Racial Prejudice

Francisco Ayala

Dr. Preston

Expository Reading and Writing

Racial Prejudice

It’s the 21^st century, the issue has been addressed decades ago but it is still here, racism. What is racism? Racism is a belief that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and had the right to rule others. Another way to put it? Racism is generally defined as actions, practices, or beliefs that consider the human species to be divided into races with shared traits, abilities, or qualities, such as personality, intellect, morality, or other cultural behavioral characteristics, and especially the belief that races can be ranked as inherently superior or inferior to others, or that members of different races should be treated differently. That’s just the dictionary definition, what thrives one to be racist is stronger than just the meaning itself.

To Be Or Not To Be

In the play, Hamlet knows that he has to be something.. or not.
His decisions were to either die and not be king, or kill and be the king.
Hamlet's uncle murdered Hamlet's father to take the throne and now, Hamlet was willing to kill his uncle to take back the throne.
At this time, Hamlet seems to be in a melancholy state. Suicide is in the question. Events prior to the soliloquy have not been so well for Hamlet.
Hamlet talks about dying and then dreaming after. To dream after death. He also asks what really is to come after death. This leads to him talking about the unknown; to be wary of the unknown.

It's a thought. Suicide would end the suffering. Although, if there isn't an afterlife, one would obviously be ending more than just the suffering. To end it like that, would be the weaker path.
Facing the conflict shows fortitude. It shows inner strength and what one is truly made of.
The way I see it, suicide is not the answer.
To be.

Vocabulary 7

Cursory- to go rapidly over something

ex. I studied in a cursory manner before the test.

Impetus- impulse; a moving force

ex. The waves impetus crashed on the beach hard.

Pinnacle- the peak

ex. When celebrities reach their pinnacles, they have nowhere else to go but down.

Contumely- humiliating insult

ex. The rap battle had contumely verses.

Calamity- a great misfortune

ex. The tsunami that hit Japan a couple years back was a calamity. 

Consummation- to complete 

ex. This homework assignment is consummated. 

Bereavement- a period of mourning after a loss

ex. The widow was in bereavement after her husband passed away.

Cache- a hiding place for supplies

ex. I have a cache of food in my locker.

Avarice- greed for riches

ex. Mr. Krabs is avarice.

Fortify- to protect or strengthen against attack

ex. The army fortified their barracks before the attack

Erratic- wandering; with no objective

ex.The erratic man had no motives.

Ubiquitous- existing or being everywhere

ex. The morning fog was ubiquitous in the city.

Fortitude- mental and emotional strength

ex. The man's fortitude stayed strong during his illness.

Nonchalant- casual

ex. Nobody expected the robber due to his nonchalant behavior in the bank.

Affect- to act on

ex. The cold weather affected the crops.

Effect- result; consequence 

ex. The crops were effected in a bad way.

Misappropriate- to put to a wrong use

ex. The pickaxe was used in a misappropriate manner to dig.

Pragmatic- dealing with things sensibly

ex. The court case was pragmatic.

Metacognition- thinking that enables understanding, analysis, and control

ex. The student's metacognition comes from his learning techniques which help him understand the subject.

Devoutly- religious

ex. The devoutly couple attend church every Sunday.

Vocabulary 4+5=6

Adroit- expert; cleverly skillful 

Amicable- showing goodwill, friendly

Averse- having a strong feeling of opposition; to oppose

Belligerent- warlike; aggressively hostile

Benevolent- expressing goodwill, kindly feelings

Vocabulary 5

Adroit- expert; cleverly skillful 

ex. The NFL player is very adroit in football.

Amicable- showing goodwill, friendly

ex. The sincere person is amicable.

Averse- having a strong feeling of opposition; to oppose

ex. Republicans and Democrats could be averse towards each other.

Belligerent- warlike; aggressively hostile

ex. Angry people could be belligerent.

Benevolent- expressing goodwill, kindly feelings

ex. A charitable person is benevolent.

Vocabulary 2

1. obesity: to be very overweight
ex. Being obese puts you at risk of having health problems.
2. accumulate: to gather or collect
ex. Eating a lot of junk food will accumulate into a lot of unwanted pounds.
3. mass: a body of coherent matter; bulk size or massiveness
ex. Being overweight gives you a bigger than average mass.
4. disease: any harmful condition
ex. You can catch a disease if you are in an unhealthy state.
5. diet: a particular selection of food
ex. His particular diet allowed him to lose weight.

This is PHAT!

                "Fast Food Nation"

             By Eric Schlosser 

     

     I read this book last year during the summer and it focuses on how the fast food industry has affected our nation. The author, Eric Schlosser, reports on fast food and it's industry from coast to coast. His survey extends from California to New Jersey. The goal of this book is to expose the unsettling reality of fast food, it's impact, and how we're targeted for their market.

Vocabulary 1

1. expository: intended to explain or describe something
   I am in an expository composition class.
2. composition: the action of putting things together
   Composition in an essay will really affect the reader's understanding.
3. assuage: to comfort; to make something feel better
   He assuaged his sprained ankle with ice.
4. decadence: moral or cultural decline
   I feel like this generation is going through a decadent stage.
5. hackneyed: lacking significance for being overused. 
   A few new slang terms are hackneyed. 
6. coalition: an alliance
   The Avengers are a coalition.
7. transcend: to go above and beyond
   I plan to transcend in this school year.
8. meritorious: deserving reward
   Renaissance students are meritorious. 
9. lurid: gruesome; vivid
   The horror movie was lurid.
10. petulant: bad-tempered; childish
   The sassy character was petulant.

Reflections on Week #1

1.
   I feel as if technology will be a hassle at times but there is a way around it and that is to just go old school and turn in the assignment in paper or ask Dr. Preston if you could go to his class during lunch and use one of his computers.
2.
   An awesome learning experience I had was in 5th grade.  Every student who got good grades would be part of a popcorn party. Whenever I get food for great effort, I am more than willing to try. Food is good, but after the 5th grade, I learned that you can't always expect a reward for your accomplishments. Food is good.
3.
   I'm looking forward to this class because I am now experienced with the blog system and how Open Source Learning works.
    

What is Expository Composition?

Expository: intended to explain or describe something
Composition: the action of putting things together; formatting or construction

 How something is set up will give its meaning? Like, the way something is constructed will affect how someone interprets it. That's what I believe Expository Composition means.

My Big Question

Is anything real?

It's All Latin To Me

dimidium facti qui coepit habet: sapere aude, incipe


Translation:
                   "He who has begun is half done: dare to know"*The second part could also be translated as "Dare to be Wise"

        What I believe this phrase means is that by simply beginning, you are already ahead. The start to something will lead somewhere. "Dare to know" or  "Dare to be wise", it is saying to go forth. Be willing to learn.
 
         It relates to the course because we have to have this urge to learn to progress in our learning environment. We've begun and now what we have to do is the other half.

First Post!!!

A new school year!
My blog may not look like much at the moment but I'll get to full customizing it soon

Last year's American Literature blog:
Click here to see my old blog!

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From last year's experience, I can say that I really prefer Open Source Learning over the classic text book format. My learning literally extended beyond the classroom.