On
the book Yes Man by Danny Wallace1. Yes
Man is about Daniel Wallace, and how he lived quite a
redundant and boring life. He doesn't get out too often, and usually
declines offers from friends for social outings, and usually likes to
be alone. One day, he was riding on the bus, and a random stranger by
him randomly says aloud, "Say yes more,", and all of a
sudden, it was like an epiphany to him. He then decided to say "yes"
more for one year, his year as a "Yes Man". Just because of that, him saying "yes", led to more
wonderful opportunities.
2.
Well, I think the theme right here is pretty obvious, and the theme
of the story here is what the random man on the bus said, and that is
to say "yes" more. Reading all the opening opportunities
for Daniel, and a couple life-changing things that has happened to
Daniel, it can really inspire us to just say the simple word, "yes"
more often. You'll never know what will happen.
3.The
author's tone in the story is quite upbeat and happy, mainly due to
his recent epiphany of what he heard on the bus. He seems quite
enthusiastic when talking. Here are some examples:
"...sometimes
when I'm excited and inspired, I tend to leap up stair, when should
realize that I live on the fourth floor and such exertions do not
become me."
"Suddenly, I wanted
to do that. I wanted to paint a man's privates blue
and handcuff him to buffet cars!"
(Reaction
to an email simply saying "do you have an invention?")"I
bristled in excitement. Now, technically, no, I didn't have an
invention. I had no invention at all. But this tiny advert was an
opportunity. An opportunity to try my hand at something new. I could
invent something! Maybe that's why I was put here on Earth! To be an
inventor!"
4.
First off, one literary element right off the bat here is how Daniel
is a dynamic character. He went from his non-outgoing lifestyle, but
when saying "yes" more, he became quite a happier and
enthusiastic man, and it showed.
In the story, a few hyperboles were used, which were used to show off his excitement of saying "yes" more. For example, when he hears the phrase, while it was a small simple sentence, he went out to call it "an epiphany", and was thrilled about doing that, also shown in question #3.
The story has a quite uplifting mood throughout it. The author's purpose of doing that is to show that he has become much happier since doing his year as a Yes Man.
The narrator of the story is the author himself, which gives a much better understanding of his story since it's from his point of view.
Right in the first chapter, the author uses a narrative method, and easily explains the setting and general plot of what will happen.
The author frequently uses amplification throughout the book, so he can give more insight to what he thinks, instead of having simple plain sentences. One example is in Chapter 1, page 5, describing what he felt after hearing "say yes more".
"But it's still an epiphany. And I'm still smiling from what I've heard, smiling from what I've learned. I started to wonder whether anyone else is feeling the same."
There is a small part of the story that reflects tragedy. In Chapter 24, his time of being a Yes Man ends when he makes a refusal to his girlfriend for a trip to see her in Australia, which then their relationship fell apart temporarily, and ended Danny's year as a Yes Man.
The author uses many denotations throughout the book. These denotations are mostly his choices of saying "yes" to offers. For example, starting on Chapter 2, page 19, when he replies "yes" to all emails he receives.
Last, the author includes a prologue and an epilogue. The prologue at the beginning describes a little bit of what is to come in the story, and the epilogue at the end talks about what happened after his time of being a Yes Man.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
ALL OF THE ABOVE
My answers (with correction if wrong)
1. E (C)
2. A
3. D (C)
4. E
5. B (D)
6. D
7. D (E)
8. B
9. B (E)
10. E (C)
11. D
12. B
13. D (B)
14. B (C)
15. E (A)
16. B
17. C
18. D (E)
19. C (A)
20. E (B)
21. E
22. B (E)
23. D (A)
24. A
25. C
26. E
27. E (D)
28. D (C)
29. A
30. D (B)
31. D (B)
32. E (D)
47. E (B)
48. B (A)
49. E (C)
50. D
51. B (C)
52. B
53. D (E)
54. D (B)
55. D (A)
56. C (B)
57. C
58. A (D)
59. D (E)
60. E (B)
61. E (A)
So I won't lie, I wasn't really expecting to do that well on this. One thing that probably attributed to this was that the day I did this, I was under a lot of stress for a lot of other homework I did that day, so I wasn't quite plugged in when doing this. However, I could probably do a lot better on something like this when I'm more plugged in, focused, and less stressed.
