Literary term: Audience

Audience

Definition: The intended listener or listeners

Examples:

*Dr. Sues “Green eggs and Ham” the audience is for young children.

*Advertisements in Commercials the audience is for potential buyers.

*Twilight books and movies the audience is for teenagers and some adults.

How I remember it!

*Audio sounds like it can come from Audience

*Audio relates to sound/listening

*The people (Audience) listens to the speaker

Thinking Outside the Box

  The “Allegory of the Cave” by Plato and “No Exit” by Satre relate by both showing real life themes. Both Plato and Satres believe that we are limited to our own thoughts and to what we can do. Though they both express them differently they end up having the same theme.  Plato describes people who have been in a cave their entire life and one person decides to leave the cave and realizes there is more to life than the shadows they would see. When he tried going back and telling the others they refused to believe it and killed him. Satres expresses this theme by having three people in hell all there for a different reason. They all have committed sins that landed them in hell and all carry some type of similar trait that the others have, but that trait irritates them all.
  Though the theme is limitation in thoughts they are both limited for different reasons. The people in “Allegory of the Cave” are limited to their thoughts because they choose to be. The person that left came back and tried to teach them more about what the world really is but  they refused to listen. They did not want to know about anything other than their “reality” which was the shadows. But the people in “No Exit” are limited to their powers because they are only surrounded to the other two people who are in hell with them. They are isolated from other people and have no other ways of being informed.
  The fact that they are limited to their own thoughts shows that they have to rely on others for the information they receive.  They can not  even think for themselves and whether that is by choice or because they have to it affects them. The two authors were trying to show that with limitation in thoughts not much can be done. They are trying to get others to see that people need to have an open mind so that things can work better and this world can work. If people were more open minded things would flow better but since most people are limited in thought things are the way they are. Both authors were from different time periods and the fact that they wrote about the same theme shows how little things have changed.

Literature Analysis-The color Purple

1. The Color Purple is a novel about an African American woman named Cecil who struggles throughout life. She had to take the part f her mother when she passed away, and during that time her father rapped. She had two children which she never met. Soon after that she is forced to marry another man who already has children. The children as well as her husband are cruel to her and do not respect her. After a couple of years she adjusts to the life. Her sister Nettie moved in with them for  a while but  when she refused to have a relationship with Cecil’s husband she was told she could no longer live there. When Nettie left the house she went to be a servant for an African couple and later became a missionary with them in Africa. Cecil not only morns with the loss of her sister but also with the fact that her husband cheats on her with a singer named Shug. After years of having Shug live with them Cecil begins to form a physical as well as emotional relationship with Shug. Together Shug and Cecil discover letters from Nettie to Cecil that her husband had been hiding from her. When Shug announces that she is leaving Cecil says that she will leave as well, she gets the courage to tell her husband how she really feels about him. Cecil begins her own store and becomes very successful. She goes back to the town to discover that her husband is a changed man and while there she is reunited with her sister.

2. The theme of this novel is that strength can be hidden in the people that appear to be weak. This theme mainly applies to Cecil because she started off as a push over and ends up being independent. She is pushed around by everyone at first and then comes out being strong. She dealt with her father abusing her and then with the abuse of her husband. Shug was the person that Cecil needed to push her to be strong.

3. The tone in this novel is serious and tragic. Though there is a couple of happy moments in there it is mainly filled with sad ones. Since the very beginning Cecil introduces the fact that she was raped and her tone was very somber. She had a very difficult life and spoke of it with a serious tone. The majority of her life was not very good and enjoyable for her. Even when Nettie sent the letters they always contained serious topics and a tragic tone to all she said. Toward the end of the novel it begins to brighten up a bit but Cecil still speaks with a tragic tone.

4. The literary elements in this novel were diction, zenith, and  characterization. The diction was used with the slang that Cecil spoke in. It was effective by making this novel more realistic as well as making Cecil more realistic. The zenith occurred when Shug and Cecil found the letters from Nettie. This was a turning point for the way the story took place because Cecil’s attitude changed after this. The characterization added a better idea f the characters. It helped make sense of why they did what they did. For example the death of Cecil’s husbands ex wife explained his cruel attitude.  

