Literature Analysis #3

"The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

1. This book is about 12 Districts who once a year battle it out in a dome. Each districts selects a boy and a girl and the max age is 18, but the older you are the more times your name is put into the drawing. The main girl is Katniss and the main boy is Peeta. They are both from district 12 and Peeta gets drawn first. Then Katniss' little sister gets drawn but she volunteers in for her spot. Before the battle they portray this fake love for each other even though Peeta actually likes Katniss. They train and take advice from their mentor Haymitch and then go into battle. Some people die and Katniss gets sad when a little girl dies because she reminded her of her sister. Then the rules change and and say that if the two people from the same district are the one left then the both win. So it comes down to them two last and they win right? No after that the rules change back to normal and they are about to commit suicide together but they stop them and they both survive. After it's all done then Katniss has to continue to fake her love towards Peeta.
2. I think the theme of the novel is to never stop even when you think it is all over. Because in the book I'm sure Katniss and Peeta wanted to give up and just die but they never did. The kept on going even when they thought it was over and they ended up winning.
3. Suzanne uses and suspenseful tone when the names are being pulled out of the raffle. She uses a thrilling tone when the battle starts and not just the beginning of the battle but throughout the whole thing. And she also uses a informative tone when Katniss and Peeta are being mentored by Haymitch.
4. She uses a lot of emphasis on certain things when conversations are going on and that allows the reader to perfectly understand what and how the characters are thinking and saying. She is also very descriptive about things like when she is describing the terrain in which the battle is going to take place.  She is also very easy to understand like the things she portrays like the fake love between Katniss and Peeta was easy to understand and that makes the book fun and interesting to read because the book isn't confusing at all.

1. She uses direct characterization when she is describing the way that Katniss looks and the way that Peeta looks. She uses indirect characterization when she writes the conversations between Peeta and Katniss because just buy the way that they talk to each other you can really find out more stuff about them.
2. Yes her syntax and diction changes in the book. When she is writing conversations between Peeta and Katniss it differs a lot from when Katniss is talking to Haymitch. When she is talking to Haymitch she is kind of more serious and mad at him.
3. The protagonist is definitely dynamic in the book because in the beginning she is not really a warrior per say but by then end of the book she is a fierce woman who is really willing to do anything to survive.  
4. After reading the book I really felt like I could really connect with Peeta and Katniss. When they were going through what they were going through I really felt as if I was right next to them going through it as well. Suzanne did a really good job writing this book and the reason why I love it so much is because she made it easy for the reader to connect with the characters so easily.

Literature Analysis #2

"To Kill A Mocking Bird" by Harper Lee

1. This book takes place during the 1930's during the Great Depression. It is about three children who are fascinated with a house of a man who they believe is leaving them gifts. It is also about how a man named Atticus defends a man named Tom Robinson who is falsely accused of a crime. The story plays out and as you can guess they lose the trial even they had circumstantial evidence over the accusers. In the end Tom is shot while trying to escape prison and someone attacks Jem and Scout while on there way home one night. Jem's arm is broken and some mysterious man comes out and saves the children's lives.  They believe it was Boo the mysterious man who gave them gifts.
2. I definitely feel like the theme of this book to not judge a person just by what you have heard. Like with Boo I'm sure people told Scout and Dill stories about him and made him out to be scary or something. But in the end you could tell that he was nothing like that. And with Tom he was judged just by the color of his skin and was accused of something that he had absolutely nothing to do with just because he was black.
3. Harper Lee has a very relaxed toe and an example of that is when he is talking about the kids. She is very serious also especially when it comes to the trial and I like that she was because that is a serious thing to talk about. And she shows a lot of sympathy when they lose the case because just like anyone else who is in that situation who is being falsely accused of something I would be sad too.
4. Harper Lee is very informative because when she is talking about the trial we can really learn more about the type of life that was lived back during the Great Depression. It is ridiculous how bad it was for African Americans back then. They shouldn't have been put through all of that discrimination just because they had a different skin color than us.

1. When she describes Boo and his house and when she describes the children. Those are two examples of direct characterization that Harper Lee uses. When you read the conversations in the trial and when you read the conversations between the children are also two examples of indirect characterization because you can find out more information just about them through the conversations.
2. Yes is diction and syntax change when talking to the children and it is different when the story is talking about Tom's case. When he focuses on the case you can tell that he is very serious and when he is talking about the kids you can tell that it's not as serious, it's just as if some kids are talking amongst themselves.
3. Definitely dynamic because in the beginning of the story for example Scout is very terrified of Boo and in the end after he saves their lives they aren't scared of him at all. They really changed as a person throughout the story.
4. After reading the story I felt like I could connect with all of the characters. With Tom I felt as if I could actually feel his pain and worry about the case and what the out come of it could be. With Atticus I could feel the stress that he was going through with the case and all. I could only imagine what it was like at that time having to defend an African American person during the Great Depression.

