Lit Analysis #3

Topics and Events

1.       A. The book I read was about a young girl from Mexico and her life story all the way up to her death. The title of the book was Chicana and it went into depth about her life and what she had to go through from when she first crossed the border to her abusive marriage she was forced to into. It is kind of sad what she had to go through especially because that is my grandmother.

  B. The story Chicana is a gripping journey of a woman and the decisions she makes to survive a life filled with heartache, violence, and poverty.

2.     The authors name is Debra Burroughs and she wrote this memoir because it is her grandmother and she wanted to get the story of how she touched the hearts of us all and how one little woman could change so many people’s lives.

3.     I chose this book because the main character is my great-grandmother and I never knew all of the struggles that she went through and it completely shocked me. My mother had told me about the book and she was very upset about it and now I can understand why she was so sad and to me it should not have been published at all.

4.     Yes it’s very realistic and I personally know most of the characters and I might not have been around during these wonderful moments with my great-grandmother but I have seen how this woman has positively affected all of my family around me.

People

1.     The author didn't really create new characters that I knew of but all of the main characters had different names than their real names. She changed the names of the main characters because she revealed a lot about them but didn't want to go and say their real names because that is a little too much.

2.     A character that is very interesting to me is my great grandmother. Her name in the book is Carmen Rodriguez but her real name was Cruz Rodriguez and the memoir goes into depth about how she had a really difficult life as a child and as a young woman. She was a very sweet, innocent woman who definitely didn't deserve the life that was dealt to her. If I had to create her as a fictional character I would have probably left out some of the horrific things that were said in this book. Another character that was named Elena. She is my Aunt and her real name is Juanita, she never met her real father and her stepfather hated her and just treated her like she was another mouth to feed. She was a very strong woman and decided to move out and be safe at a very young age. If I wrote a fictional book and had to include her in it I would have created her the exactly the same.

3.     They both went through a lot of things that most people shouldn't go through or even worry about in their lifetimes. They deserved to be written about because many people would just give up and stop trying to help themselves and their kids but not these women.

Style

1.     The author used a more journalistic view and used evidence and first hand interviews instead of fiction writing tools.

2.     She focuses more on action and dialogue because she was able to talk with all of the characters and interview them firsthand.

3.     She doesn't really create a mood because she isn't a very good author and it just seemed like a very sad story. She never wrote a book before and she probably didn't know how to use tools to create a mood and a tone

4.     I think she wanted to be informative but you could tell some of the time some of the events in the book saddened her. It made her sad because it was her mother and her grandmother who she was talking about and is understandable to see why the author seemed sad at some points.

5.     She just talked to her mom and my great grandma supposedly told her everything that happened to her even though she never even told some of these things to her own daughter. There is some controversy in my family if Mrs. Burroughs told the truth about all of these things but that didn't really matter to me.

Enduring Memory

          One thing that I will remember for a long time is what my great grandfather Pablo did to his wife and my great grandma Cruz. He did things that no man should ever do to a woman and it disgusts me. Even after all he did to my grandma Cruz, he had the balls to leave her for another woman and have a whole other family with her. Another thing that really got to me was how she was able to deal with all of this and still raise 10 kids the best she could. She is one of the strongest people I had ever met or heard about and it crushes me that I never got to meet her or even talk to her. Even though I never met her she has changed my life greatly and shaped my whole family’s life. She gave us many of the opportunities that we have to this day and led us to our wonderful lives.

"What is Life Worth?" Pre-reading

ACTIVITY 25
1. I think that this article wouldn't take that long to read because it is interesting and it is just bullet points with main ideas which would be a quick read. I personally never read an article from TIME magazine but I know it is a very prestigious publisher and it's a big achievement to be featured in one of their articles.

2.Like I said it is very prestigious and it's kind of a big deal if you are ever featured in an article.

3.The magazine includes stories on worldwide news and various stories that are important to hear and know about

4.I have seen TIME magazine inside doctor's offices and in waiting rooms and I think people mostly read them in there and old people who don't watch the news and still read magazines might subscribe to them.

