
1. "Mrs. Turner was a milky sort of woman that belonged to child-bed. Her shoulders rounded a little, and she must have been conscious of her pelvis because she kept it stuck out in front of her so she could always see it." (pg. 138)
2. "Her god would smite her, would hurl her from pinnacles and lose her in deserts, but she would not forsake his altars." (pg. 145)
Chapter 18
1. "Morning came without motion. The winds, to the tiniest, lisping baby breath had left the earth. Even before the sun gave light, dead day was creeping from bush to bush watching man." (pg. 155)
2. "So when Janie looked out of her door she saw the drifting mists gathered in the west-that cloud field of the sky-to arm themselves with thunders and march forth against the world. Louder and higher and lower and wider the sound and motion spread, mounting, sinking, darking." (pg. 158)
3. "It woke up old Okeechobee and the monster began to roll in his bed. Began to roll and complain like a peevish world on a grumble." (pg. 158)
Chapter 19
1. "And then again Him-with-the-square-toes had gone back to his house. He stood once more and again in his high flat house without sides to it and without a roof with his soulless sword standing upright in his hand. His pale white horse had galloped over waters, and thundered over land. The time of dying was over. It was time to bury the dead.
2. "Saw the hand of horror on everything. Houses without roofs, and roofs without houses. Steel and stone all crushed and crumbled like wood. The mother of malice had trifled with men." (pg. 169)
3. "She looked hard for something up there to move for a sign. A star in the daytime, maybe, or the sun to shout, or even a mutter of thunder. Her arms went up in a desperate supplication for a minute. It wasn't exactly pleading, it was asking questions. The sky stayed hard looking and quiet so she went inside the house. God would do less than He had in His heart." (pg. 178)
Chapter 20
1. "The light in her hand was like a spark of sun-stuff washing her face in fire. Her shadow behind fell black and headlong down the stairs. Now, in her room, the place tasted fresh again. The wind through the open windows had broomed out all the fetid feeling of absence and nothingness." (pg. 192)
2. The whole last paragraph of the novel was quiet long, so I didn't write it, but it should definitely be considered part of this list. (pg. 193)
My favorite line of imagery in the novel is, "She knew that God tore down the old world every evening and built a new one by sun-up. It was wonderful to see it take form with the sun and emerge from the gray dust of its making." (pg. 25). This is my favorite quote from the novel because I love the way it explains how every day is a new day.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Girl please symbolism is for Ancient Egypt, why are we associating it with African American Literature. I do believe we are confused.
Ta-daaaa. Here is the list of symbols Honors Purples found in the book Their Eyes Were Watching God.
- Trees/Roots- African people without any roots
- Pear tree- Janie's budding womanhood, coming of age
- Mule- the black woman's experience. She does the worst jobs for white people and black man. She gets "walked on." Logan buys Janie a mule to represent how he is tired of treating Janie like a princess or white woman, and now he wants her to do the heavy labor jobs around the farm.
- Gate/Road- Related to the metaphor at the beginning. The Gate is the shore and the Road represents the waves as Janie looks down the road to find a new dream. Opportunity.
- The New Horizon- Janie is constantly looking over the gatepost, down the road, to a new horizon (a dream or new start).
- Eatonville General Store- Represents the center of this first all-black town
- Illumination of the lamp post represents the start of a new all-black town. It also shows that Joe Starks is omnipotent and likes other to bow down to him, including Janie.
- Joe and Janie's two-story house- Seems to represent his similarity to a plantation owner, while the hard-working townspeople live in smaller shack-style homes like servants' quarters.
- Tobacco spittoon- This represents again how wealthy Joe is.
- Guitar- playful side of people
- Overalls- Working side of people
- Janie's hair hanging down represents her freedom
- Janie's hair rag represents her bond and acquiescence to Joe Starks
- The color blue represents a compromise between Janie and Tea Cake
- Checkers- Janie's equality with Tea Cake (didn't have that with Joe)
- Packet of seeds- rebirth, new life, remembrance, rejuvenation
- Fish- sharing of relationship
- Muck- the dirt represents working class, becoming rich, growth
- Hurricane- God's almighty power
- Rabid dog- when good happens, life changes
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
GET AT ME RICHARD WRIGHT.
