A Poem

I am not a poetry person, but this is one of my favorite poems, you should read it:

Kubla Khan

BY SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE

Or, a vision in a dream. A Fragment. 

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan

A stately pleasure-dome decree:

Where Alph, the sacred river, ran

Through caverns measureless to man

   Down to a sunless sea.

So twice five miles of fertile ground

With walls and towers were girdled round;

And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,

Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;

And here were forests ancient as the hills,

Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.

But oh! that deep romantic chasm which slanted

Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover!

A savage place! as holy and enchanted

As e’er beneath a waning moon was haunted

By woman wailing for her demon-lover!

And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,

As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing,

A mighty fountain momently was forced:

Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst

Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail,

Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher’s flail:

And mid these dancing rocks at once and ever

It flung up momently the sacred river.

Five miles meandering with a mazy motion

Through wood and dale the sacred river ran,

Then reached the caverns measureless to man,

And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean;

And ’mid this tumult Kubla heard from far

Ancestral voices prophesying war!

   The shadow of the dome of pleasure

   Floated midway on the waves;

   Where was heard the mingled measure

   From the fountain and the caves.

It was a miracle of rare device,

A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice!

   A damsel with a dulcimer

   In a vision once I saw:

   It was an Abyssinian maid

   And on her dulcimer she played,

   Singing of Mount Abora.

   Could I revive within me

   Her symphony and song,

   To such a deep delight ’twould win me,

That with music loud and long,

I would build that dome in air,

That sunny dome! those caves of ice!

And all who heard should see them there,

And all should cry, Beware! Beware!

His flashing eyes, his floating hair!

Weave a circle round him thrice,

And close your eyes with holy dread

For he on honey-dew hath fed,

And drunk the milk of Paradise.

Vocabulary #2

accoutrements- additional objects to put on your person for a specific task, like equipment used as clothes. The accoutrements of a police officer are his billy club, badge and taser.

apogee- the highest point of development of something. The apogee of the British empire was when it controlled one third of the globe.

apropos- concerning something, pertaining to something.  Some topics in Math Analysis seemed apropos to nothing.

bicker- to argue about trivial maters.  Siblings often bicker.

coalesce- to come together into something.  In the virtual choir, many singers from around the globe coalesced into one group.

contretemps- a minor unexpected or unfortunate occurrence.  Many british sitcoms deal with humorous contretemps, often under a large misfortune that is overshadowed by these trivial maters, such as Fawlty Towers and Blackadder.

convolution- twists, and coils, or a function derived from two functions through integration. The brain is made up of many sinuous convolutions.

cull- to pick from a large number of options or to amass from much data.  The current text of Beowulf was culled from many different fragments of texts about the epic hero.

disparate- immensely different.  In economics, they use disparate objects to explain production possibility curves, such as robots and pizzas.

dogmatic- laying down principles which are not proven true.  The dogmatic theologist lectured about many unproven principles like they were true.

licentious- promiscuous, or unprincipled sexually.  In the times of Jane Austen, Lydia from pride and Prejudice would have been viewed as licentious.

mete- to allot punishment.  Many countries say that they care for their citizens, yet they radially mete out to their people.

noxious- harmful or poisonous.  Many noxious fumes come out of industrial buildings.

polemic- strongly speaking out against something.  The polemic worker spoke out against his low wages.

populous- having a large population.  In ecosystems, producers are the most populous part of the food web.

probity- having moral principles, decency.  Pretentious people often put up a facade of probity.

repartee- conversation or speech characterized by quick, witty remarks.  When I got to boys state, I impressed one of the counselors by starting a repartee with him.

supervene- occur later than a specified event or action, often changing plans.  The collapse of the twin towers supervened much of what happened on september 11th, 2009.

truncate- to shorten something by cutting of the top or end.  In elementary school, kids liked to make shorts by truncating old jeans. 

unimpeachable- not to be doubted or questioned. The views of many experts are often viewed as unimpeachable.

