THE LAST BLOG POST OF IB LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE YEAR 2

It was a year of great growth

It was the summation of my high school life

It was the best year so far

It was full of sports, school, and all my friends

It was leaving my safe zone

It was spent at the best school on this earth

I was learning every day

I was surrounded by such great people

I was learning lifelong skills

I was ending a chapter of my life

I was done with all IAs

I was ready to attend Chapel Hill

It will all be remembered

It will be thought of in nostalgia

It will link me to the past

It will be a place I can return to

It will always affect me

It will be the place I grew the most in

I will keep Millbrook in mind

I will always remember my teachers

I will not forget my roots

I will move on with memories and skills

I will continue to learn

I will go from wildcat to a ram

Witty Whitman

One of the first things that I noticed in the pages was a stamp, and at first I didn't understand what it could have been but then I realized that it was just classification of the book for record. On page 3, the first word that I could make out was "Brochure" at the top. He stated this as if to start his dialogue between him and Abraham Lincoln. Later on that page I picked out "Lessons for a president elect", this might be significant because it shows that he feels he has value to give to arguably the most important man in America at the time. Furthermore, Whitman never actually had dialogue with Lincoln in real life so this might show his respect and how he values the president elect. On the following page I see that he talks about multiple platforms with multiple religions. This reminds me of how he based Leaves of Grass partly on the bible (Book of James?), but in this page he also talks about Greek, Jews, and Christians. Although he states that he is presenting a new form that includes the previously mentioned. This is significant because it allows us to realize why Whitman talks the way he does in his poems, because he believes in a faith that we do not understand. The lower pages have drawings on them, this could be significant to show how detail oriented he is, because I can even see the resemblance between him drawing himself and his image on my book cover.

On page three, he was apparently trying out a new group of poems that he would never end up publishing. This brings the thought how many of his works did he not publish but might have finished and did he ever write things that opposed his views to get new perspectives for other poems? I find it very interesting on page 4 that his third religion was really a way to keep his ideals but still try and save the Union. This is significant because I feel this is very selfish of Whitman and seems to be more of a campaign for his own beliefs than him helping others. This also is shows why Whitman was such a strong supporter of Lincoln during his presidency.  Also, the images show that maybe not all of the things in his journal were his. The brown nose on page 12 suggests that other things were passed around and that is why the image contains a brown nose. The random images of people and images could also show a connection to Leaves of Grass showing that people may have different things on the outside but we are all the same on the inside.

"Breathing Dreams like Air..."

I would describe the American Dream as ones wish for a life that is obtainable but still substantially better than their own. This can change between different people, for example, the American Dream for someone could be to own a house of their own, while someone else's could be to own their own multimillion dollar business. This goes with the my definition of wealth, which is making enough money to sustain the lifestyle that you desire with happiness. This means wealth is not measurable and it is different for everyone. This idea of the American Dream and wealth goes along with the 1920s as well because there was such massive expansion going on that is was easy for people to make money after the war.

Americas view on wealth and poverty is a destination where they either want to be or they despise. This is seen in The Great Gatsby when Gatsby throws his extravagant parties to display his wealth and to bring his love back to him. He is trying to out do his love's current partnered. It is almost like a challenge to see who is the wealthiest. My attitude toward wealth and poverty is a little different than this. I understand that some people have things that they can't control and that is why they are poverish, but I also believe it can be temporary and they can always improve their life. My idea of wealth is that people achieve it at different levels and it is not necessarily based on monetary value, that is being rich. This is also something that today is not as socially acceptable to talk about or display in public.

Nothing Really Mattress(?): Kafka, Camus, and the Importance of Translation

#1:
diction: the connotation of 'uneasy' could show how his dreams were reflecting his metamorphosis into a gigantic insect in real life. The connotation of the diction is surprised and this has an effect of showing that Gregor's transformation was not expected.

syntax: the use of one long drawn out sentence shows the lack of structure and confusion. Gregor does not know what happened and the sentence structure adds to the confusion.

imagery/detail: the detail about Gregor waking up from a dream and the description of him being in bed shows the location and time of the scene. Also, the imagery of Gregor 'transforming' into a 'gigantic insect' has the effect of showing change and detail for the reader.

structure: the structure of leading with the description of uneasy dreams leads well into the statement about Gregor's transformation. This mainly effects the audience by allowing them to understand the flow of events without getting confused.

tone: the tone is distraught. The use of 'uneasy' and the description of being a gigantic insect makes Gregor seem very distraught and not certain of what has happened.

