SNOW!!!

I like snow. The one thing that is bad about it is that it means that it is cold outside. I don't like the cold. It hurts my ears when the wind blows and hits them. Otherwise though, snow is pretty cool. There are so many different activities that can be done in snow. You can go snowboarding, skiing, sledding, make a snow angel, have a snowball fight, make a snowman, and so much more. Personally, I think that it would be pretty cool to live somewhere that has snow year round and in a mountain. That way, I could learn how to snowboard and ski, which would just be pretty freaking sweet if you ask me. The only problem with this plan is the fact that I also like summer quite a bit and I don't know if I could live somewhere in the cold all year. I think scientists need to invent some sort of chemical that when released into the air, clouds form and a "summer snow" is formed. I would somehow keep water vapor at a cool enough temperature that it would stay in its frozen state. If I can invent this, I will become extremely rich, because I would sell it at ridiculous prices even though it would mainly consist of water making it rather cheep to produce. And who wouldn't be willing to pay big money for snow during the summer time? No one, that's who. With all of the money that I make from my summer snow, I would be able to go to somewhere like California for the summer and somewhere up north for the winter so that I can have the best of both worlds. I would also make a ski resort located on a beach in California for my own personal use. I think that I would sell my snow in packages of thirty minutes worth of snow. All one would have to do is throw that package in the air, and on the spot it would explode into a vast wonderland of snowy beauty. Snow is cool.

Dark Romanticism in "The Minister's Black Veil"

Along with other writers such as Edgar Allan Poe and Emilie Dickenson, Nathaniel Hawthorne is known as one of the most important and most representative of Dark Romantic literature. His work of "The Minister's Black Veil" exemplifies many characteristics of Dark Romanticism crediting the fact that Hawthorne is a leader in the genre. The strong use of symbolism and the things each symbol represents are supportive of Dark Romantic characteristics. This along with the use of a language and literary style popular to that of Romanticism exemplify the characteristics used in Dark Romantic literature.

The first thing that one notices about this story is the language and style used to tell and describe the account of the minister and the black veil that he wore. “With this gloomy shade before him, good Mr. Hooper walked onward, at a slow and quiet pace, stooping somewhat, and looking on the ground, as is customary with abstracted men, yet nodding kindly to those of his parishioners…” (Hawthorne). This line from the beginning of the story shows all of the styles that are used in the story. First the word selection is similar to what is common in Dark Romanticism in a sense that some of the words are very dark and eerie in a way. As this is the first part of the story where the veil is described, it is already stated as being “gloomy.” The description of how Mr. Hooper is walking through the aisles portrays a person that is doing his normal tasks, but at the same time there is a very eerie sense to how he is acting around the people.

As well as the style in which this story is written, the entire theme also reflects many of the characteristics of Dark Romanticism. Throughout the story the people of the town, along with the reader, are wondering what the meaning of their preacher wearing this black veil is. Many times in the story, there is mention of “secret sin,” and this may be the cause for the black veil that the preacher has begun to wear (Hawthorne). This is supportive of the ideals of Dark Romanticism as that there is a strong belief that all people are prone to sin and self destruct. The cause Mr. Hooper to wear this veil is never truly reveled, but this idea suggests that he did something to make him ashamed of himself and not want to be seen by his peers.

At the conclusion of this story, Mr. Hooper dies and his face remains covered by the black veil that he has been wearing for so many years (Hawthorne). At this point in the story it is almost symbolic that at his death, a black veil is already on his face; similar to what many of the women may have worn to his funeral. It is clear that not even in his death will a mortal lay eye on his face, and as he decays in his grave, he will remain both figuratively and literally covered and hidden from everyone.

The story of “The Minister’s Black Veil” displays many of the characteristics and ideals presented many times in Dark Romantic literature. The style of writing, symbols, and also the main theme presented by the work are evidence to its being in the genre of Dark Romanticism. This is no surprise as Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the leaders in the genre and this story, along with many of his other works displays this.


Works Cited

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Minister's Black Veil." American Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 280-89. Print.

Mask

I think there are a lot of instances that people wear masks to separate themselves from others in the world. Its hard to tell why people do this, but it seems that at some point or another everyone does it. I think that everyone wears a mask of who they want themselves, well actually rather how they want others to think of them, when they first meet new people. Personally I think that this is a part of human nature because we want to make good first impressions to all of the people that we meet. Maybe we are overcompensating to make up for any false pretenses that may have been thoughts of the new people. One thing that I sometimes do when I meet me people is avoid talking about or showing my intelligence. I am aware that I am pretty smart, but I also know that it can be quite intimidating to talk to someone when you know that they are a lot smarter than you are. This is why I just keep away from showing my intelligence, also because it seems too braggy. It is not really until you have known someone for a while that you start to "take off your mast" and let them see who you really are. It is a lot easier to be yourself around people that you are comfortable with and I believe that it is all a process to get to the point of removing one's "mask." Another time that people wear masks is when they are trying to create a persona that they really don't want to uphold. To me, this is like when I played basketball. It was a huge part of my life and my family really pushed me to do it, but in the end I decided that it wasn't necessarily me so I quite and "removed the mask" of being a basketball player so I could focus more on music.

Dark Romanticism of The Pit and the Pendulum

Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most important writers in the genre of Dark Romanticism. His style and word usage, along with the subject matter of his short stories all follow the style of Dark Romanticism. The short story of “The Pit and the Pendulum” is an excellent example of these characteristics used by Poe. Not only is the story about the torture brought upon a man, but also the way in which the story is written follows the basis of Dark Romantic Literature.

The beginning of the story in the courtroom starts off right away with an example of Dark Romanticism. The narrator describes the judge as wearing a very dark robe with extremely white lips (Poe). These two things have a very significant meaning in the figurative sense of the story. Both of these things symbolize death because black is always a symbol of death and the white lips are like a dead body that has become cold. This is almost hinting at the fact that the narrator is already dead, but it seems more that he has an anxiety of death already.

Another symbol of death that is used in the story is one of the torture devices. The pendulum that is swinging towards the prisoner is actually a scythe, which is the tool quite often associated with the character of “Death” (Poe). This is strongly supporting of Dark Romanticism in a sense that it is all about the death of a human being. The device almost symbolizes the eminent death of a person. This is something that Dark Romanticism is supportive of, because its belief is that all people are eventually going to die or self destruct.

The pit in the story seems to represent emptiness. In the story, the narrator describes the well as being extremely deep. He drops a rock in it and does not hear it hit water for a very long time (Poe). This could very well represent the emptiness of humans as a whole in the world. Being almost empty is similar to how the Dark Romantics believe that humans are. Near the end of the story, the narrator speaks of how he is being pushed towards the pit (Poe). It seems like he means that he is being pushed towards the emptiness of himself which could cause the self destruction that Dark Romantics thought that everyone eventually reaches.

In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum” there are many examples of Dark Romanticism. Many of the symbols used in the story display the characteristics that were popular in the style of Dark Romantic literature. This is no surprise as Poe was one of the leaders in the style of Dark Romanticism. The symbols of the pendulum being eminent death of a person and the pit being the emptiness of the people in the world are both evidence of a strong influence from Dark Romanticism. Along with the use of these symbols, there is also use of writing style and word usage that was popular to the how Dark Romantics wrote their works.



Works Cited

Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Pit and the Pendulum” American Literature. Comp. Wilhelm, Jeffory. Columbus 2009.

Analysis of Persons' Criticism of "The Raven"

Leland Persons’ criticism of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” brings up many interesting points about the work and other works written by Poe. He analyzes the way in which Poe wrote his works; that being for the reader to have their own interpretation of it. Persons’ main idea revolves around the concept that when reading “The Raven,” the reader actually has to compose a philosophy of their own about the events and ideas presented in the work.

The connection is made by Persons that not only is the character in the poem trying to “read” the raven, but the reader of the poem is as well (Persons). The use of solely one word by the raven shows that the story is actually meant to be interpreted. As a reader, one finds themselves trying to formulate and explanation as well as a meaning as to why the raven only says the word “nevermore.” Persons states that the bird is identical to the word it speaks because it has no meaning or representation along with no other words to use (Persons). This I disagree with this statement, because as I read the poem, I felt as though the bird did have a more significant meaning. It seems as though the bird has to represent the character’s lost Lenore, or possible something sent from Lenore to give a message to the lamenting lover.

Persons’ says that the reader has control of the bird throughout the poem, because the one reading in fact controls the meaning of the actions and the single word spoken by it (Persons). This I agree with, because I feel as though, if I were to read this poem while experiencing different emotions or moods, I could create a whole new meaning to the word “nevermore” and a new meaning to the entire poem as well. I think this was actually the intention of Poe when this poem was writing. As a writer, when you can make a work have different meanings for every reader in different moods, then a true work of art has been created. Persons’ quotes Edgar Allan Poe in his saying that it is the readers’ job to compose the raven and create the idea of what it represents (Persons). It is as if Poe did not create an idea for the raven to represent, but rather a basis for representation by interpretation of the reader.

Leland Persons made some very valid points about Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.” I completely agree with his ideas about the meaning and significance of the raven in the story when he says that it is all about reader interpretation. I found it interesting that he believes that the reader is actually trying to figure out what the raven is at the same time as the character in the story. This method is most likely what Poe wanted when he wrote this poem and it is also what makes it such a great work of art. Even Poe says that this work is all about the readers’ interpretation, and this creates a story that can change among readers and simply the mood of the reader.