Zora Neale Hurston was criticized by many prominent writers of the Harlem Renaissance, in particular a man by the name of Richard Wright. He stated:
"... The sensory sweep of her novel carries no theme, no message, no thought. In the main, her novel is not addressed to the Negro, but to a white audience whose chauvinistic tastes she knows how to satisfy. She exploits that phase of Negro life which is "quaint," the phase which evokes a piteous smile on the lips of the "superior" race."
I disagree with Wright's criticism of Hurston's book. I believe that Richard Wright felt this way due to the fact that he was a very opinionated political writer who enjoyed addressing the hardships of African American life in his literary works. In my eyes, he felt this way because it wasn't what he would've wrote, so therefor he was unhappy with it. I think he may have overlooked the talent Hurston exemplified in her writing, just so he could focus on how she wasn't raving about African American repression and rights throughout her novel. I also find that this criticism could have come up because Hurston and Wright focused on different things in their works. Wright wrote in very political terms,while Hurston stayed away from these issues of struggle. I'm not trying to bash Richard Wright here, as I'm sure since he was so popular that he's a very accomplished writer, I'm just merely disagreeing with his criticism of Their Eyes Were Watching God. But hey, maybe that's because I'm white.
Information from: "Zora Neale Hurston." Wikipedia. N.p., 1 Apr. 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/
"... The sensory sweep of her novel carries no theme, no message, no thought. In the main, her novel is not addressed to the Negro, but to a white audience whose chauvinistic tastes she knows how to satisfy. She exploits that phase of Negro life which is "quaint," the phase which evokes a piteous smile on the lips of the "superior" race."
I disagree with Wright's criticism of Hurston's book. I believe that Richard Wright felt this way due to the fact that he was a very opinionated political writer who enjoyed addressing the hardships of African American life in his literary works. In my eyes, he felt this way because it wasn't what he would've wrote, so therefor he was unhappy with it. I think he may have overlooked the talent Hurston exemplified in her writing, just so he could focus on how she wasn't raving about African American repression and rights throughout her novel. I also find that this criticism could have come up because Hurston and Wright focused on different things in their works. Wright wrote in very political terms,while Hurston stayed away from these issues of struggle. I'm not trying to bash Richard Wright here, as I'm sure since he was so popular that he's a very accomplished writer, I'm just merely disagreeing with his criticism of Their Eyes Were Watching God. But hey, maybe that's because I'm white.
Information from: "Zora Neale Hurston." Wikipedia. N.p., 1 Apr. 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Zora_Neale_Hurston>.
Some Images for the General Public
^^Richard Wright^^ Image from: http://www.math.buffalo.edu/~sww/wright/wright_photo1957.jpg
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Zora Neale Hurston- A Blog Post
Facts about Zora Neale Hurston
- Zora Neale was born on January 7th, 1891 in Notasulga, Alabama.
- She moved with her family to Eatonville, Florida as a toddler, and has since then always considered it her home.
- Eatonville was an incorporated black township, so Hurston was never aware of racial inferiority. She grew up amongst great achievements made by African Americans which most likely led to her belief in her abilities as a writer.
- She was raised in a very Christian household, as her father was a preacher.
- Zora had a rather happy childhood, and was encouraged to explore her vivacious spirit by her mother.
- Her mother died in 1904, when Zora was 13 years old.
- Zora's father quickly got remarried to a woman whom Zora often clashed heads with.
- She then skipped around many jobs until deciding to go back to high school in 1917 at the age of 26.
- She posed as a 16 year old successfully, due to her good looks and charming manner.
- When she died, she was a pauper. She was not largely recognized until her books were rediscovered by a young writer named Alice Walker.
Information from: Boyd, Valerie. "About Zora Neale Hurston." Zora Neale Hurston. Sonnet Media, 2007. Web. 12 Apr.