#2:
diction: the diction is very simplistic. The words that are used do not contain a lot of syllables. This makes the scene seem unimportant or that Gregor is not alarmed by this event.

syntax: the small sentence makes the event seem unimportant. This could easily be read over because of the small focus, and the minuscule sentence shows a lack of detail.

imagery/detail: this translation does not give a lot of detail. It gives the bare minimum in order to understand the event that has occurred. This effects the reader by making them guess and make predictions on the specifics.

structure: the translation is one phrase. This is effective in making the audience read the event quickly in order to understand the event on a basic level.

tone: the tone of this translation is very neutral. It does not give a lot of detail, so the words such as 'changed' and 'giant bug' are not alarming in every day life.

#3:
diction: the diction shows sophistication. The use of the words 'enormous', 'troubled' and 'transformed' shows a high level of sophistication with the effect of creating more description of the event.

syntax: the use of one clause shows the quick flow of events. This has the effect of showing that there was not really time between these events, because they are presented in the same clause.

imagery/detail: the imagery is vivid. It describes waking up and the level of oddness that Gregor encounters when he awakes from his troubling dreams.

structure: the structure of stating 'when Gregor awoke' shows that he did not already know that he was transformed into an insect. This shows specificity of the timeline of events.

tone: the tone is alarmed. By describing the fact that the dream was troublesome and he found himself transformed shows that he was alarmed when he awoke that morning.

#4:
diction: the use of the words 'agitated', 'found', 'monstrous' and 'vermin' have a connotation of very negative. They are meant to raise alarm to what has happened to Gregor.

syntax: by using multiple commas and clauses, it shows the importance of this event. The reader cannot read over this sentence easily without grasping the magnitude of the event.

imagery/detail: the detail of the morning Gregor found himself transformed into a bug gives great importance to the event. The high level of imagery shows how disturbed Gregor is from this alarming transformation.

structure: the structure is very chronological. It separates moments with commas in order to break down the quick event more carefully.

tone: the tone is very alarmed. The connotation in the diction shows how scared and negative his awareness of his transformation is.

Paragraphs
The diction, syntax, punctuation, and imagery shift the affected meaning in each of the translations by varying the level of importance put on the event as well as the tone created. The level of sophistication in the diction combined with the imagery created shows how important the event is. When their is only basic levels of literary elements and description the reader feels as though the event is not very important. The use of imagery is the most effective because it gives the reader more detail on the event and brings more attention to it making it seem more significant.

This exercise shows that reading translated texts can have different meanings in it depending on the translation. This is seen between the four different translations, some put more emphasis and detail into the event than others. The text can be misunderstood from what the author intended the audience to know. Different translations affect the tone of the sentence by making it more neutral or more alarming. The different translations have different levels of detail in them, the translations that have very little information in them are more neutral in tone while a translation with more imagery gives more evidence to the character feeling alarmed.

IOC Prep

Couldn't figure out how to attach so I emailed it to you.

Passage

“Hold on, Tommy.” Did she actually say your art was ‘rubbish?’”

“If it wasn’t ‘rubbish’ it was something like it. Negligible. That

might have been it. Or incompetent. She might as well have said

rubbish. She said she was sorry she’d told me what she had the last

time because if she hadn’t, I might have sorted it all out by now.”                                     

        “What were you saying through all of this?”

        “I didn’t know what to say. In the end, she actually asked. She

said: ‘Tommy, what are you thinking?’ So I said I wasn’t sure but that

she shouldn’t worry either way because I was all right now. And she

said, no, I wasn’t all right. My art was rubbish, and that was partly                                    

her fault for telling me what she had. And I said to her, but what

does it matter? I’m all right now, no one laughs at me

about that any more. But she keeps shaking her head and saying: ‘It

does matter. I shouldn’t have said what I did.’ So it occurs to me

she’s talking about later, you know, after we leave here. So I                                             

say, ‘But I’ll be all right, Miss. I’m really fit, I know how to look

after myself. When it’s time for donations, I’ll be able to do it really

well.’ When I said this, she starts shaking her head, shaking it

really hard so I’m worried she’ll get dizzy. Then she says:

‘Listen, Tommy, your art, it is important. And not just because it’s                                    evidence. But for your own sake. You’ll get a lot from it, just for yourself.’”“Hold on. What did she mean, ‘evidence’?”

