"Thinking Outside the Box"

"No Exit" by  Jean Paul Sartre questions to consider.

1. Think about the place you have chosen as your hell. Does it look ordinary and bourgeois, like Sartre's drawing room, or is it equipped with literal instruments of torture like Dante's Inferno? Can the mind be in hell in a beautiful place? Is there a way to find peace in a hellish physical environment?                       ---Hell would be a place where the people you love and adore aren't there. It doesn't have to look ordinary or extraordinary, its the people that make hell a living hell. The mind can be in hell in a beautiful place. But that people place might undoubtedly be surrounded by little images and trinkets that remind you of the people you love, and you will certainly cry because of the their symbolism. Pain is only for a little while. Once you have received a certain amount of pain, you get used to it and it  no longer seems like an unbearable feeling. You can find that peace by accepting certain things: 1) your loved ones aren't here enduring the same pain, 2) your dead, it doesn't matter how much they hurt you, and 3) pain can be painless if you accept it is all n your head. 
2. Could hell be described as too much of anything without a break? Are variety, moderation and balance instruments we use to keep us from boiling in any inferno of excess,' whether it be cheesecake or ravenous sex?                                                                                                                               ---Change is definitely something that keeps life interesting. A change in environment means a whole new discovery that peaks interest in the mind. A change in person means there is a whole new world of information to be learned from that person. Sleep is designed to work out our little aches and frustrations and without we get cranky. The fact that people in hell get no sleep means they don't get the satisfaction of resting = people are unhappy campers. I think variety would make hell bearable and that is why people in hell are in the same room with the same people, forever. Even if its cheesecake or ravenous sex, you will still get tired of it because  your taste-buds might at first love it but then grow to hate it. I don't know about ravenous sex but I'm sure the people involved would love it.
3.  How does Sartre create a sense of place through dialogue? Can you imagine what it feels like to stay awake all the time with the lights on with no hope of leaving a specific place? How does GARCIN react to this hell? How could you twist your daily activities around so that everyday habits become hell? Is there a pattern of circumstances that reinforces the experience of hell?                                     ---The characters talk a lot and actually express their emotions very vividly. Garcin asks where the paraphernalia is located and he is obviously surprised by the room, which we the audience assumes is actually quite lavished. I would want the lights to be off that way even if I can't sleep, it makes it easier for me to daydream and pretend to fall asleep. Again, if I do my daily activities without the person I love, hell would definitely be my reality.
4. Compare how Plato and Sartre describe the limitations of our thinking and imply solutions to the problem.                                                                                                                                  ---Learning new information is defined by the ability to learn new things. Plato implies that you have that ability to learn if you grasp it and leave "the cave". Sartre implies that in hell, you are unable to leave that cave therefore the cave is hell for all who have lived outside of it. Solutions to this problem are to live a life where you can say you actually learned from it. Also, live a life where you are happy and not make other people unhappy. 

LAQ: No Exit

No Exit by John Paul Sartre

GENERAL:

1. "No Exit" is a book where three people (two women and one male) are placed in a room in hell. They half expect it to be torture chambers and moats it it ends up being a well decorated room with sofas. There is even bright lights. Obviously this is something you don't expect so they relax and converse with each other. Inez, one of the woman, bluntly asks what did everyone do to die. Estelle acts the innocent one and so does Garcin as they deny ever doing anything wrong. They continue to converse and converse and finally they realize what hell really is. Hell is the people you are stuck with, not the place itself. Garcin tries to escape by opening the door but there is a physical

Allegory of the Cave Sonnet

Those who have chosen to reside in the cave

Have undoubtedly decided to be a knave,

A knave because they are mentally enslaved.

Now those who fight with all their might

Must first endure the pain of no sight.

Pain is but a miniscule feeling 

When compared to the triumph of gaining knowledge and being set free.

At first, you won't see clearly

Being blinded by light will hurt dearly,

Even breaking from the shackles will be a pain

But is it not better a little pain for a gain?

Now unshackle those chains,

Live a life of truth,

And question every bit of information introduced

And nothing but carefree happiness will reign.

Plato's Allegory of the Cave

Plato Study Questions:

1. According to Socrates, what does the Allegory of the Cave represent? The allegory of the cave represents the shackles that hold some people while others have chosen to be unbound by them. By shackles, I think Plato means a narrow view of life. 

New Music!

      I just uploaded some new music! I thought you viewers might have gotten tired of my other songs since it has been a few months. If you are new to my blog, you can add music to your blog by checking out this post. So the new songs are:

1) "Cherry's Dance of Death" by Chingon.

Mindmeister vs. Prezi

Prezi

vs.

Mindmeister

Messing with Mindmeister this morning and I cam to realize something.... I think this program might be better than Prezi. You can invite others just like prezi and its an online format where you can create presentations. The thing I do like the most of Mindmeister is the fact that adding lines and connecting topics is relatively easy.

Mindmaps

We, the students, should use mindmaps to link our Literature Analysis posts. Also links to various other websites that might prove useful. For example, we can have a section where we have links of online practice tests of the AP english literature exam. Mindmap seems like a great idea but I wonder how the log-in situation is going to work. I know for Prezi, it only allows a certain number of people to modify it at a time, so I worry about that.

Two mindmaps I found were: Lion Den and Mappio. They are both simple mind maps but personally I like the design of CMAP so I'd rather go with that mind map even though these look simple and easy to use.