Beowulf Questions

To get to this point, I teamed up with various other people, and we all answered questions, and eventually collaborated on them.  I personally read most of the text that I found of the story, and paid special attention to the dragon battle and the funeral, as that is what I ended up answering on.

Prologue: The Rise of the Danish Nation:

1.       The way Shield became ruler of the Danes was unusual because he was an orphan. Although he came from rags, his funeral was one to be admired. It was on a ship at sea with his most loved companions and filled with treasures. Shield is Hrothgar's grandfather.

Heorot is Attacked:

1.       The magnificent work that Hrothgar undertook was the construction of the spectacular mead hall, Herot. The monster Grendel attacked Herot, killing thirty warriors; unable to fend for themselves. The attacks lasted twelve years. The Danes did nothing and continued to suffer.

The Hero Comes to Heorot:

1.       When Beowulf hears of Hrothgar's problems with Grendel, he sails out with 14 of his bravest warriors to Herot.

2.       When the Geats arrive in Denmark they first meet a Danish watcher. The watchman asks what business they have in this specific area. Beowulf explains their intentions are not to harm the Danes, but to bring peace by slaying Grendel.

3.       The name of Hrothgar's herald is Wulgar, a messenger. He asks the Geats their business, impressed with their appearances and manners, relays the message to Hrothgar who realizes he had known Beowulf prior to this meeting. I am not surprised Hrothgar knew Beowulf so well because he was well-known across many people for his bravery and nobility.

4.       When Beowulf enters, he tells Hrothgar that he is ready to fight and kill Grendel to protect the kingdom. Hrothgar settled the dispute Beowulf started with the Wulfing’s by paying with old treasure.

Feast at Heorot:

1.       Unferth accuses Beowulf of being too proud, and that Beowulf cannot handle battling against Grendel. Beowulf replied back by describing his perspective of the story Unferth told. He also told about how he killed the sea beast that pulled him down to the bottom of the sea. This episode is relevant to the poem as a whole because the whole poem is about Beowulf battling in different situations. Beowulf accuse Unferth of not participating in any battle.

2.       During the feast, Queen Wealhtheow attended to everyone in the banquet hall and welcomed the Geats.

The Fight with Grendel:

1.       Beowulf prepares for his fight with Grendel by disarming himself which is different because heroes are usually described to have prepared themselves to fight by arming themselves.

2.       When Grendel enters Heorot, Beowulf watches Grendel attack the vulnerable. Beowulf fights Grendel by gripping Grendel’s hand first. When Grendel tries to leave, Beowulf’s men tried to slash Grendel with their swords, but their swords didn’t do much. Grendel escapes to his lair, critically wounded. He left his shoulder and arm behind.

Celebration at Heorot:

1.       Like Sigemund Beowulf experiences a very strong sense of valor and love of the kill and war, yet he lack the wisdom to be a general or command because he doesn’t take the time to think a plan out

2.       Hrothgar responds with joy, gratitude, and generosity. He says that Beowulf is like a son to him and gives him treasure. Unferth was proven wrong in his attempts to discredit Beowulf.

3.       The story is about a Danes battle against Finn, who was the king of the Frisians. The poem is quite confusing, but basically it was based on the battle of Finnsburgh, which was an absolute bloodbath between the Frisians and the Danes. The battle came to an end when Hnaef, the Danish leader, was killed during battle. The Danes called a truce and promised to live with them separately but they would follow the same rules of equality in order in sure peace among the people. Now, the Danish princess named Hildeburh married Finn, but she was still depressed due to the death of her brother, Hnaef, and her son.  After months of hardship, the Danes revolt against the Frisians and kill Finn while his wife, Hildeburh, goes back to Denmark. The wisdom of using a bride as a way to heal enmity between tribes was to show that they were connected and must keep peace within their society. There are thousands of books, poems, and movies that show arranged marriages in order to restore peace or to connect with the other culture. Family shouldn’t attack family. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they won’t, but they may be less inclined to attack and more inclined to make amends.  

