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Critical Research Project: Research and Writing (post two)

Like the rubric stated, I’m am going to be completely honest about my writing and research processes, both the obstacles and the successes. While I’ve had success with finding criticisms that are refined and knowledgeable about and of my novel, the writing process has been differing experience that I am not used to when it comes to it. When it comes to the essay and trying to finalize my thoughts to translate onto my document, it has been both stressful and demanding. Between the nonstop mix of work, other tiresome homework (which seems to be extremely time-consuming), keeping up with my family and everything else in my house, and trying to find a balance between all of this by spending time to relax or hangout with friends, trying to sit down and really focus on working on the paper has been difficult. Not only do I seem to get stuck on certain sections that makes me shutdown mentally, I become stressed out more and more as time passes because I know that I should be working on it even though my motivation is slim. Tonight I really want to crack down on myself and this essay to work out a big portion of typing because I have little to no time this weekend to do it without hypothetically having my mind explode. I also plan on working out some of the rough spots that always seem to create a mental roadblock to get them over with and out of the way, so I can then get some constructive criticism and have time to improve. While this isn't necessarily related to the research project, I am in desperate need to find a good balance between all my work and relaxation before I move onto college because my motivation is very low and that concerns me deeply. I just want to finish this essay, I want to motivate myself, I want to feel excited about doing this essay, and I want to power through my last few days of school, but I cannot find the balance nor motivation to do it and I am fearful about it all. That’s the truth, and I’m ready to face it head-on. Time to write!

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Critical Research Project: Research and Writing (post one)

As a began researching to find my literary criticisms to prepare for the writing portion of this project awhile back, I had tremendous success speaking with the librarian at the Kresge Library in OU to find possible websites that would provide a plentiful amount of criticisms. All of the websites she found for me did just that, and I found articles that discussed the family dynamic of my novel, the foreign influence in an underdeveloped country, and other topics that caught my attention as I connected them back to the book. However, like any student that is on a budget or is simply unwilling to pay, I did not want to pay to print such a large quantity of material at the library when I felt it would be much simpler (and more cost efficient) to do at home. I emailed myself the article links, I emailed them to my dad at work, I copied and pasted the links into a document, and even tried to download them some way that would allow me to access them at home; I was sure that one of those had to work. But the odds were not in my favor when my dad told me that it tried to charge him to even download one of the articles, and the links that I had tried to do the same. Luckily, I know people through work who attend OU that granted me access to the article links through their login information, allowing me to print them at home. After overcoming the obstacle I faced in the first place, I printed them and began the process of annotating them! Here is to overcoming obstacles and knowing people who can help you in the process via their resources (and their generosity).

Link to my author, Barbara Kingsolver’s, biography from her website: http://www.kingsolver.com/biography/

✴ Side disclaimer: While there are a few more reading posts I would like to make before this post to keep the correct order and to be consistent, I am choosing to either write them simultaneously along with the writing posts or to completely stray away from them to further with my writing posts (and to remain consistent).

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Critical Research Project: Reading the Work (post six)

As Orleanna reflects on the mission trip in a new section of the book, she questions the morality and ethics of them being there and the influence of America in Africa. She directly puts blame on her husband, their religious group, and white people as to why their daughters were affected the way they were and why certain aspects of Africa were left in shambles. She questions "If the Baptists hadn't taken upon themselves the religious conversion of the Congolese. What if the Americans, and the Belgians before them, hadn't tasted blood and money in Africa? If the world of white men had never touched the Congo at all" (Kingsolver, page 324)? When I read this, I think Orleanna speaks from the two perspectives of blame towards others, but also feeling self guilt that she did not pay attention to her daughters well enough and did not defend the wellbeing of her and her daughters due to Nathan's dominance. Yet, at the same time, she recognizes how Nathan's impact affected them in a way that led them to be more aware of the world and the issues that surround them, even if his actions were negative. She recognizes this when she says "Had I not married a preacher named Nathan Price, my particular children would never have seen the light of this world" (Kingsolver, page 324). I agree with both of her perspectives because all of the Price women were able to grow and learn more about the world, domestic and internationally, as well as themselves and their character through the hardships of the mission trip and their father. Not only that, but I feel like I connect to her thinking because I have grown from my own personal battles and hardships in the past to become a better, more content person, just as the Price women did. Aside this, I also connected this passage to my thoughts on mission trips previously mentioned and how they can be a negative impact on the natives. I connected my opinion to the first quote I mentioned and to how the trip impacted, especially noticable in the narrations from Orleanna and the ending half of the book where the daughters reflect on their trip and their father's behavior.

