Research Question 1 for The Stalin Epigram and the Arrest of Osip Mandelstam

Mandelstam was arrested in 1934 for writing poetry about Stalin. He was tortured in prison and later exiled with his wife to remote villages. He tried to commit suicide but it did not work and his exile was lessened to banishment from larger cities.   He wrote a poem for Natasha Shtempel which was about women mourning. He was again arrested in 1938 for going against the revolution because he wrote another poem and was sentenced to five years in a labor camp. He died later on from madness and starvation on December 27, 1938. The conditions in the camp must have been horrendous because he died of starvation. He also was crazy when he died so the Russians must have tortured him physical as well as mentally.


Source: http://kirjasto.sci.fi/mandelst.htm

Research Question 3 for Independence v Swaraj

The ethical guidelines  for journalism are easy to follow:


Journalists should by honest and fair when gathering information.
Test accuracy of the information obtained.
Support the open exchange of views.


Journalists should show compassion.
Be sensitive when obtaining and looking for information that is sentimental.


Avoid conflicts.
Be brave and show valor
Refuse gifts, free travel, and fees.


Encourage audience to voice problems within community.
admit mistakes if made and correct them promptly.


Source: http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp

Blogging notes on Ken Kesey's One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

1. Personal liberation in the book seems to be defined as finding one's self and purpose and not being brought down by conformity. The book doesn't seem to be anti women more like anti bossy women. "good female characters are females who aren't afraid to flaunt their feminism and body. 


2. Nurse Ratched's name is significant because Ratchet mean set of teeth on a bar wheel allowing motion in one direction only and I'm pretty sure her name comes from that because there is only one way in the ward and it is her way. 


3. America in this era was a matriarchy because women in this time period were discovering themselves and developing. They were doing new things that women have never done before so at this time women were running the world one step at a time.


4. This book has a lot of racial slurs but i really do not think it is racist just that he is trying to catch the dialogue of that time. During this time Blacks were not really accepted as first class citizens.


5. When McMurphy was about to get electrocuted he asked for his crown of thorns so that alludes to Christ and the patients looked up to him like a God. I guess Candy would be the Virgin Mary even though she is not exactly a saint.


6. The Mental hospital is like a mini version of America because it shows a person in charge who wants their citizens to conform to their rules and terms and hippies revolted against that. 


7. The parallels suggested between communism and liberalism is that both need to be destroyed so people do not have to conform to rules and regulations that are not necessary. Most of the communist behavior is displayed by Nurse Ratched.


8. Chief Bromden is a reliable narrator to me because he tells the story accurately and tells a little about himself. Being Indian is significant because it seems Indians have been fighting to conform to whites for centuries and since this is a book about fighting conformity Indians need to be in it.


9. Freudian Theory and thoughts seem to be about unconscious thoughts dealing with repression and psychoanalysis. Sigmund Freud believed that people repressed painful memories into their unconscious.  Since the book is dealing with repression Freudian seems to go hand in hand. Source: http://www.iep.utm.edu/freud/


10. Since this book is about the evils of these drugs then Hippies were using dangerous stuff. If this book really reflected how drugs can change a person then Hippies were in danger because these drugs were really powerful and back things doctors would approve anything.


11. It is like a manual for people trying to rebel against conformity. Almost like a bible of sorts to the rebels just starting out. Showing them that you can defeat conformity because McMurphy did it.


12. This is a powerful theme because not a lot of people criticized America because most people were afraid to speak out. Kesey thinks modern America went wrong when they started making people conform to unnecessary rules and when they started being double standard and hypocritical.


13. It seems cynical about democracy because when the patients were in the meeting and everyone voted to use the tub room but Nurse Ratched pretty much vetoed them even though it was in the interest of the patients. So maybe Kesey's believes democracy does not truly exist since the government think they make the right choices for us.


14. They gloried criminals and lunatics that should be self explanatory why the 1960s radicalism went wrong. They made them seem like misunderstood people and some of them are but most are really crazy and irrational. 


15. McMurphy sees gambling as a chance to control everything for once. He can control what he does in the game but he can not control the outcome just the input. 


16. Big Nurse is genderless, mechanical, and unemotional. Big Nurse symbolizes a machine.


17. The book portrays liberation as leaving the hospital when they are ready not when they are healed in the Nurse's terms. They feel like they can join society once more.


