REFLECTIONS ON WEEK 1 (AP English + expository writing)

1.  Are there any factors that you think are going to affect your participation or experience in this class? Access to a computer?   Since I have access to a computer at home, turning in stuff is not going to be a problem. The problem would be finding the time to do it. I believe this is going to be the biggest problem with this course. However, I knew this class was going to be time-consuming so I guess I shouldn't complain about it now. Just go through it.
2.  an awesome  learning experience that changed you.  Throughout my school life, the best way I have learned is by doing something physical after the teacher have given a lecture. I find the lecture helpful because most of the time the key concepts are explained and when I do the activity, I understand it better.
3. What are you most [excited/concerned] about in this class? What do you look forward to in learning?  The thing that I’m most excited about in this class is learning how to present myself through the internet.  I also want to experience the freedom that this course gives me. 

5 GO-TO SOURCES FOR GOOD NONFICTION (expository writing class)

1) https://www.byliner.com/anthologies/102-spectacular-nonfiction-articles-2012 has articles that are non-fiction
2) https://www.byliner.com/anthologies/101-spectacular-nonfiction-stories this is from stories/articles from 2011
3) http://www.teenink.com/nonfiction/ gives you the chance to participate in disscussions about non-fiction books/articles
4) http://tetw.org/ a thumblr-style page with non-fiction articles
5) http://www.booksie.com/non-fiction in this page not only can you find nonfiction articles, but a whole variety of writing styles!

1987 AP exam notes (AP English)

*Multiple Choice

-the first selection wasn't that difficult to understand if you read carefully. Like any other selection on other AP tests.

-Both poems were really hard for me to understand. I feel like if I knew the poetry terms better, I could've have gotten more questions right.

-Since the poems required me to REALLY understand the poem in order to answer the questions correctly, I had to re-read the poems again and that was time consuming. Since I was timing myself, I had to guess in the last few questions which I didn't really do well in.

*Essays

-even though I did not fully understand the first selection, I used Pathos and dialogue as the techniques Eliot used and since I am comfortable with these two, I was able to make a coherent essay in the 35 minutes the prompt said.  

-For the second essay, I choose The Grapes of Wrath. I read this book last year and the details weren't that clear to me. Even though I managed to write a 4 paragraph essay on this one, I feel like I could improve it.

-for both essays I have more than enough time to finish. That’s why I feel like I did a poor job on them. 

The essays I analyzed belong to Marisol Duarte.
1987 essay Evaluations
Essay 1:
-gives examples of devices used to convey the author's views
-quotes the text
-the analysis is superficial
-I would give this a 4-5 because it can be understood but it does not analyze the text deeply

Essay 2:
-does not specify what change is being promoted
-gives examples of changes, but they were not included in the introductory paragraph
-does not analyze the text deeply
-the essay does not show deep understanding of the message the book was portraying
-I would give this essay a 4.

MONTAIGNE/AUSTEN ESSAY (AP English)

 In his story, "Good Old Neon", David Foster Wallace says, “What goes on inside is just too fast and huge and all interconnected for words to do more than barely sketch the outlines of at most one tiny little part of it at any given instant.” Jane Austen, author of Pride and Prejudice supports this statement through her writing style while the Essays of Michel De Montaigne by Michel De Montaigne somewhat contradicts them.  Even though Pride and Prejudice and Essays of Michel De Montaigne both have some things in common, both of them do not support Wallace’s saying.

In his quote, Wallace is saying that the thoughts and opinions of someone are not represented in any of their works because their minds are too complex to be put down into writing. In Essays of Michel De Montaigne, the reader can read exactly what Montaigne thinks about a subject, like thumbs, liars, memorization, sorrow, fear, and cowardice because his writing is done through a first person point of view. Even though Montaigne’s thoughts are not organized in a way that is easily followed, the reader can pinpoint his ideas on a given subject. 

In Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, the reader can only speculate what Austen thinks about a subject. Even though her novel has an organized structure, her thoughts are implied through the third person narration of the novel. Since Pride and Prejudice is a work of fiction, Jane Austin has the ability to presents themes that the reader can have an opinion on without stating her views directly. By writing this way, Austen supports Wallace’s saying.

