tools that change the way we think

The vast (and seemingly infinite) amount of knowledge on the internet has made me much more intelligent and much more impatient. I can learn just about anything on a plethora of subjects and topics; from aardvarks to zyzzyvas, from pi to e and everything in between. Some may argue that they've learned more on the web than in school! My memory is so clogged with useless facts (if you farted consistently for 6 years and nine months, enough gas is created to produce the energy of an atomic bomb). I guess they'd be interesting ice breakers, but I digress. The internet is addicting because knowledge is addicting. Sometimes I'll be on Wookiepedia (Star Wars Wiki) just to check the specs of the Death Star and find myself reading about the Yuuzhan Vong war two hours later. You get so lost in your discoveries and you want to learn more. You can't simply stop. I often lose my sense of time when I'm on the web because you never run out of things to do. Like, EVER. And if you do, you aren't interesting hard enough.The internet makes me bring up vague connections between something I already know and something I just learned. I love immersing myself in history, math, science, politics, news, and random facts on the internet. It has made me much more eager to learn more and have the capability of doing so. If I see a painting I like, I can easily take a picture and use tineye to find similar images. The internet, however, also shortened my patience. I am so accustomed to having all the answers at the tips of my fingers. The internet has made me unsatisfied with the knowledge I have and make me crave more. It has made life a lot more fast paced and busy. If you do not know that Kim Kardashian got proposed to (for the umpteenth time) (no disrespect to Kanye) within thirty minutes, you are out of the loop. Stay off the internet for a week and see how out of the loop you become. There is no time to be idle anymore, we're always checking either our social networking sites or the news (even on the toilet).

VOCABULARY #9

aficionado: a person who likes and knows a lot about something
Any wine aficionado can tell the difference between Pinot Noir and Sauvignon simply by tasting it.

browbeat: to use threats or angry speech to make (someone) do or accept something
Instead of hitting or spanking their children, the parents browbeat them into obedience. 

commensurate: equal or similar to something in size, amount, or degree
I want to go to a University that is commensurate to my intellect and caliber.

diaphanous: (esp. of fabric) light, delicate, and translucent.
Her silk top was rather diaphanous; you could see right through it.

emolument: a salary, fee, or profit from employment or office.
His emolument from his minimum wage job was not enough to support him from month-to-month. 

foray :a sudden attack or incursion into enemy territory, esp. to obtain something; a raid.
The foray on bin Laden's compound by SEAL Team Six proved a success as they were able to kill him.

genre: a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content
My favorite genre of literature is dystopian.

homily :A tedious moralizing lecture or admonition.
When John got caught smoking marijuana, he received a long winded homily from his parents.

immure: enclose or confine (someone) against their will.

Ariel Castro immured three young women inside his basement for nearly a decade.

insouciant: showing a casual lack of concern; indifferent.
While everyone around him was stressing out and worrying over the potential collapse of the market, he seemed rather careless and insouciant. 

matrix: something within or from which something else originates, develops, or takes form
Freedom of expression is the matrix that many of our natural and human rights originate from.

obsequies: a funeral or burial rite
There were many mourners at the young man's obsequies.

panache:  lots of energy and style
Salespeople should be full of panache if they want to excite people about their product.

persona: an individual's social facade or front

Hamlet had various personas; he was one person with his parents, another with his friends, and yet another one when by himself.

philippic: a bitter attack or denunciation, esp. a verbal one.
The philippic of her opponent left her in tears, asking how can someone be so mean.

prurient: having or encouraging an excessive interest in sexual matters.

Teenagers going through puberty are rather prurient.

sacrosanct: (esp. of a principle, place, or routine) regarded as too important or valuable to be interfered with.

Despite the fact that the sacrosanct Buddhas of Bamiwam were listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, the Taliban still obliterated them.

systemic: of or relating to a system, esp. as opposed to a particular part.
Corruption in our government is a systemic problem; it cannot be confined to an individual.

tendentious: expressing or intending to promote a particular cause or point of view, esp. a controversial one.
The presidential candidate was so dogmatic and tendentious that he left voters in the middle of the political spectrum alienated. 

vicissitude: a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant.

