My final thoughts on the summer assignment.
And thus concludes my work for AP Language!! Honestly I found enjoyment in reading and blogging the books. Actually, the reading and blogging were the best part of the assignment. Regardless I still had my downs with the summer work, specifically the textbooks. What made my day was that we were getting graded on the content that we thought about. Our opinions!! As long as I don't get marked down like during the school year then I'm all for it. I'm looking forward to the challenges ahead in this upcoming school year and my second AP experience.
The only thing I can tell myself is don't be lazy or else I'll suffer the consequences.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Blog #21
Comparing and contrasting The Crucible.
The movie stays true to Miller's original play but with some slight differentiation, notably the beginning and the end. They added an additional scene showing the girls and Tituba dancing around the fire. Also Parris seems to be more violent and short tempered in character if compared to the book. The pace of the movie itself is different than the book. Some dialogue being added in or revised for the movie. Additional scenes were added to bring some sort of life to the play. For instance like the meeting between John Proctor and Abigail that never happened in the play. Act II is strictly accurate with a few dialogue revisions. Act III just has one minor difference. Which is when the girls don't run into the lake at the end.
The ending scene is also different from the play. Notable differences are Abigail's visit to Proctor in prison. The fact that Elizabeth and Proctor talk outside of jail and not inside. And finally the execution scene. I must say that the Crucible is a good read and movie that I suggest anyone to watch. It captures the chaos and hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials. The play was also written in conjunction to the Cold Warm where the U.S government were trying to root out Communist "spies" in the country. The search runs parallel with the witch-hunts.
The Cold War, in reality, is just a modern Salem Witch Trial on a grand scale.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Blog #20
I must not tell lies.
The troubles in Salem escalate and go out of control. The town is a shade of it's former self with most of occupants being killed off. People flee the chaos and journey to Barbados. Quite a gruesome scene is it not? Let's discuss the closing scenes of The Crucible shall we?
Act III
The court hearings occur during this act of the play. Everyone is being played and the children are the masterminds behind this. What the adults can't unveil to see the truth baffles me beyond belief. The session with Giles will not end well. They should've thought it out first. And also Parris is also annoying, he only wants the land to himself.
I also despise the way they are trying everyone during this time period. Basically, they are saying once you're accused of being a witch you are dead. What kind of messed up logic is that?! Abigail is also clearly (and obviously) lying through her teeth! Why is it that no one will think for themselves and not rely on the testimony of children.On a side note, every little thing that happens in the court tips the scale in someone's favor. If someone accused the other of touching them at night, the court would believe them and would tip in their favor. And vice versa. Was it necessary for Proctor to reveal his secret relationship between him and Abigail? What was his purpose in attempting to do so? Perhaps he was trying to get some dirt on Abigail?
By the end of this hearing, Proctor and Mary go bananas because Abigail somehow pulled the strings. I still can't believe how gullible the court actually is.
Act IV
The chaos in Salem had reached it's peak. Tituba and many others are now leaving Salem for the safety of Barbados. John Proctor and his wife had been jailed for about three months when they're innocent of being witches. The two are allowed to speak with which Proctor decides to confess to witchcraft.
Why he decided to do this is debatable. I think that he buckled underneath the massive pressure and that Abigail had taken everything away from him in her attempt to get closer to him. He could also be trying to save himself by employing the opposite methods used by the girls. Proctor is the lone wolf in Salem as he fights for his life.
In the end, Proctor was the only person who could clearly see what was going on. He died but he died a hero in my eyes.
The troubles in Salem escalate and go out of control. The town is a shade of it's former self with most of occupants being killed off. People flee the chaos and journey to Barbados. Quite a gruesome scene is it not? Let's discuss the closing scenes of The Crucible shall we?
Act III
The court hearings occur during this act of the play. Everyone is being played and the children are the masterminds behind this. What the adults can't unveil to see the truth baffles me beyond belief. The session with Giles will not end well. They should've thought it out first. And also Parris is also annoying, he only wants the land to himself.
I also despise the way they are trying everyone during this time period. Basically, they are saying once you're accused of being a witch you are dead. What kind of messed up logic is that?! Abigail is also clearly (and obviously) lying through her teeth! Why is it that no one will think for themselves and not rely on the testimony of children.On a side note, every little thing that happens in the court tips the scale in someone's favor. If someone accused the other of touching them at night, the court would believe them and would tip in their favor. And vice versa. Was it necessary for Proctor to reveal his secret relationship between him and Abigail? What was his purpose in attempting to do so? Perhaps he was trying to get some dirt on Abigail?
By the end of this hearing, Proctor and Mary go bananas because Abigail somehow pulled the strings. I still can't believe how gullible the court actually is.
