Authoritarian (adj.) favoring or enforcing strict obedience to authority, esp. that of the government, at the expense of personal freedom
• showing a lack of concern for the wishes or opinions of others; domineering; dictatorial : he had an authoritarian and at times belligerent manner.
Ecstatic (adj.)1 feeling or expressing overwhelming happiness or joyful excitement : ecstatic fans filled the stadium.
2 involving an experience of mystic self-transcendence : an ecstatic vision of God.
Formidable (adj.) inspiring fear or respect through being impressively large, powerful, intense, or capable : a formidable opponent
Guerrillas (n) a member of a small independent group taking part in irregular fighting, typically against larger regular forces : this small town fell to the guerrillas | [as adj. ] guerrilla warfare.
Honed verb [ trans. ] (usu. be honed) make sharper or more focused or efficient : their appetites were honed by fresh air and exercise.
Muse (v) [ intrans. ]be absorbed in thought : he was musing on the problems he faced.
• [with direct speech ] say to oneself in a thoughtful manner : “I think I've seen him somewhere before,” mused Rachel.• ( muse on) gaze thoughtfully at.
Perspective (n) a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view: most guidebook history is written from the editor's perspective.
Tact (n) a keen sense of the right or fitting thing to say or due so as to avoid hurting someone’s feelings; sensitivity in dealing with others or with difficult issues : the inspector broke the news to me with tact and consideration.
Allegiances (n) loyalty or commitment of a subordinate to a superior or of an individual to a group or cause
Diminish (v) make or become less : [ trans. ] a tax whose purpose is to diminish spending | [ intrans. ] the pain will gradually diminish.
Mangled (v.) [ trans. ] severely mutilate, disfigure, or damage by cutting, tearing, or crushing : the car was mangled almost beyond recognition | figurative he was mangling Bach on the piano.
Mortified (v.)( -fies, -fied) [ trans. ] 1 (often be mortified) cause (someone) to feel embarrassed, ashamed, or humiliated : [ trans. ] she was mortified to see her wrinkles in the mirror | [as adj. ] ( mortifying) she refused to accept this mortifying disgrace.
Murky (adj.) ( murkier , murkiest ) dark and gloomy, esp. due to thick mist : the sky was murky and a thin drizzle was falling.
• (of liquid) dark and dirty; not clear : the murky silt of a muddy pond.
• not fully explained or understood, esp. with concealed dishonesty or immorality : the murky world of espionage.
Spectacle (n) a visually striking performance or display : the acrobatic feats make a good spectacle | the show is pure spectacle.
• an event or scene regarded in terms of its visual impact : the spectacle of a city's mass grief.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Welcome Back
I am looking forward to working with all of you this semester. We have a large class but hopefully this just adds to our success.
Check back frequently for updates of class material and pictures I have taken in class.
Check back frequently for updates of class material and pictures I have taken in class.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
poem for final exam
Five Ways to Kill a Man
Edwin Brock
There are many cumbersome ways to kill a man.
You can make him carry a plank of wood
to the top of a hill and nail him to it.
To do this properly you require a crowd of people
wearing sandals, a cock that crows, a cloak
to dissect, a sponge, some vinegar and one
man to hammer the nails home.
Or you can take a length of steel,
shaped and chased in a traditional way,
and attempt to pierce the metal cage he wears.
But for this you need white horses,
English trees, men with bows and arrows,
at least two flags, a prince, and a
castle to hold your banquet in.
Dispensing with nobility, you may, if the wind
allows, blow gas at him. But then you need
a mile of mud sliced through with ditches,
not to mention black boots, bomb craters,
more mud, a plague of rats, a dozen songs
and some round hats made of steel.
In an age of aeroplanes, you may fly
miles above your victim and dispose of him by
pressing one small switch. All you then
require is an ocean to separate you, two
systems of government, a nation's scientists,
several factories, a psychopath and
land that no-one needs for several years.
These are, as I began, cumbersome ways to kill a man.
Simpler, direct, and much more neat is to see
that he is living somewhere in the middle
of the twentieth century, and leave him there.
Edwin Brock
There are many cumbersome ways to kill a man.