Even though both works do not support Wallace’s statement, Austen and Montaigne have some similarities. The biggest similarity between them is that they show similar messages. A message that both of them portray is that “the profit of one man is the damage of another.” (Montaigne Ch. XXI) In Pride and Prejudice this is shown when Mr. Collins entailment leaves the Bennet women financially unprotected once Mr. Bennet dies.  Another common massage is that “our mind hinders itself.” (Montaigne Ch. XIV) This is showed in Pride and Prejudice when Darcy’s “mind” (prejudice) prevents Elizabeth to accept his proposal.

In the story “Good Old Neon”, David Foster Wallace says that people cannot write down their thoughts and opinions because their minds are too complex. However, The Essays of Michel De Montaigne contradicts this because in his writing, Montaigne states his opinions on diverse topics such as cowardice, thumbs, liars, memorization, sorrow, and fear. On the other hand, Pride and Prejudice supports this because the author does not state her opinion directly through the novel.  

POETRY #1 (AP English)

1. From what poem/author does this commercial borrow (without credit)?

2. Why might the use of this poem by a corporation be considered ironic?

3. Does the poem reflect the reputation of the author? Why/why not?

4. How did you find the answers to #1 & #3? Describe your research process and your sources in detail.

1.  The poem used here is called “The Laughing Heart” by Charles Bukowski

2. This might be considered ironic because the poem is telling the reader that it’s their life and that no one can tell them what to do; however, the point of this ad is to get the viewers to buy their product.

3. This poem somewhat reflects the author’s reputation because he was known for writing poems that alludes to the use of sex, alcohol abuse, and violence. Even though this poem sounds hopeful and empowering, it does contain the violence factor.

4. First I saw the video and then I googled “Levis’s go forth 2011 ad” in the search result, I found the poem. Since I still didn't know  the author, I googled the poem an d ii found out who wrote it. When I found out who wrote it, I googled his biography and I found this: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/charles-bukowski  this is where I found the answer to number 3. 

ESSAY #1 (AP English)

The Palestinian literary critic Edward Said wrote that "Exile is strangely compelling to think about but terrible to experience.  It is the unhealable rift forced between a human being and a native place, between the self and its true home; its essential sadness can never be surmounted." He also said that exile can become a "potent, even enriching" experience. In the novel, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, a character that is both wounded and enriched from being exiled is Leah Price. At the beginning of the novel, Leah Price is always looking for an excuse or explanation for the things her father does, she is also impetuous and sometimes speaks or acts without thinking. At the beginning of the story, the reader can deduct that the exile in the Congo is not doing her any good; however, by the end of the novel, the reader can see that being in Africa has enriched her life.

In the novel, an example of how exile can alienate someone is when Leah starts to see who her father really is. At the beginning of the novel, none of the Price women wanted to be in the Congo, the only reason that Leah could possibly be happy was because her father was there. Leah idolized her father and believed that his father had a reason for being the way he was. To Leah, her father was sort of a home. As the novel went by, she began to see true colors of his father’s personality and began to despise him for it. Without her father to look up to, Leah’s “home” began to crumble.

An example that exile can be an opportunity to grow is that by the end of the novel Leah fights for the African Freedom, showing that she doesn’t only care about people close to her but for the whole country. When Leah fell in love with Anatole, they both joined the movement and even though Leah was no longer Christian, she is still the same idealistic girl that she was when she first got to the Congo.

In conclusion, in this novel, the reader can see that exile can be a hurtful experience but an opportunity to grow at the same time. When Leah first arrived at the Congo, she was an idealistic girl who viewed her father like her home because she only saw the best qualities on him. Due to her exile, by the end of the novel she saw the reality of her father. However, the exile also helped her find a cause worth fighting for, African Freedom. 

BIG question

Why is world peace sooooo hard to obtain? I mean, if EVERYONE took in consideration other people and stopped being selfish, world peace would not be so hard to obtain!
Why can't ALL humans cooperate with each other and make the Earth a better planet to live in? without any violence, corruption, or misery?