CHARACTER STUDY (III)

Frightened, Marisol quickly turned around and spotted three men. Happy due to the fact that she was no longer alone, Marisol ran up to the men and introduced herself with great enthusiasm. "Waz up girl! I be fudge and these be my homies Quatro Quatro and D'Jasper Wes." Hardly paying attention to what was being said and only relived to have the unexpected company, Marisol quickly asked, "What are you guys doing here?!" The tallest man with the name of Quatro Quatro then replied, "We football players. We lost. We can't find football field." Nearly shouting Marisol told the men that she would help them. She began walking and the three men immediately followed behind her. As they continued to walk through the school, Marisol suddenly realized that she was a new student and had no idea where the football field was either. Not wanting to let the three men down, she continued to lead them to their destination, hoping that she would ultimately find it along the way. After walking for what seemed like hours, they reached a set of heavy wooden doors. Without knowing where the doors actually led, Marisol smiled and told the men that the field was behind those doors. She pushed the heavy doors open and they made their way into what seemed to be a cafeteria. D'Jasper Wes then turned to look at Marisol and told her, "Thhhhhis is no foothhball fieldth." Ashamed to have had let the men down, Marisol was about to apologize when she suddenly saw a girl near her age, an older man with a mustache, and a women with glasses. Marisol, still being followed by the men made her way toward the strangers. "AHHHHH!" incredibly loud yelling echoed throughout the entire school. "AHHHHHHH!" continued the yelling. Completely frightened by the explainable yelling, every set of eyes in the cafeteria focused on the heavy wooden doors.

CHARACTER STUDY (II)

After hours of driving, Marisol had finally reached her destination; Animate University. "BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!" pounded her heart as she got off of her car and headed towards the front entrance. Was she going to fit in? Was she going to enjoy this once in a life time experience? How would this journey affect her life? Feeling overwhelmed by these questions, she had finally gained enough courage and nervously made her way into the building.
Inside there was absolutely no one in sight. "Hello? Is anyone here? Hello!" she yelled. Complete silence filled the entire school. Marisol then began to realize that she was completely alone. Saddened by this discovery, she slowly began making her way towards the exit. When "THUD! THUD!" footsteps began to grow louder and louder. Frightened, Marisol quickly turned around and...... 

CHARACTER STUDY (I)

Marisol eagerly packed her bags for a journey she'd been waiting to experience her entire life. Shirts, pants, jackets, shoes, blankets, pictures, school supplies, and kitchen utensils were shoved into her many bags. Anxious of what was about to come, she knew she was ready. After minutes and minutes of thinking regarding this journey she was to soon take, she had finally gained enough strength to pull herself together and leave her room. She headed to the living room of her home, said her last goodbyes, nervously loaded her bags into the car, turned on the car engine, and began her journey to the beginning of her new life; as a freshman at a university. 

CANTERBURY TALES (I)

After today's discussion in class, I was able to understand that the prologue of The Canterbury Tales was based on the concept of the pilgrimage, as well as the descriptions of all of the characters who had taken part in the pilgrimage. Geoffrey Chaucer used irony to ultimately describe his characters throughout the entire prologue. I honestly was unable to recognize Chaucer's use of irony when describing his characters, until after our class discussion. The nun was described as a materialist through the use of irony. While the cook was described as a disgusting individual who had ulcers; someone who you wouldn't even want near your food.
I would like to read either the story of the nun or the cook. I feel like reading their stories would be very interesting due to the fact that the nun was described as materialistic, which is not exactly what many expect a nun to be characterized as; and the cook simply because he was the only character in which I was able to understand when reading the prologue. 

NETVIBES DASHBOARD

My Netvibes dashboard is fairly simple. I like the idea of having my very own dashboard; however, I know that I will have a difficult time actually using it on a daily basis. I honestly do not understand how the Netvibes dashboard works and I also do not fully understand the concept of accessing different widgets. I like the fact that I can easily access my email, weather, and daily news through my dashboard. Although I know that using my dashboard will be a challenge, I'm looking forward to learning how to use Netvibes. 

