Time

Time-the system of those sequential relations that any event has to any other, as past, present, or future; indefinite and continuous duration regarded as that in which events succeed one another. Can it be said that this is the true definition of time? Is it possible that there is an altogether different definition if not more than one definition of the word and concept of time? Time is a fascinating and confusing thing. It is both a mystery and an already defined concept that could be argued to be our creation in the first place. Time can be taken metaphorically, and literally, with perception and point of view playing a big contributing factor to the definition being used in a specific context. It is not easy but we can craft a definition by showing how time is not only defined in different ways but different attributes contribute to the definition of time. Using things like the concept of Thoreau defining time and how that defies our creation of the clock, and our silly belief of overcoming fatalism, and how time is keen to the philosophy of presentism all contribute to our understanding of time, leading to the creation of our definition of time.

A clock is an instrument utilized for the sole purpose of displaying and measuring time. Time is an essential factor in each individual's life. It typically evolves around every decision, and move we make. An average individual would consider a clock to be the general representation of time. According to the well known philosopher Henry David Thoreau, he considers time to be a continuously straight line of occurring events. Time is ultimately everlasting, and constantly changing. Thoreau believed that the concept of time couldn't be measured or placed in the representation of a clock. For example a clock can suddenly stop working, and breaks. Due to it breaking it doesn't time will remain ongoing, and not miss a beat. Thoreau looks beyond the man made fate of humanity. Time is seen as another restriction on the sights of man, it is something that we can live without. That clock that people rely on is only an instrument. Thoreau sees the idea of ''time'' as something that ruins his ideals of simplicity and he believes that time isn't something that people should hold too heavily because it restrains man in thoughts. Thoreau wants to see mankind living freely, not thinking too much on what the future holds. He wants them to live naturally, without the constant restrictions that instruments like ''time'' that infringe on a personal freedom that humanity can no longer remember. Thoreau obviously defies the clock with his philosophy because time stands as a symbol of reliance to him in a way. Imagine if we never saw another clock again. That might seem like chaos to most people, but to Thoreau this is what freedom really is and how the world should be. The clock only provides security or organization to the minds of people who know nothing else. Simplicity and organization can't truly coexist because of their contradicting principles in everyday life. Thoreau's principles all derive from the need to make life simpler and more relevant to nature. The clock is a manifestation of time; both the notion of time and the clock are arbitrary in a sense. Therefore they are unnecessary to human interest, which makes time against the philosophy of simplicity Thoreau had proposed.

Thoreau's analysis of time defies our ridiculous belief that we are capable of escaping extinction, that we are capable of overcoming fatalism. Thoreau’s view on time is that we should live in the moment and let what is to happen to us just happen. In this day and age people are trying to escape fate. For example, on April 22, 2013 there has been an application process opened for people to live on mars. There have been over 200,000 people who applied for this Mars One mission road map, where those who take this trip will never come back to earth. With all of the problems that are going on in the earth today, such as global warming, natural disasters, and problems between the nations, time is running out for this world to end.  These people taking this trip are trying to escape the fate of the end of the world. These people are trying to give themselves more time. By doing this it goes completely against Thoreau’s views on time. The people taking this trip is not living in the moment they are not letting fate take its place. They are trying to overcome fate.  There is nobody on earth that could run away from fate. There is nobody on earth that can overcome fate. Time is not something you could run away from. Time and fate are one in the same. Time will forever be ticking. Nobody could ever cheat fate, and this is why Thoreau’s analysis of time defies our ridiculous belief that we are capable of escaping extinction.

Time is not a concept that defines past recollections or a futuristic being. For decade men have referred to memories in order to access their being as they die. Time is continuous and only the objects that are found in the present exist. This philosophy of time is known as Presentism- an idea in which nothing else matters but the present state of time. A person at the death bed may be reminiscing but what they say or do at that moment matters more like: apologizing or sending regards are just a few things that someone may do and will remain with those who are there to witness the event. Memories are blurry thoughts that try to hang on to our mind due to our incapacity of turning back time to relive those events. It is impossible to live in the past and the future, there is no existing being that takes a life in those dimensions of time. We need to learn to live in the moment, for it is not an occasion that we can live again. Time is not a cycle which can be repeated over and over, there is no way to speed it up or turn it back the only thing to do is to go along with it.