2. A
3. D (C)
4. E
5. B (D)
6. D
7. D (E)
8. B
9. B (E)
10. E (C)
11. D
12. B
13. D (B)
14. B (C)
15. E (A)
16. B
17. C
18. D (E)
19. C (A)
20. E (B)
21. E
22. B (E)
23. D (A)
24. A
25. C
26. E
27. E (D)
28. D (C)
29. A
30. D (B)
31. D (B)
32. E (D)
47. E (B)
48. B (A)
49. E (C)
50. D
51. B (C)
52. B
53. D (E)
54. D (B)
55. D (A)
56. C (B)
57. C
58. A (D)
59. D (E)
60. E (B)
61. E (A)
So I won't lie, I wasn't really expecting to do that well on this. One thing that probably attributed to this was that the day I did this, I was under a lot of stress for a lot of other homework I did that day, so I wasn't quite plugged in when doing this. However, I could probably do a lot better on something like this when I'm more plugged in, focused, and less stressed.
Monday, September 9, 2013
Vocab #4
Accolade- An award or honor
"He has received an accolade for his research in medicine."
Acerbity- Harshness or severity
"He was showing much acerbity when he told the student how bad he did on his test."
Attrition- A decrease in numbers, or size
"Sales of watches have gone through an attrition since people have clocks on their phone."
Bromide- Someone who is boring
"The people at the party think he's quite bromide because he says quite uninteresting stories."
Chauvinist- One who is very patriotic
"He is quite the chauvinist, and goes all out on The 4th Of July."
Chronic- Constant, ongoing/continuing
"He's been having a history of chronic migraines for 3 years."
Expound- Explain or state in detail
"He had to expound to his friend the directions to the model airplane."
Factionalism- Being in part of a faction or location
"Factionalism was common in early politics."
Immaculate- Spotlessly clean
"Mom would not let friends come over unless the house was immaculate and presentable."
Imprecation- A curse
"Because he was a bad athlete, the school's soccer team was under an imprecation, and couldn't win."
Ineluctable- Incapable of being evaded
"Whenever he went in public, he was ineluctable of seeing friends and people he knew."
Mercurial- Animated, lively
"No one understood why he was so Mercurial even in the earliest of mornings."
Palliate- To relieve without curing
"Jim palliated Bob's sadness by telling him funny jokes."
Protocol- A first version, or rough draft
"The iPhone was only the protocol for the current age of smart phones."
Resplendent- Shining brilliant
"Danny was quite resplendent, and got a GPA of 4.6, and had straight A's."
Stigmatize- To set a mark or disgrace upon
"The murder the father committed stigmatized all of his family."
Sub Rosa- Secret or private
"The couple made their engagement sub rosa, and didn't announce it until 3 weeks later."
Vainglory- Excessive pride over one's achievement
"He was being very vainglory over his straight A's and bragged about it for 2 weeks."
Vestige- A mark or trace of something that is no longer present or in existence
"Fossils are a vestige of dinosaurs that roamed the earth many years ago."
Volition- A choice made by will
"She left home to move across the nation by her own volition."
"He has received an accolade for his research in medicine."
Acerbity- Harshness or severity
"He was showing much acerbity when he told the student how bad he did on his test."
Attrition- A decrease in numbers, or size
"Sales of watches have gone through an attrition since people have clocks on their phone."
Bromide- Someone who is boring
"The people at the party think he's quite bromide because he says quite uninteresting stories."
Chauvinist- One who is very patriotic
"He is quite the chauvinist, and goes all out on The 4th Of July."
Chronic- Constant, ongoing/continuing
"He's been having a history of chronic migraines for 3 years."
Expound- Explain or state in detail
"He had to expound to his friend the directions to the model airplane."
Factionalism- Being in part of a faction or location
"Factionalism was common in early politics."
Immaculate- Spotlessly clean
"Mom would not let friends come over unless the house was immaculate and presentable."
Imprecation- A curse
"Because he was a bad athlete, the school's soccer team was under an imprecation, and couldn't win."
Ineluctable- Incapable of being evaded
"Whenever he went in public, he was ineluctable of seeing friends and people he knew."
Mercurial- Animated, lively
"No one understood why he was so Mercurial even in the earliest of mornings."
Palliate- To relieve without curing
"Jim palliated Bob's sadness by telling him funny jokes."
Protocol- A first version, or rough draft
"The iPhone was only the protocol for the current age of smart phones."
Resplendent- Shining brilliant
"Danny was quite resplendent, and got a GPA of 4.6, and had straight A's."
Stigmatize- To set a mark or disgrace upon
"The murder the father committed stigmatized all of his family."
Sub Rosa- Secret or private
"The couple made their engagement sub rosa, and didn't announce it until 3 weeks later."
Vainglory- Excessive pride over one's achievement
"He was being very vainglory over his straight A's and bragged about it for 2 weeks."
Vestige- A mark or trace of something that is no longer present or in existence
"Fossils are a vestige of dinosaurs that roamed the earth many years ago."
Volition- A choice made by will
"She left home to move across the nation by her own volition."
