AP Personal Study Plan

Multiple Choice Practice is definitely the number one area I need to study in. I will take the practice tests on Dr. Preston's blog and others I can find. I can find websites and other information on the internet that can help me to develop the skill of taking this part of the AP Exam.

The Scarlet Letter Remix Video

The Scarlet Letter AP Analysis
by: Sirenity17

Remix the Text Book: Poetry Analysis

Prelude I by T.S. Eliot:

The winter evening settles down
With smell of steaks in passageways.
Six o'clock.
The burnt-out ends of smoky days.
And now a gusty shower wraps
The grimy scraps
Of withered leaves about your feet
And newspapers from vacant lots;
The showers beat
On broken blinds and chimney-pots.
And at the corner of the street
A lonely cab-horse steams and stamps.
And then the lighting of the lamps.

Analysis:

1.)  Dramatic Situation:  The speaker is someone ambiguous; the reader might know them or not.  Whether male or female, there is no distinction or explicit details into this.  The speaker is describing a setting to the reader.  "Of withered leaves about your feet," this line shows that the reader is in the setting and they are placed outside.  The situation is much like standing in a painting.

2.)  Structure:  There is rhyming but it doesn't follow a set pattern of ABBA or ABAB.  The poem flows in triplets of two, 8 syllable lines followed by a 4 syllable line with the exception of line 3 which is 3 syllables.  The poem ends with two couplets of two 8 syllable lines.  The poem seems to be divided in two big chunks by the semi-colon in line 8.

3.)  Grammar/Mechanics:  Usage of periods to end complete ideas.  Semi-colon used to separate two parts of the poem.  One comma used in a place of natural pause and where the thought continues down to the next line.  Set in present tense.

4.)  Theme:  I think that the central message of this poem is the condition of the industrial slums and the passage of time (a very common theme in modernism).

5.)  Imagery:  The whole poem is really an image that the poet is setting the reader in so that they can experience the atmosphere and mood and take away the poems meaning.

6.)  Single words/Diction:  This poem doesn't contain any repeating words that contain a particular emphasis from the repetition.  The diction is used heavily to convey the mood:  "wraps," "scraps,"vacant," "beat,"broken," "lonely,"withered,"burnt-out," "smokey," all of these words create the image of a run down, poor industrial city area and set the mood of this city as well.  These words don't paint a bright city, but one of smoke, cold, rain, fracture, and emptiness.

7.)  Tone:  Monotonous and reserved yet forceful enough to push you into the sight of the poem.

8.)  Literary Techniques:

Poetry Analysis: Out of the Cradle and Endlessly Rocking

1.) Speaker is a boy.  He is on a seashore, watching two birds quietly out of curiosity and translating in his mind what their chirps and whistles mean.  The bird is also a speaker.  The boy is reflecting, reminiscing, and telling it to his brother.  The boy’s soul is another speaker.

2.) Poem is structured more like prose.  No rhyme pattern, merely broken up and divided by ideas.  Many commas and periods mark end of completely thought much like prose.  Divided too by speaker.

3.) Grammar:  Clew is used in place of Clue. 

4.) Theme: “The messenger there arous’d, the fire, the sweet hell within, the unknown want, the destiny of me.”  All the knowledge the speaker gained was through listening to some part of nature, wether it be a bird, grass, or the sea.  Perhaps, this lends itself to the theme.

5.) Imagery and Figures of Speech: “From under that yellow half-moon late-risen and swollen as if with tears.  

6.) Single words: Death is a single word that is greatly repeated

7.) Tone: Reflective.

8.) Literary Techniques: Personification is used in giving the bird speech and imagining what the bird is saying in his songs and calls.  It is also used to give a lot of imagery, for example, “The yellow half-moon enlarged, sagging down, drooping, the face of the sea almost touching.”  

Anaphora is also used; Whitman constantly repeats “O” in the beginning of many lines in stanzas repeating it throughout the stanza. 

9.) Procity:

AP In Class Test Practice 1: Essay

     What I found easy this first time around was the relation between prompt and lecture.  It was very easy for me to recall upon what was said in lecture and how that contributed to Dickens' meaning and knowing this made that part of the prompt easy.