FILTER BUBBLES

• A) I didn't know that Google and Facebook edited things out to suite your specific interests and ideologies. I knew that they did, however, show you adds of stores and companies you like (meaning they KNOW your personal information (shouldn't be a shocker to anyone)). I didn't know the stark dichotomy between two people's Google search queries. That was a but shocking to be honest.
• B) If I wasn't paranoid that Big Brother was watching before, I am now. Bust out the tinfoil caps! But in all seriousness, it makes me a little less trustworthy of the content I see on the web and whether it's truthful or if they're not showing me the full story. I just actually searched up Egypt to see what my results were and sure enough, a bunch of news links popped up (given, I am somewhat of a news junky).
• C) Is it ethical to do such a thing? Is the algorithm used for good? Or is it used for evil (ie selling your information to mega-corporations all for money)? What are the implications of this search bias? Does it lead to ignorance and perhaps, an overwhelming sense of correctness?
• D) By being more specific with my search words as well as checking pages other than just the first page of results.

THOUGHTS ON HAMLET (IN PROGRESS)

• Hamlet is cold, calculating, and ruthless. At the begining of the play, I thought he was actually either in love with Ophelia or just straight up of his rocker. As the play progressed, though, the little pieces began to fall into place and expose the true Hamlet, who may be crazy, but is also cunning and shrewd.
• Hamlet does not act out of impulse. He restrains himself and acts weighs all his options before doing anything (as seen from his refrain of killing Claudius when he is praying).
• The amount of subplots add to the complexity of the play. 
• Pretty much everyone but Hamlet is oblivious to the wrong and injustice that is occurring in the play (ie his uncle murdering his dad and then marrying his mom). Perhaps that is why only Hamlet can view the ghost....
• Revenge is slowly driving Hamlet insane. He is obsessed with getting revenge.
• I predict that Hamlet will get his revenge, but at the cost of his own life and/or sanity.