VOCABULARY #6

obsequious: (adjective) Obedient; Characterized by or showing too much willingness to serve or obey.
- When around her elders, the girl is quite obsequious. 

beatitude: (noun) Supreme blessedness; exalted happiness.
- He was in beatitude when he found out that he received a perfect score on his math test.

bete noire: (noun) A person or thing that one particularly dislikes or dreads.
- The girl was the bete noire of her basketball team; no one wanted to talk to her.

bode: (verb) To be an omen of; to announce in advance; predict.
- Staying up late does not bode well for the exam tomorrow morning. 

dank: (adjective) Unpleasantly moist or humid; damp and often chilly.
- The old man spent much of his time in a dank room. 

ecumenical: (adjective) General, universal; pertaining to the whole Christian church.
- The ecumenical speech had left a great impression on the entire audience.

fervid: (adjective) Heated in spirit, enthusiasm; burning, glowing.
- The girl gave a very fervid election speech at her school. 

fetid: (adjective) Having an offensive odor; stinking. 
- The boy who had sat next to me had a very fetid odor; I had to switch seats immediately.

gargantuan: (adjective) Gigantic, enormous, colossal.
- Completing scholarships and college applications is a gargantuan task. 

heyday: (noun) The greatest stage or period of greatest success, strength, etc. 
- The first year at her job was not the heyday of her career. 

incubus: (noun) A nightmare.
- After watching a scary movie, she had an incubus almost every night for an entire week.

infrastructure: (noun) The basic, underlying framework or features of a system or organization.
- The infrastructure on many of the buildings had to be fixed right away.

inveigle: (verb) To lure by flattery or artful talk.
- The young girl had inveigled her way into getting invited to the birthday party. 

kudos: (noun) Honor, glory, acclaim.
- She had received kudos from her teacher for having an extremely well written essay.  

lagniappe: (noun) A small gift given with a purchase to a customer; An extra or unexpected gift or benefit.
- He had received a lagniappe from his boss. 

prolix: (adjective) Extended to great, unnecessary, or tedious length; long and wordy.
-  The poet had written a prolix poem on nature.

protege: (noun) A person under the patronage, protection, or care of someone interested in his or her career or welfare.
- Alfred Sisley had been a protege throughout his entire art career. 

prototype: (noun) Model that serves to illustrate.
- The new device served as a prototype. 

sycophant: (noun) A person who seeks favor by flattering people of wealth or influence.
- Since he had been known as a sycophant, the man had very few friends.

tautology: (noun) Needless repetition of an idea in a different word, phrase, or sentence.
- His speech had been filled with a great amount of tautology. 

truckle: (verb) To submit or yield obsequiously.
- She was dedicated to accomplishing her dreams and refused to truckle to anyone. 

accolade: (noun) Any award, honor, or laudatory notice.
- The girl received accolades from her parents after receiving straight A's on her report card.   

acerbity: (noun) sourness in quality; harsh in temper or expression.
- He had been disliked by his peers due to his acerbity  

attrition: (noun) A reduction or decrease in numbers, size, or strength; A wearing down or weakening.
- The woman had reached attrition in her joints and had to stop working.

bromide: (noun) A person who is platitudinous and boring; A platitude or trite saying.
- No one wants to talk to her; she's known as a bromide.

chauvinist: (noun) A person who is aggressively and blindly patriotic; A person who believes one gender is superior to the other.
- Based on his views of things, the man had been seen as a chauvinist.   

chronic: (adjective) Constant, habitual, continuing a long time, or happening frequently.
- The man had a chronic disability.

expound: (verb) To explain or interpret in detail; To make a detailed statement.
- The man expounded his ideas to his group of friends.

factionalism: (adjective) The splitting of groups into factions; Conflict between factions.
- Factionalism should be eliminated due to all of the problems it creates.

immaculate: (adjective) Free from errors, pure.
- The boy had produced an immaculate poem. 

imprecation: (noun) A curse. 
- She muttered imprecations as her rival walked by.

ineluctable: (adjective) Incapable of being evaded; inescapable, unpreventable, unstoppable.
- He had an ineluctable destiny.

mercurial: (adjective) Changeable, likely to change.
- A mercurial personality will make you very unpopular. 

palliate: (verb) To lessen or relieve without curing. 
- The patient's symptoms had been palliated.

protocol: (noun) The official procedure or system of rules governing affairs of state or diplomatic occasions.
- The Protocol had prevented the governor from making any public statements.  