     What was difficult was organizing the essay.  The intro was fine and explaining how, for example, a character had a power struggle and how this helped create an overall meaning for the novel, was fine too.  But breaking this in to three paragraphs was hard.  I couldn't decide if the three paragraphs should have been three examples from the story or literary techniques.  The Time frame was difficult too of course.  But not being obligated to write full essays made that much easier and more relaxed.  The time and amount of prompts was definitely unexpected.  Writing a clear enough thesis was hard for these prompts.

A Tale of Two Cities: Lecture Notes

Lecture Here:

http://drprestonsrhsenglitcomp.blogspot.com/2012/02/february-14.html

Notes:

Third city involved is Manchester.

Inspired by the Frozen Deep, performed with friends and family.

Very personal novel

Dickens suffered all experiences when writing the novel

In his life he suffered similar experiences to those of the novel

Self-Sacrifice and love triangle of The Frozen Deep heavily influenced The Tale of Two Cities.

The plot outline is nearly the same

Fell in love with Ellen

Ellen played Lucy in the Frozen Deep

Lucie, in Tale of Two Cities, is modeled after Ellen

Sydney parallels Richard in the Frozen Deep

1858: began series of Public Readings for profit.

Became greatest reader of the greatest writer

A Tale of Two Cities: Title Explanation

            Superficially, it can be explained that this novel is set in and is about London and France during 1775, the time of the American Revolution.  The title, not directly stating the names of the two cities corresponds with the indirect tone that Dickens sets in the introduction of the novel.  This helps create a sense of the past, since this novel was written 67 years after the historical events it is based on.  The title, in a way, reminds the reader that the novel is, in fact, a tale or story, and not a non-fiction historical account.  A historically based fictional tale is a great medium for communicating the themes and lessons of the time period and history it is based upon.

Walt Whitman: Sea Drift: Out of the Cradle and Endlessly Rocking.

OUT of the cradle endlessly rocking,

Out of the mocking-bird's throat, the musical shuttle,

Out of the Ninth-month midnight,

Over the sterile sands and the fields beyond, where the child
         leaving his bed wander'd alone, bareheaded, barefoot, 

Down from the shower'd halo,

Up from the mystic play of shadows twining and twisting as if
         they were alive, 

Out from the patches of briers and blackberries,

From the memories of the bird that chanted to me,

From your memories sad brother, from the fitful risings and fall-
         ings I heard, 

From under that yellow half-moon late-risen and swollen as if with
         tears, 

From those beginning notes of yearning and love there in the mist,

From the thousand responses of my heart never to cease,

From the myriad thence-arous'd words,

From the word stronger and more delicious than any,

From such as now they start the scene revisiting,

As a flock, twittering, rising, or overhead passing,

Borne hither, ere all eludes me, hurriedly,

A man, yet by these tears a little boy again,

Throwing myself on the sand, confronting the waves,

I, chanter of pains and joys, uniter of here and hereafter,

Taking all hints to use them, but swiftly leaping beyond them,

A reminiscence sing.

Big Question: Abstract

Background:  Debussy composed in a time where many were trying to diverge from Classicism.  The period before Debussy was Romanticism, a period that, too, revolted against Classicism, however, to make no real, significant changes.  Composers still wrote in Sonata form, with four bar motives, and resolving dissonance.
   
     "Romantic: a label that to my mind has no significance.  The language of Schumann, Berlioz, and Liszt is the classical language.  I hear in them all the same kind of music." --Claude Debussy.

Essentially, they wrote with the same aesthetics, or musical language, as Debussy put it.  He, having learned all of classical music, ten years at the Paris Conservatoire, disliked all of it, questioned all of Classicism's dogma.  He didn't believe music was anything his teachers said it was.  Due to this thinking, Debussy changed classical music, and now, many study his mind and music to understand why and how.

Need:  The need to study Debussy's mind and music is to unveil and understand this enigmatic and revolutionary composer.  This, sense he led a somewhat secluded and secretive life, is quite difficult and has been pursued since before he died.

Purpose:  Debussy accomplished something different.  Yet the inter-workings of this accomplishment remains shrouded and misty.  The purpose of my work is to remove the veil of dust and mist around his mind and music.

Structure:  This work will be structured mainly in two parts:  The psychology and life of Debussy that resulted in his philosophy and view on music as well as the technical, compositional, and the musically theoretical side of him.

