Character Study 1

"Bear down! Bear down! Bear down!" Are the only words that are coming out of my mouth right this second. Sitting smack dab in the middle of the student section, I intruigingly watch our boys basketball team try and keep the lead during the Pac 12 basketball championships. Sitting there I reminisce on how fortunate I am to be to fulfilling my dream and being a college student at The University of Arizona. This year has been nothing but outstanding for me. Don't get me wrong, I was extremely nervous during my first week of classes, but thank God I have a friend,  that's currently attending the school as a sophmore, to lead me around. I nervously applied to be in a sorority and I got it and it was the best decision of my life! Meeting my "sisters" and future friends forever was the most relieving feeling so far. Nothing but positives came from working my ass off senior year busting out pleasing SAT and ACT scores and I couldn't thank all my teachers, peers and parents for pushing me and making me the person I am today. Crossing my fingers, rocking my bright red and blue wildcats t-shirt, I then return back to the process of loosing my voice cheering on my basketball friends about to make history!

Canterbury Tales 1

I would like to know why would Chaucer write an extravagantly long poem about characters who have more to them than meets the eye? Quite frankly, I’m excited to hear about the various tales of each characters stories. The characters that I’m most excited to read about are the monk and the student. My question about the student is why would he go on a pilgrimage when his main focus is education through books such as Aristotle? I like the idea Chaucer has put in the story that every character has it’s own sparks and details because as readers most of us think of just one general idea of a person when there reputation is acknowledged. Reading the prologue really helped develop a good understand of what type of characters I’m going to be getting into later on in the story. I did not take very detailed notes because to be honest I rushed through the prologue just trying to cover ground work, but I understand the main focus points directed in the reading so far.

Vocabulary #4

obsequious - adj. attentive in an ingratiating or servile manner;attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery
Ex- They were served by obsequious waiters.
beatitude - a state of supreme happiness
Ex- All of our actions are to be directed toward such beatitude.
bete noire - a person or thing that one particularly dislikes
Ex- Uncle Edward was my father's bete noire.
bode - verb indicate by signs
Ex- Their argument did not bode well for the future.
dank - adj. unpleasantly cool and humid
Ex- Walking into the dank basement sent chills up my body.
ecumenical - adj. of worldwide scope or applicability; concerned with promoting unity among churches or religions
Ex- The local churches are sponsoring an ecumenical services on the green.
fervid - adj. extremely hot; characterized by intense emotion
Ex- The candidate made a fervid speech that held the audience's attention.
fetid - adj. offensively malodorous
Ex- The fetid water of the marsh made me sick.
gargantuan - adj. of great mass; huge and bulky
Ex- The giant almost flattened the travelers with his gargantuan foot as he walked through the forest.
heyday - noun the period of greatest prosperity or productivity
Ex- The paper has lost millions of readers since its heyday in 1972.
incubus - someone who depresses or worries others; a situation resembling a terrifying dream
Ex- Debt is a big incubus in developing countries.
infrastructure - noun the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area; the basic structure or features of a system or organization
Ex- Access what damage you can and rebuild the critical infrastructure system.
inveigle - verb influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
Ex- We cannot inveigle him into putting pen to paper.
kudos - noun an expression of approval and commendation
Ex- Kudos to everyone that put the event together.
lagniappe - noun a small gift (especially one given by a merchant to a customer who makes a purchase)
Ex- Jenny gave her favorite teacher a lagniappe.
prolix - adj. tediously prolonged or tending to speak or write at great length
Ex- He found the narrative too prolix and discursive.
protege - noun a person who receives support and protection from an influential patron who furthers the protege's career
Ex- He was an aid and protege to the former senator.
prototype - noun a standard or typical example
Ex- The firm is testing a prototype of the weapon.
sycophant - noun a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage
Ex- I thought you wanted a competent assistant, not a nodding sycophant.
tautology - noun useless repetition; (logic) a statement that is necessarily true
Ex- John's English teacher told him to avoid tautology in his essay.
truckle - verb yield to out of weakness; try to gain favor by cringing or flattering
Ex- The student truckled to the bully who would push him on the playground.

Literary Analysis #1

 Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read according to the elements of plot you've learned in past courses (exposition, inciting incident, etc.).  Explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).