4.       When the feasting resumes, Wealhtheow asks Hrothgar to not give Beowulf the throne.

5.       Beowulf later gives the golden torque to Hygelac, in which he wears it on his death. Wealhtheow asked Beowulf to act as a friend to Hrethric and Hrothmund (Wealhtheow's daughters), to offer them protection from the darkness, to be a guidance, and to treat them kindly.

6.       So many men remained in the beer hall to sleep because the other sleeping halls were full. The men who slept in the beer hall made a mistake because Grendel's mother descended on Heorot to seek vengeance for her son’s death where Grendel's arm was located on the wall of Heorot and Aeschere (Hrothgar’s trusted adviser) was captured by her.

Another Attack:

1.       Grendel's mother came to Heorot to seek vengeance for her son's death. Grendel's reason to come to Heorot wasn't the same as his mother's reason because he only wanted to cause destruction.

2.       Hrothgar's response to Grendel's mother killing Aeschere (Hrothgar’s trusted adviser) is for Beowulf to seek out and kill Grendel’s mother.

3.       The mere is a magical swampy wood  lake in which it seems endlessly deep and it is where Grendel's mother lair is located at

Beowulf fights with Grendel’s mother:

1.       Beowulf tells Hrothgar to respond by taking care of the Geats and returning his property to Hygelac if he dies in the battle to kill Grendel's mother

2.       Before Beowulf can get to the mere he and his men find the many bloodied and dead men that were killed by Grendel and his mother, including the head of Aeschere. His men and Beowulf must fight off reptiles and sea dragons that live in the mere’s water. Also he gives a speech and names Hrothgar is successor should he die, and says that Hrothgar must take all the riches to Hygelac.

3.       Beowulf prepares for the battle by putting on his chain mail and metal helmet and took Unferth’s sword for Hrunting.

4.       When Beowulf enters the lake it takes him a long time to find the Grendel cave, but the Grendel mom knew that he was in the lake and tried to attack him. However the chain mail held and the Grendel mom was thwarted, so she just pulled his body into the cave. When Beowulf gets to the cave he is attacked by sea monsters. (Some more.) What was curious about the cave is that there was no water in it, and a fire going. That makes sense….

5.       The sword Beowulf borrowed proves useless and the steel doesn’t pierce Grendel’s mother at all. The magical sword’s spell in broken.

6.       Beowulf’s “net-of-chain” or chain mail saved him from dying because it deflected Grendel’s knife. And then he notices a pile of swords and stuff in the cave and pops up and grabs and sword to fight with.

7.       Beowulf kills Grendel’s mother by cutting her throat with the sword of Eotens. Her blood melts the sword, so only the hilt is left. Beowulf takes Grendel’s head with him from her house.

8.       All of his men are gone because they didn’t believe he could kill Grendel’s mother.

Further celebration at Heorot:

1.       The hilt of the sword and Grendel’s head

2.       Hrothgar tells Beowulf a story about a horrible king names Heremod who was banished, exiled, and eventually killed. Hrothgar tells this story to teach Beowulf not to be a bad king too

3.       His sword, Hrunting.

Beowulf Returns Home:

1. Hrothgar predicts Beowulf will rule his people with a bloody fist. Very forcefully that is. But also he insinuates he has earned it and Hrothgar supports him fully.

2. Queen Hygd was the opposite of Modthryth. While Modthryth was a violent queen, Hygd was virtuous and kind to her people.

3. Beowulf plans to marry out his daughter to a conflicting neighbor as it were to create a temporary peace at least. He expects it to be settled until prosperity can be re-established, then fighting will break out. This shows Beowulf to be a cunning and almost pessimistic leader despite his inhuman strength.

4. Beowolf played off the fact he killed Grendel as if it were nothing, He reports accurately, but diplomatically enough not to seem like he was boasting of his feats.

