Literary Analysis EC: No Exit

1. In No Exit three people are trapped in a room with no way out. This room is considered hell to these inviduals because of the sins they have commited in the while they were alive. They hope for the others to define who they are and becoming in a sense their “mirrors”. They all eventually all become annoyed with another yet none of them have the courage to walk out the door. They end up stuck in hell never being able to get out.
2. The theme is when we lose faith in ourselves we succumb to what other people think of us and that is what we believe defines us.
3. The author's tone to me seems very casual. This is mainly due to the fact it is told in dialogue form. These complete strangers all of a sudden have a conversation and when you have a conversation with a stranger it's mostly casual.
4. Symbolism is used to show what makes this place hell. The “mirror” represents the obsession we humans have with what people think of us and how it effects us. Extended metaphor is used to show that hell can come in multiple forms. It can be the people in our daily lives or the guilt we live with and the lack of confidence we have in ourselves making us find confidence through others. Dialogue is used to show the reader what exactly makes this place hell. It allows for the characters to show who they really are and the reader to observe and judge. Flashbacks are used to show each characters past and what they did. Situational irony is slightly used in that you didn't expect Garcen to stay in the room even though he could actually leave but is bound by doubt. Tone is used to set the mood of the play. At times the mood is easy going and at other times it get intense due to jealousy.

Charterization

1. This play uses strictly only indirect characterization. Since the characters don't know what they look like and the reader only knows what the character knows there is no description of each character's physical traits. Indirect characterization is what mainly defines each character. Through each character's reaction to one another you are able to figure out the type of person they are. Also through the telling of their past lives you are also able to find out a little more about the type of person they are. Also the fact that Garcen does not exit the room shows he lacks confidence.
2. The diction changes when Estelle talks to Garcin and when Inez talks to Estelle because they're trying to become close with them. If they're not talking to those people they become hostile.
3. Garcen is a static character because he was a coward before and still is. He still doubts himself and isn't able to come to peace with the choices he made. Garcin is also a flat character in that he solely is someone who lacks courage.
4. I felt like I met an actual person because the play got to me on a very personal level. When I was able to find out about each character's past I felt like I knew them and who they are. It influenced what I thought about them and If I liked them or not.

Literary Analysis 5 Fahrenheit 451

1. I think there are two inciting incidents in this novel and I will tell you why. First incident is with his neighbor, a 17 year old girl named Clarisse McClellan. Clarisse McClellan is a thinker and considered an outcast to society, because she likes to think about things. One day Montag, the protagonist, runs into Clarisse and they have interesting conversations for the next past days. Montag finds himself enjoying the talks with Clarisse. One day Clarisse asks Montag if he is “happy” which confuses Montag. He finally realizes he is not happy and causes him to search what is missing from his life. The second incident is when on a job as a Firemen, a person who burns books, Montag sees a women burn with her books. This incident makes him curious of what could be in those books that’s worth dying for. Montag calls in sick and during his time off he starts reading the books he stole with his wife Mildred. Mildred sees nothing special in them while Montag is very interested in what they have to say. Montag becomes so interested that he meets with a retired English teacher and asks him to teach how to understand books. There was foreshadowing in this story, but it made way to obvious what was going to happen next. For example Mildred keeps telling Montag to burn the books and yells at him to stop reading which indicates that she will snap one day and rat him out. The “Hound” chasing Montag in the beginning of the story foreshadows that the ”Hound” will be hunting for him later on the story. To me there was no plot twists, because everything I expected to happen did happen. There seemed to be no intentions of plot twists from what I read. We live in a society where people go along with the flow and act “normal”. Montag was a character that was not considered “normal” and therefore an outcast. Most of the people I know go along with the flow and are “normal”, so this wouldn’t happen to anyone I know.
2. This novel was ironic to me, because it was a book talking about burning books, and their significance. I got many messages from this novel and was unsure what the author’s true message seemed to be. In society you aren’t born equal, but are made equal. What the novel means by this is we are all molded by society to think a certain way, dress a certain way, and act a certain way. You don’t see everyone going around greeting each other by mooning each other, but rather by waving or shaking hands. This is because we are taught that that is the polite or right thing to do. Another message could book could be having fun and being happy can’t fill up the cup all the way, gap, or hole. To fill the up the cup you must experience sadness, joy, disappointment, and etc. You must experience life.
3. The author's tone is very dramatic because everything seems so intense.
   -“The good writers touch life often. The mediocre ones run a quick hand over her. The bad ones rape her and leave her for the flies.”
   -“It was a pleasure to burn.”
   -“Digression is the soul of wit. Take the philosophic asides away from Dante, Milton or Hamlet's father's ghost and what stays is dry bones.”
4. The author uses foreshadowing throughout the novel to contribute to the tone.
   -“We're going to meet a lot of lonely people in the next week and the next month and the next year. And when they ask us what we're doing, you can say, We're remembering. That's where we'll win out in the long run. And someday we'll remember so much that we'll build the biggest goddamn steamshovel in history and dig the biggest grave of all time and shove war in it and cover it up.”

