Vocabulary List Fall #6

abase - verb cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of
abdicate - verb give up, such as power, as of monarchs and emperors, or duties and obligations
abomination - noun an action that is vicious or vile; an action that arouses disgust or abhorrence; a person who is loathsome or disgusting; hate coupled with disgust
brusque - adj. marked by rude or peremptory shortness
saboteur - noun someone who commits sabotage or deliberately causes wrecks; a member of a clandestine subversive organization who tries to help a potential invader
debauchery - noun a wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity
proliferate - verb cause to grow or increase rapidly; grow rapidly
anachronism - noun an artifact that belongs to another time; a person who seems to be displaced in time; who belongs to another age; something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred
nomenclature - noun a system of words used to name things in a particular discipline
expurgate - verb edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate
bellicose - adj. having or showing a ready disposition to fight
gauche - adj. lacking social polish
rapacious - adj. excessively greedy and grasping; devouring or craving food in great quantities; living by preying on other animals especially by catching living prey
paradox - noun (logic) a statement that contradicts itself
conundrum - noun a difficult problem
anomaly - noun (astronomy) position of a planet as defined by its angular distance from its perihelion (as observed from the sun); a person who is unusual; deviation from the normal or common order or form or rule
ephemeral - adj. lasting a very short time; noun anything short-lived, as an insect that lives only for a day in its winged form
rancorous - adj. showing deep-seated resentment
churlish - adj. having a bad disposition; surly; rude and boorish
precipitous - adj. characterized by precipices; extremely steep;done with very great haste and without due deliberation

Canterbury Tales Essay

It seems almost impossible without directly asking the author the purpose of their writings. Chaucer is obviously long gone, but even if an author is alive they usually won’t give a concrete single reason behind their work especially fiction. Considering there is no definitive answer to a century’s old text like the “Canterbury Tales” I would draw the conclusion that the underlying motive seemed to be to inform people of life in Britain at the time, create a legacy of English literature, and showcase the disparities of folks in different walks of life yet how they all converge and interact. Given his position in court Chaucer was unique since he was one of the few that could witness this and tell of it. Others able to see this would be the clergy or nobility, these people may have interacted with lower caste but not associated so writing about them would have been questionable to say the least.

Chaucer’s work brought a new perspective to the people of the medieval world. His work is one of the few contemporary resources at the time to document the lives of regular people. The few literate people at the time were either in the clergy and nobility and focused on themselves. By describing the lives of the lesser people he was shattering the tradition at the time. Few societies even outside of Europe cared about the endeavors so this was revolutionary. Critics at the time would’ve viewed this as against the status quo of only mentioning the highest and most educated people in literature. Also being in the vernacular this opened the door to the less privileged to have something in their language that they could comprehend. Another thing this contributed to was a way that people who would be scorned by their peers for associating with other castes to understand what the other people experienced.

Previous tales from England at the time were being told in Latin, Gaelic, or other European languages, this was the first to be told and written down in Middle English which started the legacy of the English language. Other works of both fiction and nonfiction were retold orally but these were subject to change due to the evolving speech and differences by the raconteur. When this story finally put the words on paper ending the old tradition of only writing in Latin or French and started the new way that would be followed by more great authors in the centuries to come. This began a movement at the time to not only make new works in English but translate preexisting text which applied for most secular stories and even the Bible in 1611. Doing this fairly odd act at the time like publishing in the vernacular gave English writers that would live later on a source of inspiration and a chance to add to the cannon most notably Shakespeare.

Although the characters of this story all have different professions, social statuses, and acquaintances the Canterbury Tales shows how all sorts of people are brought together and interact. The majority of people in the story are walking contradictions the friar doesn’t care about charity but his own money, the cook that serves many people food is absolutely disgusting, and the squire descended of chivalrous blood lacks morals. Yet all these characters hear the same call of faith to meet in Canterbury. We see that along the way is what is retold, the journey not the final destination. Most stories before had one protagonist, one perspective, one motive; but this story can incorporate over 20 different protagonist. Not just through the host eyes can we see this plot unfold instead it is via everyone’s perspective which is underused in literature still today.

To sum it up Chaucer’s masterpiece the Canterbury Tales continues to be important because of how it vividly described life in England at the time for many different people, created the future foundation for all English literature, and portrayed how all kinds of individuals treat each other.      

Canterbury Tales Essay Outline

Thesis: Considering there is no definitive answer to a century’s old text like the “Canterbury Tales” I would draw the conclusion that the underlying motive seemed to be to inform people of life in Britain at the time, create a legacy of English literature, and showcase the disparities of folks in different walks of life yet how they all converge and interact.

First Body: Chaucer paints a vivid portrait of life in Feudal England by giving a voice and actions to groups generally frowned upon or not spoken about in the hierarchical structure.

Second Body: This great collection of stories would be a stepping stone in the English written tradition leading to future authors years after like Shakespeare, J.K. Rowling, etc.

Third Body: Display how many people from different circumstances share a similar human experience.

Conclusion: Restate thesis and incorporate ideas like the literary elements/techniques used some were irony, imagery, foreshadowing, etc.

THE POINT OF CANTERBURY TALES IS...

Thesis is Underlined

It seems almost impossible without directly asking the author the purpose of their writings. Chaucer is obviously long gone, but even if an author is alive they usually won’t give a concrete single reason behind their work especially fiction. Considering there is no definitive answer to a century’s old text like the “Canterbury Tales” I would draw the conclusion that the underlying motive seemed to be to inform people of life in Britain at the time, create a legacy of English literature, and showcase the disparities of folks in different walks of life yet how they all converge and interact. Given his position in court Chaucer was unique since he was one of the few that could witness this and tell of it. Others able to see this would be the clergy or nobility, these people may have interacted with lower caste but not associated so writing about them would have been questionable to say the least.