Works Cited

Person, Leland S., Jr. "Poe's Composition of Philosophy: Reading and Writing 'The Raven,'" Arizona Quarterly 46, no. 3 (Autumn 1990): pp. 1-2, 8, 12. Quoted as "The Self-Deconstruction of 'The Raven'" in Harold Bloom, ed. Edgar Allan Poe, Bloom's Major Poets. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1999. (Updated 2007.) Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BMPEAP25&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 22, 2010).

Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven

Literal meaning sentence for sentence:

One night while I was thinking to myself, I heard a tapping on my bedroom door. I said, “There is a visitor knocking on my door and nothing more than this.” I remember that it was December and there was a dwindling fire. I wished for tomorrow and I vainly had sorrow for the loss of Lenore, who has no name anymore. I was filled with terror and to the beat of my heart I kept repeating “There is a visitor at my door and nothing more than this.” I said, sir or ma’am I am sorry but I was about to nap when you started knocking, but when I opened the door, I saw absolutely nothing. In the darkness there was nothing. Complete silence until I whispered saying “Lenore” and an echo I heard and nothing more. I returned into my chamber with my soul burning and I heard an even louder knocking than before. Surly this sound is something at my window so I shall look and I said “This must just be the wind.” I opened the window and entered a raven flapping its wings. He continued to move about until he perched upon my chamber door, sitting there perched and nothing more. I asked the nightly raven what his name is and he said, “Nevermore.” The raven only spoke that one word. He said nothing and did not move until I muttered that he would leave in the morning and the bird said, “Nevermore.” Startled by this I thought that it was the usually and normal for this to happen with this particular bird. I went to my chair and started to think of what it meant that this bird said “Nevermore.” I sat guessing but could not think of a reason for this happening and then I thought that this would pass. Then the air grew dense with the smell of perfume but no one else was there. God has sent these angels to me over my memories of my lost Lenore. With this the bird said, “Nevermore.” I said, “Tell me whether bird or devil, is there balm in Gilead?” With this the bird said, “Nevermore.” I said, “Tell me if Aidenn has the one that the angels name Lenore.” With this the bird said, “Nevermore.” I yelled, “Leave my chambers, raven. Take your beak out of my heart and leave me to my loneliness.” With this the raven said, “Nevermore.” That bird is still perched above my bedroom door with eyes like a demon dreaming and it shall be moved nevermore.



Poetic devices used:

Throughout this poem there are many poetic devices used. One of the major ones used is alliteration. Within the first few stanzas of the poem there are already quite a few examples of this. One is in the first line with the words: while, weak, and weary. Another example is with the words: nodded, nearly, and napping. Throughout the poem there is use of end rhymes as well as internal rhyme. In the first stanza dreary and weary rhyme within the line, but in later lines of the stanza, door is rhymed with more. One of the most important poetic devices used in this poem is the repetition. The raven continually saying "Nevermore" is a huge part of the figurative meaning of the poem overall. Along with this, another device used is personification of giving the raven the ability to talk, though it may only be the one word it speaks.



Figurative meaning:

On a deeper level, this poem is all about the loss of the characters live, Lenore. On this one particular night, the man is sitting in his chambers thinking about her. When he lets the bird in, it is clear that it is not a regular bird. Oftentimes a raven represents the devil and this seems to be the case. As the man speaks of his lamenting for Lenore the bird continues to look at him and say, "Nevermore." The man asks many questions about if he will ever be with his love again, even in heaven, but the bird only says nevermore all of his questions that arise with his lamenting for Lenore. I think that the final lines describing how the bird is still there show the point that what the bird had said would hold true, and the man would never be with his love, Lenore.

Journal 24 My mind is playing tricks on me

There have been many times that my mind has played tricks on me. I think that it is actually human nature to imagine things and it just happens naturally all of the time. This goes all the way back to when we were I was in middle school. The one instance that I always remember was when I have some friends staying the night at my house. We were in the basement and at about twelve o'clock and we heard something coming from upstairs. It sounded like a door opening and then footsteps going across the house. A little freaked out by this, we decided to investigate. We went upstairs and looked everywhere. We found absolutely nothing and we checked all of the locks to make sure they were locked. We wen't back down to the basement and for a while were just hanging out. Then a little bit later, we heard the footsteps again. We were all in agreement that they were footsteps so we went up to check again. This time, my dad came out of his bedroom and told us that it was nothing and that we should just go back to bed. This instance really shows that our minds can make us believe anything. Obviously there were just sounds that the house usually makes but we made ourselves believe that it was the sound of a person that was in the house. One thing that may have caused this is that there was a large number of people. I think that when there are multiple people and an idea is sparked about something, it just snowballs and eventually everyone starts to believe it. It reminds me of Lord of the Flies with the kids think that there is a creature on the island. Who knows, maybe we would have ended up turning against each other and forming two different groups or become savages like the kids in the Lord of the Flies.

"Walden" Analysis/ Criticism

Although in Michaela Keck’s analysis of Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden” there is a statement that even though one may not know “Walden”, they still know Thoreau (Keck). I feel that this is a fallacy because “Walden” is a work that is truly one of Thoreau’s, if not his best work and masterpiece; therefore, if one thinks that they know Thoreau without knowing “Walden,” they are not entirely correct.

Keck makes a statement that “Walden” has a focus on nature and the observation of one’s surroundings (Keck). This is completely true, seeing as a majority of the text is spent describing all of the things going on in nature. Thoreau describes many things in great detail, even when he could have used a more simply style. His speaking about the ants that fight is clearly a metaphor with a much more significant meaning, but he still vividly describes the fight (Thoreau).

A point raised by Keck is that it must be known that Thoreau’s location of Walden Pond was not kept secret (Keck). Many scholars, when analyzing this work bring up the fact that Thoreau was actually quite close to his family home and close within the reach of the society in which he lived. This is obviously true, as in “Walden” Thoreau states that he was only about a mile and a half from the town of Concord (Thoreau). Although this is a valid point, I believe that it does not matter how far away one is from society physically, but rather if they can still separate themselves on a personal level. This may have been why Thoreau chose the place he did, to in fact teach that one does not have to go to extreme measures to separate themselves from society.

Near the beginning of “Walden,” Thoreau says that rather things are of God or the Devil, it is the “end of man to glorify God and enjoy him forever (Thoreau).” I find it interesting that he is able to make his time at Walden Pond extremely religious. According to Keck’s analysis, the unity of many naturally, beautiful things in nature are actually considered to be sacred (Keck). Thoreau seems to make the time actually very sacred, one example being his daily bathing in the pond. This shows that not only did Thoreau have a strong opinion of the philosophical, but the religious and mythical as well. Still, I do not think that he was trying to preach about one certain religion but rather to show the power of the connections that nature can make in a person’s life.

All of these things are the key principals to Transcendentalism, but simply the thoughts of Henry David Thoreau as well. This is why I find it hard to believe that Keck would make the statement that one can still know Thoreau without reading or knowing of “Walden.” This work encompasses all of the subjects Thoreau had strong opinions in and is a great example of each of them. “Walden” is one of Thoreau’s masterpieces and it embodies all of his thoughts into one observation of nature and comparison of it to the real world.






Works Cited

Keck, Michaela. "Thoreau's Walden and the American Dream: Challenge or Myth?" In Bloom, Harold, ed. The American Dream, Bloom's Literary Themes. New York: Chelsea Publishing House, 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BLTTAD021&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 15, 2010).


Thoreau, Henry David. “Walden” In American Literature. Willhelm, Jeffory, comp. McGraw Hill. Columbus, 2009. Print.

Journal 23 Unplugging

I think it would be extremely fun and a great learning experience to "unplug" for a week. Our society is very wired these days and it would be a valuable lesson to separate oneself from all of the technology in the world. I think being away from computers and cell phones would be easy, but I don't know about my iPod. My iPod is one of my most valuable possessions so that would make it very difficult to be separated from it for an extended period of time. To make up for this, I think that I would need a guitar. Music is something that keeps me going in life, and really just keeps me sane overall. I would much enjoy taking the time to completely get rid of all of the wires and electronics in my life for a week, but I know that there are a lot of people in our society that simply could not bare being away from their phones for more than a single day at that. I feel like that is a problem with the world that we live in and there needs to be a way to teach less dependence on technology to get through the average day. If I were to take a week to unplug myself from society, I think that I would do it in Australia. From pictures I have seen, there are some stunning landscapes all throughout the continent. I would make sure to be completely separated from everyone even close to me. Another place that I would want to take my week off to unplug would be Alaska. Now that I think about it, this is actually quite similar to the movie and maybe it was a book, but "Into the Wild." This was quite the interesting film that actually was focused on a guy wanting to get away form society and all of the conformity, similarly to the beliefs of Transcendentalism. Maybe sometime before I leave for college I will separate myself from all of the technology in my life for at least a couple of days.

