Thinking Outside The Box

1. Think about the place you have chosen as your hell. Does it look ordinary and bourgeois, like Sartre's drawing room, or is it equipped with literal instruments of torture like Dante's Inferno? Can the mind be in hell in a beautiful place? Is there a way to find peace in a hellish physical environment? Enter Sartre's space more fully and imagine how it would feel to live there endlessly, night and day?
2.Could hell be described as too much of anything without a break? Are variety, moderation and balance instruments we use to keep us from boiling in any inferno of excess,' whether it be cheesecake or ravenous sex?
3.How does Sartre create a sense of place through dialogue? Can you imagine what it feels like to stay awake all the time with the lights on with no hope of leaving a specific place? How does GARCIN react to this hell? How could you twist your daily activities around so that everyday habits become hell? Is there a pattern of circumstances that reinforces the experience of hell?

Edited Big Question

How has media coverage changed over time and how does the lack of privacy and value reflect 21st century America?
Resources:

http://www.humanismtoday.org/vol12/larue.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/lawyers-charity-at-heart-of-penn-state-scandal-should-stay-solvent-so-victims-can-file-suits/2011/11/25/gIQACZJJwN_story.html

http://www.cgdev.org/doc/2009/Clinton%20Press%20Clips3.pdf

http://mediamatters.org/blog/201111220024?frontpage

http://www.progressiveliving.org/mass_media_and_politics.htm

Big Question

Why is it that Joe Paterno and the Jerry Sandusky case at Penn State has escalated so much? Would it be a lot different if he hadn't been such a legend? Why is it that extremely well known people get so much more publicity on their cases when those types of cases are sadly, extremely common amongst people that aren't "famous"?

Hamlet Essay

             Performative utterance has a huge impact on Hamlet and the individual's sense of self. While reading the play; we gain a lot of knowledge about Hamlet the character and Hamlet the play. In DeBoer's work, "The Performative Utterance in William Shakespeare's Hamlet," he talks about how Austin divided the performative ability of language into three main forces.
             The three main forces that J.L. Austin talks about are: "the locutionary force, the abilityof language to delivera message, the force of mutual intelligibility; the illocutionary force, what is done in being said, such as denying a request, giving an order, etc.; and the perlocutionary force, what is achieved by being said, the consequences of one's utterance such as an order being followed (or refused.) Throughout deBoer's essay he compares those three forces to Hamlet and his different actions throughout the play.
             The way Hamlet speaks constitutes action in itself and it impacts the characters and the plot. When Hamlet speaks to others throughout the play, he doesn't explain his motives or feelings for anything whatsoever. We only find out what is in Hamlet's mind when he has those memorable soliloquies. By acting so unpredictable, crazy and mysterious, it intimidates the other characters because they have no idea what Hamlet is going to do next. Hamlet's extreme unpredictability affected the plot by causing so many people to act just as crazy as him-but by paranoia.(Like spying on him or wanting to duel.) All of that ended up in a blood bath.
             The way i reflect on Hamlet and my experience with the play and memorization of his "To be, or not to be..." soliloquy created a great sense of memory, expectation and real-world results. By Shakespeare's effective usage of universal themes and morals, the reader is able to walk away with a sense of self and a greater understanding of trust and its effectiveness.
             The consideration of performative utterances, deBoer's paper, Bloom/Austin's theoretical frameworks, and careful studies  on Hamlet has furthered my understanding on several aspects of William Shakespeare's Hamlet.

What I've Learned

"I FEEL HAPPY OF MYSELF!" If there is anything in particular that I have really learned in this class so far is to just keep going. Just like this little boy in the video is talking about, "Everybody, I know you can believe in yourself. If you believe in yourself, you will know how to ride a bike. If you don't, you just keep practicing. You will get the hang of it, I know it. (Stutters) You can get better and better at it if you keep practicing!" You can relate that exact same inspirational message to our AP English course. No one ever said it was going to be easy, but with practice, it becomes more and more of a fluid action.

Roy Christopher Notes

• Roy didn't plan on getting involved in the computer culture, but now he owns four computers
• Worked for Frontwheeldrive.com for 10 years
• The more you know about how something works the better prepared you are. 
• Self-published his book because he couldn't find a publisher and interview books don't sell well
• Working on a new book called Medium Picture
• Hip Hop culture is the blueprint to 21 century culture
• He believes that the technology of today is inevitable to get into.
• "Trust the youth." Older generations have a difficult time trusting the younger generations, but they need to trust us because we will turn out just fine. 
• Self-published an interview book. 
• Older generations don't trust the youth with new technology
• Most people that use computers don't do programming 
• The internet can be both a time saver and a time waster
• "Program or be programed."