Why This Book?

The book I chose for my first literature analysis is The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks. I chose this book because I really wanted to read a Nicholas Sparks book. As I was scrolling through his books, I came across this one and remembered watching the movie. Since I absolutely loved the movie, I decided I should read the book.

Vocabulary #2

1) Accoutrements: (n) personal clothing,accessories; the equipment including weapons and clothing of a soldier

- The soldiers marched onto the battle field carrying their accoutrements.

2) Apogee: (n) the highest or most distant point; climax

- The best part of a book is when the reader teachers the apogee, the most intense part of the book.

3) Apropos: (adj. or adverb) opportune; pertinent; at the right time

- His arrival was apropos as he came right when it was his turn to go on stage.

4) Bicker: (verb or noun) to engage in petulant or peevish argument; an angry dispute

- The two siblings always bicker about what show to watch on tv.

5) Coalesce: (verb) to unite as one or come together

- The two lakes coalesced into one. 

6) Contretemps: (noun) an embarrassing mischance; an inopportune occurrence

- She caused an contretemps by spilling her drink.

7) Convolution: (noun) a rolled up or coiled condition 

- The supplies became a convolution when they were mixed together.

8) Cull: (verb) to choose; select; pick

- He decided to cull who would get the pink ribbon himself.

9) Disparate: (adjective) dissimilar; essentially different; distinct in kind

- The paintings were very disparate as they were not like each other.

10) Dogmatic: (adjective) opinionated; asserting opinions in an arrogant manner

-  His statement was dogmatic as he was very opinionated in his opinion.

11) Licentious: (adjective) lewd; unrestrained by law or morality; disregarding rules

- He had licentious behavior as he never paid attention the rules.

12) Mete: (verb) to distribute or apportion by measure; allot

- She decided to mete the food evenly. 

13) Noxious: (adjective) harmful or injurious to health or well-being; morally harmful

- The fumes were noxious as many people got sick from breathing them in.

14) Polemic: ( noun or adjective) a controversial argument; a person who argues in opposition to another 

- He was a polemic as he always argued with people. 

15) Populous: (adjective) full of residents or inhabitants; heavily populated 

- The large city was populous as everyone wanted to live there.

16) Probity: (noun) integrity and uprightness; honesty

- She is a model of probity because she never lies.

17) Repartee: (noun) a quick, witty reply

- He was quick in repartee as he replied with a humorous comeback on the spot.

18) Supervene: (verb) to take place or occur as something extra or extraneous

- As the morning supervened, I gradually began to wake up. 

19) Truncate: ( verb) to shorten or cut off

- His soccer career was truncated when he broke his leg. 

20) Unimpeachable: (adjective) above suspicion; impossible to discredit; impeccable 

- Since the evidence against the man was unimpeachable he was arrested. 

Beowulf Comprehension Questions

I did these comprehension questions in a group with Haley Zahn and Caroline Mantoura. Haley did four sections including the prologue, the dragon wakes, Beowulf attacks the dragon, and Beowulf's funeral. Caroline did four sections which were the hero comes to Heorot, Beowulf fights Grendel's mother, further celebration at Heorot, and Beowulf returns home. I did five sections including Heorot is attacked, feast at Heorot, the fight with Grendel, celebration at Heorot,and another attack.

Prologue:

1) It was an unusual way that Shield became a king because he grew up as an orphan. At Shield's funeral the people that he once ruled, put his body with his treasure out into the sea. The relation between Hrothgar and Shield is that Shield is Hrothgar's father.

Heorot is Attacked:

1) The magnificent work Hrothgar undertook was Heorot. Heorot is a hall where men gather to drink and listen to music. The demon Grendel, descendent of Cain, attacked Heorot and killed thirty men. These attacks continued for 12 years. Unsuccessfully, the Danes tried to leave Grendel offerings at pagan shrines.

The Hero Comes to Heorot:

1) When Beowulf hears about Hrothgar's problem with Grednel, he gathers his best soldiers and set off to defeat Grendel.

2) When the Geats arrive they first meet a Danish watchman who was patrolling the cliffs. He asks what they are doing on the shores of Denmark dressed in armor carrying weapons and Beowulf replies they are there to defeat Grendel. 

