Fall Vocabulary List #7

Aberration: the act of departing from the right, normal, or usual course/the act of deviating from the ordinary, usual or normal type

--When the dog bit someone, it was an aberration from his usually calm demeanor.
Ad hoc: for the special purpose or end presently under consideration

--An ad hoc rescue party formed when a storm came from nowhere and wreaked havoc on the town.
Bane: a person or thing that ruins or spoils

--I often feel like my brother is the bane of my existence; he seems to try and ruin everything.
Bathos: a ludicrous descent from the exalted or lofty to the commonplace; anticlimax/insincere pathos, sentimentality, mawkishness

--The actor tended to draw all of the attention to himself with his overplayed bathos. 
Cantankerous: disagreeable to deal with, contentious, peevish

--The child became cantankerous and impossible to deal with when he was tired. 
Casuistry: Specious, deceptive, or oversubtle reasoning, especially in questions of morality; fallacious or dishonest application of general principle, sophistry

--Though Jack’s reasoning sounded clever, it was just casuistry. 
De facto: in fact, reality/actually existing, especially when without lawful authority

--Though segregation was technically made illegal, de facto segregation still existed in many public establishments for years.     
 Depredation: the act of preying upon or plundering; robbery; ravage

--After the chieftain of one clan died in battle, the group suffered from an increased depredation by rival clans. 
Empathy: the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, and attitudes of others

--Jane noticed that her friend was outside crying, but she didn’t bother to ask what was wrong or try to cheer her up; Jane obviously lacked empathy. 
Harbinger: a person who goes ahead and makes known the approach of another/anything that foreshadows a future event; omen, sign

--In the story, the cawing crow was used as a harbinger for an impending death. 
Hedonism: the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is to the highest good/devotion to pleasure as a way of life

--Roman emperors were notorious for their lavish and hedonistic way of life. 
Lackluster: lacking brilliance or radiance; dull/ lacking liveliness, vitality, spirit, or enthusiasm

--I had high expectations for the play, but the performance was lackluster at best. 
Malcontent: not satisfied or content with currently prevailing conditions or circumstances/dissatisfied with current government, administration, system, etc./a malcontent person, especially one who is chronically discontented or dissatisfied

--Jessica cried, “Down with the system!” as she gathered with other local malcontents at a rally. 
Mellifluous: sweet or smoothly flowing, sweet-sounding/flowing with honey; sweetened as with or as if with honey

--Kaitlyn’s singing voice is lovely and mellifluous.

Nepotism: patronage bestowed or favoritism shown on the basis of family relationship, as in business or politics

--The CEO was accused of nepotism when he hired his inexperienced son as president of the company. 
Pander: a person who furnishes clients for a prostitute or supplies persons for illicit sexual intercourse; pimp/to act as a pander; cater basely

--That company tends to pander to the interests of the younger crowds. 
Pecadillo: a very minor or slight sin or offense; a trifling fault

--Johnny’s parents made his every little slipup and peccadillo a big problem, and this made him feel terrible about himself. 
Piece de resistance: the most noteworthy feature, aspect, event, article, etc., of a series or group; special item or attraction

--The artist had works all over the gallery, but her biggest, best piece—her piece de resistance—was toward the back of the room.

Remand: To send back, remit, or consign again/to send back (a case) to a lower court from which it was appealed, with instructions as to what further proceedings should be had

 --The court decided to remand the defendant to a drug treatment center.    