ACTIVITY 26
1.The article is going to talk about life insurance and how much it has changed since 9/11. It might also talk about how not very much money in a life insurance plan can really harm a family's life.

2.I didn't read the 2 texts yet but I think that it would have to do with life and how we should value it.

3.I have no clue if it'll have a first-person view but I'm going to guess that it won't be in first person.

ACTIVITY 27
 Financial and Legal Terms

• Compensate: to make up for a loss
• Disparity: unfairness; unevenness
• Valuation: determination of monetary value
• Litigation: legal action; suing 
• Commodify: turn something into an object of monetary value
• Discretion: judgement 
• Beneficiary: receipt of benefit, usually monetary 
• Tort: civil lawsuit to remedy a wrong act
• Allocation: distribution, especially money 

  Emotion-laden Words 

• Squeamish: easily offended
• Garish: offensively bright and showy
• Gall: impudence, insolence 
• Traumatize: to inflict stress or pain upon someone
• Callous: uncaring:; cold
• Inconsolable: incapable of being comforted
• Indignant: full of anger over an injustice 
• Balk: resist; refuse to proceed
• Deteriorate: degenerate; gradually fall 

  Descriptive Terms

• Rhetorical: related to the effective use of language   
• Rorschach Test: an inkblot test that reveals a persons particular taste
• Artillery: heavy ammunition used against an enemy
• Analogy: a comparison intended to illustrate common elements between seemingly different terms 
• Solidarity: unity based on a common interest
• Orchestrated: carefully arranged to achieve a particular effect
• Concoct: to put together from various materials 
• Mechanism: technique for achieving a specific result 

Value of Learning/ Value of Life

This week while Dr. Preston is away on his trip, me and my partners are going to read up and write about Steve Jobs commencement speech and The Value of Life text. We will get it done and we are going to work our ass off. Also throughout the week I am going to work on and finish my lit analysis #3 so I can feel like I'm doing good and I can get a good grade in this class.

Declaration of Learning Independence

This year I plan on trying my best from now on and get at least a 3.5 GPA. I think that I can do it and all I have to do is actually do my homework when it is due and no more slacking around. If i want to go anywhere in life i need to stop messing around and start doing things correctly. After high school this year I plan on going to a local community college and maybe play some football for whatever school I go to. After those 2 years I will go to a UC or a Cal State and focus on school and I don't know what I will major in. To me high school is ending too fast and I don't want it to end yet and I just want to be young with hardly any commitments and just do what I want to do.  

Vocab #4

Definitions 
Accede- agree to a demand, request, or treaty.

Brandish- wave something as a threat or in anger or excitement.

Comprise- consist of
Deft- neatly skillful and quick in ones movements.
Destitute- not having the basic necessities of life 

Explicit- stated clearly and in detail.

Extirpate- root out and destroy completely

Inopportune- occurring at a bad time.

Ironic- characterized by irony

Musty- having a stale, moldy, or damp smell
Officious- assertive authority in an annoying way.

Ominous- giving the impression that something bad is going to happen.

Pinnacle- A high pointed piece of rock.
Premeditated- plan beforehand
Rampant- spreading unchecked
Solace- comfort in a time of distress
Stately- majestic in manner and appearance
Supple- flexible


Suppress- forcibly put an end to

Venal- open to bribery

Sentences

• The officers did not accede to the strikers.
• The robber brandished his weapon to the clerk. 
• Righetti High School is comprised of many different ethnic groups. 
• Our marching band moved deftly and were the first to finish.
• Many people in the world live a very sad, destitute life. 
• The teacher gave very good, explicit, details during the lecture. 
• He was in a car crash an his car was completely extirpated but he was okay. 
• She was caught cheating at an inopportune moment and was suspended for a week.  
• The movie's ending was ironic.
• The old room smelt like a musty old man.
• Our coach is officious because he isn't right all the time.  
• The actors in the movie were faced with various ominous moments.
• I would love to hike up to the pinnacle of the mountain. 
• The killer was charged with premeditated murder.
• The virus started spreading rampantly throughout the country. 
• Some people find solace in religion.
• English royalty dress in a stately manner. 
• My work schedule isn't very supple.
• They tried to suppress me from going on the trip. 
• Referees are never supposed to be venal.