18. I actually could not really tell when he was on LCD in certain parts in the book maybe the part when Bromden was remembering his childhood after being shocked toward the end of the book because everything seemed crazy.


19. Laughter makes all the problems go away. well not go away but it makes people forget stressing things such as problems and just live a little.


20. The Loonies are more healthier than the sane because they are taking the time to actually think about the problems in their life while people on the outside repress their problems because they feel they have other things going on in their lives. insanity is the only sane response to a crazy world.


21. The arguments that Kesey seems to being forward is to laugh, fight conformity, and live. Which is great for a society because conformity can be suffocating and make people turn into loonies.


22. The author uses a lot of imagery and similes. It paints a picture in my mind when I read it and he uses diction very well. 

Research Question 2 for Slavery on the Henequen Plantations of Yucatan

There are tons of sweatshops in China. They usually make American goods like shoes, clothes, and toys. They have low wages, horrific working hours, and no air conditioning. The factories are dirty and not well taking care of. They are refused the opportunity to create labor unions to protest for better working hours, conditions and pay. The bosses of the companies ignore workers complaints because they want to save as much money as they can and if workers do complain they can be replaced easily with other unemployed people. There are efforts to change the troubling conditions but nothing is set in stone since they are their own country and can do whatever they like.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/06/opinion/06tue2.html

Research Question 1 for The United States of America vs Susan B. Anthony

America's woman suffrage movement was founded in the mid 19th century by women who was politically activated in abolitionist and prohibition movements. The first national women's right convention was held in 1850 and then repeatedly annually. 15th amendment was passed for black males to be able to vote but not for females. Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton pushed for women suffrage by organizing groups and by the 1890 in Wyoming became the first state to allow women to vote. Role of women changed. They started to get an education and bearing less children and three more states agreed to let women vote. By 1920 the 19th amendment was born.


Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/19th-amendment-adopted

Research Question 2 for Emancipation Proclamation

The effect of the Emancipation Proclamation is huge. Abolitionists and most northerners were happy with the change but the working class and southerners were not. The Ohioan working class did not want the Proclamation because they were afraid of blacks running up north and taking all of the good jobs. Southerners and slave owners argued that Lincoln did not have the power to end slavery because slaves were property of the owners and that taking property without due process is against the constitution. Either way the Proclamation went into effect whether or not if people agreed with it.

Source: http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1492

For Research Question 1 for State of Union Adress

Before the Indian Removal act was placed the Cherokees tried to protect themselves so in 1827 they adopted a constitution declaring themselves to be a sovereign nation. The states challenged them and took them to court in 1831. Indians based their appeal on the 1830 Georgia law that whites can not live on Indian territory. The law at that time was to stop white missionaries from helping Indians so the court agreed with the Indians that they had the right to self government. Georgia and Andrew Jackson refused to abide the court decision.


When Jackson took office he placed the Indian Removal act so that only he can negotiate with Indians. Most of the tribes were willing to go except the Cherokees so they had to be tricked into signing a treaty. Cherokees were given two years to migrate voluntarily but at the end of the time frame they would be forcibly moved. By 1838, only 2,000 of 18,000 migrated voluntarily so Government sent in 7,000 troops to flush them out. They made them march on the path known as the Trail of Tears. 4,000 people died of cold, hunger and exhaustion. 


Source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2959.html 

Research Question 2 of The Social Contract

The Social Contract was banned and condemned because it stated that men were noble savages and that they have to throw off the restraints of society. So French government thought that Rousseau was trying to over throw the government by putting false notions into the mind of public they were afraid of losing their position so they needed to silence him and burn the books. I think the Social contract was good for the public so they know what they could accomplish by knowing the state of nature.  (I will finish this later)


source: http://www.online-literature.com/rousseau/

http://www.iep.utm.edu/rousseau/#H4

For Research 2 of Second Treatise of Government

The audience that Locke was most likely targeting was the well to do people of that time period. The people who had the time to actually read something like it and the education to interpret the text accordingly. People who were land owners not poor people. Locke is trying to help his fellow citizens by informing them that there is a state of peace and a state of war and a state of peace is the choice that is the correct choice but state of war never can be avoided. 

This is a short research question answer. 