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Beowulf Essay
As my group mentioned in class when going over an idea for an essay topic for this essay (which we greatly appreciate having it become this essay), we think that Beowulf easily relates to the modern super hero, Iron Man (comparing to the first Iron Man movie released in 2008). My group and I think this because we believe that the two have similar traits, characteristics, and stories with them. So now such traits and similarities deserved to be viewed now.
First off, both stories start out with the same characterization for both characters. Both characters start out with a sort of cockiness, and slightly large egos as well. In Beowulf, Beowulf starts out the story with this trait because he thinks that he's good enough to go off and fight Grendel, also does so with no armor. In Iron Man, Tony Stark has a similar large ego because of the fact that he's rich, has great technology, and also the fact that he runs one of the biggest companies in the world. So right off the bat, we have a similarity with the two.
Next, both characters have a change in character as the story progresses. The two are good examples of a dynamic character. In this change, the characters have an event happen to them that causes them to go through a state of maturing. In Beowulf, Beowulf has that happen after the defeat of Grendel. When he kills Grendel, he begins to mature into more of a hero, so he becomes more courageous to fight other creatures and save people. In Iron Man, when Tony Stark is kidnapped by The Ten Rings, his whole experience of being kidnapped and escaping was quite changing for him. On his return home, it made him realize that he has all this power, and becomes a more mature man, and become more serious in himself, and his company. He becomes less cocky, and also loses some of his party mentality as well. This proves both characters are good dynamic characters.
Last, both stories have a similar story/plot ending. Both stories end with a battle of some sort over protecting someone or something. In Beowulf, Beowulf (which is now the grandson of the original Beowulf) has to go and defeat a dragon and protect all the Danes from danger. In Iron Man, Tony Stark has to defeat Obadiah Stane, and his Iron Man suit copy, because Tony needs to be sure that Obadiah doesn't become head of the Stark company. Both Beowulf and Stark claim victory over the antagonist they fight, even though Beowulf becomes weak and dies as well.
And to wrap it up, those are 3 examples on how the story of Beowulf and Iron Man relate to each other. Together, the both have common character traits, both are good examples of dynamic characters, and how they both have similar plots. So, perhaps my group was right, Iron Man was a pretty good example for this essay.
First off, both stories start out with the same characterization for both characters. Both characters start out with a sort of cockiness, and slightly large egos as well. In Beowulf, Beowulf starts out the story with this trait because he thinks that he's good enough to go off and fight Grendel, also does so with no armor. In Iron Man, Tony Stark has a similar large ego because of the fact that he's rich, has great technology, and also the fact that he runs one of the biggest companies in the world. So right off the bat, we have a similarity with the two.
Next, both characters have a change in character as the story progresses. The two are good examples of a dynamic character. In this change, the characters have an event happen to them that causes them to go through a state of maturing. In Beowulf, Beowulf has that happen after the defeat of Grendel. When he kills Grendel, he begins to mature into more of a hero, so he becomes more courageous to fight other creatures and save people. In Iron Man, when Tony Stark is kidnapped by The Ten Rings, his whole experience of being kidnapped and escaping was quite changing for him. On his return home, it made him realize that he has all this power, and becomes a more mature man, and become more serious in himself, and his company. He becomes less cocky, and also loses some of his party mentality as well. This proves both characters are good dynamic characters.
Last, both stories have a similar story/plot ending. Both stories end with a battle of some sort over protecting someone or something. In Beowulf, Beowulf (which is now the grandson of the original Beowulf) has to go and defeat a dragon and protect all the Danes from danger. In Iron Man, Tony Stark has to defeat Obadiah Stane, and his Iron Man suit copy, because Tony needs to be sure that Obadiah doesn't become head of the Stark company. Both Beowulf and Stark claim victory over the antagonist they fight, even though Beowulf becomes weak and dies as well.
And to wrap it up, those are 3 examples on how the story of Beowulf and Iron Man relate to each other. Together, the both have common character traits, both are good examples of dynamic characters, and how they both have similar plots. So, perhaps my group was right, Iron Man was a pretty good example for this essay.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
WILL STUDY FOR FOOD
Taking a quick scroll through a list of scholarships and reading through a few of them, all I can say is that it's really overwhelming to look through all of them. So many of them with good causes and amounts of money, it can be very hard to choose from so many of them. But for any scholarship that I am rewarded, I will probably mainly put it toward tuition and housing. In my opinion, these are the most costly out of the expenses for colleges, and with how our economy is right now, it's gonna be quite hard to pay it out of pocket. I think some money from scholarships will also go to books as well, since textbooks are also really expensive, which a lot of people know as a true statement. I feel as though the other costs like food and drink will be a lot easier to come by.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Vocab #3
1.Apostate: One who forsakes their religion or party
"When he turned 18, he became an apostate and completely spoke out about how bad his religion is."