LITERATURE ANALYSIS #3

1. The novel begins with the protagonist, Celie writing in a journal to God because her dad beats and rapes her. Celie and her younger sister learn that a man named Mr.___ wants to marry Celie's younger sister, Nettie. Nettie's dad refuses the offer, stating that Nettie was too young. He instead offered him Celie. Mr.___ accepts the offer. Nettie soon runs away from home to join her sister. Mr.___'s sexual advances towards her prompt her to leave the house and join a missionary group to Africa, promising to write to Celie every day. Years pass and the children begin to grow. The oldest, Harpo falls with a brusque young woman named Sofia. With his wife being so brusque and assertive, Harpo began feeling intimidated because she wouldn't listen to his demands. At the advice of Celie, he decides to beat her, but she fights back. Sofia confronts her about this and they work things out. Sofia gives Celie some advice from when her father used to beat her and told her to be strong. Mr.___s mistress, Shug Avery comes to stay with them because she is sick. Shug at first treats Celie and her less-than-affluent household in a condescending manner, but the two women soon begin to develop a strong bond. Sofia becomes tired of Harpo and leaves with her children. Shortly after her departure, Harpo decides to start up a joint where Shug will sing nightly. Shug discovers the way that Mr.___ treats Celie and decides to stay and help her. Their relationship becomes more intimate as they share a romantic sexual experience one night. Sofia returns and gets in a fight with Harpo's new girlfriend, Squeak. She then gets sentenced to 12 years in prison for beating the mayor when his wife told her to be her maid. Squeak attempts to blackmail the sheriff into releasing Sofia. This results in Squeak's rape. Sofia is, however, released early and forms a close bond with Squeak. Shug returns later on with a husband. She has a record deal and is now wealthy and famous- and married. This doesn't prevent her from having a sexual relationship with Mr. ___, this time to get the letters hes been hiding from Nettie to Celie. Celie and Shug read the letters together and discover that she is going with a missionary group to Africa. Celie is at first enraged that Mr.___ hid these letters from her, as she believed her sister was dead. Through the letters, we learn that Nettie began extremely optimistic on her missionary work but soon becomes disillusioned when she discovers that women in Africa aren't treated much better than the ones in America. The men of the tribe find education to be dangerous for women. Nettie reveals to the missionaries that she is the aunt of their children. Celie gets sick and passes away. Fed up with her husband, Celie leaves along with Shug and Squeak. Celie gets a job in Tenesse and discovers that Mr.___'s economic circumstances got worse once Celie left. He promise he has changed and now allows Celie to call him by his first name and offers to marry her in spirit as well. Celie declines the offer. She later inherits the land of her childhood home and her and Shug move to that house. Shug falls in love with a woman and they leave, but Shug returns when she breaks things off with the other woman. Nettie marries to the missionary Samuel and are returning to the United States. The novel ends with Nettie, Samuel, Olivia, Adam, and Tashi arriving at Celie's house and Nettie and Celie hugging, after not seeing each other for 30 years.
2. The theme of the novel deal with the oppression of females in patriarchal societies and, in particular, feminism and sexism. Alice Walker looks at these issues through the "native" Africans' and "civilized" Caucasians' perspective. We can see the way way women are treated in Africa, only to see the situation in American only slightly better, if not, the same as theirs. The men in this novel are unloving and abased their women and treated them as inferiors. Most of the women cannot stand up to their man if he attempts to beat them, but some, like Sofia, manage to prevent this master-owner from profiliating further. Sofia is representative of the resilient spirit of a woman and their perseverance. She both talked back to the mayor when tried to debase her and refused to be beat. Celie is also forced to work for her husband and truckle to his every demand. When he has sex with her, it is unloving and cold. She also has to keep quite about Mr.___'s and a singer/dance named Shug Avery. The letters from Nettie in Africa also depict the oppression women undergo there. The only girl that attends school there are the missionary's daughter because women don't get an education in society. "There is no place here for a woman to do those things" in response to Nettie saying that his daughter "is very intelligent" and that she could become a "...teacher. A nurse." The oppression of women is also shown when Olinka's parents come to Nettie's house and demand that she ceases to teach her child. They are afraid Olinka is becoming too smart and wanting a different, more equal way of life. 
3. Since the book takes place through letters and journals, the tone of the book is very revealing, earnest, and honest. The brusqueness and seriousness is exemplified through this dialogue (which occurs after a white couple hears about Nettie's planned trip to Africa) : "Niggers going to Africa, he said to his wife. Now I have seen everything." The novel is also very unblinking as seen through Celie's description of the night she slept with Mr. ___ and Shug Avery. "All the men got they eyes glued to Shug's bosom. I got my eyes glued there too. I feel my nipples harden under my dress. My little button sort of perk up too. Shug, I say to her in my mind, Girl, you looks like a real good time, the Good Lord knows you do." The description of Sofia's beating at the hands of the serif and the police. "When I see Sofia I don't know why she still alive. They crack her skull, they crack her ribs. They tear her nose loose on one side. They blind her in one eye. She swole from head to foot. Her tongue the size of my arm, it stick out tween her teef like a piece of rubber. She can't talk. And she just about the color of a eggplant."

CHARACTERIZATION

1A. "You ugly.You skinny.You shape funny.You too scared to open your mouth to people" Mr. ____ comparing Celie to Shug. 

B. One can recognize a tool of indirect characterization by observing the different character's style of speech grammar. Nettie, the more educated sister, who always enjoyed learning and being school talks in a more formal and with proper grammar as opposed to Celie, whose speech is more broke and often uses poor grammar and slang.

C. The character's naming of other characters also gives them distinct character and are a tell-tale sign of their position in society. Celie, who is a more reserved and submissive woman calls her husband by the name Mr. ___, unlike Shug who calls him by his first name or Sofia, who addresses her husband similarly. Celie, inspired mainly by Shug, begins to stand up for herself near the end of the novel. 

D. Their clothing also does a huge deal to characterize. Celie was in a dress that was essentially made out of rags when Shug Avery. Shug was wearing the polar opposite; a huge nice new dress. This highlights the dichotomy between the lives of the two women.

The use of two different types of characterization makes the readers think deeper and think beyond the characters, but rather, to what they symbolize. 

2. The book's use of letters to tell the novel conveys an interesting and unusual syntax that is much bolder and honest then would otherwise be. For both of them, the letters provide a means of escape and a friend in the cold, isolated world they both live in. The character's diction differs from Celie to Nettie. Celie's diction is much more informal and slangy while Nettie's much more educated and formal. The diction illustrates the dichotomy between the two sisters.

3. Celie is both a dynamic and round character. She grows and matures throughout the novel and also becomes braver and begins to grow respect for herself. In the begining of the novel, Celie is extremely submissive and just accepted her position as is. She begins to change when she meets Shug and Sofia, who encourage her to stand up for herself. She becomes a little more deffiant and begins to lose her fear for men, especially her husband.