Research Question 2 for Constitution of the United States of America

Anti-Federalists believed a strong government might steal their individual, human rights away. They were worried about the government not caring for their needs because if there was a strong government then they would over look their individual needs to benefit the government as a whole. Anti-Federalists were also worried about the well being of the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of petition, and all other basic human rights. 


When the Anti-Federalists saw that the Constitution did not have any Bill of Rights they immediately rejected it and demanded the insertion of the Bill of Rights. So the Federalists, needing the approval of the Anti-Federalists to make this government work, got to work and made the Bill of Rights that pleased the Anti-Federalists. 


sources: http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/bill-of-rights-purpose.html

Question 1 of For Research on How to Keep a Slave

A part of the world which still had slavery is Africa specifically the countries of South Africa, Ethiopia, Ghana, Togo, and Benin. There are different types of slavery. The different types are Sex based slavery in which girls between ages 10-18 are used as prostitutes in cities. Forced labor slavery is  any work or services which people are forced to do against their will under the threat of some form of punishment. Ritual slavery (most commonly practices in Ghana) is  where traditional religious shrines take human beings, usually young virgin girls in payment for services, or in religious reparations for alleged misdeeds of a family member.


Honestly I do not know why slavery is still around in Africa or other places. Maybe people feel they can not get a job anywhere else or they are lazy so they get other people to do their jobs or they sell girls since in their culture girls are not even real people just objects to feed and give birth to babies. The mentality of people owning slaves is why pay people to do it when you can get a slave who does not need the wages. 

"Knavery's plain face is never seen till used."

Some masters, like Othello, should not be followed. The servants who follow their masters devotedly their whole lives are later terminated like cattle. They are stupid. But there are the servants like me who pretend to be devoted but who is really looking out for themselves. Men like that are smart they get everything they want. It may look like I love Othello but I'm serving him for my own personal gain. If my outward appearance showed my inner thoughts people will nag me about it so I hide it.

Iago's reasons to appear false:
Get revenge for Othello giving the job to Cassio instead of him.
Get revenge for Othello sleeping with his life.
Get revenge for Othello ruining his reputation.

There is no evidence for Othello ever sleeping with his wife. Iago cares about his reputation so much he tells himself that this is the only way for revenge. "Wife for Wife" 2.2 295 Even though he doesn't really care about Emilia that is his justification.

Insults

1. Thou be a rank, dog-hearted ruffian.
--It means you are stinky, not trustworthy, cunning criminal.

2. Thou art truly a brazen, half- faced, boar pig.
--It means you are bold, two faced (you act a certain way with one group of people but then when we are not together act a different way)  fat person.

3. verily , thou art naught but a fawning, dizzy eyed pigeon egg.
--It means that you are a young person who thinks they are in love but truly they are too confused with their fantasy of that love is supposed to be.

4. Verily be a bootless, full gorged, younker.
--it means that you are poor since you are bootless and you are fat man whore.

5. Thou truly a hideous, fat kidneyed, canker blossom.
--it means you are a ugly drunk whore.

Dr. King Letter from Birmingham Jail Comprehension

1. Dr. King probably seldom answers criticism because He does not care what other people think of his non violent ways. He knows he is right. Dr. King decided to write this letter because he is astonished that clergy men of all people are telling him he is wrong for wanting equal writes when they are godly people.

2. The clergy men probably wanted him to wait for a more timely era where there is not so violent ways. Or they probably just wanted problems to answer themselves.

3. The reasons he gives for the demonstration is that so much time has already passed. Whites had a chance to redeem themselves after treating blacks wrongfully in slavery times but they chose not to apologize so it was time for Blacks to take action. he thinks it is too late because whites are killing blacks for no reason so what is the point of negotiating with people who are ignorant.

4. Wait means that more blacks have to be killed by ignorant white hands before change comes and they are already fed up so waiting is not an option anymore.

5. There is the law whites have to follow and a law blacks have to follow.

6.It is illogical because this is non violent protest. These people are just sitting at diners or on buses how do they ignite violence when they are doing every day things.

7. he is disappointed because they do not see what is wrong when a black can sit at a diner with other people just because they have different skin.