The one sentence summary of the whole book is how The Catcher In The Rye is about a 17-year-old boy who is kicked out of high school and spends three days aimlessly roaming around New York calling everything phony and yet have a truth to what he is saying. In a more scientifical literary way, the exposition of the book ends when Holden is finally in New York and roaming around to find a hotel. Before that, his characteristics and back story are vaguely described by his interactions with Mr. Spencer and his room mates Stradler and Ackley.  He hits up a few bars before he really settles down though. The rising action of the story can be stated as him entering and kinda of breaking into his own house since he really isn’t supposed to be there until Wednesday when he arrives Monday (or Tuesday one of the two). He meets his sister, one of the only people he doesn’t hate, or kills him. The climax turns out to be when he sleeps over at another teachers house and that freaks him out because he thinks his teacher was being pervish by touching his hair gently. This event leads Holden to suddenly change his mind and move immediately,but before he could do that he had to talk to his sister. Talking to his sister led to the falling action because he suddenly changed his mind to staying. The resolution happens to be when Holden finally finds something he doesn’t hate and has found hope for himself. An optimistic point of view, this happens when he is at the carousel with his sister. The last line of the book, “Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.” epitomizes Holden as a character and provides an understanding to Holden. This whole story seemed like a funny satire with a huge amount of truth to it. First off you have a character who literally hates everything but loves anything that is young and full of innocence. He sees the world as phony but at the same time provides a realistic view on the world. I think the author's purpose of the novel was to provide a pessimistic point of view on the world.

2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. 

The theme of the novel is that there’s a little truth to every obscure statement. Throughout the whole novel Holden makes comments about how phony the world, the people, and things seem to be. Which at times seem pompous, but also hold a certain truth to it. For example he would say how phony his old principal was by acting different to people depending on how they look, but in the world we live in today, as sad as it seems, the physical features of a person can get them anywhere.
3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).

The author has a very pessimistic and dogmatic tone throughout the entire story. There’s only once or twice when the author’s tone transitions from being melancholy to hopeful. But for the majority of the time he speaks with probity.   

1.)”Then she got on. ‘Sally?’ I said.’Yes-who is this?’ she said. She was quite a little phony. I’d already told her father who it was.”

2.)”They were these very inexpensive-looking suitcases- the ones that aren’t genuine leather or anything. It isn’t important, I know, but I hate it when somebody has cheap suitcases. It sounds terrible to say it, but I can even get to hate somebody, just looking at them, if they have cheap suitcases with them”

3.) “I was sorry anyways, though. Goddam Money. It always ends up making you blue as hell.”

4.)”I felt so damn happy, if you want ot know the truth. I don’t know why. It was just that she looked so damn nice, the way she kept going around and around, in her blue coat and all”

4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)

Dialogue: Just like in Catch-22 The dialogue helped move along the story in a flowing manner and characterize Holden well. “I’m the one that’s flunking out of the goddam place, and you’re asking me to write you a goddam composition…I didn’t answer him right away. Suspense is good for some bastards like Stradlater” Pg. 28

Stream of Consciouness: Stream of consciousness helped readers develop a sense of tone of the text. Having a perspective from Holden’s point of view really helped the readers understand his character too. ”I didn’t care much. I was too depressed to care whether I had a good view or not…He was even more depressing than the room was… I’d rather be bald than do that. Anyway, what a gorgeous job for a guy around sixty-five years old.” Pg. 61

Foreshadowing: The first few pages gave a brief summary of what will happen and what the story will be about. “I’ll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy.” Pg. 1

Allegory: This is used to show the reader that Holden has reached a point of realization that is different from his usual point of view, providing a contrast to the normal tone. “Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some gar in this big field…” Pg.  173

Diction: The choice of words that Salinger uses indirectly characterizes Holden as a character and develops a consistent tone through out the whole book.

“She looked so damn nice…God, I wish you could’ve been there” pg. 213

Anecdote: Holden uses many anecdotes through out the story to give his character more of a behinds the scene story and develop other characters who do not appear at all in his story. “Also because it has this big old madman desk in it that D.B bought off some lady alcoholic in Philadelphia, and this big, gigantic bed…” Pg. 159.

Syntax: The syntax of The Catcher in the Ryehelps add character and tone to the story because italicizing words is one of Holden’s main traits. “…she did it so sudden and all. I know you’re supposed to feel… Sexy was about the last thing I was feeling.” Pg 95

Irony: Irony is present in the majority part of the book because it helps depict Holden as a character and add on to the tone. “…When I ordered them so they could see how tall I was and all and not think I was a goddam minor. Then I watched all the phonies for awhile” Pg 142.

Repetition: Holden had a common saying throughout the book, which now defines him as an interesting character. The context in what he says it in makes readers wonder what he is trying to imply. “He killed me… That killed me” pg. 202, 203

Hubris: Salinger developed Holden to be a hubris type of character, which strings the story along very well. The whole story is about this pessimistic realistic kid who is never happy but thinks his perspective on people being phonies is the full truth to make himself seem better than everyone he meets. “The trouble is, I get to feeling sorry for them. I mean most girls are so dumb and all.” Pg. 92

CHARACTERIZATION
1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization.  Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?