2011. <http://www.zoranealehurston.com/biography.html>.
Images of Zora Neale Hurston
picture of Ms. Hurston herself from http://www.literaryhistory.com/20thC/Public_Domain_Photos/Zora_Neale_Hurston.jpg
image from: http://www.zoranealehurston.com/images/theireyes_std.gif
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Okay guys this could become a problem I have fallen in love with the Harlem Renaissance and there's nothing anyone can do to stop me
An Overview of the Harlem Renaissance
- The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement of the African American community of Harlem, New York.
- This movement lasted from the 1920s to the early 1930s, emerging towards the end of World War I.
- The Harlem Renaissance was primarily a literary movement, but it also helped develop theater, art, music, and politics.
- The Renaissance in Harlem sprung from increased education and employment opportunities following the Civil War.
- The more educated and socially conscious people settled in Harlem, the more the political and cultural central of black America was developed.
- As the middle class grew, the advocation of racial equality grew too.
- African American literature and arts (performing, visual, etc.) grew more popular during the Harlem Renaissance.
- The factor that united the participants was their sense of taking action for the same purpose and giving more expression of the arts to African American culture in Harlem.
- A strong sense of racial pride was one of the major push factors to make the Harlem Renaissance happen, but a want for both social and political equality.
- There was much diversity shown during the Harlem Renaissance, which allowed it to appeal to a wide variety of people. Advances in literature, theater, music, visual arts, and many other fields offered something for everyone.
Bessie Smith
- During the Harlem Renaissance she was also known as the Empress of the Blues.
- Bessie Smith was an American singer
- She recorded with many famous and accomplished musicians, such as Benny Goodman and Louis Armstrong, in the early 1920s.
- She was the most popular blues singer of her time
- The "emotional power of her voice" really contributed to her popularity, along with the content of the songs she sang.
Langston Hughes
- Langston Hughes was an American writer
- He wrote many poems, plays, short stories, and novels
- He also wrote for a newspaper column
- His character Simple, which he created for his newspaper column, was very popular
- Simple depicted everyday experiences of black citizens
Josephine Baker
- Josephine Baker was both a singer and a dancer
- Her career began around the time that mainstream America began to take a serious interest in African American culture
- She was one of the most prominent figures of the Harlem Renaissance
- She moved to Paris in the mid-1920s
- Josephine helped introduce European audiences to African American dance styles and music
A link to Josephine's song "J'ai Deux Amours": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHrOV8YorHI&feature=related
Image Sources-
Harlem Renaissance image: http://safetyfunandlearning.wordpress.com/
Bessie Smith image: http://www.artistdirect.com/artist/bessie-smith/494457
Langston Hughes image: http://www.nytimes.com/books/01/04/22/specials/hughes.html
Josephine Baker image: http://musiclinernotes.wordpress.com/2010/06/03/josephine-baker/
Monday, March 21, 2011
I've already done my chart, but these are my thoughts on Chris McCandless...
My reaction to this:
“Some readers admired the boy immensely for his courage and noble ideals; others fulminated that he was a reckless idiot, a wacko, a narcissist who perished out of arrogance and stupidity – and was undeserving of the considerable media attention he received.”
I agree with the second statement. Chris McCandless was an arrogant, insane man who thought he was invincible in everything he did. He was foolish to go out into the wild thinking he could survive, and in my opinion he thought too highly of himself and of his abilities. How he journeyed in the wild was rather self-pitying and "tragic hero" like.
“Some readers admired the boy immensely for his courage and noble ideals; others fulminated that he was a reckless idiot, a wacko, a narcissist who perished out of arrogance and stupidity – and was undeserving of the considerable media attention he received.”