resplendent: (adjective) Shinning brilliantly; gleaming; splendid.
-  She looked resplendent in her senior pictures. 

stigmatize: (verb) To characterize or mark as disgraceful.
-  Stigmatizing someone based on their past is very unfair.

sub rosa: (noun) Confidentially, secretly, privately. 
-  Her plans were sub rosa.

vainglory: (noun) Excessive pride over one's own achievements or abilities.
- The valedictorian's vainglory made the entire class dislike him. 

vestige: (noun) A mark, trace, or visible evidence of something that is no longer present or in existence. 
- Fossils are the last vestiges of dinosaurs.

volition: (noun) The act of making a choice or decision by the will. 
- He acted on volition and made choices based on what he felt was right for him. 

WHAT A CHARACTER

A character that has made an impression on me is Eddie from Gary Soto's Buried Onions. Eddie, a nineteen year old Mexican American who lived in the barrios of Fresno was more than determined to escape his violent past and make something of himself. Throughout his life, Eddie had been surrounded by drugs, gangs, and violence, and slowly began to lose all hope. Despite the negativity in which Eddie had been surrounded by, he worked a number of different jobs and made it a priority of his to avoid violence in order to rise above his surroundings and become better than those in his community. Eddie's determination, dedication, and will to ultimately accomplish his goals and succeed made him an extremely memorable character. Eddie was a character that I was able to easily relate and connect to due to his past and his ambition to rise above all of life's obstacles. A literary technique that contributed to Eddie's character was characterization. Eddie was characterized in a direct way, which made him an extremely relate-able character.  

DECLARATION OF LEARNING INDEPENDENCE

Why is it that individuals never seem to truly value life, or what they have until it's taken from them completely? This is the question I often ask myself on a daily basis. Although, I may never find the answer to this question, I strive to do everything in my power in order to not take ANYTHING in my life for granted.
Although I have a number of goals in which is wish to accomplish, my SMART goal is to attend University of California Los Angeles this coming fall and purse my goal of becoming an Emergency Room Physician. Though my goal may be a challenge, I feel like it's attainable. I am more than determined to accomplish my goal and will do everything that I possibly can in order to succeed. 

VOCABULARY #5

obsequious: (adjective) Characterized by or showing too much willingness to serve or obey.
- The King had a number of obsequious servants; they were always on top of things and willing to serve his every need.

beatitude: (noun) Supreme blessedness; exalted happiness.
- The woman had such a beatitude attitude, proof that she had been transformed internally.

bete noire: (noun) A person or thing that one particularly dislikes or dreads.
- Calculus was the bete noire of all her high school courses.  

bode: (verb) To be an omen of; to announce in advance; predict.
- A huge argument before the couple's marriage does not bode well for their future together. 

dank: (adjective) Unpleasantly moist or humid; damp and often chilly.
- The old woman had a dank cellar in her home. 

ecumenical: (adjective) General, universal; pertaining to the whole Christian church.
- The Pope's ecumenical mission had left a great impression on those who followed him.

fervid: (adjective) Heated in spirit, enthusiasm; burning, glowing.
- The students argued their points with fervid intensity. 

fetid: (adjective) Having an offensive odor; stinking. 
- The children played near the fetid swamp.

gargantuan: (adjective) Gigantic, enormous, colossal.
- The professor had assigned a gargantuan task. 

heyday: (noun) The greatest stage or period of greatest success, strength, etc. 
- Farmers were less healthy than the hunter-gathers had been in their heyday. 

incubus: (noun) A nightmare.
- She wanted nothing more than to escape this incubus.

infrastructure: (noun) The basic, underlying framework or features of a system or organization.
- A growing economy brought demands for an expanded infrastructure.

inveigle: (verb) To lure by flattery or artful talk.
- The young woman had inveigled her way into a marriage with a wealthy man. 

kudos: (noun) Honor, glory, acclaim.
- She had received kudos from everyone on her presentation.  

lagniappe: (noun) A small gift given with a purchase to a customer; An extra or unexpected gift or benefit.
- After purchasing the most expensive item at the man's store, she had received a lagniappe. 

prolix: (adjective) Extended to great, unnecessary, or tedious length; long and wordy.
-  The boy had produced a prolix essay.

protege: (noun) A person under the patronage, protection, or care of someone interested in his or her career or welfare.
- He spoke to his protege regarding his artwork. 

prototype: (noun) Model that serves to illustrate.
- The museum shelters a variety of prototypes. 

sycophant: (noun) A person who seeks favor by flattering people of wealth or influence.
- She had been known as a sycophant, who always agreed with her boss.

tautology: (noun) Needless repetition of an idea in a different word, phrase, or sentence.
- When speaking, it's best to avoid tautology. 

truckle: (verb) To submit or yield obsequiously.
- Never truckle to unreasonable demands.  