Green Eggs and Hamlet

A) Honestly I don’t know much about Hamlet other than it was written by Shakespeare, probably takes place from 1300 to the late 1500’s, has the whole “to be or not to be” famous quote, a little about what teachers have said about it like how he has to kill someone, also “The Lion King” was inspired by it so a gist of the plot.
B) Shakespeare was an Elizabethan play write who wrote famous plays like: Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Richard III etc. There are a bunch of theories of who he was and what inspired him I’m not sure how much is true most of it seems like nonsense. Much of his writing is about royalty or the nobility who are usually the relatives of the monarchy.
C) I personally frown at it because of how boring Romeo and Juliet were; however Julius Caesar made me shift my viewpoint of his writing. Before high school most people probably here similar things I did about Shakespeare, it’s hard to comprehend, long, boring, and terrible. So even before trying it out people already have a negative preconception of what they are going to read. Also it is super long so trying to finish it in class is nearly impossible and not finishing something is annoying.
D) As for possible things to add to improve, I currently run short on ideas maybe we could recite an important scene or act something out in a humorous way. A bad thing to do though would include watching the new completely anachronistic version; the Romeo and Juliet with Leonardo Decaprio was the main example of this failure.

Vocabulary List Fall #5

shenanigans - noun mischief; prankishness; deceit; trickery

ricochet - noun a glancing rebound; verb spring back; spring away from an impact
schism - noun division of a group into opposing factions; the formal separation of a church into two churches or the withdrawal of one group over doctrinal differences
eschew - verb avoid and stay away from deliberately; stay clear of
plethora - noun extreme excess
ebullient - adj. joyously unrestrained
garrulous - adj. full of trivial conversation
harangue - noun a loud bombastic declamation expressed with strong emotion; verb deliver a harangue to; address forcefully
interdependence - noun a reciprocal relation between interdependent entities (objects or individuals or groups)
capricious - adj. determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason; changeable
loquacious - adj. full of trivial conversation
ephemeral - adj. lasting a very short time; noun anything short-lived, as an insect that lives only for a day in its winged form
inchoate - adj. only partly in existence; imperfectly formed
juxtapose - verb place side by side
perspicacious - adj. acutely insightful and wise; mentally acute or penetratingly discerning
codswallop - noun nonsensical talk or writing
mungo – noun a low-grade wool from felted rags or waste
sesquipedalian – adj. given to using long words; (of a word) containing many syllables
wonky - adj. inclined to shake as from weakness or defect; turned or twisted toward one side
diphthong - noun a vowel sound that starts near the articulatory position for one vowel and moves toward the position for another

Coggle Story

https://coggle.it/diagram/54332a41909be1121d00861a

Character Study III

My Journey - Marooned
After vacationing in Cuba for the summer the time had finally arrived for Eric to return home to get ready for the upcoming school year. It would mark his first year out of the house and somewhat on his own. He would have to live off top ramen, mac and cheese, and poorly filtered water. Already grown accustomed to living on the cheap this did not daunt him. His whole vacation was planned for fewer than two-thousand dollars anyway including transportation. Using every available resource to decrease costs he had devised a convoluted path that only a fool would make. It was planned to go from Cuba to Florida like any normal transportation, then all the way on extra business class to Maine, then Las Vegas, followed by a bus to California. Like Wal Mart all chances to cut cost were made even though the quality would diminish significantly. First was to Miami, a sunny place for shady people, the route there was scenic to say the least. Being a practical stow away hiding in a small boat to dock on some sketchy private harbor with nothing but clothes, toilet trees, some cash, and a burner phone. The next way was even less efficient a night long boat ride up to Maine that would depart around 8 PM. This transportation was done by paying a man who looked like a washed up Blackbeard to go on a medium sized cargo ship. Knocking out on the poop deck almost immediately after boarding all seemed assured that this journey was almost halfway complete.
Along the coast of New Jersey around 3 in the morning things began to change. There was sudden movement on the boat people seemed to have boarded. Unfortunately for the few others on the boat it was the Mafia coming to loot whatever was beneath the deck. It turns out there were stores of cocaine and other drugs; explains why the ship was going for so cheap, unregulated, and illegal. Being closer to the life raft Eric snuck off hoping the criminals wouldn't notice. Apparently they didn't or if they had no one cared enough to pursue the raft. Those who did not escape were being held until the Coast Guard arrived as the rafts had floated away. The government must have noticed an unmarked and unauthorized vessel when it sailed by the capital and assumed the worst.
After being marooned and passed out from exhaustion Eric awoke on the shore of God knows where. It would seem his plans of traveling inexpensively were shattered into a million pieces. He was just happy to avoid death and the growingly tyrannical government agents at sea. Now the trek up to Maine or civilization would need to be undertaken hopefully yielding something of value. Wandering he finally found the highway with a sign reading, “Atlantic City 20 miles East and New York City 40 miles North.” Fate would have to guide him to the Big Apple where he had another shady contact reside. Finding this denizen would generally provide a challenge yet nothing else could go worse at least. Carpooling not hitch hiking, since that would be politically incorrect, the way to NYC was easy once he found a trucker who looked less suspicious than everyone else on this adventure. Coming to the big city early that day it seemed opportune for locating a family friend who dwelled in Chinatown who could hopefully help him find a way back home. Unable to find this Mr. Kelly all hope seemed lost as it would cost hundreds for a plane or hotel in New York. Fortune would be in his favor for one final time as out of all the Puerto Rican in the city he found his good friend Ephraim who had been visiting campuses across the country. All of Eric’s months off the grid made him impossible to contact so he was unaware of the campaign his friend was making but joined him on his way eventually home…hopefully.