aficionado - a person who is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about an activity, subject, or pastime.
Roger Ebert is considered the epitome of a cinema aficionado.
browbeat - intimidate (someone), typically into doing something, with stern or abusive words
Cladius usually tries to browbeat others to his will, often to no avail.
commensurate - corresponding in size or degree; in proportion
The size of the Battleifield patches seem to commensurate over time.
diaphanous - characterized by such fineness of texture as to permit seeing through; extreme delicacy
Ophelia is a diaphanous character.
emolument - the returns arising from office or employment usually in the form of compensation or perquisites
The CEO refused to return until the company set aside some great emoluments.
foray - to make a raid or brief invasion
Deciding that he hadn't had enough, Fortinbras entered the foray to take over Denmark.
genre - a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content
There are millions of different genres in the literary world.
homily - a usually short sermon; a lecture or discourse on or of a moral theme
Priests nowadays rely on homilies; very rarely do you see 3 hour sermons.
immure - to enclose within or as if within walls, to entomb
Politicians try to immure themselves with yes men, that way they can never be wrong.
insouciant - lighthearted unconcern
Cladius was filled with insouciant over the apparent insanity of Hamlet.
matrix - something within or from which something else originates, develops, or takes form
Everyone is born in the Matrix. Everyone.
obsequies - a funeral or burial rite
Geatland prepared a great obsequies for Beowulf.
panache - an ornamental tuft (as of feathers) especially on a helmet
"Yankee Doodle went to town ariding on a pony, stuck a panache up his hat and called it macaroni..."
persona - a character assumed by an author in a written work
The author hoped to create an alternate persona so others could not tell he was reviewing his own work.
philippic - a discourse or declamation full of bitter condemnation
Hamlet is konwn for his philippic soliloquys.
prurient - marked by or arousing an immoderate or unwholesome interest or desire; especially : marked by, arousing, or appealing to sexual desire
Ophelia tried to take pruriently take advantage of Hamlet so as to have him confess he loved her.
sacrosanct - treated as if holy : immune from criticism or violation
Claudius believes that a kings' commands are sacrosanct.
systemic - of, relating to, or common to a system
One of the flaws of big businesses is how systemic they become over time, too much beauracracy.
tendentious - marked by a tendency in favor of a particular point of view
America has become polarized by tendentious vorters.
vicissitude - the quality or state of being changeable
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” - Upton Sinclair.
The year - 1900. Jurgis Rudkus is but a poor Lithuanian, a man whose knowledge is mediocre but whose strength is vast and work ethic mighty. A man who was inspired by "the American Dream", an idea that was almost too good to be true. A land where those who worked were paid their fair share, where the world was rich with milk and honey, where you could be anyone and anything. 'Tis a consumation devoutly to be wished. And who else but dear Jurgis, a man whose strength and work ethic are the envy of the world, would be fit for the "American Dream"? Lead by this fantasy, this idea, Jurgis and his newlywed Ona bring along all their family members, so certain are they that Jurgis can support them. Alas, that would not be the case. Due to their lack of English, they quickly fall prey to con men, most notably when, in their attempts to buy a house, a real estate agent "conveniently" forgot to mention that they had to pay interest along with rent every month, thereby crippling the family financially, and make it easy to evict them should they fail to pay rent. This leaves the family to start having others, such as Marija and Dede Antanas, working. As the family soon discovers, all is not as it seems in Packington. The owners of the packing industry overwork their employees to the point of burnout, if not death. There is little to no worker support for unions, due to the companies having complete control over the Packington. The only way to move up the ladder is to engage in treachery, swindling, and betrayal. Immigrants are constantly taken advantage of, and nothing is done. Politics are corrupt at their core. The meat is old, diseased, rotted, and filled with lard, feces and human flesh as it is sold to the American public. Crime is more profitable than hard work. Workers are forced to work twice as hard for half the wage, and will be fired if they are so much as twenty minutes late. As such, life sucks for everyone but the 1% and Jurgis and Co. are no different. Injuries, sickness and death plague the family, forcing them closer and closer to ruination. Jurgis develops an addiction to alcohol and becomes injured, further eating away income. This forces the family to have all the children work to compensate