Vocabulary #8

abase: belittle somebody: to make somebody feel belittled or degraded

abdicate: resign position: to give up a high office formally or officially, especially the throne

abomination: anything greatly disliked

brusque: abrupt: abrupt, blunt, or curt in manner or speech

saboteur:  one that practices sabotage

debauchery: immoral behavior: unrestrained self-indulgent immoral behavior, or an instance of this

proliferate: increase greatly: to increase greatly in number
anachronism: chronological mistake: something from a different period of time

nomenclature: name system: a system of names assigned to objects or items in a particular science or art

expurgate: edit something by removing offensive parts: to remove words or passages considered offensive or unsuitable from a book before publication

bellicose: warlike: ready or inclined to quarrel, fight, or go to war

gauche: socially awkward: lacking grace or tact in social situations

rapacious: grasping: greedy and grasping, especially for money, and sometimes willing to use unscrupulous means to obtain what is desired

paradox: something absurd or

contradictory: a statement, proposition, or situation that seems to be absurd or contradictory, but in fact is or may be true

conundrum: something confusing: something that is puzzling or confusing

anomaly: irregularity: something that deviates from the norm or from expectations

ephemeral: short-lived: lasting for only a short period of time and leaving no permanent trace

rancorous: Bitter, long-lasting resentment; deep-seated ill will

churlish: crass: characteristic of somebody with bad manners

precipitous: done rashly: done or acting too quickly and without enough thought
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Vocabulary #7

shenanigans - secret or dishonest activity or maneuvering:
*The suspicious kid was doing some shenanigans in the bathroom.
ricochet - a shot or hit that rebounds one or more times off a surface.
*When I shot my gun at the target, it ricocheted off.
schism - a split or division between strongly opposed sections or parties, caused by differences in opinion or belief.
*Politicians are in a schism, the Republicans and Democrats.
eschew - deliberately avoid using; abstain from:
*I try to eschew from foul language in front of children for the sake of their innocent minds.
plethora - a large or excessive amount of (something):

*China has a plethora of cash from being the dominant economy in the world.

ebullient - cheerful and full of energy:

*When the pump up music turns on, the crowd becomes ebullient!

garrulous - excessively talkative, esp. on trivial matters:
*Girls are generally garrulous from watching too many reality tv shows.harangue - a lengthy and aggressive speech.
*The campaign for presidency have many harangues to convey the people for votes.
interdependence - (of two or more people or things) dependent on each other:
*Husband and wife are interdependence when they become married.
capricious - given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior:
*Girls are capricious at least one week a month, it's a sign to stay away for men.
loquacious - tending to talk a great deal; talkative.
*Dr. Preston is very loquacious and uses Einstein diction to display his message verbally.
ephemeral - lasting for a very short time:
*Milk is an example of a ephemeral product.
inchoate - just begun and so not fully formed or developed; rudimentary:
*Noobs are considered inchoate from having no experience in a certain area.
juxtapose - place or deal with close together for contrasting effect:
*A millionaire in a Lamborghini is considered a juxtapose.
perspicacious - having a ready insight into and understanding of things:
*When a student studies a month prior to an exam, he is perspicaciouswhen he takes that test.
codswallop - nonsense. 
*Kids usually speak of codswallop from not understanding the meaning of words.
mungo - cloth made from recycled woven or felted material.
*It is eco-friendly to have clothes that are mungo.
sesquipedalian - (of a word) polysyllabic; long:
*Smart people usually use sesquipedalian words to make themselves look even smarter.
wonky - crooked; off-center; askew:
*When a drunk man attempts to walk a straight line, it seems that he is walking on a wonky line.
diphthong - a sound formed by the combination of two vowels in a single syllable, in which the sound begins as one vowel and moves toward another (as in coin, loud, and side).

IF I JUST HAD MORE TIME

I think to better my performance on today's midterm i probably couldve spent more time on the Canterbury Tales I had read. I think it wouldve helped get my point across in a more clear perspective. Vocab i think i did good on. I need to work on not being so nervous when it comes to test

LITERATURE ANALYSIS #2

In my novel, "The Best of Me" by Nicholas Sparks, The story takes place in the small town of Oriental in North Carolina. Two high school students Amanda Collier and Dawson Cole fell deeply in love but split under complicated circumstances because of Dawson's last name, only to find each other again later in their adult lives. Both distinctly different, Amanda married and had children of her own. Dawson on the other hand lived a simple life and kept to himself. He didn't date anyone after Amanda. Both of these star crossed lovers were summoned back to the town of Oriental to attend the funeral of Tuck Hostelter, a close acquaintance to both. And in his will Amanda and Dawson were both mentioned. The two reunite once again.


Amanda Collier came from a wealthy family with high expectations. In her younger days her parents did not approve of Dawson Cole because of his family name. The last name Cole had bad things associated with it only by rumor and had a negative impact of Amanda and Dawson's relationship. They split as teenagers and reunited again later in life. Reconnected would be the proper term i think. As they rekindled, you see how the author uses their relationship as symbolism of the theme "can love rewrite the past?". This is a big part of the story because it relates to the climax of the story. Foreshadowing is also used in the story many times. For example, toward the end of the story, Amanda and Dawson have a disagreement. He heads to the bar late at night where there is nothing but negativity and ends up getting into a fight. At this point you can predict that something horrible is going to happen to him. Another example would be how Dawson and Amanda ran into each other at Tucks home after meeting with the lawyer to go over the will of their old friend. When both enter the home nothing but old memories spin in each Amanda and Dawson's heads. This implies that they will rekindle in some way. Flash Backs were also used in this story. Throughout the novel Dawson and Amanda reminisce on their teenage romance on times they had spend together and nights they snuck out (Chapter 1-4).

Allusion is a big literary element in this story. Simply because toward the end of the story Tuck, the man who's funeral Amanda and Dawson attended left behind two letters. It talked about he love the two had for each other and what he was leaving behind for each of them. Not only this but he spoke about how if the two had stayed together things would've been different. Their lives would have been changed completely. And he gives the two the option to be together again. He lent advice on his death bed on how each should treat one another. Keep in mind there was a letter for both. And each of these leads to a traumatic event that will be life changing. Tuck knew the two would come together again and purposely left them in his will because he knew they were meant to be together. I would consider this an analogy.

I find Dawson an intriguing character. He is this man who had no relation to his family history of violence. He is irrevocably in love with Amanda and knew the love he had for her could never be replaced. He stuck to his promises toward her and never let another women take her place even though he knew she was no longer his. Indirect characterization is used many times in the story. The author starts off with Dawson in first person and switches views to third person when he is speaking as Amanda. The author approaches both this way because there are two sides to every story and though each characters feelings for each other are the same, he shows how each one thinks and wonders. He explains the different back rounds of the two. And through out the novel you see how because of the lives they lived, they re romance had to come to an end in a way. Circumstances were in the end different for each. The protagonist i think is static only because there are so many lingering thoughts and actions lingering. He, meaning Dawson is also round because he has many ties and emotions.

After reading the book i felt like i was actually Dawson. I felt every emotion he felt whether it was rage or anger and i was able to relate. Everyone wants to feel loved and everyone ultimately has a first love. I think anyone who has been in love in some way can relate. I felt like i knew the character and met him in person as if he told me his life story.