Mark Antony: Tim Eulogy Comparison Activity

There are a few comparisons between Mark Antony and Tim Eulogies. they both evoked riots after they both said a few words about the deceased. They both say the good things about the deceased rather than talk about the not so nice things. Antony, in his speech, almost shows sympathy towards the conspirators. he calls them honorable men. Tim also does this. Tim calls the police man who shot Clifton a good citizen who just couldn't help himself. Thy both speak of how Caesar and Clifton aroused people's hopes.


They both seem take different approaches though. Tim's eulogy seems more sad and depressing while Antony seems more sympathetic to the conspirators as if they had to kill Caesar to stop him. Antony's crowed seems easily persuaded though. At first the crowd believed Brutus then they believed Antony. if Brutus had come after Antony then they probably would have believed Brutus and this would be an entirely different play.

Declaration of Independence Writing Workshop 2

Students and teachers work in harmony most of the time. It seems like a basic relationship. The teacher's job is to teach and the student's job is to learn. Students learn most of the time in a safe classroom environment. Most students have multiple classes so they can retain more information at one time to be better prepared for our world. Students are entitled to a execellent teacher and if they find that the teacher is not doing their job correctly or efficient then they, as responsible students, have the ability to find another educator of more prospect.


We, the students, have found the need to obtain a more efficient and reliable teacher. You have not done any teaching of any sort.


You give me homework that we do not understand or homework on subjects we did not go over.
You just give excessive amounts of homework forgetting that we students have other classes to do homework from.
You tell us to shut our mouths when we were just merely asking a mere question to a fellow student.
You complain when we do not follow directions even though you did not clearly state them


There many more grievances toward you but listing them would take too much time and effort. Point of the matter is,  Students want different types of teachers. Some prefer strict teachers other prefer teachers who do not actually teach but just gives busy work and allows you to socialize. My ideal teachers is someone who can do both be strict but not too general like but also friendly and makes learning fun and not like a task.  We do not need your services as my our my fellow students educator anymore but if you can change your ways we might be able to work something out.  I hope we will remain respectable towards one another in our quest to enlighten people.

Declaration of Independence p 587-588

Purpose and Audience

1. The premise of the Declaration of Independence is that all men are created equal and that we as the people should be able to control the government since it is made for the benefit of us. I think Jefferson wrote the Declaration perfectly. He did everything correctly to prove his argument. 

2. Jefferson seems to write this in a cool, calm manner. He states all the grievances toward the King and states all the reasons why we should separate ourselves  from someone who does not meet the demands of the people. 

3. The document was attended for the King i would hope since it addresses him and asks to remain friends after separating. The peasants and people who dislike the King would accept it because the things they always wanted to say to the King is written in that document so Jefferson is creating a voice for them.

4. I'm not sure what this question is asking me so.... I guess Jefferson does not accept that there will be opposition because he already says that he hopes The U.S. and England could be friends after this little disagreement like this is set in stone.

5. Jefferson knows there are people over there who feel exactly the same way about the King.

6. I think Jefferson puts the thesis statement in the first sentence of paragraph 32. I'm not sure why he would put it there.

Style and Structure

1. Declaration of Independence relies on deductive reasoning because it uses logic like for example Jefferson says it is necessary for the people to get rid of a government that is not befitting them he then says the King's government is not beneficial so the logically thing is to get rid of it and start from scratch. 

2. Jefferson uses transition words and he moves from one point to another without beating around the bush..

3. He wants to make the King see clearly that he has not been doing his job correctly and that the people are not trying to undermine by just up and leave they have a legit reason.

4. When he says " We,therefore" It makes it seem that there is a whole group of people behind him and agree with him (Which there is) So if the King read this he would know that they mean business.

Thanks to Modern Science (Ad) Journal entry

I find this Ad a little convincing. I mean the image of the guy sitting in his chair awaiting his death is very moving that is probably the only thing that makes the Ad convincing. There is really no evidence to back things up. Eveything seems more of a personal opinion than fact. The headline really catches your attention though so i expected the actual text to be an attention grabber also but I was alittle disappointed.  The quote from the supreme court justice is very  informative. He tells his opinion though but to get an opinion from somebody who sits there and sees these things happen can really make people think otherwise.

Thanks to Modern Science (Ad) Reading Images

1. The headline of the Ad is trying to say that even though modern science saved these 17 people, there are people who still did not get a chance to prove their innocence because they didn't have any chance to use DNA testing. The Ad does support these points. They use stories of some of the people who were on death row.