AP Essay Practice: Number 1

"By their deeds shall ye know them." We often judge people by what they do; therefore, we consider people who commit cruel or reprehensible acts corrupt, base or amoral. In literature, however, authors often introduce us to characters whom we learn to like or even respect, despite their deeds. 

Write an essay about one such character for whom you developed admiration or compassion. Briefly explain why you felt his or her behavior to be condemnable or contemptible, and how the author's techniques influenced you to admire that person. Do not summarize the plot. (40 minutes)

            In the light, or perhaps shadow, of Holden Caulfield, the quote, “By their deeds shall ye know them,” is wrong.  Caulfield is not nearly understood when just looking at his deeds.  A person’s deeds can say a lot about their character, psychology, or culture, however, deeds can, too, be misleading.  People act certain ways regardless of their typical disposition when put in difficult situations.  There are so many outer world variables and forces influencing a person’s actions that, in some cases, one’s actions may be completely determined regardless of that one’s own desires, thus revealing to the watcher of the one’s deeds, a falsity, an incongruity between person and deed.  In Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger wrote Caulfield, on the surface of deeds, to be extremely disagreeable.  However, within Caulfield’s depths, we find a different truth.  This is revealed to us by Salinger through plot, and first person narration.        

Thinking Outside the Box: Plato & Sartre

Plato, through his "Allegory of the Cave," expresses that our senses, a primary mode of attaining our knowledge of our world, cannot be trusted.  What we sense, isn't always the whole truth.  What we perceive is an imitation of the truth and thus we must not rely entirely on our senses.  We must look from different perspectives; we must turn around.  Our senses are narrow, we must use all senses to determine from one point what something is, then change our location entirely and perceive all over again.  Again and again.  In order to attain more truth of what it is we are sensing.  In order to change our location, in order to carry out this search action as described, we must be free of binds.  The prisoners in the cave were comfortable with their binds and their location and thus did not free ourselves.  Our comfort is our self-set limitation on our knowledge.  By stepping outside our comfort zones we expand them, permitting more truth.  Often times thinking differently is uncomfortable and difficult, and more than often this is what changes your thinking and attains knowledge.  Plato expresses that thinking differently and searching for knowledge is an acquired skill, as staring into the bright sun got easier as the one prisoner continued to do it.  Our limitations are self-created, self-accepted.

"GARCIN: Inez, they've laid their snare damned cunningly-- like a cobweb. If you make any movement, if you raise your hand to fan yourself, Estelle and I feel a little tug. Alone, none of us can save himself or herself; we're linked together inextricably. So you can take your choice. Hullo? What's happening?"

This quote from Sartre's play, "No Exit" can be interpreted to say that our knowledge is dependent upon the knowledge of those around us.  Our knowledge has been accumulated by the distributed information from others, albeit false, true or otherwise.  In a sense, the knowledge of others is both our limitation and our expansion.

"Alone, none of us can save himself or herself; we're linked together inextricably."

Alone, we can question and ponder, we can experiment and reason, but our thoughts and enterprises can never be validated without others, we can never know how close to the truth our thoughts and opinions are without the scrutiny of others.

AP Term: Anachronism

Defined by AP to be "something that shows up in the wrong place or the wrong time."

Perhaps this could mean a plate of food showing up in a public restroom or a character wearing sunglasses in a time period when sunglasses did not exist.

Here are some visual examples of Anachronism:

Anachronism often creates a sense of displacement with various effects:  either humor, discomfort, sadness, or maybe for symbolic meaning.

Big Question: Has One Ever Wondered

Do People choose to think a certain way or is it a habit that has been formed over time?  How much of our thoughts are dictated by our conscience and sub-conscience minds?