LITERATURE ANALYSIS #1

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

 

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read according to the elements of plot you've learned in past courses (exposition, inciting incident, etc.).  Explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).

- Exposition: The play begins with Willy Loman, a tired salesman past the age of sixty, returning home early from a business trip. Linda, Willy's wife, greets her husband. The couple then begins to talk and Linda begs Willy to ask Howard Wagner, his employer, for a non-traveling job in New York City. Willy tells Linda that they don't need him in New York because he is "the New England man." Willy and Linda then talk about their son, Biff Loman. Willy tells Linda that "Biff Loman is lost.... And such a hard-worker. There's one thing about Biff- he's not lazy." (Act one, page 16). As they continue to talk, the reader then learns that Willy wants nothing more than for his sons, Biff and Happy Loman, to become successful.
- Rising Action: The rising action of the play occurs when Charley visits Willy. While the two men play cards, Charley offers Willy a non-traveling job with a weekly commission of fifty dollars. Willy finds Charley's offer to be an insult and is too proud to accept it. When Charley wins the game of cards Willy gets mad and Charley ends up leaving. We then learn that Willy lost his salary and now works on a commissioner's salary and borrows fifty dollars from Charley each week in order to pay the family's expenses. 
- Climax: The climax of Death of a Salesman occurs when the Loman family learns about Willy's suicide attempts. Linda tells Biff and Happy that all his car accidents were in fact failed suicide attempts. Linda also tells her sons that Willy has tried to asphyxiate himself. While looking for a fuse one day, she went down to the cellar where she found a length of rubber pipe behind the fuse box. She then informs them regarding the new little nipple on the gas pipe on the bottom of the water heater.
- Falling Action: Willy finally realizes that he is alone and that Ben was actually never present when Willy was talking to him. After this realization, Willy then speeds away in his car and kills himself. Willy ended his life in order to give Biff the settlement from his life insurance. 
- Resolution: The play ends at Willy's funeral. Linda, Biff, Happy, Charley, and Bernard are the only ones to attend the funeral. Linda wonders where all of Willy's business friends are. Linda then questions why Willy ended his life when he was extremely close to paying of their last bills.

2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid clichés.

- The theme of Death of a Salesman is false hopes and dreams. Throughout the play, Willy Loman is blinded from reality by his desires to become successful. Willy lives his life in constant hope, wishing for things that are ultimately never going to happen. In the Play, Willy eagerly hopes and dreams for success, however, he eventually loses himself as an individual and begins to live his life in his very own made up fantasy. Willy hopes that Bliff will settle down and become successful and dreams of making it big and becoming the best salesman; two desires that are very unlikely to ever occur.

3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).

