4/24 - 4/29

This week in English class I have been working to finish up my inquiry project. I conducted both of my interviews this week. One with Ross Roemer, and the other with Steven Cassedy, the head of Russian and Soviet Studies at UCSD. I also finished reading my third book, The Stranger, which I actually really enjoyed. I'm happy switched from reading Master and Margarita and changed the direction of my project a little bit. Other than that I worked on my abstract which I almost have finished. Tis all.

Week of 4/18-4/22

This week in English class I have continued to work on my abstract and inquiry project. One note of luck I had this week was I finally found my 2nd interview for my project. It looks like I'm going to be interviewing a literature professor at UCSD, Steven Cassidy, who actually just recently taught his students Notes from Underground.
I also decided that I was going to change around my inquiry project around a little bit and instead of reading Master and Margarita for my third book I will read The Stranger by Albert Camus. I determined that Master and Margarita wasn't as dark or existentialist as my other novels and that the stranger would better relate to my topic. 

Week of 4/12 - 4/15

We have been spending this whole week working of our adaptations of Twelfth Night. My group, made of me, Adam, Stefan, and Logan, decided to reenact act one scene five of the play. Stefan and I decided to take the lead on writing the script and Adam and Logan are the actors. We adapted the play so that it is set in early colonial America. Orsino is now Orson, the leader of the colony, Olivia is now the owner of a large estate in America due to her dad's death, and Viola became Soaring Dove, a native American woman who's village was wiped out by smallpox. However, she can speak English and is posing as Iron Bear, a strong male scout, to find work under Orson. Overall I really like the script and think that we made a great adaptation.

Week 3/14-3/18

This week in literature class we have continued to work on our adapted versions of Twelfth Night and we had our in class essay for our second inquiry books. My group has decided to preform Act 4 Scene 3 (I think). It also seems that I will either be writing or co-writing the screenplay. I am trying to think of an original spin to put on the scene so that we could make it more unique and also to modernize it a little bit. I plan to spend many of my spring break days pondering in the mountains of how I should adapt the scene.
Furthermore, I completed Notes from Underground and really enjoyed the novella. I feel like I learned a lot about human nature from reading the novel. One concept I thought was interesting that I didn't get to mention in my essay was how spiteful humans often are, especially in situations where it would appear that they are lacking free. For example, the author talks about how he refuses to say sorry because it's too easy. He also mentions how once someone proves to you that two time two is four or that you are descended from a monkey then all you can do is accept it (paraphrasing). From this I developed the theory that if humans are told that they don't have free will they will act spitefully, even if it is bad for them, just to show that they have free will. I even came to this realization while acting the very same way myself. While I was taking a break from writing my essay I was making myself a cup of tea and poured out the old water in the teapot rather than just reheating it. I realized that I had no reason to through the water away, but because people would say "Oh its good for the environment you have to reuse it" then I just had to show that I had the free will to through it away, even if it is illogic . But what do I care for just a little water? I'd rather throw it away and have to pay for more just for spite.

Week of 3/7 - 3/11

This week we wrapped up 12th night and have started our project related to the play. We also spent the week watching film adaptions of the play. I thought the film that we watched the last scene really captured the play well and helped me appreciate the scenes better. I think in the future that you should have the class read a scene and then watch the corresponding section of the movie.
I am also continuing to read my next book for my inquiry project, Notes From Underground. The novel is far harder to read that I had expected but I understand it pretty well and am thoroughly enjoying it.
Tis all.

Week of 2/28 - 3/4

This week we have continued to read Twelfth Night and have started having conversations about things like love and comedy. On my own I have been reading my second book, Notes From Underground, and am having some difficulty with reading it. Usually I am able to easily understand a book or novel however I am finding Notes to be very hard to comprehend because much of the early part of the book is the protagonist rambling about all of his hatred for society. It's not only difficult to understand the point the protagonist is trying to make but it's also hard to follow his logic. I'm not saying that I dislike the book by any means. I just have to put in far more mental thought whilst reading than I had previously anticipated.

Week of 2/21 - 2/25

This week in class we have continued reading and preforming Twelfth Night. So far I am enjoying the play very much. However, my goal I made last week of being able to understand Shakespeare being read aloud is now seeing impractical. Throughout this week I have been relying on the translated version in order to completely understand whats happening. It's just that Shakespeare uses so many metaphors and words that we never use today.I also realized that I need to secure my second interviewer for the inquiry project. I have email people at SDSU and have gotten no successful replies. I am thinking that I'll try emailing psychology professors at UCSD and USD. Tis all.

