Gerrero

Robert Frost

2007-04-17T10:00:00.001-07:00

Lyndzie Garro
Mrs. Bosch
Honors 10 English
17 April 2007
Intriguing and Inspirational
There comes a time in a person’s life when they want or need to express themselves. Some people might express themselves by not talking, crying, yelling, listening to or composing music and lyrics, or by reading and writing stories. But perhaps the best means of expression is through poetry. Poetry is the lyrics of a song, it is the art of rhythmical composition, patronizing thought, or impassioned feeling expressed in imaginative words. Poetry uses figurative language to allow the reader to visualize the poem, as well as to connect with the author and themselves on a much deeper level. To do this, movement, procedure with uniform, and patterned recurrences of a beat, accents, or rhymes are used, which is referred to as rhythm. Poetry can be words of comfort, joy, advice, hatred, moroseness, love, emotions, or it can be about an object or person. Whatever a poem may be about, it reflects the author, or poet. A poet’s work may have been influenced by something that happened to them, something they felt, or something they may have seen. Poets use their lives, their experiences, their surroundings, and the lives of those around them as inspiration for their poems, as well as to make their poems interesting, inspirational, intriguing, and passionate. Throughout history, there have been many motivating poets, such as modern poet Robert Frost. Frost’s main inspiration for his poems came from nature, other people, and his inner emotions.
A majority of Robert Frost’s poems were influenced by nature and his surroundings. All throughout his life, Frost had an interest in farms, but he was never very financially successful. After studying at Harvard without receiving a degree due to family problems and poor health, he had moved to Derry, New Hampshire, where he worked as a cobbler, teacher, and farmer. His surroundings, especially the farm, were very influential on his poetry, which is visible in his poem Dust of Snow:
The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued. (Frost lines 1-8)

Dust of Snow was an example of how Frost used nature to shift his mood. Nature seemed to be the anti-depressant that he needed due to family problems. Frost’s poems show “deep appreciation of the natural world and sensibility about the human aspirations…With his down-to-earth approach to his subjects, readers found it easy to follow the poet into deeper truths, without being burdened with pedantry” (Robert (Lee) Frost). Frost uses a looser free-verse, which is still more of a traditional form of poetry. He composed his poetry by using the language and experiences of his everyday life, but the most interesting and intriguing part of his poetry “lies in its layers of ambiguities and the deeper meaning hidden behind everyday themes that he uses” (Robert Frost-Biography). Frost’s life on the farm is also expressed in A Late Walk:
When I go up through the mowing field,
The headless aftermath,
Smooth-laid like thatch with the heavy dew,
Half closes the garden path.

And when I come to the garden ground,
The whir of sober birds
Up from the tangle of withered weeds
Is sadder than any words

A tree beside the wall stands bare,
But a leaf that lingered brown,
Disturbed, I doubt not, by my thought,
Comes softly rattling down.

I end not far from my going forth
By picking the faded blue
Of the last remaining aster flower
To carry again to you. (Frost)

A Late Walk is an example of his passion for nature, from the dew in the fields, to a simple flower, it all brought pleasant feelings and the memories would last forever. Nature and Frost’s rural surroundings were “a source for insights ‘from delight to wisdom” (Robert (Lee) Frost). According to Robert Frost, “Literature begins with geography” this shows how his surroundings and nature influenced him and caused his poetry to be more interesting, inspirational, intriguing, and very passionate.
In life, there are many different people from different parts of the world from different walks of life, all of whom may have a different impact on a person. Frost taught at many schools throughout his life, such as at his mother’s school in Methuen, Massachusetts, Pinkerton Academy, a school in Plymouth, as well as others. Frost also moved from America to England and vice versa, causing him to encounter many different people who had different impacts on him and were influences to his poems. In his life and his studies, he may have seen people who made him think morose thoughts such as death, which is expressed in his poem In a Disused Graveyard:
The living come with grassy tread
To read the gravestone on the hill;
The graveyard draws the living still,
But never anymore the dead.
The verses in it say and say:
“The ones who living come today
To read the stones and go away
Tomorrow dead will come to stay.”
So sure of death the marbles rhyme,
Yet can’t help marking all the time
How no one dead will seem to come.
What is it men are shrinking from?
It would be easy to be clever
And tell the stones: Men hate to die
And have stopped dying now forever.
I think they would believe the lie. (Frost)

In the poem, Frost spoke of the living, death, and the lies that come with death. Being born in 1874 and facing death in 1963, Frost had lived during World War II, causing him to either hear stories from or become acquainted with soldiers. The following excerpt from Frost’s A Soldier is an example of this:
He is that fallen lance that lies as hurled,
That lies unlifted now, com dew, come rust,
But still lies pointed as it plowed the dust. (lines 1-3)

Frost used people he became acquainted with to make his poetry interesting, inspirational, intriguing, and passionate by allowing the reader to connect with the subjects in the poem and relate to people whom they know. Although nature and people have a huge influence on people, perhaps one of the most influential things in poetry is one’s inner emotions and feelings.
What is perhaps the largest influence on poetry is one’s inner emotions and feelings. In the latter part of his life, Robert Frost experienced multiple family tragedies, some of which were inspiration for some of his most passionate works. Frost’s whole life had seemed to fall apart around the late 1930s, early 1940s. His wife had died in 1938, and he lost four of his children. Two of his daughters suffered mental breakdowns, and his son Carol committed suicide in 1940. Around this time, Frost suffered from depression and had continual self-doubt, which caused him to continuously be filled with sorrow, as in the following lines from his poem My November Guest:
My Sorrow, when she’s here with me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
She walks the sodden pasture lane. (lines 1-5)

The poem is an example of the sorrow taking over his life, causing him to change his ways. In a person’s life, when everything takes a turn for the worst, they often ask themselves whether or not their life was worth living, or even worth being born, like in Frost’s A Question:
A voice said, Look me in the stars
And tell me truly, men of earth,
If all the soul-and-body scars
Were not too much to pay for birth. (Frost)

A Question relates to Frost and the doubts he had about his life and mere existence, but his question led him to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. When a person’s inner emotions and feelings take a hold of their life, their soul, they notice all the choices they have, but are not sure which ones to take. Robert Frost made those choices into one of his best works, The Road Not Taken:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. (Frost)

The Road Not Taken is a poem that explains how Frost took the choices that seemed out of the box, or uncommon. Robert Frost used his emotions, feelings, and choices to allow the reader relate to his emotional, interesting, inspirational, intriguing, and passionate poems.
Poetry is an art of literature that is also a form of expression. Robert Frost was a modern American poet and “one of the finest of rural New England’s 20th century pastoral poets” (Robert (Lee) Frost). Frost had received much of his inspiration from his life, but mostly from his life on the farm, his experiences as a teacher, and family tragedies which caused unknown emotions to boil up inside and surface. Robert Frost had used experiences from his life to allow the audience to connect and make his poems stand out and be more interesting, inspirational, intriguing, and passionate than other poets’ work. Frost’s interest for farms was a huge influence on some of his best works. When he was a teacher, he witnessed many people and their lives which he incorporated into his poems. When his life became difficult, and everything was falling apart, he wrote down his emotions and caused himself to be recognized as one of the most inspirational poets.

Works Cited
Robert Frost-Biography. 4 April 2007. Poet Seers. 4 April 2007. <http://www.poetseers.org/contemporary_poets/modern_poets/robert_frost/index_html/?searchterm=robert%20frost>.
Robert (Lee) Frost. 4 April 2007. 4 April 2007. <http://kirjasto.sci.fi/rfrost.htm>.

Night by Elie Wiesel

2006-12-18T08:07:00.000-08:00

Vocabulary

Prostrate: to cast oneself face down on the ground in humility, submission or adoration; to lay flat

Interlude: an intervening episode, period, space, etc.; a short dramatic piece, esp. of a light or farcical character, formerly introduced between the parts or acts of miracle and morality plays or given as part of other entertainments.

Reprieve: to delay the impending punishment or sentence of a condemned person; to relieve temporarily from any evil

Rations: a fixed allowance of provisions or food especially for soldiers or sailors or civilians during a shortage

Dysentery: an inflammation disorder of the lower intestinal tract, usually caused by a bacterial, parasitic, or protozoan infection and resulting in pain, fever and severe diarrhea, often accompanied by the passage of blood and mucus

Robust: strongly or stoutly built

Quarantine: a period, originally 40 days, of detention or isolation imposed upon ships, persons, animals or plants at arrival at a port or place, when suspected of carrying a disease

Apathy: absence or suppression or passion, emotion or excitement

Humane: characterized by tenderness, compassion and sympathy for people and animals, especially for the suffering or distress

Grimace: a facial expression, often ugly or contorted, that indicates disapproval, pain, etc.

Nocturnal: active at night; opposed to diurnal

Livid: having discolored, bluish appearance caused by a bruise, congestion of blood vessels, strangulation, etc., as the face, flesh, hands or nails; enraged; furiously angry

Pious: having or showing a dutiful spirit of reverence for God or an earnest wish to fulfill religious obligations

Interminable: monotonously or annoyingly protracted or continued; unceasing

Wizened: withered; shriveled

Morale: emotional or mental condition with respect to cheerfulness, confidence, zeal, etc., especially in the face of opposition, hardship, etc.

Infernal: hellish; diabolic; fiendish; inhuman

Refuge: shelter or protection against danger

Oppressive: hard to put up with; causing great discomfort or fatigue

Expelled: driven out by force; kicked out

Questions
1. Wiesel's childhood home was in Sighet, Transylvania.

2. The cabala is a system iof esitoteric theosophy and theorgy developed by rabbis influencing certain medieval and Renaissance Christian thinkers . It was based on a mystical method of interpreting scripture by which initiates claimed to penetrate sacred mysteries. AMonf its central doctrines are, all creation is an emanation from the Deity and the soul exists from eternity.

3. The truths that Weisel was referring to were the truths about the human race, why we do what we do, and ever the more information and investigation into his faith and his God. The kind of truths that Weisel was ignorant of were those that dealt with the fact that not all humans treat others with kindness, and that you cannot control what others say, do, and/or think.

4. Moshe the Beadle was such a significant character because he was the first character introduced in Night, and his values resonated throughout the text, even though he disappeared after the first few pages. Moshe represented, first and foremost, an earnest commitment to Judaism, and to Jewish mysticism in particular. As Eliezer’s Cabbala teacher, Moshe talked about the riddles of the universe and God’s centrality to the quest for understanding. Moshe’s words framed the conflict of Eliezer’s struggle for faith, which was at the center of Night. In his statement “I pray to the God within me that He will give me the strength to ask Him the right questions,” Moshe conveyed two concepts key to Eliezer’s struggle: the idea that God is everywhere, even within every individual, and the idea that faith is based on questions, not answers. Eliezer’s struggle with faith was, for the most part, a struggle of questions. He continually asked where God had gone and questions how such evil could exist in the world. Moshe’s statement told us that those moments do not reflect Eliezer’s loss of faith; instead they demonstrated his ongoing spiritual commitment. But we also saw that at the lowest points of Eliezer’s faith—particularly when he saw the pipel (a youth) hung in Buna—he was full of answers, not questions. At those moments, he had indeed lost the spirit of faith he learned from Moshe, and was truly faithless. Moshe may have also served as a stand-in for Wiesel himself, as his presence evoked an overarching purpose of the entire work. Night can be read as an attack against silence. So many times in the novel, evil was perpetuated by a silent lack of resistance or—as it was in the case of Moshe’s warnings—by ignoring reports of evil. With Night, Wiesel, like Moshe, beared witness to tragedy in order to warn others, to prevent anything like the Holocaust from ever happening again.

5. After Moshe returned from his escape, people did not listen to him because the whoel idea of what he was saying sounded insane and the people just thought he had gone mad.

6. Madame Sachter was a woman aboard the same train with Eliezer who thought she had seen flames, as in a furnace. At those times of her hallucinations, there were no flames, but as soon as they had reached Auschwitz, the flames were real, they were the crematory. She was similar to Moshe the Beadle because she was also ignored when she tried to help or warn the people. Prophetic figures ar eoften ignored because it is a warning to the poeple, but they are so oblivious, they do not see it.

7. I considered the following passage on page 32:
Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of th edesires to live. Never shall I forget those moments whuch murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget therse things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God himself. Never.

8. This passage, from Night’s third section, occured just after Eliezer and his father realized they had survived the first selection at Birkenau. It is the most famous passage, notable because it is one of the few moments in the memoir where Eliezer broke out of the continuous narrative stream with which he told his story. As he reflected upon his horrendous first night in the concentration camp and its lasting effect on his life, Wiesel introduced the theme of Eliezer’s spiritual crisis and his loss of faith in God. This passage resembledtwo significant pieces of literature: Psalm 150, from the Bible, and French author Emile Zola’s 1898 essay “J’accuse.” Psalm 150, the final prayer in the book of Psalms, is an ecstatic celebration of God. Each line begins, “Hallelujah,” or “Praise God.” Here, Wiesel constructed an inverse version of that psalm, beginning each line with a negation—“Never”—that replaces the affirmative “Hallelujah” of the original. Whereas Psalm 150 praises God, this passage questions him. As such, both the form and content of this passage reflected the inversion of Eliezer’s faith and the morality of the world around him. Everything he once believed had been turned upside down, in the same way that this passage’s words inverted both the form and content of Psalm 150. Zola’s essay “J’accuse” was a response to the Dreyfus Affair, an incident in which a Jewish army officer was unjustly convicted of treason, a judgment at least partially motivated by anti-Semitism. Zola responded by publishing an open letter in the Paris newspaper L’Aurore, denouncing the authorities who had covered up the -injustice and perpetuated the persecution. Zola heightened the aggressive tone of the letter by repeatedly stressing the refrain “J’accuse” (“I accuse”). The similarities between Wiesel’s passage and Zola’s—the French words of the refrain, the anti-Semitic context, and the defiant tone—invited comparison between the two texts. Zola’s piece was an impassioned accusation that decried injustice and anti-Semitism; Wiesel’s passage was also an impassioned polemic, but its target was God Himself. Zola’s “j’accuse” was directed at corrupt officials who had betrayed an innocent Jew; Eliezer’s “jamais” (“never”) was directed toward God. Carrying the comparison even further, Eliezer’s statement depicted God as a corrupt official betraying the Jews. This was a shockingly bold statement for a Jewish boy to make and reflected the profound way in which his faith had been shaken. Furthermore, the fact that Zola’s transitive verb (“I accuse”) had been replaced by an objectless adverb (“never”) reflected the prisoners’ powerlessness to remedy their situation. Although Wiesel’s passage was directed toward God, it was not directed at any specific being; since the prisoners were powerless to strike back, their anger cannot take the form of a direct confrontation. Eliezer claimed that his faith was utterly destroyed, yet at the same time said that he will never forget those things even if he “live[s] as long as God Himself.” After completely denying the existence of God, he referred to God’s existence in the final line. As mentioned before, Wiesel wrote elsewhere, “My anger rises up within faith and not outside it.” Eliezer reflected this position, which was particularly visible throughout this passage. Despite saying he had lost all faith, it waws clear that Eliezer was actually struggling with his faith and his God. Just as he was never able to forget the horror of “that night,” he was never able to reject completely his heritage and his religion. Young Elie's theology had changed because he started to think there was no God becuase how could god, the Creator of all mankind, let something so terrible happen to His people, His own life. Elie then believed there was an absence of God. This passage spoke to the rest of Night because never once was Elie able to forget the silence, the flames, the screams, or the smell of burning flesh.

