AP Lit Connections

            I am planning on attending Michigan State this coming fall, and I am looking into the freshman seminar abroad this summer in Ireland. To apply for the program, I have to write several essays. This is where my writing improvement plan—and everything else I’ve learned—came in handy. I unleashed everything I know to help strengthen my essays. Below is one that I wrote to answer the question: “Describe a time you have interacted with someone different than yourself; focus specifically on how you dealt with the situation.”

This past summer, I traveled to Beijing, China with my mother. In the months leading up to our departure, I heard countless stories from friends and family who have traveled there about how strikingly different it is from the United States. I listened to each account trying to prepare myself for the inevitable culture shock; however, nothing could have trained me for the eye – opening experience that was my trip to Beijing.

            The Silk Market is a quintessential example of the stark differences between American and Chinese culture. In this several story mall, vendors are grabbing, yelling, following, and harassing shoppers to hopefully procure a purchase. An environment like this would intimidate and make most people uncomfortable, but all I could do was smile. How could I not? This experience is unfathomable in America.

Instead of shying away from the aggressive vendors, I embraced it with open arms. Every time my mother and I would be interested in buying something, we would begin a conversation with the vendor tending to us. We inquired about their day, their favorite things, and what they liked to do: we made jokes, smiled, and laughed with many of them. We got to know these strangers as much as twenty minutes or so would allow. Heck, we even made a few friends. I specifically tried to look at life from the perspective of the Silk Market vendors—to gain an understanding of how these people lived their lives. It was difficult to contemplate myself in their position, but that is exactly what I attempted to do. By smiling, laughing, and trying to understand the vendor’s way of life, I was able to fully appreciate the Silk Market.

            I started my essay by focusing on my thesis. I introduce the topic of my essay in the very first sentence: my trip to Beijing. I then give the reader of preview of what is to come with the last sentence: how crazy the experience was. My opening paragraph sets the scene for what is to come. While constructing this essay, I was constantly thinking about grammar constructions and tips to improve my writing. It was always on the forefront of my mind. This piece is a great example of everything I have been learning and working on over the past 18 weeks.

Games of Thrones Part 2 & Mark Twain Notes

            Not only did George R.R. Martin incorporate an ingenious structure in A Game of Thrones, he also uses popular words in their literal meaning instead of their societal meaning. Martin uses words that have drastically different connotations and denotations. In the beginning of the book, the word bastard is used frequently to describe John Snow. At first, I did not understand what Martin was trying to get across when he used the word. I thought the word meant John Snow was not an unpleasant person, however this was not the original intent of bastard in A Game of Thrones. In this novel, bastard means a child that is born out of wedlock or a relationship: a child that is a product of lust.

This word is a crucial piece to the plot of A Game of Thrones because it defines John Snow’s thoughts and actions. Snow feels like an outsider. He is not a true Stark. His outsider status is highlighted through Catelyn’s thoughts about John because she despises Snow—he is a product of Ned’s lust, and she cannot even bear to look at him. This makes him feel unloved, and thus leads to his decision to join The Watch at The Wall. As you can see, the word bastard is essential to the understanding of A Game of Thrones, and I was misconstrued about the meaning of the word until I used context clues to decipher the meaning. Once I was able to figure bastard did not mean an unlikeable person, but a shameful child, everything made sense. This is a perfect example of Martin’s interesting word selection. It forced me to rethink meanings of words as I have to come to understand them in today’s world, such as bastard.

Mark Twain Notes

Mark Twain’s real name is Samuel Clemens

·      Was born in Missouri

·      Was in the Confederate Army for awhile

·      He was a boat master

·      Mark twain was actually a command to check if the water was deep enough to pass through

·      He would travel a lot and write about it

·      Became an expert o regionalism

·      Knew all of the different accents and dialects

·      Colloquialism is when you talk to your peeps—a standard way of speaking

·      Known for aphromism, which is short, witty, sayings

·      Was a realist

o   Wrote about things that were real

o   The environment

o   The language

o   Twain wanted to stay true to region

Structure of Huckleberry Finn

·      Picaresque novel

o   Means it is episodic, and is a journey through different episodes

·      Satire

o   Criticism of human vice using irony, wit, parody

o   Satire illuminates the dark things about being human (vice)

o   Satire is an original work, while a parody is based off another work

·      Sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

·      A southern man’s novel

·      Huckleberry Finn is a poor boy

·      Very witty

·      Satire has 4 techniques

o   Exaggeration

o   Incongruity

o   Parody

o   Reversal

Characters

·      Finn is a very superstitious person

·      Sawyer is educated, middle class person

·      Sawyer is a frivolous person, and is always wanting an adventure

·      Finn is an intelligent person, but is not educated

Struggle (Caught'ya #37- #44)