3) Hrothgars' herald is Wulfgar, a messenger. He asks them of their name and kin and that he will tell Hrothgar of their request. He told Hrothgar that the Geats have traveled from across the ocean to "have speech at will". Hrothgar responds by saying he knew Ecgtheow and Beowulf as a boy. I am not surprised that he knows Beowulf so well, no one could really forget someone who has the strength of thirty men in each hand. 

4) When Beowulf enters, he told Hrothgar that he heard about Grendel's attacks and Heorot is empty because of the demon that comes in the night. Hrothgar said he helped Beowulf's father and paid off all things that he owned. 

Feast at Heorot:

1) Unferth accuses Beowulf of losing a swimming match against Breca and, therefore, will lose against Grendel. Beowulf says he was pulled under the water by a sea monster and so he killed that one along with eight others. If he didn't kill them, neither him or Breca would have made it to shore. This episode shows Beowulf bragging about himself and his abilities. Beowulf accuses Unferth of being drunk.

2) During the feast Queen Wealhtheow offers a ceremonial goblet to everyone in the room and thanks god for sending Beowulf.

The Fight With Grendel:

1) Beowulf's preparation with Grendel is different because he does not fight with any weapons or armor. 

2) When Grendel enters he devours a warrior as Beowulf watches. Beowulf grabs onto his arm and attacks him. When Grendel tries to leave Beowulf tackles him and rips off his arm. Grendel does leave to go to the water to die but he leaves behind his arm.

Celebration at Heorot:

1) Beowulf is like Sigemund because they are both heroes for killing monsters: Grendel and a dragon. They also both receive gold treasures. Beowulf is not like  Heremod because   is an evil king while Beowulf is a kind hero.

2) Hrothgar gives Beowulf weapons, armor, and eight horses. He also says that he has adopted him as a son. Unferth doesn't have anything to say to Beowulf.

3) The story of Finn is about Finn and the Danez who are neighbor tribes. They both made a truce and Ginn married a Danish princess named Hildeburh. The Danes rise against the Fustains and Finn is soon killed.

4) Wealhtheow asks Heothgar not to have Beowulf be the next king but instead one of their children. 

5) The necklace is later given to Beowulf's uncle Hygelac who dies in a battle. Wealhtheow asks Beowulf to be kind to her sons and guide them. 

6) So many men remain in the bar hall to sleep because Grendel is dead and so they think it is safe to do so. This is a mistake because Grendel's mother comes in hope to seek remember for Grendel. 

Beowulf and Grendel's Mother:

1) Unlike Grendel who just wanted to kill men, Grendel's mother comes to Heorot for revenge.

2) Hrothgar asks Beowulf to kill Grendel's mother in return for a chest full of gold. Grendel's mother has killed Aeschere, Hrothgars trusted advisor.

3) The mere is a horrible swamp with magical quality. Animals are even scared to go there because the water burns.

Beowulf Fights Grendel's Mother:

1) Beowulf tells Hrothgar to respond as if a horrible battle had started and to not feel sorrow but revenge. 

2) Beowulf and his men kill a sea monster in the water and Hrothgar and his men find Aeschere's severed head on the shore. 

3) Beowulf prepares by putting on the armor from Hrothgar and uses the sword, Hrunting,  Unferth had given him to fight with. 

4) When Beowulf enters, Grendel's mother grabs him and pulls him down as the monsters try and attack him. He is unharmed because of his armor. It's surprising where they live because it takes half a day to get there. 

5) The sword Unferth lent Beowulf breaks. 

6) The armor saves Beowulf from the knife wound Grendel's mother was trying to give him and then uses his strength to push her off him. 

7) Beowulf uses the sword of Eotens and cuts the mother's throat. Seeking revenge  for those killed by Grendel Beowulf brings the severed head back home. His sword melts from the mother's acidic blood. 

8) Beowulf swims back to the surface and none of his men are there because they doubted his ability to beat Grendel's mother. 

Further Celebration at Heorot:

1) Beowulf gives Hrothgar the hilt of his sword and Grendel's head. 

2) Beowulf is warned by Hrothgar about being a fair ruler. Heremod was a horrible king because of his betrayals and murders was banished and exiled. Eventually he was betrayed and killed. 

3) Beowulf gives Unferth his sword, Hrunting, back. 

Beowulf Returns Home: 

1) Hrothgar predicts Beowulf will come back to protect the Danes again. 

2) Hygd is the Queen of the Geatlands. Unlike Modthryth she won't kill and torture her people for looking at her. 