4. I definitely feel like I've met an actual person. Cellies in-depth and raw description make you feel as if you witnessed the events firsthand. She had human attributes such as her wide range of emotions and reactions. Th way she conveys her story through her journal just adds to the effect of making her seem real. Her use of slang and local colloquialism give her depth and make her much more realistic than if she just spoke in flawless sentences. 

SONG OF THE WEEK

Earlier today, Curren$y blessed us with a new single, 442. He teamed up with Birdman and Lil Wayne, two other seasoned veterans from New Orleans, for this killer track. Monsta Beats's chill, head-nodding-inducing beat coupled with Spitta's, Wayne's, and Birdman's buttery smooth flows make it the perfect song to cruise through the city to. Enjoy!

Republican’s pull back at the 11th hour to prevent shattering the American economy over Obamacare

Hooray, the crisis has been averted. After weeks of rhetoric and childish behavior, our politicians actually did their job and passed a bill that would reopen the government and raise the federal debt ceiling, or the amount of money the government can borrow. Both chambers passed the law with only hours to go until the United States would reach said limit. President Obama signed the bill into law shortly after it was approved by congress. If the United States had reached that limit, it would default on its debts, which essentially means it wouldn't have the ability to pay back it's lenders. This, in turn, would lead to yet another hit to the United States' credit rating and possibly another world-wide recession. Federal workers should be expected to return to work on Thursday morning. Federal parks are also expected to reopen promptly.

But, there is a catch to this entire deal. The bill senate passed is ephemeral; it only extends  debt cushion through February 7th of 2014. Because our politicians fail at negotiating, they just kick the can down the road, so expect this same discussion within a couple months. The sick patient that is America has been given another morphine shot rather than any long-time treatment. But hey, President Obama is optimistic that we won't be in this situation again soon, saying "No" when asked if he believed America would be n the same political quagmire in a few months.

Related articles

• House floats bill to re-open government, force Obama, Biden into Obamacare... (washingtontimes.com)
• Congress passes debt ceiling bill to end US government shutdown (abc.net.au)
• US default: Senate reaches deal to end government shutdown (telegraph.co.uk)
• Legislation passed by Senate to end shutdown now awaits House vote (wtvr.com)

You know what makes me sad?

Knowing that I was born too late to explore the earth, and too early to explore the universe.

The feels.

DEAR OPHELIA.

My name is O. and I'm trapped in this weird sort of dating thing-- a prince says he loves me, but my father & brother hate him and tell me to stay away. What should I do?

Dear O,
Oh boy...it sure sounds like you're in a gargantuan conundrum here. Well, first of all, you should ask yourself some questions: can you see yourself with him in 5 years? in ten years? You're love for him might be very ephemeral and you will soon get over him and his bad boy attitude. Are you truly in love with him or is it just a flame of passion? See, O, love is hard and difficult. And I understand you're in a sticky situation but you must consider what your brother and dad are saying. Is what they're saying true? If so, then juxtapose the good that you see in him with the bad your family is warning you about. This will take so time and hard thought, but the right decision will come to mind once you're done.

Sincerely, Javier

vocabulary #8

abase: behave in a way so as to belittle or degrade (someone)
I watched in discomfort as the lady abased her child for simply dropping a bottle of water on the floor. 

abdicate: to relinquish (as sovereign power) formally.
After the whole Watergate debacle, President Nixon abdicated his presidency before he got impeached.

abomination: a thing that causes disgust or hatred
Frankenstein's monster was seen as an abomination and the village people wanted it dead.

saboteur: a person who destroys or damages something deliberately
The saboteur managed to plant a bomb in the opposing faction's headquarters and got away without any suspicion. 

debauchery: excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures.
After a wild night of debauchery, I woke up wondering why there was a pair of panties in my pocket.

proliferate: increase rapidly in numbers; multiply.
Videos of women "twerking" have proliferated in the past couple of years.

anachronism: a person or a thing that seems to belong to the past and not to fit in the present
Many politicians that oppose legalization of same-sex marriage and marijuana are often seen as anachronisms of an earlier, more conservative generation.

