Literary Analysis #3 The Joy Luck Club

     There are poor relationships between mothers and daughters all around the world. In the novel The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan, there was a large amount of inadequate miscommunication  between mothers and daughters. The complication between the families can be caused by many reasons, but culture stands out. Cultural differences are portrayed when you compare obedience from China to free will as American. The story would change dramatically if the characters were fathers and sons because men had more rights and they would be a lot more care free.

     The women had very little respect, or at least that's how men treated them. Ying Ying was married to Clifford St. Clair. and he changed personal things about her including her own name. Ying Ying evolved and eventually became a ghost because she eventually stopped caring. The same thing happened with her daughter Lena. Lena's marriage was headed toward disastrous ways and she didn't do anything to stop it. Ying Ying also married a man before Clifford, a man who turned out to be a womanizer and who left her for an opera singer. There were a lot of men who didn't value their relationships,

     Men wouldn't worry as much as women did. For example, An-Mei-Hsu's mother taught her how to cope with pain, distrust others, and swallow or control her tears. Men usually got many marriages and had more power. They hardly had moments where they got emotional and completely broke out. They made the rules most of the time and were unreasonable. Overall, they suffered the least.

     I believe that, for the most part, men were the main source of pain. If the story was based on them it would mostly be about unsatisfied marriages, keeping a family together, and even plain womanizing. Lindo, Suyuan Woo, An Mei Hsu, and Ying Ying all had emotional breakdowns or painful moments in their lives. They moved to America to escape all the bad in their world. Their daughters still faced bad men. Lena literally owes money to her husband Harold and doesn't have a healthy marriage. Waverly is in a relationship with a man named Rich, and he treats her the way she would want to be treated. It seems that there are good men in the world, but they still have to find them. 

     Overall, I believe that the entire concept of the story would be different if the characters were fathers and sons. The 2 reasons are because men's lives were different compared to women due to more rights, and because men would have less worries. My opinions about the novel in general make me realize that I'm lucky. Lucky that I have a healthy relationship with not only my mother, but my family. The last thing I would want is a large amount of miscommunication between my family and I, and for my family to go through everything that the characters faced.

     

Leopard Man #9-15

9. Tom Leppard is known as "Leopard Man" because he is covered with tattoos from head to toe of leopard spots, he lives the lifestyle of a leopard, and because of where he lives.

10. The author believes that people with tattoos and piercings are just looking for attention. He believes this way because he assumes that they failed to get the positive attention they were seeking, so they seek attention by getting piercings and tattoos.

11. Leopard Man stands out from other peirced and tattooed people because he tattooed his body to express the way he wanted to live his life, as a leopard. Plus, he tattooed his entire body while most people with tattoos only get a few or only cover their arms or back.

12. Leopard Man lives in the Scottish wilderness in a small cabin. 

13. According to Feys, the type of people society fears are loners (or anti-social freaks). They fear them because they follow their own beliefs and values and they refuse to let anyone's opinion effect them.

14. The "worlds most common but dangerous psychological disorder" is conformity. Feys argument consisted of people wanting and trying so hard to fit in so much that it causes them to destroy themselves. You destroy yourself due to all the pressure. 

15. Leopard Man is content with his life because he is living the life he has dreamed of. He doesn't care about everyone else's opinions on him and is relieved from society. All that he has ever wanted is his.

Latin Roots #7

Roots and Derivatives

1. duct(t), duce (to lead): conduct, reduce, education, abduct, deductive, ductile, induction, deduce, conduct

2. fed(er), fid(e) (faith, trust): federal, confidence, affidavit, infidel, bona fide, confide, confederate

3. fin(e) (end, limit): finish, confide, define, infinitesimal, affinity, infinity, finial

4. flect, flex (to bend): deflect, reflex, reflector, flexibility, genuflect, flexor

Word List

1. aqueduct(n): a large pipe or other conduit made to bring water from a great distance

2. conducive (a): tending to lead, help, assist, or result in

3. definitive (a): completely accurate, reliable, and authoritative; decisive or conclusive