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Critical Research Project: Reading the Work (post five)

While Ruth May discovers her safe haven, Leah begins to contemplate her own ideas and beliefs during the people-eating ant dilemma and turns to Anatole for his knowledgable insight. As they discuss their thoughts, with Leah mainly asking questions and voicing her opinions and waiting for a response from Anatole, she begins to question some of his differing beliefs from what was pressured onto her by her father. Even then, she looks towards him for his intuitive comments and understands that Anatole has been more influential on the family than her father. She states “What I knew was that Anatole had helped us in more ways than my family could even keep track of” (Kingsolver, page 308). Still, she continued to ask questions and confesses the only insight she had that he didn't (which she gained from her smarter, yet crippled, twin); President Eisenhower had plans to send orders to kill the new leader of the independent Congo. Still, he did not respond and she began to passionately yell about her beliefs, asking why God wasn't there with her when she walks through “the valley of the shadow” when she was taught that God was always there with her. After his period of silence, she narrates when Anatole finally says “Don't expect God’s protection in places beyond God’s dominion” (Kingsolver, page 309). This automatically caught my attention because it ties into my viewpoint on the missionary trips I've observed--most missionary trips I have observed seem to try to convert the people (usually of an underdeveloped country) to their religion and “spread the Word of God” just as the Price family was doing. While I may be wrong, especially with the many decades in between then and now, the impact that the Price family is negative throughout the multiple narrations of the Price women, giving direct insight on the missionary trip experience. Not only this, but it also aligns with my viewpoint on how the people of the village have more impact on the missionaries rather than the missionary impact on the people of the village, both negatively and positively. This can be directly noticed through Anatole’s character, but it can also be noticed throughout the ending section of the book where the Price daughters reflect on their trip in the Congo as the years pass. Aside this, it also reflects the common, but incorrect, thought that certain countries, like Africa, are underdeveloped and uncivilized when they are not, but that they simply have their own systems and customs. In this passage, Anatole directly calls all of my observations out to Leah through his commentary, directing Leah to question what she (and so many people of our generation) have been taught through the generations, and even what I notice to be the common belief of our semi-close-minded society. 

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Critical Research Project: Reading the Work (post four)

In what I now know to be the last time Ruth May narrates, she reflects on an unusual concept in which there is an imaginable safe place to resort to when everything seems to be going wrong or after death rather than the Heaven that was so definitive in her father’s beliefs. In this short passage, she discovers where her safe place would be while people-eating ants overcome the village. As she was fleeing the village, she determines “I know what it is: it’s a green mamba snake away up in the tree. They lie so still on the tree branch; they are the same everything as the tree. You could be right next to one and not even know...That’s exactly what I want to go and be, when I have to disappear” (Kingsolver, 304). When I first was first reading this, I was intrigued because, in the moment, it seemed so abnormal and uncommon compared to what she was taught from her father’s prominent beliefs and overseeing in the family, and because I had never heard of this concept before. Not too long after this, approximately midway through the book, Ruth May ironically dies due to a green mamba snake bite in another tragic accident in the village, foreshadowing the passage on page 304. Not only this, Ruth May speaks from the treetops next to the green mamba snakes years from the mission trip at the end of the book, where she looks down on her adult sisters and mother. As it is foreshadowed in the passage, she imagines how “Your eyes will be little and round but you are so far up there you can look down and see the whole world, Mama and everybody...Finally you are the highest one of all” (Kingsolver, page 306). I decided to write about these passages that I made a connection between because they follow the fairly common belief of how descendants often reflect the behaviors of their past generation(s), which would continue the common theme regarding her father and his presence in the family. Not only does it this differing concept go against her father’s ultimate beliefs, it reflects on how her father does not genuinely care for the protection of his daughters (nor wife), but only cares for himself and his impact on others to be more conforming to his religion and beliefs. This may be a stretch, but this is also reflected in the narrations from the multiple Price women and their recurrent opinions of Nathan Price, especially towards the end of the novel.

