Synthesis of Course Material

#4 Blogger Papers
Going through all these topics from second hour in one night, I try to think about what we've spent the most time on for this class. I don't know how I didn't think of this one before, considering I've spent many miserable afternoons trying to spit out online papers I now regret "spitting out" because I have to edit my own "spit" by Tuesday.
But now I'm thinking gosh, I had to whip that stuff off quick, because I always gave myself a time limit. Something I'm very worried about with the AP exams; the time limit. And my paper being spit because I don't have enough time to form a seven paper.
But NOW I'm thinking gosh, even if I had hours to write a paper, could I even form a paper that got a seven? Those papers are a pretty big part of the AP exam I'd assume, and judging from the in class written papers I've gotten like... threes? on, at this point I guess I'm more worried about being able to write something the AP correctors say "oh yeah, this is at least a seven".
So what should I do when the AP exam rolls around? Probably not freak out; I'm going to get what I'm going to get. Think logically, write clearly.



#3 Vocabulary
Do you know how long I spent studying that stupid list? THAT stupid list. No, I bet you don't, because my final exam grade in no way reflects how much time I spent not only memorizing, but trying to give meaning to each and every one of those incredibly wordy definitions.
I chose this topic as a section mainly because even if my exam grade doesn't reflect it, I spent a whole lot of time on those words! And I plan to do the exact same thing before the AP exam, because I really don't think the AP test is going to be those vocab words as every answer, and we just have to show we can apply them to the test; but I do believe it will help to know what it means if they say something like "such and such is an ALLUSION to such and such" and I'll be like boom town, an allusion is an indirect reference, good thing I know what the writers of this test are talking about! So that's basically my Advanced Placement plan...

So what's the main idea behind Mrs. Holmes giving us that huge list of words? Well of course I didn't think there was a point, until I reflect upon the fact I've noticed the word "conceit" about four times since learning what it means, a word that in the past I would have just skimmed over. She uses words from that list often, like "synecdoche, polysyndeton" and "juxtapostion", words that before made me give that little brow fold that means "I have no idea what she's talking about".



#2 DIDLS
Don't laugh at me for doing this, but yes, I am making a whole section just for DIDLS. Why? It's something huge. That I learned. That I didn't know was so important before...don't lie, you didn't either. So let's get some dictionary definitions up in here first:

Diction: the accent, inflection, intonation, and speech-sound quality manifested by an individual speaker, usually judged in terms of prevailing standards of acceptability; enunciation.
Imagery: the formation of mental images, figures, or likenesses of things, or of such images
Detail: an individual or minute part; an item or particular.
Language: a body of words and the systems for their use common to a people who are of the same community or nation, the same geographical area, or the same cultural tradition.
Syntax: the study of the rules for the formation of grammatical sentences in a language.

Now for my definitions:

Diction: This is my favorite. Of course it is, it's the easiest. Diction is what something you can point to on that page. All it means is word choice. What words did the author use in order to enhance their writing.
Imagery: Appeals vividly to the senses. What you can see in your mind due to what you read on the paper.
Detail: This is one I sometimes struggle with finding examples of in text; which is ridiculous really because it's not that hard a concept. Detail is what the author throws in that really enhances the writing and draws a reaction from the reader. So if a writer was talking about "a small object", they could add detail by saying "the object was so small it was only a little larger than the tip of a pencil".
Syntax: Don't give me that "oh yeah, I totally knew what syntax was" before I took this class rubbish. Okay, maybe you did, maybe I should have, whatever. Syntax is how a particular sentence is grammatically formed. You can't point to syntax like you can with diction. It's all about sentence structure, and syntax is used by authors to convey and emphasize certain points.




#1 The Books We've Read
So far in second hour we've read:
1) The American Dream
2) Death of a Salesman
3) Ceremony
4) Pride and Prejudice
5) Hamlet

Some were a little more fascinating than others. About half the books I felt I learned a great deal about literature, others I was left going "huh, that's a lot of time I'll never get back...". But I guess you win some you lose some when text is assigned.
On the text...
The American Dream: This book was a good introduction into annotating, and when I look back, seems more conceptually simple to understand. The subtle undertones and witty uses of sarcasm that at the time blew my mind, now seem much more manageable. At this point, if I read this book on my own, I feel I could catch about... forty percent of the "deeper meaning" we discussed at length in class (remember, forty is a lot better than zero. You're progressing Heidi, really.)

Death of a Salesman: This is my favorite. I'm a-hopin' and a-prayin' one of the AP written questions can somehow be applied to this book, because it was just so, so, good. I don't know what else to say, I know I'll have to look over my annotations before the AP exam so they're fresh in my mind, but I should definitely look at this text the longest. My understanding for this book was so much greater than the other books we've read, and I really appreciated spending time trying to figure out its "deeper meanings".

Ceremony: I could write an overly bitter, strongly worded section about this book, but I'll just keep it short. I respect Mrs. Holmes decisions on text to read, and I know she feels Ceremony was deemed worthy. That is all.

Pride and Prejudice: So not going to lie, I definitely skimmed this book, even during annotations. Shh, don't hate me, I'm only hurting myself in that decision. So with that in mind, I can't really judge the book more than the fact that I found the themes petty and got bored quickly. I should ideally reread this book before the AP, as Mrs. Holmes said most written essays can be answered using this book in particular (or Death of a Salesman).

Hamlet: At first, I couldn't stand Hamlet. Okay, maybe I still can't stand Hamlet. But I am starting to appreciate Hamlet. I've been gone a lot, so annotating this will be good for me, as I missed a lot of the reading in class and feel I'm kind of behind in understanding, but I get the general gist of things. I have to continually remind myself it's much like The Lion King...which probably gives you a good idea of where my level of understanding is right now. The reason for my appreciation upon finishing this text was the unfolding of certain "deeper meanings". Such as Ophelia drowning herself because she's with child, and that being the ultimate sin. The opening line being a question, and the complete relevance that has on the rest of the play as a whole. How the cock crowing is an allusion to the old Bible story of denying seeing the lord three times before the cock crows...all very nice. Things like that just make me so happy, it just makes you go "ahhh...".