Comparison of Thoreau and Gandhi

Both Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” and Mahatma Gandhi's "On the Eve of the Historic Dandi March" are some of the most influential works of literature with a strong focus on protest. There are many differences, as well as similarities between these two great works. Gandhi had a strong influence in his writing from the works of Thoreau, and this can be seen in “On the Eve of the Historic Dandi March.” When reading these works it is easy to see the ties between the great authors that are Thoreau and Gandhi.

The first similarity in these two works is simply the subject matter. Obviously, Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” is about his protest, and Gandhi’s work speaks about a protest that is going to happen the following day of the writing of this essay (Gandhi). In, “Civil Disobedience,” Thoreau speaks of the poll tax, or tax placed on people rather than property often for the right to vote, that he refused to pay. In turn, he is arrested and spends some time in jail (Thoreau). He spends a lot of time talking about the injustice of charging someone for something that they are not a part of. Gandhi’s work, on the other hand, speaks mainly about the monopoly on salt (Gandhi). Both works revolve around a wrong or injustice that has been done by a large group that has an immense amount of power.

There is a main difference these two literary works, though; this being the way in which they are written. Thoreau uses a very personal point of view, speaking primarily of his own actions and opinions of the occurrences that happened to him during his protest of the poll tax (Thoreau). As for Gandhi, he seems to be speaking directly to the reader about how to take action and what must be done to make changes and corrections to the way that things are being done wrong at the time (Gandhi). One could argue that this makes Gandhi’s writing more aggressive in a sense in comparison to Thoreau, but the way in which he does it makes not like this at all. Rather, he makes the reader feel as if it is their choice to do what he suggests as means to protest the salt monopoly or agree with his opinions.

Though there are both differences and similarities between “Civil Disobedience” by Thoreau and "On the Eve of the Historic Dandi March" by Gandhi, these are still some of the most influence works from the time of American Romanticism. These works embody the idea of protest of the wrongs and injustices done by organizations like government that have arguable too much control. These authors, in their own ways are able to tell their own stories of protest and how to protest respectively. It is easy to see the similarities, and this is understandable because of the fact that Gandhi was greatly influenced by the works of Thoreau, and it is almost ironic because of Gandhi’s use of the phrase “civil disobedience” in his work. These two important literary works will remain just that, important, for a long time because they serve as the model for the first works regarding protest.





Works Cited

Gandhi, Mahatma. "On the Eve of the Historic Dandi March." American Literature. Comp. Jeffory Willhelm. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 229-30. Print.


Thoreau, Henry D. "Civil Disobedience." American Literature. Comp. Jeffory Willhelm. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 222-27. Print.

Journal 22 Breaking the Law for the Purpose of Romantic Beliefs

To a Romantic, there are some times that it is okay to break the law. The importance of oneself actually overrules laws and order. One situation I could think of if I was a romantic poet would be being in nature. If there was one place in the world that I had been told was a really amazing place to meditate and become one with myself, I would want to go there. Especially if it was coming from a close friend that I trusted to pick good places to do all of the things that Romantic poets do. Lets say that I go to this magically poetics paradise for meditation and I find that there is an electrical fence with a huge "No Trespassing" sign and there are others posted all over the area. After seeing this I think that I should just go home, but then I notice a gap in the fence where I could enter the beautiful area. Although it would technically be illegal, I think I would still go in through the little whole, because having the place to meditate is more important than my regard for the law. I think that even if I wasn't a romantic poet, I may still do this in real life. Personally, I really do appreciate nature and meditation. Also, I don't think that the police would really care if you weren't doing anything. They may just ask you to leave, but say you were hunting on someone else's grounds, that may be a different story. If I came across the owner of the land, and he or she was upset about my trespassing, I would make sure to apologize and try to see if there would be anything that I could do to make up for it. If they pressed charges, I would just have to do whatever the punishment is because you can't complain if you break the law. This is a situation that it is okay to disregard the law.

Analysis of Emerson and the Work Melancholia

Through his many works, Ralph Waldo Emerson became one of the most important writers in all of American literature. His unique style, with similarities to Romanticism, allowed the creation of not only a new era of literature but also a philosophy known as Transcendentalism. Emerson had very strong views about the conforming society in which he lived, and he believed that it needed to change. His thoughts revolutionized philosophy, though some of them may have even been a bit harsh.

One belief of Emerson was that grieving the dead is a waste of time and energy. This is something that Emerson was known to show many times throughout his life; as when his loved ones died and he did not seem to grieve their loss (“Emerson”). This may seem like a very cruel thought, but there is actually quite a bit of logic behind it. This was one of the parts of society that he thought was conforming too much to do the same thing of wasting ones time to grieving.

Emerson’s thoughts about death and grieving seem to be harsh and pretty dark, but this is one thing that his opinions change on. In 1842, Emerson’s son, Waldo died and just after this time, his views on mourning seemed to drastically change. His strong opinions of not grieving at all changed to more of a need for a reinvention of oneself as the grieving process. (“Emerson”). Again, the focus on individuality and a high personal focus is apparent, as in Romantic literature.

This draws an interesting point of the fact that Emerson actually rejected the idea of Romanticism later in his career (“Emerson”). This is quite strange because Romantic literature seems to be one of the biggest influences on what Emerson wrote. Both styles have a focus on individuality; though Romanticism is more focused on how a person behaves in nature and Transcendentalism is more focused on how a person behaves in society, both are a focus on individuality nonetheless. It is hard to believe that something that serves as the basis for your work could possibly be denied and rejected in later years.

Emerson’s style actually influenced many writers to come like Whitman, Thoreau, and Nietzsche (“Emerson”). Many of these writers emerged during the Romantic revolution and could actually be considered Romantic authors. This is why it is strange that Emerson would reject Romanticism. The people that he inspired used it as a model and became great writers of it, and the person that caused them to write what they did no longer believes in it.

Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of the greatest writers in all of American literature. Though, his opinions changed throughout his writing career, he still inspired many other great writers and revolutionized Romanticism to create the new era of Transcendentalism. Some of his views were almost harsh in a sense, but still there was always logic behind these opinions of his. All of his thoughts about the conforming society that he was living in aided in the creation of a new philosophy that changed literature and the world.



Works Cited

"Emerson and the Work of Melancholia." Raritan (Spring 1987). Quoted as "Emerson and the Work of Melancholia" in Bloom, Harold, ed. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Updated Edition, Bloom's Modern Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=1&iPin=MCVRWE007&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 7, 2010).

Journal 21 Emerson in Comparison to Franklin

Emerson thought that self reliance was extremely important to the success of a person. He thought that people needed to be separate from the common world because there was way too much conformity in the world and there was a lack of individuality. Franklin seemed to have a similar opinion about how people need to act. His thoughts were actually more focuses on how a person interacts in nature, while Emerson remained focused on society relation to people. Franklin thoughts about individuality are all about how a person feels about themselves. This is actually what created the basis for the thoughts about self reliance that Emerson later wrote about. Emerson is truly one of the first Transcendentalists and his work "Self Reliance" is the first work of its kind. Franklin did not really care much about how people ended up being in relation to the rest of the people of the world. Emerson really thought that there was a flaw in the world in that too many people were conforming to be the same way that everyone else. Really, Franklin's thoughts from his Romantic views are the basis for the thoughts of Transcendentalism which is the main creation of Ralph Waldo Emerson. The ideas are extremely the same, but the major change is in how it relates to the world. To Franklin, self reliance and individuality was all about how it effected the person that was practicing it; though to Emerson, the self reliance and individuality was all about how one shapes their personality in the world. I find it odd that Emerson rejected Romanticism in his later years of writing because it seems that Romanticism is actually one of his biggest influences for the work that made him famous. Though there are differences in the writing, the basis is quite similar and many relationships can be seen. Overall, Emerson and Franklin have very similar writing styles and because of this, Emerson actually created the literary era of Transcendentalism himself.

Journal 20 Self Reflection

Throughout our lives it is extremely important that we reflect on our lives and simply get away from the world. Having time to ourselves helps us relax and release a lot of the daily stresses that we encounter in our lives. To me, time to myself means finding some place to listen to music on my own. It really calms me down and lets me get a little more in tune with myself and my life. This can be very different for other people though; some may enjoy being outside and others may like to exercise or run. All that really matters is that you find time to simply do something that you enjoy and be by yourself. Self reflection is something that can help us be a lot more successful in the long run, but also make ourselves better on a more daily, small scale. It is important that we think about the thinks that we have accomplished as well as the things that we want to accomplish in the future. Lately, I have spent a lot of time thinking about what I am going to do after high school. Honestly I don't really have a strong idea of what I want to do, but I think I have made some progress on narrowing down my options. This is one example of how important self reflection is. I pretty much know how I'm going to do throughout the rest of high school, so it makes me get a better understanding of what I can do for college, and even after. Without taking time to think about these important decisions that I will have to make in the near future, I would be completely lost and could end up making a wrong decision that could truly reshape how my life plays out. Self reflection and separating oneself from society are closely related, but sometimes self reflection can be easier when talking with someone that has been through the same experiences. Most times, these types of people can get you on the right track to make the right decision for yourself.