You can make him carry a plank of wood
to the top of a hill and nail him to it.
To do this properly you require a crowd of people
wearing sandals, a cock that crows, a cloak
to dissect, a sponge, some vinegar and one
man to hammer the nails home.
Or you can take a length of steel,
shaped and chased in a traditional way,
and attempt to pierce the metal cage he wears.
But for this you need white horses,
English trees, men with bows and arrows,
at least two flags, a prince, and a
castle to hold your banquet in.
Dispensing with nobility, you may, if the wind
allows, blow gas at him. But then you need
a mile of mud sliced through with ditches,
not to mention black boots, bomb craters,
more mud, a plague of rats, a dozen songs
and some round hats made of steel.
In an age of aeroplanes, you may fly
miles above your victim and dispose of him by
pressing one small switch. All you then
require is an ocean to separate you, two
systems of government, a nation's scientists,
several factories, a psychopath and
land that no-one needs for several years.
These are, as I began, cumbersome ways to kill a man.
Simpler, direct, and much more neat is to see
that he is living somewhere in the middle
of the twentieth century, and leave him there.
Ender's Game Chapter 15 answers
Some of these questions are left blank as they are opinion questions. Answer them on your own.
Chapter 15: Speaker for the Dead
1. Why do you think there is no introductory dialogue for this chapter?
2. What is Graff going to do now that the war is over? What is Anderson going to do?
Graff is going on vacation. He will use the money he has saved.
3. Why can’t Ender come back to earth?
It is far too dangerous. Peter wants to use him.
4. What happens to Locke and Demosthenes?
5. What is Card saying about manipulation in Ender's Game?
Good and bad see next response
6. How are good and evil addressed in Ender's Game?
Valentine and Ender are good
Peter is evil. Ender can be evil as he has killed two people.
The adults are evil for manipulating children. Although they believe it is for the better of the human race.
Stilson, Bonzo and Bernard are evil bullies.
7. Compare the way that Ender treats Bean to the way that Graff treats Ender. What does this say about the role of leadership or authority? Ender kills two children while only trying to defend himself. What is Card saying about violence?
He treats him the same way Graff treated him to make him a better soldier. He taught him the same way he was taught. Abuse of power- he knows that it was wrong and hard, but still felt it was the only way that Bean would achieve his true potential.
8. Is childhood a right? Does a person robbed of a "normal" childhood have any possibility of stability as an adult? Does Ender have any chance of living "happily ever after"?
Childhood is the basic foundation of adulthood. We all have our own path.
9. The Buggers communicate telepathically using no identifiable external means of communication. Was it inevitable that war would have to occur when two sentient species met but were unable to communicate?
Communication is essential for peace.
Chapter 15: Speaker for the Dead
1. Why do you think there is no introductory dialogue for this chapter?
2. What is Graff going to do now that the war is over? What is Anderson going to do?
Graff is going on vacation. He will use the money he has saved.
3. Why can’t Ender come back to earth?
It is far too dangerous. Peter wants to use him.
4. What happens to Locke and Demosthenes?
5. What is Card saying about manipulation in Ender's Game?
Good and bad see next response
6. How are good and evil addressed in Ender's Game?
Valentine and Ender are good
Peter is evil. Ender can be evil as he has killed two people.
The adults are evil for manipulating children. Although they believe it is for the better of the human race.
Stilson, Bonzo and Bernard are evil bullies.
7. Compare the way that Ender treats Bean to the way that Graff treats Ender. What does this say about the role of leadership or authority? Ender kills two children while only trying to defend himself. What is Card saying about violence?
He treats him the same way Graff treated him to make him a better soldier. He taught him the same way he was taught. Abuse of power- he knows that it was wrong and hard, but still felt it was the only way that Bean would achieve his true potential.
8. Is childhood a right? Does a person robbed of a "normal" childhood have any possibility of stability as an adult? Does Ender have any chance of living "happily ever after"?
Childhood is the basic foundation of adulthood. We all have our own path.
9. The Buggers communicate telepathically using no identifiable external means of communication. Was it inevitable that war would have to occur when two sentient species met but were unable to communicate?