Using things like the concept of Thoreau defining time and how that defies our creation of the clock, and our silly belief of overcoming fatalism, and how time is keen to the philosophy of presentism all contribute to our understanding of time, leading tothe creation of our definition of time. Thoreau possess’ an interesting point of view when it comes to his analysis of time. His analysis possess’ many oxymoron in the way that he views time as both limitless " the stream I fish in" and fleeting "I want to live… and suck out all the marrow life can offer", life is both precious " and discovered that I had not lived" and frivolous " I came to die...". His philosophical views tend to contradict most common thought. He views time as valuable and a commodity. This contradicts our thinking and definition of time being a metaphorical and physical concept. His definition is more from a philosophical stand point, and ours tends to veer towards the literal and physical, or the metaphorical and the force behind that. Even though they all differ from one another, they can all be considered definitions of time depending on the context you are approaching it from. Time an invisible being, which evolves the earth dragging it along with it. For years it has been known to be a cycle that never ends or changes. The great philosopher Henry David Thoreau once said: “It matters not what the clocks say,” we have created the clock to be a representation of time with the same twelve numbers that continue to repeat themselves. When we look at the clock we see limitations, preventing us from doing that many things that we want to do and that we are capable of doing. We fear that the time given is not enough, so we give up on work and dreams and we hold on to nothing but memories and wishes. Time my friends is endless, so why represent it with a timer that impedes us from continuing to live every moment as new day. Why keep fighting fate, when no force is strong enough to fight it. We cannot define time, but can learn to go along with it.

Morgan Burton                                                                                 October 20, 2013

 Why are so many of the words abstract?  How do words like freedom, poverty, devotion, loyalty, and sacrifice set the tone of the speech?

These words help set the tone of the speech because it draws the audience in and makes them want to continue to listen to the presenter. The words listed above all  were major problems society were facing at the time. As President John F. Kennedy mentioned these words throughout his speech, it gave the audience a chance of hope. President John F.Kennedy wanted to let citizens know that eventually in time a change will occur and justice will prevail. 

 Find examples of formal rhetorical tropes such as metaphor and personification 

Metaphor- "and let every other power know that this hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house."
Metaphor- "To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge: to convert our good words into good deeds in a new alliance for progress, to assist free men and free governments in casting off  the chains of poverty."
Personification- "this hemisphere intends to remain the mast of his home"

 Does Kennedy use any figures of speech that might be considered clichés ? 

President John F. Kennedy used mutilple  cliches phrases throughout his speech. During the duration of his speech he talked about a change happening in a America, freedom for the men, and uniting together to create a new world and law. These were considered clichés because these examples provided were commonly typical for a president to say to attract the audiences attention. These pointers were incidents that America were having difficulties facing, and the fact that President Kennedy mentioned it in his speak made the audience want to continue to listen and support the matter.

  Do any of the words in the speech seem archaic, or old-fashioned?  If so, what are they?  What is their effect?

An archaic President Kennedy utilized in his speech that were somewhat old fashioned was the phrase " Now the trumpet summon us again not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are—but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"—a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself. This is considered a archaic because many people no longer speak this way. This effected the speech because it made President Kennedy sound more educated, and sophisticated. The meaning and tone of the speech had a larger impact on society back then, because during that time period they were facing a tremendous about of hardships, and needed a sign of hope that a change was going to come.


5. The speech is a succession of twenty-eight short paragraphs.  Twelve paragraphs have only one sentence, eight have two, and six have three sentences.  Why do you think Kennedy used these short paragraphs?

I think President Kennedy used such short paragraphs because he had several points to make. He repetitively mentioned the same key point over again, but each time he provided different examples.

 The speech contains two extremes of sentence length, ranging from eighty words (¶4) to six words 

A high proportion of the sentences used in the speech are on the short side, because President Kennedy was very blunt and straight forward , with the topic he was referring to. He didn't have to provide a lot of details, on the topic. He was more descriptive with other topic, that needed a more descriptive tone.

 More than twenty sentences are complex sentences -- that is, sentences that contain a subordinate clause.  How do complex sentences suggest hidden energy?

Complex sentences hides energy by incorporating more facts about a certain topic or situation. The more you speak on a situation with facts and examples the less your personal feelings are displayed. 

Why is the dominance of declarative sentences, which make statements, appropriate in an inaugural address?