 

4. fidelity (n): faithfulness to one's promises or obligations; steadfast faithfulness; technological faithfulness

5. fiduciary (n): an individual who holds something in trust for another, a trustee

6. finale (n): a "grand" conclusion, as of a performance; the last scene of a play

7. finite (a): limited or bordered by time or by any measurement; measurable

8. flexuous (a): winding in and out; bending or wavering

9. inducement (n): anything used or given to persuade or motivate; an incentive

 

10. inflection (n): a slight change in tone or modulation of the voice, as in a point of emphasis

11. perfidious (a): characteristic of one who would intentionally betray a faith or trust; treacherous

12. traduce (v): to speak falsely of; to slander or defame; to disgrace another's good name; to vilify

Antigone Questions

1. What kind of prize is given for dancing choruses of worshipers?
The prize that was given to dancing choruses of worshipers was a goat or bull.

2. How many spectators would gather in the open-air theater of Dionysos? 
There were about 14,000 spectators in the open-air theater of Dionysos.

3. How does the mask affect the voices of the actors? 
The masks affected the voices of the actors because they amplified the actors' voices.

4. Why was Antigone suspenseful to viewing audiences?
Antigone was suspenseful to the audiences because of the dramatic irony.

5. How is the shepherd to leave the infant on the mountainside?
The shepherd was to leave the infant on the mountainside to die with its ankles fastened together.

6. What is the riddle the sphinx gave to Oedipus? 
The sphinx's riddle was "What creature goes on 4 legs in the morning, 2 legs in the afternoon, and 3 legs in the evening?" 

7. Who are Oedipus' kids?
Oedipus' 4 kids are Antigone, Ismene, Eteocles, and Polyneices. 

8. After Oedipus is exiled, who takes over Thebes? 
Creon takes over Thebes after Oedipus is exiled.

9. What did the family do to the dead body?
The family closed the eyes and mouth of the body, placed it on a bier, throw certain herbs on it, washed it, and dressed it in wedding clothes. 

Latin Roots # 6

Roots and Derivatives 


1. corp(or) ( body): corpse, corporation, corps, corpuscle, corporeal, corpus, corset
2. cred (to believe, to trust): credo, credit, discredit, credence, credentials, accreditation
3. cur(r), curs, course (to run, to flow): current, excursion, discourse, concur, recourse, curriculum, recurrent
4. dic(t) (to speak, to say): diction, indication, edict, jurisdiction, dictionary, addict, interdiction                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Words                    

1. benediction: the invocation of a divine blessing, as at the close of a religious service; a blessing or state of blessedness

2. concourse: a running or flowing together; a broad public walkway or hallway; a crowd or throng

3. concurrent: occurring at the same time; meeting or acting together 

4. corporal: related to the physical body

5. corpulent: very stout; fleshy and obese; fat

6. credibility: the quality of being believable or trustworthy 

7. credulity: the (naive) willingness to believe too easily without proof

8. cursory: done in a superficial of hasty manner

9. dictum: an authoritative saying or maxim

10. incorporate: to form into one body or functioning unit; to combine several different things into a whole