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Critical Research Project: Reading the Work (post three)

It’s definitely been awhile since I’ve posted on here last because I got sucked into the plot of my book, but I feel more ready to discuss more pages that I found interesting and unique! Hearing from Orleanna only once in the beginning of each book, I feel that I am most intrigued with her perspective, especially because she reflects back on the missionary trip while everyone else writes on the present tense. As I wrote before, Orleanna doesn’t seem to have a worthy marriage, simply despising her husband for his actions based on beliefs, and it seems to click with me more in this passage. She explains how Nathan “wouldn’t hear my worries” (Kingsolver, page 96) because he was solely focused on his goals and achievements in the Congo, that religion overruled her in their relationship. Due to her husband’s incompatible views, she ponders “Under that uncertain roof, where was the place for my girls? No wonder they hardly seemed to love me half the time—I couldn't step in front of my husband to shelter them from his scorching light. They were expected to look straight at him and go blind” (Kingsolver, page 96). Not only did I then completely understand the dynamic of the Price family and their household, but it instantly brought me back to The Allegory of the Cave from Plato. I had multiple questions as to how the cave directly aligned with the Price family that drew my attention and interest into my book more. Was Nathan the light in the sense that he was more knowing of the truth? If Nathan was the light, were all the girls blind to the truth if they were not compatible with Nathan’s ideas? Is this scenario opposite of the cave that I’m familiar with? Nathan never seemed like “the all knowing truth seeker” to me, no matter how much he viewed himself that way, especially with all the narrations aligning to him being blind to the actual truth, negatively affecting the family. No doubt, the one thing that did align from Plato’s allegory was that the Price girls were chained down to Nathan Price and his ideas because he believes that he always has dominance and the final say in the family...up until the end.

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Critical Research Project: Reading the Work (post two)

As Leah, one of the middle daughters, seems to be the only one trying to engage in the same ideals as her Baptist priest father, she tries to involve herself in the same activities, but he seems to shut her out and ignore her. Over the duration of some time her father tries to grow his precious Kentucky wonder beans and works strenuously at the progress of their garden, something Leah tries to assist him in. As he sits and ponders, Leah narrates how he for once starts the conversation with her, asking if she knew what the debate was at the last Biblical convention. As she had no clue, he said that they debated the size of heaven, something that caught my attention because it had crossed my mind before along with the common thought of what heaven looks like, or if it simply existed. “How many furlongs it is. How many long, how many wide—they set men with adding machines to figuring it out,” her father spoke to her. Leah then notes “Inexplicably, he sounded put out with the men who brought their adding machines to the Bible convention, and possibly with the Bible itself. I felt extremely uneasy” (Kingsolver, page 78). Not only does this question an aspect of the Bible and the ideas that surround Christianity, but it is the first encounter where her father’s beliefs wavered, something that was very unusual because he always seems sound in his thoughts and what he was trying to teach in the Congo. I noted this page because I thought it may foreshadow how the father’s faith may waver or completely evolve throughout the book as the events he had hoped for do not go as planned, just like his failed garden. I also noted this passage because it may also foreshadow how the relationship between Leah and her father may change, either for better or for the worst. 

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Critical Research Project: Reading the Work (post one)

Right off the bat, Kingsolver writes in the perspective of Orleanna Price, the mother in the Price family, beginning Genesis, the first book to the seven books that make up The Poisonwood Bible. In this first section, I became particularly captivated by Orleanna as I took a notice as to how Kingsolver chose to write in the past tense while the other narrations from the daughters are in present tense, something she would do as she introduced each new book. I also felt intrigued as to how she referred to her experiences and feelings that are tied to the mission trip in the Congo. Orleanna elucidates “I’ll live or die on the strength of your judgment, but first let me say who I am. Let me claim that Africa and I kept company for a while and then parted ways, as if we were both party to relations with a failed outcome... Maybe I’ll even confess the truth, that I rode in with the horsemen and beheld the apocalypse, but I’ll still insist I was only a captive witness” (page 9). She continues to write in what I believe to be a reference to her husband, Nathan, in what seems to be a undermining tone of both his and her character, as she states “What is the conqueror’s wife, if not a conquest herself? For that matter, what is he?” This automatically grasps my attention due to it mysteriousness and it lead me to wonder many things, mainly why Orleanna felt this way towards the mission trip, something that is usually an uplifting, rejuvenating experience. It also lead to me to wonder why she felt such a negative attitude towards her husband when having a strong marriage is something that is typically valued in religion, especially in the sense of having confidence in one another and God. As I read, Orleanna would continue to have such an outlook on her trip in the Congo, and I would understand that her marriage would face many conflicts during this time, but why and what it lead to was still unclear. I chose to write about this first because it was what first intrigued me as I read, something Kingsolver made an active choice in while writing in what I believe to have a lasting impact on how the reader read the rest of the book and how it impacted the plot-- just how, is something I have yet to fully comprehend.