Literature Analysis: The Scarlet Letter

1.)  The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne begins with an introduction entitled The Custom-House, which introduces the narrator and the setting of the story (which is in Salem, Massachusetts, 200 years prior to this narration).  The narrator while working in this house discovered documents and other papers which he then decided, in his life, to compile into a story called The Scarlet Letter.  The novel begins with the main character, Hester Prynne stepping out before a crowd in a plain gown adorned with a lavishly and extravagantly embroidered scarlet letter A.  The A is the symbolic of Prynne's sin; Adultery.  In this Puritanical Massachusetts colony, Prynne is set before all the public to be ridiculed and shamed for her sin.  Here, it is revealed that Prynne's husband was lost at sea and presupposed to be dead.  She, under this notion, fell in love and had a child with another man, whose identity at this point is unknown.  Standing before the crowd, Prynne holds tight to her daughter Pearl, another symbol of Prynne's guilt.  Fathers and other clergymen of the colony essentially publicly try Prynne, attempting to break her and pry from her the identity of her partner sinner.  It is conveyed here, that this colony is very strict, rigid, dogmatic, and vicious against all sinners to the point of making it a duty to find the second sinner and bring him the punishment he deserves.  Towards the end of this scene, Roger Chillingsworth is introduced.  He is a physician and Prynne's husband.  He has come seeking revenge on Pearl's father.  Only Prynne knows this.

Now, Prynne is found in a cottage-like house isolated from the rest of the colony; Prynne and Pearl have been shunned and ostracized.  Prynne learns to cope with her new circumstances, she cares for Pearl, her only happiness, and works as the local seamstress.  When Prynne does enter the town most people fear her, some children tease and harass her.  Pearl grows into an impish child and eventually harasses her mom as well.  Pearl is characterized as very intelligent, devilish, impish, yet with an aura of beauty and happiness about her which fuels Prynne to strive through her adversity.  As time passes, the town settles and Prynne's Scarlet letter becomes a regular site to all.  In addition, Prynne receives help from the one sympathetic character, Arthur Dimmesdale.  He defends Prynne against the other clergymen who try to take Pearl away from Prynne.

How Hamlet's use of Language Differentiates Himself from Epic Heroes such as Beowulf: Essay

             Hamlet stands out as a character because he was one of the first, if not the first, to provide us with a window into his thinking.  Characters before Hamlet were very simple in their use of language; using language to describe, direct, and reveal.  Hamlet deviated from this in using his language indirectly, to conceal and deceive, and to analyze his own thinking.  In other words, Hamlet uses language to convey his thoughts and thus he diverges from the epic hero, such as Beowulf, who uses language to communicate his actions.  By using his language indirectly and to hint, to veil and to mislead, and to analyze himself and his thoughts, Hamlet’s use of language differentiates himself from epic heroes such as Beowulf.

             Early heros, such as Beowulf, use language in a very direct manner; stating every deliberate meaning to their intentions.  For example, in this quote, “Our errand is a great one, our business with the glorious King of the Danes is no secret; there’s nothing dark or hidden in our coming.” Beowulf, to the Watchman upon the Danish shore, deliberately delivers a concrete and direct message with his language.  Hamlet is dramatically different.  “I am myself indifferent honest, but yet I could accuse me of such things that it were better my mother had not borne me: I am very proud, revengeful (italics mine), ambitious, with more offenses at my beck that I have thoughts to put them in, imagination to give them shape, or time to act them in.”  Here, Hamlet states everything he plans to do, he announces to the audience, who, under popular misconception may believe Hamlet has not made up his mind, that he has decided on revenge, however, this is not stated directly to either Ophelia or the audience, all Hamlet says directly is that he is revengeful.  Nevertheless, with this single word it is spoken indirectly that Hamlet is marching towards revenge and has contrived a brilliant mouse trap in which to execute it.  In doing this, Hamlet differentiates himself from the epic hero, Beowulf.  Beowulf even goes far enough to use his language to state that there is nothing hidden or concealed in his actions or language, Hamlet, quite differently, conceals a lot with his language.

The Most Important Concept that I've Learned So Far...

             So far, a lot has been learned this year even though I have the same teacher and have learned his philosophies in the previous years.  But the most important item of knowledge that I have taken away as of this time in the year, wasn't from him.  It was Roy Christopher and other Internet Giants that we had the honor to speak with via Blackboard.  The incredible experience broke the generational boundary and made that point, "That my generation isn't careless, isn't snotty and spoiled, and is appreciative of the new technology and desirous of learning it to a full understanding."  So many people in my senior class that are enrolled in Dr. Preston's Ap Literature course wrote how important they felt, "Program or be Programmed" was to them.  This demonstration we made to Roy Christopher and the rest told them that there is hope in us, we're not all what everyone says we are.  We are not all what Louis C.K. says we are.  However, he is, to my understanding, entirely right about everyone's unhappiness.  We should all take a step back, and actually look at the new horizon we've reached.  Otherwise we can't, no matter which generation, appreciate this advancement.