• Bradbury uses first person narrative to give the novel a more dramatic tone. Reading from the view of the protagonist makes everything seem more real.
  -“Nobody listens anymore. I can't talk to the walls because they're yelling at me, I can't talk to my wife; she listens to the walls. I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough it'll make sense. And I want you to teach me to understand what I read.”
• Verbal Irony is huge part of this novel because the firemen start the fires by burning books. It's a twist on the reader interpretation of a fireman.
  -“It was a pleasure to burn.”
• Metaphor is used to give more understanding to the theme of the novel.
  -“A book is a loaded gun in the house next door...Who knows who might be the target of the well-read man?”
• Bradbury's poetic diction is what contributes to the author's tone.
  -“Stuff your eyes with wonder, he said, live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.”
• Complication is used to show when Montag becomes conflicted and starts to have a change in though. This happens when he sees a woman run into a burning building for books.
  -“There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.”
• Symbolism is used to present the theme of the novel.
  -The mechanical hounds represents the absence of nature and natural things.
  -Fire takes on multiple meanings in the novel. It represents destruction to some and to others it's a something that keeps them warm.
  -The phoenix symbolizes rebirth in that no matter how many times something is destroyed it will keep coming back.
  -The burning of the books represents the death of knowledge and freedom of though.
• The setting is used to convey the theme in that it is set in the future.
  -Because the book is in the future it allows for the author to elaborate how technology has evolved to the extend where people have become stupid and lazy. Everything is mechanized even the hounds. Books being illegal makes sense in this type of setting.
• Simile
  -”I remember the newspaper dying like huge moths.”
• Imagery
  -"It growled again, a strange rasoing combination of elecrical sizzle, a frying sound, a scraping of metal, a turning of cogs that seemed rusty and ancient with suspicion."
  -"The house fell in red coals and black ash. It bedded itself down in sleepy pink-gray cinders and a smoke plume blew over it, rising and waving slowly back and forth in the sky."

Charcterization:

1. Direct characterization is used to describe general characters such as firemen. It allows for Bradbury to assign a role to a character. By describing a fireman and what their job is the reader is able to know what Guy Montag and Captain Beatty do. Indirect characterization is mainly used throughout the novel due to the first person narration. Through Guy's eyes the reader is able to observe characters and judge them for themselves. Mildred is glued to the T.V and doesn't like to talk to her husband Guy. This lets the reader know like everyone else she is brain washed and lazy.
2. The author's diction and syntax stays poetic throughout the whole novel and does not change. This gives the novel a more dramatic tone and makes the novel seem like there is a deeper meaning behind every word.
3. Guy Montag is dynamic because he is a firemen but becomes curious about books when Clarisse asks him if he's happy and when he sees a woman run into a burning building full of books. He changes from a robot like firemen who just burns book to someone who reads books and begins to think due to books influence. He is also a round character because he isn't like everyone else. He is the typical mindless citizen like everyone else. He has many traits that make him a round character. He thinks outside the box and is curious.
4. I felt like I came away knowing a person mainly because it was told in first person narrative. Going through a book through the characters eyes makes it seem like you are there yourself.