Two examples of direct characterization are when Holden describes himself as being  absent-minded for forgetting stuff and he is talks to one of his old friends about being psycho analyzed. Two examples of indirect characterization are how Holden interacts with random strangers he meets (which leads readers to assume that as much as he doesn’t want to believe it, he’s a people’s person) and how he’s only happy or has hope when he is around kids.  I think the author uses both approaches because Holden is a character is mainly developed by his stream of consciousness but needs other characters to get another perspective of him. Both types of characterization make him a very memorable character I actually wrote him as the most memorable character)  and leave an impression that he is someone who genuinely hates the world but only to escape the truth of reality. 

2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character?  How?  Example(s)?

I don’t think that the author’s syntax and diction change when they focus on the main character because the whole story is told through Holden’s point of view. So the language of the story doesn’t have a shift at all. The only time Holden’s syntax or diction change is when he converses with the face of innocence.

3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic?  Flat or round?  Explain.

The protagonist is mainly a static character through out the whole story. He doesn’t really do much besides wonder around and create internal problems with himself by making licentious decisions. But don’t let that fool you with him being a round character. Salinger made him a pessimist for a reason, he’s a character made to show the realities of life. Holden is a very complex character, calling everyone phonies yet admiring children and being a phony himself. He struggles to believe the truth, yet is one of the realist characters there are.

 
4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character?  Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction. 

After reading the book I felt like I met a person because I could relate so much to what Holden had to say. Maybe it was because I was at a low point in my life or I was feeling down, but Holden made me change my perspective on things especially with his last line in the book “Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody”. This quote honestly, as cheesy as it sounds, really puts things in perspective to me. It helped me understand a little bit more about myself. That’s when I finished reading the book, I felt like I parted from a friend. Holden is a character that doesn’t just come and go, he’s one that leaves a lasting impression.

Vocabulary #3

accolade - noun a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction 
Ex: The play received accolades from critics and audiences alike.
acerbity - noun a sharp sour taste; a sharp bitterness; a rough and bitter manner
Ex: The old woman's acerbity was clear when she yelled at the kids for climbing her tree.
attrition - noun the act of rubbing together; wearing something down by friction; a wearing down to weaken or destroy 
Ex: Our club has a high rate of attrition because so many members have moved away.
bromide - noun any of the salts of hydrobromic acid; formerly used as a sedative but now generally replaced by safer drugs; a trite or obvious remark
Ex: Chemists use bromide throughout their experiments
chauvinist - noun an extreme bellicose nationalist; a person with a prejudiced belief in the superiority of his or her own kind 
Ex: She may be chauvinistic about her country, but she is not naive.
chronic - adj. being long-lasting and recurrent or characterized by long suffering
Ex: She suffered from chronic pain due to a spinal injury.
expound - verb add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing; state 
Ex: True basketball lovers will use any opportunity to expound on the meaning of the game.
factionalism -  self interested; partisan 
Ex: In early territorial politics, factionalism and prejudice ruled the day
immaculate - adj. completely neat and clean; free from stain or blemish; without fault or error
Ex: When the family entered the hotel room, they found it tidy and immaculate.
imprecation - noun the act of calling down a curse that invokes evil (and usually serves as an insult); a slanderous accusation
Ex: The wizard muttered imprecations as he worked.
ineluctable - adj. impossible to avoid or evade:"inescapable conclusion"
Ex: We no longer require the use of Gods and Oracles in order to understand the ineluctable power of fate.
mercurial - adj. subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind
Ex: Eddie's personality becomes mercurial when he drinks too much.
palliate - verb provide physical relief, as from pain; lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of
Ex: A custom glass of milk before bed may slightly palliate an impending hangover.
protocol - noun code of correct conduct; forms of ceremony and etiquette observed by diplomats and heads of state; (computer science) rules determining the format and transmission of data
Ex: Business protocol requires that we arrive at this meeting on time and prepared.
resplendent - adj. having great beauty and splendor 
Ex: Greek goddess Aphrodite was resplendent in her virtues.
stigmatize - verb mark with a stigma or stigmata; to accuse or condemn or openly or formally or brand as disgraceful 
Ex: Lucy was fearful that being seen buying her clothes at a thirst store would stigmatize her in the eyes of her wealthy classmates.
sub rosa - happening or done in secret
Ex: The meeting happened in sub rosa.
vainglory - noun inordinate pride in one self or ones achievements 
Ex: In performing their funerals, they show no state or vainglory 
vestige - noun an indication that something has been present
Ex: After a huge fire only the vestige of the house remained visible among the ashes
volition - noun the act of making a choice; the capability of conscious choice and decision and intention 
Ex: Impatient for the class to end, Maggie walked out of the room by her own volition. 

