Montaigne/Wallace Essay

How many thoughts does the average human have a day? Some people say between 50,000-70,000 thoughts a day. Now imagine if every single thought, that came to our minds, we had to right down, or say out loud. We would be doing that all day. David Foster Wallace said that what goes on inside is too fast and huge for words to barley sketch the outlines of a little part of it. This contradicts what Michel Montaigne believed in, becuase he was the inventor of the essay, and would literally write everything that came to his head. Both these author's contradict, and both have them have valid arguments. I think it's good to write about your thoughts, but at the same time, you won't be able to write down most of them, because or minds think so fast. I think there's some sort of middle ground between these two authors in which an author can write down their thoughts, but make sure they get only good ones, and ones that aren't random and off topic. Wallace believes that we shouldn't just right down our thoughts because it's almost impossible to capture two or more thoughts, while Montaigne believes that all of our thoughts should be written down no matter what they are.

Wallace is more realistic when it comes to this topic. It's hard to capture our thoughts and put them down on paper, just because we think of so many different and random things. I know when I'm writing or reading, I try to tune out my separate thoughts so that they don't interfere and I don't get lost. Now, Wallace also thinks that its hard for us to think about one thought, and then develop the whole thing, while focused on that thought. If you have one main idea that comes to your mind, and we spend all your time and energy on that, then you can make it into a complete and complex thought. Wallace claims that everything that goes on inside of us are interconnected and that we can't even fathom the power and complexity of our own thoughts. Thus, he believes that we should focus only on one main idea, and try to develop that as well as we can.

Montaigne takes a much more different approach to this topic. If I write down every or even most of my thoughts down on a piece of paper, I would have a long essay, that just rambles on and on. However, I think that is smart to try and right down most of our thoughts because this enables us to write them down, and not forget about them. By doing this, we can come back to those ideas and try to develop them more and more. Montaigne's writing is hard to read, just because he rambles so much and talks about ideas that aren't relevant to his topic. But, I think it is smart to try and write most of your thoughts, so that you can come back to them later.

I don't really agree with either authors, but I think there is some sort of middle ground. Both Montaigne and Wallace have two valid arguments that you can go with either way. Whether you agree with Wallace, or Montaigne, our minds are capable of accomplishing many things, and maybe our thoughts benefit us in ways that we didn't think possible. This is just simply one author's perspective verse another who both have credible arguments.

My results from the AP test. If the answer has this symbol - that means its wrong. I scored a 23/47
1. A- I thought this question was pretty hard

2. B- This one had hard vocabulary
3. C pretty easy
4. E process of elimination
5. D I just guessed on this one
6. D pretty easy
7. B- I didn't really understand it
8. A- guessed wrong
9. A- difficult question
10. C fairly easy
11. D lucky guess
12. B fairly easy
13. C- tough question
14. C process of elimination
15. D- didn't understand
16. B guess
17. A- tough question
18. E guess
19. E- guessed wrong
20. B process of elimination
21. A- question about many lines in the poem, hard to pick one correct answer
22. C- tough question
23. B- wasn't very hard, I thought I was right
24. A pretty easy
25. D- tough question
26. E guess
27. B- thought I was right
28. C process of elimination
29. B- tough question
30. B guess
31. B- thought I was right
32. A- tough question
( I didn't have questions 33-46)
47. B pretty easy
48. A guess
49. D- tough question
50. D guess
51. A- I thought I was right
52. C- guessed wrong
53. E pretty easy
54. B process of elimination
55. B- tough question
56. A- guessed wrong
57. C guess
58. D guess
59. C- tough question
60. B guess
61. D- tough question
These AP tests are hard for me because of the vocabulary, complexity, length, and reading comprehension isn't my strong suit.

1. This commercial borrows the poem The Laughing Heart written by Charles Bukowski without credit.

2. The use of this poem by be considered ironic because Levi’s is endorsing this poem, with their commercial, but at the same time they are contradicting what they message in the poem is conveying by not giving Bukowski credit.

3. The poem does reflect the reputation of the author because what he talks about is how he wanted to live his life. Bukowski had trouble with alcohol, and this was a way for him to be free and let everything out.

4. To find the answer to number 1, I typed in the first couple words of the commercial on Google, and it led me to the poem. To find the answer to number 3, I looked up Mr. Bukowski and it said that he had problems with alcohol, but lived his life anyway.

