Knowledge is the Food of the Soul

When we hear the word "knowledge" we generally associate it with intelligence. But is knowledge something that we gain through our studies or is it acquired through our life experiences? There is, of course, different types of knowledge. There is knowledge that comes from the schools we attend, the classes we take, and the textbooks we read. However, there is also knowledge that we take away from our life experiences. I believe it is this knowledge that truly makes a person wise.

Sadly, it is almost impossible to get anywhere in life on knowledge merely taken from life experiences. These days, getting into a good college depends solely on your GPA and test scores. But although "book-smarts" allow you to be able to choose any path, "street-smarts" and common sense provide the proper knowledge of knowing which is the correct path to take.

Psychoanalytic Theory

Psychoanalysis is a method in which we can analyze the mind and the way one thinks. It helps us to better understand human behaviors and the reasoning behind one's actions. The idea of psychology was developed by Sigmund Freud, and his studies have been continued throughout history. Today, there are a variety of psychoanalytical theories such as Topographic theory which describes the concious, pre-concious, and unconcious mind, Structural theory which divides the psyche into the id, the ego and the super-ego, and Interpersonal psychoanalysis which studies how individuals protect themselves from stress and anxiety. All these theories can help us understand why people act the way they do. In Hamlet, we can use psychoanalytic theory to further our understanding of the character's actions and their thought processes behind it all. If we enhance our knowledge of the mind and how it works, it will lead us to better understand the human behavior.



Senior Year...

The first thing that comes to mind when you hear Senior year is, of course, college. It's certainly one of the most stressful and hectic times in one's high school experience. While no doubt everyone is struggling to turn in applications on time and trying to hunt down teachers for recommendations, they are definitely looking forward to the more exciting things that Senior year entails. Such as, the senior quad, the senior parking lot, senior jerseys, and just the overall feeling of being at the top of the totem pole once again. It's a great feeling to be a senior, but at the end of the day all of us know that come this time next year everything will be brand new. For some, just the thought of college is terrifying, and for others, well they couldn't be happier. The most important thing to do right now is to enjoy what we have while we have it. Embrace senior year for all it has to offer us!

The Other Side

Everyday we go about our lives in some sort of pattern. A daily routine that rarely changes. This routine can often seal us inside of our own little world, unable to see what's going on outside of it. It causes us to focus on ourselves more than the big picture. We worry more about our own problems, when in reality those aren't the ones that need the focus. It is a world where the only thing we know and accept is what is normal. Of course, we all know the walls of our own world must come down eventually. It only takes that one disaster, that one catastrophe, that one death to throw off the balance in our lives. Even though we are all expecting it and know that it may be just around the corner, no one is ever fully prepared emotionally or physically for it's aftermath. The aftermath, as terrible as it might be, is when we all come together. It is when we take a moment and escape from our own world, escape from our daily routine, and focus on something outside of ourselves. It's in the human nature to be selfish and be concerned with only our own problems, but it's in times of disaster and loss where we see a different side of human beings. A side in which we are able to join together as one with a greater purpose. A side in which we are able to focus on the community rather than ourselves. This is a side of us that is not often shown, but it's a side that gives us hope for the future.

Quite the Character

Character is an essential part of literature, but then again so is a plot. Both a character and a plot go hand in hand. Without a plot there would be purpose for the character, and without a character there would be no purpose to a plot. The characters are affected by the events of a story, and the events are altered by it's characters. So, without one you can't have the other. A plot is only a set of events and without a character you have no one to go through them. The plot only interests a reader, because they care about what happens to the character. So, not only is character essential, but so is the plot.

Critical Response "Bartleby, the Scrivener"

Herman Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener" is a story that can be perceived in several different ways. One person may see Bartleby as a hero due to his civil disobedience and the actions that he takes against the narrator. Another may take pity on Bartleby because they feel that he chooses to be detached from society or that he has given up in life. The persceptive that a person chooses usually relates back to their own life. Someone who thinks Bartleby is detached from society may feel that they too are detached from their society, whether it be by choice or not. In "Bartleby the Scrivener", the opinions and thoughts of Bartleby are never revealed, but only the narrators views are expressed to the reader. By only showing the thoughts and backround of the narrator, it is left up to the reader to make up their own mind about Barltbey. With this, Melville was able to generate a variety of different persceptives in "Bartleby the Scrivener" and allow his readers to connect to the story.