No Exit Questions

1.       Think about the place you have chosen as your hell. Does it look ordinary and bourgeois, like Sartre's drawing room, or is it equipped with literal instruments of torture like Dante's Inferno? Can the mind be in hell in a beautiful place? Is there a way to find peace in a hellish physical environment? Enter Sartre's space more fully and imagine how it would feel to live there endlessly, night and day

-          Hell for me would a room that is pitch dark. Being alone in a dark room will make me go crazy because I would be alone with my thoughts and things would start to take shape in the darkness. The state of mind isn’t directly related to your environment. This is evident in “No Exit” where Garcin is in a nice room but is still in hell due to those around him. To be at peace in one’s hellish environment requires tolerance and acceptance. Being stuck with people I hate night and day will make me feel suffocated.

2.       Could hell be described as too much of anything without a break? Are variety, moderation and balance instruments we use to keep us from boiling in any inferno of excess,' whether it be cheesecake or ravenous sex?

-          Too much of anything is basically hell. It becomes unpleasant to have too much because you eventually get sick and tired of it. For me I can’t eat hot dogs for the rest of my life even though I love hot dogs. I love hot dogs because I eat it only from time to time making the experience more pleasant.

3.       How does Sartre create a sense of place through dialogue? Can you imagine what it feels like to stay awake all the time with the lights on with no hope of leaving a specific place? How does GARCIN react to this hell? How could you twist your daily activities around so that everyday habits become hell? Is there a pattern of circumstances that reinforces the experience of hell?

-          Sartre at the beginning uses Garcin’s question to the Valet to give the reader a sense of the setting. Being stuck in a lighted room with no hopes of leaving would make me feel claustrophobic and bored out of my mind. It would force me to reflect on myself and my actions that would eventually lead to regrets. Garcin is in denial mostly throughout the play. In the end he wants confirmation that he is not a coward. To make my daily activities hell would require me to eat the same meal everyday and for everything to be planned.

Literary Analysis 4: Lord of the Flies

1. During a war a plane containing a group of boys crashes on an island. The boys are confused and scared so two boys named Ralph and Piggy get their attention and devise a plan to be rescued. Ralph suggests that they light a fire to get rescued. The boys light a fire on top of a hill and wait. The boys eventually elect Ralph as their leader who puts Jack in charge of a group of boys who will hunt and maintain the fire. Jack's group become obsessed with fun and hunting and let the fire go out. Ralph gets angry at Jack so Jack breaks off from the group and proposes that others join him for fun and hunting. Most of the bigger boys join Jack leaving Ralph with Piggy and the Littleuns. Simon encounters the Lord of Flies (a pig head on a stick) in the middle of the forest. The Lord of Flies says no boy can escape the island because he lives in all of them. Simon discovers there is no beast and rushes to tell everyone. Ralph and Piggy have joined Jack and participated in his feast. When Simon comes out the boys kill him. Ralph tries to reason with Jack but fails. Jack kills Piggy and Ralph runs away from a group of savages trying to kill him. He runs to the beach where a naval officer stands there. All the boys begin to cry because of everything they've done while the naval officer stands there silent.
2. William Golding has a clear theme of savagery in this novel. There is conflict between maintaining civilized and succumbing to savagery. In the end it seems there is a little savagery in all of us and it grows if not checked by sanity and civilization.
3. William Golding's tone is mainly dark throughout the novel. It allows for him to bring out the savagery expressed in the novel. It is also very violent at times for the same reasons.

• "'Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!'" If this isn't violent I don't know what is. This clearly expresses the violent nature of the author's tone in his use of violent words.
  
• "The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away." This presents the dark tone of the author. It expresses the loss of hope.
  

• "'Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!'" This is just to show another example of Golding's violent tone.
  4. Symbolism is the most important literary element used throughout the novel. It led to deeper understanding of the theme and of the novel itself.
  

