AP Term

Subordination: is the couching of less important ideas in less important structures of language

In linguistics, subordination is a complex syntactic construction in which one or more clauses are dependent on the main clause, such as The dog ran home after it had played with the ball. The italicized text is the subordinate clause.

Here is a list of subordinate conjunctions:

after although as because before even if even though if in order that

once provided that rather than since so that than that though unless

until when whenever where whereas wherever whether while why

 

New Big Question

In 20th century, how does race matter? Is there any lesson we learn from racism to work more collaboratively? How can we share/emphasize the things we have in common more than the things that distinguish us?

AP Term

In literature, tragedy is any composition with a somber theme carried to a disastrous conclusion; a fatal event; protagonist usually is heroic tragically flawed.

The best method for me to memorize this term is thinking of Shakespeare's plays. We recently read Hamlet in our class and encountered a tragic event when Polonius' death led to Ophelia's,which led to Laertes', Gertrude's Claudius', and eventually Hamlet's deaths.




There are others plays such as Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, and Macbeth that incorporate tragedy.

Self Search

After searching my name, I found some interesting things...

- One was a research officer who worked with the Governments of Uganda, South Sudan and Tajikistan.
- Another was a shopping website...weird
- A kid who celebrated his fifth birthday with a pirate swim party.
- A Doctor who served a number of roles with Duke Integrative Medicine.
- A painter born in a Quaker family in 1682.

Thinking Outside the Box

Compare how Plato & Sartre describe the limitations of our thinking and imply solutions to the problem. Invite ten people to read/comment. Be sure to analyze their literary techniques, especially their use of allegory and extended metaphor.

Both Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" and Sartre's  "No Exit" elucidate the idea that prisoners are confined in the "dark/Hell" by themselves. The prisoners who are chained up in the cave are relentless to discovering new ideas and concepts they encounter. They got so used to the shadow that they are afraid to compromise to the light a.k.a. reality. When one the of the freed prisoners manages to escape, search for the truth, and come back to tell the others, he was mocked. They thought he was crazy and spoke nonsense. Garcin in "No Exit" has a chance to leave, but he realizes that no matter what he does, he won't be able to escape Hell and decides to stay. The people who were with him were the actual torturers, not the fact that they were in Hell.

Literary Analysis #3

Heart Of Darkness

by Joseph Conrad

1.Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read.

     Marlow is a sailor who travels up the Congo River to meet Kurtz.  During his travel to Africa, Marlow realized the brutal  treatment in Central Station, run. Later,  his steamship sank and waited until it was fixed. Marlow and other agents pursue a long, difficult journey up the river. They discover a hut stacked with firewoods along with a note that they should be cautious. Shortly, the gang arrive at Kurtz’s Inner Station, expecting to find him dead, but a half-crazed Russian trader, who meets them as they come ashore, assures them that everything is fine. Kurtz lied to the natives that he was a god and went on brutal raids in the to search ivory. The skulls placed around the station is the consequence of his nefarious actions. Marlow listens to Kurtz talk. Kurtz hands Marlow personal documents. Later on, Marlow becomes ill and barely recuperates. He comes to Europe and goes to see Kurtz’s Intended. Even though it has been over a year since Kurtz’s death, she is in melancholgy. She asks Marlow what his last words were, but Marlow couldn't break her heart, so he tells her that it was her name.
2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.

One of the themes in this book is madness which is tied with imperialism. It is defined as being removed from one’s social life and allowed to be the sole arbiter of one’s own actions.

3. Describe the author's tone.  Include three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).

The overall tone of the novel is pessimistic. Marlow refers to darkness, madness, and fear throughout the story. Judging from my view, it is probably based on Conrad’s own negative experience to his voyage up the Congo River.

"A haze rested on the low shores that ran out to sea in vanishing flatness. The air was dark above Gravesend, and farther back still seemed condensed into a mournful gloom, brooding motionless over the biggest, and the greatest, town on earth."

"I came upon a boiler wallowing in the grass, then found a path leading up the hill. It turned aside for the boulders, and also for an undersized railway-truck lying there on its back with its wheels in the air. One was off. The thing looked as dead as the carcass of some animal. I came upon more pieces of decaying machinery, a stack of rusty rails. To the left a clump of trees made a shady spot, where dark things seemed to stir feebly."