Struggle

For our motivational Monday today, Mr. DeLaCruz played a clip from NPR about how the United States and Asian countries view struggle and how they overcome it. The segment featured a renowned psychologist who has studied the differences between the two cultures extensively. His findings were intriguing. He found that the US and Asia view struggle as polar opposites. America views hardship as a disability, mainly in school. When we struggle with a concept, it is thought that we aren’t good enough—that we are not good enough. Asian countries view struggle as a positive—it shows determination and resilience.

I can attest to this claim. In my own experiences, I have often been left gaping with my mouth wide open in class because I cannot grasp a concept—often in math. This feeling has been apparent this year in Calculus. It is a whole different beast than other math class I have been in before. It was made even more frustrating when Mr. Byars was assigned to teach the class because he hadn’t covered the material in an extremely long time, therefore he couldn’t properly explain crucial concepts and lessons. Because of this, I was often struggling to get things right. I was so frustrated! I felt like an idiot due to my inability to understand the material while other people were flying by me. This is a perfect example of what was discussed in the NPR segment: in America, when we struggle, it is looked at as failure.

In Asia, struggle is viewed in a completely different light: instead of an inability, hard work is looked at as a positive thing. Struggling to understand something means that you have the ability to stick with it and not quit: you are determined to persevere. This was illustrated when a clip was played of an interaction between a Taiwanese mother and her son. The boy had just won a competition or some academic contest. In the US, the mother would have praised how intelligent her son was to no end, but instead, the Taiwanese mother pointed out that he had succeeded because he struggled. He practiced, reviewed, and put in a lot of work. In the end, he was rewarded with winning, and that is what should be celebrated. Success comes from working hard, failing, and struggling.

            I really enjoyed this motivational Monday because it forced me to think about the two cultures and how drastically we perceive shortcomings. This really hit home when the psychologist mentioned Japanese teachers force students who struggle the most to come up to the front of the class to work through their problems. The teacher and the class help those who need it, and in the end, everyone benefits. In the United States, the best student puts their work on display, and those who do not understand are left to catch up.

Game of Thrones Part 1

            Greetings, Blogger, it has been quite a long time since I have spewed my thoughts about life, literary works, AP Lit, and the meaning of the world. Over break, I began to read the amazing trilogy, A Game of Thrones. I have heard my dad talk about how much he likes to watch the series. It literally consumes his being when he watches it. He will not allow anyone to disturb him while he glues his eyes to the television screen—if you interrupt him, he becomes enraged. It is quite comical! Anyways, I wanted to see why this series interests him so much, so I had my cousin purchase the first book for me for Christmas, and away I read! I want to comment on how in depth the series is. I am only halfway through the book, and I love it! I am engrossed.

            Looking at A Game of Thrones from the formalist perspective, it is structured in a very interesting, yet brilliant way. Each chapter is different from the next in terms of what point of view it is told from. Each chapter is told from a different character’s perspective. One chapter may be told from Tyrion’s mind, and the next is told from Arya’s view. This way to structure it allows the reader to see the world and happenings from a different view, and how they interpret things that happen. Bran looks at things much different from Eddard. He may not understand the severity of conversation he overhears, while Eddard would understand the gravity of Cersei’s and Jamie’s conversation at the beginning of the book.

            Additionally, the way George R.R. Martin builds A Game of Thrones allows for multiple storylines to exist in harmony. You can follow the story at King’s Landing, Winterfell, within the Dothraki realm, etc. painlessly. This adds understanding as you can see how each kingdom is intertwined.

This structure also allows for maximized characterization as you can see how parts of the story are told from different minds. The reader is able to journey through A Game of Thrones from all different angles. Furthermore, the reader can see the thought processes of every character, which enhances their characterization. It also exemplifies how people can interpret things in countless ways. This style is brilliant, and is a big part of why I like the novel so much. I am able to view the world of A Game of Thrones from each character’s eyes, and better grasp how they operate. This results in better understanding of the complex plot. Winter is coming. Actually, no, it is here, and it is harsh!