Declarative sentences are appropriate in an inaugural address because, it shows confidence in the speaker, or presenter and the topic in which they are discussing.  The speaker immediately grabs the audience's attention with its demanding tone and statements. Declarative sentences gives the speech, a more developed meaning, and message

Find examples of rhetorical schemes such as anaphora and zeugma

Anaphora- John F.Kennedy used this rhetorical device in paragraph 14, and other sentences when he repeated  the phrase "let us." He later uses the phrases "let us both" in paragraphs 15,16, and 17. Anaphora was lastly used towards the end of the speech when he uses the phrase "nor"


 

Homework For The Holiday

Morgan Burton September 07,2013

AP English Language 1B

Homework for the Holiday :

Vocabulary Diagnostic: On separate sheet of paper .

Blog Post :

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1947290506862677567#editor/target=post;postID=4077693405734048700;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=0;src=postname

Strongest Essay :

In my opinion the strongest essay from the timed essay prompt on Brian Greene’s The Hidden Reality was student 76. They started their essay off with an introduction that was powerful and immediately stated three devices the author portrayed throughout his paper. during this student’s paper they constantly referred back to the text to support their argument , used descriptive details and kept there paragraphs organized.

Weakest Essay :

The weakest essay by far was student 7. Their essay was remarkably unorganized and didn’t follow the criteria asked of them in the directions. They had many grammatical errors that were difficult to comprehend. The prompt asked to convey different devices used in the introduction of The Hidden Reality but instead the student focused on the meaning of “the universe”

Strongest Introduction :

The strongest introduction was student 15. Their introduction was tastefully done, they started the essay off with a general question we all as individuals have thought of over time. Eventually he made a reference to Brian Greene’s book The Hidden Reality and how it covers all the questions we have and discusses these arguments by using the devices such as specific questioning, personification, and senses of imagery.

Best quote integration :

The best quote integration was student 18. Every idea the student mentioned in their essay he referred by to Brian Greene’s essay.

Essay with the best thorough analysis :

After reading all 76 of these students written essay, you start to repeatedly reread the same introductory paragraph , same exact quote and literary device examples. But not many essays sounded like they thoroughly understood what they read and the meaning of The Hidden Reality by Brian Greene, except for student 21. This essay was well written and organized. This student was able to read this text and interpret back into a descriptive and comprehensible essay. This student quoted the text, but summarize the meaning of the context in a descriptive manner that an individual that who hasn't read the text could get a clear understanding of what the text is about.

Three essays that misunderstood the prompt (personal influence)

The three essays that misunderstood the prompt was student 9,11, and 67. These essays didn’t completely follow all of the criteria asked of them in the prompt. In their essays they incorporated their own personal opinions and feelings about the topic into the essay. Essay 67 and 9 were fairly written paper but they made the mistake of including their opinion of the meaning of the universe into it.

Most academic vocabulary :

The essay with the most academic vocabulary was student 48. Throughout their essay they used many elaborate and descriptive words. There choice of words made their paper seem more organized and mature. Using such intellectual vocabulary word let the reader, know the author was a confident writer and could express him or herself properly.

Strongest clearest grammar :

The essay with the clearest grammar was student 76. In my opinion this  essay was also the strongest essay. This paper was accessible to read, comprehensible and systematized. There was choice of punctuation, and use of vocabulary played a key role in making their essay so successful.

Chronological order :

Student 26 had the best essay that portrayed chronological order. They mention every time the author introduced a new term , definition , or topic in the essay.

Analysis :

    In the essay The Singer Solution to World Poverty by Peter Singer, he introduces two hypothetical situations to the reader. The first dilemma started with Dora. She was in which a hard working woman who worked everyday to make ends meet by sitting at a the station writing letters for illiterate people. She was giving the opportunity of a lifetime to quickly make 1,000 dollars. Dora’s task was fairly simple. She had to convince a nine year old homeless boy to follow her to an address given to her. Dora succeeded with the plan , she received her reward and went to purchase a television. Time had passed and Dora was informed that the young boy she sold off to buy her new television set would mostly be killed and his organs sold for transplantation. The purpose of incorporating this example is so we can prevent such horrifying events from happening by simply sacrificing our material comfort, because it isn't merely valuable or important as the life of a child.

    The second hypothetical situation Peter Singer mentioned involved Bob. He invested his life savings into buying a Bugatti, which he hasn’t be able to insure. He always had the mentality that if the market continues to rise , he would to be able to sell the car and live a stable life after retirement. One day Bob takes his car out for a drive and parks the car on the side of the train tracks. In the distant Bob sees a young child playing on the railroad tracks in a path of a runaway train. Bob had the chance of saving the child's life and using a nearby switch to divert the train onto the sliding. But instead Bob chooses to let the child die and not sacrifice his precious car to get damaged. In the eyes of Peter Singer he believed Bob was at complete fault for the death of the young child. He could have prevented the child’s death by sacrificing his Bugatti. By choosing his car, over avoiding the death of someone else, you can conclude that materialistic things means everything to Bob. The message Singer is trying to portray by utilizing Bob not sacrificing his Bugatti for the life of a child is that we all have the opportunity of saving children s life. By donating approximately 200 dollars a month to organizations such as Unicef we could assist a young child dying from starvation.