2. The picture that accompanies the text is pretty disturbing. It shows a man in an electric chair cherishing the last moments of his life knowing it is his last. I think it reinforces the text because the text stated "Perhaps the bleakest fact of all is that the death penalty is imposed not only in a freakish and discriminatory manner, but also in some cases upon defendants who are actually innocent" The death penalty is preformed in a gruesome manner. It reinforces that statement and that some people did not get so lucky. That modern science was not provided to them and this is their fate.

3. I think it applies to both. Emotion can be used here because it provides a picture of a man about to be executed and that can provoke an emotion from people who see this and the text is the more logically part. When you read it, it seems logically to incorporated DNA but some people do not see it that. 

4. It made a point that twenty-three innocent men were executed. Chicago Tribune stated that capital punishment in Illinois is a system so riddles with faulty evidence, unscrupulous trial tactics, and legal incompetence that justice has forsaken. That seem more of a personal opinion than anything. the only thing that seems back up is probably the first sentence of the Ad.

Journal entry for "The Storm" pg 199

I was not really sure if we were supposed to do entry or response..


The title of "The Storm" could refer to the possible altercation between Bobinot and Alcee. If Bobinot decided to go home to check on his wife and had caught Alcee sleeping with his wife then the "storm" in a sense would have broken. Things would have gone crazy. People would have been shouting and probably threatening one another. But since Bobinot did not catch Alcee with Calixta then the "storm" has passed.


But another storm is brewing because Alcee is telling his wife Clarisse to don't worry about coming back to soon and to stay as long as she wants. So I think Alcee is going to try to get with Calixta again and this time he might get caught.

Response to "The Storm" pg 194-198

Umm.. The Storm is interesting in its own special way. It reminds me of cheesy romantic novels of today. It has a lot of descriptive words and that is probably the only reason I would like this story. I don't like the plot or anything. It was patched to quickly. The story does not have any conflict. Not even internal conflict. Usually someone will go through a conflict with themselves about whether they should cheat or not but no Calixta she just does it without any regard or consideration. There is really not much I can say about this story. it does not appeal to me at all. 

Good night and Good Luck S.O.A.P- Tone

SPEAKER:  There isn't anyone identified as the main speaker. There isn't any narrator. Everyone is speaking? I do not know how to really explain. The movie is just telling Edward Murrow's story.


OCCASION:  The person who wrote this piece probably saw Edward Murrow as a hero. Murrow did something that everyone else was afraid to do. He told the truth of the matter. The writer of this movie wanted to show how Murrow had people who helped him and supported his decision to oust McCarthy and show people he was doing something very wrong.


AUDIENCE:  The audience is anyone who is interested in Murrow. There is not any identified audience in this movie. This movie was created for everyone not for a specific class, race, or gender.


PURPOSE:  To show Murrow as someone very important to American history and television. Murrow spoke out for a group of people when no one else did even though Murrow was not being targeted. So Murrow was important for that reason.


SUBJECT:  The subject is how Murrow came about making this program about McCarthy and the challenges he faced with doing it. I know this because that is all they talk about? The movie is about him making the McCarthy program.


TONE:  The tone of this movie is very busy sort of. There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the news room and pretty much every else in Murrow's life. The mood is hard to explain. The mood changed from scene to scene really.

Analysis of The Crucible

I actually enjoyed reading The Crucible. It was easier to understand than The Scarlet Letter. I could follow the story. The Crucible definitely had "OH MY GOD" and "NO SHE DIDN'T" moments. This play really evoked emotion out of me. By the end of the play I was getting angry at Abigail Williams and her tactics to get rid of Elizabeth Proctor. John Proctor really got on my nerves after a while. He kept yelling at Elizabeth for not forgiving him right away. He should have known that she is not going to forget so easily. But Elizabeth irritated me too because she kept bringing it up if I had known her personally i would have told her "If you forgive him, you have to let it go. You can not keep bringing it up." I would have liked to see Abigail hanged for being a lying idiot but I guess that would seem too perfect a world for the play.