Literature Analysis Questions: In the Lake of the Woods

1. The story begins with John and Kathy Wade, a married couple, sitting on the porch of their rented cottage in the woods of Minnesota. John, a politician and Vietnam veteran, has just lost the Senate election (lost the race badly), which signified the end of his political career, mainly because of the stories reporters dug up about his involvement in a massacre of Vietnamese civilians. The Wades were renting the cabin by The Lake of the Woods in order to get away from it all, but John they both seemed to be taking it hard (though Kathy was secretly happy; she hated being a politician's wife). However, John Wade isn't quite..."right." He developed an alter ego, "Sorcerer," after his fellow soldiers noticed his knack for magic. After he loses the Senate race, he goes into a downward spiral of depression and, well, some might call it "craziness." One morning his wife disappears, and it takes him an entire day to decide that something is wrong and he must go look for her. From then on, John is, of course, the primary suspect in his wife's disappearance. Search parties are sent out, the lake and the woods are searched, but nothing ever comes up. John doesn't believe he killed his wife, who was his everything, but there is no way to be sure. However, there is the possibility that Kathy quietly slipped out in the night, away from all of the unhappiness she had been dealing with. Not even the author divulges the answer.
2. The novel, like so many others, has several ideas that can be called theme--one can even say love, but frankly, you can say that about just about any book. Instead, the theme of In the Lake of the Woods can be living outside of reality; it is present throughout the entire book. John, more than anyone, tricks himself into living in some other reality; one where his father was a great man, where he was Sorcerer. A place behind the "mirrors" in his head. Kathy also shared in the delusion at some point: they imagined a life together, post-politics, where they would own their very own dream house, travel to Italy, and have all the children they wanted.
3. Tim O'Brien's tone seems to be very reporter-like (after all, the narrator is someone who is writing a book, so he remained largely unbiased throughout the book). The best examples of this are the interviews thrown into the story, but also in the actual story. He is also reporter-like in the way that he is very inquisitive; he is always adding questions in the story and footnotes. Some examples of O'Brien's tone include "At no point did John Wade admit to the slightest knowledge of Kathy's whereabouts, nor indicate that he was withholding information information."; "Can we believe that he was not a monster but a man? That he was innocent of everything except his life? Could the truth be so simple? So terrible?"; "Maybe, in the end, she blamed herself. Not for the affair so much, but for the waning of energy, the slow year-by-year fatigue that had finally worn her down." (The narrator hypothesizes throughout the entire book.)
4. One technique that the author used throughout the book was the repetition of a certain phrase, "Kill Jesus." Wade muttered and thought this to himself over and over, because it was the worst possible thing he could think to say. The way O'Brien had him repeat this so many times reinforced the fact that Wade was not quite "right," and how the loss of the election seemed to be his tipping point after a lifetime of hardship. The phrase was used mostly when John felt the lowest; when he felt the need to destroy something. ("...how it surged up into his throat and how he wanted to scream the most terrible thing he could scream-Kill Jesus!-and how he couldn't help himself and couldn't think straight and couldn't stop screaming it inside his head-Kill Jesus!-because nothing could be done, and because it was so brutal and disgraceful and final."; "After a while later he kicked back the sheets and said, 'Kill Jesus.' It was a challenge--a dare."; "'Kill Jesus,' he said, which encouraged him, and he carried the teakettle out to the living room and switched on a lamp and poured the boiling water over a big flowering geranium.")  Another technique employed often was rhetorical questioning. The questions showed that the narrator was not totally sure about anything, either; this reinforced his inquisitive and journalistic tone. The questions are sometimes about human nature in general, and sometimes specifically about the characters/situations; they encourage the reader to consider the answers and apply them in his/her own investigation that he knows must be going on as s/he reads. (Footnote, in reference to "Other" stats in the Minnesota primary election results: "Aren't we all? John Wade--he's beyond knowing. He's an other....the man's soul remains for me an absolute and impenetrable unknown..."; "Can we believe that he was not a monster but a man? That he was innocent of everything except his life? Could the truth be so simple? So terrible?"; "Does happiness strain credibility? Is there something in the human spirit that distrusts its own appetites, its own yearning for healing and contentment?") O'Brien also uses many flashbacks; this is probably expected in a book about a war veteran. The storyline often goes backwards in time to significant events in John and Kathy's lives; it builds a focus on the past, and explain why things had happened the way they did, and to give background (adding more detail every time the memory was brought back around). ("When he was a boy, John Wade's hobby was magic."; "When he was fourteen, John Wade lost his father...What John felt that night, and for many nights afterward, was the desire to kill."; "There was  a war in progress, which was beyond manipulation, and nine months later he found himself at the bottom of an irrigation ditch. The slime was waist-deep. He couldn't move. The trick then was to stay sane.") Motifs were also present in the novel, including the ever-present idea of living out of reality. John and Kathy lived in another reality when they dreamt of a life full of travel and a "busload of babies," John escaped "behind the mirrors in his head," and John had an alter ego, "Sorcerer," that ended up helping him cope: "Sorcerer, they called him...And for John Wade, who had always considered himself a loner, the nickname was like a special badge, an emblem of belonging and brotherhood, something to take pride in."