9. Throughout Night, Elie first believes that there is a God, and that He is always constantly present, no matter who you are, what you've done, or where you've been. However, while in camp, his view of a god changes. He then believes that if there was in fact a "GOD" then this concentration camp would be non-existent. That 'How can God let this camp run on, if in fact, there is a God?'. Other people in the camp thought otherwise; that there IS a God, and that He is using this camp to test their faith.

10. The literal meaning that night has in Night is that it is simply dark outside, time for sleep and rest. However, the figurative, or symbolical, meaning that night has in Night is much more complex and intricate. What night stands for is the darkness that surrounds the Jewish and the oppressed. The emptiness that these people felt, the feeling of being alone in the world with no-one there beside them, to help and guide them from this madness, this ludacris idea and plan that Adolf Hitler was carrying out.

11. Night in my opinion is a small novel because Elie Wiesel first, did not wish to relive all of the horrors that the holocaust put upon him, and secondly, that he did not wish to give all details of his time there, that some things were meant for others to read and learn about, and that other things were simply meant to be buried in the minds and thoughts and hearts of those who witnessed and lived through them.

12. Night can be interpreted as both a memoir of tragedy and of triumph. Tragedy because of the understated horrors that occurred during the holocaust and those specifically mentioned in the novel. Triumph because of the courage and the strength it took those survivers to keep going, to keep living, to keep alive, to survive.

Journals

December 19, 2006
Page 2:
“‘Why do you weep when you pray?’ he asked me, as though he had known me a long time.
‘I don’t know why,’ I answered, greatly disturbed.
The question had never entered my head. I wept because--because of something inside me that felt the need for tears. That was all I knew.
‘Why do you pray?’ he asked me, after a moment.
Why did I pray? A strange question. Why did I live? Why did I breathe?”
(Dialogue between Moshe the Beadle and Eliezer) It is as if Eliezer prays for no reason at all. He knows who he is praying to, but not why. To me it seems as if he is doing it only because he is told to by his father and his community. To me, a person should pray because they believe God will hear their prayer, and He will help the matter, or person, in which someone may be praying for. You should not pray and not know why, you need a reason.

December 19, 2006
Page 4:
“He told his story and that of his companions. The train full of deportees had crossed the Hungarian frontier and on Polish territory had been taken in charge by the Gestapo. There it had stopped. The Jews had to get out and climb into lorries. The lorries drove toward a forest. The Jews were made to get out. They were made to dig huge graves. And when they had finished their work, the Gestapo began theirs. Without passion, without haste, they slaughtered their prisoners. Each one had to go up to the hole and present his neck. Babes were thrown into the air and the machine gunners used them as targets.”
(written by Eliezer of Moshe’s story) This was most definitely cruel and unusual punishment. Okay, being taken prisoner is not extremely terrible, neither is digging holes, until they found out they were graves. Having someone dig their own grave is insane. Surely if you are going to kill someone, you would prepare their grave, but they were lazy. Presenting your neck is like committing suicide. And using babies as targets is the worst of all. They were little innocent creatures and did nothing wrong.

December 19, 2006
Page 5:
“‘You don’t understand,’ he said in despair. ‘You can’t understand. I’ve been saved miraculously. I managed to get back here. Where did I get the strength from? I wanted to come back to Sighet to tell you the story of my death. So that you could prepare yourselves while there was still time. To live? I don’t attach any importance to my life any more. I’m alone. No, I wanted to come back, and to warn you. And see how it is, no one will listen to me. . . .”
(spoken by Moshe the Beadle) Moshe was trying to warn the people, but they would not listen. He had been saved to warn his fellow Jews, but why? I thought it was interesting how it was worded; “I wanted to come back to Sighet to tell you the story of my death.” I thought that was kind of harsh. As harsh as it may have seemed, it still did not get the point across to the people.

December 19, 2006
Page 7:
Anguish. German soldiers--with their steel helmets, and their emblem, the death’s head.
This was just straight up harsh. Their emblem was death’s head. I would have been so creeped out that I probably would have peed my pants or something.

December 19, 2006
Page 7:
However, our first impressions of the Germans were most reassuring. The officers were billeted in private houses, even the homes of Jews. Their attitude toward their hosts was distant, but polite. They never demanded the impossible, made no unpleasant comments, and even smiled occasionally at the mistress of the house. One German officer lived in the house opposite ours. He had a room with the Kahn family. They said he was a charming man--calm, likable, polite, and sympathetic. Three days after he moved in, he brought Madame Kahn a box of chocolates. The optimists rejoiced.”
This excerpt reminded me of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. It reminded me of that novel because the Christians came and they acted very polite and remained somewhat distant to the people at first. Then once the people started to feel comfortable with them, they converted, whereas the Germans attacked.

December 19, 2006
Page 16-17:
My father wept. It was the first time I had ever seen him weep. I had never imagined that he could. As for my mother, she walked with a set expression on her face, without a word, deep in thought. I looked at my little sister Tzipora, her fair hair well combed, a red coat over her arm, a little girl of seven. The bindle on her back was too heavy for her. She gritted her teeth. She knew by now that it would be useless to complain. The police were striking out with their truncheons. “Faster!” I had no strength left. The journey had only just begun, and I felt so weak. . . .
This was a very touching part in the novel. Seeing your father weep is very emotional. For a man to cry, you know the situation is very serious. It must have been very sad to see my family go through the Holocaust. I would not have been able to remain strong. I’m weaksauce.

December 19, 2006
Page 22:
There was a moment’s panic. Who was it who had cried out? It was Madame Schächter. Standing in the middle of the wagon, in the pale light from the windows, she looked like a withered tree in a cornfield. She pointed her arm toward the window, screaming:
“Look! Look at it! Fire! A terrible fire! Mercy! Oh, that fire!”
I probably would have had hallucinations such as those that Madame Schächter had, that is if I had lasted that long. I thought it was very ironic how she saw flames and always pointed to the same spot. That spot being the same spot in which they saw the first crematory.

December 19, 2006
Page 27:
“Men to the left! Women to the right!”
Eight words spoken quite indifferently, without emotion. Eight short, simple words. Yet that was the moment when I parted from my mother. I had not had time to think, but already I felt the pressure of my father’s hand: we were alone. For a part of a second I glimpsed my mother and my sisters moving away to the right. Tzipora held Mother’s hand. I saw them disappear into the distance; my mother was stroking my sister’s fair hair, as though to protect her, while I walked on with my father and the other men. And I did not know that in that place, at that forever. I went on walking. My father held onto my hand.
That was very categorizing. The family’s whole ordeal was to stick together. But they could not because they were ordered to separate. In the end I think it may have been a better fate because seeing your father die must have been bad enough, but your mother and your little sister would have killed me even more.

December 19, 2006
Page 27:
My hand shifted on my father’s arm. I had one thought--not to lose him. Not to be left alone.
I thought this was a touching moment in the novel. You could tell there was a strong father-son bond between the two. It is cute.

December 19, 2006
Page 31:
For the first time, I felt revolt rise up in me. How should I bless His name? The Eternal, Lord of the Universe, the All-Powerful and Terrible, was silent. What had I to thank Him for?
Eliezer was starting to realize that God was not as wonderful as he was thought to be. God let the Jews be tortured and burned to death. All of the people did not like God that much at the moment.

December 19, 2006
Page 32:
Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little flames of the children, shoes bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky.
Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever.
Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never.
This was a very moving excerpt from the novel. What Eliezer had seen had scarred him for life. The flames coming up from the crematory were the lives of children. That was not an easy thing to see everyday of your life. Just imagine waking up to see the flames rising up to the sky, knowing the flames could have been from your friend, mother, brother, sister or father.

December 19, 2006
Page 33:
Those absent no longer touched even the surface of our memories. We still spoke of them--“Who knows what may have become of them”--but we had little concern for their fate. We were incapable of thinking of anything at all. Our senses were blunted; everything was blurred as in a fog. It was no longer possible to grasp anything. The instincts of self-preservation, of self-defense, of pride, had seemed to me that we were damned souls wandering in the half-world, souls condemned to wander through space till the generations of man came to an end, seeking their redemption, seeking oblivion--without hope of finding it.
The burning of people and their crucial death didn’t faze their friends as much anymore. Their family and friends forgot about them, they knew something had happened, but there was nothing they could do about it. Their lives were taken away from them, and yet no one recited the Kaddish, the prayer for dead people.

December 19, 2006
Page38-39:
“Comrades, you’re in the concentration camp of Auschwitz. There’s a long road of suffering ahead of you. But don’t lose courage. You’ve already escaped the gravest danger: selection. So now, muster your strength, and don’t lose heart. We shall all see the day of liberation. Have faith in life. Above all else, have faith. Drive out despair, and you will keep death away from yourselves. Hell is not for eternity. And now, a prayer--or rather, a piece of advice: let there be comradeship among you. We are all brothers, and we are all suffering the same fate. The same smoke floats over all our heads. Help one another. It is the only way to survive. Enough said. You’re tired. Listen. You’re in Block 17. I am responsible for keeping order here. Anyone with a complaint against anyone else can come and see me. That’s all. You can go to bed. Two people to a bunk. Good night.” The first human words.
This man seemed to have a little heart. He realized what they had gone through and how it had affected them. He was nice. He told them things that would help; such as to help one another. They should keep faith, maybe not in God, but in each other to help get through the Holocaust. He was very humane.

December 19, 2006
Page 41:
At the beginning of the third week, the prisoner in charge of our block was deprived of his office, being considered too humane. Our new head was savage, and his assistants were real monsters. The good days were over. We began to wonder if it would not be better to let oneself be chosen for the next move.
This new head of the block was not very nice. If he had a choice, he would have written all of their names down for the next selection. He could care less if they were alive or dead, it was not his problem or his life. I hate it when people are so inhumane like that, I think it is very disrespectful.

December 19, 2006
Page 42:
Some talked of God, of his mysterious ways, of the sins of the Jewish people, and of their deliverance. But I ceased to pray. How sympathized with Job! I did not deny God’s existence, but I doubted His absolute justice.
Eliezer remained strong and faithful to no one but himself and his father. God had made the Jews go through such torture; therefore He had no absolute justice. He was like a mean kid burning ants with a magnifying glass.

December 19, 2006
Page 43:
Work is liberty.
Okay well there is not much to say about this quote except that it was misleading. I just thought it was important, so I wrote it down.

December 19, 2006
Page 57:
We were not afraid. And yet, if a bomb had fallen on the blocks, it alone would have claimed hundreds of victims on the spot. But we were no longer afraid of death; at any rate, not of that death. Every bomb that exploded filled us with joy and gave us new confidence in life.
Seeing the flames from the crematory everyday caused the people to no longer fear death. I thought that was very brave because most people fear death. But I guess when you see and breathe death everyday; it has no effect on you. Death was no longer a lingering presence to the Jews anymore, it was just there.

December 19, 2006
Page 61-62:
Then the march past began. Two adults were no longer alive. Their tongue hung swollen, blue-tinged. But eh third rope was still moving; being so light, the child was still alive. . . .
For more than half an hour he stayed there, a struggling between life and death, dying in slow agony under our eyes. And we had to look him full in the face. He was still alive when I passed in front of him. His tongue was still red, his eyes were not yet glazed.
Behind me, I heard the same man asking:
“Where is God now?”
And I heard a voice within me answer him:
“Where is He? Here He is--He is hanging here on this gallows. . . .”
That night the soup tasted of corpses.
I thought this was totally sad. First of all, hanging two adults was just mean. But hanging a child who was too light to die instantly was savage and insanely mean. Making the prisoners look at the hanged people was mean, they had already stared death in the face in their everyday activities, but making them look at the hanged people was outrageous.

December 19, 2006
Page 63:
“What are You, my God,” I thought angrily, “compared to this afflicted crowd, proclaiming to You their faith, their anger, their revolt? What does Your greatness mean, Lord of the universe, in the face of all this weakness, this decomposition, and this decay? Why do You still trouble their sick minds, their crippled bodies?"
God was being totally unfair to the people. He put them through enormous amounts of torture. It was as if it was His amusement. God could see that the Jews were in pain, and yet He let them suffer. I felt as if He did that on purpose.

December 19, 2006
Page 64:
Why, but why should I bless His name? In every fiber I rebelled. Because He had thousands of children burning in His pits? Because He kept six crematories working night and day, on Sundays and feast days. Because in His great might He had created Auschwitz, Birkenau, Buna and so many other factories of death? How could I say to Him: “Blessed art Thou, Eternal, Master of the Universe, Who chose us from among the races to be tortured day and night, to see our fathers, our mothers, our brothers, end in the crematory? Praised be Thy Holy Name, Thou Who hast chosen us to be butchered on Thine altar?
God was straight up like a serial killer at this point in the novel. He butchered them, starved them, and burned them to death. It kind of reminded me of the movie Bruce Almighty when Bruce Nolan (played by Jim Carrey) said “smite me oh mighty smiter!” or something along those lines.