"The great wall of vegetation, an exuberant and entangled mass of trunks, branches, leaves, boughs, festoons, motionless in the moonlight, was like a rioting invasion of soundless life, a rolling wave of plants, piled up, crested, ready to topple over the creek, to sweep every little man of us out of his little existence. And it moved not."

4. Describe five literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the theme and/or your sense of the tone.  Include three excerpts that will help your reader understand each one.

1)Imagery : Helps me to visualize the text when I'm reading along. It leaves a better memory of the story.

2)Symbolism:  In this story, light eludes to darkness. Darkness represents the myteries of life. Lightness is darkness, darkness is lightness. It's complicated.

3)Foreshadow: This Doctor foreshadows the upcoming danger and eventual madness that Marlow will face in the interior. Measuring Marlow’s skull is something akin to taking scientific observations of his brain.

4)Allusion: Some references to the devil and Dante: The Divine Comedy allow the story to have a darker tone.

5)Metaphor: The use of this device allows me to make connections between the person being compared to the noun.

"Then I noticed a small sketch in oils, on a panel, representing a woman, draped and blind-folded, carrying a lighted torch. The background was somber – almost black. The movement of the woman was stately, and the effect of the torchlight on the face was sinister." 

"Two women, one fat and the other slim, sat on straw-bottomed chairs, knitting black wool. The slim one got up and walked straight at me – still knitting with downcast eyes – and only just as I began to think of getting out of her way, as you would for a somnambulist, stood still, and looked up. Her dress was as plain as an umbrella-cover, and she turned round without a word and preceded me into a waiting-room."

“The brown current ran swiftly out of the heart of darkness, bearing us down towards the sea with twice the speed of our upward progress; and Kurtz’s life was running swiftly, too, ebbing, ebbing out of his heart into the sea of inexorable time. . . . I saw the time approaching when I would be left alone of the party of ‘unsound method.’”

The Big Question

There's a cliche that goes "Don't judge a book by its cover." Likewise, why do people judge their peers by their outside appearance? What makes one race "superior" to others? In fact, is it actually true that one race dominates others, or is it just a stereotype thats been reinforced repeatedly?

Hamlet Revised Essay

Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, is based on a man named Hamlet who seeks to avenge his father’s death. Throughout the play, his use of performative utterance influences the way he behaves toward other characters, and Hamlet eventually transforms from a man of words to a man of action. As a result of self-overhearing, it changed the way I behaved similar to Hamlet.

In the beginning of the play, the apparition (King Hamlet) informs Hamlet that Claudius has murdered him while he was asleep. Hamlet swears to the ghost that he will remember him and set out to accomplish his mission. His mind was full of grief and hatred towards Claudius, the murderer of his father. Instead of putting his thoughts into action, Hamlet waits patiently to confirm the crime and delays the kill. Having this in mind, Hamlet starts to act strangely in front of others. When Polonius comes to greet him, Hamlet pretends like he doesn’t know him and asks if he is a fishmonger. Polonius, flabbergasted by his bizarre reaction, believes that Hamlet is “mad”. Hamlet’s act of mimesis allows him to cover up his scheme to kill Claudius.

Hamlet was a man of words than action. Many of his soliloquies consist of his inner feelings and how he should deal with the current situation. When Hamlet had an opportunity to kill Claudius who was praying, he didn’t take action because he was aware that it wouldn’t be a good revenge to let Claudius go to heaven so he delayed the act. Not only until the battle with Laertes does he realize the long, postponed action. All of a sudden in Act 5, the tempo speeds up and literally everyone dies in an instant. First the queen dies after drinking the poisoned cup prepared for Hamlet, followed by Claudius who dies by Hamlet, then Laertes, and finally Hamlet himself who is cut by the poisoned sword.

Self-overhearing influenced the way I perceived things. Whenever I make a decision, I talk to myself consciously or unconsciously, to make the wisest decision. Whenever something goes wrong, I think to myself what went wrong and change my perspective on the same topic. Whenever I make the change, it goes well and I tell myself that I should look at every outcome possible before I make a decision.

