Cat’s Cradle ABCs

Posted in Assignments on December 1st, 2008 and

A. The narrator briefly describes his past and his religious affiliations with Bokononism.

B.
Conveyance - communication
Calypso – a jazzy, improvizational musical form
Episcopalian – belonging to an episcopalian church

C.
What is Vonnegut’s intended effect in using such short paragraphs?
Exactly who is Bokonon?
Why does the lady scream when she sees worms?

I’m so ahead of the ball game.

Posted in Assignments on November 27th, 2008 and

In Apocalypse Now, Willard states several times that after his experiences in the Vietnam war, coming home and living a normal life was all but impossible. Marlow also mentions this dilemma in Heart of Darkness, a story taking place over seventy years before. The trend continues well into the reality of our modern war, as described and exemplified in the radio documentary What Killed Sergeant Gray. In the program, soldiers from Iraq recount the internal struggles brought upon, mostly, by a loss of self they each encountered. Much like the film and the novella, those involved in the particularly brutal aspects of the Iraq War found their moralities tested—and in most cases—broken. Iraqis suspected of killing American soldiers are detained and sometimes put under guard by the friends of the very men killed. Huge amounts of power are put into resentful hands, and the dehumanization of Iraqis is soon to follow in the form of torture—brutality that most soldiers had no idea they were capable of. This concept is reflected in the raid scene in Apocalypse Now, as well as scenes of violence towards the African natives in Heart of Darkness. Prejudice against “the others” leads to dehumanization, which leads to abuse, to power and guilt, and, in some cases, to madness.

Plagiarism

Posted in Assignments on November 17th, 2008 and

Three definitions of plagiarism include: (1) displaying the ideas or opinions of another person without citing them as a source, (2) quoting without citation, and (3) paraphrasing whithout citation. Remember kids, even if you’re not directly quoting or paraphrasing another’s work, the ideas themselves belong to that person just as much as their words do.

:) Information obtained by http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml

Impressionism in Heart of Darkness

Posted in Assignments on November 17th, 2008 and

Conrad’s impressionistic style is greatly exemplified in the way that he characterizes the peppy young Russian man at the end of second chapter. A lot of description is given to his rather odd appearance, ultimately equating his identity to that of a patchwork harlequin; a court jester with unquestioning loyalty to his king. He carries an air of loopiness, characterized by a constant change from smiles to frowns. “His face,” Marlow observes with awe, “was like the autumn sky, overcast one moment and bright the next” (51). An unsettling image.
The young man seems consistantly overwhelmed with a dog-like enthusiasm, as hinted at when he “[turns] his little pug nose up at [Marlow]” (51) He speaks quickly and brightly, and it’s safe to assume that if he did have a tail, it would be wagging with abandon—except, of course, during those sudden moments of dejection brought about by his own incessant discourse.
Through impressionism, Conrad constructs a full image of this whimsically troubling character, as well as the unbridled admiration he holds for Mr. Kurtz. He is implicitly described as being both doglike and jesterlike; both of these images conjure ideas of an enthusiastic sort of worship. Thus in mere description of the character’s appearance, action and dialogue, the reader is made fully aware of this character’s identity and place in the story—all without ever actually having to be told of it.

