AP Lit Term: Vernacular

Vernacular- Everyday speech 

This video is a clip from comedian Dane Cook, making fun of some of the speech that is used daily.  Words like "gay" or "raped" are used in different ways, then they might have been in the past. (Sorry for the some of the language.)

Big Question

What are the factors that create a compensation model in which we pay our athletes and entertainers millions and millions but pay our public servants close to minimum wage?

Self Search

When searching online for myself, I couldn't really find anything when  I just searched Hunter Walker.  I then searched Hunter Walker basketball, and I found a couple links to some websites that had mentioned me for basketball.  I also found this picture under the images.

Thinking Outside The Box

Both Plato and Satre created a story that describe limitations to our thinking.  Plato uses a cave and shackles to show how most people's thoughts can be restrained and limited.  Most people believe in something and don't really question it or check to make sure it's correct.  What they think is reality, is actually a representation of what is actually real.  In Satre's "No Exit" he describes a room of three people who are supposed to be in a living hell.  This contradicts the normal hell, that everyone believes to be true.  Even the three people are excepting to be tortured, but their presence is torture enough.  A solution to this thinking would be questioning what is said to be true, and thinking on your own.

Literature Analysis 3

1. The protagonist of The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway is Jake Barnes, an American journalist living in Paris. Jake suffered a war wound that has caused him to be impotent, though the nature of his wound is never explicitly described in the novel. He is in love with Lady Brett Ashley, a twice-divorced Englishwoman. Jake plays tennis with his college friend Robert Cohn, picks up a prostitute (Georgette), and runs into Brett and Count Mippipopolous in a nightclub. Brett and Jake leave together; in a taxi she tells him she loves him, but they know they have no chance at a lasting relationship. Jake is joined by Bill Gorton, recently arrived from New York, and Brett's fiancé Mike Campbell, who arrives from Scotland. Jake and Bill travel to Spain, where they meet Robert Cohn north of Pamplona for a fishing trip. Cohn, however, leaves for Pamplona to wait for Brett and Mike. Cohn had an affair with Brett a year earlier and still feels possessive of her despite her engagement to Mike. Jake and Bill enjoy five days of tranquillity, fishing the streams near Burguete, after which they rejoin the group in Pamplona, where they begin to drink heavily. Cohn's presence is increasingly resented by the others, who taunt him with anti-semitic remarks. During the fiesta the characters drink, eat, watch the running of the bulls, attend bullfights, and bicker with each other. Jake introduces Brett to Romero at Montoya's inn; she is smitten with the 19-year-old matador and seduces him. The jealous tension between the men builds; Mike, Jake, Cohn, and Romero each love Brett. Cohn, who had been a champion boxer in college, has fistfights with Jake, Mike, and Romero, whom he injures. Despite the tension, Romero continues to perform brilliantly in the bullriding. Sober again, they leave Pamplona. Bill returns to Paris, Mike stays in Bayonne, and Jake goes to San Sebastian in northeastern Spain. As Jake is about to return to Paris he receives a telegram from Brett, who left for Madrid with Romero, asking for help. He finds her in a cheap hotel, without money, and without Romero. She announces she has decided to marry Mike. The novel ends with Jake and Brett in a taxi speaking of the things that might have been.

2. The theme of this book is love and how it can be so blind at times. Lady Brett falls in love throughtout the story with different guys also. She thinks that she is actually falling in love, when really it was just lust that she was feeling. She is blindly falling in love with these guys, when really she just has a little crush on them a girl in grade school. It does not seem like she cares about the feeling of the other men she is playing. Since Lady Brett has all those love interests she hurts the friendship that she has with Jake. For most of the book Jake feels like he is in love with Lady Brett, but she shows her true character throughout the book and Jake realizes that he isn't actually in love with her. This shows the blindess of love that was in this book.

3. Ernest Hemingway seems to have more then one tone during the novel. He is stern during parts and can be compassionate at other times. When Robert and Romero fight, the author uses a tone of anger, so the audience learns something about the characters. It shows how Robert is quick to snap to violence and shows Hemmingway having a stern tone. There are plenty of examples of a compassionate tone, because the theme of the book is love. The author has to use compassion as a tone when the lovers interact, like Jake and Lady Brett.

4. One literary element that Ernest Hemingway uses is irony. It is ironic that by the time that Jake gets over Lady Brett, that is when she feels like she might have feelings for him. She says that they should have spent more time together, and he answers it with very little emotion. Another literary techinque that the author uses is flashbacks and that's used by going back to protray some of the experiences Jake had in WW1. There are aslo symbols that are used, like how fishing in the river was so peaceful. Also, Hemingway used hyperbole by emphaszing how easy it is for Lady Brett to fall in love.  

Big Question

Why is it that in our country we have no problem paying our althetes and entertainers millions and millions of dollars but we pay our teachers, law enforcement officers, and even our president no where near that in comparison?

Hamlet Essay

From Austin's theory of performativity, performative utterance can be broken down into three forces, the locutionary force, the illocutionary force and the perlocutionary force. The locutionary can be defined as what the meaning of the words are, for example in Hamlet when the ghost of King Hamlet appears and tells Hamlet that Claudius was the one who killed him. After receiving this information, Hamlet felt like he had to avenge his father and throughout the story that was his goal. The illocutionary force is the function behind the statement, as demonstrated in Hamlet when the king tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet. He does this so he can hopefully get information from them, but also to reassure his power as King. The perlocutionary force is what is achieved by being said. At the end of the story Laertes tells Hamlet that the King tried to poison him and killed his mother, and because of this Hamlet kills the King on the spot. Hamlet uses speech to display his inner thoughts, so that the audience knows what he is thinking and feeling during the play.