- The conch shell represented order and when the shell was destroyed it showed that order has been shattered as well.
- Piggy's glasses represented civilization which was also destroyed by the savages.
-The Lord of the Flies represented the inner savage in all of us. When Ralph ran away from the savages he destroyed in showing he was able to finally “escape”.

• Dialogue is used to achieve the author's tone and theme. It shows how civilization and order breaks down between the boys.
  -The arguments between the Jack and Ralph show the fight between civilization and savagery. The author's main theme. It also shows that civilization (Ralph) eventually succumbs to savagery but can be returned to civilization once more.
  -The most important dialogue is the one between Simon and The Lord of the Flies. It brings the dark tone while at the same time just hands the reader the theme on a silver platter.
  
• Dynamic characters is very important to expressing the theme of the novel. Since the theme is all about slowly turning into a savage this element is clearly needed.
  -Jack progressively succumbs to savagery and eventually become completely changed and obsessed with killing and hunting. It shows the change from being civilized to being savages.
  
• Golding uses the classes protagonist versus antagonist battle represented in the form between the boys Ralph and Jack.
  -While Ralph represents sanity, order, and civilization, Jack represents savagery. The conflict between these two show the battle between civilization (protagonist) and savagery (antagonist).
  
• Personification is slightly used in this novel to express the theme.
  -By making the pig on a stick (Lord of the Flies) talk it gives it human qualities and by doing so Golding can express the main theme of the novel.
  
• The setting is what sets up the whole theme for the novel.
  -The island in itself is a representation of no escape and seclusion from civilization. It sets up the chain of the events that leads to everyone turning into savages.
  
• Third person omniscient point of view is used to allow the reader to go into the minds of the characters as well know about all the events on the island.
  -Golding bounces from one event to another. One second your with Ralph on the beach and next your deep in the forest with the Lord of the Flies and Simon.
  -The reader is able to see Ralph's inner struggle between civilization and savagery.
  
• Diction is an essential to the author's tone (violent).
  -"'Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!'"
  -"There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws."
  
• Imagery is used to provide
  

-"surrounded by a fringe of inquisitive bright creatures, itself a silver shape beneath the steadfast constellations, Simon's dead body moved out toward the open sea."
-"The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist."

Characterizaton

1. The author uses direct characterizaton to describe the physical attributes of the characters and objects. For example he says Piggy is overweight and is therefore an outcast. He also says Ralph is attractive and Jack is tall and bony. The Lord of the Flies is also described directly in great detail. The greatest use of indirect characterization I came across was dialogue. To give the reader a sense of the age of the boys he makes grammatical errors on purpose when the boys speak. Also by the characters actions you can tell if their civilized or savages.
2. No the author's style of writing doesn't change when focusing on a character. It only happens when it comes to the Lord of the Flies scene with Simon, but only the tone seemed to change.
3. Ralph is considered a dynamic and round character because he does change slightly throughout the novel due to giving into savagery. He also develops a sense of leadership. He is round in that he isn't purely good or purely evil. He does give into savagery by joining Jack's hunts and feasts. He is in many ways flawed.
4. I came away feeling like I felt a person because Ralph's situation is very comparable to my own. Even though I'm not stranded on an island there are many temptations to lose one's sense of individuality and succumb to “more fun” options. The sense of connection with Ralph is what made him feel so real.

Allegory of Caves Sonnet

Those who are stuck in the very dark cave
Can only see the shadows on the wall
Those who are exposed to the light and truth
Destined to show others out of the cave

Shackled down and oblivious to truth
One man is set free to roam the outside
He basks in reality and knowledge
Guiding others in the cave towards the light

But not everyone can adjust to light
Some may go back into the very dark cave
The cave is cozy and familiar
But one will always be oblivious

Staying in the cave may feel very right
But it will forever leave you in pitch dark


(Okay so I i just went with the 10 syllables per line thing except the last line. No iambic stuff because I don't know how to do it so tips please. Please comment thanks)

Plato's Allegory of the Cave

1. The Allegory of Caves represents the senses can be misleading. Many of the prisoners only believe what they see is reality but there's more too it then that. Since the prisoners have lived their whole life in the caves they don't know any better.