for the lost income. However, as the family discovers, jobs are especially easy to lose during the off-season, which only adds even more worry than need be. And as the family discovers, it's not a measure of what you know, but who you know that makes the difference. This is evidenced by the fact that Jurgis attacked Phil Connors, a man who had raped Ona, and Jurgis was the one sentenced to thirty days in jail. However, the coup de grace comes when Ona and their second child die. Jurgis, devastated at the loss, leaves the rest of the family to fend for themselves and heads out to the countryside. There, he makes a short living as a hobo, but discovers that the outside world is no different compared to Packington and decides to head back. There, he obtains a multitude of jobs yet continually loses them, due to a mixture of both stupidity and luck. However, he finally discovers his calling when he attends a Socialist party meeting. Inspired by their message, Jurgis commits himself fully to the party, and invites the remainder of his family to join. Some do join, however, Marija can't due to the fact that she is now a prostitute, and the only thing keeping her from being arrested is the brothel. The story ends with the Socialist Party proclaiming that "Chicago will be ours! CHICAGO WILL BE OURS!" (pg. 396)
2) The theme of the novel is two-fold: on one hand it is to expose the rampart corruption found in the meat packing industry as a whole, and the exploitation of immigrants along with the general xenophobia of the American public. It also exposes the horrendous working conditions associated with low-skill jobs, and the ingredients that went into American beef as a whole. However, Upton Sinclair used his novel as a criticism of capitalism, and to expose its every flaw: most notably the pursuit of profit above all else, the lack of morals and ethics, the corruption, the dismissive attitude of the rich towards everyone else, the disparity of "haves vs have-nots", and how it is used to force workers to work under unbearable conditions because the moment they slack off is the moment they get fired. Above all else, it exposes how you earn more through cheating, stealing, lying and betraying in capitalism than you do through honest, hard work. It exposes the naivety of the "American dream" and how unscrupulous men take advantage of unsuspecting immigrants so as to better themselves, and yet no one cares. It is a criticism of American, and to a larger extent Western, society that embraces all the benefits that came about because of immigrant labor, yet refuses to do anything to aid immigrants because they are the scum of the Earth. However, all that meaning was lost to the audiences, as they were instead captivated by the grotesque descriptions of what went into their meat, how it was processed, and the overall working conditions of the meat-packaging industry, leading Sinclair to lament "I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach."
3) The tone of Upton is sparse, disgusting, and depressing yet uplifting (if not manipulatively). Upton Sinclair, being a journalist, was not one to write prolix. He wrote what he needed to write no more, no less. For example:
“They had chains which they fastened about the leg of the nearest hog, and the other end of the chain they hooked into one of the rings upon the wheel. So, as the wheel turned, a hog was suddenly jerked off his feet and borne aloft. At the same instant the ear was assailed by a most terrifying shriek; the visitors started in alarm, the women turned pale and shrank back. The shriek was followed by another, louder and yet more agonizing--for once started upon that journey, the hog never came back; at the top of the wheel he was shunted off upon a trolley and went sailing down the room. And meantime another was swung up, and then another, and another, until there was a double line of them, each dangling by a foot and kicking in frenzy--and squealing. The uproar was appalling, perilous to the ear-drums; one feared there was too much sound for the room to hold--that the walls must give way or the ceiling crack. There were high squeals and low squeals, grunts, and wails of agony; there would come a momentary lull, and then a fresh outburst, louder than ever, surging up to a deafening climax. It was too much for some of the visitors--the men would look at each other, laughing nervously, and the women would stand with hands clenched, and the blood rushing to their faces, and the tears starting in their eyes. Meantime, heedless of all these things, the men upon the floor were going about their work. Neither squeals of hogs nor tears of visitors made any difference to them; one by one they hooked up the hogs, and one by one with a swift stroke they slit their throats. There was a long line of hogs, with squeals and life-blood ebbing away together; until at last each started again, and vanished with a splash into a huge vat of boiling water. It was all so very businesslike that one watched it fascinated. It was pork-making by machinery, pork-making by applied mathematics. And yet somehow the most