Communication is essential for peace.
Monday, January 19, 2009
January Exam
Here is the outline for the exam, Wednesday at 9am.
This exam is worth 15% of your final mark
Literary Terms
Allusion
Idioms
etc
Poetry Analysis
Rhyme and rhythm patterns
Literary devices
Summary
Theme/motif
Short Fiction
Paraphrasing
Plot analysis and summary
Red herring
Poetic justice
Novel – Enders Game
Plot
Characters
Essay topic
Vocabulary – Word of the Day
Definitions
Connotation and denotation
Punctuation and Grammar
Colon
Semi- colon
Verbs
Prewriting strategies
This exam is worth 15% of your final mark
Literary Terms
Allusion
Idioms
etc
Poetry Analysis
Rhyme and rhythm patterns
Literary devices
Summary
Theme/motif
Short Fiction
Paraphrasing
Plot analysis and summary
Red herring
Poetic justice
Novel – Enders Game
Plot
Characters
Essay topic
Vocabulary – Word of the Day
Definitions
Connotation and denotation
Punctuation and Grammar
Colon
Semi- colon
Verbs
Prewriting strategies
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Ender's Game
We are beginning our novel, Ender's Game. Here is the vocabulary list for this unit.
VOCABULARY from Ender’s Game
1. malleable adj. 1) capable of being extended or shaped: capable of being altered or controlled by outside forces or influences 2: having a capacity for adaptive change. He’s too malleable. Too willing to submerge himself in someone else’s will
2. rescind vt. 1) to take away, remove, take back, cancel. 2) to abrogate (a contract) and restore the parties to the positions they would have occupied had there been no contract. 3) to make void, repeal. . . . they would like to rescind the waivers
3. forestall vt. to exclude, hinder or prevent by prior measures. Ender . . . was trying to figure out a way to forestall vengeance
4. vivisect vt. to perform vivisection on. vivisection n. 1 : the cutting of or operation on a living animal usually for physiological or pathological investigation. “We’re gonna vivisect you, bugger”
5. commiserate vi. to feel or express sympathy vt. to feel or express sorrow or compassion for. Mother came home and commiserated with Ender about the monitor
6. extenuate vt. to lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of by making partial excuses: mitigate. “We’re willing to consider extenuating circumstances” (14).
7. ambiguous adj. 1) doubtful or uncertain especially from obscurity or indistinctness. 2) capable of being understood in two or more possible senses or ways. “. . . but in fact, their feelings are still ambiguous” (16).
8. assimilation n. the act, process or state of being assimilated. assimilate. v. 1) to take in and utilize as nourishment, absorb into the system. 2) to take into the mind and thoroughly comprehend. “. . you interfere with their efforts at assimilation into normal complying society” (17).
9. disorientation n. the state of being disoriented. disorient v. to cause to lose bearings : displace from normal position or relationship. They say that weightlessness can cause disorientation (21).
10. deftly adv. characterized by facility and skill. Deftly he propelled him down the aisle. . . (24).
11. opaque adj. 1) exhibiting opacity : blocking the passage of radiant energy and especially light. 2) hard to understand or explain. . . . a sheet of opaque plastic (29).
12. flamboyant adj. 1 marked by or given to strikingly elaborate or colorful display or behavior. They were wearing much more flamboyant clothing (31).
13. maladroit n. lacking adroitness: inept, awkward. “Maladroit,” Bernard called him once, and the name stuck (36).
14. hierarchy n. 1) the classification of a group of people according to ability or to economic, social, or professional standing; also : the group so classified. 2) a graded or ranked series. Bernard was setting up a kingdom . . . [and] established the hierarchy (36).
15. dissociate vt. to separate from association or union with another. . . . trying to dissociate himself from her contempt for the boys . . . (57).
16. contempt n. the state of mind of one who despises; disdain. . . . her contempt for the boys . . . (57).
17. swagger vi. 1) to conduct oneself in an arrogant or pompous manner; especially to walk with an air of overbearing self-confidence. He was imitating her swaggering way of speaking . . . (57).
18. initiative n. 1) an introductory step. 2) energy or aptitude displayed in initiation of action : enterprise. . . . the individual soldiers were given little initiative (61).
