Thursday, October 30, 2014

Jonathan Safran Foer Webinar Reaction Assignment

1) On October 28,2014 my class and I watched a persuasive video presented by Jonathan Safran Foer. The title of the video was Jonathan Safran Foer Webenar.

  • One specific moment that stood out to me was when Foer stated that "76 million Americans get food poisoning each year." That is a crazy amount of people. This is all because of the foods that we consume. Foer stated that the main source of food poisoning is animal agriculture. Animals are not the same as they were years ago. They are being subjected to more these days which make them primarily not safe to eat.
  • Another moment that stood out to me was when Foer said that when doing his research he went to factory farmers who make hot dogs and they said that they would never consume a hot dog themselves. They are the only people who know every ingredient that goes into making hot dogs.
  •  "99% of American Agriculture is now factory farming." This really stood out to me because Foer further explains that their isn't live stock running around farms like back in the day. Packaging that says free ranged chicken and non hormone beef is all lies. Foer really did his research and put these companies out on front street. I don't understand how this false advertisement is legal.

2) This presentation can relate to my life because I actually tried being a vegetarian. I didn't have any support though. Which made it harder. I considered becoming a vegetarian because I just all of a sudden stopped liking the taste of meat. It really disgusted me. My mom got mad at me though. She said that I was just being picky and that I was going to make it harder for her to cook because I'm Mexican and our food always has meat. This is true which is why I am not a vegetarian although after learning these facts from Foer I think I might consider it again.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Latin Roots #5

Roots and Derivatives
  1. cent(i): hundred
  2. cid(e): cut, kill
  3. clam, claim: cry out, declare
  4. cord, cour: heart
Word List
  1. bicentennial: a celebration of a two hundredth anniversary; happening once in a period of two hundred years or lasting two hundred years
  2. centenarian: a person who has lived to be one hundred years old
  3. centurion: a Roman officer commanding one hundred men; related to the military mind, especially as it favors military solutions for handling social problems
  4. clamorous: characterized by continuous loud and complaining voices; noisily complaining: insistent
  5. concise: covering much in few words: brief and to the point
  6. concordance: a condition of harmony or agreement; an alphabetical index indicating reference passages, as from a writer's works
  7. cordial: of the heart; warm and friendly; amiable
  8. discordant: harsh or inharmonious; clashing
  9. genocide: the systematic experimentation of an ethnic group
  10. incisive: keenly penetrating, cutting into
  11. proclamation: an official statement or announcement that informs or honors
  12. reclaim: to claim again; to restore to former importance or usefulness
Sentences
  1. The family had a bicentennial for their great-great-great-great grandfather's death.
  2. Their grandfather was a centenarian.
  3. After serving in the war the man could not shake his centurion.
  4. My grandmother is very clamorous which is embarrassing in public.
  5. She gave a concise speech that still managed to make the audience tear up.
  6. The concordance in the book helped the students get their work done faster.
  7. The love letter that the girl received was written in a cordial manner.
  8. She spat the discordant words at her enemy like she was no more than gum on her shoe.
  9. We learned about the most famous genocide when reading the book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
  10. The harsh words spoken were incisive to the other girls self esteem.
  11. The young man was nervous to announce the proclamation on live television.
  12. The king planned to reclaim his respect in his kingdom.

Monday, October 6, 2014

Latin Roots #4

Roots and Derivatives
  1. bon, boun: good
  2. capit, capt: head chief, leader
  3. carn(i): flesh
  4. ced(e), ceed, cess: go, yield, surrender
Word List
  1. accession: the attainment of a certain rank or dignity; an increase by means of something added; the act of becoming joined
  2. bona fide: in good faith; genuine
  3. bonanza: a sudden and unexpected source of money or riches; a windfall
  4. bounteous: inclined to be generous; plentiful and abundant
  5. capitulation: a surrendering, usually upon prearranged terms or conditions; a final giving up
  6. carnage: a great slaughter, as in a battle
  7. carnivorous: flesh-eating, as an animal
  8. incarnate: literally, in the flesh; in bodily form; personified; flesh-colored
  9. intercede: to act on another's behalf; to meditate
  10. precedent: a previous act or decision taken as a valid model; a having gone before
  11. recapitulation: a brief repetition; a summary, as of what has already been said
  12. reincarnation: a thing that is reborn, or comes back into being, although perhaps in a different (bodily) form
Sentences
  1. After getting promoted the employees accession was considered higher.
  2. Her charity work showed her bona fide personality.
  3. Winning the lottery caused a bonanza in the young mans life.
  4. The young man now had a bounteous amount of money.
  5. The capitulation to her marriage showed upon the young girls face.
  6. The carnage of the war was too much to see and bare.
  7. The man attacked his dinner of ribs like a carnivorous beast.
  8. The stunt double in the movie looked like an incarnate of the actress she was portraying.
  9. The understudy for the play had to intercede because the lead got very ill.
  10. It was hard to live up to the precedent play, but the actors managed.
  11. Shakespeare's plays often need a recapitulation to be understood.
  12. My mom enjoys watching a show where young kids claim to be the reincarnation of people who have actually lived before.  