Internet Giants - Blackboard Conference: Roy Christopher, Ted Newcomb, and Howard Rheingold Alumni

We started off with Ted Newcomb asking some questions for Roy Christopher after short introductions.  This led to the real, pioneering discussion.  So, here are the main points:

1. Relating this period in history to Hip-Hop; this is a technological revolution.
2. It is impossible to surpass the medium itself:
1. Society cannot make something, like an app, on mobile technology that will become more important than the fact that Society has mobile technology.
3. "Program or be Programmed"
1. It isn't necessary to know how the technology works to use it, however, knowing how it does work, and knowing the best ways to use it, makes you a more mature user.
4. Advent Horizons create challenges in intergenerational communication, however, these challenges provide opportunities to teach those of older generations how to use the new technology and essentially cross their Advent Horizons.
5. We must find balance in our lives between digital and analog technologies.
6. With technology changing so rapidly, people can pick and choose the technology they use.  
7. The goal with using technology in education is to find the perfect blend of theory and academics with practical and technological use.

Literature Analysis: Gulliver's Travels

1.)  Gulliver's Travels, written by Jonathan Swift, is a Four Part satirical adventure novel narrated by the main character Lemuel Gulliver.  The novel begins at sea.  Gulliver's business as a professional surgeon failed and now he is off at sea.  A storm hits and he is shipwrecked on a tiny island here he is held captive by a native people the size of his index finger.  These people, the Lilliputians, feed Gulliver and are very hospitable.  After being caught in a war between the natives on this island Gulliver fixes a bought and leaves.  He intends to reach England.

             After staying shortly in England with his family, Gulliver sets sail again to an island of giants, known as the Brobdingnagians.  He quickly meets the royal family and court which are delighted by him.  He is very entertaining to them for he is so tiny and musical to them. During his stay he becomes very disgusted by them for their flaws are magnified due to their gargantuan size.  Towards the end of his stay here, Gulliver, while caged, is caught by an eagle and taken off the island.  He lands in the ocean where he sets sail yet again.

            Next, Gulliver lands on a floating island called Laputa.  This island is full of intelligent, academic people called Theoreticians.  These people oppress the people of the island they float above called, Balnibarbi.  After this he goes to Glubbdubdrib where he witness the recreation of historical heros which he finds rather boring and unimpressive.  He then visits the Luggnaggians and the Struldbrugs after which, he is then able to travel to Japan where he finds a way to get back to England.

Tools That Change the Way We Think

             "Back in 2004, I asked [Google founders] Page and Brin what they saw as the future of Google search. 'It will be included in people's brains,' said Page. 'When you think about something and don't really know much about it, you will automatically get information.'

             'That's true,' said Brin. 'Ultimately I view Google as a way to augment your brain with the knowledge of the world. Right now you go into your computer and type a phrase, but you can imagine that it could be easier in the future, that you can have just devices you talk into, or you can have computers that pay attention to what's going on around them and suggest useful information.'

            'Somebody introduces themselves to you, and your watch goes to your web page,' said Page. 'Or if you met this person two years ago, this is what they said to you... Eventually you'll have the implant, where if you think about a fact, it will just tell you the answer."

-From In the Plex by Steven Levy (p.67)

             I agree with what Page said about Google becoming part of our way of thinking.  I can clearly see it being a part of mine.  When I am curious about a topic I immediately check Google and see what comes up.  If I really get interested I will dig more and even go to the library to get some books.  However, it never starts with books for me.  Unlike my parents.  

In Search Of

After watching the TED video on Filter Bubbles, I wasn't surprised.  I did really enjoy the illustrations though and the overall quality of the speech.

After re-doing my William Shakespeare search with Filter Bubbles in mind, (I used Dogpile instead) I got all the same results with a few new sources.  I got sources from Google that I got on Bing and on Yahoo.  It is as if all of the search engines use and collect the same signals I give off.  I never use Bing and Yahoo, yet I get from them what I get from Google.  Almost, like there is some big library all about me, that these engines go to to make the best tailored search.