        “I don’t know. But she definitely said that. She said our art was important, and ‘not just because it’s evidence.’ God knows what she meant. I did actually ask her, when she said that. I said I    didn’t understand what she was telling me, and was it something to do with Madame and her gallery? And she did a big sigh and said: ‘Madame’s gallery, yes, that’s important. Much more important than I once thought. I see that now.’ Then she said: ‘Look, there are all kinds of things you don’t understand, Tommy, and I can’t tell you all about them. Things about Hailsham, about your place in the wider world, all kinds of things. But perhaps one day,you’ll try and find out. They won’t make it easy for you, but if you want to, really want to, you might find out.’ She started shaking her head again after that, though not as bad as before, and she says:‘But why should you be any different? The students who leave here, they never find out much. Why should you be any different?’ I didn’t know what she was talking about, so I just said again: ‘I’ll be all right, Miss.’”

What is the tone of this passage, and how is it established through the characters’ words and, when applicable, body language?

What greater themes does this excerpt speak to (and how)?

Grade:
A: Knowledge and Understanding of the Text--9
        References to the origin of the book, such as dates, author, and the style of the book. Also, many references to the text are cited to further support the argument. The references to the text are not only in the passage but also in other parts of the book so it shows deep connection throughout the novel.

B: Understanding of the Use and Effectiveness of Literary Elements--7
        There is good awareness to literary elements. Both dialogue and tone are explained but not extremely in depth. Also, the effect on the reader were not extensive, they were mere statements and not deeply explained.

C: Organization--3
        The commentary started out organized and then as time passed the commentary began to head in many different directions and became less structured.

D: Language--5
       Did not find any problems with language being inappropriate. Also, the language was precise and accurate for the commentary.

I've Got You Covered

The similarity between the covers is their vagueness. In 3 out of the 4 covers the images are very vague and could be connected to a lot of different things. This is so by the blurriness, the conventional scenery, or even the organs. The difference between the covers is that the top two depict people, while the bottom two depict places or things. This could be a difference to show the effect of the mystery of the place and people at Hailsham. The people are unidentifiable, they could be clones; but also the scenery and objects could show the mystery in the place and nobody really knows where it is. So the reason behind the different covers could be to show the magnitude of the lack of knowledge known about the place and people at Hailsham.

The two covers I will look deeper into are the blurred and the landscape covers.

1.     The first words that come to mind when I see these two images are: vague, mysterious, tranquil, appealing, and interesting. This makes me think of how little we really know about the location and people in Hailsham. We’ve been told that Kath doesn’t know where it is, but we also don’t know where the kids are from. They are clones but how did they get there and why were they there instead of somewhere else.

2.     If I had not read part of the novel already, then I would have thought the book was about a girl who was in the wilderness, secluded from the rest of society and she has a problem with her organs and needs to seek help. Now that I have read the novel, these images have a lot of relationships with the text, the top left image represents how Kath is not happy about her life and Hailsham. The second image shows how the kids are clones by not showing any unique features. The bottom left image could show the mystery of the location of Hailsham or even an important scene like when Kath and Tommy are at the pond. The final image relates the purpose of the kids, and how they are bread to donate their organs.

3.     Kath seems to be the one who is portrayed in all of the covers. The viewpoint is also seen from Kath. This is because the girls on the covers could show Kath’s displeasure or her being a clone with no unique features, or even by showing the pond and organs, because she is a donor.

4.     I don’t feel that these images show the cultural construction of the book because they do not show any part of the culture. They are all vague images and do not reveal very much.

5.     The type of person that would write this book is someone who is not happy with how society seems to have set out plans for people. They would write this book to try and show that people are not happy when they are forced into a direction for their whole life, this could be having to go to college to get a job that has to pay well. Additionally, a person who would read this would be someone who feels like they are being used. They feel like their only purpose is to be at the whelm of others.

The only thing that I don’t understand from these images is that two of them depict forests, and in the novel they said if you go into the woods then you will die and be found with removed limbs. So why would the cover depict this if it isn’t investigated in the book.