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Literary Analysis Frankenstein by Mary Shelley


1) This novel is initially told through the eyes of an adventurer named Robert Walton. On his journey through the northern ice he saves a man named Victor Frankenstein. Walton expresses his love for adventure to the stranger he encountered, so Frankenstein sees this as an opportunity to warn or give a lesson to Walton. After this the story is narrated by Victor Frankenstein as he tells Robert Walton of his adventures and discoveries.

2) The theme of this novel is everything comes with a price that must be paid. Victor Frankenstein did something that no man should be able to do. He did this out of pure curiosity. He eventually did pay the price for what he did. I think the author chose to write about this because it is a good lesson to learn. The unknown isn't known for a reason. Reasons that shouldn't be tested.

3) I chose this book because my favorite holiday is Halloween and Frankenstein's story is a huge part of that. This book has intrigued me since I was much younger than I am now. I have always wanted to read this book. What made me not want to put it down is because I know the outline of the story of Frankenstein, but like many people I didn't know what became of the monster in the end. This compelled me to read on and finish the book.

4) Of course this book isn't realistic. I mean to create man you need a soul and you can't make that out of scrapped body parts. I was unable to make any connections to this story because this book is fiction. Most of this book is unrealistic, but the message behind it was still a good lesson.

5) The authors tone was regret and shame. It was this because it was narrated by Victor Frankenstein who was confessing his choices and regrets to Robert Walton. "I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful energy, show signs of life and stir with an uneasy, half vital motion." "It was on a dreary night of November, that I beheld the accomplishments of my toils." "But I was a wretch, and none ever conceived of the misery that I then endured."

6) The whole story was told in a formal diction. Even when the author was using imagery to describe what the monster looked like which can be found in Chapter IV page 78. This helped strengthen my understanding of the author's purpose because it better expressed the disgust and amazement of the Victor Frankenstein.

Characterization:

1) Two examples of direct characterization are when the author describes Victor Frankenstein's father and his cousin Elizabeth Lavenza. Just by the things that these characters said I was able to tell what kind of personalities they had. Two examples of indirect characterization was when the author described Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein these characters developed and progressed throughout the story.

2) The author's diction does not change when different characters speak. They all have the same proper grammar and speech.

3) The protagonist is a dynamic character and round of course. The protagonist is dynamic because he changes a lot throughout the story. He goes from being curious to afraid of the unknown. His experience completely changed his character and way of thinking.

4) After reading this novel I feel like I met a new person. I was able to feel the panic and worry that Victor Frankenstein felt. I almost felt as though he was telling me his story and discoveries. I enjoyed this very much.

Enduring Memory:
Something from this novel that I will remember is the complete message behind it. I have always thought of myself as a curious person. Although, after reading this novel I think I might change that. Curiosity really does kill the cat. I will not spoil the ending, but I will say that this novel does not have a happy ending. "Like one who, on a lonely road, doth walk in fear and dread, and, having once turn'd round, walks on, and turns no more his head; because he knows a frightful fiend doth close behind him tread." (Shelley 83)

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Cupid and Psyche

Main Characters:
Cupid-tall, blonde, and handsome (a god) sometimes nice sometimes not
Psyche-really beautiful (human) sweet and naive
Aphrodite-beautiful (goddess) vain and evil

Setting:
Cupid's house-luxurious gold, silver, and ivory palace, with exquisitely maintained gardens, crystal-clear fountains. Not to mention the twenty-four hour gourmet kitchen and invisible servants.