Begining of Plato Essay

Plato created an allegory with the use of figurative language; including metaphor, symbolism, and imagery. Throughout the passage he uses the figurative language to add dept and more meaning to it. One of his main symbols was the cave which represented the world in which close minded people live. He used one main character to represent the stages of life that a person goes through. His purpose was to make education a priority and to have the educated people go back and help those who are uneducated.

            The figurative language that Plato used helped shape the plot. He used metaphors as a key way to explain certain things. One of the main metaphors, as well as symbol, that he used was the cave which represented the world of the uneducated. Another metaphor was the people in the cave which represent groups of people who exist in the world we live in. For example, the person that left the cave represents the people who search for an education and wander off to find it. Everything in the passage was a symbol of how this world is; they are all a representation of this world. The intellectual freedom that they lacked represents the lack of knowledge that people have.

            The purpose that I got out of this passage was that education is key. Plato wanted those who were uneducated to get educated and then to go back to the “cave” and educate the rest. But in the passage when the person goes back and tries to educate the others he is killed. That demonstrated that people are afraid of learning new things. They did not agree with what he was saying and saw him as a threat, the only solution they saw was to get rid of him.

BIG Question

Are children of teenage parents most likely to become teenage parents themselves, and if so why?

Hamlet Essay #2

Hamlet is known to be a unique character compared to others. He is considered to be an epic hero, but he does not have many of the characteristics that other epic heroes have, like Beowulf. Most epic heroes are admired for being brave and noble characters, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events. Hamlet does not quit match that, he was not a brave man he was more of a coward, he would constantly question himself and not take action among many situations.

            Hamlet was great at questioning himself; he would debate whether to do any little thing. One of his biggest dilemmas is seen in his famous soliloquy “to be or not to be.” There he questions whether to continue with life and suffer through miseries or to end his life like a coward. Most epic heroes would immediately know to not kill themselves and to fight off whatever is in their way. Beowulf is a great example of this, he went into battle with anything and everything that didn’t suite him .When Grendel was a bother to Beowulf and to others Beowulf immediately took action upon killing him. Not at one moment did he stop and contemplate whether it was right or not.  

            Another one of Hamlets’ flaws is the fact that he says a lot but does very little. He always expressed his feelings with words but never with action. When he was mad over the murder of his father he expressed that in words by contemplating with himself, not by seeking revenge like he constantly repeated to himself. On the other hand Beowulf took action upon all of his remarks. Even when he was an older man and was weak, he said that he wanted to kill the dragon and it was not just talk he actually went and attempted to kill it. When he said that he was going to kill Grendels’ mother he went through with it as well. He took the head back to the people and demonstrated that his words were not just words.

            Though many consider Hamlet to be an epic hero in my mind he is not. He does not demonstrate the qualities that I believe and epic hero would have; that includes bravery, being noble, and having great achievements. Hamlet constantly questioned himself and never took much action upon situations. Even though he had just lost his father that should not have set him back, for most epic heroes that would have pushed them to take more action. Hamlet should have taken some lessons from Beowulf in order to be a better epic hero.

Hamlet Essay

            Hamlet was a man of many words and of little action. Every word in the novel Hamlet by William Shakespeare has a significant meaning that changes the plot of the story being told. Every word that was spoken by a character demonstrates what type of character he/she was, it demonstrated their personality. Hamlet was one of the many characters who would say a lot but did very little and that resulted in a lot of the chaos that occurred in this novel, the way Hamlet acted is not the way many of us would have.

            The illocutionary force in Hamlet contradicts itself, Hamlet swears to seek revenge but he never takes action to do so. Hamlet also tended to say that he loved Ophelia but he never showed this by physically doing something. The fact that Hamlet never took action on his part allowed Claudius to continue to ruin his life. For example, since Hamlet did not kill Claudius when he had the opportunity it resulted in Claudius being able to send him away to England. Unlike Hamlet, when I think about doing something I actually go through with it. When I notice something going on that I do not like I take action immediately to try and change that, I do not wait.