matter-of-fact person could not help thinking of the hogs; they were so innocent, they came so very trustingly; and they were so very human in their protests--and so perfectly within their rights! They had done nothing to deserve it; and it was adding insult to injury, as the thing was done here, swinging them up in this cold-blooded, impersonal way, without a pretence at apology, without the homage of a tear. Now and then a visitor wept, to be sure; but this slaughtering-machine ran on, visitors or no visitors. It was like some horrible crime committed in a dungeon, all unseen and unheeded, buried out of sight and of memory.” (pg. 39-40) While it may seem long, it conveys so much meaning in what is relatively such short word usage. Here, we see the working conditions of the factories, and how fast-paced and workmanlike the workers are. Here, we see how the job has hardened the men, to the point where not even the squeal of a pig dying even causes them to flinch or abandon their work. And it is here where we begin to see that all is not as it seems for Packington. For example: "The floor was filty, yet [Packington] sent Antanas with his mop slopping the "pickle" into the hole that connected the sink, where it was caught and used over again forever; and if that were not enough, there was a trap in the pipe, where all the scraps of meat and odds and ends of refuse were caught , and every few days it was [Antanas]'s task to clean these out, and shovel their contents into one of the trucks with the rest of the meat!" (pg. 69) or "...the man who told told tales and spied upon his fellows would rise; but the man who minded his own business and did his own work-why they would "speed him up" till they had worn him out, and then they would throw him in the gutter." (pg. 68) Upton certainly could've gone into a lot more detail, but his point has already been made. There's no need to add fluff to the story when the bare-bones is disgusting enough. And it creates a depressing mood, such as "[Jurgis] was condemned and sentenced, without trial and without appeal; he could never work for the packers again-he could not even clean cattle-pens or drive a truck in any place where they controlled." all because he defended his wife from a rapist. Towards the middle/end of the novel, things just keep getting more and more depressing, with more and more people close to Jurgis dying, and Jurgis continually suffering from discrimination. However, things (surprise, surprise) coincidentally turn around once Jurgis comes in contact with the Socialist Party. Now life gets better. Now Jurgis can finally get his life together. And now his family has hope, a hope to live, a hope to succeed, a hope to thrive. Now "Chicago is ours! CHICAGO IS OURS!" (pg. 396)
4) One key literary element Upton Sinclair relies on for story is pathos. Because without pathos, change cannot be brought. As he himself put it "I aimed for the public's heart..." As susch, Jurgis is constantly put into situations that are meant to tear at our heartstrings, or attract disgust at the amount of corruption found in Packington, or have us sympathize with the lowly immigrants.
Another literary element Upton Sinclair uses is a variant of "deus ex machina". Jurgis is downtrodden. He can't keep a job, his body is giving out on him, most of his family is dead. In short, it looks like Jurigs is just #@$% out of luck with no way out. An then comes the Socialist party, ready to help cure the ills of Jurgis and Co. Yay! It feels forced, and this is when Upton's political views start to distort and corrupt the actual story. In short, a story that tells the tale of the exploitation of the immigrants instead turns into near propoganda for the Socialist Party, which sucks in my opinion.
Another literary element Upton Sinclair uses is allegory/symbolism. All the different characters reflect in one way or another different aspects of American society as Upton saw it. Jurgis was the naive immigrant who bought into the American dream. Ona is the shattered realization that the dream is a lie. Phil Connors is the symbol of former immigrants who turn on the new ones. Phil Connors is Irish, meaning his family went through the same horrors as Jurgis did. Yet instead of sympathizing with them, he rapes Ona and blacklists Jurgis. Packington is your typical slum owned by the corporation, for the corporation to exploit innocent immigrants. The judges and policemen are symbols of the corruption of politics and law, and how those with the money and know-how can rig the cards in their favor. Jack Duane is the symbol of crime, and how it pays better to steal than to work honestly. Mike Scully is your typical scumbag politician, one who does not care about corruption so long as he's compensated. Freddie Jones symbolizes the lavishness and the carefree attitude of the rich, one who tosses around $100 like pennies and how spends money on however he sees fit. Stanislovas is your typical child worker who suffers from overuse nad poor working conditions. And Marija symbolizes the immigrant who must sacrifice all sense of shame so as to support the family.
