One Flew Over the Cuckkoos Nest

I find that I especially enjoy books when I know about the surronding history or any facts about the author. It makes the experience more fulfilling and full of more depth. I can't believe that someone could be in a situation and put together a story that incorporates the story and view of the author and the history of the time. When we first started reading 'One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest' we discussed the author. Ken Kesey.

We first discussed the time period, the mid 1950s. And then about Ken Kesey and how he worked with medical personal to test LSD. I was completely surprised by this fact! I didn't know that people tested LSD as a way to treat mental illness during this time period. It was a great way for Kesey to understand his characters. At the time he didn't know the long-term effects so of course if be had known he wouldn't have done. But, because he was on the drugs during the writing of the book it's easy to see the state of mind of a patient suffering from mental illness. I think the book it great because Kesey was able to understand the patients on a level deeper than just someone observing the men. I reall enjoyed the book and would recommend that others read it!

Drop it like the Nasdaq

Donald Glover deserves to be more popular and more weathy than Lil' Wayne or other mainstream rappers because he all around just so much better. To begin my argument I ask to go look up the the two rappers on google and tell me who you think is the talented writer and comedian and who is the drug addict. It's not even a close call, it's quite obvious that Lil' Wayne takes the title as drug addict. But is Donald Glover aka Chilidish Gambino a talented writer and comedian in addition to epic rap artist.

Get ready to be schooled.

So. Donald Glover grew up in Georgia with both his mother and father. He attended college for creative writing and was soon picked up Comedy Central for some of his comedy acts. He was picked up to write for the show '30 Rock'. This step really boosted his career and he moved to acting in the show 'Community' on NBC. He released an album in 2011 called Camp which has been very successful.

On the opposite side mainstream rappers do nothing except drink, "get biddies", and do drugs. Donald Glover is the total package and yet he is relatively unknown to most people. His music is filled with creativity and careful planning to  create the perfect song while other wrappers just do very little to write their music. I wish that one day society will put aside the fake rappers and flock to the good side of rap. Childish Gambino out.

It just hit

I've been ready for college to begin since I graduated from 8th grade. I didn't want to go to high school at all and was quite vocal about my wish. I never really fell for a high school school and so with pressure from others I picked my safety school, Ursuline. I realized I wasn't meant to stay so I transferred. I can remember thinking freshmen year would never end. At the time that's how it felt. Once done with my first year of high school I was dreading 3 more years of it. Life threw some curve balls and I ended up at St. Marks. Admittedly, I have quite a few poor judgments of the school but the people are the main reason why I'm laying in bed, feeling an ache inside that I can't get rid of. Is this what it feels like to be sad about moving forward?

I was certain that the second I graduated my life would become so much better. I mean, I didn't plan on having any connections with anyone so I could run out of here. Don't ge me wrong, I'm ready to chuck up a peace sign to little ol' Delaware but it's biting me that there's really no time left. It's ending. Please don't imagine me wailing and sobbing because I'm not. I'm just feeling a sudden realization that I had quite a few relationships that I hadn't realized were so important to me and close to my heart. Yeah, here comes the gushy stuff but deal with it. Anyways, senior year and this high school are finally ending. With all the joy that that brings to me I'm still in a weird state of shock I guess that it's finally over. Not really certain that this will count as a blog but I plan to relate it to AP Lit class now so I'm hoping that it'll count as one. Our AP Lit class had so much fun together. I mean we joked around and I say with confidence I laughed during every class. I met some new people and deepened existing friendships. There were days though I didn't want to be there but the people got me back on track. I'll never forget some of the memories from the class and the people I've gotten to know through it.  Simply, I'm going to close with the thought that 4 years ago I wanted to head to college but looking back I'm glad I've made the full journey to this point. I've enjoyed he people I've met. Thank you to everyone.

Speech to the Young

Speech to the Young : Speech to the Progress-Toward

Say to them,
say to the down-keepers,
the sun-slappers,
the self-soilers,
the harmony-hushers,
"even if you are not ready for day
it cannot always be night."
You will be right.
For that is the hard home-run.

Live not for battles won.
Live not for the-end-of-the-song.
Live in the along. 

Gwendolyn Brooks was a proud woman. The beginning of her writing career was not focused on the Civil Rights movement. Up until 1967 she focused on poetry on other topics instead. It wasn't until she started teaching at Fisk University did she "rediscover her blackness"

This particular poem was written after her rediscovery of her blackness. One of her main thoughts on ridding the world of racial segregation was to teach the children about their rights and to learn that their heritage was something to be proud of. She speaks to the youth, in this poem to call them to act like her. The poem isn't a sonnet but the last few lines have good end rhyme and the lines above all end in an "ers" sound. It is written in second person to aspire the youth to focus on the battle ahead. She points out though that you must not count every single win as the end because there is always so much more to be fought for. 