I do not have any problems with the play. It was pretty interesting and straightforward type of play. Some of the wording was a little strange but its not as bad as The Scarlet Letter. I think what makes this play successful is all the drama and also the internal, external conflicts. Proctor and Parris hated each other. Proctor in his head was dealing with committing adultery. Abigail vs. Elizabeth. Pretty much Abigail vs. the whole cast. The people that Abigail had no trouble with was her gang of girls and Danforth.

But overall this is an excellent play. I honestly did not expect it to be this good. Very impressed.

SOAPS - Tone document analysis for "Half-hanged Mary"

Speaker: The poem does not come out directly and state who the speaker is but the person who is narrating the story is using first person and says she is being charged as a witch so you can make the assumption that the person speaking is Mary. Mary is blue eyed and lives alone. She is being charged because she is not the normal girl. She owns her own land.

Occasion: I think the author , Margaret Atwood, was probably interested in the Salem witch trials and Mr. Urban tells use she likes to imagine the perspective of different characters.

Audience: It seems Mary is talking to herself and the reader. Its like she is asking herself why her. Why did people assume she is a witch. The speaker does not use any specific old time phrases to determine the audience so Mary is probably talking to us. Mary speaks of the people who hanged her and of god.

Purpose: The speaker's purpose is to show that people are being wrongfully accused for things that they did not do because of not meeting their sense of normal standard. Also the speaker says she has died twice. Being accused wrongfully can kill some people mentally. Speaker seems to be angry over this. She says she is not grateful for living because since she lived after being hanged people are definitely going to think she is a witch. So living has made her an outcast.

Subject: Being accused wrongfully and dealing with the inter turmoil seems to be the main subject here because that is all the speaker would talk about.

Tone: The author's tone seems informative and a little personal. She is sharing us her feelings of being accused wrongfully. Her mood seems to be angry but not like a wrath kind of anger but a subtle kind. its like she is keeping it in.

Arthur Miller, "Are you now or were you ever?" Questions

1. Miller attempted to make life real again by showing that things get repeated in history. The McCarthy trials are just like the Salem Witch trials. People being wrongfully accused for something they did not do and no evidence that they did any such thing. The Crucible shows that yeah these events happening now happened years ago. we are repeating a terrible part in history.

2. Miller's criticism was that the political left wing was not acknowledging the truth. Paul Robeson testimony was so remarkable because he expressed the idealistic canon of his convictions. Robeson stated that faith in socialism was a cure for racism.

3. The Crucible written by Arthur Miller evokes how people deal with conformity and individual freedom.

4. I think Miller means is that people forget the past mistakes in history so they end up repeating and repeating things that they could of avoided if they just looked back. It is vital for them to remember so we do not make anymore tragic mistakes over something small and silly and then later realize that it could have been avoided.

Girls in Front of 9/11 Mural (Photo) pg 160

The impact of the mural is more significant than the impact of the photo. Anybody could have taken that picture but someone who was deeply moved by the 9/11 attacks made the mural to represent how they feel. Not saying that photography is bad or anything but the mural took time to make. The artist thought it through. They knew what they wanted to put it. The photographer was just walking by and noticed the mural so decided to take a picture of it.


When comparing the picture to the actual mural i find the mural more moving. Like I stated up in the other paragraph someone took their time to make something to dedicate to the ones lost to the 9/11 attack. Looking at the mural in person in going to make some more moved than just looking at a picture of it in their textbook.

"Shooting an Elephant" pg 131 Journal entry

I think Orwell is big coward (even though I love him as an author). Orwell is a coward because he could not do the right thing. He knew killing that elephant was wrong. The elephant was not doing anything to the people. It was eating grass. He killed the elephant to not look like a coward in front of the Burma people. He should have told them that he was not going to kill an animal who was not doing anything. Orwell should have waited to consult the owner about what he wanted to do about the animal. Orwell uses the justification that the elephant killed the man and that he was merely doing was considered right. If Orwell was really unsure he should have waited for the elephant owner to come back and explain the situation not just take matters into his own hands for acceptance by the people.

Orwell is not a racist. he does get frustrated with the Burma people for jeering at him but he knows that imperialism is not right. He knows taking over a native land just for the benefit of your country is not right. He understands why the people act like this to Europeans even though it frustrates him.