Journal 19 Ideal United States

In my ideal United States there would be a lot of differences when compared to today's country. One major thing that I would have would be improved food for the nation. America has one of the highest obesity levels in the world. This is something that I just cannot stand. It is really disgusting to see some of the people our area, but it’s not only how disgusting it is, it is also for the health of the country overall. People living healthier lives means longer life spans on average for the population of the country. Another change would be the public education system. A lot of times the foreign exchange students tell me that the classes that they have in Germany, Spain, Switzerland, and many other countries in the world, they speak of how much more difficult the classes that they are taking there are. Most of the time, language barrier is the only thing that slows the foreign exchange students down in their education here. I think that a higher level of intelligence for the nation would help it out economically as well as in the world industries in general. Along with more education, I think that American students in the public school system should be required to learn either Mandarin or Spanish. This is because of the fact that they are among the most spoken languages in the world. It is important that a nation can work with other countries and cultures, and language is the first step to allowing this. Simon told me that about 85 to 90 percent of the population speaks English. This is a prime example of how the United States should be. Our school receives countless foreign exchange students every year, yet we never send anyone to another county. A lot of times as well, the exchange students actually speak better English then some of the people in our school, who to them it’s their primary language. What does this say about our countries education system? Simply that there is a lot of room for improvement. These are some of the changes that I would make to create a more ideal United States.

Old Ironsides Analysis

Literal Meaning:

The first stanza speaks of the importance of the ship’s flag and how long the ship has been in use.
Take down the ships flag. It has flown for a long time and many have danced to see it flying in the sky. Under it the shout of battle and the firing of cannons could be heard, and the meteor of the ocean air will not be in the sky any longer.

The second stanza simple tells the story of how the ship has been used in battle and many lives have been lost on it; both foes and crew members of it.
On the ships deck, the blood of heroes has been shed, but also the defeated enemy has knelt in the same spot. When the winds are strong and the waves are high and white tipped, no one will feel or know of the vanquished foe. The monsters of the sea shall destroy the eagle of the sea.

The final stanza explains how the ship will be destroyed.
It ends in a mighty storm with the ship sinking to the bottom of the sea. If the ship’s hulk is to be shattered and sink beneath a wave, the ship should find its grave in the mighty deep that it had shook. The ships flag should be nailed to the mast when the sails have been set for the ship to be given to the God of storms.


Poetic Devices:

One poetic device used in this poem is imagery; particularly in the final stanza. The vivid language used allows the reader to actually picture the final storm that leads to the demise of the ship. A description of the large waves and strong winds gives the reader an understanding of how much it actually takes to destroy the ship. At the same time, this section of the poem uses the poetic device of personification and metaphors. “When winds were hurrying o’er the flood and waves were white below…” This line describes the winds hurrying and describes how the waves were respectively. The meter used in this poem is iambic with the repetition of stresses and unstressed syllables. There is an occurrence of simple rhymes every other line starting with the second line. One other poetic device used is the separation of the poem into stanzas. Each one describes the ship in different aspects. The first two describe how much the ship has done and how long it has been sailing and the last one describes the demise of the ship.


Figurative Meaning:

The first stanza’s figurative meaning is simply that of the importance of the ship. To the many that have “danced to see that banner in the sky,” this ship is a symbol of freedom. The final line of this stanza states that the ship will no longer use its weapons anymore. The second stanza has a little deeper meaning. The ship is a place where many lives has been lost and will serve as a memorial to all of the patriots that served on it. The final lines are really used to show how great the ship was and that its memories and the ideas that it represented will live on forever, even if the actual body of the ship are lost at sea.

Romantic Poem

There is one place that makes me think that I
can be myself without the world to care
about. I find it to be plain, yet dark,
but it lets me become one with myself
without a doubt. Simple and full of all
the things that make the world seem seem to
be less evil, and more of what we all
can be peaceful and more happy. If you
want to go to this place, you need not go
but to go to where all of nature grows.

Analysis of Thanatopsis

When analyzing this poem literally, it is actually quite simple. The main message is of how everyone dies and becomes a part of the earth. It starts by saying that nature is a beautiful peaceful place that talks to everyone. It says when you have thoughts about death; you need to go into nature and after a few days you will die. You will return to the Earth and mix with all of the elements. The roots of an oak tree will pierce your body. You will not go to this resting place alone, and there could not be a better one for you. You will be among all different types of people like the rich, the powerful, or the wise. The poem then states that all of the beauty in nature is the decorations for mankind’s grave. The number of people that are on the planet doesn’t even compare to the number that has returned to the natural world. Take the wings of morning or you will become lost and only be able to hear your own footsteps. It asks, when you die if anyone will notice that you are gone. Everyone will die eventually, though some may laugh, eventually they will join you in rest. One by one all of the people of the world will gather by your side. It closes by saying to live your life, but when your time comes, go to your grave and lie down to pleasant dreams.

One of the important poetic devices used in this poem is imagery. This is used for the description of the nature of the world. “The hills rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun; the vales stretching in pensive quietness between; the venerable woods—rivers that move in majesty, and the complaining brooks that make the meadows green…” This specific line really creates a vivid nature as the author describes the decorations to man’s grave. The separation of the poem into stanzas is a poetic device that really aids in the separation of the main thoughts of Bryant; these being the tomb that is the Earth, the people that will join you in death, and how you should live life. Another poetic device that is used quite often throughout the poem is similes. In the previous quote, Bryant compares the age of the hills to that of the sun. Another example of a simile is when the poem reads, “…when thoughts of the last bitter hour come like blight over thy spirit…”

Overall this poem has a very interesting and almost intellectual figurative meaning. It says that one should know that eventually everyone on the planet will die. All of us share the common tomb that is the Earth, and in death there is no meaning to social class or things done or accomplished. People shouldn’t spend their time thinking about death, but when it is their time, they need to accept the fact that they are going to die to be able to rest peacefully and have pleasant dreams.

Journal 17 Nature and Me

There have been a few times in my life where I have bonded with nature. Usually this happens during vacations for me because Illinois isn't exactly the most scenic area in the entire world. Whenever my family goes somewhere on the coast, I like walking on the beach and just sitting and looking at the water. Sometimes I also play guitar, acoustic of course outside on the beach. I don't even have to be anywhere on vacation to do this. I sometimes just go outside on my porch at home when its nice outside during the summer. I believe that music is very important and that it should be around us as much as possible. One time for vacation, instead of going to a coastal place we went to Colorado. We went to many different areas, some very urban, but also some very rural, secluded areas. It was at the secluded areas that I really bonded with nature. There were so many beautiful places and sights. All of them were simply natural beauty, which is what makes it so amazing. It is so easy to be in a state of awe when you're somewhere that is filled with natural beauty. We went hiking on a mountain and just all of the trees were amazing, but later we found a spot with this sweet waterfall. There was a little cavern on the inside of it, so we were able to stand behind the waterfall and lookout at everything with a mist covering the view. It was quite spectacular. Although I do love going to the beach and being at the ocean or the gulf of Mexico, going to Colorado was one of my more memorable vacations just because it was so different. I was able to see many sights that I had never experienced before which just made it all the better. It was most definitely one of my most important times that I bonded with nature.

Journal 16 My favorite guitar

In my possession I have five guitars. I have one Ibanez, a Silvertone, a Yamaha, a non branded acoustic, and then my most favorite one. My baby is a 2008 Mexican Fender Sunburst Stratocaster. It is a beautiful machine. I probably spend most of my time playing this guitar. I started with my Yamaha acoustic and then I decided I wanted to try an electric guitar. I bought my Ibanez for about one hundred dollars, and after a couple months playing, I knew I wanted something better. There were many guitars that I liked when I went shopping for one, but the Strat just stuck out to me. I knew that it was right for me so I got it. It wasn't really the most unique guitar to buy, but it is a classic and just a solid guitar to start with. After years of playing it, it has gotten a little beat up. On the back there is a huge scratch from a screwdriver when I was working on it a little. All along the sides there are dents and scratches from me hitting it on my amp and the other furniture in my room. I tuned the pickups to where I wanted them myself, and I clean and restring it myself. It has truly become my guitar. When I was taking lessons, my instructor told me that all of the dents and dings that accumulate on a guitar are what make it your own. There is no other Strat in the world with the exact same scratches and imperfections that mine now has. To accompany my favorite guitar, I have a Vox amp. I got this amp because of many recommendations from other musicians. All Vox amps have a great effects generator built in. I don't really need an effects pedal when I play at home because everything can be done through my beast of a machine amp. These are both of my favorites of my musical instrument collection.

Journal 15 Logic and Reason Usage

There are many different places and times that I use reason and logic. One example is in school. When working through problems in many different science classes like AP Chemistry, Physics, and Digital Electronics, which is an engineering course. Physics is one subject that focuses basically all around logic. All of the math that we deal with in the subject is simple algebra, but to be able to reach the point of solving for simple math, you have to be able to understand the theory behind it. Another time that I use logic is in simple everyday situations. If someone comes up to me and asks if I would like to join them in the jumping off of a bridge or cliff sort of thing. At first, of course I would say thank you for the invitation, but there is no logic in doing that. It would be a really cool feeling to jump off because eventually you would reach freefall and it would feel like you weigh absolutely nothing. One has to realize that after that though, you would have to hit the ground, and that would hurt quite a bit. This even relates back to using logic and reason in physics, because reaching freefall takes about fifty feet. When you think about it, rationalism is all around us. We use it all of the time in all aspects of our everyday lives. Logically I know that I still have about one hundred words left in this blog. Reason tells me that I need to continue to write to reach the required limit so that I can obtain the grade I want for this blog post. Logic tells me that it will help my grade in English class so I must continue to write. After this sentence I will be extremely close to the limit for this blog. Simple reasoning tells me that I will need to stop writing so that I can do other things with my life.