I agree with the second statement. Chris McCandless was an arrogant, insane man who thought he was invincible in everything he did. He was foolish to go out into the wild thinking he could survive, and in my opinion he thought too highly of himself and of his abilities. How he journeyed in the wild was rather self-pitying and "tragic hero" like.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
A Place (however fictional) That Would Change My Life
I think if I ever took a journey to Narnia it would enlighten me far more than Chris McCandless's journey would ever do so for him. Narnia is a place that, somewhat like Never Land, distorts time in a way that somehow ends up giving the journeyer more time to fulfill his or her search for knowledge about what life really means. I would hope to be affected in the way that other humans who visited Narnia were. Lucy, Susan, Peter and Edmund all returned from their journey into Narnia as wiser, more mature people, and I would aspire to do the same.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
We seem to be having a shortage of original and witty titles...this is my "Chart of Favorite Famous Quotes from the Novel"
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
WARNING: BORING TITLE. Into the Wild Questions.
Into the Wild
Author’s Note and Chapter One: “The Alaska Interior”
Vocabulary
1. Asceticism – the doctrine that through renunciation of worldly pleasures it is possible to achieve a high spiritual or intellectual state
2. Divergent – diverging from another or from a standard
3. Enigma – mystery; something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
4. Fulminated – to issue a thunderous verbal attack or denunciation
5. Moral Rigor – extreme attention to ethical questions and shadings
6. Muskeg – boggy areas, especially those where peat is formed
7. Renunciation – repudiation; rejecting or disowning or disclaiming as invalid
8. Shards – a broken piece of a brittle artifact
9. Transcendent –exceeding or surpassing usual limits especially in excellence
10. Unsullied –spotlessly clean and fresh
Reading Interpretation Q & A – Answer in complete sentences and include page number at end of sentence where you found the information.
1. What is the personal history of Chris McCandless?
Chris McCandless was a young man from a well-to-do East Coast family who hitchhiked to Alaska and went forth into the wilderness, alone. He dropped out of sight after graduating from Emory University (with honors) in 1990. He grew up in Washington D.C., excelling in academics and sports. (information from the first page of “Author’s Note”)
2. What themes does Jon Krakauer introduce in the “Author’s Note”?
Jon Krakauer introduces peril, adversity, determination, perseverance, heartbreak, and failure in the “Author’s Note.” Parental relationships (information from the second page of “Author’s Note”)
3. What is the purpose of the quoted material at the start of Chapter One?
The purpose of the quoted material at the start of Chapter One is to jump-start the reader with a bit of background from McCandless’s life. It gives a small amount of insight to McCandless’s situation and prepares the reader of a story of Chris McCandless’s life in the wild. (pg. 3)
4. Who is Alex?
Alex is the alias name of Chris McCandless. He uses it when introducing himself to Jim Gallien. (pg. 4)
5. Who is Jim Gallien, and how did he meet McCandless?
Jim Gallien is a union electrician. He met McCandless by picking him up on the side of the road when McCandless was hitchhiking. (pg. 4)
6. What was Gallien’s assessment of McCandless?
Gallien said that McCandless was “Five feet seven or eight with a wiry build,” unprepared, and determined. (pgs. 4-5)
7. What kind of advice did Gallien give McCandless?
Gallien tried to convince McCandless to not go out into the wild, and when that doesn’t work he makes sure he has everything he needs and gives him his boots. (pgs. 6-7)
8. What was McCandless’s response to Gallien’s offer? Also, what gift did Gallien give to McCandless?
McCandless denied Gallien’s offer, and Gallien gave McCandless his hiking boots. (pg. 7)
9. Why did Gallien decide not to alert the authorities about McCandless?
Gallien decided not to alert the authorities about McCandless because he figured that, “…he’d be OK. I thought he’d probably get hungry pretty quick and just walk out to the highway. That’s what any normal person would do.” (pg. 7)
10. Gallien’s statement that McCandless would “probably get hungry pretty quick and just walk out to the highway. That’s what any normal person would do,” is an example of the literary device of irony of situation. What is ironic about the statement?