A riot is the language of the unheard. MLK

A riot is the language of the unheard. 
—martin luther king

John Cabot, out of Wilma, once a Wycliffe,
all whitebluerose below his golden hair,
wrapped richly in right linen and right wool,
almost forgot his Jaguar and Lake Bluff;
almost forgot Grandtully (which is The
Best Thing That Ever Happened To Scotch); almost
forgot the sculpture at the Richard Gray
and Distelheim; the kidney pie at Maxim’s,
the Grenadine de Boeuf at Maison Henri.

Because the Negroes were coming down the street.

Because the Poor were sweaty and unpretty
(not like Two Dainty Negroes in Winnetka)
and they were coming toward him in rough ranks.
In seas. In windsweep. They were black and loud.
And not detainable. And not discreet.

Gross. Gross. “Que tu es grossier!” John Cabot
itched instantly beneath the nourished white
that told his story of glory to the World.
“Don’t let It touch me! the blackness! Lord!” he whispered
to any handy angel in the sky.
But, in a thrilling announcement, on It drove
and breathed on him: and touched him. In that breath
the fume of pig foot, chitterling and cheap chili,
malign, mocked John. And, in terrific touch, old
averted doubt jerked forward decently,
cried, “Cabot! John! You are a desperate man,
and the desperate die expensively today.”

John Cabot went down in the smoke and fire
and broken glass and blood, and he cried “Lord!
Forgive these nigguhs that know not what they do.” 

Does anyone else want to slap John Cabot? It is hard to believe that this was a common occurrence in the past and still happens in today's world. The poem is set up similar to a story. I don't know where or if there is a line that separates short stories and poetry but I believe that this can go either way. The poem is set up by describing the man walking down the street, coming across Black men and begins to break down. There is a lot of good imagery in this poem that add to create an image of Cabot and keep the reader interested. Such intensity between races. This likely never actually happened but I like the fact that Brooks went out on a limb, creating a white man as the main character and showing how they treat the Blacks. I really enjoyed the poem!

Primer For Blacks

Ms. Gwendolyn Brooks doesn't hide her opinion or leave the meaning of her poem to be left for interpretation. She out right, with no shame or second thought writes "Primer For Blacks" for the public, disregarding society's likely judgement.

Primer For Blacks

Blackness
is a title,
is a preoccupation,
is a commitment Blacks
are to comprehend—
and in which you are
to perceive your Glory.

The conscious shout
of all that is white is
“It’s Great to be white.”
The conscious shout
of the slack in Black is
'It's Great to be white.'
Thus all that is white
has white strength and yours.

The word Black
has geographic power,
pulls everybody in:
Blacks here—
Blacks there—
Blacks wherever they may be.
And remember, you Blacks, what they told you—
remember your Education:
“one Drop—one Drop
maketh a brand new Black.”
Oh mighty Drop.
______And because they have given us kindly
so many more of our people

Blackness
stretches over the land.
Blackness—
the Black of it,
the rust-red of it,
the milk and cream of it,
the tan and yellow-tan of it,
the deep-brown middle-brown high-brown of it,
the “olive” and ochre of it—
Blackness
marches on.

The huge, the pungent object of our prime out-ride
is to Comprehend,
to salute and to Love the fact that we are Black,
which is our “ultimate Reality,”
which is the lone ground
from which our meaningful metamorphosis,
from which our prosperous staccato,
group or individual, can rise.

Self-shriveled Blacks.
Begin with gaunt and marvelous concession:
YOU are our costume and our fundamental bone.

All of you—
you COLORED ones,
you NEGRO ones,
those of you who proudly cry
“I’m half INDian”—
those of you who proudly screech
“I’VE got the blood of George WASHington in MY veins”
ALL of you—
you proper Blacks,
you half-Blacks,
you wish-I-weren’t Blacks,
Niggeroes and Niggerenes.


You. 

Where do I even begin? This is an extremely powerful piece of poetry with many interesting techniques and points to focus on. I'm going to make this blog not so much about the literary composition of the poem but more of the emotions I feel on it. It is a lengthy free verse poem focused on Brook's belief of Black superiority. There is a lot of repetition and use of capital letters to add emphasis to certain words.

I can't relate to the feelings of a female Black poet during the period in which Brooks wrote so I have a bit of trouble finding the and understanding exactly what her words mean to a person experiencing that persecution for their skin color. I can relate, though, to the fact that she is angered deeply that a group she identifies herself with is being segregated and treated unfairly because they stray from the "norm". I very much admire the courage it took for her to write this poem as well as many others as the topics were not welcomed warmly. She didn't care though, all she knew is that she had something to say, a belief that she wanted people to hear and to do her part to inspire pride of Blacks. 

"We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks

I picked Gwendolyn Brooks because frankly, she has an awesome name. I wasn't sure if I would enjoy her poetry but after some research, reading her biography and a good amount of her published work, I've come to respect her talent and ability to write on the reality of Blacks in Topeka during the Civil Rights period. I enjoy learning about black heritage and her poetry gives a personal account of her experiences and observations. This particular poem caught my eye because of the title, as it sounded like the actual dialect of blacks during this period of time. "We Real Cool" is a combination of personal observation and her feelings about the situations.