Thomas Paine's Common Sense

Through Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, it is clear that he found many flaws in the monarchy governmental system. He argues that a government’s sole purpose is to protect its people’s lives, liberty, and property (Paine). This leads him to speak about the corruption and flaws in a monarchy. He also makes the point that “A government of our own is our own natural right” (Paine). He uses these concepts to make a basis of comparison of Great Britain’s past to how the government of the colonies should be set up.


When Paine speaks of the monarchy of Britain, he states that through the entire time of its ruling, there have been many corrupt kings. He does admit that there have been good rulers, but there are too many bad ones to truly believe that the ruling is just overall (Paine). This is a problem that all governments, and even on a more simple level, organizations, have; at some point or another, a ruler will want more power. It is part of human nature to have a desire for absolute power and control. This is what creates one of the major flaws in the monarchy of Great Britain.


Another way that Paine supports his thoughts is through a comparison of a king to a lion. He says that nature disproves the idea of hereditary rights of kings because all too often, there is an “ass for a lion” (Paine). The simple use of a comparison of something from nature is extremely effective, because of its simplicity. Most of the time, a very simple means of arguing a point is actually the most effective overall, and Thomas Paine seems to understand this. There will always be times where there are bad leaders as there are times when there are bad leaders simply in nature with other animals.


Another way that Paine supports his ideas is through a historical reference to Thomas Anello, a fisherman from Naples that became king in a day (Paine). Like use of a simple comparison from nature, the use of historical events to support an idea are extremely effective. He supports his idea that having a government is the right of all human beings. He says that all men, when thinking of human affairs will realize that it is wise for there to be a constitution to govern (Paine). He relates the story of Thomas Anello by saying that situations like that must be omitted because there are always obscurities in what happens to a society or government.


Thomas Paine’s Common Sense presents many ideas about the government and overall state of colonies. He presents many ideas about how corrupted the monarchy of Great Britain. In this article, Paine supports his ideas in many different ways. He uses the simple statement of the flaws of the British Monarchy, a comparison to the natural world, as well as historical references. All of these methods are extremely effective in supporting the concepts and ideas about the government and society of the colonies.





Works Cited

Paine, Thomas. "Common Sense." Archiving Early America. Online. 17 Oct. 2010. .

Reflection of Lemay's Criticism of Franklin's Autobiography

I found many of the concepts presented in J. A. Leo Lemay’s “Franklin's Autobiography and the American Dream” to be very interesting and insightful. This criticism really brought some ideas together and connected many ideas about Franklin’s life and his autobiography. Four major parts of the American Dream including: the rise to wealth, the rise to importance, the effect of individuals on the world and the worlds effect on them, and lastly how people believe their actions will effect the world (Lemay, J.A. Leo) and their surroundings all are very rationalistic in nature. The concepts and ideas analyzed in this criticism really relate Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography to the concepts of rationalism.


The criticism stated that the rise to riches shown in Franklin’s autobiography was not particularly important in an overall standpoint (Lemay, J.A. Leo). Lemay backed this up by saying that Franklin kept the focus away from his economic gains and only a few times boasted of his wealth and prosperity (Lemay, J.A. Leo). Though this may be true, I think that it is more important to the American Dream than it is given credit for. This is because the idea of rags to riches life is something that everyone has always dreamed about. Sure, Franklin did not focus on it, but it is a part of the American Dream that is more important in other stories.


The second point that Lemay confronts is that of the rise from impotence to importance, from dependence to independence, and from helplessness to power (Lemay, J.A. Leo). This is probably one of the most important topics of the American Dream. It is quite similar to the rise to riches, but it reaches a more personal and inner level. This is why I found that the rise to riches actually is more important than it was given credit for in Lemay’s criticism; because in all reality it is simply the idea of personal rise in a material sense. It may seem superficial to consider that a major part of the American Dream, but we truly do live in a material society.


Another topic that Lemay analyzes is how the world effects and individual and how an individual can effect the world (Lemay, J.A. Leo). This is a very rational concept presented by Franklin in his autobiography. Rationalists believe that there is a reason for everything and that reason should be used to explain things. It only makes sense that they would think that people have an impact on what happens in the world. With the rise in democracy during the time there is a prime example in that members of a society can determine how they are governed through the election of officials.


The final concept of the American Dream that Lemay spoke about is how people’s actions will affect the world (Lemay, J.A. Leo). This is similar to the previous section on how an individual can affect the world. Lemay stated that how the world worked was determined by the government, thinkers, and average people or lack there of. This is an idea that relates in a sense that all of those things are created by individuals, therefore, having a direct impact on society and the world as a whole.
The parts of the American Dream that Lemay analyzed through the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin are all extremely evident as parts of rationalism and the overall persona of Franklin. This criticism connected many concepts and ideas with excellent support.



Works Cited


Lemay, J.A. Leo. "Franklin's Autobiography and the American Dream." InThe Renaissance Man in the Eighteenth Century. Los Angeles: William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, 1978. Quoted as "Franklin's Autobiography and the American Dream." in Bloom, Harold, ed. The American Dream, Bloom's Literary Themes. New York: Chelsea Publishing House, 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=1&iPin=BLTTAD005&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 13, 2010).

Journal 14 Declaration of Doughnuts

We the people, in order to have a more tasty breakfast, establish flavors, provide a delicious snack, promote drinking of milk, and secure the blessings of fryers to ourselves and our milk glasses; do hereby ordain and establish this constitution for the doughnut eaters of America.

The first rule of doughnuts is that you do not talk about doughnuts.
The second rule of doughnuts is that you DO NOT talk about doughnuts.
The third rule of doughnuts is that if someone says "no more" the breakfast is over.
The fourth rule of doughnuts is only two glasses of milk per doughnut.
The fifth rule of doughnuts is one doughnut at a time.
The sixth rule of doughnuts is no shirts no shoes.
The seventh rule of doughnuts is breakfast will last as long as it has to.
The eight rule of doughnuts is your first doughnut you have to eat it all.

Along with the original rules on how to go about eating there are also rules about how doughnuts have to act. Doughnuts are to be delicious at all times. Some sort of topping such as icing and or sprinkles must be on the top of it at all times. Although the topping is required, filling is an option. Usually it makes each doughnut better, but in some situations or combinations, the doughnut can actually become less delicious.

There are all sorts of different doughnuts. Some are circles, some are ovals, and some are even rectangular ovals. They are commonly known as long johns. The shape doesn't really matter to me, because they are all delicious. There are also doughnut holes, which are quite yummy in the right situation. I remember my first doughnut hole. It completely blew my mind. Before I had no idea what happened to the little middle part of each circular doughnut and then I found out that it was made into the little delicious snack that I have now come to love.

Journal 13 Spirit

Spirit is a word. It is spelled, S, P, I, R, I, T. It is something that a lot of people have. Mainly for their schools. I always think about one cheer that I have heard many a time. It goes: We've got spirit yes we do, We've got spirit. How about you? I think this is a very clever cheer and it really articulates the idea that each respective team or school has spirit. The cheer is completed by the other team saying the same thing back to the other fan section. I think its really nice that each team can show their support in a creative way, but also respectfully. Personally, I believe I have a lot of school spirit. I really enjoy participating in spirit week activities and supporting my schools various sports teams. As an athlete, I know that having the support of fans really can help out in a game, and can even effect the outcome of the game at least a little bit. I really just need to talk about something now because I don't want to have to worry about this blog over homecoming weekend as homework. I guess that shows some school spirit by me doing this because I would rather support my school and have fun than do a blog for homework for english class. Now I really just rambling because I want to get the needed word count for this blog. I am about done. I haven't counted the words yet, but I know I am getting close. Maybe a couple more sentences and I should be done. I guess I will check the word count now. I only have two hundred and seventy seven words. That is kind of close, but there is still a while before I reach my final goal of three hundred and twenty five words for the blog. With this final sentence I believe that I will reach the required word count that I need for the blog for today.

Journal 12 Working With a Partner

Working with a partner is one thing that I have a lot of experience with. I enjoy it a lot and there is one story that happened to me that I always think about when I think about working with a partner or teamwork in general. Over the summer I went to Africa for a summer job. I took my friend Matt to work with because I thought that we would have fun working together. I had already done some work as a freelance mercenary for a couple summers previously but there was always a lot of work for one person. This is why I thought I would benefit from having an extra person to take some of the work load off of myself. Our first job was to destroy a small village in South Africa. In this village was the leader of the rival organization that we were working for at the time. We went in and did our job but as we were leaving we came across a small child of about sixteen years of age. He told us his name was Kirk and that he had been taken captive. We thought that we should take him back to America with us at the end of the summer. We had to be smuggled out of the country because we were taken in illegal in the first place. While Matt distracted the guard with his amazing good looks, I was able to take little Kirk onto the cargo hold of the plane that was going to take us back home. This was some of the best teamwork that I have ever seen in my days. I think that this quality of working well with others will rub off on little Kirk because since we have raised him, we have always displayed good teamwork. Now all three of us are back in the states, living happily and attending Pleasant Plains High School. Specifically Mr. Langley's English 332 class.