nomenclature: the act or process or an instance of naming.
The nomenclature tuxedo derived from the fact that it first became popular in Tuxedo Park, New York.

expurgate: remove matter thought to be objectionable or unsuitable from (a book or account).
Many publishers have decided to expurgate the "n-word' from Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn.

gauche: lacking ease or grace; unsophisticated and socially awkward.
He was so gauche, that he could not go five minutes talking to a girl without embarrassing himself.

rapacious: aggressively greedy or grasping.
The rapacious owners of the Walmart company refuse to pay their workers a living wage.

paradox: a statement that apparently contradicts itself and yet might be true.
The idea that this sentence is false is a paradox... or is it?

conundrum: a confusing and difficult problem or question.
The situation in Syria is a conundrum that won't be easily fixed.

anomaly:  something that is unusual or unexpected : something anomalous
The radio signal the scientists received was such an anomaly because it seemed to have originated from a part of space completely devoid of matter.

ephemeral: lasting for a very short time.
Though many believe that congress will come up with a resolution on the debt ceiling, I fear that it may be too ephemeral and we'll be back in this same position in a couple months.

rancorous: characterized by bitterness or resentment.
He was extremely rancorous in the months after his girlfriend left him for someone else.

churlish: rude in a mean-spirited and surly way.
precipitous: (of an action) done suddenly and without careful consideration.
His precipitous actions were based on mere speculation and cost the company thousands of dollars.

brusque: abrupt or offhand in speech or manner.
He was so brusque that many people considered his bluntness rude and mean.

bellicose: demonstrating aggression and willingness to fight.
The fans were rather bellicose; they would punch anyone who talked bad about their team.

SONG OF THE WEEK

This week, I simply couldn't choose one song. So I'm choosing an entire mixtape. This past Monday, the #VeryRare crew over at #BEEN #TRILL released their 88-song mictape entitled "IN THE FIELD".

For those who don't know what #BEEN #TRILL is, it is a DJ colaborative composed of guys who have worked closely with Kanye West. It includes Heron Preston (marketing strategist at Naked Communications), Matthew M. Williams (former creative director for Lady Gaga), and last but not least, Virgil Abloh (Kanye's creative director). #BEEN #TRILL has been on the rise lately, releasing various clothing collaborations with the likes of Milk Made, Hood By Air, Diamond Supply Co., Stussy and SSUR. IN THE FIELD includes a plethora of features, ranging from Kanye West, to Chief Keef, to Migos, to Britney Spears, to Made In Heights. They masterfully juxtapose rap, electro, and trap music in this mix. Hope you enjoy it!

GREEN EGGS & HAMLET

A) I'm fairly certain Hamlet is a tragedy about a Danish Prince (Hamlet) that tries to avenge his father, the King (also Hamlet) by killing his uncle, who married Lil' Hamlet's mom after Big Hamlet went under.
B) Shakespeare. Oh, the great Bard. Inventor of a bunch of English words we still use to this very day. One of the most (if not the most) acclaimed and important writers in the history of mankind.
C) Because they believe it is difficult to understand and rather droll.
D) Perhaps make a modern rendition of Hamlet and act it out in class? Hmm...

IF I JUST HAD MORE TIME

If I could have somehow written down the words and their definitions on paper and eaten that paper and have the ability to recall any and all word/definition combo on demand, then that'd be awesome. I think i did a fairly good job. Words kept popping up in my mind AFTER the test.