- The author's tone in the play is both hopeful and sincere. Throughout the play, the author lets reader know all of the character's feelings, hopes, thoughts, and dreams.
"You and Hap and I, and I’ll show you all the towns. America is full of beautiful towns and fine, upstanding people. And they know me, boys, they know me up and down New England. The finest people. And when I bring you fellas up, there’ll be open sesame for all of us, ‘cause one thing, boys: I have friends. I can park my car in any street in New England, and the cops protect it like their own. This summer, heh?" - Willy Loman (Act one, page 31)
"You wait, kid, before it's all over we're gonna get a little place out in the country, and I'll raise some vegetables, a couple of chickens..." - Willy Loman (Act two, page 72) 
"I don't say he's a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He's not the finest character that ever lived. But he's a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him." - Linda Loman (Act one, page 56)
4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.) 
- Symbolism: In Death of a Salesman, seeds symbolize the legacy that Willy wishes to plant and leave behind. Planting the seeds represent the growth Willy strives for; His main priority is to 'grow' something that will provide for his sons and that he will be remembered by. "[anxiously] Oh, I'd better hurry. I've got to get some seeds. He starts off to the right. I've got to get some seeds, right away. Nothing's planted. I don't have a thing in the ground." - Willy Loman (Act two, page 122)
- Flashback: Willy has a series of flashbacks throughout the entire novel. These flashbacks help readers understand Willy's past, giving them the opportunity to learn about Willy's failures in life and the fact that he was never truly respected by others. "No! Boys! Boys! Young Bliff and Happy appear. Listen to this. This is your Uncle Ben, a great man! Tell my boys, Ben! - Willy Loman (Act one, page 48)
- Characterization: In the play, the author describes the characters by using very simple descriptions. "Bernard enters in knickers. He is younger than Biff, earnest and loyal, a worried boy." (Act one, page 32)
- Point of View: Death of a Salesman is mainly told through the eyes of Willy Loman (first person). However, due to the fact that the book is a playwright, it's based entirely on dialogue. Every character expresses their inner thoughts and feelings throughout the play. "[enthralled] That's what I dream about, Biff. Sometimes I want to just rip my clothes off in the middle of the store and outbox that goddam merchandise manager. I  mean I can outbox, outrun, and outlift anybody in that store, and I have to take orders from those common, petty sons-of-bitches till I can't stand it any more." - Happy (Act one, page 24) 
- Foreshadowing: Willy's car accident at the beginning of the play foreshadows his suicide later on in the book. "Well, it seems she was walking down the road and saw his car. She says that he wasn't driving fast at all, and that he didn't skid. She says he came to that little bridge, and then deliberately smashed into the railing, and it was only the shallowness of the water that saved him." - Linda Loman (Act one, page 59)
- Irony: Happy's name is ironic in itself. His name suggest that he's content when he's truly very unhappy with himself and his life. "I don't know what the hell I'm workin' for. sometimes I sit in my apartment- all alone. And think of the rent I'm paying. And it's crazy. But then, it's what I always wanted. My own apartment, a car, and plenty of women. And still, goddammit, I'm lonely." - Happy (Act one, page 23)
- Diction: The diction in the play is very simple, active, and clear. The author's word choice is straightforward and makes the play extremely easy to understand. "The trouble is he's lazy, goddammit." - Willy Loman (Act one, page 16)
- Setting: "The action takes place in Willy Loman's house and yard and in various places he visits in the New York and Boston of today." (opening stage directions)
- Apostrophe: Throughout the play, Willy often hallucinates and speaks to his dead brother regarding the past. "No, Ben! Please tell about Dad. I want my boys to hear. I want them to know the kind of stock they spring from. All I remember is a man with a big beard, and I was in Mamma's lap, sitting around a fire, and some kind of high music." - Willy Loman (Act one, page 48)
- Imagery: The blue light is used to describe not only the sky, but the optimistic bubble that that Willy is living in. The orange light is used as a contrast to the blue light, ultimately representing the reality of Willy's life. "Only the blue light of the sky falls upon the house and forestage; the surrounding area shows an angry glow of orange." (Act one, page 13)

ALL OF THE ABOVE

Going into the 1987 AP Exam, I honestly didn't have high expectations. Although I found myself struggling while taking the exam, I did end up doing better than I had expected. Surprisingly, I did a better job answering the questions on the passage section of the exam. However, I suffered greatly on the poem section of the AP exam. The questions that I mostly got right were the in context questions, where I had to refer back to certain lines in the passages; and I mainly missed all of the poem related questions. I feel that I struggled in the poem section of the exam because I personally have a difficult time understanding poems and their meanings. While taking the exam, the vocabulary and the overall wording of certain questions made things a lot more challenging for me. 