Hamlet’s strange actions throughout the play were very confusing, but after reading about J.L. Austen’s explanation on performative utterance, his motive is justified. Hamlet is able to put his words into action at the end of the play where the perlocutionary force took place. The oath he made with the ghost is finally settled and he can rest in peace free from all the discrepancies he went through. Similar to Hamlet, I too was able to change the way I perceived the consequences beforehand and make wise decisions.

Hamlet vs Beowulf Essay

Both Hamlet and Beowulf are two great classic literary works written. Hamlet, the “Melancholy Prince”, struggles to act out his intentions immediately while Beowulf, the hero of the Danes, acts as soon as opportunities are offered to him. Shakespeare writes the story using many soliloquies for Hamlet to express his inner feelings to the audience. In Beowulf, however, we aren’t able to get a closer insight in Beowulf’s thoughts.
When Hamlet encountered the ghost and discovered that his uncle, Claudius, has killed his father, Hamlet doesn’t seek to kill him. Instead, he even questions whether or not the ghost was telling the truth. Hamlet devises a plan to confirm Claudius’ crime. Not only until the end, does Hamlet realize his postponement and fulfills his goal by risking his life. Beowulf, on the other hand, asked for a dangerous challenge, “By one; death was my errand and the fate They had earned. Now Grendel and I are called Together, and I’ve come. Grant me , then, …A single request!” Beowulf comes to Denmark and kills both Grendel and his mother without hesitating the consequences.
Hamlet’s soliloquies gives the audience more information about Hamlet and his connections with other characters. “To be, or not to be--that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune Or to take arms against a sea of troubles And by opposing end them.” The readers are able to dig deeper into the thoughts of Hamlet and anticipate what will happen next according to his speeches. Beowulf, however, doesn’t contemplate on what he should do…he just does them. “My heart is firm, My hands calm: I need no hot Words. Wait for me close by, my friends, We shall see, soon, who will survive This bloody battle.”
Hamlet and Beowulf are two distinct characters who differ by their use of language. Hamlet is a man of words while Beowulf is man of actions. Hamlets struggles to kill Claudius instantly due to his lack of confidence. Beowulf bravely encounters Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon and kills all of them. Both Hamlet and Beowulf have tragic endings with Hamlet dying due to his delayed action and Beowulf with his high hubris.

Major Concept

One of the major concepts I learned in this class has to be the poem "The Laughing Heart" by Charles Bukowski. This poem has encouraged me to come out of the darkness and discover the light of my path. It also reinforced the idea that I'm the one that should make my own decisions rather than allowing others to influence them.

Notes from Roy's Talk

I wasn't present during the video conference, but I went home and saw the video and took notes on what Roy said. The important highlights I personally got from it were that:

• Multi-tasking is a myth: 
•  I instantly remembered this concept when Dr. Preston questioned it to us during sophomore year. I thought that multi-tasking is probable because I always see my mom making food and talking on the phone at the same. I realized that this isn't possible because what we do comes down to the same purpose if we analyze it. 

• "Program or Be Programmed": 
•  We, as the new generation, have the choice to choose whether or not to take advantage of technology. We can use it to it's maximum potential and benefit the society, or just use it for our desires and pleasures and eventually define it as the source of destruction of our society.

• Older Generations/Younger Generations: 
• During the conference, Roy said that older generations are dependent on younger generations to handle the complex/complicated use of technology. We, as the younger generation, aren't aware as much adults anticipate. We are in the progress of learning just like everyone else. Therefore, both generations should cooperate in discovering the mysteries of technology.  

Literature Analysis Two

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read.
2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
3. Describe the author's tone.  Include three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
4. Describe five literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the theme and/or your sense of the tone.  Include three excerpts that will help your reader understand each one.

1. Catch-22 is a story of a man named John Yossarian whose job is to bomb places he and his companions are told to for the US Air Force during the WW2. However, Yossarian believes that everyone is trying to get rid of him, so he's main goal is to survive the war and go home. However, the Colonel Cathcart kept raising the number of missions the soldiers needed to complete in order for them to be sent home. The soldiers, therefore, have to keep fighting, which may be never. The novel doesn't follow a specific time frame, rather, it flashes back and forth throughout the story much like a war. Yossarian doesn't want to fight, so he asks Doc Daneeka if he can ground him for insanity, but the doctor refuses. He reasons that only sane people ask to be insane. So Yossarian finds an alternative to be hospitalized by faking a liver condition. Later, he does what he can to delay the mission in Bologna. Hungry Joe, one Yossarian's companion, has flown the required missions, but everytime he reaches the number, the colonels raise the number of missions so that Joe can't go home. This causes Joe to have nightmares and he goes crazy. Later on in the story, Yossarian is made a deal that if he praises the officers and the colonels, then they will let him go home. He, however, knows that this will mean that he will betray his fellow soldiers and refuses the offer. He escapes the military and tries to seek for his life.     