LITERATURE ANALYSIS #2

I read A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
1. The novel starts with Alex and his droogs in a bar, drinking. They buy a couple of old ladies drinks and leave the bar. They go on to beat and rob an innocent man. Alex and his gang and proceed to rob a store. They run back to the store. The police swings by the bar to ask if there were any witnesses. The old ladies exculpate Alex and his game, telling the police that they were here the entire time. After they leave, they battle a rival gang , joy ride a car, beat a man, and rape his wife. The following day, Alex ditches school and seduces two young girls and gives them drinks. While passed out, Alex proceeded to rape them. That night, he has a dream that Georgie was giving him orders and tells Dim to whip Alex. Later on, he and his gang break into a wealthy old folks house. The habitats fight back. Sirens went off and the rest of the gang escaped. Alex beats the old lady to death with a marble bust of Beethoven. The police apprehend him. He is sentenced to jail for murder. While in jail, he becomes a member in the jail's church choir. He is blamed for the assault of his bunkmate and is subjected to a new experimental method of reform. He is given shots with an unknown type of medicine inside and forced to watch brutal images and videos of violence. At the end, he becomes unable to make violent decisions. His head and stomach begin to hurt at even the thought of violence. He is deemed reformed and is released into the public. He goes back home but discovers that his parents have rented out his room to a student. Alex, angrily leaves the house and goes to a library, where he is assaulted by old men her beat up earlier in the novel. The police arrive, but it turns out the policemen are Dim and Billy, Alex's old rival. they take him in the car to the outskirts of a village and beat him into a bloody pulp and leave him there. Alex somehow makes it to the village and gets help from a man, who turns out the husband of the old woman Alex killed with a bust of Beethoven. The man is oblivious to this, and helps Alex recover and soon writes an editorial piece on what the government is doing to unruly children, such as Alex, in order to deter crime. He, Alexander, is only using Alex to express his views that the public should not reelect the incumbent candidates. Alex is given a room at a flat he was to stay at. He attempts suicide by jumping out the window but fails. When he wakes up from his concussion, he is surrounded by government officials and journalist. The governor shakes hands with Alex and offers him a well-paying job. Alex daydreams of violence for the first time without feeling any nausea as they shale hands. The book skips to a future time, where Alex has a new trio. He halfheartedly prepares for nightly shenanigans with them. He isn't in the mood and leaves his trio. He travels to a nearby bar and finds his old droog Georgie with a woman. Georgie recognizes Alex and tells him he's reformed and gotten married. Alex soon begins to realize the futility of violence and how he needs to mature. He decides to become a productive member of society and get married and start a family.
2. The unassailability of free will is one that is extremely present in Burgess's novel. The title of the novel itself refers to a person who appear perfectly moral, but truly have no control over their decisions; they lack free will. Burgess's character, F. Alexander, states this idea the best when he tells Alex "A man who cannot choose ceases to be a man." This is what the government of the novel is essentially focusing on. When Alex became subjected to the Ludovico method, he becomes so disgusted by violence that he cannot even think about it without becoming nauseous. By doing those, they essentially stripped him of his ability to choose between good and evil. It strips him of his ability to become a living human and turns him into essentially a mindless drone. The novel reinforces the concept that morality is a concept of choice. This brings up an interesting moral question: what is a society willing to give up for security and tranquility? Is the freedom to choose truly worth a conformist society?
3. Burgess's tone is disturbingly vivid, blunt, and humorous all at once. "...they thought it the bolshiest fun to viddy old Uncle Alex satnding there... squirting the hypodermic like some bare doctor.... and then I felt the old tigers leap in me and then I leapt on these two young ptitsas." Here, Burgess vividly describes Alex injecting himself with a potent drug and raping the two girls he invited to his house.
4.

1. Juxtaposition: Burgess uses juxtaposition various times throughout the novel, especially when he is doing it with music. During the rape scene, he "pulled out the lovely ninth out of its sleeve, so that Ludwig van was now nagoy too, and I set the needle hissing on to the last movement, which was all bliss." The juxtaposition of opera music and a rape makes it that much more poignant and draws attention to Alex's mix of sophistication and brutality.
2. Imagery: Alex is a very descriptive narrator. "Now as I got up from the floor among all the crarking kots and koshkas what should I slooshy but the shoom of the old police-auto sirens in the distance..." (pg 65). He also very vividly describes the torture scenes he was forced to watch. "...there were soldiers being fixed to a tree with nails and having fires lit under them and having their yarbles cut off, and you can even viddied a gulliver being sliced off a soldier with a sword, and then with his head rolling about and the rot and glazzies looking alive still, the plott of this soldier actually ran about, krovvying like a fountain..." Alex paints a vivid picture because he wants his audience to know what he had to go through. 
3. Alliteration: This device actually goes hand-in-hand with the imagery part of the novel. "so I made the starry dama' kroovy flow with a crack crack crack on her gulliver". It creates a memorable phrase that flows and sticks out like a sore thumb. Describes Alex's brutality.
4. Allusion: Alex alludes to Ludwig van Beethoven and the Ninth symphony various times throughout the novel. "'That,' I said, very sick. "Using Ludwig can like that. He did no harm to anyone." It helps make an association between Alex and Beethoven, illustrating his sophisticated side.
5. Irony: The novel is saturated with it. While in jail, Alex dreams of the day he is released so he can continue wrecking havoc. Yet when he is released, the sheer thought of violence makes him nauseous.
6. Foreshadowing: The foreshadowing in this novel comes in terms of a dream. "'It was vivid,' said my dad, 'I saw you lying on the streets and you had been beaten by other boys. These boys were like the boys you used to go around before you were sent to that last Corrective School.'" Alex gets beaten to a bloody pulp by his old goon Dim and a former rival in the third part of the book.
7. Symbolism: Alex's clothes, or his "platties", change when he goes out at night, representing the change that he also undergoes during the night. 
8. Allegory: The novel is very allegorical. It touches on the notion that removing freedom to choose, even if the individual becomes nothing but good, is wrong and immoral.
9. Metaphor: The title of the novel itself (A Clockwork Orange) is a metaphor for someone who is overly-moral, but has no freedom of choice. "Am I just to be like a clockwork orange?" Alex questions the government officials and scientists that subjected him to the Ludovico technique.
10. Satire: The Novel is essentially a satire in the form of political commentary. Burgess wrote this novel during a time where both Great Britain and the Soviet Union were experiencing trouble controlling the rowdy youth. So Burgess wrote it as a satirical example of how a society with no evil and/or bad would work.