Week of 2/14 - 2/18

This week in English we have been focusing on starting to read the play Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. So far we have only read a few portions and descriptions of the play but from what I've seen it looks very interesting and creative, especially for its time. My goal while we read this is to try and be able to understand Shakespeare pretty well without having to look at any simplified translations. It seems that story in Shakespeare's diction is sharper and more clever that the updated texts. I hope that by the end of the play I will be able to understand what everything means when it is being read aloud.
This week I also finished up the rest of American Psycho and wrote me essay on it. I feel that it went well except that I wish I would have interviewed a psychologist before I had wrote essay so I could have psychoanalyzed Patrick better. However, I think I did a good job of drawing symbolism from the novel.

Week of 2/7 - 2/11

This week was I had a very strange schedule at school. On Tuesday we had the field trip to see Emma and then on Thursday I went to my volunteership instead of school. Personally, I thought that Emma was pretty entertaining and all in all worth watching. I really liked at the end when they almost didn't end up together and the whole audience started screaming. It was surprising that a bunch of high school and middle school students cared so much. My only complaint would be that the plot was kind of predictable and cliched, but I guess for it's time the novel was probably original. This week I have also been continuing to read my novel but will need to be spending a lot of my Saturday and Sunday reading. I have around 150 pages to read which is very doable. Tis all I have to say.

Week of 1/31-2/5

This week we have continued to work on our project for our websites for our inquiry project. Being on my own and having to do all of these tasks on my own is a little daunting, but it isn't too bad. I have continued to read American Psycho but haven't been able to get far into it due to an impending math mid-term. I have also been continuing to email professors in hopes of finding someone to interview about my topic. I am hoping to find a psychology professor to get his opinion on why a reader would want to read a novel about a psychotic character or one that focuses on misanthropic themes.

Week of 1/24-1/28

This week we worked mostly on trying to improve our project proposals for our inquiry project as well as laying the groundwork for future work in our project. This week I also started reading my first book, American Psycho. Earlier this year I has read half the book but had to stop because we started our last inquiry project and decided to just restart the book. Re-reading it I am noticing many things that I did not realize before. In the story the main character, Patrick Bateman, always says what a person is wearing before he starts talking about them and always know what brand their clothes are by. However, I've noticed that a few times he will say that himself or somebody else is wearing one thing but will then change what they are wearing later on in the chapter. I highly doubt that this is a mistake on the part of the author and understand that he did this intentionally. However, I can't quite figure out the reason for doing this. My best guesses are that either is satire on the part of Ellis to criticize how all the fashion back then was easily interchangeable and simply based on brand names or that he is trying to show that Patirck is lying and really has no idea who made the clothes but likes to act as if he knows. Just an interesting little thing I noticed in the book.

1/17-1/21

This week we have been finishing up with our inquiry project proposals and preparing for our Beowulf test. Personally, I chose to write about the topic of what would America's Epic hero look like. One important distinction I thought was that in our embodiment of the Epic Hero was that rather than solely being strong he/she must also be cunning. I think strong examples of this are Frodo in Lord of the Rings and the James Bond series. Frodo is a weak little hobbit that in many situations in the film trilogies got along based on his intelligence, and James Bond usually takes advantage of an arsenal of gadgets. Additionally, I thought that the American Epic Hero must also have sex appeal. Maybe this has been added due to the fact that "sex sells" but I've realized that many American epic heroes, like James Bond, must not only be able to defeat the villain but also be able to woe the ladies. One last difference I noticed was that we have abandoned the mysterious or noble birth of the epic hero. I think this is based on the fact that we have no nobility in America and that with our better understanding of biology and baby making there isn't much room for a "mysterious" birth.

Week of 1/10-1/14

This week we have been studying the epic poem Beowulf. I remember reading it in middle school but all that I could recall was that he slayed a demon named Grendel, his mother, and a dragon. After reading the poem I really liked it and can easily relate to other epic stories. One it particularly relates to is the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Tolkken's writings has many of the same themes as Celtic folklore such as giants and dragons that guard treasure. However, I realized that a strange difference with Lord of the Rings is that even though Frodo is the protagonist he is not a bold hero like Beowulf. Instead, Leoglas, Eragorn, and Gimili embody the epic hero.
Also this week I have choose the books that I was going to read for my inquiry project. Right now I'm thinking that I'm going to read Notes From Underground, Master and Margarita, and American Psycho. I'm thinking that my question will be something along the lines of why are people drawn to dark or misanthropic literature that focuses on the negative aspects of humanity?

Language

This week we have been studying language, specifically English. In the beginning of the week we examined how a word gains or looses the status becoming an "official" word. However, on Friday, we watched a lecture about the evolution of language and English. I found this topic to be very interesting to see how languages develop. This lesson also connects with a question that I have had for a long time. I've realized that when I normally think or talk to myself in my head that I do so in English. This lead me to ask the question of what did people do before there was language? How did they think in their heads? It's strange to think about because you can't just forget the language you know. Another thing I find interesting about language is how it can directly affect our emotions. It's strange to think that a sentence containing words that have a purely artificial value have the ability to affect our biological being and state of mind.