Another literary element Upton uses is tone. By creating a depressing story with depressing outcomes using depressing words, Upton is able to enhance the pathos in the story to an extent where he can manipulate the hearts of the readers to understand the plight of immigrants and bring about change. By creating a somber mood, the reader is now that much more engaged into the story.
Speaking of a story with a somber mood...
The final literary element that Upton uses is irony so that we can understand why change can't be brought about by the immigrants. For example, immigrants want change, yet for the most part buy into a system that actually prevents any form of change from happening, and support politicians like Scully who won't do a damn thing. Jurgis tries to recruit others to the Socialist party, yet finds them as stubborn as he once was. And the biggest irony of them all is poor Upton, a man who worked so hard to bring about change for immigration protection, only to see it squandered by the American public's fear of what was actually inside their food and drink.
Characterization
1) For the most part Upton Sinclair, due to him being a journalist at heart, relies on direct characterization to describe Jurgis. Another reason for this is because he wants the reader to understand Jurgis, to sympathize with him. By telling us every single detail, we in an essence become Jurgis. And we come to understand his plight and, hopefully, try to bring about change because of it. For example, he tells us how sad Jurgis is when Ona dies, how despondent he is over his current situation, etc. However, that isn't to say there isn't indirect characterization because there is. It's just sparsely located, and in general not very obvious. For example, when Jurgis is question by other immigrants about America, he simply sneers at them and tells them "I will work harder." This defines his naivety, as he is under the illusion that hard work defines success in America. And, through indirect uses such as him flexing his muscles and threatening others that get in his way, we are under the impression that he is one imposing, strong character that you do not mess with.
2) Upton Sinclair does not change his syntax based on the situation at hand. It is always sparse, it is not going to change based on if he is focusing on Jurgis or not. Since he is a journalist at heart, he will always focus on trying to get the most meaning out of the least amount of words. After all, why waste so much time and effort through over usage of adjectives when the bare minimum have the same effect? As Hemingway said, "Poor Faulkner. Does he believe big emotions come from big words?"
3) Jurgis is a dynamic round character. At the beginning, he is a naive immigrant who foolishly believes in the American Dream, no questions asked. He is willing to overlook the flaws of Packington because he believes that, through hard work, he can become successful and obtain that illusive freedom he so longed for. He didn't understand where the other immigrants are coming from when they tell him he's naive and is foolishly chasing a dream he has no hopes of obtaining. He didn't understand the concept of a worker's union and found others lazy. However, as the story progresses, he becomes much more cynical, much more hardened. Once the glitz and glam of America wore off, he realizes he is in no better position than he was before. In fact, he is probably worse off. He, a man who had sworn off drinking, began to drink heavily. He, a man who had criticized workers unions, began to try to recruit others, only to find them as naive as he once was. He, a man who once praised America, began to curse it. He, a man who had preached about honest work, went into the field of crime and political graft to make ends meet. And he, a man who had once praised capitalism, joined the Socialist Party in the hopes of bringing about change. Here we have Jurgis Rudkus: a man who once was an immigrant dreaming of greater things, now trying to bring about change in the system. A man who realized, almost too late, the corruption and narcissism that plagued the American society. A man who figured out that America was a giant postcard of lies, lies that would unfortunately find their ways into other aspiring immigrants.
4) For the most part, I felt that I was reading a character. I was feeling empathy for Jurgis and the predicaments that he had to go through. I could understand his feeling of betrayal, his feelings of sadness as Ona died, his excitement as his first-born spoke, etc. However, as the story progressed, I started feeling like Jurgis was becoming less a character, and more a tool for a means. The amount of situations he was put in to cause grief were just way too numerous for it to feel real at the end, and the usage of the Socialist party by Sinclair seemed like a cop-out excuse at the end to shove his agenda down the readers' throats. In the end, it just seemed like Sinclair, in an attempt to go for our hearts, overdid the pathos so much it became bathos.
Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, I have now become a beacon of instant information. I want information, and I want it now. No longer am I content with waiting even a day to learn something. Heck, even waiting minutes for the Internet to load up gets me agitated and don't even mention things like cookies or ads. However, it also has expanded my circle of things I'm interested in. Business and how it operates, global events, economics, those are things I never would've gotten into had it not been for the Internet, as books and magazines aren't nearly as in-depth nor as interesting as articles on the Internet. As for my memory, things have not really changed. Back in the 3rd grade, I was obsessed with baseball. Even now, I'm obsessed with baseball. And I'm obsessed with data and number crunching. I can still tell you how many home runs (660) Willie Mays has along with his career batting average (.302). I can tell you how many wins Cy Young has (511) as well as Walter Johnson (417) followed by Christy Mathewson and Grover Cleveland Alexander (373). As my parents put it, I remember the most useless information possible. And I still do. I remember quotes and who said them ("'Tis great we have this horrible war less people should grow fond of it' - Robert E Lee), and certain Latin phrases (Veni, Vidi, Vici or Qui Audet Adisicipitur). Are any of them really practical? No, but I remember them, and I will continue to remember them thanks to the Internet. However, that also has an impact in my ability to concentrate. I am very easily distracted. I am also very easily intrigued. Not a great combination for someone who uses the Internet. I also want to learn new things, which also doesn't and hasn't boded well with me, as the Internet has almost unlimited information available to be digested and read. So, this leads to me sleeping later than I would like to, but also learning much more information than I would normally.
Shakespeare is a fairly mysterious figure. We know him, yet we don't. We know he exists, yet we do not know his birthdate. We know he was a brilliant playwright, yet no information of his education persists. Even his will is mysterious, most notably how it leaves very little to his wife, Anne Hathaway. Past the age of 40, his prominence seemingly diminished due to the decline in the amount of plays he wrote with no real indication why, as full-on retirement was not a prominent thing in medieval England. What we do know is that Shakespeare was baptized the 26th of April, the year 1564, and that he died 23 April, 1616. We also know that, barring some out-of-left-field conspiracy theories, Shakespeare wrote every play he is credited to. However, that is all we really know. The rest is mystery.This is partially why students are so vehement against Shakespeare. We fear what we do not know. And we do not know Shakespeare, at all. We don't understand his language, his archaic writing style, etc. And we flat out don't know anything about Shakespeare except that he wrote plays. My understanding of Shakespeare is progressing, but it's fairly slow, which can be frustrating to many. And then there's the inherent complexity of a Shakespearean play, which only adds more fuel to the fire. Hopefully, though, I'm getting there.
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare, http://www.online-literature.com/shakespeare/, and http://absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/biography/shakespeare_biography.htm.
I'm not lying when I say that at the beginning I wasn't very enthused for Hamlet. The plot didn't seem that interesting, the characters didn't really flesh themselves out until the second Act, Shakespeare overall is an absolute pain to understand, and the story starts off fairly slowly compared to the likes of Romeo and Juliet. There is a lot of exposition to cover, which makes for a fairly boring first and second act. As such, I was starting to wander. My interest was waning. Hamlet just seemed like a whiny teenager who talked and talked because he had nothing better to do, Horatio just seemed like another Robin, Ophelia seemed as silly as Lydia Bennet, and Getrude is completely unawares of the amount of trouble she has caused Hamlet. Overall, this seemed like a poorly-produced soap opera and not something considered a masterpiece by no one else than "the Bard". However, things started picking up pace at around Act 3. You start seeing betrayals and spying. Hamlet is finally smarting up and showing off his intelligence. Horatio finally seems like a legitimate character and not some lowly sidekick, Claudius gets his just desserts, etc. The pacing picked up, the famous soliloquy "To be or not to be" finally arrived, Polonius died, all in all my interest in Hamlet was perked up at least two notches than what it was before. Hopefully, the pacing stays this way and hopefully we get more deaths because what isn't a good Shakespearean tragedy but with everyone dying?
One thing though, I also wonder if Hamlet was worried his attempted murder of Claudius would go something like this?