The irony of that statement is discovered at the end of Chapter 2, because McCandless, despite Gallien’s belief, did not turn around and walk to the highway once he got hungry. The wild is where he died. (prior knowledge, also pg. 13)
Chapter Two: “The Stampede Trail”
Vocabulary 2
11. Amalgam – a mix
12. Anomaly – an exception to the standard or norm
13. Contumacious – stubborn, especially stubbornly disobedient
14. Cordillera – a string of parallel mountain ranges
15. Escarpments – a series of long, high rocky ridges
16. Glacial Till – mixed soils and rocks carried by a glacier’s movement
17. Ominous – warning of danger
18. Ramparts – rocky supports (in this case, supporting ridges or foothills)
Reading Interpretation Q & A
11. Why would Krakauer include a quote from another author such as Jack London as the heading for this chapter?
Krakauer would include a quote from another author such as Jack London because Chris greatly admired Jack London, and also because Jack London wrote about the wild.
12. What is the purpose of the detailed descriptions of Mt. McKinley, Denali, and the Stampede Trail?
The purpose of the detailed descriptions of Mt. McKinley, Denali, and the Stampede Trail are to acquaint the reader with the conditions and terrain Chris McCandless would be dealing with in this story.
13. What was considered to be the cause of Chris McCandless’s death?
Starvation was considered to be the most probable cause of Chris McCandless’s death. (pg. 14)
Chapter Three: “Carthage”
Vocabulary
19. Altruistic – motivated purely by charity or kindness
20. Anthropological – relating to the study of cultures
21. Apartheid – the legalized separation of people by different races
22. In Stir – in jail
23. Grain Elevator – a building used to elevate and store grain
24. Contrite – repentant
25. Hyperkinetic – overactive
26. Itinerary – a list of destinations on a trip
27. Odyssey – a long, complicated journey
28. Vulnerability – the capacity to be bruised or hurt; tenderness
Reading Interpretation Q & A
14. Who is Wayne Westerberg and how do Wayne and Chris get along?
Wayne Westerberg is a resident of Carthage, South Dakota, who took McCandless in under his wing and helped him make a life for himself in Carthage. He and Chris get along very well, with Westerberg serving as a kind of mentor figure for McCandless. (pgs. 15-19)
15. Local color is introduced when a writer uses regional or colorful terms to present an image of a distinct area or culture. The terms “leather tramp” and “rubber tramp” qualify as examples of local color. What culture do they describe, and what is the difference between rubber tramps and leather tramps?
Rubber tramps were vagabonds who owned a vehicle; leather tramps were those who lacked personal transportation and were thus forced to hitchhike or walk. (pg. 17)
16. Why did the author say that McCandless found a “surrogate family in Westerberg and his employees”?
The author said that McCandless found a “surrogate family in Westerberg and his employees” to represent that McCandless was really accepted in Carthage and taken in not only Westerberg but the other residents too. (pg. 18)
17. Why did McCandless leave Carthage?
McCandless left Carthage because Westerberg got in trouble with the law and McCandless left his job to resume his existence as a nomad. (pg. 19)
18. How does the reader know that War and Peace was important to McCandless?
The reader knows that War and Peace was important to McCandless because he gave Westerberg his treasured 1942 edition of the book before he left Carthage. (pg. 19)
19. Describe McCandless’s early years and family life.
McCandless was raised in Annandale, Virginia. His father Walt was an aerospace engineer, and his mother Billie was his father’s partner in business. Chris had one little sister named Carine and six half siblings. Chris graduated with honors from Emory University in 1990. He drove a yellow Datsun, and took off in it the summer of his graduation to begin his journey into the wild. (pgs. 19-21)
20. What clues did McCandless give that he was out of step with the commercialism of contemporary society?
McCandless had stated that he didn’t want a nice car and that he wouldn’t give or receive gifts, which were both clues that he was out of step with the commercialism of today’s society. He also thought that titles and honors were irrelevant. (pg. 21)
21. What change did McCandless make that symbolized the new life he expected to build after he left Atlanta?
He adopted the name Alexander Supertramp which symbolized how he severed himself from his previous life. (pg. 23)
Chapters 4-5 “Detrital Wash” and “Bullhead City”
Vocabulary
1. Concave – hollowed out
2. Inimical – hostile
3. Physiologically – relating to the health of internal organs
4. Bourgeois – materialistic
5. Denizens – residents
6. Fatuous – foolish, ridiculous
7. Ideologue – someone who follows a defined set of ideas or way of thinking
8. Oxymoronic – containing a contradiction ( e.g., jumbo shrimp)
9. Primordial – the basic or primitive developmental level
10. Turgid – heavy, graceless
Reading Interpretation Q & A
22. The head note to this chapter concludes that people go to the desert “not to escape but to find reality.” How does this statement apply to Chris?