2. The shadow, the cave, the sun, and the prisoners are the main sources of imagery. The shadow is the reality that the prisoners recognize and see. The cave is the darkness and prison in which the prisoners are trapped. The sun is the knowledge and truth of true reality.

3. The allegory suggests that the process to enlightenment is uncomfortable and painful. At first your eyes must adjust to the brightness and in that process your eyes may be in pain. In the end you are able to see things clearly and are basked in knowledge.

4. The shackles suggest that the prisoners are chained down to their narrow views of reality. Their minds are prisoners to their perception of reality. The cave suggests their narrow view of the world. It is a place where they are trapped and "safe" from the sun. They only know what is in the cave to be reality and nothing else.

5.  As a student the school is one thing that shackles the mind. School does provide knowledge and education but it doesn't allow one pursue knowledge of one's own free will. The student is confined to the learning environment that has been set up for them. The school is a student's cave.

6. The freed prisoner is exposed to the world and begins absorb its knowledge and reality. The prisoners are still stuck in the cave seeing shadows as reality.

7. Intellectual confusion occurs when one is exposed to too much or too little light. When exposed to too much light there is so much information you are being exposed to at once that it blinds you. Too little light leads to lack or clarity in which one does not have the whole picture and is in a sense still in the cave.

8. Cave prisoners must be directed or guided to the light. The allegory says that the state is one such entity that guides those to the light. In our case it would be the government or school. Intellectual freedom is something one must be exposed to. One cannot give another intellectual freedom it must be grasped by your own hands.

9. There is a distinction between appearances and reality because that distinction is what creates lies and deception. If you believed there isn't a distinction you are obviously still in "the cave". What you see and what is reality isn't always the same thing. Just like in the allegory the prisoners see the shadows as reality when in reality it isn't.

10. If there was not distinction between reality and appearances then what one sees is his or her reality. You cannot tell the difference therefore it makes perfect sense it is reality. But it isn't really reality but only your perception of reality.

Literary Analysis 3: The Stranger

General

1.       The plot in this novel is very clear and organized. You know instantly what the climax is and the falling action. What wasn’t really clear was the inciting incident. What I believe to be the inciting incident is when Meursault receives news of his mother’s death and attends the funeral. “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know. I got a telegram from the home.” This triggers everything that happens on in the story. Everyone feels sorry for Meursault, so that is how he meets some of his friends. Towards the end this incident is even used against him when he is being trialed at court. The Stranger was just a straight forward book with no surprises whatsoever. Everything is told in first person, so you could only know what the main character knew or thought. If there was any plot twist it would have to be the climax in which Meursault shoots the Arab. This book is at realistic as it gets. It’s like one of those movies based on a true story. If this novel had “Based on a true story” on the cover there would be no reason to doubt it. What happened to Meursault could happen to anyone in this world. It just has to do with sheer bad luck. “The way I see it, it’s bad luck… It leaves you defenseless.”-Celeste. Have you ever done something that you don’t even know why you did it? And what you did just comes back to bite you in butt. When people ask why you did what you did your only response is “I don’t know.” People are taken to court for something bad they did, but don’t why they even did it. This is exactly what happened to Meursault.

2.       What I got out of The Stranger is what is the point of life if we are all condemned to death. Sooner or later we die, it could be the next second, next day, or even next year. So why do we work so hard on our life when it can be taken away in a split second. The universe is unfair and we are all condemned to death, so make each second count. Even though the human life seems so meaningless you should always have hope and find a purpose to live.

3.       The tone of The Stranger is something you’d not expect from a book. The tone is plain and detached. What I mean by that is no emotion is involved. No emotion is expressed through the main character and Meursault seems to be a dreamer, thinker, and a listener. Meursault is not very attached to anyone or anything in the novel. When I read a book I usually feel what the main character feels, but since the tone was plain and detached I didn’t really feel excited, sad, or happy. I just started thinking about what Meursault was thinking about.

