Ring of Roses
This time, Anna recounts her story through a flashback to the spring of 1665, when Anna is eighteen years old, newly widowed (from the last winter when Sam died), and looking for a means of income for her and her two sons to survive. We are introduced to Geroge Viccars, a journeymen tailor sent by the rectory to lodge in Anna's spare room in the attic. Anna immediately takes an interest in Mr. Viccars: he is clean, modest, quiet-spoken, and brought laughter back into the house. It didn't even matter to her that he was going to pay her sixpence a week for the room he was staying in (although that was a nice addition). Mr. Viccars had traveled a lot throughout his career, so he would tell Anna stories of the places he'd been and the people he'd met. The new Mr. Viccars contrasts greatly with the deceased husband Sam, as Anna described. Sam's life was confined by Anna and the little that occurred in the village where he had always remained. His world was a "dark, damp maze of rakes and scrins thirty feet under the ground", possibly referring to the mine wherein he worked (Brooks, 26). On the other hand, Mr. Viccars was never confined. To Anna, it seemed like he "brought the wide world" with him when he entered her cottage (Brooks, 26). He had seen everything there was to see, from Barbary seamen in turbans to a Masalman merchant who kept four veiled wives. He had even gone to London at the end of his apprenticeship because the return and restoration of King Charles II had created prosperity in trade. In London, he worked sewing liveries for courtier's servants, but the city tired him.
*Historical Connection: Charles II was the eldest surviving son of Charles I. He was appointed nominal commander-in-chief in western England after the Civil War began. In 1650, after his father's execution, Charles made a deal with the Scots and was proclaimed king. He invaded England with a Scottish army but was defeated by Cromwell at the Battle of Worcester in 1651. He again escaped into exile and it wasn't until 1660 when he was invited back to England to reclaim his throne. This restoration to the throne marked the end of republican rule in England. He tried many times to formalize toleration of Catholics and Non-conformists but was rejected by the strongly hostile parliament. The early years of his reign saw a terrible plague (1665 -- the one concurrent in the novel) and the Great Fire in 1666 which led to the significant rebuilding of the city of London.
Also, in the novel, Mr. Viccars states "You cannot believe that what men breathe in London really is air at all, for the coal fires send soot and sulphur everywhere, fouling the water and turning even the palaces into grimy, black hulks...So many have moved there looking for work that souls are heaped up to live ten and twelve to a room no larger than the one we sit in", which gives us a look into the congested conditions and possibly the poor hygiene standards that brought about the spread of the bubonic plague in London (Brooks, 26-27). London at this time was a focus world history in which people began to urbanize; one of the key reasons why England became the first to industrialize in the 18th century.*
The relationship between Anna and Mr. Viccars grows. One day in the summer, Mr. Viccars receives a box of cloth from London ordered by Anna's neighbor, Mr. Hadfield. Mr. Viccars makes a dress for Anna out of the fabric, and Anna is beyond pleased because she's never had such a fine dress. At the urging of Mr. Viccars, Anna tries on the dress and the two share a kiss when Anna notices Mr. Viccar's fever. Oh my god. Two things are going on in my mind at this: First, why must such a moment of romantic gesture be ruined?? And the second, Mr. Viccars has the plague. Anna, like the rest of the village, does not understand the disease and she tells him to get some rest and that he will be better the next day.
The next morning, Anna goes to the rectory, where she finds Elinor Mompellion. We learn a little bit more about Mrs. Mompellion, such as she's twenty-six years old, has the "fragile beauty of a child". she owns a garden which she calls her "little Eden", and she teaches Anna how to read, among other things. She arrived to the village when she was newly wedded to the rector, Michael Mompellion, and despite the village's hopes for the couple to have a child, they never did. Elinor was rich in her knowledge of herbs, but Anna doesn't want to know about it because she is a widow, and during that time it wasn't uncommon for a widow to be accused of a witch. With this thought in mind, Anna contemplates Anys Gowdie, the niece of Mem Gowdie who suffered accusations of being a witch for her herb remedies. Anna believes that her stepmother, Aphra, makes claims that Anys is a witch because she is jealous of Any's beauty.