Main Plot:
Aphrodite is jealous that everyone thinks that Psyche is more beautiful or equally as beautiful as her. So Aphrodite tells her son Cupid to get Psyche to fall in love with a grubby red neck, so that she will be frowned upon rather than praised for her beauty.

Main Conflict:
When cupid goes to shoot Psyche with one of his arrows he gets stunned by her beauty and ends up accidentally poking himself with one of his own arrows. He then immediately falls in love with Psyche, but he flies away because he knows his mother wouldn't like that.

Attempts to Explain:
This myth attempts to explain the human flaw of of jealousy and being vain.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Latin Roots #3

Roots and Derivatives
  1. aud(it): hear
  2. avi: bird
  3. bell(i): war
  4. ben(e): good, well
Word List
  1. antebellum: before the war especially the American Civil War, typical of how things were before any war
  2. audit: to attend a class only as a listener, not for credit; to check or examine a company's financial records; the process of making such examinations
  3. auditory: related to the sense of hearing
  4. avian: characteristics of or pertaining to birds
  5. aviary: an elaborate structure for housing birds
  6. avionics: the technology of (using) electronic equipment in aviation, missilery, and space flight
  7. bellicose: eager to fight or quarrel; hostile
  8. belligerency: the condition of warlike hostility; a hostile action
  9. benefactor:a person who gives another (financial) help; a patron
  10. beneficiary: one who receives a benefit (of payment) as from an insurance policy
  11. benign: not malignant; gracious and kindly; good-natured
  12. inaudible: unable to be heard
Sentences
  1. I love the band Lady Antebellum.
  2. The doctor in training had to audit the experienced doctors appointments.
  3. The old ladies auditory was decreasing over time.
  4. For the play the young girl had to learn to be avian to be the swan.
  5. The father was helping his young kids build an aviary.
  6. The college student was majoring in avionics.
  7. I was bellicose when my sister took my phone charger. 
  8. My sister's belligerency was asking for a fight.
  9. My mom wants to become a benefactor to help people.
  10. After the car accident the victim became a beneficiary.
  11. Even though my sister and I fight I still tell people that she is benign
  12. My hearing problems have made many things inaudible over time.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Latin Roots #2

Roots and Derivatives
  1. anni, annu, enni (year): anniversary, semiannual, biennial, bicentennial, annuity
  2. aqua, aque (water): aquatic, aqueduct, aquarium, aqualung, subaqueous, aquamarine
  3. arm (arm,weapon): army, alarm, disarm, armaments, armory, armor
  4. art (art, craft, skill): artistic, artificial, inarticulate, artmobile, article, artificer 
Word List
  1. aqua: the hue of the sea; bluish-green
  2. aquaculture: the cultivation of water plants and animals for human food
  3. aqueous: like, of, or formed by water; watery
  4. armada: fleet of warships
  5. armature: equipment or clothing for battle, or any protective covering; an arm like extension
  6. armistice: a temporary suspension of hostilities by mutual agreements, as a truce preliminary to a peace treaty
  7. artifact: any object produced by the art of the human hand; simple or primitive objects from the distant past
  8. artifice: cunning ingenuity; clever or sly trickery
  9. artisan: a person skilled at a craft, usually a handicraft
  10. millennium: a period of peace and great prosperity; a thousand years
  11. perennial: year after year; throughout the years; a plant that blooms annually
  12. superannuated: a worm out, or retired from age and years of use of hard work; obsolete or outdated
Sentences
  1. The sunset reflected beautifully off of the aqua color of the sea.
  2. Vegetarians would not like the idea of aquaculture.
  3. The stain on the carpet was aqueous, so it wasn't anything to worry about.
  4. In history class we were learning about the french armada.
  5. Polices armature is their bullet proof vests.
  6. The enemies wrote a armistice just until they could gather more troops.
  7. The mother gave her daughter the family artifact from the late eighteen hundreds.
  8. Many magicians are artifice.
  9. My sister is artisan when it comes to art.
  10. The young girl felt like it took a millennium for the concert when it only took two months.
  11. The girls cancer decreased perennial, but her family was still worried.
  12. My grandfather can't wait to be superannuated because he has been working since he was seven years old.