5. To appease old tradition, He gave the treasure to his leader, and in return, Hygelac gave Beowulf his "boar standard, a suit of armor, and a sword belonging to Hrothgar's brother." My personal interpretation of this is Hygelac gave Beowulf his deepest honor and loyalty.

The Dragon Wakes:

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

2. The Dragon was angry that his pillaged treasure was re-pillaged by a tribe. The lone man stealing the cup to make amends with his lord led the tribe to the barrow where an ancient tribe held their considerable wealth.

3. In the first day, the dragon killed and burnt down the countryside of the Geats.

4. Beowulf heard of the burnt countryside and ordered a new iron shield to be made to withstand the flames, he believes he will fight the dragon the same way he fought Grendel, but his age gave him weakness and will die.

5. Hygelac died from neighboring tribe invasions, Beowulf seeks revenge on them, but declines the honor of ruling his people. When he is home he finds out how the dragon got angry and sought to find him.

6. Heardred was killed by the dragon (?) and Beowulf sought revenge by blood by killing the dragon.

7. Thirteen men, including one who knew the whereabouts of the barrow, accompanied him.

8. Heardred gets killed by the Swedish king's men over a century old feud. As retaliation, Beowulf kills Onela, a Swedish noble responcible for his death. SO MUCH DEATH. Beowulf killed everyone who killed his kinsman. The Swedes and the Geats were in a state of feud after the kill-fest.

[Beowulf Attacks the Dragon] (lines 2510-2820, pp. 86-92)

1.What does Beowulf tell his companions to do?

Beowulf tells his companions to wait on top of the dragon’s den, and observe the battle instead of fighting in it.

2.What happens the first time Beowulf and the dragon fight? What do his companions do? How is Wiglaf different? What does he tell the others? What does he then do?

On his first battle with the dragon, Beowulf just counters the dragon’s attacks, until Beowulf strikes the dragon, barely wounding the dragon while the dragon burns Beowulf.  All of his companions flee to a nearby forest, but one, which is his kinsman Wiglaf.  Wiglaf tells of how Beowulf helped his family as Wiglaf grew up.  Wiglaf goes down to help Beowulf, by means of encouragement and help in the battle.

3.What happens the second time Beowulf meets the dragon? What happens to Beowulf? Who kills the dragon?

The second time Beowulf meets the dragon, Beowulf’s sword fails again, and the dragon attacks twice, the second time, fatally biting Beowulf.  Wiglaf kills the dragon with the rage left from the attack on his king.

4.What does the dying Beowulf ask Wiglaf to do? What happens when Beowulf sees the gold? How does Beowulf want to be buried?

Beowulf asks Wiglaf to bring him the dragon’s treasure.  When Beowulf sees the gold, 

he thanks God for letting him die rich, and tells Wiglaf to be king.  Beowulf wants to be buried in a tall tower so that he can be remembered by everybody who sees “Beowulf’s Tower.”

[Beowulf's Funeral] (lines 2821-3182, pp. 92-99)

1.What happens when the companions return? What does Wiglaf say to him? What does he expect will happen in the future?

When the companions return, they see Wiglaf trying to revive Beowulf.  Wiglaf scolds the company for not standing by the great Beowulf in his last battle, and he predicts that the Geats will be terrorized by rival clans once again.

2.What does the messenger tell the city? (This passage, lines 2900-3027, is the third account of the history of the Geats and the death of Hygelac. These are the enemies that will attack the Geats when they learn of Beowulf's death.) What happened overnight in Ravenswood after Ongentheow killed Haethcyn? What happened the next morning? What happened to Ongentheow? What does the messenger say to do with the gold? What is the final image (animal) of the messenger's speech?

The messenger tells the city of Beowulf’s death, and begins to predict things that will happen due to the death of their king.  Over night, Ongentheow’s army verbally terrorized the Geats, and the next morning, Hygelac returns with a Geat army.  Ongentheow killed a man named Wulf, who’s brother, Eofor, ended up killing Ongentheow to avenge his brother’s death.  The messenger tells the Geats to put the gold on Beowulf’s funeral pyre as to melt with his burning body.  The final image of the messengers speech is the freshly slain dragon, from Beowulf’s last stand.