3) Hrothgar is hoping if his daughter Freawaru marry Ingeld he can create peace between the Danes and Heathobards. Beowulf assumes that Hrothgar is only bringing back the fued and certain that more conflict will arise because its not easy to forget history. There is a different side to Beowulf because he normally acts on impulse instead of  reason. 

4) Beowulf reports he earned glory. He does report accurately but in a way that makes him seem brave. 

5) Beowulf gives most of his gifts to Hygelac and Hygd. He gives the kings weapons, armor, four horses and most of the treasures he was given. Beowulf gave Hygd the necklace Wealtheow gave him. Hygelac gives Beowulf land, a sword, and a house. 

Beowulf and the Dragon:

1) Heardred and Hygelac both fell in the 50 years after the conference Beowulf had with Hrothgar. 

2) he was angry because his pillaged treasure got repillaged by a tribe. And the man was trying to make amends with lord.

3) He burnt down the countryside of Geats.

4) Beowulf orders a new shield that will be able to withstand flames and thinks he will fight the dragon the same way he ought Grendel but he'll die because of how weak he is.

5) Beowulf was going to he revenge by killing the dragon.

6) 13 men.

7) Heardred got killed by the Sweetish kings men. Beowulf decides to kill Onela to get revenge and he killed everyone that killed his kinsmen. This all caused a state of feud between the Swedes am stage Geats.

Beowulf Attacks the Dragon:

1) He says that the dragon is his battle so he tells his companions to wait outside for his return and wants to do this alone.

2) He has a realization that his sword and shield are useless against the dragon's breath. His companions went to flee except Wiglaf stayed to fight with and help Beowulf because he felt like he owed it to him.

3) The second time Beowulf meets the Dragon the Dragon spits fire at Beowulf and Wiglaf. Beowulf's sword shatters and the dragon takes this opportunity to bite him and gives him a fatal wound on his neck. Wiglaf stabs the dragon in the stomach hurting him badly and then Beowulf manages to find some strength to take his smaller dagger and stabs the dragon on his side and kills him. 

4) He asks Wiglaf to go and bring him some of the treasure from the dragons lair because he wants to see it before he dies. Beowulf requests a mound  that is built and named after him so that people honor and remember him and he wants it to be called Beowulf's Barrow.

Beowulf's Funeral:

1) When the companions return Wiglaf gets very upset. He says to the men that he predicts bad fortunes for them because Beowulf showed so much kindness towards them and they have acted cowardly. 

2) The messenger tells the city that Beowulf has died an did anyone tried to touch the gold will be cursed because there is already a curse on the gold.

3) Wiglaf warns the crowd that if you sacrifice yourself you will end up hurting many people.

4) The dragon gets left alone. 

5) A lady sings a song which is about the fall of the Geats while the burning of Beowulf and his treasure are boring on the pyre. And then after the funeral Geats builds a tower over Beowulf's pyre.

6) The last three lines are talking about how kind and gentle Beowulf was and these not necessarily because even though military men fight just like Beowulf did I don't often here them described as kind and gentle, they are more described as out to do whatever they have to do to protect our country and often show little emotion at all.

Beowulf Notes

-Shield Sheafson was a great king of ancient Danes, abandoned as a baby, put into a boat when he died with treasures and cast off to sea

-His son Beo took over, then his son Halfdane, then his son Hrothgar: under his rule the kingdom prospered and made a hall called Heorot where ppl gathered to drink and listen to music

-Grendel, demon descendent of Cain, came to Herot and slaughtered 30 men

-Grendel continued this for 12 years and Danes are in constant terror

- Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, hears of this and travels to Danes to help defeat the demon

-Wulfgar stops Beowulf and asks him what he is doing and he is impressed with Beowulf's and his men's appearance

-Wulfgar tells Hrothgar and Heothgar tells Wulfgar  to welcome the Geats to Denmark

-Beowulf tells Hrothgar of his past fights and victories, Hrothgar agrees to let him fight and warns him some heroes may die and invites him to a feast

-Unfeth, one of the kinsmen, is jealous of Beowulf and taunts him but Beowulf isn't fazed 

-Wealhtheow, Hrothgar's wife, offers ceremonial goblet to everyone and thanks got for sending Beowulf to fight

-at night everyone leave except Beowulf and his men

- Beowulf says he will fight Grendel without weapons or armor because he thinks he is just as dangerous as Grendel 

-Grendel sneaks up on Beowulf and his men but Beowulf attacks him and tears his arm off which he hangs on the wall of Heorot