2. The major theme of the novel is the totalitarianism of the bureaucracy. The characters are not solely responsible for their death rather, the authority is. Whenever the soldiers try to reason with them logically, the authorities don't listen to them and reason back with illogical terms. When the soldiers finish their missions which is required to go home, the authorities raise the number of missions they need to accomplish everytime they are close to finishing them. Since the soldiers are aware of this, they try their best to utilize what they can do.

3. The tone of this novel is mostly serious and at times, satirical. Since this is a war novel, there are many scenes where the main character fears for his life and wants to avoid going into combat. He knows that many soldiers died during the battle and he doesn't want to.

• "There was no established procedure for evasive action. All you needed was fear, and Yossarian had plenty of that, more fear than Orr or Hungry Joe, more fear even than Dunbar, who had resigned himself submissively to the idea that he must die someday. Yossarian had not resigned himself to that idea, and he bolted for his life wildly on each mission the instant his bombs were away, hollering, "hard, hard, hard, hard, you bastard, hard!" at McWatt and hating McWatt viciously all the time as though McWatt were to blame for their being up there at all to be rubbed out by strangers..."

• "Help who? Help who?" called back Yossarian, once he had plugged his headset back into the intercom system, after it had been jerked out when Dobbs wrested the controls away from Huple and hurled them all down suddenly into the deafening, paralyzing, horrifying dive which had plastered Yossarian helplessly to the ceiling of the plane by the top of his head and from which Huple had rescued them just in time by seizing the controls back from Dobbs and leveling the ship out almost as suddenly right back in the middle of the buffeting layer of cacophonous flak from which they had escaped successfully only a moment before. Oh, God! Oh, God, oh, God, Yossarian had been pleading wordlessly as he dangled from the ceiling of the nose of the ship by the top of his head, unable to move."

• Major Major sat down, and Yossarian moved around in front of his desk and told him that he did not want to fly any more combat missions. What could he do? Major Major asked himself. All he could do was what he had been instructed to do by Colonel Korn and hope for the best. "Why not?" he asked. "I'm afraid." "That's nothing to be ashamed of," Major Major counseled him kindly. "We're all afraid." "I'm not ashamed," Yossarian said. "I'm just afraid."

4. The five literary elements that were helpful to understand the theme and the tone were:

1) Symbolism: The hospital in the novel symbolizes the shelter and the refuge people seek to go to avoid the war.

2) Allusion: In the story, Heller mentions many allusions such as Washington Irving who is constantly repeated, Michael de Montaigne, Shakespeare, T.S. Eliot, the Bible, and Homer. These references related to the scenes when they were used and further enhanced my understanding of the novel by helping me make connections.

3) Imagery: With the imagery, it helped to visualize what the characters were actually seeing and experiencing during their battle.

"Yossarian was cold, too, and shivering uncontrollably. He felt goose pimples clacking all over him as he gazed down despondently at the grim secret Snowden had spilled all over the messy floor. It was easy to read the message in his entrails. Man was matter, that was Snowden’s secret. Drop him out a window and he’ll fall. Set fire to him and he’ll burn. Bury him and he’ll rot, like other kinds of garbage. That was Snowden’s secret. Ripeness was all."
4) Alliteration: The following alliteration helped me to makes connections with the occupation and their field of study.

"There was a urologist for his urine, a lymphologist for his lymph, an endocrinologist for his endocrines, a psychologist for his psyche, a dermatologist for his derma; there was a pathologist for his pathos, a cystologist for his cysts..."

5) Repetition: Heller uses this to explain deeper about the situation: what caused the event, what the consequences were, etc.

