Vocabulary: Fall List #5

acumen (noun)- keen insight
"The monk had great acumen in the world beyond what humans can see."

adjudicate (verb)- to settle or determine
"The Supreme Court adjudicated that stealing a gumball would be punishable by death."

anachronism (noun)- something or someone that is not correct in its historical time
"The anachronism had transported from the future and for some reason felt out of place."

apocryphal (adj)- of doubtful authorship or authenticity
"The apocryphal rumors spread around the school faster than wildfire."

disparity (noun)- inequality or difference, as in rank, amount, quality, etc
"I find it interesting that the disparity of the level of intelligence from one human to the next can be so dramatic."

dissimulate (verb)- to disguise or conceal under a false appearance.
"The ruler tried to dissimulate the awful taxes which he had bestowed upon his people."

empirical (adj)- derived from or guided by experience or experiment
"The man felt superior to his peers because of his past empirical actions."

flamboyant (adj)- strikingly bold or brilliant; showy
"When someone takes part in a play it helps if they have a flamboyant personality."

fulsome (adj)- offensive to good taste, especially as being excessive;overdone or gross
"The hotel became too fulsome for the tourists, which is why they decided to leave quickly."

immolate (verb)- to sacrifice
"The small child immolated his Twinkies so that he could attract young girls."

imperceptible (adj)- very slight, gradual, or subtle.
"It seemed very imperceptible that the student would past the test."

lackey (noun)- a servile follower
"The lackey was devoted to the incredible athlete who traveled around the world."

liaison (noun)- a person who initiates and maintains such a contact or connection.
"The liaison between the two countries deteriorated the once significant connection they had."

monolithic (adj)- consisting of one piece; solid or unbroken
"Without the monolithic castle, the barbarians of Europe would have overcome the nobles of that modern world.

mot juste (noun)- the exact, appropriate word
"The mot juste for this certain situation turned out to be a word most adults would frown upon."

nihilism (noun)- total rejection of established laws and institutions.
"If it were not for nihilism's, this world would certainly be a very different place."
 
patrician (noun)- a person of noble or high rank; aristocrat.
"It is often said that only patricians make the decisions that impact the greater population.
 
propitiate (verb)- to make favorably inclined; appease; conciliate.
"I decided to propitiate when I realized I was not going to win the argument with my mom."

sic (verb)-to incite to attack/indicates that the quote has been transcribed exactly as found in the original source.
"The politician sicced the democratic politician who did not share similar views on the philosophy of going to the bathroom."

sublimate(adj)-to make nobler or purer
"After understanding the true power of the young man, the monk decided to sublimate the boy to make him even more powerful."

Beowulf ond Godsylla

Beowulf ond Godsylla

Meanehwæl, baccat meaddehæle, monstær lurccen;
Fulle few too many drincce, hie luccen for fyht.
Ðen Hreorfneorhtðhwr, son of Hrwærowþheororthwl,
Æsccen æwful jeork to steop outsyd. Þhud! Bashe! Crasch! Beoom! Ðe bigge gye
Eallum his bon brak, byt his nose offe;
Wicced Godsylla wæld on his asse.
Monstær moppe fleor wyþ eallum men in hælle.
Beowulf in bacceroome fonecall bamaccen wæs;
Hearen sond of ruccus sæd, "Hwæt ðe helle?"
Graben sheold strang ond swich-blæd scharp
Stond feorth to fyht ðe grimlic foe. "Me," Godsylla sæd, "mac ðe minsemete."
Heoro cwyc geten heold wiþ fæmed half-nelson
Ond flyng him lic frisbe bac to fen
Beowulf belly up to meaddehæle bar,
Sæd, "Ne foe beaten mie færsom cung-fu."
Eorderen cocca-cohla yce-coeld, ðe reol þyng.

Translation:
Beowulf and Godzilla

Meanwhile, back at the Meade hall, a monster was lurking;
Full of too many drinks, he was looking for a fight.
Then Hreorfneorhtðhwr, son of Hrwærowþheororthwl,
Asked awful jerk to step outside. Thud! Bash! Crash! Boom! The big guy
His bone broke, bite his nose off;
Wicked Godzilla wailed on his ass.
Monster mopped the floor with all the men in hall.
Beowulf in the back of the room phone called bamaccen was;
Haren son of Ruccus said, "What the hell?"
Grabbing shoulder strangle and switch blade sharp
Stand forth to fight the grim foe. "Me," Godzilla said, "mac of innocent."
Hero quick getting hold whipped famed half-nelson
And flung him like a frisbee back to fen.
Beowulf bellied up to the Meade Hall bar,
Said, "No foe has beaten my fearsome kung-fu."
He ordered a coca-cola ice-cold, of real thing.

