Cultural Knowledge Final (Junior)

Hundred Years War

- Series of campaigns over control of the throne of France, involving English and French royal families and French noble families.

- Intermittent armed conflict between England and France over territorial rights and the issue of succession to the French throne. It began when Edward III invaded Flanders in 1337 in order to assert his claim to the French crown.

verisimilitude

- the quality of seeming true or of having the appearance of being real

- EXAMPLE: She has included photographs in the book to lend verisimilitude to the story.

- EXAMPLE: A typically kind character says "I'm so very sorry! It was an accident!" after accidentally tripping someone on the bus. In this example, the story has verisimilitude because a character who is known for being kind would, predictably, apologize after accidentally tripping someone.

Jonathan Swift

- Anglo-Irish author, who was the foremost prose satirist in the English language. Wrote the novel GULLIVER'S TRAVELS (1726)

Jean Jacques Rousseau

- A French man who believed that Human beings are naturally good & free & can rely on their instincts. Government should exist to protect common good, and be a democracy

- belief that man was born basically good, and idea that society is what corrupts mankind. He also believed in a social contract that maintained the relationship and balance between a government and its citizens

- KNOW THIS "Social Contract" he explained an ideal society where each community member would vote on issues and majority would become one law.

denouement

- the final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved

- the word derives from Latin and literally means "untie the knot," which refers to the narrative entanglements the author has woven through the first four stages of plot development.

John Donne

- Donne was most widely known in his lifetime as a priest. As the dean of St. Paul's Cathedral from 1621 until his death, he was one of the capital's most prominent clergymen, a celebrated preacher whose performances drew thousands.

- Known for the quote "NO MAN IS AN ISLAND" which means no one is self-sufficient; everyone relies on others. This saying comes from a sermon by the seventeenth-century English author John Donne.

Rembrandt

- Dutch painter, who painted portraits of wealthy middle-class merchants and used sharp contrasts of light and shadow to draw attention to his focus

- Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of art and the most important in Dutch art history

Luddites

- Any of a group of British workers who between 1811 and 1816 rioted and destroyed labor saving textile machinery in the belief that such machinery would diminish employment.

- The Luddites were members of a 19th-century movement of English textile workers which opposed the use of certain types of cost-saving machinery, often by destroying the machines in clandestine raids.

Turner

- English landscape painter, seascapes

Philistine

- a person who is guided by materialism and is disdainful of intellectual or artistic values

- Enemies of the ancient Israelites, they were portrayed in the Bible as a crude and warlike race. This led to the use of Philistine in English to refer, humorously, to an enemy into whose hands one had fallen or might fall.

- In accounts from the Hebrew Bible, the Philistines appear mostly as villainous enemies of the Israelites. They sent Delilah to cut the hair of the Israelite leader Samson and thus stripped him of his power. Goliath, the giant slain by David, was a Philistine

Franz Kafka

- Czech novelist who wrote in German about a nightmarish world of isolated and troubled individuals (1883-1924)

- Born in Prague in 1883, Franz Kafka came of age at the turn of the 20th century and went on to become one of its leading writers. His work brings together the every day and the incredible, inviting the reader to challenge their ideas about human nature, politics, and society

Byronic hero

- a self tormented outcast who is cynical and contemptuous of societal norms and is suffering from some unnamed or mysterious sin

- A kind of hero found in several of the works of Lord Byron. Like Byron himself, a Byronic hero is a melancholy and rebellious young man, distressed by a terrible wrong he committed in the past.

- EXAMPLES: Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights, Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre, the Phantom from Phantom of the Opera, the narrator from Fight Club, and Edward from Twilight

- EXAMPLES: Batman, who can be understood as a Byronic hero, is quite different. Batman is highly intelligent, cynical, self-destructive, haunted, traumatized, and tends to rebel against authority. Batman, then, can be understood as a perfect example of a modern day Byronic hero.

Star Chamber

- The Star Chamber was an English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late 15th century to the mid-17th century, and was composed of Privy Counsellors and common-law judges, to supplement the judicial activities of the common-law and equity courts in civil and criminal matters.

- It achieved great popularity under Henry VIII for its ability to enforce the law when other courts were unable to do so because of corruption and influence, and to provide remedies when others were inadequate.

Sodom & Gomorrah

- According to the Bible, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah — called as a group The Cities on the Plain - were destroyed by God for their sins. It is often postulated that the sin of Sodom was homosexuality and rape. Before it was destroyed, a virtuous couple, Lot and his wife, were advised by God to leave the city immediately and not look back. Lot's wife submitted to temptation and, as she looked back on the city, she was turned into a pillar of salt.

- any place associated with wickedness or sin; from the evil cities of the Old testament that were destroyed by fire

shibboleth

- (n) a word, expression, or custom that distinguishes a particular group of persons from all others; a commonplace saying or truism

- Shibboleths can be used to highlight your social status such as wealth, coolness or intelligence. For example, an individual who drops the names of places on the north shore of Long Island to highlight that they vacation in an expensive and socially exclusive location.