Lit Analysis #1

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

1. In this book it starts out with him as a fire fighter who would go out and destroy books. At one house where he went and was planning on destroying a house that had books in it, he found a set of books in the attic and decided to keep a few. So he went home and read a few and enjoyed them. His wife found out and got mad at him. The fire chief gets word that he has a few books and sets his house on fire and now are on a man hunt to find him. He finds a group of old scholars and joins them. Montag in the ends and escapes the city and the city gets destroyed. This is a typical fiction story with a good storyline and climax and rising action and everything.
2. I think the theme of the novel is to really appreciate the value of old styles of life. The world now a days is evolving into a world where we rely heavily on technology and have really pushed books and papers to the side. So I think he made this book to remind us that books are important to society and without them the world wouldn't be the same.
3. The authors tone is very serious through out the book. When he finds the book he's very serious about keeping it and hiding the books. When he is being chased by the mechanical hound it is very serious because that thing is trying to kill him. And when he's escaping from the city and watching everything he knew bein burned to the ground, that's very serious.
4. Ray Bradbury is always informative and very descriptive when describing something. When he is talking about the house that he is going to burn you can really just picture it perfectly in your head. That's the main reason why I like this book, because I've read other books and I have a hard time picturing the story in my head but with this book it's easy. You can easily tell the tone of voice of the characters he is talking to. It there mad you know there mad if they're scared you know they're scared. Like when Montag is beig chased by the hound you know he is scared.

1. Some examples of direct characterization is when we can hear his thoughts about Clarisse. We learn a lot about her through the dialog between Montag and her. Some examples of indirect characterization is when we learn more about the characters through the actions they do. Like for Guy Motag we learn more about him when he goes and takes a book. We learn that he is just a normal human and wants to learn just like everyone else. Or like the chief we learn that by their actions they are just doing their job and their viewpoints aren't ever goin to change as the story goes on.
2. No I don't think the authors diction changes at all throughout the story. The only way I think it would change is when he is talking to his wife and the scholars. When he is talking to them he sounds more empathetic than when he is for example talking to the chief or when he is talking to Clarisse.
3. Guy Montag is definitely a dynamic character. In the beginning of the novel he is a regular fireman who hates books and enjoys burning them. By the end of the year he is a totally different person. At the end of the book he loves books and regrets burning books. His thoughts towards the fire fighters changes completely and has a respect for books now.
4. After reading the book I really felt as if I had Met Montag and really got to know him. Ray Bradbury really did an amazing job writing this book. He really did a good job because we really were able to connect with Montag and feel what he was feeling and think what he was thinking. When he first got the book I really could understand why he was interested and why he would risk everything just to read a book. Curiosity got to him and it sure killed the cat.

Essay

       "You have been treated as colleagues and you have been given a great deal of choice in this course; this represents a high level of trust.  Did you and the others deserve it?  Earn it?  Honor it?"  Yes I feel like most of the kids in here did earn the trust but some of them didn't. The people who were serious about the course and real we're passionate about there masterpieces earned their trust.  The people who did earn the trust I feel like did honor it and we're very trust worthy about there work. Trust I thing in this course. If you don't have any trust then it really hard to tell what work is yours and what isn't.
       "Have you re/connected with a passion that drives you?  If so, how will you continue your learning?  If not, how will you proceed?" For me I reconnect with learning. In the previous years I didn't really learn anything in other classes and if I did learn something I would forget what I learned in a short time. In this class even though I did little work I think I learned the most while in this class. I remember a lot of the things that we talked about and even just sitting in class listening I learned a lot.
       "Something about literature or this course that made you laugh out loud." Well when Austin went up in front of the class and performed his comedy skits, those made me laugh out loud. This is why I love Open Source Learning. It really allows you to do what ever you want and for you to learn however you want to learn. Even though I didn't learn that much from his comedy skits I'm sure Austin learned quit a bit from them. That's what makes Open Source Learning so unique and different from traditional ways of learning.
       The 5 presentations that I enjoyed were Jacob and his cooking, Kapule and Elias' Workout and nutrition Prezi, Roman and his beats about the course, Franky's about music, and Rachael's about singing. I feel like all five of them do connect in some way. You could really tell that all of them really were passionate about what they were talking about. All of them really knew what they were talking about and I was able to learn a lot from them. Of course Romans, Franky's, and Rachael's all connect because they are similar, but Kapule, Elias'  and Jacobs do connect as well because all 5 take hard work to be good at and you have to be passionate about them.
       Am I a hero? I don't think that I'm a hero in the course but because I have made good choices outside of school I think I am a hero in that sense. Did I respond to the call of adventure? I think I did. I really didn't think out loud in the beginning of the year but as the year progressed I branched out more and came out of my shell and was able to express myself and my thinking more. I didn't find a mentor but I did overcome a lot of challenges, none that I would like to share but I really did return enlightened and learned a lot while taking this course.

My Presentation!