CHARACTERIZATION:
1. Burgess uses clothing as direct characterization tool throughout the book. The clothes in the novel are attributed to different factions of society. For example, Alex and his droogs are dressed in dark, gothic clothing. "The four of us were dressed in the height of fashion, which in those days was a pair of black very tight jeans.... Then we wore waisty jackets without lapels but with these very big built-up shoulders...." (pg. 10-11). The older society dresses lugubriously, typically in gray and other bland colors. Another example of direct characterization lies in his description of his friends. "Dim not ever having much of an idea of things and being, beyond all shadows of a doubting Thomas, the dimmest of we four." He flat out said Dim was dumb instead of subtly implying it. The reader can imply that Alex and his gang are extremely brutal by their actions. Their brutality is seen in the fight between Alex's gang and a rival gang when  "...old Dim chained him  [rival gang member] right in the glazzies..." (pg 23). Alex's brutality is also later seen when they break into F. Alexander's house. "So then I screeched: 'You filthy old soomka', and upped with the little malenky like silver statue and cracked her a fine fair tolchock on the gulliver and that shut her up real horrorshow and lovely." Through this passage, the reader can imply Alex's brutality through his vivid description and apparent enjoyment of it.
2. The novel is written solely in the point of view of Alex, the unreliable narrator. But Burgess does use a certain syntax and diction when Alex speaks. Alex's diction is one composed of a majority of slang words dubbed "nadsat". Examples are using "devotchka" when referring to a girl, calling someone's head their "rot", replacing hands with "rookers", and "droog" when referring to a friend, among much more other words. By using nadsat, Burgess makes Alex a more realistic character and gives him depth. It also provides a reader with a chance to imply his age and culture though his use, cause only the rebellious youth underground talk in this slang. Alex's words and use of nadsat creates a tone that alludes to the rebellious thoughts and tendencies of the young rebels. His convoluted phrases expresses to the reader the confusion of that period in time in the novel.
3. Alex, the protagonist in the novel, is a dynamic, round character. You can see his evolution in the novel. Burgess's division of the novel into three parts reinforces Alex's change and tracks his growth. In the first part of the novel, he is a ruthless, brutal hooligan with a desire for violence, simply for pleasure. His capture signifies the transition from being a brutal hooligan to an empty shell of a human, incapable of choosing. His subjection to the Ludovico technique solidifies this change. His third and final metamorphosis occurs when he is released from the jail. Even with his new band of hooligans, he seems disinterested in partaking in their activities. When he encounters Georgie with his wife in the bar, he realizes that he also needs to settle down and become a productive member of society.
4. After reading A Clockwork Orange, I feel like I have actually met a person and experienced his life in detail with him. Alex's narration is one of the main reasons why I feel this way. He talks in the first person and talks in a way where the reader feels like Alex is an old friend recounting a story to them. His liberal use of slang and attention to detail makes it seem as if Alex is comfortable talking about his exploits with the reader. He often refers to himself as "your Friend and Humble Narrator" (pg. 76).