·         "I got up. Raymond gave me a very firm handshake and said that men always understand each other. I left his room, closing the door behind me, and paused for a minute in the dark, on the landing. The house was quiet, and a breath of dark, dank air wafted p from deep in the stairwell. All I could hear was the blood pounding in my ears. I stood there, motionless."

·         "At that time, I often thought that if I had had to live in the trunk of a dead tree, with nothing to do but look up at the sky flowing overhead, little by little I would have gotten used to it."

·         "It occurred to me that anyway one more Sunday was over that Maman was buried now, that I was going back to work, and that, really, nothing had changed."

4.       Albert Camus uses first person narrative to tell the story. Albert Camus tells the story through the eyes of Meursault. This way everything that happens to Meursault affects what or how something will be written. The novel is written on the thoughts of Meursault and his perspective.

·         "Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know. I got a telegram from the home: 'Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours.' That doesn't mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday.”

Don’t know what his is called but Albert shifts between present and past in his narration

·         "The scorching blade slashed at my eyelashes and stabbed at my stinging eyes. That's when everything began to reel. The sea carried up a thick, fiery breath. It seemed to me as if the sky split open from one end to the other to rain down fire. My whole being tensed and I squeezed my hand around the revolver. The trigger gave; I felt the smooth underside of the butt; and there, in that noise, sharp and deafening at the same time, is where I tall started. I shook off the sweat and sun. I knew that I had shattered the harmony of the day, the exceptional silence of a beach where I'd been happy. Then I fired four more times at the motionless body where the bullets lodged without leaving a trace. And it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness."

The author leaves little hints there and there that gives hints of what might happen later in the story. This is also known as foreshadowing.

·         "In a way, they seemed to be arguing the case as if it had nothing to do with me. Everything was happening without my participation. My fate was being decided without anyone so much as asking my opinion."

The author uses flashback to refer back to the past.

·         "And I can say that at the end of the eleven months that this investigation lasted, I was almost surprised that I had ever enjoyed anything other than those rare moments when the judge would lead me to the door of his office, slap me on the shoulder, and say to me cordially, 'That's all for today, Monsieur Antichrist.' I would then be handed back over to the police."

Death and observation are motifs throughout the story.

·         "How had I not seen that there was nothing more important than an execution, and that when you come right down to it, it was the only thing a man could truly be interested in?"

                Metaphors are used to refer to the character in the perspective of others.

·         "They [the jury] had before them the basest of crimes, a crime made worse than sordid by the fact that they were dealing with a monster, a man without morals."

The story is told in the point of view of the main character himself enriching the story. Allows for the reader to enter the character’s mind.

·         "At that time, I often thought that if I had had to live in the trunk of a dead tree, with nothing to do but look up at the sky flowing overhead, little by little I would have gotten used to it."

A huge literary element used is stream of consciousness. This whole book is pretty much using this element. Much of the novel is describing the protagonist’s thoughts.

·         "In a way, they seemed to be arguing the case as if it had nothing to do with me. Everything was happening without my participation. My fate was being decided without anyone so much as asking my opinion."

Personification is slightly used to make connection between things.

·         "'I am on your side. But you have no way of knowing it, because our heart is blind.'"

Symbolism is slightly used to relate one subject to another.

·         The courtroom represents where society attempts to make sense of the universe without order. The judge is the moral umpire and the jury are representatives that cast their judgments upon the accused.

Characterization

1.       Indirect characterization:

·         "She was wearing a pair of my pajamas with the sleeves rolled up. When she laughed I wanted her again. A minute later she asked me if I loved her. I told her it didn't mean anything but that I didn't think so. She looked sad. But as we were fixing lunch, and for no apparent reason, she laughed in such a way that I kissed her."

Albert Camus doesn’t seem to use direct characterization. Meursault mainly gives his indifferent opinion on a character but that doesn’t lead to direct characterization. Since this whole novel is about Meursault the author focuses characterization on him. Albert Camus uses indirect characterization because he wants you to get to know Meursault little by little rather than serving him on a plate and saying “here you go”. This allows for the reader to develop their own thoughts on him and what they think of him and his views.