Anna goes back home, where she finds Mr. Viccars in an unruly state. He was in bed "with his head pushed to the side by a lump the size of a newborn piglet, a great, shiny, yellow-purple knob of pulsing flesh. His face...was flushed scarlet, or rather, botched, with shapes like rings of rose petals blooming under his skin" (Brooks, 42). Ew!! I want to gag at Anna's description of the disease that took over Mr. Viccars. He warns, "Burn it all! Burn it all! For the love of God, burn it!" before dying two days later by the side of Mr. Mompellion and Anna (Brooks, 44).
So, my thoughts thus far are this: Anna is a strong, observant, forward-thinking woman. In a conversation with Mr. Viccars, Anna claims that women who become prostitutes shouldn't be blamed for their actionis because something happened to them that made them turn to prostitution in the first place. She says this, which I think is so profound and true: "If you are drowning in a sewer, your first concern might be that you are drowning, not how vile you smell" (Brooks, 28). Anna herself had to enter the workforce because of the death of her husband and the demands of her two young sons.
Why did the plague have to come up and take away the source of happiness in Anna's life after she so long mourned? How contagious is the plague? Mr. Viccars had been around Anna's sons Jamie and Tom as well as Anna and Mr. Mompellion after the box of fabrics arrived. Who else will be taken away from Anna's life?
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Year of Wonders Reader's Response #1
Apple-Picking Time
This section of the book is set in the year 1666 and describes many characters relevant to the main plot. What the reader learns is that Anna, the protagonist of the story, marries young through the support of her step-mother, Aphra: she's only fifteen when she marries Sam Frith. They had "three good years" together, having two children before Sam unexpectedly dies in a mining accident. What surprised me most was how Anna describes Sam after he died, suggesting he meant little to her other than a husband: she calls him "poor slow Sam" and reveals that Sam has "a life in the dark. And a death there, too" (Brooks, 8-9).
Shifting the perspective back to the present day, Anna goes about her day. She is a maid for the rector of the village, Mr. Mompellion. There is lots of foreshadowing. In the opening of the novel, Anna states that it is apple-picking time (hence, the title of the chapter), yet "There are so few people to do the picking. So few people to do anything. And those of us who are left walk around as it we're half asleep. We are all so tired" (Brooks, 3). What happened to the village that caused people to vanish and the rest to be so tired? Another source of inquiry for me comes from the way Mr. Mompellion refuses to help Elizabeth Bradford and her family, the elite class of the village that apparently disappeared when many in the village needed help. Isn't a rector supposed to help one that is in need despite their previous wrongdoings? I don't blame him, however. Elizabeth seems like an uptight, arrogant girl.
So, my thoughts thus far are this: Anna was somehow connected, and most likely close to Elinor Mompellion, the rector's wife. She isn't present in 1666, so I assume that she has passed away. Is the rector acting the way he is simply because he is sad because of all the misery that occurred in the village, or is there something more to attribute to his sadness? What is Elizabeth Bradford's mother's condition? If so many people have died already, why is it so important that that her mother is ill and may possibly die?
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Source - Sound Waves and Music: Lesson 5 - Physics of Musical Instruments Guitar Strings
Here is what I got from this source:
Just one guitar string will naturally vibrate at a number of frequencies. These frequencies, otherwise known as harmonics, depend upon the tension, linear density, and length of the string. Each of the natural frequencies is associated with a standing wave pattern.
Just one guitar string will naturally vibrate at a number of frequencies. These frequencies, otherwise known as harmonics, depend upon the tension, linear density, and length of the string. Each of the natural frequencies is associated with a standing wave pattern.
There is a length-wavelength relationship associated with each harmonic frequency: the wavelength of the standing wave of any given harmonic is related to the length of the string, and visa versa. Therefore, the length-wavelength relationships, as well as the wave equation (speed = frequency * wavelength) together can be used to perform calculations to predict the length of a sting in order to produce a given frequency. Calculations can also be made to predict the natural frequencies produced by a given length of string.