This statement applies to Chris because he went to the desert to find revelation and to get away from what he considered to be bad in society.
23. Who is Jan Burres, and how did she figure into Chris’s travels?
Jan Burres is a 40 year old leather tramp. She figures into Chris’s travels by camping with Chris and helping him out. He keeps up communication with Jan and her boyfriend months after he leaves them. (pg. 30)
24. Describe the trip that Chris took in the old metal canoe that Chris bought in Topock, Arizona.
Chris paddled down the Colorado River to the Gulf of California in his metal canoe that he bought in Topock. While paddling over 400 miles he was captivated by the austere landscape and saline beauty. (pg. 32)
25. This chapter contains numerous excerpts from the journal Chris kept. What is noticeable about the writing in his account of his Mexican adventure?
Chris writes his journal in third person. (pg. 34-35)
26. Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes the individual’s responsibility and free will to direct the course of his/her life. What existential conclusion does Chris reach when leaving Las Vegas? (Look at end of chapter 4 for ideas.)
When Chris leaves Las Vegas, he reaches the conclusion that, “It is te experiences, the memories, the great triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which real meaning is found.” (pg. 37)
27. What kind of life did Chris lead in Bullhead City?
Chris lead an ironically rather conventional life in Bullhead City. He liked the town so much that he abandoned his life as a nomad and settled down, holding down a job and acquiring a residence. He even opened a bank account.
28. Describe the conditions and the residents of the Slabs. Note some of the local color that makes this community memorable.
29. What character traits and skills does Jan Burres recount about Chris in chapter 5?
Jan Burres recounts that Chris had great musical talent and also a way with animals; she said that he had a real good time when he was around people, he needed his solitude at times- but he did a lot of socializing, and that he was really into the classics. (pgs. 43-45)
30. What was Jan Burres’s assessment of Chris’s ability to survive in Alaska? (end of chapter 5)
Jan Burres said, “I thought he’d be fine in the end, he was smart. He’d figure out how to paddle a canoe down to Mexico, how to hop freight trains, how to score a bed at inner-city missions. He figured all of that out on his own, and I felt sure he’d figure out Alaska, too.” (pg.46)
Chapters Six and Seven: “Anza Borrego” and “Carthage”
Vocabulary
39. Arroyos – dried creek beds
40. Bajada – plain, open land
41. Creosote – a desert plant with a thick, sticky resin
42. Desiccated – dried out
43. Geothermal – heated by the temperature of the earth
44. Hegira – a pilgrimage
45. Ocotillo – a flowered dessert plant
46. Snafu – a disaster
47. Grubstake – money and/or supplies for a trip
48. Maw – a large, intimidating opening
49. Succor – aid and comfort
50. Surfeit – an excess (Remember Shakespeare’s use of this word in MND)
Reading Interpretation Q & A
31. Who was Ron Franz, and how did he enter the story? What does Krakauer think about the relationship between Franz and McCandless?
