Powered By Blogger

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Lit Analysis: Things They Carried

1) The Things They Carried is a story written by Tim O' Brien. The main plot of the story is the journey the main character takes when he is drafted into service for the Vietnam war. Each chapter describes a different part of his journey, and he shares the hardships that he is forced to face.

2) I believe one of the major themes of the novel is courage. The main character is not only courageous when he charges the battle but, he is also courageous when he is able to forgive himself for the mistakes he has made in his life.

3)The authors tone is very relaxed and easy going. It is like he is telling the story to a friend whom he trusts and respects and knows is willing to listen. His diction is not very complicated and his style is easy to read. although he writes the story in this manner, his message is very clear and important.

4)Some literary techniques that helped me to further understand the prompt was his diction, syntax, , and characterization. His use of less compels diction helped me to understand what was going on. he simply explained everything that he needed to in a simple and organized manner. His syntax was also very clear and easy to understand. Everything the author wrote flowed very well and was easy to understand.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Technology Changes The Way We Think

I've found that extensive use of internet, media and technology have made me lazy and distracted. Not only am I distracted by text messages and facebook, but also music. I have Itunes running at all times and tend to put on music which is very distracting. I zone out very easily. For example when I'm doing homework and I cannot find the answer I'll look on google instead of figuring out to do it. Technology has not only distracted the world but it has also made it lazy.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

In Search Of

This information has me thinking differently about what I see online by "puzzling the will," if satellites can control what I view online then what do I do to get a full spectrum of information? That is truly the question proposed in this video. Also, what am I not able to see? When I re-did my Shakespeare search I refined my search terms to phrases like who was William Shakespeare? Or when did Shakespeare live? Instead of broad searches this enabled me to view more credible sources instead.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Notes on Hamlet

When we first started this Act, I was very one sided, I didn't really care about Act 3, I just wanted it to end. But, after reading this Act, I'm very interested about reading more because I really like the way Shakespeare wrote Hamlet as a character. Throughout Act 3 Hamlet is contemplating killing himself because he is great pain after his father's death, but he has decided to go after the real source of pain, Claudius. Hamlet has said he will uncover the truth of his father's murder so that the people of the kingdom will know too.

Who was Shakespeare?

Little is actually known for sure about the man we call William Shakespeare, although his is a name familiar to nearly every English speaking person. His birthday is a guess, and just what he looked like is a mystery. Even his identity itself is sometimes disputed. But most people today consider Shakespeare the greatest of all dramatists. His plays demonstrate a profound understanding of the nature of humanity. His skill with language and his ability to construct a story through dramatic and poetic means is unequaled.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare

http://www.ljhammond.com/essays/shak1.htm

To Facebook or Not to Facebook

When I first created my Facebook, I was amazed how ad free it was and how easy it was to find friends. But, now I am just bored and tired of the whole thing, and am not able to delete it because of how Zuckerberg set up the website. You are not able to delete it because to Zuckerberg you are just money in his wallet, because the more members he has the more money he makes. Once I read this article I realized that these kids that are 12 years old who created a Facebook, will never be able to delete it throughout their lives.

Monday, October 10, 2011

(Don't) Be Hamlet


Hamlet's "To be, or not to be" soliloquy is arguably the most famous soliloquy in the history of the theatre. Even today, 400 years after it was written, most people are vaguely familiar with the soliloquy even though they may not know the play. What gives these 34 lines such universal appeal and recognition? What about Hamlet's introspection has prompted scholars and theatergoers alike to ask questions about their own existence over the centuries? 

In this soliloquy , Shakespeare strikes a chord with a fundamental human concern: the validity and worthiness of life. Would it not be easier for us to simply enter a never-ending sleep when we find ourselves facing the daunting problems of life than to "suffer / the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune"? However, it is perhaps because we do not know what this endless sleep entails that humans usually opt against suicide. "For in that sleep of death what dreams may come / When we have shuffled off this mortal coil / Must give us pause." Shakespeare seems to understand this dilemma through his character Hamlet, and thus the phrase "To be, or not to be" has been immortalized; indeed, it has pervaded our culture to such a remarkable extent that it has been referenced countless times in movies, television, and the media. Popular movies such as Billy Madison quote the famous phrase, and www.tobeornottobe.com serves as an online archive of Shakespeare's works. Today, a Shakespeare stereotype is held up by the bulk of society, where they see him as the god of drama, infallible and fundamentally superior to modern playwrights. However, this attitude is not new. Even centuries ago, the "holiness" of Shakespeare's work inspired and awed audiences.


There are a hundred characters in [Shakespeare's] plays that (if we may be allowed the expression) speak out of character. ... The head and shoulders introduce the famous soliloquy of Hamlet. He had some reason to revenge his father's death upon his uncle, but he had none to take away his own life. Nor does it appear from any other part of the play that he had any such intention. On the contrary, when he had a fair opportunity of being put to death in England he very wisely retorted the villainy of his conductors on their own heads.

But it produces an infinitely greater effect than could be expected of an argument on suicide and death in tragedy; and this is because a large part of the audience not only knows it by heart as well as they do the Lord's Prayer, but listens to it, so to speak, as if it were a Lord's Prayer, not indeed with the profound reflections which accompany our sacred prayer, but with a sense of solemnity and awe, of which some one who does not know England can have no conception.

 Decide whether, after our present state, we are to be or not to be. That is the question which, as it shall be answered, will determine whether 'tis nobler and more suitable to the dignity of reason to.