- a word or pronunciation that distinguishes someone as of a particular group

cubism

- A style of art in which the subject matter is portrayed by geometric forms, especially cubes

- Cubism was a revolutionary new approach to representing reality invented in around 1907-12 by artists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque

- They brought different views of subjects (usually objects or figures) together in the same picture, resulting in paintings that appear fragmented and abstracted (like a cube, hence cubism)

- By breaking objects and figures down into distinct areas - or planes - the artists aimed to show different viewpoints at the same time and within the same space and so suggest their three dimensional form.

nom de plume

- an assumed name used by a writer instead of their real name; a pen name.

- A pen name, sometimes called a pseudonym or a nom de plume, is a name a writer uses instead of their own. For example, Jane Eyre author Charlotte Brontë originally published her work under the name Currer Bell. Her sisters Emily and Anne did the same under the names Ellis and Acton Bell, respectively.

Jacob & Esau

- Isaac's sons. Esau traded his inheritance to Jacob for food, and then Jacob stole their father's deathbed blessing - usually reserved for the first-born son - by disguising himself as his brother.

Thirty pieces of silver

- The amount of Silver that Judas (one of Jesus's 12 disciples) was offered in order to betray Jesus. Judas took this offer and revealed who Jesus was to his enemies by kissing him on the cheek

eye of the needle

- A very difficult task; from famous narrow gateway called "the needle." In the New testament of the Bible, Jesus said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. This doesn't mean a rich man cannot get into heaven, but it is extremely difficult. There were actually many rich people that have entered the kingdom of God, such as Job and King David.

writing on the wall

- when an outcome is very clear to see and not likely to change

- According to the accounts in the Bible, Belshazzar held a last great feast, his father brought gold items taken from the temple in Jerusalem. As they drank from these items, they worshiped gods. As all this is happening a hand appeared and wrote on the wall. King Belshazzar calls for his wise men (who interpreted dreams) to tell him what the words written on the wall meant, but they did not know. The kings wife informs him of a God fearing man named Daniel who was the head of the wise men. When Daniel came he told him the meaning of the writing. He said the king has not honored God or his hand in his life, so God wrote of the wall "mene, mene, tekel, upharsin." which means that the kings kingdom will be divided. That very night King Belshazzar was killed and his kingdom was given over to another ruler.

good samaritan

- This is a parable that Jesus tells in the bible. It starts when a Jewish man is traveling from Jerusalem, and he is attacked. He is left half dead besides the road. A priest walks by him and when he saw this beaten man, he crossed to the other side of the road and ignored him. A temple assistant walked by also, but did the same thing. Then a Samaritan walked by (Samaritans were despised by everyone) and he felt compassion for this beaten man. He treated his wounds and even paid for him to be taken care of.

- Jesus tells this parable as an example of how to Love your neighbor as yourself. The only person to act as a good neighbor in this parable is the Samaritan Man who helped him.

prodigal son

- This is another parable that Jesus tells. It starts when a son asks his father for his inheritance. The son gets it and goes off to live a life full of sin and partying. When he runs out of money he is forced to get a job as a farmer. This is when he realizes that he could be a farmer for his own father he betrayed and earn more a living. He returns home and simply repents to his father and asks only for a job so he can live. Instead of the father kindly accepting his offer, he rejoices in his sons return and prepares a wonderful feast for him to welcome his son back. The fathers other son becomes jealous because he had never gotten a feat dedicated to him and he was the one who stayed faithful to his father.

- This story is an example of how Jesus will leave the 99 to get the 1. There can be 99 perfectly wonderful people who are following the will of God and are living according to his purpose, but Jesus will leave them just for some time, to retrieve the one lost person and bring them back home where they can live in joy and peace with Him. His love is so great for us that he seeks for each and every one of us.

Cain & Abel/mark of Cain

- Cain and Able were the first sons of Adam and Eve. It was their time to bring offerings to the Lord. Abel gave the Lord the best of his best first born lamb, while Cain only gave him a small portion of his crops. God did not accept Cains gifts not because is was not as good as Abel' s, but because it was not a genuine gift. Abel truly wanted to give the Lord his best offering, but Abel did not care to give the Lord his best. Cain is jealous of his brother so he kills him. Because of this God curses Cain and banishes him to be a wanderer of the Earth. Cain argues that he is going to be killed out in the world alone, so God put a mark on Cain to warn anyone that might to to kill him.

tower of babel

- Nimrod in the bible wanted to built a tower that could reach the heavens. As they began to build, this angered God, so he confused all their speech to make them speak different languages. This obviously ruined their plan to build the tower because they could not communicate anymore.

golden calf

- As the Israelite's are out in the wilderness, Moses goes up a mountain where he will get the ten commandments from God. As he is up in the mountain, Aaron (Moses's brother) and the rest of the Israelite's give on up waiting for Moses and decide to built a golden calf to worship. They worship him as the God who got them out of their slavery in Egypt, but it was really the one true God that saved them. This greatly angers Moses when he comes down the mountain because he realized the lack of faith and patience they had.

the binding of Issac

- This is where God commands Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, Abraham agrees because he puts God above everything else, but God sends an angel at the last second and tells Abraham to sacrifice a ram instead of his son.