19. gall vt. to irritate, vex. [I]t seemed as if Ender were granting him his command as a favor. Galling, and yet he had no choice (63).
20. magnanimous adj. showing or suggesting a lofty spirit, nobility of feeling and generosity of mind. Ender had beaten him . . . by being magnanimous (63).
21. orientation n. a general direction of inclination or interest; alignment. Ender had found the orientation that made sense (64).
22. carnage n. 1) the flesh of slain animals or men. 2) great and usually bloody slaughter or injury. . . . they hoped the enemy would overlook them in the carnage (67).
VOCABULARY from Ender’s Game
1. malleable adj. 1) capable of being extended or shaped: capable of being altered or controlled by outside forces or influences 2: having a capacity for adaptive change. He’s too malleable. Too willing to submerge himself in someone else’s will
2. rescind vt. 1) to take away, remove, take back, cancel. 2) to abrogate (a contract) and restore the parties to the positions they would have occupied had there been no contract. 3) to make void, repeal. . . . they would like to rescind the waivers
3. forestall vt. to exclude, hinder or prevent by prior measures. Ender . . . was trying to figure out a way to forestall vengeance
4. vivisect vt. to perform vivisection on. vivisection n. 1 : the cutting of or operation on a living animal usually for physiological or pathological investigation. “We’re gonna vivisect you, bugger”
5. commiserate vi. to feel or express sympathy vt. to feel or express sorrow or compassion for. Mother came home and commiserated with Ender about the monitor
6. extenuate vt. to lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of by making partial excuses: mitigate. “We’re willing to consider extenuating circumstances” (14).
7. ambiguous adj. 1) doubtful or uncertain especially from obscurity or indistinctness. 2) capable of being understood in two or more possible senses or ways. “. . . but in fact, their feelings are still ambiguous” (16).
8. assimilation n. the act, process or state of being assimilated. assimilate. v. 1) to take in and utilize as nourishment, absorb into the system. 2) to take into the mind and thoroughly comprehend. “. . you interfere with their efforts at assimilation into normal complying society” (17).
9. disorientation n. the state of being disoriented. disorient v. to cause to lose bearings : displace from normal position or relationship. They say that weightlessness can cause disorientation (21).
10. deftly adv. characterized by facility and skill. Deftly he propelled him down the aisle. . . (24).
11. opaque adj. 1) exhibiting opacity : blocking the passage of radiant energy and especially light. 2) hard to understand or explain. . . . a sheet of opaque plastic (29).
12. flamboyant adj. 1 marked by or given to strikingly elaborate or colorful display or behavior. They were wearing much more flamboyant clothing (31).
13. maladroit n. lacking adroitness: inept, awkward. “Maladroit,” Bernard called him once, and the name stuck (36).
14. hierarchy n. 1) the classification of a group of people according to ability or to economic, social, or professional standing; also : the group so classified. 2) a graded or ranked series. Bernard was setting up a kingdom . . . [and] established the hierarchy (36).
15. dissociate vt. to separate from association or union with another. . . . trying to dissociate himself from her contempt for the boys . . . (57).
16. contempt n. the state of mind of one who despises; disdain. . . . her contempt for the boys . . . (57).
17. swagger vi. 1) to conduct oneself in an arrogant or pompous manner; especially to walk with an air of overbearing self-confidence. He was imitating her swaggering way of speaking . . . (57).
18. initiative n. 1) an introductory step. 2) energy or aptitude displayed in initiation of action : enterprise. . . . the individual soldiers were given little initiative (61).
19. gall vt. to irritate, vex. [I]t seemed as if Ender were granting him his command as a favor. Galling, and yet he had no choice (63).
20. magnanimous adj. showing or suggesting a lofty spirit, nobility of feeling and generosity of mind. Ender had beaten him . . . by being magnanimous (63).
21. orientation n. a general direction of inclination or interest; alignment. Ender had found the orientation that made sense (64).
22. carnage n. 1) the flesh of slain animals or men. 2) great and usually bloody slaughter or injury. . . . they hoped the enemy would overlook them in the carnage (67).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)