Sunday, April 23, 2017
A little Intro to myself...
Hello Everyone!
As you may already know, my name is Kristina, and I am the girl behind this blog. One thing you should know about the creation of this blog is that it started out as a way to track my progress on a few projects for my sophomore English class in the months of March to April of 2017. In the future, I hope to be able to add elements to this blog that describe me as a whole -- a way to document what goes on in my seemingly-boring life and share what goes on in my brain -- my likes, dislikes, my current obsessions as a teenage girl -- to the world. Don't get me wrong, every now and then I will have an adventure! I travel a decent amount and I really want to get a chance to explore more regions across the world. I'm aiming to be more open to new ideas and take more risks.
I stay up late trying to finish projects (and not just for school) quite often because one of my flaws (I have so many!!) is that I try to do everything at once.
I'm 17 years old, and although I'm not a child prodigy who's discovered the cure to cancer, from the 17 years of living on this planet I can tell you the things that I've accomplished thus far:
I play the piano, and have been since I was 6 years old. I used to love it and retain the skill for it, but after I turned 12 I began to loose interest for it. However, my dad still forces me to go to piano lessons, so I try to make the best of it.
In addition to the piano, I learned to play the flute in the sixth grade. In high school, I joined my school's marching band, which happens to be ranked amongst the best in the state.
Just to add on to the musical part of my life, I did my TPSP project in the eighth grade on researching and analyzing different tuning methods of instruments. This led me to choose learning how to play the guitar for my Genius Hour project for English 2.
As you may already know, my name is Kristina, and I am the girl behind this blog. One thing you should know about the creation of this blog is that it started out as a way to track my progress on a few projects for my sophomore English class in the months of March to April of 2017. In the future, I hope to be able to add elements to this blog that describe me as a whole -- a way to document what goes on in my seemingly-boring life and share what goes on in my brain -- my likes, dislikes, my current obsessions as a teenage girl -- to the world. Don't get me wrong, every now and then I will have an adventure! I travel a decent amount and I really want to get a chance to explore more regions across the world. I'm aiming to be more open to new ideas and take more risks.
I stay up late trying to finish projects (and not just for school) quite often because one of my flaws (I have so many!!) is that I try to do everything at once.
Me, staying up late working on a project. |
I'm 17 years old, and although I'm not a child prodigy who's discovered the cure to cancer, from the 17 years of living on this planet I can tell you the things that I've accomplished thus far:
I play the piano, and have been since I was 6 years old. I used to love it and retain the skill for it, but after I turned 12 I began to loose interest for it. However, my dad still forces me to go to piano lessons, so I try to make the best of it.
That's me, on the right, playing a solo during one of our performances of our 2016 marching show. |
Music is not my only hobby. I used to actively play tennis in and out of school, but not I just do it for fun. I also love to do therapeutic running. What's that? I don't even know if that's a thing, but basically what I do is that I run when I have lots of things on my mind. I'm not particularly good at running, but I enjoy it, and that's good enough, right?
Hopefully, movie-watching is a hobby. I don't think I enjoy anything more than coming home after a long week of school and watching a good ol' movie. I enjoy a range of movies -- from Hollywood's Golden Age movies and Disney's classics to contemporary drama, comedy, and horror -- you name it, I'll probably put it on my "Movies to Watch" list.
Me at the Beauty and the Beast movie premier this past month -- I think I've gone to the movie theater a total of about 10 times in the month of March to watch all the new and exciting movies. |
I'm an emotional person. Ever since I discovered the art of writing poetry in the second grade, I have been writing bits and pieces of mostly emotional poetry when I am feeling anything other than content. What's more, is that I found out a few years ago that my grandmother was known for her poetry! It must run in the family.
The languages that I am in command of are English (as you can see) because I live in the United States, Spanish, because I am half-Argentinian, and French (fun fact: this was the first language I learned to speak, but as of now, I am not fluent, however slowly getting there with my french classes) because I am half-French.
