Masterpiece Essay

Michael Hall

Dr. Preston

AP English Literature and Composition  

8 June 2015

Masterpiece Essay

            The idea of masterpieces is very interesting and it lead to an interesting year. Our classes were given a major amount of trust, some stayed true and others veered off the path. In the end all of us presented great masterpieces that impressed me with their level of thought and effort. As for me, I worked on my masterpiece for the majority of semester, given all I was doing was telling riddles to my friends in the back of the class, but that was my masterpiece after all.

            This year’s literary works varied greatly, Brave New World was a great and interesting science fiction novel that showed a dystopian world. It was a great representation of how our world could be and what needs to happen to prevent that. Hamlet was more of the traditional Shakespearean work that all students have come to know, but compared to Macbeth it was a much more entertaining play to read. Mainly because our class studied Hamlet with great depth that created a better connection with the work and characters.

            A passion that I had was riddle telling, in years past I enjoyed telling my friend ridiculous riddles to my friends. It wasn’t until two other class mates tried to solve a riddle off of my blog that I rekindled that flame. From that point on I told about 30 plus riddles to my group of friends and from that I picked five to share to the class. I still enjoy riddles but do not have any plans to do anything more than have fun from time to time telling riddles.

            I laughed a lot during the course, one instance was Elmo and Miles masterpiece presentation, the second video that they made had a lot of subtle jokes that me and my group of friends found to be some of the greatest parts. One was the use of Skyrim and GTA (video games) maps as well as the ”Half Life 3 confirmed?” reference.

            One commonality in masterpieces was peoples desire to help the world around them. Lilly showed how she is working to become a doctor and her experiences so far, Elizabeth got people to come together and donate their hair to help people suffering from cancer, Stevie went and gave gifts to sick children at the hospital, Sierra volunteered at the homeless shelter to help people, and lastly Courtney and how she helps with Special Olympics. Then there is me, just here telling riddles to my friends as they try to change the world for the better. Does that make me a hero? Most likely no but my masterpiece is something I enjoy and that my friends enjoyed with me, that is all that matters.        

              

Elmo's riddle time!!!

 How can you make the following true by adding a single line: .9 = 1.

Note: ≠ is not the answer.

Ap exams! No riddles!!!

Level 3
     Sergi and Sally were sitting in their family room one night. While Sergi was watching TV, his wife Sally was reading. All of a sudden the power went out and Sergi decided to go to bed, but Sally kept on reading. With no use of artificial light, Sally kept on reading. How?

Level 2
Jack is taking a tour through a museum's American Presidents exhibit. The person leading the tour tells him "We have a picture of each presidency. Currently Barack Obama is the 43rd person to hold the office." But Jack quickly realizes that there are 44 pictures on the wall. But while walking through the exhibit he realizes why this is.

Why is there one too many photos?

Level 2
There was a window cleaner who was cleaning a window on the 25th floor of a skyscraper. He suddenly slips and falls. He has no safety equipment and nothing to soften his fall, but he is not hurt at all. How do you account for that?

Level 3

This is an unusual paragraph. I'm curious as to just how quickly you can find out what is so unusual about it. It looks so ordinary and plain that you would think nothing was wrong with it. In fact, nothing is wrong with it! It is highly unusual though. Study it and think about it, but you still may not find anything odd. But if you work at it a bit, you might find out. Try to do so without any coaching!

Riddle time with Hikaru and Jared

A young man walks through the forest. He comes to a bridge. In front of the bridge is a large man carrying an axe. The man says, "If you want to cross this bridge, you must tell me a statement. If I think the statement is true, you will be strangled to death. If I say the statement is false, your head will be chopped off." A few minutes later, the young man walked over the bridge, while the larger man stood pondering. What was the statement the young man had given?

Imagine your in a sinking boat and there is alligators trying to eat you. How do you save yourself?

 A man in prison has a visitor. Afterward a guard asks the inmate who the visitor was to him. The inmate replies: "brothers and sisters I have none, but that man's father is my father's son." Who was the visitor to the inmate?

A poor man is sitting in a pub. He sees that the man next to him is extremely rich.

Poor man: I have an amazing talent; I know almost every song that has ever existed.

The rich man laughs.

Poor man: I am willing to bet you all the money you have in your wallet that I can sing a popular song that includes a lady's name of your choosing.

The rich man laughs again.

Rich man: OK, how about my daughter's name, Joanna Armstrong-Miller?

The poor man goes home rich.

What song did he sing?

Are you smarter than a 12 grader??

 
What single line can you add to the following statement to make it true?

5+5+5=550

A man walks into a bar and asks for a glass of water. The bartender pulls out a shotgun and points it at him. The man says, thank you and leaves. Why 

A man is lying dead with a backpack on, face down in the desert. What happened 

The riddle??!?!!

 A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three rooms. The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with loaded guns, and the third is full of lions that haven't eaten in 3 years. Which room is safest for him?

A man was found dead in his study. He was slumped over his desk and a gun was in his hand. There was a cassette recorder on his desk. When the police entered the room and pressed the play button on the tape recorder they heard: "I can't go on. I have nothing to live for." Then there was the sound of a gunshot. How did the detective immediately know that the man had been murdered and it wasn't a suicide?

What 3 positive numbers give the same result when multiplied and added together?

Masterpiece Change!!!

While the idea of blowing shit up with my mind was amusing it is not practical. As time has gone on since that day I have thought very little about how to move that idea foreword. Dr Preston said to study the amazing things people can do with their minds. That was another interesting idea, but I think I have found something that truly interests me Riddles!!!! I am looking at what makes riddles good and challenging, as of lately I was posted a lot of riddles recently and o believe that they are all very good. I an looking for what makes riddles good!! More to come and many more riddles to be posted