December 19, 2006
Page 64:
“Yes, man is very strong, greater than God. When You were deceived by Adam and Eve, You drove them out of Paradise. When Noah’s generation displeased You, You brought down the Flood. When Sodom no longer found favor in Your eyes, You made the sky rain down fire and sulphur. But these men are here, whom You betrayed, burned, and what do they do? They pray before You! They praise Your name!”
Eliezer thinks that he and his fellow Jews are stronger than God. They had managed to escape the fiery pits of hell created by God. They remained faithful to each other. They did nothing wrong and yet God still sought revenge.

December 19, 2006
Page 77:
“I’ve got more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. He’s the only one who’s kept his promises, all his promises, to the Jewish people.”
(spoken by faceless neighbor) This was a very interesting excerpt from the novel because God had let the Jews down and allowed them to be tortured and killed, he kept no promises to man and did not help man either. Whereas Hitler “has made it very clear that he will annihilate all the Jews before the clock strikes twelve, before they can hear the last stroke” (Wiesel, 76). It seems that Hitler will do what he says he will do, therefore more trust and faith can be laid in him than in God.

December 19, 2006
Page 85:
He refused. I lay down and tried to force myself to sleep, to doze a little, but in vain. God knows what I would not have given for a few moments of sleep. But deep down, I felt that to sleep would mean to die. And something within me revolted against death. All round me death was moving in, silently, without violence. It would seize upon some sleeping being, enter into him, and consume him bit by bit. Next to me there was someone trying to wake up his neighbor, his brother, perhaps, or a friend. In vain. Discouraged in the attempt, the man lay down in his turn, next to the corpse, and slept too. Who was there to wake him up?
This was perhaps one of Eliezer’s strongest points in the novel. He would have slept, he had been moments before his father told him not to sleep in the snow. Death was lurking over him like a stalker waiting to attack. Eliezer needed to stay with his father, they could not be separated. He had to stay awake because if he fell asleep, as well as his father, who would wake him up to insure that he is alive? No one would be there, he had to stay in it for his father.

December 19, 2006
Page 99:
I held onto my father’s hand--the old, familiar fear: not to lose him.
I feel that Eliezer and his father had a very strong relationship. By this time in the novel, children had abandoned their fathers and mothers, some even killed their parents. But Eliezer had all the strength and will power to fight against it. He was to stay with his father until the end, whether it be the end of the Holocaust, or the end of one of their lives.

December 19, 2006
Page 109:
Our first act as free men was to throw ourselves onto the provisions. We thought only of that. Not of revenge, not of our families. Nothing but bread.
And even when we were no longer hungry, there was still no one who thought of revenge. On the following day, some of the young men went to Weimar to get some potatoes and clothes--and to sleep with girls. But of revenge, not a sign.
The kids and teenagers knew what they had to do, not get revenge, but to help themselves survive. It was up to them whether to live, or be shot by an SS officer while seeking revenge. This showed that the kids were much stronger than adults.

Word Units--12/8/06

2006-12-05T18:12:00.000-08:00

balneo-, balne-
(Greek > Latin: bath, bathing; wash, washing)
balneal
Of or pertaining to baths or to bathing.
balnearii
People who steal clothing from public baths.
balnearil
The people who stole clothing from a public bath in ancient Rome.
balneary
A bathing room.
balneation
The act of bathing.
balneatory
Belonging to a bath.
balneatrix, balneatricis
Caretaker of a bath (feminine).
balneography
A written description about baths.
balneological
Of or pertaining to balneology.
balneologist
1. A specialist or expert in balneology.2. Someone who practices in the profession of balneotherapy.
balneology
The scientific medical study of bathing and medicinal springs.
balneophile, balneophilist
A collector of pictures of bathing girls or a fondness for collecting pictures of girls in swimsuits.

baro-, bar-, bary-
(Greek: weight, heavy; atmospheric pressure; a combining form meaning "pressure", as in barotaxis, or sometimes "weight", as in baromacrometer )
baragnosis, baragnosia, baroagnosis
1. The inability to appreciate or estimate weight. 2. Loss of the sense of weight.
baranesthesia
Insensibility to weight or pressure on the body.
baroceptor
In physiology, a pressure-sensitive receptor organ of the nervous system, found, for example, in the walls of blood vessels.
baroclinity, baroclinicity, barocliny
In physics, a state of fluid stratification in which isobaric surfaces and isosteric surfaces are not parallel, but intersect.
barocyclonometer
An aneroid barometer with diagrams and directions for detecting the existence of a storm at a distance of several hundred miles.
barodontalgia
Toothache associated with the reduction in atmospheric pressure in high-altitude flying. Also: aerodontalgia.
barodynamics
In mechanics, the study of the mechanics of heavy structures that are liable to collapse under their own weight.
baric
Relating to barometric pressure (as in isobar) or to weight generally.

bentho-
(Greek: deep, depth; the fauna and flora of the bottom of the sea; sea bottom; depth [by extension, this element includes lake, river, and stream bottoms])
benthos
1. Those organisms attached to, living on, in or near the sea bed, river bed, or lake floor. 2. The biogeographic region at the bottom of a sea or ocean (or, more broadly, at the soil-water interface of an ocean, sea, or lake). The organisms living in such a region include the permanently attached or immobile forms (e.g., sponges, corals, oysters), creeping forms (e.g., crabs, snails), and the burrowing animals (e.g., worms). Barnacles, the larger seaweeds, and sea squirts are also members of this group.3. The organisms living on sea or lake bottoms. The benthos are divided into sessile organisms (those that are attached to the bottom or to objects on or near the bottom) snd vagrant organisms (those that crawl or swim along the bottom).

Berserk
(Old Norse: berserkar, literally, “bear’s skin”; a Norse-myth warrior)
berserk
1. Behaving in an uncontrolled way as a result of anger or irrational feeling; to go berserk.2. Extremely excited or enthusiastic about something (informal): "The crowd went berserk when the movie star finally appeared."3. Destructively or frenetically violent: "The berserk worker started to smash all of the windows."4. Mentally or emotionally upset; deranged: "She was berserk with grief."5. Informal: Unrestrained, as with enthusiasm or appetite; wild: "They went berserk over the chocolates."

bio-, bi-, -biotic
(Greek: life; living, live, alive, bi- meaning "two")
biophotometer
An obsolete instrument once used for measuring the rate and degree of dark adaptation, as in vitamin "A" deficiency.
biophylaxis, biophylactic
Nonspecific defense reactions of the body, e.g., phagocytosis, vascular and other reactions of inflammatory processes.
biceps
A muscle with two points of origin; especially, the large muscle at the front of the upper arm that flexes the elbow joint and the large muscle at the back of the thigh that flexes the knee joint.
biophysics
1. The science dealing with the mechanical and electrical properties of the parts of a living organism.2. The study of biological processes and materials by means of the theories and tools of physics.3. The study of physical processes (e.g., electricity, luminescence) occurring in organisms.4. The science that applies the laws and methods of physics to the study of biological processes (used with a singular verb).
biophysiologist
One who investigates the physiology of living beings.
biophysiolography
Structural or descriptive biology.
biophysiology
That part of biology that includes organogeny, morphology, and physiology.
biophyte
A plant that feeds on other living organisms; a parasitic or predatory plant; or plants that get sustenance from living organisms.

Biopiracy
biopiracy
1. Biological theft; illegal collection of indigenous plants, microbes, enzymes, etc. by corporations who patent them for their own commercial use.2. The commercial development of naturally occurring biological materials; such as, plant substances or genetic cell lines, by a technologically advanced country or organization without fair compensation to the peoples or nations in whose territory the materials were originally discovered.
The patenting of plants, genes, and other biological products that are indigenous to a foreign country; for example, some developing tropical nations are saying that if the West cries foul over piracy of intellectual property or computer software, then biopiracy in Western labs of jungle extracts should also be considered a high economic crime.
Biopiracy usually refers to the privatization and unauthorized use of biological resources by entities (including corporations, universities, and governments) outside of a country that has pre-existing knowledge. This privatization and use is sometimes claimed to be predatory. Particular activities usually covered by the term are: Exclusive commercial rights to plants, animals, organs, microorganisms, and genes; as well as, commercialization of traditional communities' knowledge on biological resources; and patenting of biological resources.

bromo-, brom-
(Greek: stench, stink, bad odor; unpleasant bodily odor; bromine)
bromhidrosis, bromidrosis
1. Sweat that is fetid or offensive due to bacterial decomposition. It occurs mostly on the feet, in the groin, and under the arms.2. Also called kakidrosis, cacidrosis, fetid sweat, fetid perspiration, osmidrosis, ozochrotia.
Bromhidrosis, or body odor, is caused by bacteria growing on the body. These bacteria multiply considerably in the presence of sweat, but sweat itself is almost totally odorless. Body odor is associated with the hair, feet, crotch (upper medial thigh), anus, skin in general, breasts, armpits, genitals, and pubic hair.
bromidrosiphobia
A mental disorder in which there is an abnormal fear of personal odors, accompanied by hallucinations.
bromidrosiphobia, bromidrosophobia
An abnormal fear of one’s own personal body odors or those from others; sometimes with the belief that such an odor is present even when it is not.
bromohyperhidrosis
Profuse bromhidrosis. Also known as, bromohyperidrosis.
bromomenorrhea
Menstruation characterized by an offensive odor.
bromopnea
1. A strong, offensive smell, or stench from the mouth.2. Foul breath which may be caused by a disease within the mouth (dental caries, severe ulcerative stomatitis, ulceromembranous pharyngitis, etc.) or the nose (ozena, malignant disease, etc.), but frequently defies medical diagnosis.3. Also known as, halitosis, fetor ex ore, stomatodysodia, and ozostomia.

caco-, cac-, kako-, kak-
(Greek: bad, harsh, wrong, evil; incorrect; unpleasant; poor; used most of the time as a prefix)
alexicacon, alexikakon
A preservative against evil; a safeguard against bad.
cacaerometer
Measuring bad air.
cacaesthesia, cacesthesia, kakesthesia
Abnormal dysfunctional sensations on the skin; such as, a feeling of numbness, tingling, prickling, or a burning or cutting pain; heightened sensitivity. Also, dysesthesia and paresthesia.
cacergasia, kakergasia
The malfunctioning of the functions and reactions of the total individual in contradistinction to the functions of individual organs or parts of the human organism.
cachectic
Relating to or suffering from cachexia.
cachexia, cachexy
1. A state of ill health, malnutrition, and wastng. It may occur in many chronic diseases, certain malignancies, and advanced pulmonary tuberculosis. 2. A general weight loss and wasting occurring in the course of a chronic disease or emotional disturbance. 3. A chronic catabolic state, associated with certain infections and malignancies, characterized by weight loss that continues despite the consumption of an adequate diet.
cacidrosis, kakidrosis
Sweat that is fetid or offensive due to bacterial decomposition. It occurs mostly on the feet, in the groin, and under the arms.
cacochylous
A reference to bad chyle or difficult digestion.
cacodemon, cacodaemon, cacodemonia
1. An evil spirit or demon. 2. A name for nightmare.
cacodemoniac
One possessed with an evil spirit.
cacodemonomania
A delusion that one is, or is about to be inhabited by or possessed of, a devil or some evil spirit (demon).
cacodermia
Bad skin; i.e., a condition in which one has a pimply or rough skin.
cacodontia, cacodentia, cacodental
Having bad or malformed teeth.
cacodorous
Bad-smelling, ill-smelling, malodorous.
cacodox
Holding what is considered to be wrong or evil opinions, teachings, or doctrines.

digit-, digiti-
(Latin: finger, toe; from Greek daktylos)
bidigitate, bidigital
Having two digits, fingers, or finger-like processes.
digit
1. A finger or toe in human beings or the corresponding part in other vertebrates.2. Any of the Arabic numerals 0 to 9; one of the elements that collectively form a system of numbers.3. Any of the symbols of other number systems, as 0 or 1 in the binary.4. The width of a finger used as a unit of length, equal to approximately 2 cm (3/4 in).5. In astronomy, the twelfth part of the sun's or moon's diameter; used to express the magnitude of an eclipse.
In anatomy, a jointed body part at the end of the limbs of many vertebrates. The limbs of primtes end in five digits, while the limbs of horses end in a single digit that terminates in a hoof. The fingers and toes are digits in humans.
digital
1. Pertaining to, resembling, or using a digit or digits.2. Resembling an impression made by a finger.3. Pertaining to data in the form of discrete states as contrasted to analog data in the form of continuously variable physical quantities.
In computer science, representing or operating on data or information in numerical form. A digital clock uses a series of changing digits to represent time at discrete intervals; for example, every second. Modern computers rely on digital processing techniques, in which both data and the instructions for manipulating data are represented as binary numbers.
digitalgia
Pain in a digit.
digitalgia paresthetica
Pain, paresthesiae, and numbness restricted to the distribution of a single digital nerve.
digitaliform
A reference to the form of the corolla of the fox-glove.
digitalis
The dried leaf of Digitalis purpurea, the purple foxglove.
The flower digitalis, long known as a heart stimulant, is so named bcause a human finger, or digit, fits snugly into one of its deep-throated bells.
digitalisation, digitalization
The administration of digitalis for the treatment of certain heart disorders.
digitally
By means of digits; in digital form.
digitaria
Crab grass; finger grass.
digitary
Of or pertaining to the fingers.
digitate
1. Having fingers or toes, or having parts that are like fingers or toes; having radiating divisions or leaflets resembling the fingers of a hand.2. A description of leaves that have divisions or parts arrayed from a central point like the spread fingers of a hand.
digitate
1. Possessing several fingerlike processes or impressions.2. Arranged like the fingers of the hand.3. Of quadrupeds that have separate or divided digits or toes.4. Of leaves, etc.: Having deep radiating divisions; now usually applied to compound leaves consisting of a number of leaflets all springing from one point, as in the horse-chestnut.
digitated
Having divisions for the toes.
digitately
1. Having digits or fingerlike projections.2. In botany, having distinct parts arising from a common point or center; palmate.