-Grendel goes back in swamp to die

- Danish warriors are amazed, Danish band sings to Beowulf, they recite a story of Sigemund who was a hero who slew a dragon

-Hrothgar praises Beowulf and says he has adopted him as a son in his heart 

-Danes restore great hall

-Hrothgar gives Beowulf and his soldiers presents: armor, gold, treasure

-King's scop sings the saga of Finn

- Wealhtheow presents Beowulf with a torque (necklace) of gold and armor asking him to help guide her sons 

- Grendel's mom comes to get revenge and grabs Aeschere, Hrothgar's trusted advisor, and Grendel's arm and flees

- Heothgar calls over Beowulf and asks him to kill Grendel's mother in return for a chest of gold

- As Beowulf is preparing his armor Unferth loans him a sword which has never failed in battle

-Beowulf says if he is killed to take care of Geats and return his property to Hygelac

- Beowulf fights the mother in the lake and wins

-Grendel's comes out of the water with the sword and Grendel's head and the Geats are overjoyed

-Hrothgar praises Beowulf and has another feast then Beowulf and the Geats return back to Geatland

-At Geatland Beowulf tells everyone his stories and Hygelac gives him land and treasures

-Hygelax is killed in battle with the Shylfings and Beowulf gets the kingdom

- a dragon lurks Geatland and a thief steals a goblet and angers the dragon

-Beowulf says he will fight the dragon and is too proud to assemble a big army

- he gets 11 men to investigate area and says he will fight the dragon

- Beowulf realizes he is not as strong as he is use to while he fights

- Wiglaf is the only person who goes to help him

-Beowulf is poisoned and has Wiglaf bring the dragon's treasures to him

-Beowulf gives Wiglaf the collar from his neck and dies

-Wiglaf is upset with the soldiers who ran away and didn't help

- he sends a messenger to tell Geats the news and the messenger predicts without Beowulf the Geats risk invasion by Swedes

- as Beowulf wished, Wiglaf builds a high pyre with armor and lays his body in it and fire is lit

- Beowulf is put on a cliff high above the sea visible to passing ships

-everyone recounts how kind and generous Beowulf was

My Opinion Isn't (A) Right

The Socratic seminar last Friday was a new experience for me and I really enjoyed it. It was interesting to hear everyone's different opinions on the article "Right to Your Opinion".

After reading the article, I did not really agree with Jamie Whyte, the author. I believe  that everyone does have a right to their opinion because people cannot force one to change their opinion. They can, however, influence one to change their opinion but never do they force them to change it. The section where Whyte talks about a person having an opinion that the street is clear to cross, but it is not true for there is a car coming, is where I got confused. I do not think that the word "opinion" is used correctly. I feel like that "opinion" the person crossing the street has is really an inference not an opinion.

1987 AP Exam Essay #1

                 Freedom from the demands of work or duty is known as leisure. During this time of relaxation, one can choose to do a numerous amount of things such as read a book, spend time with family and friends, or sleep. All this independence is the reason why leisure time is desired by so many. Unfortunately, George Eliot believes that unlike "old Leisure", leisure in her society has vanished. Eliot presents this argument through a handful of strategies including personification, tone, and repetition. 

         "He was a contemplative, rather stout gentleman, of excellent digestion, - of quiet perceptions, undiseased by hypothesis: happy in his inability to know the causes of things, preferring the things themselves." This is one example of Eliot using personification in her presentation. By referring to "old Leisure" as "he" and turning it into a person, the audience is able to get a better understanding of that time’s leisure. The audience can conclude that it was a time where there were scantily any worries or complex situations.

         "Ingenious philosophers tell you, perhaps, that the great work of the steam-engine is to create leisure for mankind. Do not believe them; it only creates a vacuum or eager thought to run in." This quote aids in Eliot's statement by expressing her accusatory tone as she describes her society’s leisure. As years go by, technology constantly improves as a result of ideas and hypotheses. Because of this, a person cannot truly relax as they are too occupied with thoughts racing in and out of their minds. “Even idleness is eager now- eager for amusement; prone to excursiontrains, art-museums, periodical literature, and exciting novels.” Through the use of repetition, Eliot is once again able to reinstate the idea of “old Leisure” being lost. She emphasizes the fact that people are so eager to be entertained that they are continuously thinking and, again, not relaxing.  

