Ayden's IB Survival Guide

I recognize that I'm not really the type of person that shares their thoughts and feelings on a consistent basis.  So, for all of you that I know will read this, I figured that I'll let you into the oddities of my mind.  At least for a little bit... I'm a person that wants to continue to get better.  Whether that be in the classroom or on the track or better as a person. Betterment was the word I came to Millbrook with and it remained in my "pocket" all 4 years.  Honestly, coming into freshman year I had no defined identity other than "I'm the kid that came from Catholic school."  I knew no one and didn't really feel comfortable talking to anyone.  I had always been a shy and relatively quiet kid who gave teachers a tough time in the "group contribution" category.  Oddly enough I think it was just scared to embarrass myself and have to deal with the people who saw your embarrassing act everyday, all day. Millbrook both gave ...

Upon initially looking at Whitman's notebooks I noticed the abundance of strike-throughs, hand-drawn images, and stamps.  I also noticed that everything was written in cursive, which would have been typical of his time and social status, as well as the constant mention of sailing and ships.  I think it's all important in characterizing Whitman.  For instance, the strike-throughs give us evidence to back up that he was a thoughtful man, with potentially scattered thoughts, but with the intent of always wanting the perfect wording of things.  The images, believed to be drawn by others, show us how sociable he was.  He was integrated in society and knew about it because he lived it, unlike other famous recluse poets who comment on the world from their exterior view.  The constant mention of ships and sailing describe a type of conflict, probably inner, that he was dealing with.  I say this because it was always about the waters raging or beating on the...

The American Dream.  It's a common phrase.  A phrase used regularly as a pedestal to put hope for a "better life" on.  After scouring the internet, I've come up with the definition that the American Dream is the belief in the opportunity to work hard and elevate yourself within society, regardless of individual characteristics.  I believe this to be the definition Fitzgerald functions on, my my own is slightly different based on some personal experience.  I define the American Dream as the ability to elevate one's self within society through hard work, SACRIFICE, and a dash of LUCK. My definition includes sacrifice and luck, because of what has happened to the two most influential men in my life.  Those being my dad and my grandpa Mosler.  My grandpa sacrificed a lot in my opinion during his life working as a janitor (during my childhood) and a butcher (ing my father's childhood) while trying to raise my father and his five other siblings.  He w...

My IOC Recording Criterion A: 5 - I think that I actually showed a great amount of knowledge concerning the whole text throughout my IOC.  I think this because I was bale to remember who this conversation was about and who it was with.  I also think that I showed my understanding by being able, to a lesser extent,  articulate where this passage falls in the timeline of the book. Criterion B: 2 - Within the tone section I didn't focus on how what was written affects the reader.  I think that I used the literary devices of character's words and body language, as stated in the question, well, but in not linking it to the reader it lacked depth.  In the second portion I did mention the reader and their thoughts, but I never linked this with literary devices. Criterion C: 2 - I think I got this because in the beginning I stated my context then my thesis and then my internal points of evidence, and my conclusion (for which I never said "In conclusion") ...

Kafka's The Metamorphosis  was originally written in German, and like Camus' The Stranger the work was translated from its original language to English in various different ways.  Each translator does slightly different literary things to the text to make it their own and this often impacts what the reader takes away from any given sentence.  Below are 4 translations of the original line "Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheuren Ungeziefer verwandelt." #1:Gregory Samsa woke from uneasy dreams one morning to find himself changed into a giant bug. - In this sentence there is an emphasis on the "giant bug" portion.  This lacks his opinion towards this transformation, thus it could be inferred that he might like the change.  The syntax of this sentence is extremely basic as it is in the simple past tense.  This coupled with the lack of imagery results in an objective tone.  Also, ...

Yeah, I've got no excuse.

"My Love Letter to Cosplay" -Adam Savage In this Ted Talk, Adam Savage speaks to how important costuming and clothing are to the telling of a story. He has been in love with creating and pretending to be characters all his life because at a young age he didn't have friends. So, he learned to have fun by himself through set and costume. He speaks to how as a child he built an astronaut's spaceship and helmet out of cardboard. He then continues to explain how his love for costuming continued as he throughout his life attempted to replicate the costumes of movies and TV shows. From the knights in the movie "Excalibur" to No-Face in"Spirited Away". Savage also speaks to his time on the TV show "Mythbusters" and how he would always use costume to being the narrative of the myth to life. In conclusion, he says, "We're connecting with something important inside of us. And the costumes are how we reveal ourselves to each other....

Analysis: Robert Louis Stevenson specifically chose to create characters that describe the duality of human nature.  The characters he created were Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  Stevenson specifically writes his novella to highlight the fact that they are foils of each other.   In Chapter 1, Mr Hyde is described as "deformed somewhere; he gives a strong feeling of deformity, although I couldn't specify the point"  and just downright "displeasing".  This is important because in the Victorian era the disabled and deformed were thought to be ugly as they were the complete opposite of the ideal Victorian man.  Furthermore, the idea of deformity gives the reader the idea that he comes from an impoverished background.  Thus, the idea that he would be working with the doctor (a high status man) is seen as wrong in terms of the Victorian social norms.  People were supposed to stick to their classes, which further attributes a sense that something is...