Word Units--December 1, 2006

2006-11-28T21:09:00.000-08:00

acous-, acou-, -acoustical, -acusis-, -acusia
(Greek: hearing, listening, of or for hearing)
acouasm
In psychiatry: a nonverbal auditory hallucination, such as a ringing or hissing in the ears; acousma; also known as tinnitus.
acoubouy
Used by military ordnance, a listening device dropped by parachute onto land and water, used to detect sounds of enemy movements and transmit them to orbiting aircraft or land stations.
acouesthesia
The sense of hearing; auditory perception.
"You can hear cow bells but you can't hear cow horns.
—Evan Esar
"We hear what we listen for.
—Anonymous
"A good listener is one who can give you his full attention without hearing a word you say. "
—Anonymous
acoumeter
An instrument used for estimating the power or extent of the sense of hearing before the introduction of audiometers. Variant spellings include these words: acouometer, acoumeter, acousmeter, acousmetric, acousmometric, acoumetry, and acoumetric.
acouophone
An obsolete term for an electric hearing aid.
acouophonia
"Auscultatory percussion" or the act of listening to sounds produced within the body; especially, the chest and abdomen, as a means of detecting evidence of disorders or pregnancy.
acousia
This is now spelled acusis.
acousma
A simple auditory hallucination, such as ringing or buzzing sounds "in the ears"; also acouasm.
acousmata
Things received (heard) on authority; a technical word for a school of philosophy.
acousmatagnosis
In psychology, an abnormal inability to understand spoken words and to recognize meaningful sounds.
acousmatamnesia
1. Failure of the memory to call up the images of sounds.2. The inability to remember certain sounds.
acousmatic
A professed hearer, a class of scholars under Pythagoras, who listened to his teachings, without inquiring into their inner truths or basis.
acoustic, acoustical, acoustically
Pertaining to the sense of hearing; adapted to aid hearing; the science of audible sounds.
acoustic agraphia
The inability to write from dictation (from what is heard).
acousticate
To deny that one has been correctly heard even when one is painfully aware that there has been no mistake, this denial being often supported by the hasty fabrication of a new utterance, similar in sound to the original, but more agreeable in sense.
"I quickly acousticated 'fatuous ass' into 'anfractuous mass,' and nobody noticed a thing."
—In a Word, edited by Jack Hitt; as quoted from Richard Tristman, professor.
acoustic hypoesthesia (hypoacusis)
Partial loss of hearing.
acoustician
A specialist in acoustics.
acousticofacial
Relating to both the eighth (auditory) and seventh (facial) cranial nerves.
acousticomotor
A motor response to sound.
acousticon
An instrument for helping the hearing impaired to hear.
acousticopalpebral
Relating to both the acoustic part of the eighth cranial nerve and the eyelids. The orbicularis oculi muscle, which closes the eyelids, is innervated by the seventh (facial) nerve.
acousticophobia, akousticophobia
An abnormal fear of hearing noises in general or specific noises or sounds. This phobia goes beyond just being startled by sudden loud noises. Some people fear specific noises, such as whistling, balloons popping, or sonic booms.
acoustics
1. The science of sound and the phenomena of hearing. 2. In physics, the science and study of sound, including its production, transmission, and effects. 3. In architecture: a. The sum of the qualities, as absence of echo or reverberation, that determine the value of a room, enclosure, or auditorium with respect to distinct hearing. b. The science of planning and building an enclosure so that sound will be perfectly transmitted within it. 4. In psychology: the part of psychology dealing with hearing. Acoustics is usually construed as a singular noun, except in the sense with reference to the science of sound qualities for buildings as in "3.a" above.
acoustimeter
A portable electronic device for measuring noise levels, especially those of traffic.
acoustoelectric effect
In electronics, the generatioin of a DC voltage in a crystal or in a metallic material, due to acoustic waves traveling along the surface of the material.
acoustoelectronics
The use of acoustic energy to create electromagnetic waves, usually with crystals or metals that react when bombarded with acoustic waves, and the processing of such waves prior to reproduction of the original sound.
acoustogram, acoustigram
The graphic tracing of the curves, delineated in frequencies per second and decibel levels, of sounds produced by motion of a joint. Applied to the knee joint, an acoustogram will show the sound of the moving semilunar cartilages, the moving contact between the articular surfaces of the femur and tibia, and the circulation of the synovia.
acousto-optics, acousto-optic, acousto-optical, acousto-optically
The science and technology of the interactions between sound waves and light waves passing through solid materials, especially as applied to the modulation and deflection of laser beams by ultrasonic waves; important in laser and holographic technologies.
acoutometer
An instrument for measuring the level of sounds.
acusis
1. The ability to perceive sounds normally; normal hearing. 2. Hearing, used in combination to denote a specified kind of hearing, as in presbyacusis, hypoacusis, etc.

acro-, acr-
(Greek: high, highest, highest point; top, tip end, outermost; extreme; extremity of the body)
acroagnosia
Lack of sensory recognition of a limb.
acroagnosis
Lack of sensory recognition of a limb (arms and/or legs); also, acragnosis.
acroanesthesia
Loss of sensation in the extremities; such as the hands, fingers, toes, and feet.
acroarthritis
Arthritis affecting the extremities (hands or feet).
acroasphyxia
1. An obsolete term for acrocyanosis. 2. Neurosis marked by asphyxia of the extremities. 3. Impaired digital circulation, possibly a mild form of Raynaud’s disease, marked by a purplish or waxy white color of the fingers, with subnormal local temperature and paresthesia. Also known as “dead fingers”, or “waxy fingers”.
acroataxia
Ataxia affecting the distal portion of the extremities; such as, hands and fingers, feet, and toes.
Ataxia is the inability to coordinate muscle activity during voluntary movement, so that smooth movements occur.
acrobat, acrobatic
A performer on the trapeze, tightrope, etc.
acroblast
A body in the spermatid from which arises the acrosome.
acrobrachycephaly
A condition resulting from fusion of the coronal suture, causing abnormal shortening of the anteroposterior diameter of the skull.
acrobryous
Growing only at the tip.
acrobystitis
Inflammation of the prepuce (foreskin).
Acrocanthosaurus
A “high-spined lizard” from Early Cretaceous Oklahoma , Utah, and Texas, USA. Named by U.S paleotologists John Willis Stovall and Wann Langston, Jr. in 1950.
acrocarpous
Bearing fruit at the end of the stalk, as some mosses.
acrocentric
A type of chromosome having the centromere near one end of the replicating chromosome, so that one arm is much longer than the other.
acrocephalia, acrocephalic, acrocephalous, acrocephaly
Denoting a head that is pointed and conelike; also known as, oxycephaly, oxycephalous.

aesth-, esth-, aesthe-, esthe-, aesthesio-, esthesio-, aesthesia-, -esthesia
(Greek: feeling, sensation, perception)
aesthacyte
A sensory cell of primitive animals such as sponges.
aesthesia, esthesia
The ability to feel sensations; perception.
aesthesic, esthesic
A reference to the mental perception of sensations.
aesthesiogenic
Producing or causing sensation.
aesthesiometer
An instrument for the purpose of determining the degree of tactile sensibility possessed by the patient.
aesthesis
The perception of the external world by the senses.
aesthesodic
Of nerves that provide a path for sensory impulses; conveying sensations from the external organs to the brain or nerve center.
aesthetasc
An olfactory receptor on the small antennae of some crustaceans; such as, Daphnia (water fleas, some species of which are commonly used as food for aquarium fish).
aesthete, esthete
1. A person who is highly sensitive to art and beauty.2. One who has an acute delight in the beauty of color, line, sound, and texture with a violent distaste for the ugly, shapeless, and discordant. 3. A person who artificially cultivates artistic sensitivity or makes a cult of art and beauty.
aesthetes, esthetes
A reference to sense organs or the plural of esthete.

alcoholo-, alcohol-, alcoho-
(Arabic > Latin: alcohol, originally an "essence or very fine powder", from Arabic al-kuhl which is from al-, "the", and kohl or kuhl, "antimony sulfide" )
alcholimetric
A reference to a device, called a alcoholometer, that measures the quantity of alcohol contained in a liquid.
alcholizer
An alcohol breath-test screening instrument; a breathalyzer with an analyzer cell used in police units worldwide to check drivers suspected of excessive drinking.
alcholometrical
A reference to the use of an alcoholometer.
alcogel
A gelatinous precipitate from a colloidal solution in alcohol.
alcohol
1. A colorless, volatile, pungent liquid; synthesized or derived from fermentation of sugars and starches, it can be burned as fuel, is used in industry and medicine, and is the intoxicating element of whiskey, wine, beer, and other fermented or distilled liquors. It is also called "ethyl alcohol". 2. Any of a series of hydroxyl compounds, the simplest of which are derived from saturated hydrocarbons, and include ethanol and methanol.
alcoholate
A tincture or other preparation containing alcohol.
alcoholature
An alcoholic tincture prepared with fresh plants.
alcoholemia, hyperalcoholemia
The presence of ethanol in the blood.
alcohol-ether
A chemical compound used in shampoos, bubble baths, body wash, liquid soaps.
alcohol fuel
A motor fuel of gasoline blended with 5-25% of amhydrous ethyl alcohol; used particularly in Europe; gasohol.
alcoholic
1. Relating to, containing, or produced by alcohol. 2. One who suffers from alcoholism. 3. One who abuses or is dependent upon alcohol.
O God! That men should put an enemy in their mouths to steal away their brains.
—Cassio, in Othello by William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
alcoholica
Spanish word for alcohol.
alcoholicity
The degree of alcoholic content.
alcoholimeter
A device, such as a form of hydrometer, that measures the quantity of alcohol contained in a liquid.
alcoholism
1. Chronic alcohol abuse, dependence, or addiction; chronic excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages resulting in impairment of health and/or social or occupational functioning, and increasing adaptation to the effects of alcohol requiring increasing doses to achieve and sustain a desired effect; specific signs and symptoms of withdrawal usually are shown when one stops such drinking. 2. "Alcohol dependence" (currently the preferred term); "alcohol addiction". The terms refer to a variety of disorders associated with the repetitive consumption of alcohol, usually over a long period of time, in amounts that the drinker is unable to handle physiologically, emotionally, or socially.
People who drink to drown their sorrow should be told that sorrow knows how to swim.
—Ann Landers

andro-, andr-, -ander, -andry
(Greek: man, men, male, masculine; also, stamen or anther as used in botany)
andragogy, andragogue
1. The methods or techniques used to teach adults. Mistakenly used to refer to adult education for both male and female learners. “Mistakenly” because andro, -andra- refers only to males. 2. Another erroneous definition is, the art and science of helping adults learn.
andranatomy
1. The dissection of the male body. 2. The physical structure of the male body.
andriatry, andriatrics
1. Medical science relating to the treatment of diseases of male genital organs and of men in general.2. The branch of medicine dealing with diseases of men; such as, those of the male genitalia.
andric
Male, like a male, male characteristics.
andrium
The male portion of a flower.
androblastoma
A rare, benign tumor of the testis that histologically resembles the fetal testis, with varying proportions of tubular and stromal elements; the tubules contain Sertoli cells, which may cause feminization.
androcentric, androcentricity
1. Dominated by or emphasizing masculine interests or points of view; as an androcentric society. 2. Having a man, or the male, as the center of importance.
The four stages of man are: infancy, childhood, adolescence, and finally obsolescence.
—Art Linkletter
androcephalous
Having a man’s head (upon an animal’s body).
androchorous, androchory, androchore
Dispersed by the agency of man.
androconium, androconial
Scales on the wings of certain male Lepidoptera (butterflies) from which the attractive scent of the male is diffused.
androcracy, androcratic
The political rule by men or males; male supremacy.
androcyte
Male sex cell, especially of an immature stage; spermatid.
philander, philanderer
1. To carry on a sexual affair, especially an extramarital affair, with a woman one cannot or does not intend to marry. 2. To engage in many love affairs, especially with a frivolous or casual attitude. 3. Philanderer actually means "a lover of men" or of "one's husband", but a mistake was made in the adoption from the Greek and a different meaning was applied (according to David Muschell.)
polyandrous, polyandry
1. A reference to a female who mates with several males; having more than one husband or having several husbands. 2. Literally having many male sexual partners. 3. In botany, having numerous stamens.
protandrous, protandry, protandric
The condition of a hermaphrodite in which the male portion develops first or which is first male, and later sex reversed to female. 2. Said of a flower in which the pollen matures before the stigma is receptive.
proterandrous, proterandry
1. In botany, having the stamens or male organs mature before the pistil or female organ. 2. In zoology, a hermaphrodite animal; or a colony of zooids, having the male organs, or individuals, sexually mature before the female.
pseudandrous, pseudandry
Use of a masculine name by a woman as a pseudonym

angio-, angi-, -angium
(Greek > Latin: [receptacle], vessel, often a blood vessel; "covered by a seed or vessel", a seed vessel; a learned borrowing from Greek meaning "vessel", "container")
adenoangiosarcoma
An angiosarcoma involving gland structures.
anangioid
Seemingly without blood vessels.
anangioplasia, anangioplastic
1. The imperfect vascularization (formation of new blood vessels) of a part due to poorly formed or unformed blood vessels.2. Imperfect vascularization of a part due to nonformation of vessels, or vessels with inadequate caliber (diameter of a hollow tubular structure).
androgametangium (antheridium [s], antheridia [pl])
1. A male reproductive structure producing gametes, occurring in ferns, mosses, fungi, and algae.2. The male sex organ of spore-producing plants; produces antherozoids; equivalent to the anther in flowers.
angialgia, angialgistic
Pain in a blood vessel.
angiasthenia
Instability or loss of tone in the vascular system.
angiectasia
Dilation of a lymphatic or blood vessel.
angiectasis, angioectatic
Abnormal, usually gross dilatation and often lengthening of a blood or lymphatic vessel.
angiectatic
1. Marked by the presence of dilated blood vessels.2. A reference to or characterized by angiectasis.
angiectid
An abnormal intradermal venous dilatation, consisting of a circumscribed conglomerate mass of venules, which causes a frequently tense and tender elevation of the skin.
angiectomy
1. The excision or resection of a vessel.2. Excision of all or part of a blood vessel; also known as, arteriectomy or a venectomy.
angiectopia, angiectopic
1. An abnormal position or course of a vessel.2. Displacement or an abnormal location of a blood vessel.
angiitis, angiitides
Inflammation of a blood or lymph vessel.
angina
1. Any of various diseases or conditions characterized by painful or cramping spasms.2. Any attack of painful spasms characterized by sensations of choking or suffocating.3. Chest pain due to an inadequate supply of oxygen to the heart muscle. The chest pain of angina is typically severe and crushing. There is a feeling just behind the breastbone (the sternum) of pressure and suffocation.4. Any spasmodic, choking, or suffocating pain.5. An old term for a sore throat.
anginal
1. Angina pectoris.2. A condition, such as severe sore throat, in which spasmodic attacks of suffocating pain occur.