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Critical Research Project: Picking the Work (part three)

I took my list of books to Krienbring to hear his opinion on each book, and this helped rule out all except the one I chose to read-- The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. When I read off my list of books, Mr. Kreinbring usually had the response of "eh" or some opposition or apprehension to each book besides The Poisonwood Bible, which really allowed me to rule those books out. I also officially chose The Poisonwood Bible because of how adamant my friend's mom was and how I take influence from her (almost as a second mom). Not to mention the intriguing plot (described in my last post). I'm excited to read The Poisonwood Bible to follow the perspective of each girl and to see how their mission trip in the Congo turns out, as the environment of Africa is so different and is assumed to be so uncivilized. I am also excited, as I plan to discuss the book more with my friend's mom to hear her thoughts and to gain a deeper insight to the book as I read! Here's to reading The Poisonwood Bible!

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Critical Research Project: Picking the Work (part two)

As I considered the books I had already heard of prior to this project, I continued my internet search for novels that I had not seen before because I wanted an unbiased opinion on novels that I could read in-depth for myself. When I did this, I came across novels, including Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, and The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. From reading the plot summary, Cry, The Beloved Country intrigued me because it covered the perspective of being a black man, in a black man's world, that is ruled by a white man's power/law. This perspective in particular highlights a topic that seems to be increasingly controversial as our generation becomes more involved with politics with police brutality that is particularly done by a white cop to a (often times innocent) black man. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Hurston intrigued me as well because of the perspective of a woman who rejected living a bitter and agonizing lifestyle and was also a love story. This book, though, compared to Cry, the Beloved Country, was not as fascinating and I automatically ruled this one out. Although I wrote that I hadn't heard of The Poinsonwood Bible by Kingsolver, I had from my friend's mom, who was passionate and adamant that I needed to read it. The story of a wife and four daughters of a Bapist who takes them to the Congo in 1959 intrigues me because it is told from multiple female perspectives and touches on faith while living in a strange environment. But as time went by and life got busy, I never really had the chance to look into it let alone read it. I added these books to my list, to which I would take to Krienbring.

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Critical Research Project: Picking the Work (part one)

When Mr. Kreinbring first mentioned this project in class, I automatically turned to the internet and searched for lists of critically acclaimed novels that were suggested as “novels AP Literature students should read.” I selected book titles that intrigued me, reading the descriptions to see if the plot summary or themes of the book caught my eye like the title did, and I would decide whether or not to include the book in my list of options from there. When I first looked, I came across books that I had already considered reading before looking them up for this project, such as Beloved by Toni Morrison, 1984 by George Orwell, and Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. To begin, Beloved intrigued me because it told the story of escaping slavery and the Civil War from the perspective of a slave, a perspective that is not often highlighted or studied. 1984 interested me because it includes a dystopian future in which people are victims to an uncompromising, oppressive governmental system, which reminded me of The Handmaid’s Tale that I caught myself enjoying so much. Lastly from the list, Lolita interested me because the plot summary includes the obsession of a nymphet from an older man, an issue that is becoming more noticeable and highlighted in our society (especially as a woman) through the constant breaking news of sex trafficking and the movement of women speaking out about their rape or sexual assault experiences. Not only is the plot of Lolita highlighted more in our society, I was intrigued as a young teenager when my cousin had to read it for a project and told me what it was about and how much she had enjoyed it, as I was always looking for a good and in-depth novel to get my hands on. Because these books still intrigue me, I decided to keep them on my list of possible novels to read for this project, and continued my search for critically acclaimed books that I had not yet heard of nor considered.

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Under the Influence Poem:

If I

zoom in

far enough,

I can tell you

all the imperfections

I can see

my untamed brows,

my surfacing acne,

my skin scars,

overly chapped lips,

my smile lines,

the fluff in my hair

I stare back at

myself

and see

what I don’t like

But I can zoom out

and appreciate far

I have come

to like how I look

-so I think it’s time to stop zooming in, don’t you?