        In conclusion, the state of tranquility in leisure has become lost in George Eliot’s society. This is mostly a result from people wanting to learn more, create more, and even become more.  People are never satisfied with one helpful invention as they need to create an even more helpful invention. In “old Leisure” people were never surrounded by these technical inventions but instead the calm sceneries of nature. Perhaps this is why they were able to fully be free from the world and reach a true state of relaxation.   

Vocabulary #1

1) Adumbrate: to outline; give a faint indication of

- The author adumbrated what would happen next in the story by occasionally leaving the reader with hints. 

2) Apotheosis: the elevation or exaltation of a person to the rank of god; the ideal example

- Bob's poem was the apotheosis of free verse. 

3) Ascetic: a person who dedicates his or her life to a pursuit of contemplative ideals and practices extreme self denial or self-mortification for religious reasons; a monk

- The Smith family live in ascetic manner, and pray every night.

4) Bauble: a showy, usually cheap, ornament; trinket 

- Steve's bauble meant a lot to him, so he hung it up near the top of the Christmas tree.

5) Beguile: to influence by trickery, flattery, etc.;mislead; delude

- Jack beguiled his mom into making her    believe that he finished his homework. 

6) Burgeon: to grow or develop quickly; flourish

- The small town soon burgeoned into a big city.

7) Complement: something that competes or makes perfect

- The dessert complemented the meal perfectly. 

8) Contumacious: stubbornly perverse or rebellious;willfully and obstinately disobedient

- The boy got sent outside because of his contumacious behavior.

9) Curmudgeon: a bad tempered, difficult, cantankerous person

- Due to the fact she was a curmudgeon, nobody wanted to be associated with her.

10) Didactic: intended for instruction; instructive

- To become a teacher you must have outstanding didactic skills.

11) Disingenuous: lacking in frankness, candor, or sincerity; false or hypocritically

- The plan was disingenuous as it had many flaws.

12) Exculpate: to clear from a charge of guild or fault; free from blame; vindicate

- The defendant was exculpated because there was no genuine evidence.

13) Faux Pas: a slip or blunder in etiquette, manners, or conduct; an embarrassing social blunder or indiscretion 

- Sarah's faux pas in her speech went unnoticed confidently continued her speech.

14) Fulminate: to explode with a loud noise; detonate; to issue or pronounce with vehement denunciation 

- The alarm clock fulminated, waking Sue up.

15) Fustian: a stout fabric of cotton and flax; high flown or affected writing or speech

- Her favorite top was a pink, fustian blouse.

16) Hauteur: haughty manner or spirit; arrogance

- Even the president's hauteur might not be a handicap.

17) Inhibit: to restrain, hinder, arrest, or check; to prohibit; forbid 

- The teacher inhibited food from being eaten in class

18) Jeremiad: a prolonged lamentation or mournful complaint

-  The jeremiad will always have it's place in such a course.

19) Opportunist: a person who practices opportunism or the policy of adapting actions, decisions; to effectiveness regardless of the sacrifice of ethical principles

- Chris is an opportunist as he cannot look beyond the short term.

20) Unconscionable: not guided by conscience; unscrupulous; not I'm accordance with what is just or reasonable

- A lot of unconscionable decisions are quickly, under pressure.

Reflections on Week 1

1) There are many factors that may affect my participation in this class. My schedule is one thing because I am currently taking four AP classes this year so I will have a lot of homework each day. Another factor is my access to a computer or phone which is a great help because I will be able to define any words I don't know and check up on the blog periodically to see if there are any new posts. 

2) High school is a one learning experience that has changed me. I learned a lot about myself and who my true friends are. I have also matured a lot more and become more responsible. In high school you have to learn to act independently as nobody is there to hold your hand and show you step by step what to do next. 

3) The thing I am most excited about in this class is working more with our blogs. I really like the idea of everyone having their own personalized blog. I look forward to learning about ways to improve my writing especially when writing essays. This will make a practical difference in my life because I will be able to write essays easily in my future English classes. Currently, it takes me hours to finish writing one essay.

Montaigne/Austen Essay

      Montaigne vs. Austen

       Every work of literature expresses one central theme. Though the time period, genre, and style may be different each author writes with this similar goal in mind. Michel de Montaigne and Jane Austen contrast each other greatly, yet they both pursue this same concept.