Notes on pgs. 64-82 in Textbook

The Epic

• Epics--> Long narrative poems that celebrated adventures of legendary heroes
• Heroes were role models for their times.
• Gilgamesh--> An ancient Near Eastern poem about 4,000 years old
• Iliad--> A Greek poem that is almost 3,000 old 
• Heroes-->Role models for modern time period
•  

Gilgamesh: The Prologue

• Gilgamesh built the city of Uruk
• Son of Lugalbanda/Lady Wildcow Ninsun
• Perfect warrior
• Two-thirds a god/one-third a man
• Uruk-->Ancient Sumerian city

Iliad

• Hektor (Trojan) has killed Achilleus's (Greek) best friend
• Achilleus wishes nothing but the death of Hektor
• Achilleus and Hektor fight
• Hektor pleads with Achilleus--> Achilleus too consumed by anger
• Achilleus eventually kills Hektor 

A History of the English Church and People

• Bede gives the geographic details of Britain at beginning of work
• Bede tells of the different seasons in Britain
• Presently there are 5 languages and 4 nations within Britain
• British men shared wives with the Scots--> Ruler chosen only from the female royal line, not male
• Bede describes the island of Ireland in detail

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

• In the year 896, Britain split between the East and North
• Danes caused much destruction along the sea-coast
• In the year 900, Alfred, the king of all of England passed away
• His son Edward took the thrown
• Peace between North and East occurred during the year of 906

Journey of Favorite Hero: Deconstructed

My favorite hero would have to be Ender from the novel Ender's Game.

Ender is called to a greater future when he is selected to attend a battle school.  Instead of normally rising through the ranks like most of the other students, Ender becomes commander of a large army of students in no time.  Because of his incredible ability to acquire information and analyze it in seconds, he is constantly sequestered from the other boys around him.  Although the Buggers are seen as the monumental evil force against all humans, the adults that control Ender's every move become the villains of the novel.  Once Ender is finally able to defeat the Buggers, he is free from the authority that once engulfed his every action.  He vows at the end of the novel to never allow himself to develop into the adults that made his life a truly living hell.  He also wishes to renew the race he had defeated with such glory (the Buggers).  Because of his motivation, confidence, and constant struggle to release himself from the life he did not wish for, Ender is my favorite hero.

AP Lit & Comp Exam: Multiple Choice Answers

Hopefully this works.  I don't have a scanner that I can access yet.  Sometime in the near future I hope!

Vocabulary: Fall List #4

apostate: describes someone who has left behind their religious or political beliefs or his principles
"My decision to not attend the apostate church was looked down upon by my community."

effusive: something or someone showing unrestrained emotion or thankfulness
"I became so effusive that most people in the room were so embarrassed that they turned their backs to me."

impasse: something from which there is no escape or solution
"I walked down the dark and daunting impasse without knowing if I would come out."

euphoria: a feeling of well-being and great happiness
"My mom was in a state of euphoria when I was finally born after 19 hours of labor."

lugubrious: someone who looks very sad, depressed or long-in-the-face.
"The student suddenly was very lugubrious after finding he had failed his English exam."

bravado: behavior by a scared person that shows courage.
"The hero showed great bravado when defeating the ginormous dragon."

consensus: an agreement made by a group
"It took nearly three years for the firm to make a consensus on the business deal."

dichotomy: a sharp division of things or ideas into two contradictory parts
"Many scientists often have a great dichotomy between their fellow scientists based on the theory of Pangaea."

constrict: to become narrower at one place, or to make something narrower or more restrictive.
"To most, politicians seem only to constrict the money that supposedly belongs to the people."

Gothic: medieval, not classical, barbarous; uncivilized
"Most see the Dark Ages as a time of great Gothic cultural representation."

punctilio: observance of petty formalities
"The parents were very punctilious when throwing a party for their daughter who had turned 18."

metamorphosis: change of form, shape, structure, or substance; transformation, as, in myths, by magic or sorcery
"It is often said that life as we know it is constantly in a state of metamorphosis."

raconteur: a person who tells stories or anecdotes in an amusing and clever way.
"When growing up I saw my mom as the perfect depiction of a raconteur."

sine qua non: an essential condition, qualification, etc.; indispensable thing; absolute prerequisite
"The sin qua non in my life is how I treat others.  I constantly find myself correcting myself before a discussion or introduction to someone I feel deserves my respect.

quixotic: romantic behavior or following beliefs even though they are foolish or unreachable goals.
"I can be very quixotic when it comes to the belief that as long as I stay true to myself, people will like who I am as a human being."

vendetta: lingering grudge or feeling of hatred for someone
"I hope to never hold a vendetta for someone because no matter what traumatic event that has occurred, everything can eventually be forgiven."

non sequitur: a statement, conclusion or reply that has nothing to do with the previous statement
"I hold my best friend that my girlfriend had just dumped me however he proceeded to continue to discuss the problems he had on his homework the following night.  Sometimes his non sequitors can be so completley obvious.

mystique: an aura of mystery or an air of secrecy surrounding something or someone that makes the person or thing seem very intriguing.
"The mystique from the woman across the room instantly grabbed my attention."

quagmire: is soft, wet ground or a complex and difficult situation with no easy solution.
"My partner and I ran upon a quagmire after he realized that he had forgotten the project at home!"

parlous: perilous; dangerous; risky
" The work was parlous for those who had absolutely no idea what was going on around them."

1st AP reading list choice/reason

I have chosen to read Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.
My first instinct in choosing this book was based on the fact that it is one of the most frequently cited books on the AP test.  However after further investigation I found that the novel seemed to spark an interest in me.  Although I read merely a brief sentence or two about the book, it grabbed my attention.  I thoroughly enjoy history, especially when portrayed through the lens of a talented writer.  I hope that I not only enjoy this novel but take in all the powerful historical aspects that it has to offer.