3. What does Wiglaf tell the crowd that comes to see the dragon and Beowulf?

Wiglaf tells the crowd that it is bad to sacrifice yourself on your own will, and warns that doing this will hurt many.

4.What happens to the dragon?

The dragon is left alone, but it’s hoard is taken by the Geats to use in Beowulf’s funeral pyre.

5.What happens during and after the funeral celebration?

While Beowulf and all of the treasure from the burrow burn on the pyre, a woman sings a song about the fall of the Geats, and the Geats build a tower over Beowulf’s pyre over the next ten days.

6.What did the Geats say about Beowulf in the last three lines of the poem? Are these the terms one would expect to be used to describe a military hero?

“Said he was kindest of kings under heaven,

Gentlest of men, most winning of manner,

Friendliest to folk-troops and fondest of honor.”

In these lines, the Geats talk of Beowulf’s kindness, friendliness and gentleness.  These are odd words to describe military heroes, at least by today’s standards, because today, military men are portrayed as manly men who do not show much emotion, just stoically save people.

Compliments of:

        Jake Hoffman (Beowulf Returns Home and The Dragon Awakes)
        Nakesha Willis, Lesther Villanueva, Shane Hunter,Maddie Klusendorf, Danny Luu, Kelsey Robertson, and Maddison Hill

My Opinion Is Not (A) Right

1. -Limbic: the part of your brain that deals with emotions
2. -When somebody confronts us, our limbic system takes over the mammalian part of our brain, letting our emotions under cut our reasoning.
3. -In cases like this, we do not listen to people's logic, and we just claim "I have the right to my own opinion"
4. *note to self, do not try to explain theoretical physics quickly 
5. -Everybody has their own opinion, but we should probably try to ignore their opinion when trying to         save them from danger

First Week Assesment

1. Are there any factors that you think are going to affect your participation or experience in this class? Access to a computer?  Mobile/smart phone?  Transportation?  Friends/family? Schedule?

Technology and transportation are not a problem for me, except for the fact that I get home very late, due to needs of my family, and do not have access to a computer until about 6:00 daily.  I also have many activities, such as band and volunteering, and 4 other AP classes that I need time for, on top of the work for this class, so I end up staying up late nightly, even when I am making full use of my time.  Finally, I as you know, my family is going through some rough times, medically, and I need time to support my parents.

1. Think of an awesome best ever learning experience that changed you. What did you learn? Where were you? What happened? Who else was there? Did it teach you anything about how you learn (or pay attention... or remember, or think?) How did you know what was happening? 

A great learning experience for me was Boys State.  I learned many things, in a variety of areas, including how to be  social, to play my trumpet better, and most importantly how our government works.  I was at Boys State at Sacramento State University, and it was the most immersive, and accurate mock government available.  The other people there were the 1041 best and brightest boys from  each of California’s high schools, and a few counselors.  It taught me that I learn by listening, paying attention and doing.  I knew what was happening by paying attention to my surroundings.

1. What are you most [excited/concerned] about in this class? What do you look forward to in learning?  How do you think it can/will make a practical difference in your life?

I am most excited about learning in this class, but am frankly very concerned about the work load, I am getting it done, but at the expense of many other aspects of my life.  I look forward to learning Beowulf, as that is an interesting story, and I look forward to becoming a better writer.  I think that the class will teach me to be a better writer, and to use technology to its fullest capabilities.