arena [harena], areni-
(Latin: harena; sand, sandy place, sea-shore; place of combat [literally, "place strewn with sand"])
arena
1. An indoor or outdoor area, surrounded by seating for spectators, where shows or sports events take place.2. A group of adjoining mating territories of a species.
arenaceo
A prefix that can be attached to other words with the meaning of sandy, mixed with sand; as with arenaceo-argillaceous: of the nature of sandy clay.
arenaceous
1. Used to describe rocks or deposits that are composed of sand grains or have a sandy texture. 2. A reference to plants that grow best in sandy soil. 3. Derived from or containing sand; having the properties of sand; growing in sand; sandy.4. Resembling sand in texture, sandy, or gritty.
arenavirus
A reference to the dense granules resembling sand inside their virion.
arenicole
1. Living or growing in sand.2. Any organism that thrives in sandy areas.
arenicolite
A worm-hole made originally in sand and preserved in a sandstone rock.
arenicolous
Occurring or growing and developing in sandy areas.
arenilitic
Of or pertaining to sandstone.
arenoid
1. Like or similar to sand.2. Resembling grains of sand.

auto-, aut-
(Greek: self, same, spontaneous; directed from within)
autacoid, autacoidal
An organic substance formed by cells of an organ and carried by the circulatory system to a remote site where it affects another organ.
autaesthesy, autesthesy
Self-consciousness.
autagonistophilia
A sexual perversion in which sexual arousal and orgasm are contingent upon displaying one’s self in a live show, i.e. being observed performing on stage or on camera. The observer’s condition (if the stage or camera performance by the partner is a necessity for sexual arousal) is termed scoptophilia, [scopophilia], not voyeurism.
—Psychiatric Dictionary, 7th ed., by Robert J. Campbell]
autantonym
A word that means its opposite.
An example is the word fast, which when referring to a fast runner means a runner who runs rapidly or swiftly; but when it refers to a fast color, it means a color that doesn't run at all.
autarcesiology
The scientific study of natural immunity.
autarcesis
Natural immunity.
autarch
An absolute ruler; autocrat; a tyrant.
autarchy
1. Absolute sovereignty, despotism. 2. Self-government; an autocratic government by one person with unlimited authority over others.
autarkist
Someone who rules a nation that has a policy of economic independence.
autarky, autarkic, autarkical
1. The condition of self-sufficiency; especially, economic, as applied to a nation.2. A national policy of economic independence.
autassasinophilia
Stage-managing one’s own murder, reported as an extreme form of masochism.
autechoscope
An instrument for self-auscultation.
autecology, autoecology, autecological, autoecological
1. The ecology of an individual organism or species.2. The study of the ecology of an individual plant or species; the opposite of synecology.
autemesia
1. Idiopathic or functional vomiting.2. Vomiting that is self-induced by provoking the gag reflex.3. Vomiting induced by autosuggeston, as observed in certain mental patients.
autism
1. Mental introversion in which the attention or interest is fastened on the patient's own ego; a self-centered mental state from which reality tends to be excluded.2. A mental disorder characterized by severely abnormal developments of social interaction and verbal and nonverbal communication skills.3. A tendency to view life in terms of one's own needs and desires.
Affected individuals may adhere to inflexible, nonfunctional rituals or routine. They may become upset with even trivial changes in their environment. They often have a limited range of interests but may become preoccupied with a narrow range of subjects or activities. They appear unable to understand others' feelings and often have poor eye contact with others.
Unpredictable mood swings may occur. Many demonstrate stereotypical motor mannerisms; such as, hand or finger flapping, body rocking, or dipping. The disorder is probably caused by organically based central nervous system dysfunction, especially in the ability to process social or emotional information or language.

Word Unit--11/17/06

2006-11-16T16:30:00.000-08:00

a-, an-
(Greek: a prefix meaning: no, absence of, without, lack of, not)
These prefixes are normally used with elements of Greek origin, a- is used before consonants and an- is used before vowels. It affects the meanings of hundreds of words.
There are too many words that use these prefix elements to list all of them on this site; however, there are some significant examples listed in this and the other groups provided.
abacterial
Free of bacteria; without bacteria.
abaptism
The absence of baptism; no baptism.
abarognosis
1. Loss of ability to appreciate the weight of objects held in the hand, or to differentiate objects of different weights.2. Loss of the sense of weight; unaware of weight.3. When the primary senses are intact, caused by a lesion of the contralateral parietal lobe.
abasia
The inability to walk due to a limitation or absence of muscular coordination; not able to walk.
abiocoen, abiocen
The sum of all the nonliving components of an environment or habitat.

a, an: Grammatical Articles
(confusion exists about usage of "a" and "an" in front of other words)
The Inconsistent Articles "a" and "an"
Everyone who has a desire to improve his/her English skills should strive to develop fluency and accuracy by having access to information that presents a better understanding of the many confusing words that exist in English.
The proper use of "a" and "an"
There is an article on the proper use of "a" and "an" in just about every usage book ever written, although apparently few native speakers of English have any difficulty with them; in fact rarely does anyone think about them in speech.
If there is any difficulty, it is to be found in writing. The basic rules are as follows: Use "a" before a consonant sound; use "an" before a vowel sound. Before a letter or an acronym or before numerals, choose "a" or "an" according to the way the letter or numeral is pronounced: an FDA directive, a United Nations' resolution, a $50.00 bill.
As we might expect, actual usage is more complex than the simple rules tend to lead us to expect. Here are some of the things that actual usage shows:
In line with the basic rule, before words with an initial consonant sound, "a" is the usual application in speech and writing.
Before "h" in an unstressed or weakly stressed syllable, "a" and "an" are both used in writing (an historic, a historic) but an is more usual in speech, whether the "h" is pronounced or not. This variation exists as a result of historical development; in unstressed and weakly stressed syllables, "h" was formerly not pronounced in many words as it is currently pronounced by many people. A few words; such as, historic and (especially in England) hotel, are in transition, and may be found with either a or an. Apparently, people may now choose the article that suits their personal pronunciation preferences with several h words.
Occasionally in modern writing and speech and regularly in the King James Version of the Bible, an is used before "h" in a stressed syllable, as in an hundred. Again, we have the same historical change: many more words were pronounced with a silent initial "h" in the past than are in the present. A few words; such as, heir, hour, and honest, generally have silent "h"; some others, like herb or humble are pronounced both ways. Use a or an according to your personal pronunciation preferences.
Before words beginning with a consonant sound but an orthographic vowel, an is sometimes used in speech and writing (an unique and such an one). This use is less frequent now than in the past.
Before words with an initial vowel sound, an is usual in speech and writing. This is in line with the basic rule.

abacus
(Hebrew > Greek > Latin > Middle English: dust)
The Abacus, a History
The source of our word abacus, the Greek word abax, is thought to come from Hebrew 'abaq, "dust", although the details of such a transmission are obscure. In postbiblical usage 'abaq meant "sand used as a writing surface". The Greek word abax has as one of its senses "a board sprinkled with sand or dust for drawing geometric diagrams." The difference in form between the Middle English word abacus and its Greek source abax is explained by the fact that Middle English actually borrowed Latin abacus, which came from the Greek genitive form (abakos) of abax.
abacus (s); abaci (pl)
1. A manual computing device consisting of a frame holding parallel rods strung with movable counters.2. In architecture, a slab on the top of the capital of a column.

abdomino-, abdomin-, abdomen-
(Latin: belly, venter [the use of "stomach" is considered incorrect for this element])
abdomen
That portion of the body which lies between the lower thorax (chest) and the pelvis; or "the region of the trunk below the diaphragm, containing the largest cavity in the body". Also called belly (popular), venter, and stomach (incorrect). Derived from abdo, abdere, "to hide", and so probably originally referred to the "hidden part of the body".
abdominal, abdominally
Pertaining to the abdomen.
A stomach ache has been defined as an abominable pain in the abdominal area.
—Anonymous
"The stomach (which is in the abdominal area) is lined with thirty-five million glands that produce about three quarts (2.85 liters) of gastric juices daily. Hydrochloric acid makes up roughly five percent of these juices and, together with other acids and various enzymes, constantly works to digest food particles."
—Neil McAleer in his The Body Almanac
abdominalgia
Pain in the abdomen; a belly ache.
abdominoanterior
With the abdomen forward [denoting a position of the fetus in utero].
abdominocentesis
Paracentesis (surgical puncture of the abdominal wall cavity for the aspiration [removal by suction] of peritoneal fluid); i.e., puncturing of the abdomen with a hollow needle or trocar, usually for the purpose of withdrawing fluid.
abdominopelvic
Relating to the abdomen and pelvis, especially the combined abdominal and pelvic cavities.
abdominoplasty
An operation ["belly tuck"] performed on the abdominal wall for esthetic purposes and self esteem; an operation performed on the abdominal wall for esthetic purposes.

-ability
(Latin: a suffix )
Just a few examples out of hundres of words presented as the noun forms of -able; forming nouns of quality from, or corresponding to, adjectives in -able; the quality in an agent that makes an action possible. The suffix -ible has related meanings.
absorbability
The state or quality of being absorbable; capability of being absorbed.
accountability
1. The state of being accountable, liable, or answerable.2. Responsibility to someone or for some activity.3. In education: a policy of holding schools and teachers accountable for students' academic progress by linking such progress with funding for salaries, maintenance, etc.
achievability
The state or condition of being achievable.
affability, affableness
The quality of being affable; readiness to converse or be addressed; especially, by inferiors or equals; courteousness, civility, openness of manner.
applicability
Relevance by virtue of being applicable to the matter at hand.

-able
(Latin: a suffix; capable of, able to, can do)
A suffix that forms adjectives. The suffix -ible has related meanings; expressing ability, capacity, fitness; capable of, fit for, able to be done, can be done, inclined to, tending to, given to.
This list is only a small sample of the thousands of -able words that exist in Englsh.
abominable
A bad omen; nasty and disgusting; vile; loathsome.
accountable
acidifiable
Capable of being converted into, or of combining so as to form, an acid.
acquaintable
Easy to be acquainted with; affable.
adorable
advisable
affable
Easy of conversation or address; civil and courteous in receiving and responding to the conversation or address of others; especially, inferiors or equals; accostable, courteous, complaisant, benign.

Ablutions or Bathing, Historical Perspectives
(Latin: abluere, to wash away)
Ablutions from the Past to the Present
In a leading public health textbook of 1908, W.T. Sedgwick noted that because personal hygiene is a means to control infectious diseases, “the absence of dirt is not merely an esthetic adornment.” He added that cleanliness is “doubtless an acquired taste.”
Sedgwick’s comment came at a time of transition, when personal hygiene wasn’t a widespread habit.
Through great periods of European and much of U.S. history, clieanliness was inconvenient, religiously restricted, or just plain out of fashion.
Living unwashed were saints, the masses, and monarchs alike.
In response to the debauchery of Roman baths, the early Christian church frequently discouraged cleanliness. “To those that are well, and especially to the young,” Saint Benedict in the sixth century commanded, “bathing shall seldom be permitted.”
Saint Francis of Assisi considered an unwashed body a stinking badge of piety. Queen Isabella of Castile boasted that she had had only two baths in her life—at birth and before her marriage.
Colonial America’s leaders deemed bathing impure, since it promoted nudity, which could only lead to promiscuity.
Laws in Pennsylvania and Virginia either banned or limited bathing. For a time in Philadelphia, anyone who bathed more than once a month faced jail.
Bathing facilities often were not available
The English of that era really couldn’t bathe even if they wanted to, notes V. W. Greene, a professor of epidemiology at the Ben Gurion Medical School in Beersheva, Israel. “There was no running water, streams were cold and polluted, heating fuel was expensive, and soap was hard to get or heavily taxed. There just weren’t facilities for personal hygiene. Cleanliness wasn’t a part of the folk culture.”
Through much of the 19th century, adds Greene, Europeans and Americans lived in wretched filth, and many died young of associated diseases.
Archaeological evidence suggests 5,000-year-old bathing facilities in Gaza. Soaplike material found in clay jars of Babylonian origin has been dated to about 2800 B.C.
Before the time of Abraham in Middle Eastern desert climes, custom dictated that hosts offer washing water to guests to clean their feet.
One of the first known bathtubs comes from Minoan Crete that was found in the palace at Knossos and is dated about 1700 B.C.
The palace plumbing system had terra-cotta pipes that were jointed and cemented together and were tapered at one end to give water a shooting action to prevent the buildup of clogging sediment. Their technology put Minoans in the hydrological vanguard.
The ancients had their hygienic practices
The ancient Egyptians didn’t develop such plumbing, but they definitely liked hygiene which was evident in their use of fresh linen and body ointments, skin condioners, and deodorants of the day.
The Greeks apparently prized cleanliness. Although they apparently didn’t use soap, Greeks anointed their bodies with oil and ashes, scrubbed with blocks of pumice or sand, and scraped themselves clean with a curved metal instrument called a “strigil”. Immersion in water and anointment with olive oil followed their ablutions.
At its peak of ablutive excess, it may have seemed that all of Rome indulged in the baths. In the fourth century A.D., the city had eleven large and magnificent public bathhouses, more than 1,350 public fountains and cisterns, and many hundreds of private baths.
Served by thirteen aqueducts, Rome’s per-capita daily water consumption averaged about 300 gallons, nearly what an American family of four uses today.
Roman baths usually opened at midday, just as sportsmen finished their games or exercises. A bather first entered the “tepidarium”, a moderately warm room for sweating and lingering.
Next came the “calidarium”, a hotter room for greater sweating, or perhaps the ultrahot "laconicum".
In these the bather doused himself with copious quantities of warm, tepid, or cold water.
Scraped off with a strigil, sponged and reanointed, the Roman concluded the process by plunging into the cool and refreshing pool of the “frigitarium”.
Rome’s obsession with bathing is said to be a factor that helped send the empire down the drain.
Early Christian leaders condemned bathing as unspiritual
“The father’s of the early church equated bodily cleanliness with the luxuries, materialism, paganism and what’s been called ‘the monstrous sensualities’ of Rome,” explains Professor Greene.
Within a few centuries, the public and private sanitation practices of Greece and Rome were forgotten; or, as Greene adds, were “deliberately repressed.”
Europe during the Middle Ages, it’s often been said, went a thousand years without a bath.
Gregory the Great, the first monk to become pope, allowed Sunday baths and even commended them, so long as they didn’t become a “time-wasting luxury.”
Guardians of culture and knowledge during the Dark Ages, Europe’s monasteries also preserved some of Rome’s hydrological technology and cleanliness habits.
Elaborate plumbing laid in 1150 served the Christchurch Monastery at Canterbury, with settling tanks to purify water, and branches that fed the kitchen, the laver, and the washouse.
Greene stated, “People always talk about the good old days, before pesticides and pollution; but in the good old days of Europe and the United States, people lived in filth, with human and animal fecal matter all around. The rivers were filthy. Clothing was infested with vermin.”
Cleanliness leads to better health
Although scholars point to advances in medical science; such as, vaccines and antibiotics, as the major factors in turning the tide against disease, the changes in personal and domestic hygiene should be given considerable credit for improvements in better health conditions.
“For one thing,” Greene explains, “pasteurization and vaccines didn’t really come along until the mortality decline was well established. That’s not to say vaccines weren’t important. But nearly 40 diseases are transmitted by feces, urine, and other secretions on contaminated hands or other objects. The greatest cause of fatal infant diarrhea came from mothers who went to the toilet, didn’t wash their hands and passed along intestinal bacteria to their babies.”
Body ordor is not caused by the human body or sweat itself. The skin has more than two million sweat glands, and the perspiration that comes from the abundant eccrine sweat glands is fundamentally clear and odorless.
Common skin flora, consisting of several kinds of benign bacteria, feed off the secretions and skin particles on the body and clothing. In the process of eating and eliminating waste, the bacteria cause the stench.
Most people rely on soap and water to get rid of the sweat that bacteria eat. Since soap contains fats, oils, and alkali; it loosens the bonds that hold dirt, oil, and bacteria to the skin and suspends them in water.
Some experts say that the way to get really clean is to soak and to wash in a bathtub and then to shower off the “floating soap and body-oil slick” that clings to the body when a person stands up in the tub.
Even in our “modern age”, too many people who should know better, do not wash their hands after using a toilet.
Cleanliness, via ablutions, is one of the most important ways to maintain good health.
abluto-, ablut-
(Latin: washing; especially as a ritual; cleansing)
From Latin ab- and luere, "to wash" which is related to lavare, "to wash".