2. Albert Camus’s diction and syntax stay the same throughout the novel even when focusing on the main character. Most of the novel is focused on the main character so the diction and syntax is structured in a way that his told from his point of view. To me the diction and syntax seem mostly philosophical in a way because the author is talking about death and the value of life.

3. The protagonist is static and flat. Meursault is simply observing and reflecting on those observations. There’s no adventure or quest that would make him change his views. There is no change in him from the beginning of the novel to the end. He is a flat character because he seems to have only on personality throughout the novel. He is for the most part detached and indifferent.

4.  After reading the book I definitely came away feeling like a met a person. I felt like a met a person because the book took you deep into the mind of the protagonist when he was being sentenced to death. Just getting into his mind made you really feel like you knew the guy.

·         "I would rather not have upset him, but I couldn't see any reason to change my life. Looking back on it, I wasn't unhappy. When I was a student, I had lots of ambitions like that. But when I had to give up my studies I learned very quickly that none of it really mattered."

Big Question

Is it possible to run through a concrete wall?

Vocab List 11

affinity: a natural liking for or attraction to a person, thing, idea, etc.
-His affinity for the outrageous gave him a reputation as class clown.

bilious : peevish, irritable, cranky; or extremely distasteful
-The bilious decor put him into a bilious mood.

cognate : allied or similar in nature or quality
-To him, apples and oranges were cognates -- both fruit, after all.

cul-de-sac : any situation in which further progress is impossible
-After a lifetime of hard work, he finally reached a cul-de-sac in his chosen field.

derring-do : daring deeds; heroic daring
-Through a mixture of fool-hardiness and derring-do, he emerged the victor.

divination : instinctive foresight; perception by intuition
-No amount of divination could have predicted a disaster of this magnitude.

elixir : an alchemic preparation believed to either prolong life or turn base metals into gold; or the quintessence or absolute embodiment of anything
-The alchemist is, in many ways, the elixir of mad scientists.

folderol : mere nonsense; foolish talk or ideas
-"Aliens?  Zombies?  Alien zombies?  Folderol, all of it!"

gamut : the entire scale or range
-After thoroughly testing the gamut of colors between red and white, he concluded that yes, pink is indeed a color. (Actually, it kinda isn't, apparently)

hoi polloi : the common people; the masses
-On his mountaintop throne, he surveyed the hoi polloi below disdainfully.

ineffable : incapable of being expressed or described in words (esp. due to greatness, sacredness, etc.)
-The grandeur of the monument was ineffable.

lucubration : laborious work, study, thought, etc. (esp. at night)
-My typical method of study.

mnemonic : assisting or attempting to assist the memory

obloquy : censure, blame, or abusive language aimed at a person or thing (esp. by numerous people or general public)
-Not able to stand the brutal obloquy, he dropped out of the race.

parameter : limits or boundaries; guidelines
-While there were few parameters in place, those that existed were of great importance.

pundit : a learned person, expert, or authority
-When in doubt, refer to a pundit.

risible : causing or capable of causing laughter
-Although the situation may have been tragic to some, his lighthearted nature somehow made it risible.

symptomatic : constituting or indicative of a symptom (evidence or indication of something)
-The doctor attributed thought the unusual behavior was simply symptomatic of the flu -- it turned out to be something much more sinister.

volte-face : a turnabout, especially a reversal of opinion or policy
-Charisma and clever speaking was able to incite a volte-face.

Sonnet

 Funeral Hymn

Dust unto dust, 
To this all must; 
The tenant hath resign'd 
The faded form To waste and worm- 
Corruption claims her kind.

Through paths unknown 
Thy soul hath flown, 
To seek the realms of woe, 
Where fiery pain 
Shall purge the stain 
Of actions done below.

In that sad place, 
By Mary's grace, 
Brief may thy dwelling be 
Till prayers and alms, 
And holy psalms, 
Shall set the captive free.

-Sir Walter Scott