Act IV
The chaos in Salem had reached it's peak. Tituba and many others are now leaving Salem for the safety of Barbados. John Proctor and his wife had been jailed for about three months when they're innocent of being witches. The two are allowed to speak with which Proctor decides to confess to witchcraft.
Why he decided to do this is debatable. I think that he buckled underneath the massive pressure and that Abigail had taken everything away from him in her attempt to get closer to him. He could also be trying to save himself by employing the opposite methods used by the girls. Proctor is the lone wolf in Salem as he fights for his life.
In the end, Proctor was the only person who could clearly see what was going on. He died but he died a hero in my eyes.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Blog #19
Don't startle the witch!!
Let's discuss The Crucible.
The introductory paragraphs didn't catch my attention. I'm uninterested for a large majority of it. I'm more appalled that the people of Salem are more superstitious than the people of the Late Middle Ages. And the only reason that I can come up with is because everyone in the town had a grudge on each other. Oh joy, and then hiding their grudge underneath the act of witchcraft and BAM, we got the Salem Witch Trials in a nutshell. The thing that prevented me from enjoying this were the people with their logic.
Act I
I have to complain that the story immediately begins and I was thrown off by this. Who were these people? Why was Betty even knocked out in the first place? Whatever Betty was under, they instantly labeled it to witchcraft and not even naturally causes. It's even justified when she flies into a fit and attempts to fly out the window. Here we are introduced to the other members of their crazy little group. Abigail is a bit violent, Mercy is annoying and I don't like her, and Mary is just there.
Soon after we are introduced to John Proctor and Abigail seems to shrink in his presence. It was obvious something happened between them just looking at the dialogue. He's married. She's 17 and he's 30. Make the connection man. After some more freaking out, turns out there is some sort of rivalry going on between Parris and Proctor over a land dispute. A rivalry will be instrumental later on as a plot device perhaps.
The exorcist, Hale, seems to be the only person in this story so far that doesn't instantly leap to superstition. These people seem to go to extreme lengths just to extract a nonexistent demon from a little girl, resorting to hurting her or maybe even killing her. Furthermore, the paranoia begins to grow as Abigail is accused of conspiring with the Devil and then she blames it on Tituba. This would start a wild goose chase on who is the real witch when the instigator is standing right in front of them. Betty and Abigail proceed to blame everyone now and starting the witch trials. God help them see the light.
Act II
Eight days later Salem is in complete chaos as the children continue to blame everyone for witchcraft. Hold up hold up, why would the children begin to blame everyone they don't like? What are they trying to gain by doing this? Are they in fact just trying to save themselves from the dance they had done in the forest? It seems that may be the case. John Proctor, our main character, may be the only one with the sense to fight back as he sees through his entire fiasco. Everyone in Salem becomes so paranoid that friends become enemies, and no one can be trusted. Hale may even suspect that Proctor could be a possible witness just because Abigail Williams said it.
Speaking of which, Hale couldn't believe that the girls took part in the dance in the woods. Retorting that all the supposed witches had confessed to their crimes. Well, the only reason why they confessed is because the girls and Hale were instigating them like mad! Plus the constant accusations left and right just because of old grudges!
Everyone in Salem is listening to the accusations and testimonies of little girls and have no free will of their own. Everyone is just afraid of what's happening and trying to save themselves.
Despite my constant bashing of it so far, I am feeling the mood and frantic moments of that time period. Here I am criticizing the things I didn't like about it, which is in fact the intelligence of the people. If they could have stopped and thought about everything for a second, this mess would have never happened. Also if Abigail and the girls just confessed. I believe I'm looking at this from a modern viewpoint and not immersing myself into a past viewpoint.
Let's discuss The Crucible.
The introductory paragraphs didn't catch my attention. I'm uninterested for a large majority of it. I'm more appalled that the people of Salem are more superstitious than the people of the Late Middle Ages. And the only reason that I can come up with is because everyone in the town had a grudge on each other. Oh joy, and then hiding their grudge underneath the act of witchcraft and BAM, we got the Salem Witch Trials in a nutshell. The thing that prevented me from enjoying this were the people with their logic.
Act I
I have to complain that the story immediately begins and I was thrown off by this. Who were these people? Why was Betty even knocked out in the first place? Whatever Betty was under, they instantly labeled it to witchcraft and not even naturally causes. It's even justified when she flies into a fit and attempts to fly out the window. Here we are introduced to the other members of their crazy little group. Abigail is a bit violent, Mercy is annoying and I don't like her, and Mary is just there.