Will Study For Food

https://www.mycollegeoptions.org/20588/scholarship-dxetail.asp

ucla.edu Transfer Alliance Program (TAP) Scholarship 
 Deadline

June 1st

 Amount

$4,000

 Award Type

Scholarship

 Applicable School(s)

University of California-Los Angeles

 Description

Scholarship for entering transfer students from California community colleges attending the University of California, Los Angeles. Applicants must complete the TAP Scholars/Honors certification at their community college. Number of awards varies. Renewable.

I plan to go to a Community college first because I might have a chance to play college football first then once i finish with that I would really like to go to any good UC or Cal State and this is a nice scholarship to go to one of the best colleges not just the state but also the country. Hopefully by then I would of had a job for a little while and that I saved some money for the admissions and a few fees. I plan on getting maybe a scholarship or 2 to make it a little easier to pay. I'm not sure how much money i'm going to apply for but hopefully in the next few years I have everything a little more figured out.  

Essay Idea #2

1.Why are letter grades more important to students than learning and remembering what was taught?
2.What do you do that helps you study and learn things that might be different from most people?
3.How are you able to learn a subject through studying?

Essay Idea

1.How has obesity changed your life?
2.What have you done to prevent yourself from obesity?
3.Have you ever experienced the negative effects of obesity?

Vocab #3

Definitions 

Accomplice: a person who knowingly helps another in a crime or wrongdoing


Annihilate: to reduce to utter ruin or nonexistence


Arbitrary: subject to individual will or judgement without restrictions


Brazen: shameless or impudent


Catalyst: a person or thing that precipitates an event or change


Exodus: a going out, a departure


Facilitate: to make easier or less difficult


Incorrigible: bad beyond correction or reform


Latent: present but not visible

Militant: vigorously active and aggressive


Morose: gloomily or sullenly ill-humored


Opaque: not transparent or translucent


Paramount: above others in rank or authority


Prattle: talk in a foolish or simple-minded way


Rebut: to oppose by contrary proof

Reprimand: severe reproof or rebuke


Servitude: slavery or bondage of any kind


Slapdash: hasty, haphazard


Stagnant: not flowing or running


Succumb: to give way to superior force

Sentences

• The accomplice was sentenced to 15 years in prison. 
• The teenager annihilated his car.
• The decision to buy the dress was an arbitrary one. 
• The rapper was brazen because he would say anything he wanted.
• Our last score was the catalyst that led to our win.
• Because of the war, there was an exodus and everyone moved to America
• She facilitated our sorrows by getting rid of all of our work. 
• The phone was so broken it was incorrigible. 
• His scar was painful but latent to the naked eye.
• He was militant for his cause. 
• The old man sat morosely in his chair. 
• The wall was an opaque color from the outside.
• A managerial job is paramount to an average job.
• The intoxicated man prattled about his mistakes in life.
• The lawyer was able to rebut the statement to the jury. 
• Adidas picked their official reprimand for their new line of clothes. 
• Africans were forced into servitude and became slaves in the 1700's.
• The student wrote a slapdash paper.
• The old pipes in the building caused a stagnant flow throughout the apartments. 
• Unfortunately the man succumbed to his old ways. 

Literary Analysis #2

TOPICS/EVENTS

1.      1.  A. My book was about a troubled black teen from the ghettos of Memphis that really had no family and no place to live until he met a rich family in white Memphis.  The young man never had a parental figure and never even went to school. He stayed at a friend’s house whose grandmothers dying wish was that both her grandson and his friend had a Christian education.  The friend’s father then sent them both to Briarcrest Christian School in East Memphis. The parent less child, named Michael Oher, was a giant of a man. He was 6’5” 330 lbs. and only a 16 year old sophomore. He was accepted into the school mainly because of his size and the A.D really wanted him to play football there. The thing is he never went to school and now he is at a very high end Christian school and he had no clue what he was doing and this book is about his struggles and what he had to go through to live his dream and go to college.