Fall Vocabulary List #6

Beatitude: supreme blessedness; exalted happiness
--It was said that in the last picture he took of himself, Christopher McCandless had a look of pure beatitude on his face.
Bete noire: a person or thing especially disliked or dreaded; bane
--The SAT test is the bete noire of high school students everywhere.
Bode: to be an omen of; portend
--The AP student has failed all of his practice essays so far; this does not bode well for his score on the real exam.
Dank: unpleasantly moist or humid; damp, and often, chilly
--The basement was dark and dank, and just creepy in general.
Ecumenical: general, universal/pertaining to the whole Christian church/promoting or fostering Christian unity around the world/interreligious or interdenominational
--Though the parents of the couple balked at the idea of an ecumenical wedding, the couple did not care; their religions could not separate them.
Fervid: heated or vehement in spirit, enthusiasm, etc./burning, glowing, intensely hot
--When the artist was feeling it, he would work fervidly on a project nonstop and get it done in less than a day.
Fetid: having an offensive odor, stinking
--Not only was the basement dark, dank, and creepy, but the air was thick and fetid.
Gargantuan: gigantic, enormous, colossal
--The trees in Sequoia National Park are very old and positively gargantuan.
Heyday: the stage or period of greatest vigor, strength, success, etc.
--During the company's heyday, it was raking in millions of dollars from customers from around the world.
Incubus: an imaginary demon or evil spirit supposed to descend upon sleeping persons, especially one fabled to have sexual intercourse with women during their sleep/a nightmare/something that weighs upon or
oppresses one like a nightmare
--When I asked the women why she was selling her house, she began to yell and rant about an incubus that lived there and visited her every night...needless to say, I did not buy that house. I also do not talk to that woman anymore.
Infrastructure: the basic, underlying framework or features of a system or organization/the fundamental facilities and systems serving a country, city, or area, as transportation and communication systems, power plants, and schools
--One of the reasons why Rome fell was because of its crumbling infrastructure; perhaps we should be looking after ours a little better.
Inveigle: to entice, lure, or ensnare by flattery or artful talk or inducements/to acquire, win, or obtain by beguiling talk or methods
 --He had to inveigle his mother and compliment her until she finally let him go to the concert on a school night.
Kudos: honor, glory, acclaim
 --I give Kasie kudos for recognizing the word "kudos" in class today.
Lagniappe: a gratuity or tip/an unexpected or indirect benefit/a small gift given with a purchase to a customer, by way of a compliment or for good measure; bonus
 --The customers treated Jessica, the waitress, so well that she threw in some extra dessert as a lagniappe on their way out.
Obsequious: characterized by or showing servile complaisance or deference; fawning/servilely compliant and deferential
--Nobody cared much for the obsequious student; he proved himself a "teacher's pet" early in the year.
Prolix: extended to great, unnecessary or tedious length; long and wordy
--The professor's stories could have been around five minutes long, each, but she made them prolix and stretched them into twenty or more minutes.
Protege: a person under the patronage, care, or protection of someone who is interested in his/her care or welfare
 --As my little cousin stared up at my kayaks, I imagined taking him out on a lake one day and having him as my little boating protege.
Prototype: the original model on which something is based or formed
--The inventor first had to create a prototype model, test it, tweak it, then get a patent on the device before creating an official model for public consumption.
Sycophant: a self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite
--The sycophant used his inveigling ways to get what he wanted.
Tautology: needless repetition of an idea, especially in words other than those of the immediate context, without imparting additional force or clearness/an instance of repetition
--He told me that the "widow woman" was getting along better without her husband; I felt badly because I laughed at the tautology of that phrase during a serious conversation.

Truckle: to submit or yield obsequeously or tamely
--The child knew his father would give him anything he wanted as long as he truckled to his demands and did whatever chores and work he needed.

Fall Vocabulary List #5

Acumen: keen insight; shrewdness

--People with financial acumen are bound to make decisions that ensure their economic stability.

Adjudicate: to pronounce or decree by judicial sentence/to settle or determine an issue or dispute judicially

--Judge Judy adjudicated the opponents' dispute.
Anachronism: something or someone that is not in its correct or chronological historical time

--As children, a caveman riding a dinosaur in a cartoon seemed perfectly logical; however, after going to school, we learned that dinosaurs in the time of cavemen are actually an anachronisms.
Apocryphal: of doubtful authorship or authority/false, spurious

--Though the story sounds apocryphal and ridiculous, I can assure you that it is actually true.
Disparity: lack of similarity or equality; inequality; difference

--One can tell that the signature on the "priceless" baseball card is forged, once s/he sees the disparities between the real signature and the fake.
Dissimulate: to disguise or conceal under a false appearance; dissemble