Ron Franz wrote a letter to John Krakauer asking him for a copy of the magazine that carried the story of “Alex McCandless’s” death in Alaska. He drove Alex to Grand Junction Colorado, but then left him to hitchhike to South Dakota. Krakauer thought that McCandless had the most profound impact on Franz in comparison to everyone he ever met. (pgs. 48-49)
32. What is Anza-Borrego?
Anza-Borrego is a desert state park in which McCandless set up camp after he bid farewell to Jan Burres. (pg. 48)
33. What was the tragedy of Ron Franz’s life?
In 1957 on New Year’s Eve, Franz’s wife and only child were killed by a drunk driver. He then started to heavily drink, only to quit cold turkey six months later and begin to adopt indigent Okinawan children. (pg. 50)
34. How did he feel about Chris and what request did he make of Chris?
Franz thought that Chris was polite, friendly, well-groomed, and intelligent. He wanted to help him, to give him an education and a job along with something to make out of his life. He asked Chris if he would be his grandson. (pgs. 50, 55)
35. What role did leather making take in their relationship?
Franz taught Alex the secrets of his craft because he was a master leatherworker. It strengthened the bond in their relationship. (pgs. 51-52)
36. The author gives a brief character analysis of McCandless after recounting that Franz dropped him off in Colorado. What does the author say about McCandless?
The author said that McCandless didn’t want to be burdened by the baggage of friendship. (pg. 56)
37. When Chris sent Franz a letter from Carthage, what advice did Chris give to Franz and how did Franz respond to this letter?
Chris said to Franz, “…I think you really should make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been to hesitant to attempt. …If you want more out of life, Ron, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. …And so, Ron, in short, get out of Salton City and hit the road. I guarantee you will be very glad you did. …don’t settle down and sit in one place. Move around, be nomadic, make each day a new horizon.” Ronald Franz did that. He put his furniture and most of his other possessions in a storage locker, bought a GMC Duravan, and moved out of his apartment to set up camp on the bajada. (pgs. 56-58)
38. How did Ron Franz learn that McCandless had died and how did this death change Franz’s life?
Ron Franz learned that McCandless had died from a hitchhiker he picked up in 1992. This caused Ron to become an atheist and to resume his drinking addiction. (pg. 60)
39. Why was Wayne Westerberg annoyed at the beginning of chapter Seven?
Wayne Westerberg was annoyed at the beginning of chapter Seven because he was working a lot without much sleep and because Alex wasn’t back at work. (pgs. 61-62)
40. What is the author’s analysis of the relationship between McCandless and his father? How did Chris feel about his sister Carine?
Chris got along very well with his sister Carine, he said she was very beautiful. He said that he didn’t get along with his father. (pg. 63)
Chapters Eight and Nine: “Alaska” and “Davis Gulch”
Vocabulary
51. Academia – the world of education
52. Alpinists – specialists in climbing high and challenging mountains
53. Athapaskan – a local Alaskan population with their own language and culture
54. Bight – a small bay formed by a curve in the shoreline
55. Clich̩ Рan overused expression, example, or type
56. Countercultural – against established norms of a culture
57. Eremitic – hermit-like or reclusive
58. Hubris – overblown pride (watch this word in Julius Caesar too)
59. Pseudoliterary – a false display of scholarship
60. Seine – fish with nets
61. Defile – a route notable for its narrowness; a gorge
62. Ephemeral – fleeting; dying quickly
63. Esthete – one who sees beauty; Esthetics – the philosophy that beauty is an important basis of moral good.
64. Nom-de-plume – a French word meaning pen name
65. Veracity – truth
Reading Interpretation Q & A
41. What is the purpose of including the full story of Gene Rossellini?
The purpose of including the full story of Gene Rossellini is to show how similar he was to Chris McCandless. Both were great athletes and even better students in their youth. Rossellini and McCandless both read obsessively and had amazingly good grades throughout their high school and college years. Both came from well-to-do families and neither collected degrees or honors upon graduating college because neither felt the need. Both sought greater knowledge of the meaning of life, and made the decision to live off the land. When Rossellini died, he was given recognition for his endeavors, similar to Chris McCandless. (pgs. 73-75)
42. What motivated Krakauer to include the story of John Waterman?
The fact that John Waterman was a commendable mountaineer inclined Krakauer to write about him. (pg. 76)
43. Finally, what is the purpose of including the story of Chris McCunn in the narrative?
44. Summarize the story of Everett Ruess and his fascination with the American West and natural beauty.
45. What Ken Sleight’s conclusion about Ruess and McCandless?
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