Dickens

Reading Schedule:
I'm a little behind on Great Expectation so I plant to read at least 30 pages a night to catch up.

AP Questions:
1. In the final chapter, Estella says to Pip: "Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching." (page 834) Discuss the theme of suffering in this book—specifically how it instructs Pip, Miss Havisham and Estella.

2. What do you think makes Pip change his opinion of his benefactor Magwitch from one of the initial repugnance to one of the deep and abiding respect and love?

3.If Pip had not received his "great expectations" and never left Joe's forge, how do you think his life would have been different? Are the lessons he learns during his physical and emotional journey necessary for him to arrive at the wisdom he displays as the middle-aged narrator of this tale? In what ways?


4. Why do you think Miss Havisham manipulates and misleads Pip into thinking she is his secret benefactor? What, if anything, does she derive from this action?

5. Given Dickens' portrayal of Estella, what do you think attracts Pip to her in the first place, and what, when he learns of her cold-blooded manipulation of men, keeps Pip devoted to her until the end, loving her, as he says, "against reason, against promise, against peace"? (page 594)

Lit Terms 31-56

Dialect: the language of a particular district, class or group of persons; the sounds, grammar, and diction employed by people distinguished from others

Dialectics: formal debates usually over the nature of truth

Dichotomy: split or break between two opposing things

Diction: the style of speaking or writing as reflected in the choice and use of words

Didactic: having to do with the transmission of information; education

Dogmatic: rigid in beliefs and principles

Elegy: a mournful, melancholy poem, especially a funeral song or lament for the dead, sometimes contains general reflections on death, often with a rural or pastoral setting

Epic: a long narrative poem unified by a hero who reflects the customs, morals, and aspirations of his nation of race as he makes his way through legendary and historic exploits, usually over a long period of time

Epigram: witty aphorism

Epitaph: any brief inscription in prose or verse on a tombstone; a short formal poem of commemoration often a credo written by the person who wishes it to be on his tombstone

Epithet: a short, descriptive name or phrase that may insult someone's character, characteristics

Euphemism: the use of an indirect, mild, or vague word or expression for one thought to be coarse, offensive, or blunt

Evocative: a calling forth of memories and sensations; the suggestion or production through artistry and imagination of a sense of reality

Exposition: beginning of a story that sets forth facts, ideas, and/or characters, in a detailed explanation

Expressionism: movement in art, literature, and music consisting of unrealistic representation of an inner idea or feeling(s).

Fable:  a short simple story, usuall with animals as characters, designed to teach a moral truth

Fallacy: from Latin word "to deceive", a false or misleading notion, belief or argument; any kind of erroneous reasoning that makes arguments unsound

Falling Action: part of the narrative or drama after the climax

Farce: a boisterous comedy involving ludicrous action and dialogue

Figurative Language: apt and imaginative language characterized by figures of speech (such as metaphor and simile)

Flashback: a narrative device that flashes back to prior events

Foil: a person or thing that, by contrast, makes another seem better or more promient

Folk Tale: a story passed on by word of mouth

Foreshadowing: in fiction and drama, a device to prepare the reader for the outcome of the action; "planing" to make the outcome convincing, though not to give it away

Free Verse: verse without conventional metrical pattern, with irregular pattern or no rhyme

Lit Terms 6-30

Analogy: a comparison made between two things to show the similarities between them

Analysis: a method in which a work or idea is separated into its parts, and those parts given rigorous and detailed scrutiny

Anaphora: a device or repetition in which a word or words are repeated at the begining of two or more lines, phrases, clauses, or sentences

Anecdote: a very short story used to illustrate a point

Antagonists: a person or force opposing the protagonist in a drama or narrative

Antithesis: a balancing of one term against another for emphasis or stylistic effectiveness

Aphorism: a terse, pointed statement expressing some wise or clever observation about life

Apologia: a defense or justification of some doctrine, piece of writing, cause, or action; also apology

Apostrophe: a figure of speech in which an absent or dead person, an abstract quality, or something inanimate or nonhuman is addressed directly

Argument(ation): the process of convincing a reader by proving either the truth or falsity of an idea in proposition; also, the thesis or proposition itself

Assumption: the act of supposing, or taking for granted that a thing is true

Audience: the intended listener or listeners

Characterization: the means by which a writer reveals a character's personality

Chiasmus: a reversal in the order of words so that the second half of a statement balances the first half in inverted word order

Circumlocution: a roundabout or evasive speech or writing, in which many words are used but a few would have served

Classicism: art, literature, and music reflecting the principles of ancient Greece and Rome (tradition, reason, clarity, order, and balance)

Cliche: a phrase or situation overused within society

Climax: the decisive point in a narrative or drama; the point of greatest intensity or interest at which plot question is answered or resolved

Colloquialism: folksy speech, slang words or phrases usually used in informal conversation

Comedy: originally a nondramatic literary piece of work that was marked by a happy ending; now a term to describe a ludicrous, farcical, or amusing event designed to provide enjoyment or produce smiles and laughter

Conflict: struggle or problem in a story causing tension

Connotation: implicit meaning, going beyond dictionary definition

Contrast: a rhetorical device by which one element (idea or object) is thrown into opposition to another for the sake of emphasis or clarity

Denotation: plain dictionary definition

Denouement: loose ends tied up in a story after the climax, closure, conclusion

Lit Terms 1-5

Allegory: a tale in prose or verse in which characters, actions, or settings represent abstract ideas or moral qualities; a story that uses symbols to make a point
 -

Alliteration: the repetition of similar initial sounds, usually consonants, in a group of words 
 -Alice’s aunt ate apples and acorns around August.

Allusion:  a reference to a person, a place, an event, or a literary work that a writer expects a reader to recognize


Ambiguity: something uncertain as to interpretation


Anachroism:  something that shows up in the wrong place or the wrong time

Spring Semester Plan 1

The goal I had for New Years seemed to general and not really a SMART goal. It did not really seem like a goal that seemed essential to this Spring Semester.

My revised goal pertaining to this semester is to become very active in applying for scholarships. Because college applications are now finished I now have more time to commit to applying for scholarships. My goal is to at least get a minimum of 10 scholarships this semester.

What's In This for Me?

Mostly every New Year I never followed through with my resolutions. At some point I didn't even bother to make one due to lack of determination and confidence. I only seem to follow through for the first month but after that it's back to normal.

I used to be very neat and organized when I was in elementary school but suddenly I just started being messy. It may be because I became more lazy or becoming a teenager. Those two things can also be one in the same. Throughout high school I have had a huge problem with organization when it came to school and even my room and desk. It has caused me to become frustrated and less efficient yet I continue to be disorganized.

This year I will try to fulfill my resolution before I go to college. I think it is something I will need before going off on my own.

To get the ball rolling I will not save things I don't need and throw them away. Every Sunday will be organizing day where I clean my room and desk as well as my backpack.

I really hope I accomplish my goal this year because it will be something that will help more for a lifetime.