Beowulf Essay

       Goodness, loyalty, courteousness, evenness, and bravery all describe the traits an ideal hero would possess. In the poem Beowulf, there is one character who carries all and more of these stated characteristics, and that character is indeed the protagonist known as Beowulf. Throughout the poem Beowulf slays monstrous creatures that seem not of the real world and, in truth, Beowulf exemplifies the characteristics of the ideal and perfect hero just like Katniss Everdeen in Hunger Games. 

       The story starts off with King Hrothgar of Denmark and his kingdom in terror as Grendel, a horrible demon, rampages by killing anyone in the mead-hall called Heorot. Beowulf hears of this and decides to aid King Hrothgar. As Beowulf and his men feast in the Heorot, Grendel comes into play. Beowulf fights Grendel without armor and finishes him by ripping his arm off. Soon enough Grendel's mother hears of her son’s death and decides to avenge him. Beowulf then slays Grendel’s mother. In time, he becomes king in his homeland and oversees a long era of peace during which his warriors grow so soft that they run away from a fight, even when the only man standing is their king, frail and alone, armed with helmet, shield and sword against a fire-breathing dragon. Beowulf loses that last fight and dies with the knowledge that his high ideals no longer thrive in the hearts of younger men. The high ideals he held so dear have not endured under his leadership.

       One thousand years later, Katniss also chooses to fight for others just like Beowulf. She takes her sister’s place in The Hunger Games, knowing the contest may kill her, but if she succeeds, she will not only save her sister, but she will lift up her "district" making their lives better. Indeed, the fate of her home rests upon her shoulders just like Beowulf's does in his homeland. Katniss is less eager to take life than is Beowulf, but Katniss faces mere mortals rather than the Spawn of Cain and a dragon. She must kill her own in order to triumph. We know then that Katniss, in other circumstances, would pursue excellence in all things, never taking life except to hunt so that her family and her community might survive.

          In conclusion, Beowulf is indeed a loyal, courageous, and noble man, and truly portrays the characteristics of the ideal hero. Beowulf’s story, originating about a millennia ago, is a saga alive and well in this post-modern literary era. Katniss Everdeen is an excellent comparison when describing an ideal hero.  Throughout their lives Beowulf and Katniss Everdeen showed the characteristics and traits only  true and ideal heroes could posses. 

Vocabulary #2

Accoutrements - additional items of dress or equipment, or other items carried or worn by a person or used for a particular activity. Ex:  The soldier carried accoutrements during war along with his uniform. 

apogee - noun  a final climactic stage ex: Mia Hamm reached her apogee when she won the championship. 

apropos - adj. of an appropriate or pertinent nature; adv. by the way; at an opportune time ex: Justine’s apropos comment fit in perfectly with our discussion.

bicker - noun a quarrel about petty points; verb argue over petty things 

ex: The girl kept on bickering during the debate

coalesce - verb fuse or cause to grow together; mix together different elements ex: The family coalesces during the summer every year for a family reunion. 

contretemps - noun an awkward clash ex: When the daughter finds her mom at her friends house, there is a contretemp. 

convolution - noun the action of coiling or twisting or winding together; a convex fold or elevation in the surface of the brain; the shape of something rotating rapidly ex: Illusions cause a convulsion to the human brain.   

cull - noun the person or thing that is rejected or set aside as inferior in quality; verb remove something that has been rejected; look for and gather ex: Max had been culled from the group in spider man. 

disparate - adj. including markedly dissimilar elements; fundamentally different or distinct in quality or kind ex: The albino tiger is disparate compared to the rest. 

dogmatic - adj. characterized by assertion of unproved or unprovable principles; relating to or involving dogma; of or pertaining to or characteristic of a doctrine or code of beliefs accepted as authoritative ex: The school's policy is dogmatic. 

licentious - adj. lacking moral discipline; especially sexually unrestrained ex: The man treated violence in a licentious way.

mete - to distribute in equal amounts ex: The man meted out the punishment 

polemic - adj. of or involving dispute or controversy 

ex: The government has created a polemic dispute over if marijuana should be legalized or not.

populous - adj. densely populated ex: LA is populous. 

probity - the quality of having strong moral principles; honesty and decency. 
Ex: Nuns have probity thanks to the lifestyle they are sought to live up to. 

repartee - noun adroitness and cleverness in reply ex: The girl had a repartee when arguing with her sister. 

supervene - verb take place as an additional or unexpected development ex: The tree took a supervene growth when it started to grow side ways instead of upward. 

truncate - adj. terminating abruptly by having or as if having an end or point cut off ex: The veterinarian truncated the boxer's tail. 

unimpeachable - adj. beyond doubt or reproach; completely acceptable; not open to exception or reproach; free of guilt; not subject to blame ex: Some say the president of the United States is unimpeachable, but that is not true.