Journal 11 Ethics/ Values

Well I don't really feel like talking about ethics or values, so I'll talk about something else. The other weekend I went to see Weezer live. The show was in Peoria at the auditorium on Bradley’s campus. It was a pretty great time. I went with Kirk, Luke, Dylan, and Simon. We went to dinner at Avanti's before the show and it was quite delicious. I had some chicken alfredo that I enjoyed a lot. After that we went to the show. We were a little early so we had to sit around for a while but it wasn't to long of wait. The opening band came out and started to play. Their first song was okay and then after they finished it they explained how they were a small band from Chicago. They played like seven songs and I really only like one of them which kind of sucked. After they were done Weezer got on the stage and started with Buddy Holly. It was so amazing. They played a lot of songs from the Blue Album, which was great because that's my favorite album of theirs. Some of the songs that they played I now like a lot just because of how well they played them live. I had never really liked the song Surf Wax America, but when they played it, I found it to be a great song. They played a cover of Kids by MGMT with a mix of Poker Face by Lady Gaga. Both are really good songs originally but I absolutely loved the way that Weezer played them. During the song Beverly Hills, the lead singer Rivers walked around the entire auditorium. He ended up coming right behind where our seats were. I have pictures on my phone and I’m like right next to him. Dylan actually touched him which is pretty exciting. This was actually the first show for a major band that I had ever been to and overall it was a great experience. I definitely want to see some more bands live because it really changed my entire perspective on Weezer as a whole.

Journal 10 Science vs. Religion

Well science vs. religion is a very hot topic in our world. It is something that people are always talking about and most likely will for all of eternity, which is a really long time. Whenever I think of this topic I always seem to think about Dan Brown novels. I have read, The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons, and The Lost Symbol. I really liked all of these books because they combine like the three best topics in the world. History (the non boring kind), religion, and of course science. The way that these novels intertwine all of these topics make it easy to read and extremely interesting. I think that Dan Brown is one of my favorite authors of all time. His style has always just appealed to me and there are some other stories like his that I also like a lot. I also think that it is this type of literature that gave me the strong interest in theology and religion that I have. I was raised to be Catholic but honestly I consider myself to be an Agnostic. I believe that there has to be some form of a higher power to start everything in the universe, but there are just some undisputable facts presented by science that makes a lot of what the church says seem to be foolish. I can do without all of the stories about morality and finding the way to God, because everyone has different beliefs so it’s hard to say that you truly support your religion. I heard about some research being done about proving that the idea of God is something that all humans have in their minds and it has evolved to all of the different ideas about religion that we have today. If this could be proved to be completely true, a lot of debates would be settled, but for now there is still the battle between science and religion.

Puritan Project

Journal 9 Organized Religion

Organized religion is something that really is a huge part of the world. For the most part, I think that people of America truly believe have the belief that Christianity when really it makes up only a small portion of the entire world population's beliefs. If the world was reduced to 100 people, only 23 would be Christian and the other 77 would be non-Christian. When I heard this fact my mind was blown. It really put the entire concept of religion into perspective for me. Personally I am technically Catholic, but honestly I consider myself to be Agnostic. But it is extremely difficult to grasp the idea that most of the worlds peoples are not in fact of the Christian faith. I think that oftentimes Americans as a whole tend to be very closed off about religion and make themselves believe that Christianity is the powerhouse religion when in fact it is not at all. It seems almost arrogant of the American people to have such an idea, but the majority of North America are Christians. It is everywhere else in the world that makes up most of the worlds population that the other religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, or the many other religions of the world can be found. Some people say that religion prevents violence but in all reality a lot of the tensions throughout nations of the world have a basis of religious disputes. The war for the Holy Land has been going on for years and it still continues today. I think that a lot of this comes from the fear of the unknown. But you can't really blame anyone for that because it is a part of human nature and is something that will always be there in people. Overall though, religion is something that aids in a lot of things in the world. It has brought together cultures and people for thousands of years and it will continue to do so.

Journal 8 Proofreading

I think that the video about proofreading was quite comical. This was a very clever way to convey the importance of proofreading for all types of things. I know that I have made many mistakes during the process of writing a paper. It is like the old saying goes, "It's funny because it’s true." I think that Matt Vermeersch phrased it the best with his opinion of the video. He said that the video is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I agree completely with this statement because this video was pretty great. These are the kind of things that are good tools for teaching because of the simple fact that teens will remember something like that. Whenever comedy or something that a student would like can be incorporated into a lesson plan, it should because it aids in really getting a point across, or to get a point stuck in the students head. The idea of making mistakes in a presentation about making mistakes in a paper is genius. It was not just boring common mistakes, but also hilarious vulgarities that made it extremely comical the entire time of watching it. I even sent the link to Anthony because I thought that he would appreciate it and also find it funny. It was inappropriate at some points in time but that is just something that as someone viewing the video I will most likely remember and maybe notice if some of those mistakes are made. Overall I thought that this video was great and it may actually make me check for some errors when writing for any class or for any reason. It could very well make me catch some mistakes that could make me look like an idiot for either a class or for whoever may be reading what I wrote. I think if everything could be taught with some comedy like that, students would be a lot more successful because it makes students focus on the material.

Journal 7 Superstition

Well I don't really follow that many superstitions. I kind of believe in karma but I don't really think that should be considered i love boys a superstition. One superstition that is amazing is the song "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. I really like the guitar riff in that song. I have never taken the time to learn it, but maybe someday I will and it will be awesome. To be honest, "Superstition" is the only song that I really know by Stevie Wonder so I should probably start listening to some more music of that artist. I am always looking for new music. Recently I started listening to the band Spoon and they are amazing. A lot of their songs vary in style so it is really cool to listen to. Also, I have started to listen to some House and Techno music. I have to say that Basshunter is quite good. It is great for raving especially in the home of the Goods. Their basement is basically the center of the world of raving and dance parties. It is just a jolly good time when you can get some DJ Styles and Breeze going or Basshunter or any of the music recorded in the Revolution Enterprises Studio. Personally I plan on doing some recording for Revolution Enterprises in the near future. My rapping is not as good as it once was but I will work on my skills so that I can rise to be the main project of the entire company. I will probably be really rich some day and I will look back and think about how all of the English teachers I have ever had taught me how to be a great rapper through proper use grammar and mechanics. When I win awards and medals at the rap olympics I will make sure to include all of the teachers that made me the great rapper that I will be. This is the end of my blog.

Journal 6 Repercussions

Once upon a time there was a bank robber named Matt Hscreemrev. He was the absolute best at his job. He had robbed over seven hundred million banks in his career. At this point in his life he wasn't doing it for the money or treasures that he obtained, but rather for the thrill of planning and executing a perfect heist every time. On one particular day he decided that he wanted to pull one last big score before retiring from the bank robbing business so that he could go on to start a career as a male hand model. One the day of the heist, everything went smoothly until he found out he was actually inside of a police station rather than the vault that he had planned to rob. He was arrested and the cops locked the door of the cell that he had just broken into. He knew that he would be in jail forever and that his career as a male hand model would never happen; so he devised an amazing plan. He decided to blame someone else for all of the robberies he had ever committed. He told the cops that he was under the control of former President Jimmy Carter by use of a brain controlling device. This causes the police to arrest former President Jimmy Carter and let Matt Hscreemrev go free. At first Matt felt really good that he was free and was ready to begin his life as a professional male hand model. But in a few weeks he started to feel extremely guilty for having former President Jimmy Carter locked up in his place. Although he felt really bad about it, Matt never actually came clean to the authorities; he just spent the rest of his life feeling bad about how he ruined the life of another person. Sometimes he still has trouble sleeping because he knows that Jimmy Carter is behind bars. The end.

Journal 5 Modern Punishments

Well I do not really have much experience with grounding and punishment. I have only been grounded once in my life and that was kind of a misunderstanding on my part but I guess that was my fault. That grounding was actually just the classic not being able to do anything the following weekend. It was kind of bad timing though because there was a party that following weekend that I had been looking forward to for a while. I guess you could say that I did learn my lesson as much as I hate to admit it. As for new modern punishments, I really don't have an opinion because my parents have never done or even threatened to take any technology away. For a while I paid for my cell phone completely so they had no authority to take it away, but now I only pay for part of it so I guess they could take it away. If they were they type of parents to take it away, I think I would find that a bit ridiculous. In the first place, a cell phone is a tool that can be extremely helpful in a lot of situations, so i think it is important for teenagers to have them. As for taking away Facebook, I think that is actually a reasonable punishment. Personally, I use Facebook quite a bit but overall I think I could go without it. It takes up a lot of time that could be used for more important things; not that I'm saying I want to go without it, simply that I could. Taking it away as a punishment is acually a really good idea, because as a parent you have to feel that you are doing your kid good while teaching them a lesson. That is, in my opion actually a pretty fair and reasonable punishment for the modern time that we live in, but I don't think cell phones should be taken away.