abluent
1. Serving to cleanse.2. A cleansing agent; a detergent.
ablution
1. A cleansing of the body, especially in a religious ceremony.2. The liquid used in such a washing.
ablutionary
1. Of or pertaining to washing the body, or parts of it.2. Cleansing the body by washing; especially, ritual washing of the hands, etc.
ablutions
This may refer to the practice of removing sins, diseases or earthly defilements through the use of ritual washing, or the practice of using ritual washing as one part of a ceremony to remove sin or disease.
ablutomania
1. An obsessional preoccupation with cleanliness, washing, or bathing, often accompanied by compulsive rituals.2. An obsessive-compulsive disorder is very often seen in a condition; such as, obsessive-compulsive psychoneurosis.3. A morbid impulse to wash or to bathe, or an incessant preoccupation with thought of frequent hand-washing, or bathing; often seen as an obsessive-compulsive disorder.
-ably, a suffix;
(able manner, capably)
In an able manner, or capably; forming adverbs corresponding to adjectives in -able.
adorably
amiably
Friendly and agreeable in disposition; good-natured and likeable.
amicably
comfortably
comparably
conceivably
creditably
despicably
determinably
durably
Capable of withstanding wear or decay.
formidably
habitably
incomparably
justifiably
laudably
Deserving praise.
abort-, aborti-
(Latin: miscarry, pass away, perish by an untimely birth)
abort, aborted, aborting
1. To give birth before the fetus is viable; have a miscarriage; to fail to be completed.2. To cut short because of some failure in equipment: "To abort a flight because of radio failure."3. Originally, "to set" or "to disappear" (as the sun). Composed of ab-, "from" and oriri- "to arise"; the part of the sky, or the world, in which the sun rises; the East.
aborticide
The killing of a fetus during an abortion.
aborticide, feticide
The killing of a fetus.
abortifacient
A drug or device that causes an abortion or kills the fetus before birth.
abortion, abortional
1. Expulsion of a fetus from the womb before it is viable; however, medical personnel will also u
e this term for a miscarriage, which is involuntary, calling it a "spontaneous abortion".2. Induced termination of pregnancy before the fetus is capable of independent survival.3. Anything that fails to develop, progress, or mature; such as, a design, project, or a badly developed plan, etc.4. To miscarry, to disappear.4. Etymology: ab-, "from, away from" and oriri, "to come into being, to rise, to be born".
aboulo-, aboul-, abulo-, abul-
(Greek: irresolution, indecision, loss or defect of the ability to make decisions)
aboulia, abulia
1. Loss or impairment of the ability to perform voluntary actions or to make decisions.2. Loss of will-power, as a mental disorder.3. Reduction in speech, movement, thought, and emotional reaction; a common result of bilateral frontal lobe disease.
aboulias, abulias
Loss or impairment of the ability to make decisions or act independently.
aboulic, abulic
Relating to or suffering from aboulia/abulia.
aboulomania, abulomania
A mental disorder in which there is a loss of will-power.
abulia, abulic
1. Absence of willpower or wishpower; the term implies that the subject has a desire to do something but the desire is without power or energy.2. A disorder marked by the partial or total inability to make decisions.
paraboulia, parabulia
Perversion of volition or will in which one impulse is checked and replaced by another.

Rome

2006-11-06T16:23:00.000-08:00

Augustus Summary
Augustus known as Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus for the period of his life prior to 27 BC, was the first and among the most important of the Roman Emperors.
Although he preserved the outward form of the Roman Republic, he ruled as an autocrat for 41 years, and his rule is the dividing line between the Republic and theRoman Empire. He ended a century of civil wars and gave Rome an era of peace, prosperity, and imperial greatness, known as the Pax Romana, or Roman peace.

Julius Caesar
Gāius Jūlius Caesar was a Roman military and political leader and one of the most influential men in world history. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. His conquest of Gaul extended the Roman world all the way to the Atlantic Ocean, and he was also responsible for the first Roman invasion of Britain in 55 BC. Caesar was widely considered to be one of the foremost military geniuses of his time, as well as a brilliant politician and one of the ancient world's strongest leaders.Leading his legions across the Rubicon, Caesar sparked civil war in 49 BC that left him the undisputed master of the Roman world. After assuming control of the government, he began extensive reforms of Roman society and government. He was proclaimed dictator for life, and he heavily centralized the bureaucracy of the Republic. This forced the hand of a friend of Caesar, Marcus Junius Brutus who then conspired with others to murder the dictator and restore the Republic. This dramatic assassination occurred on the Ides of March in 44 BC and led to another Roman civil war. In 42 BC, two years after his assassination, the Roman Senate officially sanctified him as one of the Roman deities.Caesar's military campaigns are known in detail from his own written Commentaries and many details of his life are recorded by later historians, such as Appian, Seutions, Plutarch, Cassius Dio and Strabo. Other information can be gleaned from other contemporary sources, such as the letters and speeches of Caesar's political rival Cicero, the poetry of Catallus and the writings of the historian Sallust.

My Questions
1. What did Caesar, Pompey and Crassus form?
They formed the First Triumvirate, which was a political union that dealt a death blow to Rome's Republican system of government.

2. The Romans governed most of what?
They governed most of the mediterranean with the exception of Egypt.

3. Who made Caesar's heir and took up the political legacy of Caesar and entered the mainstream of Roman politics?
Keith Bradley

Home Team's Questions
4. What class did the equestrian class form?
They formed the calvary, then grew to businessmen.

5. What were some of appropriate occupations?
Some appropriate occupations were tax collectors, miners, exporters, bankers, and nitrators of public contracts such as road and aquaduct buildings.

6. What are the different classes pf designators?
Senators, patricians, equestrians, plebeisans, slaves, freedmen and non-Roman citizens

7. What visually separated each class?
clothing--the emporers wore purple togas

8. From what background did hte slaves come from?
prisoners of war and sailors taken as prisoners

9. How well did the slaves fit in society?
The slaves were not well liked, they were seen only as poeple to do the work that needed to be done

10. Who were senators?
The rulers of the government

11. How were senators appointed?
went through gradual stages f power that were elected

12. What were patricians?
Patricians were privileged families in military, religious and political means

13. When was Owlus Caesar assassinated?
44 BC

14. When did the conquest of Britain begin?
43 BC

15. What is a plebian?
All free Roman citizens who are not part o fthe Patrician or Equestrian classes

16. What do they do?
Plebians are farmers, bankers, builders and artisans

Webquest-Pictures

2006-09-06T22:51:00.000-07:00

African Priest
Masked Dancer
Traditional African instruments

Traditional Kangas clothing

African Wildlife

Map of Africa

Webquest--Lyndzie, Maggie, Mandeep, Alma, Jeanette and Cynthia

2006-09-06T10:12:00.000-07:00

Webquest Article I
Imagine yourself as an Igbo man. You and some men are toiling at work. The children's laughter is echoing, and the regular gossiping of women. A normal and content day. But on a horrifying night where evil spirits roamed, a venomous snake bites you and leaves a mark forever. The venom spills in your life. The venom devastates your religion, values, morals, and yourself. It makes everything a question itself. Life becomes an enigma. This was the same effect Christianity had brought. Christianity did bring many opportunities such as education, literacy, and hope for the disadvantage. However, all these notions served as a blight, and the prospect of the new opportunities was not enough to suffice what they had lost. They had lost their values, morals, and themselves. New notions poured in, and most that were detrimental.
First, the position of women degenerated. Her importance grew only when she grew older, bore children, and earned approval of elderly. Before, the coming of the Europeans, women were regarded as equal, and were not considered lower. It was actually the Europeans that brought the idea that women were supposed to be locked in the walls of their homes. Was this the effect Europeans had brought? Christianity brought literacy, but to what gender. Only Males! Since, women were not regarded as equal to a man. Was this the start of concept that would prevail until today? A women's position in this society has grown to the point that women are regarded as equal to men, but the staining marks of the past do not go away. Women still suffer sexiest remarks.
Not only did colonialism affect women, but also the economy of some cities. Imagine a city, a palace, people with jewels, and pure luxury. Then imagine a hurricane coming in the city, and the city is destroyed by the hurricane. This was the same affect Affins had gone through. The rich city was Affins, and the hurricane that destroyed everything was the coming of the Europeans. Before the coming of the Europeans, Affins was regarded as a prosperous city. After, the coming of the Europeans the wealth degenerated. However, in some places their were cities that were gaining a lot of wealth with the coming of the Europeans. Wealth that was attained by selling Africans, and making them into slaves. The Europeans had caused them to lose themselves and their dignity. They were forced to be another mans slave. Imagine yourself, hungry as can be, and then eating food like you never had food for days. Now imagine yourself hungry for four days, and you are putting the morsel of food in your mouth, but then somebody knocks the food down. You are irate, but you cannot do anything. The person that knocked the food down is your owner, and you are obliged to do what he wants you to do. The Africans were snatched a birthright, and that is the ability to live the way they desired, and they were forced to do notions. Most Africans were belittled, ridiculed, cursed when angry, beaten when anger overflowed, and immersed with cruel labor for just the fun of it by their owners. The most horrifying truth is that they were sold by their own kin or by their own people. Before, they were content in their life, but now they have someone to boss them over. Kin turned against Kin.Their own people turned against them. They were devastated, because their values were squished, and underestimated.
The next notion is their values. Their values were being ripped off like the way a predator eats his prey. They did not consider the birth of twins a good notion, but after the coming there was the birth of twins. In a society were we live, killing twins is a big sin, but have you ever wondered that for them killing twins might be like killing a serial killer that was a blight to the society. Also, the Africans lost their morals, because they had the heart to kill for a new notion. In this race of picking a religion the ultimate defeat was of the supporters and of the non-supporters of Christianity. It was their defeat, because they had to fight against each other. The killing of a dear neighbor was okay, because the success of their religion blinded them. In the prospect of the new opportunities the supporters of Christianity tainted their own people, Now, when does a religion say that a religions success only lies in tainting another's religion. Finally, the families of people were splitting, because of the new religion. A mother had to see her son go away, and then had to endure the irateness of her husband.
Christianity acted like an antagonist to some, but also acted as a messiah for some. However, the messiah may have been a messiah for some, but not for all. Christianity had brought many devastating changes, and had brought many consequences. The bad aspects of Christianity made it very hard to determine whether the messiah was really a messiah. After looking at the pros and cons we have decided to take Mr. Okonkwos side.

Theme--Family Values, Customs and Mores
In every society of people there exists customs, values, and mores that differentiate them from the other societies and groups that live in the world today. Just as every country runs their lifestyle in a unique way the Igbo people ran their society in a different way as well. In the Igbo society they have a very distinct way of handling their traditions and of upholding their laws. One of their traditions include a peace week where every one goes a whole week doing nothing but relaxing and taking time off. During this time no one is allowed to do or talk of doing anything violent because it is a time of peace and sharing within the community. If anyone violates the vow of peace that they practice during this week they could be shunned, exiled or even killed. A main part of the culture of these people is title, they are given titles when they do something good for the community, the more titles that they have the higher their social standing. Women were not allowed to obtain titles because they were considered lower that men and were meant to serve a different purpose. They did not up hold the values of marriage as we do today, the men were allowed to have more than one wife. The men with more wives had higher positions in society because it showed that they were wealthy and prosperous enough to provide for more than one family. Each of the mans wives would have their own separate huts that she and her children would live in, the husband was to visit each of them everyday. The male children were supposed to grow up and become warriors, and the female children were supposed to stay pretty until they were married off into a new family. War plays another essential role in the Igbo society, it is a way of showing status. If they did well in war they were rewarded because they were considered strong and tough, this was important to the people because the strongest always survived. Finally religion played a major role in their society because it was what every one believed. They all believed in more that one god and that if you upset a god then you would be punished. The Igbo people have many more traditions that are specific to their culture and make them different from every other nation in the world. If only the colonists could have seen that they were not heathens but just unique then they could still be thriving today.

Questions
1. Colonialism is how the ruling party or government influences a nation, a country, territory and/or people's ideas, customs and religious practices. The Igbo colonialism period was from 1500 to 1800.