--Worrying that he might appear weak, the man dissimulated his fear and kept walking through the dark forest despite his true feelings.
Empirical: derived from or guided by experience or experiment/depending on experience or observation 

alone, without using scientific method or theory, esp. in medicine

--The law is based on purely empirical findings and makes no attempt to actually explain the phenomenon.
Flamboyant: strikingly bold or brilliant; showy; conspicuously dashing and colorful/ornate; elaborately styled

--The lorikeets at the zoo had beautiful,  flamboyant feathers.
Fulsome: offensive to good taste, especially as being excessive; overdone or gross/disgusting, sickening, repulsive/excessive or insincerely lavish

--There were fulsome amounts of greasy fast food and rich desserts piled on the table.
Immolate: to sacrifice/to kill as a sacrificial victim, as by fire; offer as sacrifice/to destroy by fire

--The victim suffered a brutal immolation as she was thrown into the lava by volcano-worshiping natives.
Imperceptible: very slight, gradual; subtle/not perceptible

--The magician shocked and amused people when he used imperceptible sleight of hand to make their card appear.
Lackey: a servile follower; toady/a footman or liveried manservant

--Kasie acted as Sarah's lackey and carried her books around all day, brought her lunch, and did whatever she asked.
Liaison: the contact or connection maintained by communications between units of the armed forces or of any other organization in order to ensure concerted action, cooperation, etc./the person who initiates or maintains such a contact or connection/an illicit sexual relationship

--The school principal acted as a liaison between the two squabbling children so they would properly apologize to each other.

Monolithic: made only of one stone/consisting of one piece; solid, unbroken/characterized by massiveness, uniformity, rigidity, invulnerability

--The ego of the artist that created a marble statue of Paul Bunyan was almost as monolithic as the work itself.
Mot juste: the exact, appropriate word

--He paused so as to find the mot juste in describing his feelings for her; he wanted his letter to be perfect.
Nihilism: a total rejection of established laws and institutions/anarchy, terrorism, or any other revolutionary activity/(philosophy)an extreme form of skepticism; the denial of all real existence or the possibility of an objective basis for truth

--The nihilist didn't think twice about tossing a Molotov cocktail through the police station window; after all, he was certain that it didn't matter, seeing as there was no real truth in any law, science, or religion.
Patrician: a person of noble or high rank; aristocrat/a person of very good background, education, and refinement

--The haughty patrician walked by the unworthy plebeians with her nose in the air.
Propitiate: to make favorable inclined; appease; conciliate

--The sacrifice was made to propitiate the volcano gods.
Sic: to attack/to incite to attack/so; thus: usually written parenthetically to denote that a word, phrase, passage, etc., that may appear strange or incorrect has been written intentionally or has been quoted verbatim

--The famous author signed his name as e.e. cummings [sic]./The man told his big, growling dog to sic the intruders.
Sublimate: to divert the energy of (a sexual or other biological impulse) from its immediate goal to one of a more acceptable social, moral, or aesthetic nature or use.

-- Artists tend to sublimate their impulses and emotions into beautiful and interesting pieces of art or music.

"Beowulf ond Godsylla" Translation

Beowulf ond Godsylla

Meanehwæl, baccat meaddehæle, monstær lurccen;
Fulle few too many drincce, hie luccen for fyht.
Ðen Hreorfneorhtðhwr, son of Hrwærowþheororthwl,
Æsccen æwful jeork to steop outsyd. Þhud! Bashe! Crasch! Beoom! Ðe bigge gye
Eallum his bon brak, byt his nose offe;
Wicced Godsylla wæld on his asse.
Monstær moppe fleor wyþ eallum men in hælle.
Beowulf in bacceroome fonecall bamaccen wæs;
Hearen sond of ruccus sæd, "Hwæt ðe helle?"
Graben sheold strang ond swich-blæd scharp
Stond feorth to fyht ðe grimlic foe. "Me," Godsylla sæd, "mac ðe minsemete."
Heoro cwyc geten heold wiþ fæmed half-nelson
Ond flyng him lic frisbe bac to fen
Beowulf belly up to meaddehæle bar,
Sæd, "Ne foe beaten mie færsom cung-fu."
Eorderen cocca-cohla yce-coeld, ðe reol þyng.