Soon after we are introduced to John Proctor and Abigail seems to shrink in his presence. It was obvious something happened between them just looking at the dialogue. He's married. She's 17 and he's 30. Make the connection man. After some more freaking out, turns out there is some sort of rivalry going on between Parris and Proctor over a land dispute. A rivalry will be instrumental later on as a plot device perhaps.
The exorcist, Hale, seems to be the only person in this story so far that doesn't instantly leap to superstition. These people seem to go to extreme lengths just to extract a nonexistent demon from a little girl, resorting to hurting her or maybe even killing her. Furthermore, the paranoia begins to grow as Abigail is accused of conspiring with the Devil and then she blames it on Tituba. This would start a wild goose chase on who is the real witch when the instigator is standing right in front of them. Betty and Abigail proceed to blame everyone now and starting the witch trials. God help them see the light.
Act II
Eight days later Salem is in complete chaos as the children continue to blame everyone for witchcraft. Hold up hold up, why would the children begin to blame everyone they don't like? What are they trying to gain by doing this? Are they in fact just trying to save themselves from the dance they had done in the forest? It seems that may be the case. John Proctor, our main character, may be the only one with the sense to fight back as he sees through his entire fiasco. Everyone in Salem becomes so paranoid that friends become enemies, and no one can be trusted. Hale may even suspect that Proctor could be a possible witness just because Abigail Williams said it.
Speaking of which, Hale couldn't believe that the girls took part in the dance in the woods. Retorting that all the supposed witches had confessed to their crimes. Well, the only reason why they confessed is because the girls and Hale were instigating them like mad! Plus the constant accusations left and right just because of old grudges!
Everyone in Salem is listening to the accusations and testimonies of little girls and have no free will of their own. Everyone is just afraid of what's happening and trying to save themselves.
Despite my constant bashing of it so far, I am feeling the mood and frantic moments of that time period. Here I am criticizing the things I didn't like about it, which is in fact the intelligence of the people. If they could have stopped and thought about everything for a second, this mess would have never happened. Also if Abigail and the girls just confessed. I believe I'm looking at this from a modern viewpoint and not immersing myself into a past viewpoint.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Blog #18
Beginning the Crucible.
So begins the tale of the infamous Salem Witch Trials, a truly frightening time in the history of America. This time being recreated under the writer Arthur Miller. Unlike most plays, usually being entirely fiction or inspired by true events this play is based off of the actual court documents recorded during the witch trials. Yes, everyone character in this story is a real living human being and not the fabrication of the mind of a writer.
I'm looking forward to reading and watching the movie. The Salem Witch Trials is a terrifying chapter in American colonial history, and seeing it relived would be an interesting experience. Seeing the events of old with the mind of a 21st century teenager will be humorous.
So begins the tale of the infamous Salem Witch Trials, a truly frightening time in the history of America. This time being recreated under the writer Arthur Miller. Unlike most plays, usually being entirely fiction or inspired by true events this play is based off of the actual court documents recorded during the witch trials. Yes, everyone character in this story is a real living human being and not the fabrication of the mind of a writer.
I'm looking forward to reading and watching the movie. The Salem Witch Trials is a terrifying chapter in American colonial history, and seeing it relived would be an interesting experience. Seeing the events of old with the mind of a 21st century teenager will be humorous.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Blog #17
Two birds with one stone!
Unit 5
Great War was a transitional era for many writers. Old ideals became obsolete as war raged on. Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell To Arms says "Words such as glory, honor, courage, or hallow were obscene" (825). The Great Depression captured the minds of many writers and captured the grimness and despair in their novels. Such as John Steinbeck, who wrote about the uncertainty of the times. Literature eventually changed towards economic use, such as mass media which made luxuries a "must have". Mass production efficiently produced Americans' necessities which homogenized American culture. Sinclair Lewis and other writers were alienated by this and criticized what they saw. Writers were also influenced by some new ideas of the time, such as those of Albert Einstein and Karl Marx.
New forms of poetry soon appeared on the bookshelves of many Americans. Such as those of Arlington Robinson who drew psychological portraits of characters. He was the forerunner of the modernist movement. Modernism itself focused on the individual. Imagism is the opposite of objectivism. It's just to present an image and uses strictly free verse. Objectivism allows the object to speak for itself. Ernest Hemmingway composed short stories with no beginnings or endings, leaving the reader hanging. The pioneer of short stories.
The Harlem Renaissance saw a unique audience of writers for their time: the African American population. They fused their own folk culture with that of American culture, giving unique forms of expression. It ended short because of the Great Depression.
Journalism as literature came to be from writers who learned their crafts by writing for magazines and newspapers. It helped develop their skill and give them a clear prose to use short sentences and short paragraphs. Magazines also helped writers such as Dorothy Parker.