If school were to be considered a hobby, although it feels more like a full-time job, I would say for the most part I enjoy it. You could call me a try-hard I guess -- I believe that I am more book-smart than street-smart, and I have to study a lot and spend a long time on homework to excel. Sometimes I wish I could be naturally smart like some of my class-mates. I have yet to find my talent!
I have no idea what I want to do as a "grown-up". The idea of graduating from high school and moving on with the next stage of my life in 2 years scares the heck out of me. For now, I am trying to do well in school so I can have several opportunities and choices for college. Perhaps I'll more far away, maybe even out of the country! Who knows? In the mean time, enjoy my little world :)
Background Knowledge / Introduction to Year of Wonders
The novel, Year of Wonders, is written from the point of view of Anna Frith, a young widow that is intelligent for the social standards and circumstances of her time. Brooks based the plot on the history of the village of Eyam in Derbyshire, a county in the East Midlands of England (hey! Isn't that the setting in Pride and Prejudice?). From the notes written by the author, I learned that there was a bubonic plague outbreak lasting from 1665 to 1666 in England, later to be called the Great Plague of London. I was surprised at this fact, because the plague history I am most familiar with is the one that reached Europe during the 14th century. The Black Death, as it came to be known, was a pandemic that killed an estimated 75 to 200 million people in Europe and Asia between the years of 1346 and 1353. This 1665-66 epidemic was on a much smaller scale that the earlier Black Death pandemic, but became known as the "great" plague because it was the last widespread outbreak of the bubonic plague in England. Anyways, the special thing about the village the author chose to set the story of Year of Wonders in, Eyam, is that when the village was beset upon the plague that happened in 1666, it quarantines itself to prevent the disease from spreading even further.
Click here to learn more about the history of Eyam during the year the plague hit!
Click here to learn more about the history of Eyam during the year the plague hit!
Choice Novel Introduction
Did you know that today, April 23rd, is World Book Day? Today is a day recognized by all of the United Nations Member States in effort to promote reading, publishing, and copyright (and perhaps pay a worldwide tribute to writers such as William Shakespeare since today is his alleged birth and death date) at a yearly event organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO.
In honor of this day, I will reveal the book I have chosen to read for the Choice Novel assignment in my English class. The book, Year of Wonders, is a historical fiction novel published in 2001 by author Geraldine Brooks. This book was recommended to me by my godmother, and I am very excited to start reading it! Visit my blog posts to keep up with my progress in reading and analyzing this book.
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Source: A Brief History of the Guitar by Paul Guy
Here is what I got from this source:
- The guitar has been around for a looong time -- its history can be traced back over 4000 years! There are a few theories as to where and how the instrument evolved:
- Claims that the guitar is as development of the lute
- Development of the fretted lute from fretless oud, brought to Spain by the Moors
- Ancient Greek kithara theory evidence:
- A kithara is namely a square-framed lap harp, or lyre
- Similarity between Greek word "kithara" and Spanish word "guitarra"
- Earliest Greek kitharas had only 4 strings
- Greeks hellenified old Persian name for a 4-stringed instrument, "chartar"
- The Ancestors:
- Earliest stringed instruments known to archaeologists are bowl harps and tanburs.
- Such instruments were found from ancient Sumerian, Babylonian, and Egyptian civilizations.
- The tanbur (defined as a "long-necked stringed instrument with a small egg- or pear-shaped body, with an arched or round back, usually with a soundboard of wood or hide, and a long, straight neck" was most likely developed from the bowl harp.
- Tomb paintings and stone carvings in Egypt show that harps and tanburs along with flutes and percussion instruments were being played together 3500-4000 years ago.
- In Queen Shub-Ad's tomb, during the period 2500-2000 BCE, an 11-stringed instrument with gold decoration was found, indicating the creation of more advanced harps.