Beowulf and Godzilla

Meanwhile, back at mead-hall, a monster lurked;
Full of a few too many drinks, he was looking for a fight.
Then Hreorfneorhtðhwr, son of Hrwærowþheororthwl*,
Asked the awful jerk to step outside. Thud! Bash! Crash! Boom! The big guy
All of his bones broke, bit his nose off;
Wicked Godzilla wailed on his ass.
The monster mopped the floor with all of the men in the hall.
Beowulf in the backroom phone call be making was;
Hearing the sound of the ruckus said, "What the hell?"
Grabbing shield strong and switch-blade sharp,
Stood forth to fight the grim foe. "Me," Godzilla said, "make the mincemeat."
Hero quick getting hold with famed half-nelson
And flying him like a frisbee back and forth
Beowulf bellied up to the mead-hall bar,
Said, "No foe beats my fearsome kung-fu."
He ordered an ice-cold Coca-Cola, the real thing.

*I searched and there actually was a website with the names translated, but I somehow managed to "lose" it.

Fall Vocabulary List #4

Apostate: a person who forsakes his religion, party, cause, etc.
--All sinners were considered apostates in that religion.
Effusive: unduly demonstrative, lacking reserve/pouring out, overflowing
--The girl showered the new student with effusive greetings in an attempt to make her boyfriend jealous.
Impasse: a position or situation from which there is no escape; deadlock
--My project partner and I reached an impasse while arguing about what topic to choose, so we got little work done.
Euphoria: a state of happiness and self-confidence/a feeling of happiness, confidence, or well-being sometimes exaggerated in pathological states as mania
--Kristina experienced a euphoric feeling after receiving her first gold medal; it was like she was floating on clouds.
Lugubrious: mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner
--That band tends to sing lugubrious songs about lost love.
Bravado: a pretentious, swaggering display of courage
--The winner was not humble at all: everyone at the ceremony took note his bravado as he walked offstage.
Consensus: majority of opinion/general agreement or concord; harmony
--We finally came to the consensus that we would indeed eat Chinese food at the Golden Gong that night.
Constrict: to draw or press in; to cause to contract or shrink; compress/to slow or stop the natural course of development of
--The little boy across the street kept making loud noises while I was trying to practice guitar, so Alyssa told me that I should throw a major artist's fit, throwing my instrument into the street and loudly accusing him of constricting my creative process.
Dichotomy: division in two parts, kinds, etc./division into two mutually exclusive, opposed, or contradictory groups
--The dichotomy within the party itself is what caused the loss of the election to the rival party.
Gothic: noting or pertaining to a style of architecture, originating in France in the middle of the 12th century and existing in the western half of Europe through the middle of the 16th century, characterized by the use of the pointed arch and the ribbed vault, by the use of fine woodwork and stonework, by a progressive lightening of structure, and by the use of such features as flying buttresses, ornamental gables, crockets, and foils/pertaining to the Middle Ages; medieval
--The architecture student visited France to study Gothic cathedrals, so he may bring that style back in his works.
Punctilio: a fine point, particular, or detail, as of conduct, ceremony, or procedure/strictness or exactness in the observance of formalities or amenities
--The club insisted that every little punctilio had to be followed during initiation, or else the ceremony had to start over.
Metamorphosis: a complete change of form, structure, or substance, as transformation by magic or witchcraft/any complete change in appearance, character, circumstances, etc.
 --The boy seemed to undergo a complete metamorphosis into a respectful young adult after going through the Scared Straight program.

Raconteur: a person who is skilled in relating stories and anecdotes interestingly
--The children's grandfather was a true raconteur, he had an interesting story for just about any situation.
Sine qua non: an indispensable condition, element, or factor; something essential
--Kasie is sine qua non for parties; you just can't have one without her.
Quixotic: extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary, impractical or impracticable/impulsive or rashly unpredictable
--The man figured that any day might be his last, so he lived his life quixotically and didn't worry about consequences.
Vendetta: a private feud in which the members of the family of a murdered person seek to avenge the murder by killing the slayer or one of the slayer's relatives, especially such vengeance as once practiced in Corsica and parts of Italy/a prolonged and bitter feud, rivalry, contention, or the like
--Jessica swore a vendetta on the person that cut in front of her in line at Six Flags.
Non Sequitur: an inference or conclusion that does not follow from the premises
--Her argument was solid until she reached the end, where we found an obvious non sequitur.
Mystique: a framework of doctrines, ideas, beliefs, or the like, constructed around a person or object, endowing the person or object with enhanced value or profound meaning/an aura of mystery or mystical power surrounding a particular occupation or pursuit
--I am eternally occupied with the mystique behind surfing and the surrounding culture.
Quagmire: an area of miry or boggy ground whose surface yields under the tread; a bog/a situation of which extrication is very difficult
--The man seemed to be stuck forever in the quagmire that is credit card debt.
Parlous: perilous, dangerous
--Although Kim knew that the journey would be tough and parlous, she felt that she had to climb Mount Everest anyway.