2. Effusive: Demonstrative of emotion
"Her crying outburst today was quite effusive."
3. Impasse: A position of no escape
"He knew that his gathering with his in-laws was going to be impasse."
4. Euphoria: A feeling of happiness or confidence
"She was filled with euphoria when she was going up to accept her award."
5. Lugubrious: Mournful or gloomy
"He was feeling very lugubrious after the passing of his father."
6. Bravado: A swaggering display of courage
"He committed such a bravado when he saved the children from a burning building."
7. Consensus: Majority of opinion
"There was a consensus within the group that they would order sausage and onion for their pizza."
8. Dichotomy: Division of two parts
"The nearby ground went through a dichotomy and split in two."
9. Constrict: To compress or shrink
"He compressed the clay by squeezing it in his hands."
10. Gothic: Not pertaining to style of architecture
"The building was quite gothic when compared to the other buildings."
11. Punctilio: A fine point or detail in ceremony or procedure
"He had to be sure he did such exact punctilio during the yearly ceremony since it was such tradition for years."
12. Metamorphosis: A change in form or structure
"After construction, the building went through a full metamorphosis and looked completely new."
13. Raconteur: A person skilled in relating stories
"He was a raconteur for comparing the two stories themes together."
14. Sine Qua Non: An indispensable condition, element, or factor
"His appearance at every party was such a sine qua non."
15. Quixotic: Something visionary and unrealistic
"His dream of taking a trip to Hawaii was quite quixotic due to the economy."
16. Vendetta: A private feud in a family
"There had been a long vendetta in the family due to a small simple insult toward their mother."
17. Non Sequitur: An illogical statement having nothing to do with the conversatioin
"He was talking about his day at work, but randomly switched over to taking about cars, which was quite non sequitur."
18. Mystique: An idea based on an object or person
"Darwin's theory is a good example of a mystique."
19. Quagmire: A difficult situation
"Whether or not to go drive his car with low gas was quite a quagmire."
20. Parlous: Dangerous
"It's very parlous to ride a bike with no helmet."
"When he turned 18, he became an apostate and completely spoke out about how bad his religion is."
2. Effusive: Demonstrative of emotion
"Her crying outburst today was quite effusive."
3. Impasse: A position of no escape
"He knew that his gathering with his in-laws was going to be impasse."
4. Euphoria: A feeling of happiness or confidence
"She was filled with euphoria when she was going up to accept her award."
5. Lugubrious: Mournful or gloomy
"He was feeling very lugubrious after the passing of his father."
6. Bravado: A swaggering display of courage
"He committed such a bravado when he saved the children from a burning building."
7. Consensus: Majority of opinion
"There was a consensus within the group that they would order sausage and onion for their pizza."
8. Dichotomy: Division of two parts
"The nearby ground went through a dichotomy and split in two."
9. Constrict: To compress or shrink
"He compressed the clay by squeezing it in his hands."
10. Gothic: Not pertaining to style of architecture
"The building was quite gothic when compared to the other buildings."
11. Punctilio: A fine point or detail in ceremony or procedure
"He had to be sure he did such exact punctilio during the yearly ceremony since it was such tradition for years."
12. Metamorphosis: A change in form or structure
"After construction, the building went through a full metamorphosis and looked completely new."
13. Raconteur: A person skilled in relating stories
"He was a raconteur for comparing the two stories themes together."
14. Sine Qua Non: An indispensable condition, element, or factor
"His appearance at every party was such a sine qua non."
15. Quixotic: Something visionary and unrealistic
"His dream of taking a trip to Hawaii was quite quixotic due to the economy."
16. Vendetta: A private feud in a family
"There had been a long vendetta in the family due to a small simple insult toward their mother."
17. Non Sequitur: An illogical statement having nothing to do with the conversatioin
"He was talking about his day at work, but randomly switched over to taking about cars, which was quite non sequitur."
18. Mystique: An idea based on an object or person
"Darwin's theory is a good example of a mystique."
19. Quagmire: A difficult situation
"Whether or not to go drive his car with low gas was quite a quagmire."
20. Parlous: Dangerous
"It's very parlous to ride a bike with no helmet."
Monday, September 2, 2013
WHY THIS BOOK?
There are a couple reasons why I decided to choose "Yes Man" by Danny Wallace. One small reason was because the movie, that I'll be honest about. But the main reason is because I find the concept kind of interesting. Saying "yes" to more things in life might seem kind of simple, but when you think about it, it could expand to more opportunities in life. It could open our horizons and help us discover new ideas, interests, and whatnot. It could even change our life if it goes far enough. I hope that after reading this, it will have great impact and influence on me, and hopefully others that read it will feel the same too.
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