“McWatt was crazy. He was a pilot and flew his plane as low as he dared over Yossarian’s tent as often as he could, just to see how much he could frighten him…Sharcare. He was crazy too”

Tools That Change the Way We Think

"Back in 2004, I asked [Google founders] Page and Brin what they saw as the future of Google search. 'It will be included in people's brains,' said Page. 'When you think about something and don't really know much about it, you will automatically get information.'

'That's true,' said Brin. 'Ultimately I view Google as a way to augment your brain with the knowledge of the world. Right now you go into your computer and type a phrase, but you can imagine that it could be easier in the future, that you can have just devices you talk into, or you can have computers that pay attention to what's going on around them and suggest useful information.'

'Somebody introduces themselves to you, and your watch goes to your web page,' said Page. 'Or if you met this person two years ago, this is what they said to you... Eventually you'll have the implant, where if you think about a fact, it will just tell you the answer."

-From In the Plex by Steven Levy (p.67)

Internet/media/technology use has made it easier for me to obtain the gist of a topic rather than searching in depth. Routinely, this has made me lazier, lazier, and lazier. It's just that Internet allows me to save time by getting the information in an instant rather than going to the library and search through the books. However, what I am beginning to realize is that modern people are indifferent to education than older people who learned in the formal way. Back then, there were no websites that summarized books or calculators to solve a problem. They had to actually spend hours and hours of time devoting to their assignments. I, on the other hand, can read from a book, but if the deadline for a book report is coming up and I didn't even read a page from my book, then I can go online and search for a summary and get the job done in an instant. It's that simple. Using Internet this way is beneficial in the short run, but detrimental in the long run. The major difference between them and us (as in modern kids) is that they actually wanted to learn and were dedicated to their work. We, on the other hand, give up if things get too complicated and try to find an easier way to access information quickly.

In Search Of

• Watching the Video:

a)I learned from the video that the searches we do influences the future search results. I believed, like the rest of the people, that everyone would have the same results when he/she would type in something. However,the video clearly showed that two people searching the same thing in the same time and place, can have totally different search results.

b)I now know that some information are left out due to my personalized search history. It makes me wonder whether or not I am able to access to all the information despite the edit. I would like to have all the information so that my searches wouldn't be biased.

c)
-How long will Google, Facebook, and other companies use filter bubble to limit people from getting all the resources they need?

- Why are they doing this? To help you to make easier access to information? To limit you so that you won't have too much information? Who knows...

What we know is that we need to be aware that this is happening and inform others about this so that they too would know what's up.

d)From now on, I'm going to make my searches more precisely so that the filter bubble wouldn't automatically direct me to my common search results. I won't rely on my search on one search engine; I will use multiple search engines so that I'll know everything I need to know.

• Researching Shakespeare After the Video:

Yesterday, I researched about William Shakespeare through Google by typing in "Who was Shakespeare" and used the first two websites (wasn't Wikipedia!). In some of my previous researches, I used Wikipedia and the first results were always from Wikipedia. However, since I haven't used Wikipedia in a while, I see other website links that come before it. It's really cool/afraid of how it can do this in a short period of time.  Now back to Shakespeare. Instead of typing Who was Shakespeare, I typed Who was William Shakespeare and got different results. Again, I noticed that Wikipedia wasn't the first link. Then, I typed, "Who really was Shakespeare, and again got new results. It amazes me of how one word difference can change the result. I was able to get some new information that I wasn't able to with my first search. Truly, the video gave me a new insight on how to do my searches online.

"Who Was Shakespeare?"

2.  Shakespeare, one the most renown English writers of all time, is a real mystery. There are many speculations about his personal life and how he, a glover's son, had written the outstanding poems and plays. What the most people believe is that Shakespeare was born around April 1564 in Stratford and died on April 23, 1616 (on the day of my birthday!!!). When he ws 18, he married Anne Hathaway and had three kids. Later, he and his family moved to London where he became a actor, poet, and a playwright. With his 38 plays, he was known as the greatest dramatist ever to live. Later in 1608, he moved back to Stratford and settled there. What we are left to wonder is...was Shakespeare the true author of the plays and poems he wrote? How could a person from a lower class know about all the concepts only nobles would know? William Shakespeare isperceived by students as the greatest English poet of all time. By reading some works of Shakespeare such as Julius Caesar, Hamelt,  and Romeo and Juliet, I'm able to see a connection between all three works so far. The all have to relate to death and how it affects the characters in the plays. My struggle is that I am not able to grasp the full idea in the first read but rather after I discuss it in class.


