Literature Analysis #3 ( Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck)

• The novel is about the Joad family and their pillage to California in search of better opportunities. They leave Oklahoma and have so many encounters with people and obstacles that make everything so tough on them. The main reason they left was the Dust Bowl that forced many "Okies" to flee the Midwest and head West. The sudden rush of people saturated all of the workforce making a job nearly impossible to obtain. The family endures many separations and deaths buy ultimately the next generation survives. John Steinbeck fulfills his purpose of describing the hardships by the way he intricately paint the characters and their situations. If you read the novel you feel like you're traveling with the Joad's and are experiencing every drop of sorrow along with the family.  
• "It's not how hard you can punch, it's how hard you can get punched and still keep going." -Rocky Balboa. This fictional quate to me sums up the theme of the novel. The Joad's experience so much trouble and hardships but they still kept pushing on. People sometimes lose hope but these people didn't and this just reflects the warrior mentality the Joad's had. 
• Tom Joad ,the protagonist, is characterized indirectly. Steinbeck describes what Tom has been through ,such as his experience in prison, and the way his parents welcome him home. His is looked at as the sort of Golden child in a way. I thought of Tom as a man who has been is shitty situations but always found a way to turn the negative into a positive, or at least try to. 
• Tom Joad is a very dynamic character. He is everything that you don't expect from a murderer; kind,caring, and compassionate. Tom gets out of prison and his first thought is for his family. He emerges as the head of the household later in the novel and does what ever is possible for the sake of his family. Tom also uses his guidance from Jim Casey, the Joad's former pastor, to seek God's help though all of the muck. 
• At the end of the novel I felt a strange sensation at the pit of my stomach. I don't know whether it was because I've been sick or the emotional rollercoaster that I just endure. I honestly felt like the Joad's were in front of me and I was just like a straggler, watching their every move. Tom is now a new friend it seems to me. I learned a lot from these characters and I feel reluctant to call them fictional because of what "we" went through. At the end when Rose of Sharon breast feeds the starving man I felt this shiver up my spine and I could not comprehend it. I must have read that excerpt three times because I was in awe, how could someone feel such a obligation to a stranger? 

Dear Ophelia,

Well if you date this man you put yourself in a gauche position. You would abase your family for some churlish man who is an abomination. Your brother, being the belicose he is would brusquely end the young mans life. I suggest that you abdicate your seat of power if you make any hasty decisions although I can foresee a ephemeral marriage. This is going to look like an anomaly to your people but their rapacious ways will blind them. Offer them something for their troubles and they will enjoy their debauchery. The road to redemption, if you choose, will be precipitous and rancorous because you turned your back on your family. This act will never be expurgated form the records even if there is an anachronism in the books. My final suggestion is do as you wish and avoid any saboteurs of your happiness.

Vocab #8

Abase- to reduce or lower; degrade Abdicate- to renounce a throne or seat of power formally Abomination- a vile, detestable action Brusque- abrupt in manner; blunt Saboteur- person who practices sabatoge Debauchery- excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures Proliferate- To increase in number and excessively Anachronism- error in chronological time Nomenclature- names or terms comprising of a set or system Expurgate- amend by removing words Bellicose- eager to fight, hostile Gauche- awkward Rapacious- inordinately greedy Paradox- self-contradicting statement Conundrum- a riddle where the answer usually involves a pun Anomaly- abnormality; peculiarity Ephemeral- short lived Rancorous- full of hostility Churlish- rude; mean Precipitous- extremely steep

The Code Grant Application ( if interested)

1. Our club was recently formed, this year, to combat obesity amongst the youth in our community. Over the summer we, as a group of friends, noticed that people were posting about eating junk and then only to complain about not being skinny. We decided to create this group to educate the uneducated before it’s too late. We are roughly made up of 30 members at the moment and our ages vary from 13 to 40. The club is composed of leaders in all aspects on campus: athletes, scholars and even faculty. We are a democratic club focused on the members and what they want to learn about. Members propose ideas and we vote on them as a whole that way everybody has a voice. We are a new club so we haven’t accomplished much yet but that will soon change. 2. Our project is focused on improving the quality of life for the youth in our region while combating obesity. Our goals are to expand and have a branch of our club at every high school in the Santa Maria Valley. We plan to hold classes on diet and exercise twice a month as a whole to expand our knowledge. We have connections with the YMCA of Santa Maria and their trainers. One of them, Julie Reynoso, has said that she would love to help our cause and is willing to hold diet and exercise classes for our group. 3.November Diet and Exercise Classes (2x) December Diet and Exercise Classes (2x) January Diet and Exercise Classes (2x) January New Years 5K February Diet and Exercise Classes (2x) February Health Awareness Month March Diet and Exercise Classes (2x) April Diet and Exercise Classes (2x) May Diet and Exercise Classes (2x) 4. Teens and the community will benefit together because that is who our project is geared towards. The teens will learn the pros and cons of a healthy diet with the benefits of exercise. Teens that follow the program and stick with it will see new changes such as regular eating habits and physical gains. The community will benefit due to the amount of teens learning and when the teens become parents they themselves will teach the well being to their children. 5. Obesity is a major problem in America and although we would be affecting only a tiny portion of the problem it is our portion. Today we see children who are not even in junior high that weigh upwards of 200 pounds and soon that can be normal if we keep eating the junk we are now. The problem stems from the lack of education in the health field, yes P.E. and Health are for that but who ever really wants to go to those classes. We are designing this club to be fun and have people enjoy healthy living. People always complain about not having abs or the cute little figure but this club is geared towards helping the members reach their goals. 6. Our adult allies are Kevin LeClair, Sal Reynoso, and Julie Reynoso. Our advisor Kevin is a teacher at Righetti and wants to see health awareness spread. He promotes the club and helps plan events also. The Reynosos are Guadalupe residents who are into the health craze. Both of them are willing to assist us in organizing meeting and classes for health education and such. 7. We will know if our project is successful if it continues next year. Most of the club is made of seniors so our goal is to get as many younger students involved as possible to take on the responsibility. 8. We are asking for 2000 dollars for our project. It is a rough estimate but it would cover the venues that we would have to rent out for our bi-monthly classes. The 5k and Health month are the priciest events because we would use the money for everything and then hopefully be reimbursed in profits. Our secretary for the club would be entrusted with the financial expenses.