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Movie Night AP Lang Edition! The DUFF

Just like Rebel Without A Cause, The DUFF was semi-accurate with their portrayal of teenagers because they highlighted how many girls feel that they do not fit in with their friends or the other people in school, as well as the factor of bullying from typical cliques. The things they inaccurately portrayed was how teenage girls obsessed about boys, school life, and the friendship bonds in high school. On the contrary, teenage girls in real life do not obsess about boys, but how they could fit in and how they could please their peers most, especially to stay in certain friend groups, as well as how to keep up with the most popular trends; things that almost all teenager around the world do. Because of this, the characters were somewhat believable but were harder to relate to on a personal level. Just like Rebel Without A Cause, the audience and speaker was the different, untypical teenager as it is highlighted as the protagonist in the movie, and the purpose of the movie was to try and show how teenagers in films have very similar issues that teenagers in real life have, trying to show that teenagers in society should not be too harsh on themselves or judge others. 

There was popcorn and other various snacking foods involved for the note! ☺ 

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Movie Night AP Lang Edition! Rebel Without A Cause

When watching Rebel Without A Cause, I was interested to see how movies from past generations portrayed teens, both then and now, making a connection to stereotypes in our society and how it portrays the way we are affected by pop culture. While some of the portrayals were unrealistic for the teenagers of this generation, I believe this was accurate for the timing that it was released, such as how teenagers used to play the game of “chicken,” where two would face off in cars or other vehicles to see who would cop put first. I was also able to make connections to the actions and stereotypes of teenagers then and now, such as the typical clothing that each generation is labeled with, the factor of bullying from a popular clique, the underlying gay character or relationship due to the wide unacceptance of homosexuality, and the constant feeling of loneliness and not belonging. Because of these factors, the characters were mostly believable; dealing with problems of their own generation that connects to each generation’s teenagers. I believe the audience of these films are teenagers, especially the ones that feel they do not belong to a particular group because it highlights those underlying stereotypes as the protagonist, making it the most relatable character to the audience. I believe the purpose of these films is to show the relation of how those characters are portrayed in the films and how they connect to the problems of teenagers, as well as highlight other issues subtly, such as the confusion in masculinity for the father, the unhealthy love relationships within families, and more. To add, the “speaker” so to say is the abnormal, different teenager protagonist (even from an adults perspective in creating the film) because almost all teenagers feel they do not belong.  

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What is Original?

As I sit here processing things that could possibly be true originals to all of the remixes and revisions of what has been created before and what is created today, I truly cannot think of something that is the actual original. Yeah, there are things like the Big Bang or the first car made, but those are simply what we know to be the firsts or the “originals.” I’m sure that a similar collision happened millions of years before the Earth formed, and that the first car is simply putting the idea of an engine-powered horse-and-buggy together; these things have all happened before, whether we know of it or not and this can be applied to all things out in the world, except one. While I am not heavily involved in church or religion, the one thing that I believe to be the most original is Eve’s sin of listening to the serpent, choosing to go against what God had warned her, and eating the forbidden fruit. While people like to debate on whether or not het thought of eating the fruit or her physically eating the fruit was the actual “original” sin, the fact that she had done both was the original. They were the first people on this earth to sin against God, as they were the first people God had even created, and even if they aren't Christian, who is going to argue that God isn't an original? To further clarify, Adam eating the forbidden fruit was not an original in any shape or form; he followed the actions of Eve, making him the first remix or copy of what Eve had done. Therefore, the sin of Eve listening to the serpent or eating the fruit (whichever you believe) is the original. The real question is “Is everything that came after Eve’s original sin a remix of just that?”

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My Atypical Monday

No, this isn't school related but I thought I would add some light to the elemental posts on here. Today has been a great Monday, which isn't usual hence the title. To start, math was not excruciating and neither was history, but that class usually isn't. Third hour I have gym, and I was so not looking forward to running the mile. While my eating habits were not bizarre, I didn't eat the healthiest foods I probably should have. While running, I had my music at a high volume, not taking one headphone out to hear the times I was getting for each lap. I really didn't want to walk once because that is something I haven't done in about three years. Usually somewhere later in my running, my mind takes over and I give up. On the contrary, I ran the whole thing, getting the second best time  I had so far (my best was four seconds less). Mind you, most of my last lap felt like I was going to collapse. This really helped boost my already good mood. Then was chemistry, which isn't my favorite but I made it through, especially because I sat next to my previous table members (they are the best). Yearbook was good like always, as I had started my job application and played Uno with some good friends of mine. Spanish was mainly review and I got third place on Kahoot, which is a major accomplishment because my notes for this unit are below par. Lastly, I had made it AP Lang, which is actually one of my favorite classes. Mr. Kreinbring was goofy and giddy as usual (sorry not sorry Mr. Krienbring) and I was very productive with the free time we had. So while I have a lot on my plate in all seriousness, this Monday has been one I have properly enjoyed.