That is the question
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to
Suffer the likes and notifications of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing, end them? To die, to log off;
No more; And by logging off to say we end the heartache
And the thousand natural shocks
That Facebook is heir to, 'tis a consumation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to log off,
To log off perchance to dream: ay there's the rub;
For in logging off what dreams may come
When we have abandoned Facebook
Must give us pause; there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of posts
The oppressing privacy, the proud man's narcissism
The pangs of despised love, the delay of ads
The insolence of Zuckerberg and the likes
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his life be taken
Like Amanda Todd? Who would people bear
To be bullied under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after Facebook
The undiscovered country from whose born
No Myspace returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to Google + that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all
And thus the native hue of Facebook
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of ads
And enterprises of many likes and news feeds
With this regard the consumers turns awry
And lose their sense of privacy.
abortive - failing to produce the intended result
The distribution of Android as an Open Source OS has been abortive to Google as a source of revenue. bruit - to spread the news of; repeat, an abnormal sound heard during auscultation
Yahoo has become the king of bruiting information. contumelious - rudeness or contempt arising from arogance, an insolent or arrogant remark or act
When asked about privacy on Facebook, Mark Zuckerburg replied contumeliously. dictum - an authoritative, often formal pronouncement
John Ricticiello released a dictum, declaring that Battlefield 3 would overtake Modern Warfare 3. ensconce- to settle (oneself) securely or comfortably, to place or conceal in a secure place
Larry Page has ensconced Google as the de facto search engine on the Internet. iconoclastic - one who attacks and seeks to overthrow traditional or popular ideas or institutions.
Larry Page's motto for Google "Don't be evil" is iconoclastic due to its nature of opposing what many people view corporations as. in medias res - in or into the middle of a sequence of events, as in a literary narrative.
The Civil War in Skyrim was in media res of the Main Quest. internecine - of or relating to struggle within a nation, organization, or group; mutually destructive; ruinous or fatal to both sides
The constant suits and court actions taken by Samsung and Apple on the other have been internecine. maladroit - marked by a lack of adroitness; inept
Reed Hastings as of late has been fairly maladroit as a CEO for Netflix. maudlin - effusively or tearfully sentimental
The world was in a state of maudlin after the death of Steve Jobs. modulate - to adjust or adapt to a certain proportion; regulate or temper
Larry Page has attempted to modulate Google from creating anything (such as Google Labs) to focusing on only core projects (like Android or YouTube). portentous - of the nature of or constituting a portent; foreboding Portentous Stout - And no surprise to you, it's stout. prescience - knowledge of actions or events before they occur; foresight.
According to Dr. Preston, Howard Rheingold had the prescience about an online community at least ten years before it came to fruitation. quid pro quo - a reciprocal exchange
The relationship between Facebook and advertisement companies is quid pro quo; Facebook gives them information, companies give Facebook revenue. salubrious - conducive or favorable to health or well-being
The latest scientific studies has salubriously linked coffee to a decrease in heart-related problems. saturnalian - of unrestrained and intemperate jollity; riotously merry; dissolute
The San Francisco Giants fans were full of saturnalian after they came back from being down 3 games to 1 and won the NLCS. touchstone - an excellent quality or example that is used to test the excellence or genuineness of others
People use Apple as the touchstone for mobile devices. traumatic - a serious injury or shock to the body, as from violence or an accident
PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. vitiate - to reduce the value or impair the quality of, to corrupt morally; debase
Marc Pincus has been accused to vitiating the stock price of Zynga. waggish - characteristic of or resembling a wag; jocular or witty
Sherlock Holmes is a waggish character.
For the vocab midterm, I did about as well as I thought I would. As expected, the second list proved to be my downfall, with all three of my mistakes occurring in that lone section. As per usual, I would attribute my success to my rather unusual method of studying, which is instead of studying by using flash cards or just attempting to memorizing every single vocab word and its every definition, I tried to use them in a story. Granted, it's not a perfect method because I obviously missed 3 in one section, but a 78 out of 81 is pretty good, at least to me. Now for improvement.... Obviously there is not much room to improve, however, one thing I could do is make sure that I know every word from every list and have them written down, that way there should be no surprises, and there shouldn't be one section that is sub par compared to the rest. Consistency is key.