Journal 4 Travels

Now most of my travels with my family, we go to beaches. I have been to Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Alabama. All of these places have been enjoyable and I always liked being able to spend time with my extended family, but there was one vacation that really made an impact on me. Two years ago my family went to Colorado. This vacation was only with my direct family (Mom, Dad, and my brother Anthony who is now in attendance at Butler University in the wonderful city of Indianapolis, Indiana). We went for a little over a week and it was quite amazing. We went to many different places around the state and each place was absolutely beautiful. Most of the time we spent was doing something outside. My family isn't necessarily outdoorsy because we aren't the types to suggest going camping as an activity, but we had a great time anyway. Just spending time in nature really allowed me some time to just slow down and think about things. Hiking was just time for me and I feel that I got to know my self a little better over the course of the trip. Along with being able to clear my mind it was also good exercise that really goes along well with thinking. A healthy body often times equates and relates to a healthy mind. I found that to really be an overall theme to the trip, because a lot of it was spent separate from each other. I think that everyone needs to take trips that allow them to clear their mind and just refresh themselves as a whole and go back to find who they are as a person. I’m not saying this has to be done all of the time, but I think it would be good for everyone to do this every couple years or so, just so that they can get back to themselves and not have any worries in the world to become truly at peace with themselves and the world.

Journal 3 In Captivity

If I were stuck in a hostage situation I would probably feel pretty much like a complete loser. I don't think that I would ever be taken by anyone just because I'm such an awesome person that I wouldn't allow it to happen. I might be lured in by candy though. Candy is my one true weakness. Say the hostage takers made a trail of candy on some random street that I was going down, I would most likely be compelled to follow the trail to get all of the candy. This is obviously if the candy isn't something gross like black licorice. But if I did get captured, I would probably be really resilient and fight against everything that the hostage takers do. Other than that I think it would really depend on how long I was in captivity for. If I knew that someone would be coming for me really soon I would not really care and just make sure to stay alive. On the other hand, if no one had any idea where I was at I may try to fight back a lot more myself. I think a lot of rage would cause me to attack my hostage takers. As for coping I think that fighting back would be my means of coping. Crying is not exactly my first choice as a coping method. Maybe after a while I would get pretty upset about not being able to see my family and loved ones; especially Matt Vermeersch because he is my friend and I care deeply about him. In the grand scheme of things, I think that I would deal well with captivity. I could probably escape if I really wanted to. I would go all MacGyver and take some random objects and escape the grasps of the hostage takers that took me in the first place. But in all honesty I would be pretty bummed about being captured and not being able to see the people I care about.

Journal 2 Animal Story

There once was a hippopotamus named Jesus Vermeersch. He lived in a very large house on account of hippopotamuses being so large, but not even Jesus needed a house as large as the one that he had. One night there was a terrible storm coming through the area that Jesus happened to live in. At the same time of this storm there was a frog passing by. The storm was so awful and Jesus was outside of his large house as he saw the small little frog pass by on the road. He felt bad and decided to offer for the frog to come in during the storm. The frog gladly accepted this offer and entered the home of Jesus the hippopotamus. Jesus made the frog coffee and gave him a blanket to warm up. But in the morning it was still storming. Jesus said that the frog was welcome to stay through the day until the raining and storming stopped. The frog was very grateful and decided to stay for the day. The two animals spent the day talking about their different lives and exchanging stories of the exciting adventures of each of their lives. Jesus the hippopotamus was actually glad to have the company of the frog and enjoyed spending time with him. Jesus made dinner for the two of them and they enjoyed the nice meal. Jesus wanted to pray, but the frog was not religious but he prayed with Jesus because he wanted to respect the beliefs of his gracious host. This was a great way that the frog showed his thanks for everything Jesus had done for him. Now even after dinner the raining and storming had not let up at all so Jesus said that he could stay the night again. Again, the frog was quite grateful and he stayed through the night. In the morning the rain had finally stopped and it was the most beautiful day that the hippopotamus or the frog had ever seen in their entire lives. The frog left and told the hippopotamus of his thanks many times and the hippopotamus knew that a new friend was leaving his home.

Journal 1 Native American Culture

Well there is a good amount of information that I know about Native American culture. One major thing is that they basically revolutionized the farming industry. They created a lot tools that are still used today; although today's technology is a lot better as it has been innovated over the years, but the basis for the tools is still the same. They also created a lot of irrigation systems to aid in their farming. They started out as a nomadic people but over time a lot of the peoples made settlements. This caused the development of different government systems. Along with new governments in the civilizations social classes started to form. While the Native Americans were very good at farming it seems that they were very bad at staying alive. Many of the many of the major civilizations seems to have just disappeared after being settled for a while. Not that these civilizations were under bad circumstances, because they were all excellent and prosperous as a whole. It remains a mystery to historians as to why these groups seemed to have just vanished. Personally I think that they were most likely destroyed or abducted by an alien organization called "The Alien." This is the only reasonable explanation that I can come up with. Another thing I know is that one of the groups of Native Americans is that they were quite good at making calendars. The Mayan’s were a group that made a pretty good calendar. Apparently it is ending in a couple years and that this is going to mark the beginning of the end of times, or Armageddon or the Apocalypse. This seems like a bogus claim to me, but the Native Americans were pretty good at basically everything else they did so maybe we should listen to the theories about this. Well there you go, that is pretty much what I know about Native Americans basically because I learned that all in American History this morning.

Symbolism in The Catcher in the Rye

This novel has some serious symbolism going on in it. One of the symbols is the ducks in the pond at the park. Holden presents a very serious and strong interest in these ducks. He is constantly asking and wondering what exactly happens to them during the winter when the lake is frozen. He actually asks quite a few people throughout the story and they just seemed to be annoyed by the questions. The first way this is symbolic is simply the fact that Holden does have this curiosity. With this being a novel about coming of age, the questioning of what happens to the ducks shows a different side of Holden; this being the child in him. Curiosity is something quite often associated with youth. Most of the time in the novel, Holden shows himself as knowledgeable compared to the other and it is the questions about the ducks that show a more juvenile side of him.

Anther major symbol in the story is Holden's infamous red hunting hat. I believe that this hat really is just a symbol of Holden's character and personality. He is constantly wearing it and it basically becomes a part of him. He seems to comment a lot about how it looks and he only really wears it when he is walking around by himself. The hat is quite unique in nature and this really is the main way that it symbolizes Holden. It is not something that most people wear in a metropolitan area and Holden is not really an average kid compared to the others that are around him.

Well that's basically the major symbolism in the novel, The Catcher in the Rye. The hat symbolizes Holden's uniqueness and the questioning of the ducks at the lake emphasizes the child that is still left in him.

All three summer novels

Well I am now done with all three novels for the summer. Overall I think that each had a different impact on me. The Catcher in the Rye has always been one of my favorite books and I would say that is because of my age. It is a novel about the coming of age and is just easy to relate to in this stage of my life. I’m sure that my views on it will change over time and I will have a different perspective on is as a whole. The same concept applies to The Grapes of Wrath as well. I read it and just thought that it was a really depressing story that was very long. I did not really feel like I got a grasp on the message of the novel entirely. But I think that this will change in time as well. My mom told me that she remembered reading it in high school and having the same opinion as me: a long, boring story about nothing really relating to my life. But she then told me that when she read it later in her life and she even read it a just a few years ago as well that it was completely different for her. The entire message of the novel had changed for her and it had a huge impact on her. It was no longer a boring story, but rather something that meant something. I think that I will reach this eventually but right now the story did not really have that much meaning to me. As for The Old Man and the Sea, I thought it was a very good book. It was an extremely quick read and also very easy to understand. I think this novel would also pick up a different meaning for me if I were to read it later in my life. I guess I will have to wait and see how all of these novels change for me over time and as my life changes.

Ending of the story

Well that was kind of weird and depressing for an ending. The depressing part is simply that the baby dies after birth. I mean I was kind of hoping for a little brighter ending but no, there has to be more death in the Joad family. There is no burial for the baby, they just put it in a coffin made of what they could find and it is put into a stream and it floats away. This is kind of random, but that kind of creeps me out. I kept thinking that someone would find the coffin and want to see what is inside and then they open it and find the body of a baby. Then they might think something bad had happened to it. This is all just weird thoughts from me though. I guess I’m just weird in that sense to think of stuff like that but whatever. Anyway, this is just like really sad. But with this loss there is a gain. A man comes across the family and has been so starved that he can not eat or digest solid food. He can only have soup or drinks. There is no food so Ma Joad looks to Rose to feed this man with her breast milk because she is lactating from being pregnant. I guess that is kind of a theme for this entire novel that even with a loss there are gains in the world. Who knows, maybe this man would have died if Rose have not let him drink her breast milk. Then there would have been two deaths in the world, one of them being able to be saved. Its kind of like when Granma Joad died because they used her as an excuse to get past some police officers that may not have let them go otherwise. In both cases a major loss is used to help either a group or an individual that really needs the help.