2. European imperialists justified their return to Africa as colonizers as Christians trying to convert as many people to Christianity as possible. They approached nicely, then subsided to making women work in the houses, where they believed they belonged, and near the end subsided to mere violence to scare the people to convert to Christianity.

3. The conference in 1884 affected Africa because it divided up the south of the Sahara and made it easier to conquer. France and Germany became a larger population because of Africa, eventually 90 percent of Africa was under European control.

4. There were two main political structures that emerged during colonial rule in Africa--the Direct and Inderect systems of fovernment. The main features of the Direct system of government are as follows: it had centralized administrators usually in urban centers; stressed policies of asimilation; inthention of civilizing Africa to be more like Europe; did not negotiate with African gvernemtns; they would divide and rule the people; and the Direct system of government weakened the power of the native people. The main features of the Indirect system of government were colonial administration; and they were more cooperative which led to direct rule.

5. The main purpose of teaching colonialism is to train Africans to participate in the domination and exploit actions of mental confusion and the development of under development.

6. The role missionaries played in the provision of colonial eductation in Africa was central. They replaced the traditional way pf learning with their new ideas because they believed they were right. They focused on the acquisition of literacy, the study of the Bible, the importance of church and basically everything Christian based. Overall, colonialism affected Africa and Africans by completely changing their lifestyles.

7. The poem The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats describes what conditions are currently in place in the world. Also, the poem was used to describe the current historical monument. Something that seems beneficial might end up intervening distances. The poem talks about the new age. Like Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, The Second Coming sent the message that something may look beneficial, but may not be what it sees.

8. The time period of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart was in the 1890s in Nigeria with the Igbo culture. The peopel who have mroe titles are given more authority, and the people with less titles have less authority. the person with the most titles os the one who deciphers all the rules and decisions to condemn. The people that depict that they are morally and physically strong usually gain subsequent titles. OWmen do not receive any titles; instead they help the man wiht the daily choeres. The week of Peace is the celebration of their egwugwu of the arts. War is essential; it is a means of depicting power. If you wina battle, it means you are strong, if you win the war, your people are described as unified. War is important because if your armed forces are strong, then the antagonist will not think about attacking. War is given a major rule, it constitutes in their society. Religion, the most important attribute the Igbo people's society is how they communicate and describe themselves. Their religion decides their customs and lifestyles. Generall speaking, religion is a way for the poeple to differentiate with other religions. Religion is givena lot of respect and there is current involvement of religion in an average Igbo's life. The arts are also important because thtat tells that the person has some skill and is not lazy or has a lack of talent. The people are not worthless; they do hace the capability to do things for themselves.

9. In Things Fall Apart, the protagonist had a certain relationship to his wives and children. He did not necessarily have the greatest relationship with his family because he tried to be manly and not show emotion, but it was clearly visible that he loved his family more than emotions could express alone. He was rough with his family and disciplined his wives and children the same way he was disciplined when he was a child: whipped. Men and women had differing roles in Igbo society which were the men had to work and the women stayed home to take care of the children and do the house chores.

10. In chapter fourteen, Okonkwo committed a crime that caused him to be reprimanded. His crime was beating his wife during Peace Week. This says so much about the Igbo culture because it showed how much htey really value their customs, traditions and ancestors. According to Ezeani, the beating of his wives is wrong in any week, not just Peace Week.

11. The white people first went to Africa to introduce Christianity, to the Africans. Africans did not like the white men at first because they thought they were silly. Some Africans who were suffering from inequeties join Christianity.

12. Okonkwo had a problem with the white men. He thought they were turning against eachother because of the missionaries. He could not do anything about what was happening, so he committed suicide.

English Honors 10--Essay 2

2006-08-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

Lyndzie Garro

Mrs. Bosch

English Honors 10

5 August 2006

What Contributes to Who I Have Become

I know this may sound really corny and cheesy, but I am unique, and I

can guarantee there is no one else like me. I can say this because

there are certain aspects about my life, or my family’s life for that

matter, which shape me into who I was, am and will become. But this

does not apply to only me, the same is true for everyone, well maybe

not identical twins, but they still have their differences, it may be as

little as a different ribosome in their DNA, or it can be a big

difference like height or where they live. I am different in every

aspect because I come from a small town, small family, but huge

goals and dreams. Ever since I was born, I have lived in the small

town of Patterson. Yes this is sad to admit at times, but as much as I

may dislike my hometown at times for lack of activities, I have so

many memories, friends and things to keep me occupied. You see,

growing up in a small town which used to be mainly orchards and

fields, I was never really exposed to all the violence, drugs or as

much vulgar language which is often heard of in larger cities such as

New York or Oakland. But sadly, this town which I have grown to love

is not so small anymore. More houses are being built every day, and

with more houses come more people, but none of these people are

my relatives. I come from a small family of five, with three

immediate cousins. Growing up, I was mostly around boys because of

my older brother, which might be why I seem to get along better with

the boys. Boys do not have the drama which seems to come with

girls; boys come with sports and fun. Although girls have much more

drama than boys, I still get along with them just fine. I grew up with

two girl cousins whom have helped me get into cheerleading, which I

now love, and older girl friends, they were sometimes sisters of my

brother’s friends so it was not always that bad having a mean big

brother around. When my little sister was born, I thought it was

going to be awesome, I would always have someone to play with,

well, I was wrong. Along with my sister came the messes she made in

our room, and her annoying friends who I tried to avoid, but it is kind

of hard since I am their cheer coach. But growing up taking care of

my sister and her friends has helped me be more independent

because I have coached cheerleading for three years, helped coach a

children’s pageant and managed to score a well-paying babysitting

job for four children. But my brother had his pluses too, first there

were his cute friends, second they made me fall in love with football,

and last but not least they made me adventurous. Because my

brother’s friends and I were always doing things out of the ordinary, I

am not afraid of heights or to get a little dirty in the mud like most

girls are, actually I think it is safe to say that they made me accident

prone. But for every upside, there is an opposite, my brother and his

friends loved picking on me because I was littler than them, I had red

hair, freckles, and since I am Swedish, French, Italian, Irish and

Scottish, I am extremely white. I was always called “Speckle,” “Pipi

Longstocking,” “Whitey” infamous “White Girl.” This always was not

that bad because it taught me to stick up for myself and be strong.

Their taunting allowed me to rely more on myself for support. It

prepared me for the real world because not everything will go your

way, and I cannot always turn to Mom to solve my problems. But my

family, although it is small, has made a huge impact on who I have

become. If it was not for my family, I would not have made it through

anything. They were always there for me to turn to when I needed

help because, although this may seem impossible and completely not

true, they went through the same exact things I have, am and will go

through. My family is my support in school, sports and religion, they

are there for everything. Every time I needed help in math or English,

the people I could turn to was my parents, my brother and sister were

not really there for me in that aspect because my brother was not all

that smart, and my sister is five years younger than me. I started

getting involved in cheerleading when I was in fourth grade, ever

since then my parents have not missed a single game, and some of

them are hours away in the freezing cold, one year it was snowing

and they were cheering me on while I was on the sidelines trying to

yell, but instead I stood there, shivering. They have supported me in

tumbling, although it took me a while to get where I am at now, they

still gave me the extra boost of confidence I needed to get me where

I now stand today proudly saying I can do a round-off back handspring

layout. My family even sat through the four hour long award

ceremony at the 2006 Academic Decathlon, knowing Patterson was

not going to place in any category. As you can tell, my family has

been there for me in the past, present and will stand by me in the

future. My family is proudly supporting my decision to go to college

and become a surgeon, a biophysicist or a search and rescue fire

fighter. They stand by me for these occupations because they know I

have always wanted to help people like they have helped me. As you

can see, growing up in a small town with a small family has greatly

impacted my life. If I lived in a larger city with a larger family, I

probably would not be in the great position and state of mind which I

am at today.

English Honors 10--Essay 1

2006-08-02T13:43:00.000-07:00

Lyndzie Garro

Mrs. Bosch

English Honors 10

2 August 2006

Achebe’s Pride

Pride: desire or satisfaction taken in an action or a certain time

in life. There are certain points in a man’s life which he holds pride

in. Although some of these times in life may seem strange and not

important to someone, they still may bring joy and pride to another

man. Or in other words, even the littlest things in life may bring joy

and happiness to someone somewhere. Which is why these points or

events must be expressed in any means possible, or else it just is not

healthy to keep all that excitement and emotion trapped inside. For

some men, they share these events through oral stories, but others

write stories. Sharing his points or events in life which brought him

pride was what Chinua Achebe was doing when he wrote the novel

Things Fall Apart. But to some people, the items which bring them

pride are material objects, whereas the items which brought Chinua

Achebe pride were not items at all. What brought pride to Achebe

was: family, heritage, language, memory and life, or lives.

Family was more than likely what brought Achebe the most

pride.

Family was probably most important because no matter what

may happen, the only people who will always be there is family.

Achebe showed his pride in family through his book Things Fall

Apart in many ways. One of the most important of these ways

was his explanation of what happened when the Igbo people

“prayed to the ancestors for life and health” as well as for

each other (6). Achebe described all of the Igbo people’s

specific job during the time in which they pray to their

ancestors. This showed how much each member of the family

depends on the other members. As later shown in the book, as soon

as one member of the family turned away from the others, the family

instantly fell apart. The importance of life, existence and

responsibility is not understood until it is no longer available. In

Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo’s eldest son, Nwoye, had doubts in his

family and also the laws and rules of the land which forced him to

turn on his family and convert to Christianity. Okonkwo’s reaction to

this, strangling his son, showed the intensity of how important family

is to Achebe. Other than this extreme reaction to a different kind of

tragedy in the family, there are other ways to see the importance of

family from the author’s perspective. The same, constant feeling

towards all children, or at least what the children could see, was a

way of showing that although one member of the family may seem

more superior than the others, they are all loved the same and will be

treated in the same manner. The importance of family was also

expressed through the roles of the ancestors. To the Igbo people,

their ancestors were like their gods on earth. They still believed in

one superior god, but they had “messengers” on earth of whom they

either carved from wood, or was one of their ancestors so the family

stays alive. The role of the ancestor’s is more so heritage and

tradition than the importance and pride brought to Achebe by family.

Although the ancestors are part of the family, there are certain

traditions which were passed down to each generation. One such

tradition is the praying to and sacrificing to the ancestors. But

heritage is not only ancestors, but the customs of the land, this is

what brought pride to Achebe. There was a conversation between

Okonkwo and Obierika which released the author’s feelings of anger

towards the Europeans and his pride in heritage. Obierika looks at

everything how it really is like the white men. “The white man is very

clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion…he has won

our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one” (176), the

white men stole all of the Igbo people’s customs and traditions. It

may not have been realized when the white men first arrived because

they seemed trusting with their foolish talk of the Igbo gods not

being real, but worshiping those gods is what the Igbo had done

for many, many years. The white men tore apart the village, “he has

put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen

apart” (176). Once one or two traditions is stripped from the land,

there is nothing else there for the people, no hope or power because

the white men had already won, which is why language was so

important and brought so much pride to Achebe.

According to Achebe, conversation was very important

and brought him much pride. Conversation was so important

because it brings everyone together, it unifies them and allows

them to speak their mind and keep everything they way they

like. The art of conversation or language had such an importance

in Things Fall Apart because it was language that could have

saved the Umuofia village from being torn apart by the

Europeans. If the people of Umuofia considered the fact that

among themselves, “the art of conversation is regarded very

highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are

eaten” (7), then maybe they would have thought to speak up

for themselves and save their people, land and ancestors from

being stripped of all their pride and heritage. When writing this

novel, Achebe seemed to have purposely sent Okonkwo into

exile around the same time the white men came to take over

the Umuofia village. It seemed so because Okonkwo was like

the voice of the community, he would speak his mind and stick

up for his people. But once Okonkwo was gone, the white men

could get whatever they pleased because no one would stand up

to them in fear of being killed, just as the Abame clan was. This

recollection of what happened to the Abame clan contributes to

why memory was so important and brought so much pride to Achebe.

Memory was an important aspect of Achebe’s novel and life. In

Things Fall Apart, the Umuofians took advantage of the memory of

what had previously happened to the Abame clan. The white men

took the Abame clan as their first victims, they were successful,

except for the fact that everyone was killed because they went into

war. The white men were not satisfied so they moved on to try and

convert people to Christianity. But the Abame clan was taken over

on their own part. Their Oracle had warned them, “the strange man

would break their clan and spread destruction among them” (138).

They should have seen it coming, but they were blindsighted by the

interesting approach by the white men. Achebe spread the news of

this to Umuofia and Mbanta to warn them. But the Umuofians heard

this and totally disregarded the fact that they themselves would soon

die, maybe not physically, but in their hearts and within their

families. If the Umuofians remembered what the Abame clan

had been told, and remembered what had happened to them,

they could have saved their lives, their family’s lives and their

friends lives which is why memory was such an important

aspect in Achebe’s novel and brought him pride. Saving the

lives of the village was important to Achebe because life in

general and his people’s lives brought him pride.

Life was another important factor to Achebe because life is the

center of everything, which is why it can bring joy to so many people.

In his novel, Achebe stressed the fact that life is an important,

sacred item. According to the Igbo people, it is “an abomination

for a man to take his life. It is an offense against the Earth”

(207). In Things Fall Apart, the protagonist took his life to

teach his people a lesson. This lesson was they were killing

themselves by allowing the Europeans to settle on their land

and convert people to Christianity. It was an insult to

Okonkwo that even his own son would desert his family and

culture to join the Christians. The Europeans were able to drive “one

of the greatest men in Umuofia” (208) to his death. Their ability to

kill one of the greatest and strongest men in Umuofia should have

scared the Umuofians. In the novel, it should not have come down

to someone taking their life to show their people that they were

falling apart, they were dying, but unfortunately, drastic times

call for drastic measures.

Although pride is such a wide range of items, it is still the

basis of life. If there is not pride, there is no will or power to do

anything, the same goes with family. Without family, language,

memory, life and heritage are also the basis for life which no

one can live without. While writing his novel Things Fall Apart,

Chinua Achebe brought all of these characteristics to the

surface, along with their importance and the pride they may bring

to someone.

Work Cited

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Anchor Books: A Division of

Random House, Inc: New York, 1994.