VOCABULARY #4

accolade: (noun) Any award, honor, or laudatory notice.
- Due to her extremely high grades, the girl received accolades from her colleagues.   

acerbity: (noun) sourness in quality; harsh in temper or expression.
- Her acerbity was expressed through her tone of voice, as she spoke regarding her rival. 

attrition: (noun) A reduction or decrease in numbers, size, or strength; A wearing down or weakening.
- The company had faced a high rate of attrition because so many employees were being injured while on the job.

bromide: (noun) A person who is platitudinous and boring; A platitude or trite saying.
- The girl was seen as a bromide due to her dull personality.

chauvinist: (noun) A person who is aggressively and blindly patriotic; A person who believes one gender is superior to the other.
- Extremely devoted to military glory, the man was seen as a chauvinist.   

chronic: (adjective) Constant, habitual, continuing a long time, or happening frequently.
- Constantly telling lies, Bob soon became known as a chronic liar.

expound: (verb) To explain or interpret in detail; To make a detailed statement.
- The girl expounded her thoughts on the poem to the entire class.

factionalism: (adjective) The splitting of groups into factions; Conflict between factions.
-  Since both groups were suffering from defects, I advised that factionalism should be eliminated.

immaculate: (adjective) Free from errors, pure.
- The girl had produced an immaculate essay; her professor was unable to find any mistakes. 

imprecation: (noun) A curse. 
- Angry at her ex boyfriend, the girl muttered imprecations.

ineluctable: (adjective) Incapable of being evaded; inescapable, unpreventable, unstoppable.
- Based on her challenging life, the girl had an ineluctable destiny.

mercurial: (adjective) Changeable, likely to change.
- The boy tends to irritate his colleagues with his mercurial personality. 

palliate: (verb) To lessen or relieve without curing. 
- The patient's symptoms had been palliated.

protocol: (noun) The official procedure or system of rules governing affairs of state or diplomatic occasions.
- Protocol forbids the governor from making any public statements.  

resplendent: (adjective) Shinning brilliantly; gleaming; splendid.
-  The couple's backyard was resplendent; it's colorful landscape gleamed beautifully. 

stigmatize: (verb) To characterize or mark as disgraceful.
- The son's crime stigmatized the entire family.

sub rosa: (noun) Confidentially, secretly, privately. 
-  The plan was sub rosa; no one was allowed to speak of it.

vainglory: (noun) Excessive pride over one's own achievements or abilities.
- The valedictorian flaunted her vainglory to the rest of her class. 

vestige: (noun) A mark, trace, or visible evidence of something that is no longer present or in existence. 
- Fossils are the last vestiges of dinosaurs.

volition: (noun) The act of making a choice or decision by the will. 
- Instead of listening to others, Jane used volition and made choices based on what she felt was right. 

BEOWULF ESSAY

What exactly is a hero? A hero is often perceived as an individual who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. Despite the different time periods in which they come from, Beowulf and Spider-Man are heroes who fight evil and demonstrate great strength within their own societies. Beowulf comes from a royal family and often saves individuals to show his own strength and ultimately to keep his position within society. Spider-Man, an orphan who had been bitten by a genetically modified spider, gains supernatural powers and fights evil to protect the individuals throughout his community. Although Beowulf and Spider-Man have completely different motives, they are heroes and share a large amount of similarities and differences.

 

Their ability to fight evil makes both Beowulf and Spider-Man similar. Due to their ability to protect individuals within their society, Beowulf and Spider-Man are characterized as powerful figures. Defeating Grendel ultimately makes Beowulf superior to the rest of the citizens; and with the use of his supernatural abilities, Spider-Man immediately foils petty robberies and muggings, causing citizens of New York City to worship his heroism. With any superhero comes an enemy. Antagonist help demonstrate the courage of both Beowulf and Spider-Man. Grendel, an undefeatable monster who caused trouble in Heorot, was killed by Beowulf; killing Grendel presented Beowulf as a courageous hero who sought to protect the citizens of Heorot. While fighting the Green Goblin, Spider-Man gave it his all to protect Mary Jane; putting himself in danger to save the life of a girl he hardly even knew. Both Beowulf and Spider-Man symbolized power. Beowulf and Spiderman had put themselves at risk and used their strength to defeat evil. Their display of boldness made them superior; and they were ultimately seen as powerful heroes.

