Knowledge

   Knowledge is a very complex subject one in which many quest to fully understand about certain subjects. People in our world strive to learn more because as we gain better comprehension we grow as individuals and excel in our subject areas. The main problem with knowledge is wanting to know more than is permitted or just wanting to know more than one should, not only in social aspects but in the greater universe as well. I question knowledge from a different perspective to challenge what I already know. By fully understanding something we can thus forward our society with innovations and teach others and that is the true gift of knowledge, being able to pass it down so everyone can spread and use it for a greater good. Personally by staying focused in school and absorbing all my teacher's reveal to me I will be able to acquire a greater knowledge one that will help me not only in college but in bigger terms of life. On the other hand it's important to use what we know wisely because knowing to much too soon can extremely effect a downpour of traumatic events, hence in Victor Frankenstein's situation. His thirst for knowledge was so great that he was consumed by his studies, after learning everything there is to know he felt this intuition to build an out of the ordinary creature, one who ended up hurting Victor because of his boundary breaking obsession. To end things off a typical cliche "Knowledge is the key to success" can be proven both true and false based on an individuals desire to do with it.

weekly blog 10/3

The theory I choose to further study and incorporate into the Hamlet unit is Psychological studies. I think exploring peoples thoughts and motivations is a very unique strategy which is importatant in figuring out certain meanings of events. The actions behind our motives are questionable to others and being able to study and find meaning in those actions can help us as a society come together.

 Based on differant texts and even events in our lives, people respond differantly based on their own experiances, in regards to that the human mind is so complex in all aspects that analyzing and describing people's reactions can be an exceptional task.
Looking closer into Hamlet itself, the entire umbrella of Psychology has so many differant meanings and explorations that there are certain characters and events we must choose to focus on. There are also a great deal of psychological studies available in regards to peoples actions and behaviors and their environments, for example. I think being able to look at the psychological aspect of Hamlet will really allows us to connect with the text emotionally because we will be basing it off our own reactions and experiances as well. Lastly in some way or another all the stratagies somehow interwind, so studying psychology will allows us to not only further understand what we are reading but also communicate with our peers, looking through a differant lense.

SIX WEEK REFLECTION

Its crazy to think how fast the first six weeks have passed and how quickly senior year is flying by. To think that high school is ending is such a bittersweet thought, but I am excited to get out and go to college and experience new things. Working on college apps while balancing classes can be a struggle so I'm trying to stay focused as possible because the due dates are quickly approaching! Looking back on these first weeks, I think I am having a great senior year, and I couldn't have asked for better classes or teachers because all the information I am absorbing and learning is so useful and interesting to me. I hope in the next six weeks to come to keep working on maintaining the right balance and keeping my grades up.

weekly blog 9/12

Last week in class we focused on Oedipus the King and it helped me

begin thinking about the themes and overall idea of tragedy.

 It was interesting to learn about the Greek God's and their perceptions

 on how people should live day by day and not so much for the future.

Oedipus made that mistake clearly and ended up living an unhappy life sadly

fulfilling what the God's had expected. Oedipus’s fate was in the hands of the gods,

 and after they revealed the message of his crazy future, his parents wanted to change

 it and make the best for him. But instead of helping him as they intended, they only

 furthered his downfall. Everyone has their own destiny and everything happens for a reason,

 because in the end it will all find its place and work out, one way or another. As I think

about my own future in this crazy time of Transition from high school to college I wonder

how each days event's will outplay and I remember that I t need to maintain my focus, and as

 cliché as it sounds, live in the moment. I personally strongly believe that fulfilling each

 day’s wants and needs will help enhance an individual’s life and morale.

On another note it was quite coincidental studying tragedy while the San Bruno

 fire occurred because that is something no one would have ever expected. It’s unfamiliar to have

such a devastating event hit so close to home because you only hear about events similar

to this occurring around the world, and you don't comprehend the full seriousness of the situation,

and that it really could happen to anyone. Studying tragedy and dealing with all the current issues

 in our society can greatly increase a person’s need to live each day, day by day because you

never know what’s going to happen in the future.  

critical response

In the poem "Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson irony plays a major role in the outcome of events that occur at the end. To the reader Richard Cory seems like he is living the perfect and most ideal life style, almost that he is better than others. What's ironic is that the entire town believed that he was living a happy life when in truth he was miserable clearly being stated at the end, "And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, Went home and put a bullet through his head"(14-15). Not only did Robinson make it a point that he wasn't happy  but by adding in a calm summer night he is using two far reaching comparisons to make his point with the help of situational and verbal irony. This poem is teaching a good moral in that not everything is always as it seems, and having money and grace may not always be enough to bring you true happiness. Richard Cory's life was far from happy and simply just a fallacy in the towns people's eyes.

Work Cited
Robinson, Edwin Arlington. "Richard Cory." The Bedford Introduction to Literature.Ed. Michael Meyer. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008.927-28

weekly blog 8/29

During last weeks class we spent a lot of time on refining our own definitions of literature in order to help with the essay coming up. I think by reading different people's aspects of literature and discussing it as a class has allowed me to come up with my own definition of what it is. I also thought it was interesting when Mr. Burke asked us to define ourselves. That made me stop and really think about how someone would define themselves and it was an interesting activity. Buddies also occurred this week  so I missed two days of class, catching up wasn't too difficult and I look forward to what we learn this week.

weekly blog 8/23

I think after analyzing the poem as a class, and seeing the painting it began to help me think about the actual meaning of the poem that wasn't clear to me in the beginning. Discussing the history and even what literature means to us was very helpful in assessing the poem at hand. I was able to come to the realization that Yates was reiterating to the reader how he believes life and the world goes about in cycles and once the cycles ends something terrible must occur, so humans can put it back together and continue the cycle on and on.