The farmer's anger

Chapter twenty nine goes back to the very first chapter of the novel in a sense. It has been raining now so no work can be done. This is very bad for everyone because that means there is no way to make money to buy food. Some people have resorted to begging for food which is quite degrading. I mean it’s not uncommon for people to beg for food, but for people that have had solid jobs and have been able to provide for their families needing to be, it is just quite sad. Some other people have taken a different approach and have started to steal food. I believe that these people have to feel awful about what they are doing but they are only doing it because they have no other possible choice. Another part of this chapter is how the women say that as long as the men stay angry they will be strong. This is similar to what was said in the beginning of the story. In the beginning the women say that as long as the men stay whole they will be strong. It is almost as if they mean as long as they have their lives they will continue to live and survive. Things have changed now though because the men have given up everything in their lives except for their families. They really don’t have much to live for except for themselves. Now the thing that is keeping them going is no longer their lives, but rather the rage they have for everything that has happened to them. All of the migrant farmers are furious and are ready to do something about it. This is really a huge part of the novel. The women shifting their ideas of what is keeping their men strong is really showing the whole basis of the farmers lives shifting as well. The novel is almost over and I am quite interested to see how it ends.

Tom's personality

Tom has decided to work and support the efforts to organize the farmers. He had been planning on doing so but Ma Joad warning him that people may know of him being in hiding is what makes him fully go for it. He tells Ma Joad and she reminds him that Jim Casy died for supporting and trying to help the cause. Tom kind of jokes about this but I think he really does take it very seriously. It seems like his personality to laugh in the face of death and make jokes out of very serious matters. I think there are a lot of people in the world like this. He makes a joke that he will duck more quickly then Jim did, but I think he truly does know the risk of what he has decided to do. I think he also partially may want to make sure that Jim’s death was not in vain and for nothing. Of course the other reason for helping out is simply that it may drastically improve the situation of the entire migrant worker population. Later it is kind of happy because as Ma Joad is returning to the boxcar they are staying in she is stopped by a man that tells her that he needs workers for a large cotton field. Ma Joad spreads the word of this work. Having work is just such a good thing for everyone at this point. Most of the people are running out of money and are just barely getting by, so work is the best thing they could possible do at this point. There are so many workers the next day that the field is cleared in almost half a day. As the family returns to their boxcar it starts to rain. I am assuming that the rain is important because there has not really been any rain spoken of up to this point. We will have to see what comes next for the Joad family.

Farmers in the cotten field

Those farmers really know how to con the con man. I found this part of the novel both sad but hilarious at the same time. There are now quite a few jobs available picking cotton and a lot of the migrant farmers are taking advantage of this. At first they only allow the farmers with bags for cotton picking to have the jobs, but then they allow people to buy the special cotton picking bags on credit from the land owners. I found this to be a bit ridiculous. Buying supplies for a job from the employer like in that situation is just weird. Then on top of that the farmers have scales to see how much the workers get each day, but they have scales that are off. They always are lower than what the workers have actually obtained. But the hilarious part of this section of the novel is that the migrant farmers that are working in the cotton fields started to put rocks in the bottom of their bags so it weighs more. Now I know that the farmers are cheating in a sense, but the wealthy land owners did it first. That sounds kind of childish but the migrant farmers have already gone through so much that I think its okay that they do a little to have some personal gain. I think it would be hilariously ironic if the messed up scales and the rocks in the bags actually balanced each other out and the farmers got what they worked for and the land owners paid what they were supposed to in the first place. This whole situation is quite clever on the part of the famers. They only do it to the corrupt farmers though so it seems like it is okay to do. Even though the migrant farmers are in a sense cheating I think that everybody that reads this is truly wanting the farmers to do so to get a little gain for themselves.

Tom on his own

Another Joad has shown the importance of family. After Tom had killed that one dude he was hit on the face and injured kind of badly. He is aware of the fact that it will draw unwanted attention from people that would probably hurt him more. Aware of this, he goes back and tells the family that he will not be staying with them just so they do not have to deal with any of the repercussions of what he did. This is quite a noble thing to do. It takes a lot of courage to separate yourself from the ones that you love. It is easier knowing that what you are doing is for their safety and good, but it still would be quite upsetting to have to do. Tom truly is willing to make a sacrifice for his family. They sneak food to the place where he is hiding. This is also a very awesome act of kindness from the Joad family. They have all seemed to keep their heads straight even during all of the things that are going on around them. Another thing you have to think about is Tom being alone. With all of the bad surrounding the people in the story it would be extremely difficult to deal with by yourself. When you are with your family or friends, you at least have people to confide in and tell you troubles to. With the sacrifice he made, Tom is no longer able to do this. It is sad because it seems that the Joad family is falling apart. I believe that Granma and Ma Joad were the ones that said that the family needed to stick together. Now there have been numerous deaths in the family and some of the members of the family have left to live on their own. Even after all of this it seems like the Joad family is still able to stay as positive as possible during this very rough time for everyone.

Tom killed a man

Tom showed a little bit of an evil side in this part of the novel. He killed a man. My saying he killed a man just reminded me of the movie Anchorman. Specifically the part where all of the news crews in the area have a huge battle royal and later they are talking about it and Ron Burgandy says to another man, “you killed a man” in a very funny voice. My apologies, because that is quite off topic but Tom actually did kill a man. He is checking out some commotion he noticed earlier and he comes across the preacher and family friend, Jim Casy. They talk for a while but then some guard like people come over and recognize Jim so they attack him. Tom is enraged by this so he gets the weapon and kills the man that attacked Jim. Now this I found to be quite interesting. I had always thought that Tom like Jim but he really dilled a man for him. This kind of adds some closure to my idea of Jim Casy. When he first entered the story I found that he seemed to be very important to the story. I thought it was clear that he would be in the story and I was upset when he was taken away in the first place. His reappearance made me feel a little bit better about the story. It is said that Tom had already killed a man in his life before. In fact that was how he ended up in prison in the beginning of the story. This part makes me think that he had killed the other man for a reason too. It does not really seem that Tom would just up and kill someone without a reason. That I why I think that when he killed the first man there was most likely justification for that as well as there was for the killing of Jim Casy’s assailant.

Work at peach farm

This section of the novel is quite dark and depressing. As the family is about to leave the camp a man tells them of work at a peach orchard. They go there and find that they can only make five cents per box, which is extremely awful wages even for a job such as that. The entire family works for the entire day and the fruits of their labors are very low. The family made just enough to pay for dinner for that night. It is not even that much food, because everyone is still hungry after eating. This is really sad. I think it is just terrible that someone can work for an entire day and not have enough money for one meal. It is just hard to imagine ever going through such an ordeal. This really does remind me of the Holocaust. Of course during WWII there was no wages at all but a small meal was provided. In this case there is pay but no mean provided. It ends up balancing out if you think about it. This is just so depressing to think that something like this happened to our country. It is hard to imagine that people in our own country went through much of the same things as the people in the Holocaust. It is obviously not as bad because people were not slaughtered and killed in cold blood during the Depression, but still, in both situations there are people that are starving to death and working very hard and jobs for either little or no money in each respective situation. I thought that the last chapter was really sad, but I would say that this section of the novel takes the title. When something reminds you of the Holocaust, it is probably safe to say that it is not a pleasant thing. This really explains why the Great Depression made such a big impact on so many people.

"The grapes of wrath"

With the migrant farmers coming into the state the owners of large land settlements are tying to get rid of them. Because of what they are doing to get rid of the migrant farmers from the central United States, they are also affecting the owners of smaller farms already in the area. I do not think that they really want to do this but it is simply a byproduct of what they are doing to get rid of the migrant farmers. A lot of the farmers are not able to keep up their farms so their plants or crops are starting to die. This means they have no income therefore they can not continue to keep their farms. Basically it is a big monopoly with caused by the owners of the large farms. It is in this section of the book that the main idea of the book comes out. It is obviously the main idea of the novel because it is related to the title of it. In this section there is a line that reads, “In the souls of the people, the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.” To me this means that the people can not deal with the burdens of their lives anymore. They just want to be done and have the fruits of life, which I think is actually quite reasonable. These people have dealt with so much that they deserve to be done with it all. If you think about it the Depression was something that truly affected the lives of all of the people involved in it for the rest of their lives. The “grapes of wrath” have had too much and they just want to reach the vintage of their lives. This event is what defined the people in it and they definitely deserved for it to be over a lot quicker that it was. That line encompasses the entire idea of the novel.

Riot in the camp

During this chapter there are men that try to start a riot in the camp during the dance. Tom and some of the other guys stop a different group of guys that are trying to start something. When Tom gets them away from the other people he asks why these men would possible turn against their own brethren. One of the men says that they were paid quite a bit of money to start this riot that they had planned. This is a great example of how humans can turn against each other. For a while the people of California were doing things that made the migrant farmers band together and be even more furious with them, but now they have used migrant farmers against migrant farmers. This is definitely a smart move because everyone is so desperate. If you select a small group of people from a lager group that are all desperate and you entice them with something they want, they are bound to do what you want. It is human nature to look out for yourself when you are in a rough and tough situation. People may even turn against their own families if they can benefit enough from it. I think that it is awful to think that money could turn people against the other people that are in the same boat as them, but it is undeniable that it happens. This can even be related to the Holocaust. When the Nazis were hunting people, they would tell other persecuted people to give up locations of their friends just so they could live. Even then, the people were most likely killed even if they did give up the hiding spots of people. The desperation that people experience really can make them do very evil things even though they think it is a good decision at the time. This is simply because people only want to look out for themselves in bad situations.