Hero's Journey Deconstruction: "Finding Nemo"

Before I begin, I want to say that I hope nobody accuses me of being childish or uncreative with my choice of "Finding Nemo" for my heroic tale. I honestly doubt that someone would say that, but it just makes me feel better to diffuse any such thoughts before I drive myself crazy thinking that everyone is judging me. I chose this tale because it was one of the first few ideas that popped into my mind, and it seemed like the simplest idea. Now, don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed plenty of classic epics and stories, but I'm not about to go back and try to refresh my memory of The Odyssey or another story. This assignment is not that big; I'm not here to try to impress anyone. Anyway, enough with the rambling; I went ahead and looked up the stages of a hero's journey so I could be specific (you're all welcome for not making a bad "pacific/specific" pun there).

The story begins with the very beginning; explaining how Nemo and his father Marlin came to be each others' only family.
It then moves on to the future; Nemo goes to school and wants to prove that he is brave by swimming to the boat (the beginning is known as normal life; it is pretty self-explanatory). This is a bad idea: he gets captured and taken aboard the boat.
The journey is set in motion when Marlin heeds the call to adventure; he sets off to find his son, as terrified as he is (the reluctance stage, or refusal of the call).
Marlin soon runs into Dory, everyone's favorite character. She acts as Marlin's mentor.
The threshold is actually crossed when Dory and Marlin set out.
Friends are made along the way, namely Crush the turtle (helps take the fish through the current towards Sydney) and a pelican (he takes Marlin to the dentist's office where Nemo is). Enemies are also met: the band of sharks that started out as "friends."
The hero, Marlin, also faces the tests that are key to a hero's journey, such as the whale that swallows the fish. The hero, of course, learns something from facing these tests: Marlin learns he has to "let go."
The approach: the internet, being the excellent resource it is, helped me remember Marlin's main setback. At one point Marlin assumes Nemo to be dead and gives up, but Dory, the mentor, boosts his moral again by actually finding Nemo. (Hey, look, the title!)
The hero faces an ordeal that causes him to face death: Marlin nearly died after his encounter with the jellyfish while trying to go back and rescue Dory.
Marlin receives his reward when he is finally reunited with his son.
Marlin must face the road back as the group begins their journey back home; the hero is tested to see if he learned his lesson when Dory is trapped in a net and Nemo wants to save her using his new ideas on teamwork and bravery.
Marlin now faces resurrection; he thinks Nemo is dead, and realizes the mistakes he had made in sheltering his son and not having confidence in him. This is where the hero can apply his new-found wisdom.
Finally, the last stage is Marlin returning with the "elixir." The fish return to their normal lives and the hero can apply what he learned to real life.


**Also, if I could add just one more thing, seeing as this is my blog, I'd like to add that this shouldn't influence anyone to go spend their money on that 3D re-release of "Finding Nemo." Sure, everyone and their mothers were enchanted by it, but come on. I know everyone either owns the DVD or has Netflix. Or both. Watch it at home with your friends. These re-release deals are just Hollywood-the industry-the MAN-figuring out that people will not only pay to see sequels, spinoffs, and updates of popular movies, but we will literally pay to see the same movie twice (not including the time[s] we've rented it, bought it, or even those people that saw it twice once it was originally released). Do you want to be under The Man's thumb? That is all.**

In the Lake of the Woods

I have decided to read In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien for my first literary analysis of the year. What initially drew me to the book was the author; I had read O'Brien's The Things They Carried  last year in Mrs Nylander's class, and I really enjoyed it. (Is enjoyed even the right word for war stories? Perhaps it is better to say that I was thoroughly haunted by it.) I researched this novel and found out this is a post-Vietnam story, and I figured that if I liked war novels (especially Vietnam for some strange reason), I would also get something out of what happened after the war. I assume the emotional parts as well as the plot will be powerful.
I also chose this book over others due to the fact that it seems relatively easy to read. I'm not saying that I'm looking for simple grammar and fewer pages, but I just felt that I should ease back into the literary analysis groove with some modern American writing. There were so many other titles I researched, but I just decided that I should pick a familiar author with familiar language and a book I know I can get through with no problem. I don't see any sense in diving into Shakespeare and stressing myself out...at least right out of the gate. I can do that next time around.