- This tested Abraham of his faith and clearly his faith was so strong that he would give up his only son for God

- This also represents God sending his one and only son Jesus to die on the cross for us to save our sons. Jesus is the sacrificial lamb.

gilding the lily

- to attempt to improve something that does not need improvement

- a phrase or expression that adds unnecessary beauty to something that is already of beauty. It normally means trying too hard to improve something that doesn't need any improving.

"you don't need to wear so much make up; you're just gilding the lily"

lazarus

- a man who Jesus raised from the dead, even though he'd been buried for three days. A symbol of Jesus's power and of possibilities.

- brother to Mary and Martha, raised to life by Jesus after being dead for 4 days

Methusalah

- Methuselah, in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), patriarch whose life span as recorded in Genesis (5:27) was 969 years. Methuselah has survived in legend and tradition as the longest-lived human

jezebel

- The wicked queen of Israel who persecuted the prophets of the True God. She was a Phoenician, and she was fanatically devoted to the Phoenician god Baal.

- She provoked conflict that weakened Israel for decades by interfering with the exclusive worship of the Hebrew god Yahweh, disregarding the rights of the common man, and defying the great prophets Elijah and Elisha.

Lot's wife

- A disobedient woman who was punished by God. When she turned back to look at the city (Sodom and Gomorrah) that was to be destroyed - in direct violation of God's command to not look back- she was turned into a pillar of salt.

de facto

- in fact; in reality

- EXAMPLE: Although his title was prime minister, he was de facto president of the country.

- EXAMPLE: They are forbidden from leaving the camp, thereby being de facto in a state of detention.

fait accompli

- (n) an accomplished and presumably irreversible deed, fact, or action

- a thing that has already happened or been decided before those affected hear about it, leaving them with no option but to accept it.

- A fait accompli is something that's already done. If your dad warns you not to play an April Fool's Day trick on your sister, but you've already put a giant inflatable Godzilla in the shower, that's a fait accompli. The noun fait accompli, pronounced "fate uh-COM-plee," describes something that has already happened.

ipso facto

- " by that very fact" or "by fact itself"

- Since he failed to complete the assignment on time, the math student ipso facto received a lower grade than he was expecting

- Just because I'm Italian does not mean I'm ipso facto part of a mob

- You use ipso facto when you have a fact or an action, and you want to show that it's a direct consequence of another fact or action.

Example: Peter's son was born in Argentina and he ipso facto has a claim to Argentinean citizenship. In this case, ipso facto precedes the word it modifies.

mea culpa

- Interjection statement uttered to show personal responsibility for a wrong

- an acknowledgment of one's fault or error.

- EXAMPLE: "Well, whose fault was that?" "Mea culpa!" Frank said"

persona non grata

- an unacceptable or unwelcome person

- You can use the term persona non grata to describe anyone who is unwelcome, whether it's an obnoxious party guest or a trespasser using your yard as a shortcut. Complain loudly about your neighbor's cooking and you might be declared persona non grata next time she throws a dinner party.

deus ex machina

- an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation, especially as a contrived plot device in a play or novel.

- For example, if a character fell off a cliff and a flying robot suddenly appeared out of nowhere to catch them, that would be a deus ex machina. The goal of this device is to bring about resolution, but it can also introduce comedic relief, disentangle a plot, or surprise an audience.

quid pro quo

- a favor or advantage granted or expected in return for something.

- “this for that”

ad hominem

- In an argument, this is an attack on the person rather than on the opponent's ideas. It comes from the Latin meaning "against the man."

- appealing to feelings or prejudices rather than intellect.

- In a debate, an ad hominem argument might look like: "You have no idea what you're talking about; you've only lived here for six months." "It's hard to take your claims seriously because you spend your days playing video games."

vis a vis

- A word derived from latin by the way of French

- Literally means Face to Face in French

- The English meaning refers to a horse drawn carriage that carries two people facing opposite each other

- From this english meaning it acquired other ones such as dancing partner

- In today's language it doesn't mean physically face to face, but instead means that things that are face to face can be easily compared of contrasted

- Example: "let's look at Britain's role vis-Ã -vis that of the United States"

Seth Cecotti's middle name

TBD

Book of Revelation

- Last book of the Bible; an account of highly symbolic visions of the future of the Church and the end times. Talks about things like the second coming of Jesus and Armageddon.