Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Winding Down

That's basically what's happening. Russian's over for the semester and I'm waiting to see if I get in post secondary again. I've actually been paying more attention in spanish. Don't exactly know why but maybe it has something to do with the day I told Sra I didn't like the class and had a slight misunderstanding. In French we're still reading that stupid novel, poursuit inattendue, and Madame loaded on the homework for the next three nights. I'm also writing a paper on Stephen Crane for English class. Two weeks and two days left. I can't wait until it's over! Oh yeah, I've also got a job mowing the lawn so I can get money to go on the french trip for two or three weeks next summer.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Working

That's pretty much what I've been doing lately. Working on Poursuite Inattendu for French class (which I still strongly dislike) Working on English although now that the Ap test is over, it isn't that bad. Not working in Spanish because the guy who sits next to me has a copy of The DaVinci Code which I haven't read and so I've been reading that during Spanish which probably isn't the smartest thing but oh well.

I've also been working on my Russian cases download. I've gotten like two cases done which leaves me with four. However I can only do so much before the ol' brain starts sizzling. At least it's coming though right? I've also been trying to find time to type up a dictionary thingy of Russian Classroom Phrases. Back at the beginning of the semester, we got a packet with a bunch of useful phrases. It takes me forever to type in Russian however and I haven't really had the time. This week is our last week of Russian which I'm kind of happy about but at the same time, I'm gonna miss it just a tad. Hopefully, if I'm re-accepted to Postsecondary, I'll be able to continue my studies. That's the other thing I'm supposed to be working on. Getting an application together for Rotary so I can go to Russia after Senior year. Ack! So much to do and so little time!

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Major American Literary Movements

This is basically from a paper we got in english class. Thought it might be helpful to some other people out there.

The Beats Led by William S. Burroughts, Jack Kerouac, and Allen Ginsberg, the beats of the 1950s attempted to convey pure emotion to break through what they saw as the sterility of the times.

The Confessional Poets Led by Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, and Robert Lowell, the confessional poets of the 1950s and 1960s dealt with deeply personal, emotional, and psychological matters. They used the anguish of their own lives to explore America's hidden despair.

Modernism This 20th-century literary movement, spearheaded by exra pound and T.S. Eliot, used fragmentation, aluusions, symbols, irony, and shifting points of view to respond to the social breakdown of the early 20th century.

Harlem Renaissance Led by Langston hughes, Countée Cullen, Zora Neale Hurston, Jean Toomer, and Claude McKay, the Harlem Renaissance was an outpouring of African-American literature centered in Harlem, New York, in the 1930s.

Imagism Led by Ezra Pound, and Amy Lowell from 1913-17, the imagist poets wrote short poems that used everyday language and free verse to create precise and concentrated word pictures.

Local Color The local color writers of the 1800s preserved the customs and culture of their region. Notable writers included Bret Harte, Mary Wilkins Freeman, Sarah Orne Jewett, Kate Chopin, and Willa Cather.

Naturalism A literary movement that flourished among the novelists and short story writers from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. The naturalists viewed people as helpless victims of heredity and environment, adrift in an indifferent universe. Stephen Crane, Frank Norris, Jack London, and Theodore Dreiser were the primary naturalists.

Oral Tradition The passage of songs, stories, and poems from generation to generation by word of mouth. The oral tradition in America has preserved many Native-American and African-American myths, folktales, and spirituals.

Realism A literary movement that advocated the presentation of the details of actual life in art. Realists such as Mark Twain and Henry James wrote objectively and truthfully about American life.

Romance A romance deals with plots and people that are exotic, remote in time or place from the reader, and abviously imaginary. The romance grants the author a certain leeway for melodrama and emotionality. Romances flourished in the 1800s, notably in the work of Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Romanticism A 19th-century literary movement that supported individual worth, the goodness of humanity, the glory of communion with nature and individual freedom of expression. Cooper, Dickinson, Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Poe, and Melville used elements of romanticism in their writing.

Puritanism A 17th-century religious, social, political, and literary movement that stressed original sin, the doctrine of election, predestination, limited atonement, and irresistible grace. Bradford, Bradstreet, Taylor, and Mather were the major Puritan writers.

Symbolism A 19th-century literary movement that used symbols to suggest meaning. The poems of T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound show the influence of symbolism.

Transcendentalism An early 19th-century philosophical movement that stressed individualism, intuition, nature, and self-reliance. By contemplating objects in nature, people can transcend the world and discover union with the "over-soul" that unites us all. Emerson and Thoreau were the major transcendentalists.

**Again, I did not write this. It came from some teachers thing somewhere and if I knew where it came from, I'd give them credit. I hope this will be helpful to people.**