Group Discussion

My group and I discussed this image after Lili had sent it to Naiomi; we all started laughing because we knew it was true that we were always supposed to look more closely at the big picture to take something meaningful out of it but sometimes there might just be nothing to take out of it. I guess this also gives us a good example of how it will be on the AP test, because we will have to have a critical eye for literary techniques. Usually I have trouble with that though because when I read I focus on the story rather on its techniques and I know I shouldn't really do that but usually the only way I feel I have a chance of staying awake during a test is if I'm reading for fun, which means just paying attention to the story.

Charles Dickens Notes

• What makes children a child is idealism
• Blacksmith isn't satisfying enough for Pip
• Pip asks himself " Am I wicked?"
• Pip doesn't know what normal is
• Magwitch represents what Pip may become 
• Havisham is a witch like figure and her house is a memorial to dead hope, since she was leftin the alter
• Havisham and Estella aren't what they seem
• Pip is like a seed
• Some characters embody different morals of the universe.

Hacking My Education

I actually really do feel like I am hacking my education because ever since winter break I've been thinking of how I'm going to focus on relaxing and enjoy my senior year but since I went to Mexico during that time it gave me more of a reason to slack off. Now I'm regretting it and booking it to try to catch up on my work, senioritis really has got me and while I attempt to leave this feeling of laziness, I struggle with trying to figure out my priorities. I would've never thought myself of actually saying I have senioritis but I do or did not sure whether it done with me yet. I feel this post is like a wake-up call for me to get off me butt and work. Which I will do.

Lit. Terms #1

allegory - noun an expressive style that uses fictional characters and events to describe some subject by suggestive resemblances; an extended metaphor; a short moral story (often with animal characters); a visible symbol representing an abstract idea
alliteration - noun use of the same consonant at the beginning of each stressed syllable in a line of verse
allusion - noun passing reference or indirect mention
ambiguity - noun unclearness by virtue of having more than one meaning; an expression whose meaning cannot be determined from its context
anachronism - noun an artifact that belongs to another time; a person who seems to be displaced in time; who belongs to another age; something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred
analogy - noun drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity in some respect; an inference that if things agree in some respects they probably agree in others; the religious belief that between creature and creator no similarity can be found so great but that the dissimilarity is always greater; language can point in the right direction but any analogy between God and humans will always be inadequate
analysis - noun an investigation of the component parts of a whole and their relations in making up the whole; the abstract separation of a whole into its constituent parts in order to study the parts and their relations; a branch of mathematics involving calculus and the theory of limits; sequences and series and integration and differentiation; a form of literary criticism in which the structure of a piece of writing is analyzed; the use of closed-class words instead of inflections: e.g., `the father of the bride' instead of `the bride's father'; a set of techniques for exploring underlying motives and a method of treating various mental disorders; based on the theories of Sigmund Freud
anaphora - noun using a pronoun or similar word instead of repeating a word used earlier; repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses
anecdote - noun short account of an incident (especially a biographical one)
antagonist - noun a drug that neutralizes or counteracts the effects of another drug; a muscle that relaxes while another contracts;someone who offers opposition
antithesis - noun the juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas to give a feeling of balance; exact opposite
aphorism - noun a short pithy instructive saying
apologia - noun a formal written defense of something you believe in strongly
apostrophe - noun the mark (') used to indicate the omission of one or more letters from a printed word; address to an absent or imaginary person
argument - noun a variable in a logical or mathematical expression whose value determines the dependent variable; if f(x)=y, x is the independent variable; a summary of the subject or plot of a literary work or play or movie; a fact or assertion offered as evidence that something is true; a discussion in which reasons are advanced for and against some proposition or proposal; a contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement
assumption - noun the act of taking possession of or power over something; the act of assuming or taking for granted; a hypothesis that is taken for granted; (Christianity) the taking up of the body and soul of the Virgin Mary when her earthly life had ended; celebration in the Roman Catholic Church of the Virgin Mary's being taken up into heaven when her earthly life ended; corresponds to the Dormition in the Eastern Orthodox church; audacious (even arrogant) behavior that you have no right to; a statement that is assumed to be true and from which a conclusion can be drawn
audience - noun a gathering of spectators or listeners at a (usually public) performance; the part of the general public interested in a source of information or entertainment; a conference (usually with someone important); an opportunity to state your case and be heard
characterization - noun the act of describing distinctive characteristics or essential features; acting the part of a character on stage; dramatically representing the character by speech and action and gesture; a graphic or vivid verbal description
chiasmus - noun inversion in the second of two parallel phrases