- The oldest preserved guitar-like instrument (which had three strings and a plectrum hahnging from the neck by a cord) is 3500 years old and belonged to the Egyptian singer Har-Mose.
- What is a guitar?
- The guitar belongs in the tanbur family.
- Dr. Kasha defines it as having "a long, fretted neck, flat wooden soundboard, ribs, and a flat back, most often with incurved sides".
- Oldest iconographical representation: a stone carving at Alaca Huyuk in Turkey of a 3300 year old Hittite guitar.
- The Lute (Al'ud, Oud)
- The Moors brought the oud to Spain.
- Was the Arabian version of a tanbur, with changed proportions and no frets.
- Europeans added frets and called it a "lute" -- derived from Arabic "Al'ud" (meaning "the wood") and the Spanish name "laud".
- Defined as a "short-necked instrument with many strings, a large pear-shaped body with highly vaulted back, and an elaborate, sharply angled peghead".
- Types of stringed folk instruments:
- Name "guitar" comes from ancient Sanskrit word for "string" -- "tar". Many stringed instruments have names that end in "tar" with a prefix which indicates the number of strings.
- Two = Sanskrit "dvi" = modern Persian "do" --> the dotar, a 2-stringed instrument found in Turkestan.
- Three = Sanskrit "tri" = modern Persian "se" --> the setar, a 3-stringed instrument found in Iran, and the Indian sitar is an instrument that is elaborately developed and contains many strings.
- Four = Sanskrit "chatur" = modern Persian "char" --> the chartar, a 4-stringed instrument from Persia, most commonly known as "tar" in modern usage, and the guitarra was an early Spanish 4-string guitar, quthara in Arabic and chitarra in Italian, etc.
- Five = Sanskrit "pancha" = modern Persian "panj" --> the panchtar, a 5-stringed instrument from Afghanistan.
- The guitar originally had four pairs of unison-tuned strings, and by the beginning of the Renaissance, this guitar had become dominant in most of Europe.
- Earliest known music for 4-stringed "chitarra" was written in 16th century Spain.
- The 5-course guitarra battente first appeared in Italy at around the same time and replaced the 4-stringed instrument.
- Standard tuning at A, D, G, B, E (like top 5 strings of modern guitar).
- Then, during the 17th century, a sixth course of strings was added to the Italian "guitarra battente".
- Spanish maker Antonio Torres Jurado increased the size of the body, changed its proportions, and invented the "fan" top bracing pattern in around 1850, thus creating the modern "classical" guitar that soon became accepted as the standard, and have remained relatively unchanged to this day.
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Project Approved!
Today I showed my genius hour project plan to my English teacher. Some basic things that were on the planning sheet/pitch were overall purpose, target audience, and product. My goal is to provide guitar learners another means of learning about the guitar (the history, how to tune, how to play, the physics behind the sound, etc.). To implement my research and what I learned into my project, I plan to make a video as my final product. What's next: Research. First up, the history of the guitar.
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Got the Guitar
I got the guitar I needed from a friend. I did some research online, and the guitar is an L.H. Leland acoustic by Oscar Schmidt (since 1879?). It is in good condition.
Monday, April 10, 2017
Genius Hour Introduction: All About the Guitar
Hi guys! For my English class, I will be working on a genius hour-styled project. A genius hour, from what I have learned thus far, is a project completed for school centered purely around the interests of the student. When I first got this project assigned to me, I first thought -- guitar! I have always had a passion for music -- I've been playing the piano since I was six years old and the flute since I was eleven -- and my recent interest in Amy Winehouse has led me to realize that I've always wanted to learn guitar. The guitar seems to be the most simple and convenient instrument, in terms of playing whatever tune or singing in a band and such. There was a mini-course offered at my intermediate school to learn how to play the guitar so I excitedly signed up for it, but I did not get in, and since then, I've never found the time or circumstances to learn the guitar. Now is my chance! Now all I have to do is find a guitar to learn on...Stay "tuned"! <--Ha, that's a musical pun.
Monday, April 3, 2017
April Quote
--Nelson Mandela
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