According to Harold Bloom's theory, the way Hamlet speaks constitutes action in itself because Hamlet overhears himself speaking and in doing so gains knowledge, The insight that he gains is important because this helps him make decisions throughout the story. In Hamlet's soliloquy, “To be or not to be,” he shuffles back and forth with the choice of either killing his uncle Claudius or committing suicide. There is action in this because Hamlet is showing the audience how he feels and what choices he has. Even thought Hamlet uses soliloquy's more than the other characters, the rest of Shakespeare's characters also use speech to present their inner thoughts. The King uses speech often and lets us know that he plans on killing Hamlet. Since he said what was on his mind, this gave the audience information that not every character in the play had. Hamlet had no idea Claudius was trying to kill him, until he found that note when he was being sent to England. It also provides foreshadowing for the plot, because we know whats going to happen, but the characters don't know what the other characters are thinking.

Since learning about “self-overhearing” I have noticed the times when I actually do “self-overhear.” It's usually after I just got into an argument when I will look back and say “oh I should have said this.” Also when I second guess myself on a quiz, I can see myself going over a question in an attempt to pick the right answer. When I reflect on my experience it creates a sense of memory, because the more I look back on something, the easier it is to remember that event. When I look back, it creates a sense of expectation for a couple of reasons. One reason is because I see what I've done well, so if I fail to do what I know I can accomplish, then I am not meeting my expectations I have for myself. Also I have seen what I've done poorly in the past and expect to not make those same decisions, but rather make choices that will end with success.

“Self-overhearing” is apparent with Hamlet as well as the decision making process that people use every day. Hamlet says his thoughts out loud so that the audience knows what going on, but most people keep their thoughts to themselves. In a sense when we “self-overhear” we are communicating to ourselves, so it is silly to suggest that we all don't talk to ourselves at one time or another.. It can be beneficial going over the different options in our heads before making a decision, because this can help provide the best choice. In some ways, I suppose we can all learn from Hamlet's methods.

Hamlet vs Epic Heroes

When comparing Hamlets use of language to Epic Heroes, like Beowulf, there isn't much in common.  Hamlet uses speech in a completely different way, then Beowulf would.  Shakespeare would have their characters reveal their inner thoughts, so that the audience would know what they were thinking, but the rest of the characters in the play wouldn't.  Beowulf wouldn't break out into these soliloquy's pouring out everything that he felt, he would act on his feelings, instead of contemplating what he should do.   The author of Beowulf would use literary techniques, like metaphors, symbolism and alliterations.  

In the play Hamlet, we find out at the beginning that the king had just been killed.  When we are introduced to the main character, Hamlet he is depressed, confused and vindictive.  Hamlet figures out that his father had been killed by his uncle and now has a decision to make.  Throughout the play Hamlet struggles with this decision of either getting revenge or taking his own life.  In his soliloquy, "To Be or Not To Be," he is questioning just that.  It does seem that Hamlet is inexperienced in killing situations, it sounds like he does now a lot about other situations.  He questions why people would put up with their life if its not going the why that they want it to, and he thinks its because people are unsure what lies ahead after death.  By his speech, the audience can tell that he is well educated and has many levels to him.  

In the poem of Beowulf,  the epic hero Beowulf is in a completely different situation then Hamlet.  Beowulf is supposed to be the hero and protect the people of his land.  His actions are based on judgments he makes on the spot.  Beowulf contained very few flaws and was a courageous warrior.  Unlike Hamlet, Beowulf wouldn't think about his decisions so immensely.  

Hamlet and Beowulf were two different types of stories, so that's a reason why the language was different.  In order to keep the plot moving, Hamlet had to rely on his inner thoughts and feelings.  The language in Beowulf described his actions and that's what kept the plot going.  They both had different situations that they had to deal with.  Both Hamlet and Beowulf have their own unique style, and that's what makes them classic readings.  

To Be or Not To Be...

From this class I've learned that some obstacles I may find impossible, are actually fairly easy to accomplish.  By memorizing the "To Be or Not To Be" soliloquy, I now know that I am able to push myself to a different level.  Here is a video of actor Ethan Hawke, walking through Blockbuster saying this soliloquy.  Now, as I walk through video stores or other interesting locales, I often break out in soliloquy.



<iframe width="550" height="315" src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/-YHMYkUrV7A?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Roy Christopher's Conference Highlights

The main points of Roy Christopher's  conference was how the effectiveness of technology depends on how it's being used. Also how older generations don't really trust the younger generation with all the technology upgrades.  He had some very interesting points and made the conversation fun to be apart of.  I liked when he brought up that hip-hop is the blueprint of the 21st century.  That might be entirely true, but I would like to think so.  I also thought it was interesting when he brought up the point about old computers.  With old computers, years ago, you had to program it in order for it to work.  Now modern computers are already programmed and most people don't even think about programming their computer. He said it all goes down to "Program or be Programmed."  This is his view on the options that people have with technology.  It's makes you think about the decisions you will make while using these innovations in the future.