11. incredulous: not believing, skeptical, or doubting

12. indicative: characteristic of or very much like; suggestive 

Literature Analysis # 2

The Giver 

1. The introduction in The Giver, by Lois Lowery, starts off with Jonas preparing himself for the Ceremony of 12. 2 weeks later at the annual ceremony, the chief announced that Jonas had been selected to be the next receiver. Jonas eventually met the current receiver, but the mysterious old man wanted to be acknowledged as "The Giver". The Giver had a special quality within him, and he transferred that quality to Jonas. By doing so, Jonas received a distinct memory of sledding in the snow. This is the moment in which Jonas realized that there were many memories that no one in the community had experienced. Jonas learned a lot from The Giver, including the beauty, nature, love, and wonders of the world. He also realized that the real world consisted of the pain of loss and suffering. Later on Jonas found out that a kid called Gabriel was scheduled to be "released", but Jonas didn't know what it meant at the time. The Giver showed Jonas a "release" ceremony, and Jonas was horrified to find out it was an execution. Jonas convinced The Giver to create a plan that would allow him and Gabriel to escape and give the whole community the memories Jonas had from The Giver, but The Giver would have to stay to help everyone understand the memories. In the end Jonas and Gabriel escaped, and at one point they reached a snowy hill. Jonas recalled it being the exact hill that he saw in his memory. As they both grew weaker, Jonas got a memory of sunlight that kept him warm and transferred it to Gabriel. As they came closer to the top they could hear the sound of music, and when they reached the top they saw lights. They had reached elsewhere.                                                                                                                                 
2. The main theme of the novel would have to be "Significance of individuality and memory". Lois Lowery probably demonstrated this theme to show the audience that it's good to be your own person and that it's okay to stand up for what you believe in or what you desire. Another reason is to show that one can be both happy and sad with memories. However, without memories, you can't learn from your mistakes.                                                                                                                                            
3. The protagonist, Jonas, is dynamic and round. He not only gains the courage to escape from the community, but he has also learned a lot from The Giver and has gained great leadership skills. Another major character is The Giver, and he is the wisest of them all. Jonas has learned everything he knows from him. The Giver is very mysterious to everyone, but he is like a father and friend to Jonas.                                                                                                                   
4. 1 significant symbol from the novel is the river. In the novel, the river is an obstacle that one must overpass to escape the utopia. It symbolizes the escape that Jonas and Gabriel made from the community.                                                                                                   
5. I chose this novel because the title stood out to me. I asked myself "Is it about giving knowledge? Wisdom? Advice in general? What made me want to keep reading it was the fact of how life was for everyone. I figured someone will escape in the end, so I wanted to know how and what they went through to escape.                                                                                                                                       
6. 1 person I can connect the novel to is my grandpa. He has always shared stories with my family and has given us advice when we needed him. He has also helped us all through tough times.                                                                                                                                               
7. 1 idea that I'd remember from this novel was to not be afraid to stand up for what you want. Normally, I'd not want to make a scene or bother anyone, but now I know that you have to put in a fight. Another idea is that power and wisdom can be completely different. "I have great honor," The Giver said. "So will you. But you will find that that is not the same as power." stated The Giver. Honor and wisdom can come from anyone at any rank. Power can come from anyone who has access to many opportunities.

Antigone Quick Write

My first move would have to be planning how I would bury my good brother. If there would be anyone who would do it it would be me. The good person took blame once again, since he got punished, I have to do what is right. Since my sister is too scared to help, and I understand, I guess I would have to execute the plan alone. In the end I  would bring her to the burial site so she to can say a few words. If I do manage to bury him and everything continues going right, I would give him the proper farewell to. I would say a few words to myself describing him and say a few good things. After the funeral I would check on my parents to see how out of their minds they are. If they still have a slight memory of who they are . If they are to far gone I would have to be forced to leave them behind and take all that is left in my family, my sister. Next I would check on my uncle to see how he sees things, but I honestly wouldn't expect anything good out of him. My next move would have to be the hardest which is taking down my uncle's power. First I would go around asking individuals for their opinion on how things are being run. If they are in the same perspective as me I would ask them to join me on starting a protest to strip my uncle from his crown. I would make sure to only get protesters who really want to stand up and be heard. I would also have to keep a very low profile if I don't want anyone to get suspicious. I would also have to find someone special to design a special armor for the protesters in case the guards attack us, but that's only a precaution. By the time I have more protesters than one could count I would head toward my uncle. I would start off by telling him that this was all my idea and that if anyone should be punished or killed it should be me and not the other protesters or my sister. I would tell him that I don't like what he's become and that he shouldn't be king anymore. From there it's all up to my protesters to say how they feel. Hopefully nothing gets out of control. The last thing is my uncle's response. Is he going to kill me or anyone else, that's the big question. I just hope that he realizes what he's become and changes his laws. Even better if the guards realize it to and join my side. The rest is up to my uncle to decide.