Green Eggs & Hamlet

a) I know a little about Hamlet like he is not very decisive and that he talks to himself a lot. I have never heard of the "Melancholy Dane." b) I know Shakespeare is regarded as one of the best writer ever. Shakespeare even had his own language of a sort. c) I cry just a little bit on the inside when I hear that we're going to start Shakespeare because it is so complicated. The language and characters are very sophisticated that it is mentally draining to read his work. d) We can discuss it often and go in detail to explain the things that might be missed due to the Shakespearean language.

Literature Analysis #2 (Tuesdays With Morrie)

• The novel is about a man who wants to reconnect with former college professor who is dying of Lou Gehrig's disease. They grow closer with the frequent visits and eventually do everything up until Morrie's death.
• Live ever last moment as if it were your last and don't over look the simple things in life. It might be a little cliche but that's is what it is. Morrie died a slow death that made him lose motor functions basically causing paralysis. The book refers to him as "a man trapped in a lifeless cocoon. 
• The author's tone sways from a narrative boring story telling voice to gloomy, depressed tone. The tone shifts when Mitch describes Morrie's new state of appearance. "His hair was...nearly white and his face was gaunt... his eyes were more sunken in.." (pg27&29). There you can tell there is a sense of remorse and it pains Mitch to see his professor like that.
• The author, Mitch, uses indirect and direct characterization while describing Morrie. He uses references to loose clothing and popping bones to say that Morrie has basically deteriorated away. The way Morrie speaks lets you know that he is well educated and very philosophical. I was left with tears in my eyes when this character died because I felt as if I had connected with a real person. 
• The author's syntax and diction basically stay the same through out the entire story.
• After reading this story I was left with a knot in my stomach because I felt like I was apart of the journey with Mitch and Morrie. I was actually laughing when there was a joke and I cried when the novel ended. I was just so inspirational and motivating on so many different levels.

Character Study #1

Robbie was the kind of guy that everybody looked at and judged based on appearance. He was the dude that had his earphones in all day jamming out to the newest Rebelution or what ever could mellow him out. People assumed he was stoned everyday because he wore dark tinted glasses covering his brown eyes. Robbie was genuinely happy when he was out surfing but other than that his days just seemed to drag on. He wore sandals with every outfit which wasn't well liked. Eventually Robbie was fed up with the place he dreaded so he stopped going to his mother's disapointment. He just could not stand anybody anymore so he decided to hitch hike and get as far away as possible. As he was packing he realized that he only owned shorts and short sleeved tee shirts. Robbie threw on a hat to hold down his wavy hair and walked right out the door.

Literature Analysis #1 (A year later...)

1. "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison is a novel that is focused on a young African-American boy who grows into a man during the early 20th century. The character is unnamed and refers to himself as 'invisible' to society. He faced scrutiny everywhere he went; in his hometown instead of being praised for an award he was sent to a battle royale with other colored students for the amusement of white folk. He was expelled from college after following a 'white' trustee's orders and sent off with false letters of recommendation  to New York. After the letters were discovered to be falsely accusing the narrator of being a horrible person he lands a job for a paint factory. After an accident with a tank the narrator, after being experimented on in the hospital, collapses on the street. He is taken to the house of a woman named Mary who nurtures him back to health and pushed Black Pride onto him. He becomes a spokesman for a group that helps the community called the 'Brotherhood" after great  speech. All ends up turning to shit with the 'Brotherhood' and one night after a riot the narrator gets held up by the police. In an attempt to escape he falls into a hole in the street and the police cover it up. He has remained there since but feels like it is time to finally come out of the darkness. 
2. "Stereotypes kill." The stereotype of being African-American during this time era ruined the narrators reputation before people even got the chance to know him.
3. I observed the tone as being pessimistic towards other people. The narrator saw himself as invisible to others and secluded himself from other human contact at the end. 
4. The protagonist is very dynamic I believe. He seems to grow as the novel progresses and his true colors eventually come out. He is a very well thought out character that has a lot to him. 
5. I felt like I went on the journey with the narrator. I especially felt as if I was sitting in the stands with horror during the blindfolded boxing match. I read that part and felt horrible for him and the others.