We real cool. We
Left school. We 

Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We 

Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We 

Jazz June. We
Die soon.

I think this poem, although written in 1972, can be applied to modern day society. Many teens follow the same patterns. It's interesting that these patterns break all racial and socio-economic barriers. All teenagers search for independence, looking for something to define themselves. We, as a group of equal people act out on who we are supposed to be. We ditch school, some drink, listen to music, and live as if today is all they have. This poem does the job in taking the experience of blacks and making a broad description of a time in a person's life when all of us are searching for ourselves. 

Knights: good gentlemen but killers in the same...

In "Murder in the Cathedral" by T. S. Elliot, the knights are responsible for the murder of Archbishop  Thomas Becket. It is debated whether or not the knights were acting on orders or if they went out on their own to murder the Archbishop. Elliot paints the scenes so that we must decide for our own whether or we as readers believe they followed orders or decided on their own to kill him. I personally feel the knights went out, on their own to follow what they wanted. To me, there is a sense of irony to this situation. This period of time was the height of the period of chivalry. These knights had to of been upstanding gentlemen in their duties to the people but in this case they go out and kill the Archbishop. It's hard for me to put These two together because the actions go against the way they were supposed to have behaved. It's the contrast to the play that gives it a dark edge. No one seems to be who they appear and the knights make this especially apparent in the play.

Oh Shakespeare, we meet again!

Sometimes I don't even want to pick up a book if the name Shakespeare is anywhere on the cover of on the pages within. Just thinking about reading it gives me a headache and a chore that I forgot to do pops back into my mind. I know what I'm saying right now is probably causing a few of you a headache but hey, that's why we have blogs! This way I can say what I feel and you can say what you  feel. Once we're done we can all join in a great big group hug! But before that let's chat about some of the plays I've read. Freshmen year I read A Midsummer's Night Dream, junior year I read King Lear, and this year as a senior I read Hamlet. Each play I waited until the very last minute to read them so maybe I don't have the basis to say that they weren't as fabulous as many people see his works as. To start, it's terrible trying to follow a play in a seeming foreign language and little knowledge of what's going on.
My taste in Shakespeare has been refined as I've read more of his things and been taught the intricacy of his writing and the brilliance or his nature. I have a greater appreciation for him now, as a senior in AP Lit than ever before. Maybe with time and more challenge I'll be able to find the joy on his works but I'm not so sure I'll ever be taken. I don't deny his brilliance and incredible knowledge throughout his plays but he isn't my all time favorite. Sorry if I offended anyone. Group hug now...?

Read this using your alter-ego...

Hello to my fellow Lana lovers! I can't help but greet you all with excitement as someone (meaning outside of our little AP class) commented on one of my previous posts, recognizing that my URL and blog name are both in honor of Lana. To those of you stumped who Lana even is, I'll leave a video link so you can follow it and be taken over by her power.  My apologies, this isn't a music blog!
You're probably all wondering what I meant by my title. I'm not responding to a book in this point. I'm instead responding to my view of literature in terms of how it changes are deepest knowledge of ourself whether we want it to or not. I myself find it impossible to read anything without identifying with a character whether that character fits who I show people daily or if it hits to a deeper place that not many know about. Literature is meant to evoke a sense of rebirth and have us hanging on to a world unlike our own.
I have a tip to anyone who feels they can't read a book because of length or contact. I'm not going to lie to you. I don't like reading that much but to help myself I place myself in the piece and find myself relating to a character. If there isn't a character I can equate to either myself or my alter ego I create a new one to help me follow through.
Okay, this turned into something more like a tangent than a coherent post about literature. All I'm trying to say is that characters speak to us so use their presence to enjoy yourself and submerge yourself into the reality of the piece. To all my other friends out there, have a happy day!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cE6wxDqdOV0 

Everyone is bad

Being honest, I read this book because it was reviewed by the SAT committee for being a good big that will help expand the vocabulary that has been previously been found on the exam. It was the shortest book of the options I had so I bought it and began reading. I'm not into the particularly dark nature of this book but I was hoping to improve my verbal skills. I ruined it for myself by finding it the ending before I read the book. It was eerie and at parts I felt a disturbed sense about it. It was brutal and violent but I couldn't put it down. It was brilliant! Others usually offer a character in their novel that foils the protagonist. By doing this they expose the traits of the character in a deeper way because of the opposites that are shown. In this case, the characters, portrayed as being different people in every way down to their morals end up being the same person.

I enjoyed that the reader is offered two opposite characters that help to understand both of their purposes to the novel. Learning that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are the same person shakes me. It's so easy in the end though to look at that the character as one person because each of us is bogged down with a different and immoral beast inside us. Whether we are aware of that or not is up to the person in question. Humans are not perfect but we aren't ravage beasts. It's the case of us needing to be good people but also free to have the ability to do as we which. I didn't take the violent message of the book but rather that as humans we must know who we are before a hidden desire of an identity comes out.