LAQ: The House of Seven Gables

The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne 

     I read the eBook for this book so I will have quotes but I won't have accurate page numbers since the page size is different for an eBook than for a regular book. 

GENERAL:

Sonnet Recitation

       This was really fun with me because this was my first video to upload to youtube! Have fun watching! Video recording was done by Liz Estrada.

Sonnet Analysis Part I

Analysis of sonnet 116 by Shakespeare

"Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love" - Shakespeare doesn't want to be in the way of love because love is an unstoppable force that pushes aside anything in its way. 

"Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no; it is an ever-fixed mark,

That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken." - Loving someone means you accept them for who they are because you love every bit of them. Love is fixed. Once its made it marks on you, you will never forget it. Love is unmeasurable because it can't be contained or felt. 

Big Question???

Why do we take the same courses in high school as we do for general education in college?

Vocab list 11 remix

Affinity

Bilious

Cognate

Vocab list 11

1. Affinity - (noun) A spontaneous or natural liking or sympathy for someone or something
2. bilious - (adj) Affected by or associated with nausea or vomiting; sickly
3. cognate - (adj) Related to or descended from a common ancestor; (noun) a blood relative
4. corollary - (noun) A proposition that follows from one already proved
5. cul-de-sac – (noun) A street or passage closed at one end; A route or course leading nowhere
6. derring-do – (noun) Action displaying heroic courage
7. divination – (noun) The practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means

Sonnets

        Honestly, I had trouble picking just one sonnet so I picked two :) These two sonnets are by William Shakespeare. 

Sonnet 116

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no; it is an ever-fixed mark,

That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle's compass come;

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error, and upon me prov'd,

I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd.

Sonnet 145

Those lips that love's own hand did make

Breathed forth the sound that said "I hate,"

To me that languished for her sake.

But when she saw my woeful state,

Straight in her heart did mercy come,

Chiding that tongue that ever sweet

Was used in giving gentle doom,

And taught it thus anew to greet.

"I hate" she altered with an end

That followed it as gentle day

Doth follow night, who, like a fiend,

From heaven to hell is flown away.

"I hate" from hate away she threw.

And saved my life, saying "not you."

GROWING MY PLN

PLN - Personal Learning Network

      The process has been swell. I reviewed Dulce, Ubi, Lizbeth, Justin Thompson, and Michelle Crosby's blog. They had insteresting websites.

Michelle Crosby, Hayden Robel, and Ubi Kim already beat me to commenting to http://gallagherseniorhonors.blogspot.com/2008/02/hamlet-study-guide-for-act-11-31.html but this is where I asked my questions. I asked what they think Shakespeare's views on revenge are. Hopefully they respond.

AP Hamlet PLN

http://shslboyd.pbworks.com/w/page/8889829/AP%20English%20Literature%20and%20Composition

-This website has mannnnyyy links and worksheets that reinforces Hamlet. It also has cartoons.

http://vickivestenglishclass.weebly.com/ap-english.html

-In this website, there is the a worksheet with a lot of Hamlet info. Info ranges from a broad summary of the play to connections and relationships in the play. There are quotes that are explained. there are character's that are explained to some extent. Overall very helpful.

http://aplove.blogspot.com/2007/11/ap-lit-hamlet-actscene-notes.html

-I like this website because it has summaries for each scene from each act. The summaries are very concise and so very helpful for a quick glance to refresh the memory.

http://gallagherseniorhonors.blogspot.com/2008/02/hamlet-study-guide-for-act-11-31.html

-This ap english class is basically doing the same thing we are. They have various videos from each scene and they have a forum for questions.

Hamlet Discussion 11-01-12

Hamlet discussion-audio of discussion

Felicitas Ruiz, Mattew Patel, and Valerie Gonzalez

Questions:
1) Was telling the actors to act out the play, Murder of Gonzago, and Hamlet's entire plan the best way to carry out his revenge?
2) Did Rosencrantz and Guildenstern deserve to die?
3) How has Hamlet changed throughout the story?
4) What was Fortinbra's character's purpose?
5) Do you think it was smart for Claudius to want to kill Hamlet? 

Vocab list #10

Vocabulary defined by Bernardo Gonzalez.

1. aficionado- (noun) a serious devotee of some particular music genre or musical performer
2. browbeat- (verb) to discourage or frighten with threats or a domineering manner; intimidate
3. commensurate- (adj) able to be measured by a common standard
4. diaphanous- (adj) Of such fine texture as to be transparent or translucent
5. emolument- (noun) Payment for an office or employment
6. foray- (noun) A sudden raid or military advance
7. genre- (noun) A realistic style of painting that depicts scenes from everyday life
8. homily- (noun) An inspirational saying or platitude
9. immure- (verb) To confine within or as if within walls; imprison
10. insouciant- (adj) carefree or unconcerned; light-hearted
11. matrix- (noun) a substance, situation, or environment in which something has its origin, takes form, or is enclosed
12. obsequies- (noun) A funeral rite or ceremony
13. panache- (noun) A bunch of feathers or a plume, especially on a helmet.
14. persona- (noun) The role that one assumes or displays in public or society; one's public image or personality, as distinguished from the inner self
15. philippic- (noun) a bitter or impassioned speech of denunciation; invective
16. prurient- (adj) unusually or morbidly interested in sexual thoughts or practices
17. sacrosanct- (adj) Regarded as sacred and inviolable
18. systemic- (adj) Of or relating to systems or a system
19. tendentious- (adj) Marked by a strong implicit point of view; partisan
20. vicissitude- (noun) A change or variation