Vocabulary #1

adumbrate- to represent in outline, or to foreshadow.  In the movie The Right Stuff, the sinking of the second space capsule was adumbrated when the model of it sank to the bottom of the glass of beer.

apotheosis- the climax or highest point of development of something.  The Monty Python movies tend to not have an apotheosis, they just end.

ascetic- a lifestyle of extreme self discipline. The ascetic jews are perhaps the most true to the religion than most jews.

bauble- a small trinket.  In the book The Horned King, by Lloyd Alexander, Eilonwy has a bauble.

beguile- to charm or enchant somebody deceptively. Fox news beguiles its watchers into siding with its views.

burgeon- to grow rapidly, or exponentially. Yellowstone’s deer population burgeoned when the local wolf population there was hunted to extinction. 

complement- a thing that completes or brings to perfection.  That 35 degree angle complements that 55 degree one quite nicely.

contumacious- willfully or stubbornly disobedient to authority.  Rosa Parks was rightfully contumacious when she disobeyed the bus driver by not leaving her seat

curmudgeon- a cantankerous old man (or person in general). In Up, the main character pretends to be a curmudgeon to hide his sadness in life.

didactic- intending to teach, usually moralistic teaching.  People like Aristotle and religious teachers give didactic lectures

disingenuous- to be insincere, usually by treating somebody like they are at a different level of understanding than you know they are.  It is really obstreperous when you get a disingenuous substitute teacher in high school that treats you like you are four.

exculpate- to show somebody as not guilty.  In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus tries to exculpate Tom from wrongful blame. 

faux pas- an embarrassing or tactless remark in a social situation.  Many high school students do not want their parents around in case they make faux pas remarks about them. 

fulminate- to vehemently protest.  Teachers across the nation are fulminating about the common core curriculum.

fustian- pompous writing.  After the normally amiable professor one the nobel prize, his emails became full of fustian.

hauteur- disdainful pride.  In Pride and Prejudice, Mr Darcy seemed full hauteur at first.

inhibit- to restrain.  Inhibitor proteins make it impossible for our DNA to be used, until detached by a ligand.

jeremiad- a long, mournful lamentation.  In writing our college personal statements, we must make sure that they are not jeremiads, so that the college does not just think that we are whining.

opportunist- a person who takes advantage of a situation for self gain.  Most robbers are just opportunists.

unconscionable- Not right or reasonable.  The USC shirt that Mr. Nesper wore on friday was an unconscionable abomination.

Essay #2: Montaigne and Austen

Montaigne/ Austen Essay

“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.” This was David Foster Wallace’s way of saying that our brain is a wondrous machine, electronic impulses through the various axons and dendrites connect in a massive web, mapping the human experience through chemicals and the movement of electrons.   This huge web of cells causes us to associate things with one another, due to similarities in experiences, and repeated exposure to things.  This association and inter connection, as the above quote says, is to huge for us to explain with our language, or even to ourselves.  Many people have attempted to outline this phenomena, as to explain themselves, and how they work, to themselves.  One such man was Michael de Montaigne, in his book “Essais,” or attempts, attempts at mapping his brain.

When Michael set about writing his essays, he did not care about becoming a great writer, he just wanted to explain his brain.  By writing what came to his mind, when he effectively made this “sketch” of his brains, that Wallace so described.  Montaigne’s essays were not scripted of carefully revised like one that would be written for academic purposes, but more like a videotape of his thoughts.  In this way, we can see everything that he is thinking about, and see how somebody else’s mind works.  In many of his essays, he shows how the brain is not focused on one topic, but a dynamic system.  He maps how his thoughts can start at one view he has, and rapidly go through his experiences, each one pertaining to its predecessor, and eventually ending up very different from the original, much like the game “Six Degrees of  Kevin Bacon.”  This method of writing also gives readers a tour through Montaigne’s emotions.

Montaigne’s writing journey through his mind and emotions is much like Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, as both works are attempts to put on paper the lives of their authors.  In Austen’s case, the character of Elizabeth Bennet is Austen’s attempt to explain how she would act.  Everything Lizzie does is a reflection on herself, and how she would act in these situations.  Like Montaigne, she is holding a study of herself through her writing, to see how she works.  The author’s books were just as much for themselves as for the reader, and they took their writing seriously.

