Matrix Questions #1

1. Explain how Neo's experience in and out of the Matrix parallels the Allegory of the Cave. Be specific using examples from each text.

They are similar because when they come out of the narrow world they were in before, they feel pain because they have never experienced the things that they are experiencing now. There are lots of new things in the actual world of the matrix just like there are new things in the world outside of the cave.

2. Morpheus poses the question, "what is real? how do you define real?" We're going to read literature that poses that very question. What tools and indicator do we use to define and describe the world around us? Is reality a definite concept measurable and quantifiable, or is it a fluid concept defined by perceptions? Why?

I think that we use our own mind to define the world around us. I think that what is real is a fluid concept by what we think in our mind. If we cannot grasp a concept, we just think that something is unreal and that it is foolish to even think that it is a real thing. I think the reason for this is that we are scared of the things that we cannot grasp and so we just deny those things.


3. The Matrix is part of the science-fiction genre, and while we may not be controlled by technology in the literal sense as The Matrix describes, does our current society in 2008 parallel the the world of The Matrix in certain ways? Has technology actually the lessened the quality of life in some ways? Why or why not?

Technology has allowed for new types of criminals such as hackers and scam artists. This makes it dangerous for us to be on the internet and to share our information with other people in fear that it might get stolen. So I would say that it has lessened the quality of life in some ways, but it has mostly improved life because it has made jobs easier and information sharing easier.

"The Cave"

1. Summarize what the allegory is about in your own paragraph

I think that the story is about learning new things and having new experiences. Even though you may not like it at first, you will come to appreciate it and cherish it. It becomes your responsibility to teach others about the new things that you have learned and get them in touch with the new things in their lives.


2. What do you think Socrates is trying to say about the nature of reality/truth?

I think that he is saying that it takes a while to understand the truth of reality, but once we do understand it then we will truly be able to appreciate it.

3. How does this allegory relate to the learning process and education in general?

We may think that some of the things we are learning right now are stupid and worthless to learn, but we will soon come to find out that we are learning many important lessons right now that we won't realize until later in our lives.

4. Think about our modern day technological society; how does this allegory written thousands of years ago connect to our culture?

People used to think that technology was bad, but more and more of those people have came to realize that technology can have a great positive impact on our lives and that they are very useful for doing things in our lives.

Sentence Composing # 7- Delayed Adverbs Practice 2

Sentence Composing # 7- Delayed Adverbs Practice 2

Single Delayed Adverb: They smiled, delicately, like weary children remembering a party.
--John Steinbeck, Cannery Row

Multiple Delayed Adverb: He worked himself to death, finally and precisely, at 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning
--Ellen Goodman, Close to Home

Practice 2: Unscrambling to Imitate

In the model and the scrambled list, identify the delayed adverb. Next, unscramble and write out the sentence parts to imitate the model. Finally, write your own imitation of the model and identify and delayed adverb.

Model: As I watched him, he seemed to adjust himself a little, visibly
--F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
a. a bit

b. she tried to excuse herself

c. when she told him

d. lamely
c,b,a,d
Own Sentence: When we saw them, they tried to move away, feebly.

Practice 3: Combining to Imitate

In the model identify the delayed adverbs. Next, combine the list of sentences to imitate the model. Finally, write your own imitation of the model and identify any delayed adverbs.

Model: The cars traveled Reynolds Streets, slowly and evenly.
--Annie Dillard, An American Childhood

a. a girl crossed a street

b. The street was Washington Avenue.

c. She crossed the street confidently.

d. And she cross the street purposefully.

A girl crossed Washington Avenue, confidently and purposefully.

Own Sentence: Barbara walked through the plaza, speedily and angrily.

Practice 4: Imitating

Identify the delayed adverbs in the models and sample imitations. Then write an imitation of each model sentence, one sentence part at a time.

1. Still winded, Smith sat up, slowly.
--Robert Ludlum, The Moscow Vector

Sample: Almost finished, Peter speed up triumphantly.

Own Sentence: At the end, John pumped his arms victoriously.

2. We explored the streams, quietly, where the turtles slid off the sunny logs and dug their way into the soft lake bottom.
--E.B. White "Once More to the Lake"

Sample: We walked the streets, dreamily, where the sun set in the crystal sky and melted its way over the inky black skyscrapers.


Own Sentence: They rode the course timidly, and didn't finish until most of the crowd had left because of boredom.

3. He was clambering, heavily, among the creepers and broken trunks, when a bird, a vision of red and yellow, flashed upwards with a witch-like cry.
--William Golding, Lord of the Flies

Sample: She was running, desperately, between the road the railroad track, after a car, her hope for escape and rescue, passed by with an oblivious driver.

Own Sentence: He was skating, slowly, between the two goals, after his daughter, his pride and joy, when he was hit by another skater

Sentence Composing # 6- Opening Adverb- Practice 2,3, and 4

Practice 2: Unscrambling to Imitate- In the model and the scramblist, identify the opening adverb. Next, unscramble a write out the sentence parts to imitate the model. Finally, write your own imitation of the model and identify the opening adverb.

Model: Suddenly, Alfred, who had heard the fight from the across the street, attacked from the rear with his favorite weapon, an indoor ball bat.
John Steinbeck, Cannery Row


a. sat up in the bed with her nightly snack

b. who had read the novel for over two hours

c. Jasmine

d. afterward

e. a mini Oreo cookie

Afterward, Jasmine, who had read the novel for over two hours, sat up in the bed with her nightly snack, a mini Oreo cookie.

Own Sentence: Unexpectedly, John, who had been sitting all by himelf for an hour, jumped up and put himself right into the discussion, which was very heated.