    The audience could connect to this essay written by Peter Singer, because no individual likes to see a young innocent child suffer from situations they didn’t necessarily make happen or wish upon themselves ,which is extremely unfortunate. The author used the literary device of pathos in this passage to create a emotional response with the audience. The emotional sensitivity occurred with the starving children and both the children used in the examples died. The author wanted the reader to feel a sense of guilt for the death of the children and reevaluate our decisions of buying luxurious items instead of trying to make a change in a person’s life less fortunate. Logos was also applied into this essay. Singer used this device by influencing readers to act upon his argument. He uses logos to convince the audience that we use our income to pay for our necessities and splurge on luxury items and entertainment rather than choosing to help a needy child overseas. Singer mentions that there are hundreds of million of people that can financially afford to donate 200 dollars to aid overseas organizations, but are frankly not doing it. The last device Singer uses in his essay The Singer Solution to World Poverty is ethos. Ethos was the appeal to make a difference and end world poverty. He used statistics to demonstrate how simple it would be for each class to donate a certain amount of money.

Francine

Morgan Burton September 20,2013

Title : I Know Why The Caged Bird Cannot Read

Speaker: Francine Prose, a well known author and visiting professor

Occasion: A critique

Audience: The audience for Francine Prose”s article “I Know Why The Caged Bird Cannot Read: How american high school students Learn to loathe literature,  is directed for both high school students and parents.

Purpose: The general purpose for writing this article was to inform readers that in current times high school students are not asked to read challenging and critical literature. Majority of the text giving due to the english curriculum is fairly simple and doesn’t have much value to it. High School students today are handed a piece of literature that no longer expands their capabilities , and vocabularies,  comprehension skills or deepens they feel or think, but instead are simple books they easily understand. Rather than constantly disturbing the same piece of literature that is not quite so simple, high schools need challenging ones.

Subject: The general topic of Francine Prose work is that high school teachers are simply placing pieces of literature into their curriculum that the students will find easy to read. They are more focused on the author's name rather than the content of the writing.

Tone: The tone of the essay is a informative.   

Title: Can Wikipedia Ever Make The Grade?

Speaker: Brock Read a journalist and editor for The Chronicle for Higher Education in Washington, DC.

Occasion: Journal entry

Audience:The audience is pertained to the general public. Anyone who has utilized Wikipedia to obtain research on a particular topic or subject.

Purpose: The purpose of the article was to inform people that Wikipedia is not exactly a credible or reliable source for research.  School wise Wikipedia is never an acceptable source to use for classes. Anyone is capable of editing the articles on Wikipedia and place misinformation. Though the false information can still be removed, it’s credibility remains questioned.

Subject: The general topic of Brock Read work is to question the validity of the popular website Wikipedia. Is the information they provide on their website accurate if, users are capable of adding information that is not necessarily true.

Tone: The tone of this journal entry is also imformative,

Speech

Morgan Burton September 28,2013

APLang

    Life is but a journey and we learn from the trials and tribulations endured in life. Originally born in St.Louis missouri, with five siblings, a single mother,a survivor of breast cancer. I was given the opportunity of a new beginning, and a start of a new life. Growing up with many hardships, not a lot of money, and visits in and out of the hospital nearly changed my viewpoint on life.But today I can stand here, and say experiencing  those difficulties,suffering , and making that transition halfway across, the country made me a stronger, and wiser individual. Throughout life when situations got tough I depended on my  family; my supporters for love and encouragement. They were my personal cheerleaders, and almost never let me down. My mother, my biggest fan pushed me the hardest, held extremely high expectations for me, and not once ever took no for an answer. To be raised with such structure and discipline, I am beyond grateful. Transitioning from school each and everyday I surround myself with a great group of friends.I rely on my friends to keep my spirit positive, and a great laugh.   Academics were excessively important in my household. Having the opportunity of going to school and exceeding with advanced performance, I am beyond grateful.  To be born with multiple talents, that entertain people, and make happy, I am beyond grateful.  I live life not knowing what tomorrow may bring. Whether it might be another rigorous obstacle, that might take time and patience to overcome. I know the good, in life will always outweigh the bad. I have been given a bad break, but I have an awful lot to live for.