THE COMPARISON'S TALE

When a group went over the Miller's tale, Chaucer's style was obvious. The story poked fun of the upper class in a subtle way. The story was ironic because the rich carpenter was outsmarted by a poor student. The story of the Cook also exhibited irony. Through his story telling, you can imply that the cook seems to be passionate about his job yet he sucks at it. His themes seem to encompass a variety of issues that are still relevant to today's society, such as being too vain is bad for you.

Song of the Week

This song of the week goes to the rawest rapper alive, Lil B the Based God. I started listening to Lil B over a year ago and I first scoffed and doubted his abilities and positivity. But soon, I saw the error of my ways and became totally immersed with his very based, very positive music. I have since became a fiercely loyal member of the Taskforce. With our tiny pants and pink bandannas, we will protect Lil B at all costs. Lil B is my role model. He cares very deeply about this planet, all his fans, and even all the animals. He is the first rapper ever to sign an animal to his label when he signed his adopted tabby cat Keke. I'd just like to thank the Based God for being such a positive role model in my life.

Anyways, the song is "I Love You" off his mixtape God's Father. When I first heard this song, I legitimately cried. It is such a beautiful song and I listen to it every time I feel sad. It automatically makes me feel better knowing Lil B the Based God cares about me.

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND DONT EVER DENY MY LOVE FOR YOU! I HOPE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ARE SAFE, I LOVE YOU WATCH THIS WHOLE VIDEO, IF YOU REALLY LOVE LIL B AND CRIED TO THIS OR REALLY HAVE BEEN EFFECTED BY THIS VIDEO HIT LIL B UP! - Lil B

TALE OF A CANTERBURY TALE

Alright so we got the Monk right? He tells us he's going to "bewail" (or express with great regret) about people who essentially fell from grace, previously being at a "high degree" or very important. He begins with the fallen angel Lucifer and how he was once an angel and got the banhammered  from heaven by Bog himself, and now rules hell as Satan. He lists a couple of other Biblical figures such as Adam and Samson (who kicked the asses of three-hundred foxes in one occasion and a thousand men in another). Adam fell from grace through their own "misgovernance". Samson spirals down a path of self-destruction and starts drinking and falls in love with a harlot (Delilah) who cut his hair, which was his source of power. He then collapses a temple on himself and his captors. The Monk goes on to talk about Hercules and Nebuchadnezzar (king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire) and how they met their doom at the hands of a woman and their own arrogance, respectively. Nebuchadnezzar's son Belshazzar got drunk and makes some stupid decisions which lead to his death. He goes on to name a bunch of other historical figures such as Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great and how their own cockiness, shortsightedness, and stupidity led to their downfall and/or death.

1. There really isn't a main character in the Monk's tail. His focus changes from a plethora of Biblical and historical figures. By referring to a good amount of Biblical characters through his story, you can obviously tell the Monk is extremely religious (if the fact that he was a monk didn't already tell you that). He's well-versed in both history and the Bible; this is evident when he says "...tragedies I'll tell, Of which I have a hundred in my cell...". You can tell he is a bit of a joykill and 
2. I believe Chaucer wrote this to serve as a warning or a lesson to his readers. The lesson here is not to be overly vain or it will lead to your death, as seen with Nebuchadnezzar.

This king of kings was arrogant and vain; He thought that God who sits in majesty Would never take from him his great domain. But he lost that dominion suddenly, And after like a beast he came to be: He ate hay like an ox and lay about Right in the rain, wild beasts his company, Until a certain time had run its route They all strut their stuff and got carried away, believing that they were invincible and unstoppable. (lines 2167-2174)

or with Samson...

Before his hair had thus been clipped away, Men simply had no bond, this man to bind; Now he's imprisoned in a cave where they Have bound him to the handmill, there to grind. O noble Samson, strongest of mankind, Once judge with glory, wealth, and blessedness! Well you may weep with eyes that now are blind, To fall from where you were to wretchedness. (Lines 2071-2078)

All of the characters in the Monk's series of tragedies put their trust in blind prosperity and don't acknowledge the fact that fate is a mercurial thing. If anything, the Monk is the pessimist of the Canterbury Tales. He puts a damper on things by telling a story which has kind of a somber undertone.