Cameron Walker

Period 6

8/13/14

Change

In “The Poisonwood Bible” by Barbara Kingsolver, the story is about four daughters who were born in Georgia but spend most of their childhoods in Africa. Rachel the eldest daughter, is the daughter who it takes a while to adjust to their current circumstances. She is a city girl, and is used to living in the developed world, so when she moves to Africa with her family it takes her awhile to get adjusted to her new home. She isn’t very grateful in her current situation and wants to return home.  Her exile is both alienating and enriching and it illuminates the work as a whole because he teaches her to adapt to a new culture, and humiliating herself to fit in.

 

            Rachel’s process to adapt to the new culture takes a while. She begins as a materialistic, and snotty fifteen year old, but slowly changes. She can’t get away from the reality that she will be living there for a short period of her life, so she might as well get used to it. But as the book continues, she continues to adapt to the culture. She even ends up getting engaged to Eeben Axelroot because she was going to have to marry Chief Ndu. Out of all the daughters she ends up spending the most time in Africa, and moves to Johannesburg where she lives for a while and marries three different husbands.

 

            In order to fit in to the new circumstances, she has to lower her standards to fit in. When she gets there, she can’t stand the stench of people, even though they give her a warm welcome. Then she judges the people because it takes her awhile to figure to out that they are singing Christian hymns. As the book continues she keeps lowering her standards, and stops thinking that she is superior to the Africans. This makes her a much better person, especially due to the fact that every person is equal.

 

            In conclusion, exile can be a good thing or bad, depending on how you spend it. For Rachel, it started off as bad, but eventually she accepted the situation that she was in and tried to make the best out of it. Her time in Africa made her a better person, and she was able to live their for a longer time.

 

I wasn't able to take notes on The Essays of Michel de Montaigne because I was caught up with basketball, and I was traveling all over the country which is a lame excuse, but I'm sorry, and I'll make up for it.

Cameron Walker

Period 6

8/12/14

 

Pride and Prejudice Notes

 

Characters:

 

Elizabeth- she is the smartest of the daughters, and the second eldest. She is very smart and at often times is too smart for her own good. She is well-spoken but she is often quick to judge, which causes her to make rash decisions.

 

Darcy- he is Elizabeth’s significant other, and is the son of a wealthy family. He is very prideful, and tends to look at other people as inferior to him because of his social status. He is also quick to judge like Elizabeth and she has the effect to make him more humble and caring.

 

Mr. Bennet- he is the father of the five Bennet daughters Elizabeth, Lydia, Mary, Kitty, and Jane. As the book goes on, he slowly becomes more and more detached, from his family. He and Elizabeth are the closest because of similar qualities.

 

Jane- she is Elizabeth’s beautiful sister and she has a gentle spirit. She is madly in love with Charles and is the oldest Bennet sister.

 

Charles- he meets Jane in a courtship, and they fall madly in love. He isn’t concerned with social status even with his large amount of wealth.

 

Themes:

 

Class- This book is filled with class. Many of the people are from a higher class, and they take great pride in it. Social status is a huge part of the book, and where you rake among your peers.

 

Love- love is also an important part of the book, as we find many of the main characters in love. Mr. Bennet is somewhat in love, even though he doesn’t show it. Elizabeth is madly in love, and so is Jane.

 

Vocabulary:

 

Circumspect- watchful and discreet; cautious; prudent

 

Discernible- capable of being discerned; distinguishable

 

Alacrity- cheerful readiness, promptness, or willingness

 

Impertinence- unmannerly intrusion or resumption; insolence

 

Summary:

The Bennet family has five daughters in which all five are unmarried. Jane, Elizabeth, Marry, Kitty, and Lydia are the daughters and Mrs. Bennet wants them to get married. The Bennet’s go to a dance and Mr. Bingley is there, and he dances with Jane for most of the time. However, Darcy begins to have feelings for Elizabeth, and Jane and Mr. Bingley become closer. On her way to see Charles, Jane gets caught in the rain and gets sick. When the girls get home they see Mr. Collins, the heir to Mr. Bennet's fortune, and he proposes to Elizabeth, but is turned down. Later on, Mr. Collins gets married to a poor girl named Charlotte who is Elizabeth's best friend. Soon Darcy, proposes to Elizabeth but she refuses because he is too arrogant, and she distanced Jane away from Bingley. Darcy then sends a letter to Elizabeth, apologizing and telling the truth. In June, Elizabeth takes a trip to North to Darcy’s estate. Darcy makes a surprise visit, and doesn’t mention the proposal. All of the sudden, Elizabeth has to race home, because she has news that Lydia has run off and got married. While their gone, Darcy pays for Wickham for the Bennet’s which pleases Elizabeth. Darcy makes a visit to the Bennet’s planning to marry her. Bingley decided to ask for Jane’s hand in marriage as she gladly accepts and the family celebrates. Then Catherine de Bourgh visits Elizabeth and tells her not to marry Darcy. When Darcy proposes, she refuses again, but doesn’t make any promises against her own happiness. The two later go outside and work things out and decide to get married. The Bennet’s are pleased with three of their daughters getting married.

 

 

 

Cameron Walker

Period 6

8/12/14

The Poisonwood Bible

 

Characters:

Orleanna Price- she is the mother of the four Price daughters. She isn't very happy in her marriage, but she has faith that her and her family will get through it. She is damaged by the death of her youngest daughter which makes her closer to her other children.

Nathan Price- the husband and father to the Prices, he is a very prideful Baptist minister. He was the only soldier to survive the Bataan death march, and found God as the reason to why he survived. He never gives up in trying to convince the African people to be faithful.

Rachel Price- She is fifteen years old at the beginning of the book, and she looks at the African people as if they were inferior to them. She hates the smell, and likes materialistic things.

Leah Price- she is fourteen years old, who is very grateful and worships god and her dad’s sayings.

Adah Price- she was born with a condition in which her whole left side of her body is paralyzed. Although she is mute, she is very observant.

Ruth May Price- she is five years old and she sees the world a lot differently. Her life is cut short when she is bitten by a snake, but her sisters always remember her.

Eeben Axelroot- he works with the CIA in their attempt to overthrow Patrice Lumumba. He helps the family travel, and ends up marrying Rachel.

Themes:

You follow what you were raised upon:

Many of the villagers never appeal to Nathan and his preaching, because of the way they grew up. They have their own religion and want to practice it, but Nathan is trying to convince them otherwise but the end up voting him out.

The west looks down upon the developing world:

We see ourselves superior to people who live in developing countries. We have better technology and a better standard of living. Rachel is an example of this, as she is snotty, and thinks that she’s better. She is into materialistic things, and isn’t as grateful.

Vocabulary:

Merriment- cheerful or joyful gaiety

Derelict- left or deserted; abandoned

Belligerent- warlike, given to waging war

Payola- a secret or private payment in return for the promotion of a product

 

Summary:

This book takes place in the 1960's. The Price family moves from Georgia to Kilanga Village in Africa. The father is named Nathan, who is a very religious man, and who is a minister. They are heading to Africa to spread the word of God, and convert many Africans to Christianity. The story is narrated in the minds of the five women. Rachel, Alah, Leah, and Ruth May. Each of them are different and have their own unique mind.
When the family arrives, they aren't familiar with the new customs and have to get use to them. All the Price women, are faithful and loyal to their father, until they have some bumps in the road. The family tries to grow a North American plant, but it doesn't work in the African soil, so then they don't have a lot of food. Despite the unfortunate events, Nathan has incredible faith, and will never give up. He keeps pushing for the people to get baptized, but they are afraid because an alligator. During this time, Belgium is soon going to give the Congo their independence and they have to elect a new leader. Also, the Price family becomes more and more detached from each other. After Orleanna has a break where she laid in bed for a while she begins to stand up for herself and find a way out of Africa. Rachel pretends to be engaged to Eeben Axelroot to avoid a marriage with Chief Ndu. Next, a village experiences a small drought, and food becomes scarce. One day, they walk in a chicken coop and see a very poisonous snake. A man named Nelson gets it out but on the way it bites and kills Ruth May. After this, Orleanna, gets her and all her daughters to leave as many go in separate directions. Rachel end up marring Eeben Axelroot and two other men. Leah falls in love with Anatole and they end up having children. Then all the daughters, except Rachel, meet back up in Georgia where they are both happy and successful and live their own lives.