 

Despite their similarities, Beowulf and Spider-Man shared a few differences. Although they both fought against evil, Beowulf had taken a much bravado approach when defeating enemies, while Spider-Man sought to protect individuals and fought against crime simply because it was the right thing to do. Throughout the epic, Beowulf had fought to prove how strong of an individual he truly was. Spider-Man on the other hand, had fought against crime to protect his fellow citizens. Therefore, Beowulf's heroism was based off of strength; Spider-Man's heroism was based off of the greater good. Though both considered heroes, Beowulf fought against his enemies using his pure strength, while Spider-Man used his supernatural powers to defeat evil within his community. The themes presented in both Beowulf and Spider-Man were extremely different. Good vs. Evil played a major role in Beowulf; Beowulf was perceived as good for his heroic fight against Grendel, who was seen as evil by the people of Heorot. "With great power comes great responsibility," is the theme emphasized in Spider-Man, Spider-Man had gained powers and had no clue on how to use them. However, he concluded that he would use his supernatural abilities to protect those in danger.

 

Heroes have been and will always be seen as individuals who conquer evil. Although they differ greatly in time period, both Beowulf and Spider-Man had courageously fought against evil to protect their people. Beowulf, a hero based off the power of strength, and Spider-Man, a hero willing to conquer all evil, were heroes. Despite all their differences, both heroes shared similarities; demonstrating heroic strength within their time periods.  

WILL STUDY FOR FOOD.

I need scholarship money in order to cover a number of expenses including: tuition, room and board, transportation, books and supplies, food, and personal expenses.

I've honestly never thought of how much scholarship money I intend to earn, until today. Due to the fact that I will be applying to three or more scholarships each month, I hope to earn about $30,000 in scholarship money. Whether I earn that amount or not, I will be completely satisfied with the amount that I do end up earning.  

VOCABULARY #3

apostate: (noun) A person who abandons his religion, cause, party.
- After converting from a Christian to a Catholic, the woman was said to be an apostate.

effusive: (adjective) Unrestrained, extremely demonstrated, lacking reserve.
- Kim effusively greeted her guest as they made their way to her door.

impasse: (noun) A position or situation from which there is no escape or solution; deadlock.
- The argument had become impasse, there was no way that the two girls would ever come to an agreement.

euphoria: (noun) Intense happiness and self-confidence.
- She was overwhelmed with euphoria as she received her award.

lugubrious: (adjective) Mournful, dismal, gloomy.
- The boy had a lugubrious look on his face when he found out that he didn't win the scholarship.

bravado: (noun) A pretentious, swaggering display of courage.
- The man displayed bravado, as he bragged about fighting his opponent.

consensus: (noun) Majority of opinion, general agreement.
- The club had come to a consensus on when they should meet for group meetings.

dichotomy: (noun) Division into two parts; division into two opposed or contradicting groups.
- I'm split between the dichotomy of nature versus nurture.

constrict: (verb) To draw or press in; cause to contract of shrink.
- Her eyes constricted as light shined into her pupils.

gothic: (adjective) Characterized by a dark and gloomy setting; pertaining to the style of medieval art. 
- The writer had a very gothic style of writing.

punctilio: (noun) A fine point or detail; strictness or exactness in the observance of formalities.
- When it came to her personal belongings, Chloe's organization was punctilio.

metamorphosis: (noun) A complete change in form, substance, or structure; transformation by magic.
- Certain cells undergo a dramatic metamorphosis.

raconteur: (noun) A person who is skilled in relating stories and anecdotes interestingly.
- The author of the book had a marvelous skill as a raconteur. 

sine qua non: (noun) An indispensable condition, element, or factor; something essential.
- Bob's attendance was the sine qua non of the party.

quixotic: (adjective) Visionary, impractical, or impracticable; rashly unpredictable.
- Jessie yet had to realize his quixotic visions.

vendetta: (noun) Any prolonged and bitter feud, rivalry, or contention. 
- A student claimed that her professor had a vendetta against her.

non sequitur: (noun) An inference or conclusion that does not follow from the premises; statement containing an illogical conclusion.
- Albert's response to the professor's question was non sequitur.

mystique: (noun) An aura of mystery or mystical power surrounding a particular occupation or pursuit.
- He has retained certain mystique which has made him a compelling individual. 

quagmire: (noun) A difficult situation with no easy solution; anything soft of flabby.
- The governor's decisions created a political quagmire.

parlous: (adjective) Perilous; dangerous.
- Being out after curfew is quite parlous.

WHY THIS BOOK?

For my first literary analysis I decided to read Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. I decided to read this book not only because I already had it at home, but mainly because of the amount of times that it has appeared on the AP test. Also, Death of a Salesman is a playwright and I personally enjoy reading plays.