B. The Blind Side is a story about a young man’s troubles and struggles to learn and even survive, it wasn't just about football but how football pretty much saved his life.

2.       2. The author, Michael Lewis, wrote about this event because it shows that you can do anything even if you start from nothing you can make it to the top. It’s an awe inspiring story and can make anybody feel like they can make it to the top.

3.      3.  I chose this book because I watched the movie and its one of my favorite movies of all time and the book is usually better than the movie so I decided that it would be a good read. Another reason why I chose it is because he plays the same position as I do and it’s good to see a position that doesn't get much attention in the press get a whole book about it.

4.       4. Some parts of the book seemed realistic but other parts, like when it said that he couldn't read or write and he didn't know how to even learn seemed a little exaggerated, but besides that it was a very realistic and interesting story.

CHARACTER/PEOPLE

1.       1. The people might not be as nice or as much of a help as Lewis describes them but I think that for the most part the characters are exactly how he describes them. His tone is an uplifting one and makes you feel good and want the best to happen to Michael.

2.       2. Leigh Anne is the women whose family took in Michael. She let him move in even though she barely knew him treated him like one of her own children. She was a college cheerleader at Michael’s future school, Ole Miss. If she was a fictional character I would create her the same way as she is portrayed in the book. She would be a small but fiery woman. Michael is another interesting character. He is a huge man but he still had the mind of a child. He didn't get to do all the things that most kids do growing up.  He grew up in the foster care system running from house to house never really settling. He never had a man in his live so he didn't trust men at all. If I was to make him a fictional character I would make him just a giant of a man make him seem like he was a huge scary man but he is pretty much just a child who never got to do childhood things.

3.       3. The characters in this story were interesting enough to write about because a family in Memphis TN changed not just a young man’s life but also changed the view of college recruiters and coaches all around the country.

STYLE

1.       1. Lewis used a more journalistic style by stating facts and interviewing many different people who were important in Michael Oher’s life and in his decisions that made his life what it is today.

2.       2. He uses a more lengthy way of writing with some interviews and dialogue which to me was more interesting and led to an easy and enjoyable read.

3.       3. Lewis used a couple of tools to create a mood. He described the setting so well that I thought that I was right there going through the young man’s struggles with him.

4.       4. I think that he really cared for Michael Oher and his situation and wanted the best for him and didn't want him to be like other kids that were good at sports but had no one to guide them and lead them in the right direction. Most of those kids end up in the streets selling drugs, in prison, or dead.

5.       5. Lewis didn't offer any extra resources and it didn't affect my reading experience at all.

ENDURING MEMORY

                I will remember a few things from this story for the rest of my life. I will remember the Tuohy’s generosity and the willingness Michael had to learn. The family’s generosity was something that most people would never be willing to do. They gave him everything he needed and saved him pretty much from a life on the streets and I hope I can impact someone like that. The other thing that will remain with me is how much Michael wanted to learn and so something that no one in his family ever did, graduate from high school. His mother didn't even care if he went to school and he was willing to but he never had someone to take him. It is so awe inspiring that someone was so willing to do something they never done before. Those are the things that I will remember for the rest of my life. 

Vocab #7

Definitions

Cursory- Hastily and superficially done: not thorough

Impetus- An impelling force; impulse

Pinnacle- The highest point; summit

Contumely- Rudeness or contempt in behavior or speech

Bereavement- To be deprived of something

Cache- A place for concealment and safekeeping, as of valuables

Consummation- An ultimate end or goal

Calamity- A state of dire distress or emotion

Avarice- An extreme desire for wealth

Fortify- To strengthen and secure

Erratic- Having no fixed or regular course; wandering

Ubiquitous- Being or seeming to be everywhere at the same time

Fortitude- Strength of mind that allows one to endure pain or adversity with courage

Nonchalant- Cool, carefree and casually unconcerned

Affect- To have influence on, bring about change to

Effect- Something that is produced by an agency or cause; result; consequence

Misappropriate- To put to a wrong use

Pragmatic- Of or pertaining to a practical point of view or practical considerations