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Todays Workout

Earlier today I did a workout and it consist of a:
15 minute jog
3x12 bench press
4x10 dumbbell press
3x10 decline bench press
3x10 weighted decline push ups

3x10 weighted triceps' dips
3x10 triceps' extensions
5x5 close grip bench

Fitness Research

http://www.muscleandfitness.com/nutrition/lose-fat/burn-fat-fast-eating-plan?page=2

I was doing some research on fitness meal plans and I came across this. It gives you tips on what you could do and eat and how you can stay on track with your meal plan. Meal plans and good nutrition is just as important as working out if not more important. If you are working your butt off at the gym but coming home and eating a bunch of crap then you aren't going to get half the results that you wanted. If you eat well and workout correct and really hard at the gym then you will most definitely get the results that you want.

Fitness and Me

The reason why I take fitness, weight lifting, and nutrition so serious is because in my family there has been a lot of people who have been diagnosed with diabetes. My grandma had 11 kids, 9 of which were women and two men. 4 of my aunts and 1 of my uncles have already been diagnosed with diabetes along with my grandma and grandpa. So for me I figured that if I choose to eat bad now and not practice any good eating habits then I will most likely get diabetes at a young age as well. So that's why I have started incorporating those good habits into my life right now. Not only is working out and eating good healthy for me but it has many more perks, like for instance it gives me more energy every day. I haven't been working out for long but I can already see an impact it has made on me just in the past few months. If I could pursue fitness as a career path I would love it, but I have a lot of work to do if I want to become reality.

ESSAY RAISING A MORAL CHILD

Raising a moral child is possibly the most important thing a parent could do in the world that we live in today. If the older generation of today expects us to be able to run the country later on the future and be able to set good morals for our children, they should teach their children some. Their are so many kids today in this generation that are so disrespectful, rude, non-caring, etc. and who's to blame? Their parents. They are responsible for raising and teaching them good responsible morals that need to be passed down to future generations.
 But then again, I know plenty of parents that were raised well and taught great morals, but when it comes to them and raising their children they don't apply many of the principles that they were taught and don't discipline their children the way that they were. It really depends on the person and how they choose to go about raising their own children. They just need to realize that the kids of my generation are the way they are because of how they raised them, not necessarily bad just not good enough.
For me personally when I see a person walking towards the especially elderly people I make sure that I hold the door open for them. I do it because I know it makes some people happy, and I know I would like some one my age to do the same thing for my grandparents and family. It just depends on how the persons brain works because I know some people who's brains just don't tell them to do these simple things.

LAUNCH

What do you really want to do?
-I want to somehow integrate the study of music and basketball into my education.

 How can you use the tools from Fall?
-I can use the internet to do research about the two subjects and incorporate the two into my studies.

What will I need to do so that in June I have no regrets and feel awesome?
-I want to have a good grade in the class and feel like I was able to learn new things the way that I wanted to.

What will impress/convince others?
-Hopefully my blog and my end of the year project will be impress/convince others.

What are you doing to make your idea a reality?
-I'm starting to think about what I really want to do in life and I would like to take action with my goals.

 Building a community.?
-I know a lot of people who share the same love for music and basketball just like me. It would be the greatest thing ever if I could talk to a great music artist like Kendrick Lamar or Schoolboy Q, or a famous basketball player who ever played the game and see how they want there skills to be integrated into the classroom.

vocabulary: spring list 2

Accoutrement- additional items of dress or equipment worn by a person or used for a particular activity.
 Apogee- The climax.
 Apropos- with reference to.
 Bicker- argue about petty and trivial matters.
 Coalesce- come together and form one mass or whole.
 Contretemps- an unexpected and unfortunate occurrence.
 Convolution- a coil or twist.
 Cull- select from a large quantity.
 Disparate- essentially different in kind; not allowing comparison.
 Dogmatic- expressing personal opinions or beliefs as if they are correct.
 Licentious- Lacking moral discipline or ignoring restraint.
 Noxious- harmful, poisonous, or very unpleasant.
 Polemic- a strong written or verbal attack on someone.
 Populous- having a large population.
 Probity- the quality of having strong moral principles.
 Repartee- conversation or speech characterized by quick witty comments or replies.
 Supervene- occur later then implied.
 Truncate- shorten by cutting off the top or end.
 Unimpeachable- not able to be doubted, questioned, or criticized.

VOCAB #1 PERFORMANCE REVIEW

I did pretty well on the first vocabulary quiz of the spring semester. I got a reasonable 8out of 10 correct. Maybe next time with a little bit more studying I will be able to get a 100%.

vocabulary: spring list 1

Adumbrate: Report or represent in outline.
Apotheosis- climax.
Ascetic- the practice of severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence.
Bauble- small trinket or decoration.
Beguile- trick.
Burgeon- begin to grow or increase rapidly.
Complement- a thing that completes or brings to perfection.
Contumacious- stubbornly or willingly disobedient to authority.
Curmudgeon- bad tempered person.
Didactic- intended to teach.

HACKING MY EDUCATION

I would like to be able to use this course in a way that it will help me figure out what I want to do with my life. Graduation is just around the corner and I don't really know what I want to do, and that's scary. If this course could some how help me figure out what I want to do, I would very much appreciate that.