What a night…

Posted in Assignments on November 5th, 2008 and

Haven’t had a chance to sift through all of these yet, but…

Dave Kehr. “A George Lucas Far, Far Away. ” New York Times [New York, N.Y.] 5 Sep. 2004, Late Edition (East Coast): 2.15. ProQuest National Newspapers Core. ProQuest. ***INSERT Library name or system, City, State***. 27 Oct. 2008 <http://www.proquest.com/>
Grahm, John. “EXCESSIVE FORCE: The real Star Wars myth is that the films were ever respectable in the first place. ” Rev. of: title_of_work_reviewed_in_italics, clarifying_information. Santa Fe Reporter : SFR’s SUMMER GUIDE: The Locals’ Guide to Summer in Santa Fe [Santa Fe, N.M.] 18 Jun 2002,68. Alt-Press Watch (APW). ProQuest. ***INSERT Library name or system, City, State***. 27 Oct. 2008 <http://www.proquest.com/>
Henry Fountain. “Episode VII: Revenge of the Writers. ” New York Times [New York, N.Y.] 1 May 2005, Late Edition (East Coast): 4.5. ProQuest National Newspapers Core. ProQuest. ***INSERT Library name or system, City, State***. 27 Oct. 2008 <http://www.proquest.com/>
Jeff Jensen. “DEFENDING GEORGE LUCAS AND HIS CRITICALLY TRASHED ‘WARS’. ” Entertainment Weekly 19 Sep. 2008: 12. Platinum Full Text Periodicals. ProQuest. ***INSERT Library name or system, City, State***. 27 Oct. 2008 <http://www.proquest.com/>
John Podhoretz. “Star Wars VI. ” Rev. of: title_of_work_reviewed_in_italics, clarifying_information. The Weekly Standard 23 May 2005: 37-38. Platinum Full Text Periodicals. ProQuest. ***INSERT Library name or system, City, State***. 27 Oct. 2008 <http://www.proquest.com/>
Kate Kelly. “Tough Sithuation: ‘Star Wars’ Fanatics Loathe the Prequels; But They Still Watch Them Over and Over and Over; ‘Hope Springs Eternal’. ” Wall Street Journal [New York, N.Y.] 19 May 2005, Eastern edition: A.1. ProQuest National Newspapers Core. ProQuest. ***INSERT Library name or system, City, State***. 27 Oct. 2008 <http://www.proquest.com/>
Ken Tucker. “So Long, and Thanks for All the Droids. ” Rev. of: title_of_work_reviewed_in_italics, clarifying_information. New York 23 May 2005: 67-68. Platinum Full Text Periodicals. ProQuest. ***INSERT Library name or system, City, State***. 27 Oct. 2008 <http://www.proquest.com/>
Maslin, Janet. “FILM VIEW; GIMMICKS ALONE CAN’T MAKE A SEQUEL FLY. ” New York Times [New York, N.Y.] 26 Jun 1983, Late Edition (East Coast): A.1. ProQuest National Newspapers Core. ProQuest. ***INSERT Library name or system, City, State***. 27 Oct. 2008 <http://www.proquest.com/>
Matthew Ericson. “A Brief History of the (Star Wars) Universe. ” New York Times [New York, N.Y.] 8 May 2005, Late Edition (East Coast): 2A.30. ProQuest National Newspapers Core. ProQuest. ***INSERT Library name or system, City, State***. 27 Oct. 2008 <http://www.proquest.com/>
Michael Colton. “STAR WARS; Can the Upcoming Film Satisfy the Universe of Lucas Fanatics :[FINAL Edition]. ” The Washington Post [Washington, D.C.] 27 Aug. 1998,C01. ProQuest National Newspapers Core. ProQuest. ***INSERT Library name or system, City, State***. 27 Oct. 2008 <http://www.proquest.com/>
Robert Wilonsky. “The Force Is Strong With This One. ” Houston Press [Houston, Tex.] 1 Nov. 2007,***[insert pages]*** Alt-Press Watch (APW). ProQuest. ***INSERT Library name or system, City, State***. 27 Oct. 2008 <http://www.proquest.com/>
Ron Magid. “The Lucas Effect. ” Popular Mechanics 1 Jun 2005: 124-128. Platinum Full Text Periodicals. ProQuest. ***INSERT Library name or system, City, State***. 27 Oct. 2008 <http://www.proquest.com/>
Shanda Deziel. “Film: May the force be finally behind us. ” Rev. of: title_of_work_reviewed_in_italics, clarifying_information. Maclean’s 23 May 2005: 80. Platinum Full Text Periodicals. ProQuest. ***INSERT Library name or system, City, State***. 27 Oct. 2008 <http://www.proquest.com/>
Terry Lawson. “Lucas: “I’ve done my bit” ; Six and out | “Star Wars” director finishes the series he began in 1977 :[Fourth Edition]. ” Seattle Times [Seattle, Wash.] 15 May 2005,K6. Washington State Newsstand. ProQuest. ***INSERT Library name or system, City, State***. 27 Oct. 2008 <http://www.proquest.com/>
Tom Russo. “SECRETS OF STAR WARS. ” Entertainment Weekly 28 Oct. 2005: 37-41. Platinum Full Text Periodicals. ProQuest. ***INSERT Library name or system, City, State***. 27 Oct. 2008 <http://www.proquest.com/>

Research Progress 3

Posted in Assignments on October 24th, 2008 and

I got some books from the library in order to have some variety of sources. One of them brings up the topic of female priests, which hadn’t been discussed in other sources I’ve obtained thus far. It’s an interesting bit of information and I’ll try to incorporate it into the essay.

TFA - Chapters Twenty-Four and Twenty-Five

Posted in Assignments on October 24th, 2008 and

A.
Okonkwo and the other five men are released from imprisonment and return to Umuofia. The village meets the next morning and Okonkwo is excited about the war he is sure will unfold agains the Christians. When his village decides against going to war, Okonkwo murders a court messanger. Later, when the District Commissioner arrives to arrest him, he finds that Okonkwo has hanged himself from a tree branch.

B.
Pacification - appeasement
Superfluous - unneccessary
Tumult – violent commotion

C.
Why does Achebe use the same statement, “so many people that if one threw up a grain of sand it would not find its way to earth again” that he did in an earlier chapter to describe the bustling marketplace?

Why did one of the messangers shout at Obierika when was speaking of Okonkwo’s suicide?

Why did Umuofia decide not to go to war?

Research Progress 2

Posted in Assignments on October 24th, 2008 and

I’ve decided to focus on the importance of duality in Egyptian Royalty using examples from Dr. Zahi Hawass’s article about Hatshepsut. I’ll also use evidence of women in the middle and lower class to provide the idea of stability due to stronger inclusion of members of the population who would otherwise go ignored due to their gender.

TFA - Chapter Twenty-Three

Posted in Assignments on October 24th, 2008 and

A.
After the destruction of the church at the hands of the egwugwu, the village is temporarily at peace until the six men responsible are rushed into custody by the District Comissioner, Okonkwo included. To save the men from execution, Umuofia gathers the bail price of 250 bags of cowries.

B.
Pauper – destitute
Ogene – gong-like musical instrument
Crier – public announcer

C.
Is Okonkwo’s desire to kill the Christians fueled by jingoism alone, or is his overlooked return to Umuofia due to the church still on his mind?

Were the jeering and cruel court messangers Christians?

What ages does the Akakanma age group cover?

Research Progress 1

Posted in Assignments on October 24th, 2008 and

Question: How did gender roles play a part in ancient Egyptian society?

Thesis statement: Ancient Egypt’s sophisticated gender-balanced society helped contribute to its success as a civilization.