Mona Simpson : A Sister's Eulogy for Steve Jobs

Morgan Burton September 20,2013

Mona Simpson: A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs  is the original co-founder of Apple and is one the worlds best known entrepreneurs. Steve Jobs was a completely unique individual who helped change the impact of society.  Not only did he advance the developments of computers, but also cell phones , and music devices.  He was an astonishing human being with outstanding creative talents. In the eulogy written by Steve Job’s sister Mona Simpson she writes about her brothers accomplishments, how great of a father and husband he was, and the most memorable times as a family. In this article Mona Simpson used the rhetorical devices , flashback, and diction for the reader to get a better understanding of the wonderful life her brother lived, and how he will be missed but never forgotten.  

The first rhetorical device Mona Simpson used in her eulogy was flashback. Despite the fact that Mona and Steve weren’t united as brother and sister until she 25 years old, it didn't seem to fracture their relationship, but simply help them develop a stronger one.  For the duration of the article she discussed several memorable events from Steve Jobs life. From the moment she was first introduced to him at her job as a young journalism, to the very last months of his life. She seem to specifically capture any incident  and conversation taken place as if her reader was there experiencing it with her. An example of flashback used in this article was witnessing Steve endure so much pain after having a liver transplant. Every other day after his surgery Steve would push himself down the hall way each time and count his step, to gain back his strength and capability of walking again. Though Steve was diagnosed with a fatal illness, it didn't let him lose confidence or hope but instead think positive and fight for survival. This was an important flashback mentioned in the article because, in Mona's eyes no matter what the situation might have been her brother was always a soldier and could overcome any obstacles thrown their way.

Diction was the next essential rhetorical device applied in this article. Mona Simpson utilized diction by conveying to the audience,the purpose of writing by connecting with them by her choice of words. Mona Simpson wanted the reader to feel comfortable, and to gain a sense of love and appreciation for Steve. She grabbed the readers attention, by incorporating such gracefulness, emotional turmoil and sarcasm. In contempt of the fact that Steve Jobs is physically no longer with us his success, hard work, wonderful father and husband will be everlastingly cherished and appreciated. Mona's choice of words and descriptive events made the reader feels as though they were apart of the story and were reliving each incident again as well.

Exigency was established in the article Mona Simpson : A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs by speaking about her brothers life. Though he is deceased and no longer with us hi s legacy and success will forever live on. Steve Job transformed the way we utilized and view technology. His creative talents help develop the more advance technology such as the iPhone, iPods  Mac computers and tablets. Despite the unfortunate circumstances that Steve Jobs has passed away, it's men like him we all grateful for and wonder what life would be like without his brilliant ideas that impacted our every lives. Even though he might have spent his last couple of months suffering and in pain. Alternately he lived his life working hard and doing what he loved, and sharing his success with the people he holds dear to his heart.

Reflection

Homework for the Holidays :

Reflection:  So far this year, what types of thinking have you been doing in class topics/texts and how will they change your perspective on life in the future?

     So far this year in AP English we have done several activities that involved excising our mind and thinking critically,

using our creative skills . Each class period we are asked to complete a " Epiphany ". Epiphanies are normally easy , quick assignments that requires us to apply certain topics we have already initially learned from previous school years. Performing some of these epiphanies such as creating well developed sentences ,utilizing suffixes and clauses, and creating thesis statements are examples of us expressing our imaginative skills through writing. Another way we are given the opportunity to display our creative skills are by designing one of the following : Wordpress, Blogger,Weebly,Tumblr,etc to complete a specific task. Applying this type of thinking will help change my perspective on life in the future by letting me become more descriptive details in my writing skills, able to incorporate more grammar articles , and become more organized.

     Another form of thinking we have executed in class is critical thinking. Critical thinking is the process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing , applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion. This method of thinking is extremely important in both education and your everyday lifestyle. Critical thinking enables an individual to logically think of whats going on in a situation and every possible outcome After wards it allows us to learn from the situation ,and reflect. When thinking critically so far this year in class we have exercised several techniques such as evaluating statements and arguments, seeking evidence to support assumptions and beliefs, and have completed analysis on texts. Implementing this form of thinking will play a major role in my life in the future. I will apply this method of thinking in everything I do college, my career and also my future. Critical thinking affects the way a individual thinks and operates.