            Reflecting on an experience causes a person to remember that experience more; it also causes the person to learn from it. For example, Hamlet is constantly contemplating over his father’s death and that caused him to be unable to forget about it. When I constantly reflect on an experience that I have gone through it is hard for me to forget about it and it causes me to learn from that experience as well. It is also clear to see that the more one reflects on an experience and realizes the mistakes the more changes that will occur do to it.

            Though Hamlet was written many years ago it is still relevant to present day examples. For example, a motive to seek revenge is still seen in present day, and though that motive is around many do not act upon it. There are also many people out there like Claudius who wait for an opportunity to take power away from someone at any cause. Like previously stated every word stated in Hamlet contributed to the overall significance of the novel.

Hamlet Essay

            Hamlet was a man of many words and of little action. Every word in the novel Hamlet by William Shakespeare has a significant meaning that changes the plot of the story being told. Every word that was spoken by a character demonstrates what type of character he/she was, it demonstrated their personality. Hamlet was one of the many characters who would say a lot but did very little and that resulted in a lot of the chaos that occurred in this novel, the way Hamlet acted is not the way many of us would have.

            The illocutionary force in Hamlet contradicts itself, Hamlet swears to seek revenge but he never takes action to do so. Hamlet also tended to say that he loved Ophelia but he never showed this by physically doing something. The fact that Hamlet never took action on his part allowed Claudius to continue to ruin his life. For example, since Hamlet did not kill Claudius when he had the opportunity it resulted in Claudius being able to send him away to England. Unlike Hamlet, when I think about doing something I actually go through with it. When I notice something going on that I do not like I take action immediately to try and change that, I do not wait.

            Reflecting on an experience causes a person to remember that experience more; it also causes the person to learn from it. For example, Hamlet is constantly contemplating over his father’s death and that caused him to be unable to forget about it. When I constantly reflect on an experience that I have gone through it is hard for me to forget about it and it causes me to learn from that experience as well. It is also clear to see that the more one reflects on an experience and realizes the mistakes the more changes that will occur do to it.

            Though Hamlet was written many years ago it is still relevant to present day examples. For example, a motive to seek revenge is still seen in present day, and though that motive is around many do not act upon it. There are also many people out there like Claudius who wait for an opportunity to take power away from someone at any cause. Like previously stated every word stated in Hamlet contributed to the overall significance of the novel.

Major Concept

One of the major concepts that I have learned from this class so far has been that the internet can be useful but at times pointless. Before I took this course I saw the internet as the place where I could listen to my favorite songs and as the place to go on social networks. But I have come to realize that it is more than that, it allows people to expand their knowledge. It has allowed me to find effective ways to use the internet. I now know the websites that will give me the unbiased information and that is what I plan on using more. I have also found ways to avoid useless information and to directly go to the information I need.

Roy Christopher

Yesterday my classmates and I had the opportunity to talk to Roy Christopher. He shared with us that he use to be a BMX rider and that his career change occurred because one of his friends was a web developer and it attracted him. Roy told us that it is very difficult for him to balance some of the task that he must perform but that he has found a way to balance it all out. This made me feel better because I too struggle with balancing all I have too do, it gave me comfort. He relates himself and many things with hip hop culture. He says that hip hop is the blueprint for modern culture, I agree with him. He said that in the next 5-10 years he sees himself finishing his PHD and finishing the book he is currently writing along with another one. The one thing that most stuck with me that he mentioned was the fact that older generations do not trust the younger generations with technology and that he disagreed with them. I am glad to see another adult, besides Doctor Preston, agree with that statement. We began to talk about how we teenagers multi task and the majority of us agreed that though we do it very often it does not produce quality work. Toward the end of our conversation he mentioned that technology is going to continue to become more common among society and that our generation will invent the next new thing. Overall I was very pleased by this conversation, it brought up a lot of good points.