Search Engine:
- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/merchant/shakespeare.html
- http://www.ljhammond.com/essays/shak1.htm

"Notes on Hamlet"

3. Post to your blog under the title, "Notes on Hamlet." Explain how your thinking about the play has evolved from the time we began reading to the end of Act III. Has anything changed your mind about the plot or characters since the ghost showed up at midnight? Where do you see things going from here?

3. In the very beginning of the play, I had trouble understanding the plot of the story. After going over the acts and each scenes with Dr. Preston and our classmates, I was able to grasp what was going on and follow along. The plot is becoming more interesting and curious because we, as readers, know what the characters are experiencing without them knowing what's up. Since now I have a pretty decent amount of description and personalities of each character, I am able to ascertain their behaviors. By observing Hamlet's scheme in Act 3, I am able to adumbrate that he will kill Claudius eventually. 

"To Facebook or Not to Facebook?"

1. Write about your initial impressions of Facebook, the benefits and risks associated with using Facebook, and an explanation of how reading the article and discussing in class informed your thinking.

1. At first, I thought only college students used Facebook. My sister had one and I thought it was way better than Myspace. So in the summer of my freshman year, I made my first account on Facebook and started using it. Since then, there has been new features on Facebook which some people liked, and others didn't. Although I personally found it hard to get used to the new changes, I didn't mind it after couple of weeks. The major benefit of Facebook is the capability to reconcile the lost relationships between families, friends, co-workers, etc. For me, for instance, I have family members in South Korea and talking to them on the phone would cost a lot of money. However, through Facebook, I can send a message to them for free and get a response as soon as they see it. It's that simple. The risks of using this is that personal information and other vital facts are known to the world without you knowing it. After reading the article, I took notice of the advertisements and other facts it stated and I quickly deactivated my account. I didn't do it solely because of the article; I did it because FB is wasting too much of my time.

"(Don't) Be Hamlet"

Journal Topic:
Now that you've mastered the text of "To be, or not to be..." reflect on Hamlet's dilemma and help him make up his mind. Use the text of the play and your own logic to support your opinion.

Answer:
     "To be, or not to be-that is the question:" In Shakespeare's Hamlet Act 3 Scene 1, this soliloquy is one of the most illustrious soliloquies in the entire play which many people recognize This quote is the main theme of Hamlet's soliloquy where he is asking to himself whether he should live or die. This is a very important decision in his life and it can't be condoned with careless thoughts. Hamlet discusses about whether he should put up with all the hardships that he's facing or rebel against it. He also says who would bear the humiliations that the world places when they could take out their knife and end the whole thing.
     "Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And, by opposing, end them?" In the first part of the soliloquy, Hamlet thinks of two decisions that he can act, either to ignore the situation or take action. If I were him, I wouldn't overlook the situation and take action in a decisive way. In the preceding acts, Hamlet does a good job by not taking action immediately. I would advice him to maintain his momentum and remind him of what he's been waiting for...to revenge Claudius for his crimes. In the end, though, I would tell him to kill Claudius because I agree with his "madness."

     "For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, Th' oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of th' unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin?" In this quote, Hamlet mentions that no one wants to bear the humiliations people do and can end it by killing themselves. For Hamlet, he should take action against his uncle rather than end the pains of the present moment. If he wishes to calm his anger and ease his melancholy, he need to take care of business before his dies. 

      Hamlet's soliloquy talks about Hamlet's thoughts and ideas of whether or not he should commit suicide or not. I would explicitly tell him that there is a end to a start. If he kills himself, then nothing would be solved for both himself and the apparition's claims.   

Literary Analysis One

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read.
2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
3. Describe the author's tone.  Include three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
4. Describe five literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the theme and/or your sense of the tone.  Include three excerpts that will help your reader understand each one.