Metacognition- Higher order thinking that enables understanding, analysis, and control of one's cognitive processes especially when engaged in learning

Devoutly- Expressing devotion or piety

Sentences

• He had rushed on his homework and it looked cursory. 
• It was impetus that I saved the little boy from getting hurt. 
• We have reached the pinnacle of our journey.
• The ignorant student talked to the teacher very contumely, then he got sent to the office.
• Homeless people live lives filled with bereavement.
• I put my valuables in a hidden cache.
• Winning the rest of our football games is my consummation. 
• The kidnapping of the young child caused a calamity among the town folk
• Everybody is somewhat avarice because everyone wants to be rich.
• Can you help me fortify my house to protect it from burglars? 
• The professor gave a very erratic lecture. 
• The student tried to do multiple things at once and he was faced with a ubiquitous challenge.
• He was able to deal with his broken leg with fortitude.  
• When he received his report card with multiple bad grades and he just brushed it off nonchalantly. 
• His stupidity affected the whole class and he got them all in trouble. 
• We have to write a Cause and Effect paper on our reading from the night. 
• I used some of these words in a misappropriate context. 
• My view of the story wasn't as good as the teachers pragmatic view. 
• The doctor used his metacognition technique to get a more in depth analysis of his patient. 
• Even though his favorite team was really bad he still followed them a cheered for them devoutly. 

Prose and Cons of Obesity

Obesity has become a real problem in the Unites States. Over one-third of U.S. adults are obese, the percentage of overweight children and adolescents has tripled since the 1970's, and more than one in five children between the ages of 6 and 17 are now considered overweight. There has been an ongoing debate about whether or not the companies are to blame or if it is we. It is not a debate that can be settled so easily for the answer to the question it is a hard one.

One would say that we are to blame for obesity because we made the choice to eat those fatty foods. In the article "Obesity is no one's fault but your own" it says that two obese teenage girls from New York tried to sue McDonald's because it is their fault that they are obese. It later says that "you don't have to ace home economics to know that Big Macs, salty fries, and soda pop do not liken a well-balanced meal." So it was their own fault for eating McDonald's more than they should have.  There are other consumers who know it's their fault and are trying to fight back. In the article "Consumers Take Responsibility for Obesity " it states that 74% of consumers surveyed have changed their eating habits due to concerns about health and nutrition, with 86% concerned about the nutritional make-up of their food. They are trying to make a change with their health and not be one of third Americans that are overweight.

Others say that the companies are to blame for this nation’s weight problem. In the article "Fast Food  – Is it the Enemy?" it states that "Unfortunately, people do not know the consequences of fast food. They are unaware how the extra fat in their diet can lead to cardiovascular disease. They do not realize the super sized fries may be the reason why their pants are tight." That is be blamed on the advertising that the fast food companies do. In the article "TV Food Ads: To Blame for Childhood Obesity?" it states that "$3 billion dollars is spent every year by fast food companies to place ads targeted towards children on television". That's a lot of money and it's also a factor to childhood obesity. Do you know how many commercials there are for fruits and vegetables? Close to none. You can see who runs the TV advertisement to young kids.

I am on both sides of this argument because I mostly side with it is the person's fault. It is the people's fault for not caring what they put into their body and becoming lazier. Think of your body as a well-oiled machine. Which do you think will operate more efficiently, the one that stuffs itself with fast food or the one that eats a balanced diet? Of course it’s going to be the one that eats a balanced diet. Then there's people who argue that "oh but it's cheaper and it's on the go" well that may be true but just because it's cheaper doesn't necessarily mean that it's good for you. I'm not saying don't eat fast food just to cut back to only eating it once and a while. Also try and exercise. It's good for you and it will help lower your chances of obesity because you're physically active. Exercising alone might be boring that's why you grab some friends to take with you and have fun.

These are the two sides on the ongoing debate about obesity in this country. As you can see there is no simple answer to this debate or solution for that matter. Only time will tell what will happen to this country whether the obesity rates increase or decrease. This is a serious problem that will require everybody's help to solve.