abeyance - temporary inacitivity, cessation or suspension ambivalent - having "mixed feelings" about someone or something; being unable to choose between two (usually opposing) courses of action beleaguer - to surround or beset, as with troubles carte blanche - unconditional authority, full discretionary power cataclysm - any violent upheaval, especially one of a social or political nature debauch - to corrupt by sensuality, intemperance, etc.; seduce eclat - brilliance of success, reputation, etc. fastidious - excessively particular, critical, or demanding; hard to please gambol - a skipping or frisking about, frolic imbue - to impregnate or inspire, as with feelings, opinions, etc. inchoate - not yet completed or fully developed; rudimentary, just begun lampoon - a sharp, often virulent satire directed against an individual or institution; a work of literature, art, or the like, ridiculing severely the character or behavior of a person, society, etc. malleable - capable of being extended or shaped by hammering or by pressure from rollers. nemesis - something that a person cannot conquer, achieve; an agent or act of retribution or punishment opt - to make a choice; choose philistine - a person who is lacking in or hostile or smugly indifferent to cultural values, intellectual pursuits, aesthetic refinement, etc., or is contentedly commonplace in ideas and tastes. picaresque - pertaining to, characteristic of, or characterized by a form of prose fiction, originally developed in Spain, in which the adventures of an engagingly roguish hero are described in a series of usually humorous or satiric episodes that often depict, in realistic detail, the everyday life of the common people queasy - inclined to or feeling nausea; uneasy or uncomfortable; squemish refractory - hard or impossible to manage, stubbornly disobedient; resisting ordinary methods of treatment savoir-faire - knowledge of just what to do in any situation; tact
Since Dr. Preston has given me carte blanche over how to do my vocab sentences, I opted to create a story. One that speaks of my nemesis that beleaguers me at every turn. One that makes me queasy at just the mention of his name. I know you may be wondering about my abeyance but have no fear. I will reveal his name soon enough. I just don't want to cause a cataclysm. Rather savoir-faire if I say so myself. His name is.... Hamlet. *Shudders* Just the mention of his name sends waves of regurgitation through my mouth, but no matter. Onward, to the story at hand. So there was a man named Hamlet. A refractory man, much in the same vein as R.P. McMurphy, but a man none-the-less, unlike others gamboling about like Bambi in the forest. One you would more closely associate as an erudite than a philistine. He is a decisive man, ambivalent towards nothing. However, he is not fastidious to the point of being unfair or a complainer who is never satisfied. He is generally malleable, willing to change his outlook based on the evidence provided. His eclat precedes him. He imbues confidence into those who support him. However, this story is not some picaresque lampoon intended to ridicule anybody. No, this will be a drama for the ages! The only problem is that this drama is in its inchoate phase. And I refuse to have it corrupted by acts of debauchery found in most dramas today which, while putting me back, will allow me to maintain my moral sanity.
A) What went well?
I believe that, per the midterm, my performance was very exceptional. Other than List #2, I didn't feel like I missed any of the vocab. Overall, my studying strategy was very effective, sans List #2. I knew almost all of the words thrown at me and didn't feel completely overwhelmed at any singular point.
B) What didn't go well?
Overall, I wish I could've had more time to practice studying vocab, as it showed on my performance on List #2. Other than that, there really isn't anything I can think of that didn't go well.
C) How much of the content will stick with you?
Hopefully, a good portion of the words will be ingrained in my brain for years to come. However, that is something that only time will tell.
D) What can you learn from the experience to improve for next time?
Hopefully, next time I will have more time to practice studying vocab, that way I can perform even better than I did on the mid-term.
Considering that both your father and your brother have warned you against the love of this prince, do you not suppose their is reason in their beliefs, that perhaps your feelings for him and his towards you were but a mere aberration? That this is perhaps a harbinger of things to come and that he is disingenuous in his feelings towards you? That maybe he is a master of beguiling young girls such as yourself? I do not wish to stigmatize your affections for him, and perhaps his for you, but you seem rather dogmatic in your assertions that he has made his feelings known to you. Men especially are chronically known for being mercurial in their affections towards women. I understand that you have fervid feelings for him, but cautious optimism is key. My advice would be to quietly inquire about this prince's feelings towards you, and demand nothing but the utmost truth. If his feelings for you are honest, use it to palliate your brother and father. However, if they are not, and you used cautious optimism, you have avoided a potential quagmire and won't be so devastated as to do something like drown yourself.
For the vocab midterm, my strategy is to have a list of every vocab word we've used this year, and then try to create a story using only the vocab words. No definitions, no help, nada. Just a list of every vocab word and my brain. However, knowing me, it will probably be irrelevant due to me having chronic bad luck when it comes to definitions in vocab tests.