1) Invisible Man was written in 1952 in New York City in the form of a "bildungsroman" which means personal development or progress. The story begins when the narrator, an unknown African-American man, introduces himself to the reader as  "invisible man". The narrator says that he has gone underground to write about his invisible life. Then the narrator flashes back to what events occurred up to the present moment. Since his birth, the narrator was a gifted public speaker and he was invited by the white men to give a speech in which he received a scholarship. When he is at college, he is assigned to drive Mr. Norton, the college's trustee, around the school campus and it's surroundings. After seeing and hearing some information about Jim Trueblood, Mr. Norton gets a drink from Golden Day and faints during the ruckus. When Dr. Bledsoe, the college president, hears about this, he expels the narrator from school and sends him to New York City in order for him to find a job. He meets Emerson's son, and he offers him a job where the narrator gets injured and loses consciousness. After the narrator recovers, Brother Jack hears his speech and asks him to join the Brotherhood. The narrator concurs and quickly trains for his new assignment. Later on in the book, the narrator tries to gain revenge on the Brotherhood. Towards the end of the book, the narrator tries to escape from a riot and falls into a manhole where he had stayed ever since he told the story.
   
2) The major theme in this novel has to be the racist barrier the whites placed on African-Americans. As the narrator tries to identify himself throughout the book, he realized that he is unable to fully express his true intentions and feelings to the society. Due to this, the narrator defines himself as invisible because others cannot see his real character. He concludes that he will force others to recognize the true nature of African- Americans despite the racial prejudice.

3) The author's tone was very frank, thoughtful and optimistic. The protagonist narrates the story how he perceives it. As a story relating to racism, Ellison could have easily written the book in an angry tone, but the use of a frank tone reflects the story more realistically. Towards the end of the book, the narrator concludes that he will come out of his "hibernation" and contribute to the racist society by showing his true self to the people.

• "The hibernation is over. I must shake off the old skin and come up for breath. There's a stench in the air, which, from this distance underground, might be the smell either of death or of spring- I hope of spring." 

• "Thus, having tried to give pattern to the chaos which lives within the pattern of your certainties, I must come out, I must emerge. And there's still a conflict within me: With Louis Armstrong one half of me says, 'Open the window and let the foul air out,' while the other says, 'It was good green corn before the harvest.'"

• "And I love light. Perhaps you'll think it strange that an invisible man should need light, desire light, love light. But maybe it is exactly because I am invisible. Light confirms my reality, gives birth to my form."

4) The five literary techniques that helped me to comprehend the theme and the tone of Invisible Man were:

1) Allusion: Helped me to make connections with the story for example The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
2) Metaphor: Liberty Paints Plant serves as a metaphor of how America is defined as a place of freedom and liberty, but incorporates racism in its deepest cores. Helped me to comprehend the theme of the story.
3) Symbolism: They allowed me to make connections to slavery and how it affected the narrator even after the Emancipation Proclamation.
4) Motifs: Individuality was repeated in the book and this quality reminds me of my own racial barrier people put on me due to my race.
5) Characterization: The description of the characters in the novel were very descriptive and helped me to imagine the character in the mind while I was reading.

• "Many of the men had been doctors, lawyers, teachers, Civil Service workers; there were several cooks, a preacher, a politician, and an artist. One very nutty one had been a psychiatrist. Whenever I saw them I felt uncomfortable. They were supposed to be members of the professions toward which at various times I vaguely aspired myself, and even though they never seemed to see me I could never believe that they were really patients"

• "Invisibility, let me explain, gives one a slightly different sense of time, you're never quite on the beat. Sometimes you're ahead and sometimes behind. Instead of the swift and imperceptible flowing of time, you are aware of its nodes, those points where time stands still or from which it leaps ahead. And you slip into the breaks and look around. That's what you hear vaguely in Louis' music."

• "Here within this quiet greenness I possessed the only identity I had ever known, and I was losing it. In this brief moment of passage I became aware of the connection between these lawns and buildings and my hopes and dreams. I wanted to stop the car and talk with Mr. Norton, to beg his pardon for what he had seen; to plead and show him tears, unashamed tears like those of a child before his parent; to denounce all we'd seen and heard; to assure him that far from being like any of the people we had seen, I hated them, that I believed in the principles of the Founder with all my heart and soul, and that I believed in his own goodness and kindness in extending the hand of his benevolence to helping us poor, ignorant people out of the mire and darkness…If only he were not angry with me! If only he would give me another chance!"