Sometimes words fail to fully express one’s emotions. Thoughts are often so deep and complex that it's impossible to put into words. This is what David Foster states in his quote “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.” In Essays by Michel de Montaigne, Montaigne supports the meaning behind this quote all throughout his essay. He reflects on so many different issues that he fails to reach a certain level of profoundness. Instead he just skims the surface of each topic, thus leaving his readers to ponder each subject individually.

On the other hand in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, she goes into great depth, focusing on each conflict that occurs in the novel. She is able to reach such depth by providing the readers with insight into each character’s thoughts and emotions.  While Montaigne’s style is very straightforward and serious, Austen’s style is comical and complex. This humorous style of writing is continuously conveyed throughout her dialogue. Despite their differences, both Austen and Montaigne write with the same purpose; to address a certain theme. Austen addresses the fact that class and reputation is not everything. However, Montaigne’s essays reflect a common theme that surrounds his views on human nature.

In conclusion, both Montaigne and Austen wrote with completely different styles. The most obvious example being that Montaigne wrote a series of essays while Austen wrote a structured novel consisting of the average plot, climax, and resolution. Although these two authors had very contrasting forms, in the end, they both sought out to leave their readers contemplating their passionate views on life.

1987 AP Exam

My Answers:

1) C

2) E

3) C

4) E

5) D

6) D

7) B

8) B

9) A

10) C

11) D

12) A

13) B

14) D

15) E

16) B

17) C

18) B

19) B

20) B

21) E

22) C

23) A

24) C

25) A

26) E

27) E

28) C

29) C

30) E

31) A

32) D

47) B

48)A

49) C

50) D

51) B

52) A

53) E

54) C

55) C

56) B

57) C

58) D

59) D

60) B

61) E

 

My score: 25= 2

Notes:

- I found the poetry readings' questions to be hard. 

- I need to go over poetry structure and terms.

- I found the questions asking "what this phrase is an example of" to be the easiest because I remembered all of the vocabulary terms.

- I also found the questions asking what the overall summary and tone of the passage was to be easy too.

Essay #1

        The state of being removed from one’s native land is known as exile. In the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, Leah Price and her family leave their homeland to travel to Congo where Leah’s father hopes to preach at their local church. In Kilanga, a village in Congo, they are bombarded by the different cultures and ways of the people. Though at the beginning of the trip Leah feels out of place, she ends up becoming more and more intrigued by the people of Kilanga.

            Once in Congo, Leah immediately feels alienated and out of place when she reaches the village of Kilanga. The first thing she notices is that the women of Kilanga walk around with bare chests and if people were to do that in Georgia, they would be looked down upon. However, the Kilanga people give the Prices’ weird looks for showing their legs.  The gardening ways of the Kilanga people were also very different because they had to plant on mounds whereas in Georgia they planted on flat land. Arriving in a place that is completely opposite than what someone is use to is never an easy thing to do. Coming from Georgia to Congo, the Price family had to make numerous changes to their lifestyle in order to survive.

After a few days in Kilanga, Leah makes a lot of adjustments and begins to learn a lot more about the Kilanga culture and way of life. In a way, a change of environment can be very enhancing. For example, Leah learns new ways to do things like the Kilanga trick to gardening which has helped the plants grow well. When someone comes to a new place they get to meet a lot of new people who have been experiencing and living life very differently than they have. Therefore, a lot of tips and tricks can be shared amongst them. Learning about different peoples’ cultures can help enlarge your vision of the world and open your eyes to all the different aspects of life.

In conclusion, being relocated can be both alienating and enriching as Leah Price learned in her journey from Georgia to the Congo village of Kilanga. All the different ways of life came as a shock to Leah. However, with an open mind Leah was able to really feel at home in Kilanga. In fact, she never truly returns back to her hometown or ways of life. This shows that though moving to a different environment can be terrifying, it can also broaden one’s horizons and views in a positive way.

Poetry #1

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

-The Laughing Heart by Charles Bukowski

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

- The use of this strong, thoughtful poem is ironic because it is recited during a commercial to advertise your average pair of blue jeans.

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

- I feel that the poem does reflect the reputation of the author. Bukowski lived a hard life as he was abused by his father and bullied by others. However, he tried to look past the negative aspects of life and focus on the positive which is shown in the poem.

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

- To find the answer to #1 I googled the first few lines of the poem. To find the answer to #3 I googled Charles Bukowski and read some facts about his life. 

My Big Question

How did language begin? Who decided what each object would be named and how did it spread all over the world?