Essays and Pride and Prejudice are also very different.  Montaigne had a very dry, and arguably more efficient, approach toward his goal of self discovery.  While writing, he just wrote what came to mind, giving a convoluted web of thoughts on a paper, much like the workings of the brain.  Austen on the other hand had a much more interesting, and deeper, approach.  Instead of just thinking about things and writing what she though, she decided to put herself into different situations, so that she could better understand how situations would cause her to react.  Austen’s method may be a better way to understand yourself, because what are thoughts if you do not know how you would react.  After reading both works, I feel that I know Austen much better, as I have seen her in many different scenarios.  On the other hand, I know how Michael de Montaigne is wired, possibly letting me make inferences on what he will think about.  

Poetry #1

1. From what poem/author does this commercial borrow (without credit)? 
        The commercial borrows its poem from The Laughing Heart by Charles Bukowski

2. Why might the use of this poem by a corporation be considered ironic? 
        This use of the poem may be seen ironic, as the poem is meant to uplift the people who feel that they have absolutely nothing to live for, which are usually poor or depressed people.  The poor people would not be able to afford Levi brand jeans, as jeans are extremely expensive, and Levi is a well known brand, and the depressed people would not care about something as trivial as name brand jeans.

3. Does the poem reflect the reputation of the author? Why/why not? 
        No, the poem does not reflect Bukowski's reputation at all, because he was known as the "laureate of American lowlife" for writing about the lives of poor Americans, such as alcoholism, relationships, and the hardships derivative of work.  He did not write about name brand luxuries meant for people of the middle and upper classes.

4. How did you find the answers to #1 & #3? Describe your research process and your sources in detail.
        Well, after I watched the video, I typed in "your life is your life" into google, and clicked on the first link that happened to be this: http://thebestamericanpoetry.typepad.com/the_best_american_poetry/2008/11/the-laughing-he.html.  After reading the poem, I answered questions one and two, and then typed in "Charles B" into google, and looked at the google suggestions.  The third suggestion was "Charles Bukowski," so I clicked on the link, and then clicked on the first link: http://bukowski.net.  After reading this page, I decided to read Bukowski's Wikipedia article (and if you are anti-Wikipedea, the site is actually well managed, and the staff prevents and deletes misinformation on the site), and after reading that, I had enough information to answer question three.

Essay #1: Poisonwood Bible

Daniel Rucker

8-13-13

Period 3

AP English Lit

Separation

The human race is scared of separation from what is known.  Many people are scared of new places, new people and change in general.   We constantly search for similarity in the world around us.  This dislike of separation- of difference and diversity- has caused many problems in our world, from disrespecting foreign cultures, to belief wars like the Crusades.  Many of our stories, such as Star Wars, The Hobbit and Siddhartha, deal with the various reactions of people when they are separated from what is known to the main character.  A prime example of this topic of separation is seen by the character of Leah Price, from Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible.  Leah is separated from her simple upbringing in Georgia when she goes to the Belgian Congo on a Mission trip.  The book partly explores Leah’s reaction to this change of culture, how it is both alienating and enriching to her, and how her experience in the Congo makes The Poisonwood Bible a meaningful story.

Leah’s experience in the Congo is completely foreign to her.  She was separated from her culture on all levels: things like birthdays, religion and family all changed just by leaving Georgia.  She, along with her other sisters, lost their American traditions, like birthday cakes and the respect given to them for being a religious family, causing Leah to be personally alienated from the new society, as she was shocked by these sudden changes, and thus not immediately open to the Congolese.  Besides loosing all of these aspects of her life, she also did not fit in completely with the Congolese society, which, upon arrival was completely alien to her and her sisters.  She, along with the rest of her family did not follow or understand the social rules that the congo already had in place.  They felt the women were indecent, as the Congolese women went around topless, but the Congolese felt the same about them, as the Price’s did not completely cover their legs.  Leah was also not able to completely follow the Congolese culture herself.  For instance, her and her family were used to eating three large meals a day, but they were looked upon as gluttonous, as the Congolese only ate one small but filling meal every day.  She was also going against their society when she went hunting, as the Congolese did not have female hunters.  These differences in society caused her to be alienated by the congolese, as she was viewed as a gluttonous, indecent, rogue.  