Unit 6
Wars are subject to writings because of their very nature, in my opinion. The Holocaust during WWII was written about by it's lucky survivors who shared the horrors of the time. The Cold War saw the rise of science fiction because of the uncertainty of things continued the way they did. Tim O'Brien reflected literature of the time with conflicts. And according to John Updike "an old world is collpsing and a new world arising." Which marks the transition into a modern era.
Many writers struggled with the very idea of the American dream but later on it turned shallow and narrowed it's ideals. "beatniks" protested this shallowness of American society, being turned into a consumer society.
The best writings occurred American theater which prompted a revive across America and Europe. Death of a Salesman by Miller was so provocative that Hollywood wanted to depict the life of a salesman as careless. Post-modern style began questioning authority, conventional values, and the nature of reality.
The last 30 years saw a large overflow of writers of various backgrounds and not just by those who were purely of European descent. Writers now focus on different aspects of American life. Literature will continue to grow as writers continue to write.
Unit 5
Great War was a transitional era for many writers. Old ideals became obsolete as war raged on. Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell To Arms says "Words such as glory, honor, courage, or hallow were obscene" (825). The Great Depression captured the minds of many writers and captured the grimness and despair in their novels. Such as John Steinbeck, who wrote about the uncertainty of the times. Literature eventually changed towards economic use, such as mass media which made luxuries a "must have". Mass production efficiently produced Americans' necessities which homogenized American culture. Sinclair Lewis and other writers were alienated by this and criticized what they saw. Writers were also influenced by some new ideas of the time, such as those of Albert Einstein and Karl Marx.
New forms of poetry soon appeared on the bookshelves of many Americans. Such as those of Arlington Robinson who drew psychological portraits of characters. He was the forerunner of the modernist movement. Modernism itself focused on the individual. Imagism is the opposite of objectivism. It's just to present an image and uses strictly free verse. Objectivism allows the object to speak for itself. Ernest Hemmingway composed short stories with no beginnings or endings, leaving the reader hanging. The pioneer of short stories.
The Harlem Renaissance saw a unique audience of writers for their time: the African American population. They fused their own folk culture with that of American culture, giving unique forms of expression. It ended short because of the Great Depression.
Journalism as literature came to be from writers who learned their crafts by writing for magazines and newspapers. It helped develop their skill and give them a clear prose to use short sentences and short paragraphs. Magazines also helped writers such as Dorothy Parker.
Unit 6
Wars are subject to writings because of their very nature, in my opinion. The Holocaust during WWII was written about by it's lucky survivors who shared the horrors of the time. The Cold War saw the rise of science fiction because of the uncertainty of things continued the way they did. Tim O'Brien reflected literature of the time with conflicts. And according to John Updike "an old world is collpsing and a new world arising." Which marks the transition into a modern era.
Many writers struggled with the very idea of the American dream but later on it turned shallow and narrowed it's ideals. "beatniks" protested this shallowness of American society, being turned into a consumer society.
The best writings occurred American theater which prompted a revive across America and Europe. Death of a Salesman by Miller was so provocative that Hollywood wanted to depict the life of a salesman as careless. Post-modern style began questioning authority, conventional values, and the nature of reality.
The last 30 years saw a large overflow of writers of various backgrounds and not just by those who were purely of European descent. Writers now focus on different aspects of American life. Literature will continue to grow as writers continue to write.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Blog #16
Textbook Unit 4.
This unit has to do with the theme of change over time. Many Americans, unhappy with the sudden changes of the time, looked to regionalism. The westward expansion made many Americans have an appreciation for the diversity, being celebrated by many such as Mark Twain. Cultural influences such as The Gilded Age influenced both regional and naturalist writers. The later text talks about the rise of naturalism, which rose from the individuals helpless who were at the mercy of the business world.
On a different note, Mark Twain's, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin", is considered the first novel that was written in "American". Well, it had it's own unique style that also broke the rules of conventional writing, using grammatically incorrect sentences which would influence literature for years to come. Women eventually got a start in writing with the rise of the rights movements. The later texts talk about regional literature as a whole, and the importance of setting.
This unit has to do with the theme of change over time. Many Americans, unhappy with the sudden changes of the time, looked to regionalism. The westward expansion made many Americans have an appreciation for the diversity, being celebrated by many such as Mark Twain. Cultural influences such as The Gilded Age influenced both regional and naturalist writers. The later text talks about the rise of naturalism, which rose from the individuals helpless who were at the mercy of the business world.
On a different note, Mark Twain's, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin", is considered the first novel that was written in "American". Well, it had it's own unique style that also broke the rules of conventional writing, using grammatically incorrect sentences which would influence literature for years to come. Women eventually got a start in writing with the rise of the rights movements. The later texts talk about regional literature as a whole, and the importance of setting.
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