Critical Response "Story Of An Hour"

In Kate Chopin's "Story Of An Hour", Chopin tries to convey an underlying message to her readers. On the surface, the readers assume Mrs. Mallard is in mourning for her dead husband, but soon enough the readers uncover that in actuality Mrs. Mallard is rejoicing her husband's death. Specific instances in the story help to reveal this message. For instance, the weather described in the story is spring, and spring usually signifies new life or a sense of freedom. Also, when Mrs. Mallard begins to mutter "free, free, free" it hints to the reader that what they have assumed may not be the case. However, the most important piece of evidence is knowing that in 1894, when the story was written, women did not have the freedoms that a man did and that women were owned by their husbands. Knowing this would be the key to discovering Chopin's underlying message, but even without knowing this there are hints in the story that Chopin provides for her readers.

Weekly Blog 2

This week, we took a deeper look into defining the meaning of plot. The dictionary definition of plot is the plan, scheme, or main story of a literary work, but I have come to the realization that basic dictionary definitions don't tell us everything we need to know. For instance, the plot is the author's narrative design to his or her story, but there are many different ways to arrange the plot. One can arrange their plot chronologically, starting in the middle or at the end, going back and forth between past and present, or using flashbacks. There is no right way to organize a plot as long as the backround information the reader needs to make sense of the situation is there. Though the basic definition of plot doesn't tell us everything we need to know, the same is true when defining literature. Literature is a very general topic and most people have their own definiton of what it really is.

Weekly Blog

The painting "The Wanderer" forced me to really think about how and why painters decide on designing their pieces. In class we talked about questions that could come up just by looking at the painting. Questions such as, "where is he going?", "what is he looking for?", or "what is the painter's purpose for placing him at that spot?".  These questions made me wonder if it was the painter's intention for these questions to come up or if he only intended for one reaction. This made me come to the realization that authors and writers do the same thing. They spend hours and hours thinking of the perfect way to write something so that they're soul intention or message can be recieved by the reader. But, in most all cases, there is more than one reaction to a painting or piece of literature.

Academic Literacy

Reading:
1. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
    Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
    Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
    1984 by George Orwell
    The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
    How to Read Lit. like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
2. none
3. none
4. Before reading a book, it is a habit for me to read the back of it to get a sense of what it's about. While reading a book, it is normal for me to take several breaks, but that all depends on how good the book is. If I am enjoying a book I may not put it down until I finish it. Once I have finished a book, and liked it, I usually look for other books by the same author in the hopes that it would interest me just as much as the one I read had.

Writing:
  Overall, I think I am a fairly decent writer. I feel my ability to describe my views, in a way so that the reader fully understands my thoughts, is what makes me a good writer. However, I tend to ramble and/or repeat my self in my writing and must improve on that aspect.

Thinking:
  One of my strengths is the ability to "see other points of view." I think being capable of understanding points of views or ideas that differ from your own is a strong quality to have. It allows you to see all aspects of a discussion or story. However, one of my weaknesses is asking "provacative questions." It is not that I have trouble coming up with these questions, but sometimes it is my lack of confidence in asking them which makes this my weakness.

Academic Literacy:

Main Ideas

• Students are less curious, and they are unwilling to engage in critical thinking.
• Critical thinking is crucial to a student's success.
• Students must be encouraged to apply analytical thinking to their own life.

Response

   I agree completely with the ideas in this excerpt. Student's really have lost their focus when it comes to academics. They do things to get them done rather than doing them with the intention of learning. Students are not applying critical or analytical thinking to their work anymore. But, with the right motivation I feel that students will be able to get back on track.

Initial Comments on Summer Reading

After reading The Handmaid's Tale, I questioned the ending. My initial thought was that Offred escaped with Nick and was taken to the resistance group so she could fight the government that made her a handmaid. But, after thinking it over, I realized that the ending was never clear on what happened exactly. Offred could possibly have been put in the hands of the "Eyes." It's uncertain which of these actually took place, but I believe that she was brought to the resistance. Overall, I found the futuristic setting of the book quite intriguing.

After reading the novel 1984, it left me with a few questions. First, I wondered if the "Brotherhood" they spoke of was real, or if the "Party" made it to catch those who committed "thoughtcrime." Then, I wondered if  O'Brien, before he was a member of the party that help catch the disloyal, was someone who opposed the party and was caught and tortured into being a follower of "Big Brother" like Winston was. Nevertheless, the novel took me by surprise when we found out that O'Brien was a fake. 1984 and The Handmaid's Tale  are closely related because they both describe a future with an extreme governmental power.