This trip to the Congo was also very enlightening to Leah.  In being fully immersed into a different culture, she could see what was right with both her original, American culture, and this new Congolese one.  The faults that she found with her own culture enlightened her, because she was able to discern what was right and wrong with her way of life.  She understood that her religion, or at least her father’s version of it, was very ignorant and narrow minded, and she could see that it only worked in the context of countries that are well off, and can still survive for one day to go without food, or who could survive of working inside and treating their body as a “temple.”   When she learned about the politics of both the Congo and America, she learned that her society was not right in trying to “modernize” the Congolese, as they have had their own society and culture for many thousands of years, and it suits them just as well as democracy and capitalism suit us.  She understood that the United States did not want democracy to reign, merely capitalism, as seen in their help in the overturn of Lumumba.  Seeing the faults in the Congolese society, such as the extremely rigid gender roles, allowed Leah to see that her society was also not completely wrong, which allowed her to pick the positives out of both societies, and become a better person.

This balance between cultures, in Leah’s perspective, shows that no culture is wholly great, and that all cultures, like people, have positives and negatives.  It also shows that we should not go and try to keep changing the people around us: their culture, politics, religion and way of life works for them, we should not go about changing them.  Just because a certain lifestyle, political system or religion works for a culture, does not mean that it will work for another, because all cultures have different values.  As a whole, Leah’s presence in the book tells us that we should always respect differences and embrace diversity, and always work towards self betterment through new discoveries.

My Big Question:

Why are people 100% ok with being ignorant? We have a vibrant and diverse world out there, why don't we want to learn all that it has to teach us?

I wrote this post way back in June, but never got around to posting it:

    Hello all! You have found your way to my blog, I welcome you here, and I am very excited that you are here. If you have any British comedies that I haven't seen, please tell me about them, thank you.

     Anyways, I am writing to display my views about two tragedies that happened, and that are happening, on this warm,  Californian Monday in May.  I could have written this as a post on Facebook, or as a Tumblr post, but those sites are places where people go to forum about friends, their day, Monty Python and The Who; but I did not intend this to be a happy post, and I do not want to ruin a person's day, so I figured I should put it on this newborn blog that does not yet have a reputation, as I can delete it if I need to.

    First, a great musician and UCLA graduate died today.  When I heard about this, I happened to be listening to "Tell All the People," which is the first song on the first side of The Doors' classic album Soft Parade. Upon hearing that Ray Manzarek, the keyboard player for The Doors, had passed away, due to complications from bile duct (the tube that transports bile from one's liver [bile's place of origin], to one's stomach) cancer. This distressed me for two reasons, the first being that I had been going through a Doors stage lately, and that this was a horrible loss for the world; and the second, and far more distressing reason, was that it hit very close to home with the fact that in late 2011, my maternal grandfather and best friend, Roy Hughes, had died, due to digestive tract problems that had occurred due to complications to lymphatic cancer, and various other recent cancer problems in my family.  The death of Mr. Manzarek is also personally significant, because I got through the June 2012 death of my paternal Grandfather, Dr. John W. Rucker Jr., and the repercussions of his death by listening to "Riders on the Storm," and "Light My Fire" on the classic Los Angeles radio station, KLOS.  My heart goes out to his wife, Dorothy Fujikawa, and who ever else was close to the UCLA alumnus, and keyboardist.  Since I heard about this, I have listened to the albums Strange Days, and L.A Woman, mourning. 

    Finally, I am completely humbled by the horrific storm ravaging Oklahoma City. I am praying for the countless families who have been affected by the storm, as well as mourn with them. I would like to commend the teachers of Plaza Towers Elementary and Briarwood Elementary who risked and gave their lives for the well being of their students. I hope the death toll does not get bigger than it currently is, and that the Storm will soon pass, and that Oklahoma City will soon heal from this horrific wound.