Things Fall Apart--Part 3

2006-07-17T13:16:00.000-07:00

1. At the end of the novel, Achebe brought in the Europeans to show the impact and strength of influence. The white men took their time taking over or taking apart the villages and families. By bringing in the Europeans, Achebe was showing how different vultures take action and how they handle or control violence. Although it taught the differences of the cultures, the timing which Achebe brought in the Europeans was ironically immediately after Okonkwo had left Umuofia and lived in Mbanta. Okonkwo would not have allowed the white men to build a church and begin to take over the land, but not many people voiced their opinions as Okonkwo did.
2. While Okonkwo was in Mbanta, the people of Umuofia lost their way of handling issues such of that as they were faced with. A majority of the people lost their mental strength, and were afraid to stand up for themselves as well as the village, and allowed their life to be taken over by the white men. The Umuofians did not realize the harm the Christians could bring because they approached them with such a gentle approach. Some villagers still believed in their old traditions and customs and continued them in their households, while others forgot about their old lifestyles because the Christians had brought new trade stores.
3. The kotma, or court messengers, serve as people to bring men to the Commissioner for trial. The difference between the white man’s law and the system of justice of the traditional Umuofia society is the white man’s law has a judge who decides if someone should be punished or not, whereas the traditional system of justice in Umuofia is set on a simple set of rules which everyone knows and follows no matter what the circumstances may be.
4. When Okonkwo suggested that they should fight the white men and “drive them from the land,” and Obierka responded with “it is already too late” (ch. 20), it was meant that the white men had already done too much damage to the village and converted too many people that the religion, government and new lifestyle brought by the white men would remain in Umuofia. According to Obierka, the white men have been “very clever” because they came peacefully, and used that peace and trust they formed in people to get things the way they wanted. Obierka may be considered a transitional figure between the old and the new Igbo societies because he looks at everything with an open mind to analyze it see it from every side, both positive and negative, and what the outcome may be.
5. Mr. Smith was not as understanding or friendly as Mr. Brown, nor was he as clever as Mr. Brown. Akunna and Mr. Brown’s discussion on religion showed the differences between the two religions. Also, it showed how differences in religion do not affect a friendship. Enoch took off the mask of an egwugwu, by doing this he killed a spirit which led to severe consequences. Neither of the religions understand the other’s customs and their importance if certain ceremonies.
6. The white men offered the Umuofians a chance to receive a good education, and also new trade stores. These new ideas were not important to Okonkwo, but they were to others. The people who believed in the importance of a good education sent their children to Mr. Brown’s school, and Mr. Brown would teach stories of his religion and basic school curriculum because this would lead to more people to convert to Christianity.
7. The District Commissioner had wished for his twelve men to hear the stories that were being told by the men. Instead of listening to the stories, they overpowered the leaders. Okonkwo tried holding back his anger towards the men, but he was not able to control it and killed the messenger out of frustration. Okonkwo also killed the man because he thought they were going to go into war with the white men. According to the laws set in Umuofia, Okonkwo would have been killed, so to send a message to his fellow people, he hanged himself. By hanging himself, Okonkwo showed how their village was being torn apart by the white men who turned on their own leaders. Okonkwo is a tragic hero because in order for him to become a hero of the novel after defeating Amalinze the Cat, something along the lines of death to allow the villagers to see how they were ruining themselves, all that their ancestors had done, as well as the future generations to come.
8. The District Commissioner will create a mockery of Okonkwo, but instead of being made into a hero, the District Commissioner will make Okonkwo be remembered as a foolish character and be looked down upon. Achebe follows the same religion as Okonkwo; I saw that because Achebe made it easy to understand Okonkwo’s thoughts and actions. Although Okonkwo was seen for his tragic death and his harsh actions, he dealt with many problems but still managed to live a great life, one that some people cannot see the importance of.
9. In the novel, things fell apart because the people forgot to speak for themselves and instead were taken over by the Europeans who were tearing apart all the work the ancestors had done. The people did not realize it, but they let fear take over their lives which caused them to allow the Europeans to do what they pleased without any restrictions. Like all novels, Things Fall Apart sends out a message, the message was to stand up for yourself, what you believe in and what you think is right.
10. The African-English cross helps English speakers relate tot eh tribes on a more intimate level. It gives us the opportunity to understand where the Igbo people come from and their traditions. Throughout the book, we compare and contrast our lives to the lives of the Igbo people’s. The cross is basically to create a familiar atmosphere for those of us not used to their culture, therefore, the amount of readers are not limited to a certain group of people.

Things Fall Apart Answers--Part II

2006-06-25T17:59:00.000-07:00

1. At the beginning of Part II, Okonkwo fled his “fatherland” Umuofia for committing a “female” ochu and has taken his “motherland” Mbanta because he was told to leave Umuofia, and whenever someone leaves a place or needs comfort, they go to their mother, or where their mother is buried because they presence of them whether it is a physical appearance or spiritual appearance, knowing that they are there is comforting. Okonkwo looses hope because he knows he doesn’t really belong with those people, those are not his people; they are his mother’s people. Okonkwo’s uncle, Uchendu, helped Okonkowo by still taking him in and teaching him in the process.

2. The Abame clan no longer exists. They were taken over by a white man and his followers and all killed, even their fish. Uchendu and Okonkwo think differently for the “foolishness” of the Abame people because they were loud and screamed when they were ambushed when they should have been quiet because people are afraid of what is quiet when you do something wrong to them. Uchendu is the wiser of him and Okonkwo because he responds to new challenges in old ways of living more responsibly and in a calm, rational manner whereas Okonkwo overreacts and panics. When Uchendu said “there is no story that is not true” he meant that every story that is told from a person, is not a lie and that that person has to be telling the truth because lying would get them into trouble.

3. The first time Oknokwo’s friend Obierka visited him in exile was because he had money from Okonkwo’s crops to give to him to help out with his three wives and children. The first time he visited Okonkwo he told them of the Abame clan and how they were taken over. The second time Obierka visited Okonkwo was because he had bad new for him about Umuofia: missionaries had come and were trying to convince everyone to convert over to Christianity where there is one, true God. The missionaries spoke of this God who created the world, had a son but no wife, and how their gods were fake and harmless and they should not be afraid to convert to a religion that will make sure they go to a happy place after they pass away. The sources of misunderstanding between the Igbo and the missionaries are the translator because instead of saying some of the right words, he makes the missionaries sound as if they are illiterate and do not know correct grammar, and also the stories of the white man had frightened some people and made others curious. The Africans that are attracted to the new religion are ones that are questionable and are not trusting of what they are told and wish to find out on their own and learn by their own doings. Okonkwo does not like to talk about Nwoye’s conversion because he feels betrayed but cannot show emotion because it would not be “manly,” but then showed anger and rage as he got physical with his son.

4. The crises early in the church in Mbanta’s life were that the clan had assumed the church would not last long, but instead it kept on living and gradually becoming stronger. The Evil Forest was not a fit place for anyone, but the church is surviving, growing and helping others survive in a place which before was thought of as unbearable for survival. The missionaries showed that God performs miracles and helps his followers follow out what they wish. The people of Mbanta are at ease to allow the Christians to remain in their presence at this point because they see that the Christians are helping their community and will help them to grow and live a happier life. The differences between the religion of the Mbanta people and that of the Christian missionaries is the Mbanta people have multiple gods whom they worship all, whereas the Christians have one, true God whom they give all of their love and faith to in hope that they may have a happy after life in the place they believe they will go to if they follow God after they pass away.

5. Uchendu and a speech given by an elder of the umunna gave is insight into the changes which the people have seen in recent generations of their people, these changes were that children don’t like to do things like harvest the crops because they are lazy, and the younger generations seem to lose sight of their family and how important their family should be to them. These changes caused the elders to fear for the younger generations and the future of the clan because the kids will soon be parents, and children follow their parents’ examples, since the parents are lazy their children will follow and there will be no one to get the work done that needs to be done. The fact that people don’t see the importance of family anymore is scary because family is what brought everyone into this world, and it can very well take them out. When someone loses interest in something or someone, it can cause fights or wars which will ruin the clan. Since the families are never together and the children don’t wish to follow their parents for whatever reason, it gives the white men an opportunity to turn members of a family on the rest of their family, which would turn into deaths and the white men would conquer Africa.

English 10 Honors Summer Project--Part 1

2006-06-16T19:38:00.000-07:00

English 10 Honors Summer Project--Part 1

1. Okonkwo, the protagonist and tragic hero of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart is a significant tribal leader in Umuofia. Okonkwo is very successful at everything he does, is well-liked by all, a good wrestler, tall with a big bodily build, looks cruel or mean, occasionally stammers when he talks and has little to no patience. Okonkwo highly values manliness causing him to be more productive, wealthy, thrifty, brave, violent, and is constantly against anything that to someone may seem to be "soft" or unmanly such as conversation and showing or sharing of emotion. As an Igbo heroic character, Okonkwo achieved greatness as defined by his art and culture by being a good wrestler and throwing Amalinze the Cat which was important to his people, being a tribal leader whom the people could look up to and idolize, and also by having three wives and being a father to several children. Okonkwo differs from Western heroes whom I am community familiar with because Western heroes kill enemies to become famous whereas Okonkwo simply fights them and respects his religion and family values.

2. Unoka, Okonkwo's father, was an idle, poor, corrupt, apprehensive, gentle man who was interested in the arts. As thought of by the tribes of Umuofia, Unoka was a coward and a man who did not know how to save his money but instead waste it on wine, was in debt with everyone more than he could have paid off and a failure. Unoka never had a title in his lifetime because he was too afraid to become a warrior because he did not like the sight of blood. Although there is much about Unoka that the people of Unoka did not like, he was fairly good at the flute, which many people did enjoy. Okonkwo is ashamed of his father because his father was not liked by many people and everyone said Okonkwo would turn out to be just like his father, but he would not listen to them and strived to be anything but like his father who is why he would not allow himself to show any emotions or engage in conversations. The negative aspect of Okonkwo's father shaped Okonkwo's character and actions because everyone said he would end up like his father, a failure in everything he would do, Okonkwo set his mind to prove everyone wrong and that he would become a hero. The early descriptions of Okonkwo's success and Unoka's failure set up a foil between the father and son. It also showed that Igbo society is harsh on people that fail in life and does not wish them good luck or good chi, but to those who are successful get what they want and are idolized. In cultural context, one succeeds by winning the wrestling match because everyone in all the villages enjoys watching who will become the new champion. We learned that the system of taking titles is very secure and strict with what each titleholder must do and not do.

3. The narrator or "voice" of the story telling us the story in third person seems like he really cares about his culture and values family. The narrator also talks as a wise figure who mostly focuses on Okonkwo but switches from character to character to detail the thoughts and motives of various individuals.

4. The setting of the novel is during the 1890s in an area of the Igbo culture, Lower Nigerian villages, mostly Iguedo and Mbanta. Achebe tells of the details of everyday life in Umuofia by writing about the chores, the responsibilities of the different title holders, responsibilities of children depending on their gender, of the gods and their dwellings and how the people think of them and how they sacrifice to the gods, their rituals like the wrestling matches and the drum sounds signifying what is going to happen or warning the people, the respect the tribal leaders receive along with their families. The social life in the novel is organized by different rankings and each rank holding different responsibility which only the people in that ranking may take part in. The roles or art, war and religion all play a major part in the people's lives because they were raised to respect all because good may come from them all. The role of the individuals in the community of Umuofia are important because without the people, there would be no people living in that area and it would be taken over by the vegetation of the land. The Igbo ways of life, customs, perspectives, beliefs and values are similar to mine because each person in my household has their own responsibilities and their own chores in which they must do each and everyday, we have certain customs in which our family has learned to grow from, our perspectives are all similar because we were raised to treat others how we wish to be treated and that karma will do its job and give you what you deserve so be on your best behavior because God will punish you in one way or another, and we highly value our God whereas Igbo people have multiple gods whom they worship and adore equally.

5. In chapter two, night has a certain effect on the people, which is a vague terror. Children were told not to whistle at night because evil spirits may come, the wild animals did not listen because the devil seemed to have taken over their minds as soon as it became dark. Snakes were feared the most because the people thought that snakes could hear at night so they would not call it a snake, but instead they called them strings.

6. The cause and nature of the conflict with Mbaino was that Okonkwo was only returning to his mainland or homeland because he was forced to flee Igueno for accidentally killing a clansman, which in their culture this was not an accident so he would not be allowed to return for seven years.

7. The important crops in the novel Things Fall Apart are: yams, cocoyams, plantains, kola or kola nut, palm trees, cassava and vegetables of many sorts. In the spring, cassava is usually grown, in the summer and fall yams, cocoyams and plantains are usually grown and harvested, and all throughout the year vegetables are grown along with kola and palm trees. Sharecropping works because you share your crop with someone else and grow different things at the same time, but the main owner of the land who is renting part of it out gets some of the profit from the renter's crops as well. Women mainly pick some of the food in which they grow, but whether they picked it or not, they cook it.

8. Okonkwo's relationship with his wives is pretty much mutual. He is cordial to them and treats them like he treats men because he is afraid to appear to be "soft" and show favoritism of any kind. Okonkwo's relationship with his children is again mutual. He treats them as if they are grown adults and know everything, he does show a little bit of favoritism towards Ezinma because he considers her as the perfect one. Okonkwo respects women because they help to make him who he is. He respects what they do because they are not manly jobs and he would never do anything that is not manly.

9. The crime that caused Okonkwo to be warned in chapter four was by shooting down people's spirits who have no titles and calling them women. Because Okonkwo was warned, this says that the culture values respect for everyone. According to Ezeani, wife beating is considered wrong because beating is an evil sin that can ruin families.

10. My initial reading experience and responses to Things Fall Apart--Part I as a cross-cultural encounter was interesting and confusing, but more so confusing. It was interesting because I had the chance to learn about a culture other than my own, but it was confusing because I spent half the time when I was reading trying to pronounce the names of all the characters and some of the words in their language, I got really confused. I am responding to this exposure to traditional Igbo culture and people with an open mind because it is a good learning experience for me that I know will come in handy later on in my life. I think I am responding as I am because I like to learn about new cultures and their lifestyles, I just wish I could pronounce all of the words which seem different and foreign to me along with the multiple gods. The things that seem most similar to me are the villages and chores because the villages are exactly like towns, and I've done chores my whole life so I know how important they may be in a certain way of life.