Practice 3: Combining to Imitate

In the model, identify the opening adverb. Next, combine the list of sentences to imitate the model. Finally, write your own imitation of the model and identify any opening adverbs.

Model: Outside, the doctor's car was surrounded by the boy while Finny was being lifted inside by Phil Latham.
John Knowles, A Separate Peace

a. This happened inside.

b. The younger children were involved with games.

c. While they were involved, Laura was being tutored near them.

d. The tutoring was by their teacher.

Inside, while the younger children were involved with games, the teacher tutored Laura near them.

Own Imitation Sentence: Outside, while the other people were playing pool, the student was studying her book just inside the door.

Practice 4: Imitating
Identify the opening adverbs in the model and then write your own example.

1. Here, relatives swarmed like termites.
--Wallace Stegner, Crossing to Safety

Own Imitation: Outside, the people were packed in like cows.

2. Slowly, methodically, miserably, she ate the jellied bread.
Toni Morrison, Beloved

Own Imitation: Angrily, quickly, suddenly, Bob punched Dan in the face.

3. Very slowly and very carefully, Harry got to his feet and set off again as fast as he could without making too much noise, hurrying through the darkness back toward Hogwarts.
--J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Own Imitation: Very stealthily and very sneakily, Chuck was able to sneak around the guards and get back to his room, without being sighted by the ominous guards and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Argumentative Paragraph

The Knight's Tale and The Miller's Tale are both provincial love stories, but the happenings in the story are very different. Both of the stories contain illicit relationships, but each story contains a very different type of love. Both stories contain, a woman, beautiful and young. But the loves in each of the stories are very different. In the knight's tale, the love is an instant affinity that two men have for one unmarried woman. In the Miller's tale, the love is not found until after a short time and is hard to come by because the woman being loved is married. It is very possible the the love in the Miller's tale is not true love, just a love of passion, as is concured from this statement (Chaucer, lines 94-95) "O darling, love me, love me now. Or shall i die, and pray that God me save!" So the thought that I obtain from this is that the stories are similar in nature, but are very different in seriousness and one has to be taken more seriously than the other.

Sentence Composing #5-Delayed Adjectives- Practice 4 and 5

Practice 4: Imitating

Directions: Identify the delayed adjectives in the models and sample imitations. Then write an imitation of each model sentence, one sentence part at a time.

1. Dumpster diving is outdoor work, often surprisingly pleasant.
--Lars Eighner, "On Dumpster Diving"

Sample: Doing homework is necessary discipline, sometimes incredibly helpful.
Example: Running a marathon is very hard, but incredibly satisfying.

2. The baby's eyes were the shape of watermelon seeds, very black and cut very precisely into her small, solemn face.
--Anne Tyler, Digging to America

Sample: The unspoken pain was the weight of river rocks ,very heavy and embedded most certainly into her aching body.

Example: The unfathomable aching was from being hit in the arm, repeatedly and accurately into the same spot on the body.

3. I shivered as he tossed the feathered corpse of the dead chicken, limp as a cloth, into the back of the truck.
--Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams

Sample: I stared as he threw the battered ball from the garbage can, smelly as a foot, into the field of the pitcher.

Example: The crowd looked on as she ran around the field, fast as the wind, around each base.

Practice 5: Expanding

The delayed adjectives are omitted at the caret mark (^) in the following sentences. For each caret, add a delayed adjective or adjective phrase, blending your content and style with the rest of the sentence.
1. The man topple to one side, crumpled against the railing, ^unconscious.
--Robert Ludlum, The Prometheus Deception

2. The spiders like of their sides, ^calm and ^unmoving, their legs drying in knots.
--Annie Dillard, "Death of a Moth"

3. He was twenty-sex, dark haired ^handsome, ^strong, ^smart, and ^friendly.
--John Steinbeck, Cannery Row

Sentence Composing #5-Delayed Adjective Practice

Practice 1: Matching

Match the delayed adjectives with the sentences. Write out each sentences, inserting and underlining the delayed adjectives

1. Milk, sticky and sour on her dress, attracted every small flying thing from gnats to grasshoppers.

Toni Morrison, Beloved

2. It seemed dreadful to see the great bear lying there in agony, powerless to move and yet powerless to die.

George Orwell, "Shooting an Elephant"

3. The water in this pool has a dark clarity, like smoked glass, transparent but obscure.

Edward Abbey, "Aravaipa Canyon"

4. Picture poor old Alfy coming home from football practice every evening, bruised and aching agonizingly tired, scarcely able to shovel the mashed potatoes into his mouth.

Paul Roberts, Understanding English

5. I am an enthusiastic laudress, capable of sorting a hamper full of clothes in to five subltly differentiated piles, but a terrible house keeper.

Nancy Mairs, Plaintext

Practice 2: Unscrambling to Imitate

In the model and the scrambled list, identify the delayed adjectives. Next, unscramble and write out the sentence parts of imitate the model. Finally write your own imitation of the model and identify the delayed adjectives.

Model: They ate like men, ravenous and intent

Toni Morrison, Beloved

a. They sang like angels.

b. The angel were pure.

c. And the angel were sweet

They sang like angels, pure and sweet

Own Sentence: They ran like gods, fast and powerful

Practice 3: Combining to Imitate- In the model, identify the delayed adjective, Next, combine the list of sentences to imitate the model. Finally, write your own imitation of the model and identify any delayed adjectives.

Model: He forgot that his Lesser Warders were watching, afraid to interfere.

--Stephen King, The Eyes of the Dragon

a. She knew something

b. What we knew is how her sister were feeling.

c. Her sisters were happy to help.

She knew how her sisters were feeling, happy to help

Own Sentence: He saw how the team acted, sad to be done.