Fall Semester Reflection

Do you read your colleagues’ work online?  How often? What is it like to read their work? How does being able to see everyone’s work online at any given time change the way you do your work?

How has the publicly and always visible course blog made this course different from one without a blog?  How would the course change if the course blog disappeared tomorrow?

Has publishing your work for the public to see changed your approach to completing an assignment? How so?  How would your feelings about the course change if you couldn’t publish your work that way?

Has your experience of the physical classroom changed because of the open & online aspects?  Where does your learning actually happen?  

You were described in the Macarthur Foundation/DML  interview as “a pioneer”-- how do you describe the experience on the edge to people who haven’t been there (friends and family)?

How do they respond when you describe the brave new world in which you’re working?

What do their responses mean to you?  What effect(s) (if any) do they have on you?

LAQ's # 6 "Fahrenheit 451"

1. Fahrenheit 451 is a book about a man named Guy Montag and is set in a future American society. Guy is a firefighter who's job is, ironically, to start fires rather than put them out. He is supposed to set fire to any house that may have books in it. He lives a rather empty life. He is married to a woman he soon realizes that he has no love for and she feels the same. She even tries to kill herself. Then one day a girl named Clarisse starts to talk to him and makes him question his life and how he is living. He is called to start a fire, but while at the house he reads from one of the books and he decides to take it with him. He remembers a man that he had met in the park named Faber and meets with him to discuss the book. He becomes enthralled with books, but he is betrayed by Mildred and a mechanical hound is set on him, but he gets away and lives with a group that shares his love of books.
2. I feel that the theme of Fahrenheit 451 is that knowledge is power. It shows that knowledge and education through books is a vital tool to society. Books can bring immense pleasure and we as people can learn so much from them. It shows that people have a right as a person in society to learn and not to be happy with their ignorance.
3. The tone has a certain intensity to it. All the characters are extreme and are on the edge of being realistic. The events are usually blown out of proportion and apocalyptic. The author is very descriptive and uses vivid descriptions. Big events usually happen on the biggest scales.
4. Imagery- Somewhat going along with analysis, Bradbury was always very descriptive and used very vivid words to describe.
Contrast- The author contrasts the personalities of Guy and Mildred
Foreshadowing- Mildred's attitude is when Guy shows her the book is a foreshadowing of things to come
Motif- The idea that knowledge is important shows up a lot.

Symbolism- There are many things that are used to symbolize insects

Irony- Mildred is looking for the book and keeps adjusting Guy's pillow and it's under there. 

Metaphor- Many things, such as Mildred's earpiece, are compared to insects. 

Characterization.
1. "I'm antisocial, they say." Clarisse says this and shows her outgoing, unorthodox, but cheerful side.
"We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal." This is Captain Beatty telling us about the motive behind the government making everyone illiterate and ignorant, as to not offend the naturally inept people to be exposed to the naturally bright individuals. This characterizes the motives of nearly every character.

2. The syntax doesn't really change. It only changes when a character is interacting with different characters. The characters act differently around different characters which causes the syntax and diction to change.

3. Guy is a dynamic character. He starts off the book burning houses and being totally submissive and ok with world he is living in. His encounter with Clarisse changes all that and questions who he is and who he wants to be. He eventually ends up changing who he is and challenging himself to be a better person.
He is probably a round character. Guy has many different qualities that distinguish himself.

4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character?  Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.
Yes I did. Guy was the only character like I felt could be a real person though. All the other characters were missing something that could make them truly believable. Him being a dynamic and round character helped give the impression that I had indeed met an actual person.

Lituature Analysis #5 " The House On Mango Street"

1. The novel The House on Mango Street is told in the first person point of view by Esperanza Cordero, a young Mexican American young girl. She starts narrating her story at the age of 12 years old. She talks about how they lived in others places before actually living in a house, her family actually owns this house which is amazing due to the fact that never before they had own a house. But, not everything was perfect, they did live in a house, but the house was located in one of the poorest neighborhood in Chicago. As time passes Esperanza matures and she finds a way to escape her problems by expressing her thoughts in ink. Esperanza befriends two Chicana girls, Lucy and Rachel and along with Esperanza's sisters live unforgettable adventures in the neighborhood. Esperanza feels miserable and ashamed of her families poverty and lets out her emotions in poems whom see only shares with older women she trusts. The deaths of her grandfather and aunt open Esperanza's eyes more toward the adult life and their problems. Esperanza lives a traumatic life experience because of Sally, who is abused by her father. Esperanza realizes that she can't leave behind Mango Street, this neighborhood has become part of her. She stays there to help other women and her only way out now is through writing.
2. The theme that outstanding to me was women self reliance. Esperanza was a strong determined character that was motivated and eager to do many things on her own. She wanted to have a better lifestyle and she knew that the only possibility she had to have so, was for her to work hard. She wanted to make her own decisions and grow, she had always wanted to live Mango Street behind but that neighborhood became a part of her, she had women that need her and Esperanza wanted to be there for them.
3. The House on Mango Street is composed of many ideas and social activities that it made it hard to decide on one tone. Sexually assault was a big issue in this novel and the fact that fathers beat their own daughters. I can honestly say that this is a part of the Mexican culture, we have many other ideas that we don't stop to look at our family and to actually take care of them. In this novel I can say that Sandra Cisneros portrays that part of Mexican heritage, the brutally and sad life experiences of many young teens.
4. The author makes use of Diction, is plain English language that is easy to understand and does not confused the reader. The tone used is depressing due to the fact that we see women depression on such status. They lack moral character and need the society to take care of them and give them help to overcome this harsh experiences. The setting used by the author is a poor urban area in Chicago. The novel is narrated in the first person point of view. The author is telling us her story. Another technique is symbolism. Throughout the novel we are given symbols that illustrate the novel to the extend. Symbols are developed by the author to help us readers picture the whole frame of the novel.

Characterization:

1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization. Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?
In this novel, a character's location says a lot. For example, Aunt Lupe is holed up in a dark, stuffy, yellowing apartment. Her surroundings don't give us the impression that she's brimming with health. The Earl of Tennessee lives in a moldy basement. We get the feeling that he's kind of a cretin. And then there are the Vargas kids, their games of chicken on Mr. Benny's roof indicate to us that they're reckless.

2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?
The House on Mango Street, written by Sandra Cisneros, is an excellent example of how a society has the ability to directly impact young lives, in turn creating necessary "rites of passage." Through her environment, Esperanza, one of the many girls living on Mango Street, learns how to survive in a world full the unknown. Some may believe that the setting for this novel has no bearing on young Esperanza, however, Esperanza's Character and transition into adulthood are dramatically defined by her own surroundings and neighborhood.
3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round? Explain.
Well I would say the protagonist is the narrator (Esperanza). The antagonist could be society in general. She lives in a tough neighborhood. It could also be more abstract like her ancestral or fate. There are many antagonists in the individual vignettes so it depends on how broad you are going. I would have to say that Esperanza is a round character because she changes throughout the story.

4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character? Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.

After reading this text I felt like I came to know Esperanza because the reader gets to exoerience the change of her throughout the story.