Thoughts on The Scarlet Letter

When I was first reading it, I got very confused with the language that Hawthorne uses. I loved the concept of the book but the language really killed me. But everything else was great. There was a lot of symbolism with nature and with Pearl's name. The book was definitely filled with a lot of descriptions. I usually like descriptions but when Hawthorne describes something it takes about five pages to get his point across. When I was reading the long descriptions of the Governor getting elected I thought "is this necessary?" but that is Hawthorne's style. Not enough dialogue for me. Every time I came to a new chapter i would there was some type of dialogue but most of the time I was greatly disappointed.

Drama was great. But I hated the ending. I was very positive that Chillingworth would kill Dimmesdale but Dimmesdale pretty much just plopped down and died. I kinda knew that Dimmesdale was the father pretty early in the book. So not too many surprises. I enjoy when there are conflicts in a story so the whole religion versus love and passion definitely spiced things up. Hawthorne did make me feel sympathy for Hester. If that was what he wanted to do then he accomplished that.

So pretty much i liked the concept but not the language. It was alittle predictable and the ending was not that great but overall it was ok.

Thoreau "Civil Disobedience"

1. A better government commands my respect because our government right now is corrupt and just trashed. We should gut it out and start new and fresh. We should make the government for the people by the people.

2. (a) The motto that Thoreau accepts is "That government is best which governs least."
    (b) He likes to see it implemented as having no government

3. (a) A government is best which governs nothing at all.
    (b) Americans will get the best kind of government when they are ready for it.

4. (a) Thoreau is urging people to resist governmental policies with which they disagree.
    (b) Yes, he makes a convincing argument but there are flaws.

5. (a) Countries need government for order. Without order our whole society would be in chaos and in ruins. Government needs to change but it doesn't need to be taken away.
    (b) Government brings justice to individuals who deserve it. Justice is a big part of our society. Government disciplines people who deserve it. They make sure we make right choices for ourselves.

Emerson "Self- Reliance"

1. Everyone has to be self reliant in a society so cut throat as it is. People in America are independent. They do what they have to do for themselves and no one else.

2. (a) Emerson describes society as a joint-stock company in which the members agree for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater.
    (b) Society's main purpose is conformity.
    (c)

3. (a) Emerson says they were all misunderstood.
    (b) The evidence Emerson uses are individuals who made major contributions to scientific philosophical or religious thinking. People misunderstand him because people wonder why do they go through such lengths as to change how we think.

4. (a) Emerson thinks we cannot be consistent. Life is not consistent so why should people be that way.
    (b) I do not think so. Life is never consistent and consistency is boring.

5. (a) Emerson says God will not have his work made manifest by cowards. God wants people who can fend for their self to carry on his work.
    (b) Emerson would say there is a reason we are here so live your life the best you can. Be self reliant. Do not rely on anyone but yourself so you do not be disappointed. Accept the place the divine providence has found for you. Great people have done it.

6. "Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist"

Maya Angelou "Finishing School" Journal entry

When my mom made me learn how to play the flute, I was very upset. She told me I would love to play it when I'm older and that I will thank her later on. I did not want to play it because of the practicing that is involved. When I first played it, I was upset about sounding really awful. My mom told me to practice and practice and I will sound much better. So I did. I played and played which irritated my dad. He could not take the sound of high out of tuned whistling. Finally I sounded better and I really did enjoy playing it. I now see value in learning the Flute. I got to meet people from different bands and got to go on band trips. So I thank my mom for making me learn how to play a instrument.

Journal entry page 95

    Spiderman, the most beloved and strongest superhero of all time, was keeping watch over New York City. Every night Spiderman keeps a watchful eye out for The Vulture. The Vulture has been causing havoc over the city for months. The criminal has been attempting to steal uranium and other chemicals but Spiderman has been preventing Vulture's acts by appearing at the nick of time. While Spiderman was swinging from building to building, he heard the cry of an old lady. He swooped down and landed in a deserted park. He ran to the old lady and as he approached he knew there was something wrong but it was too late. The Vulture jumped down from his perch in a tree and gagged Spiderman with a chemical that made Spiderman go into a deep sleep. The Vulture, feeling accomplished, completed the last stage of his plan. He put Spiderman in a tank filled with slimy water and flew off to do dastardly deeds. But Spiderman woke up instantly after hitting the cold water. he looked around and realized what happened before he went to sleep. He tried to escape by using his web but he realized his web ejector was empty. He forgot to fill it up last night! He cant climb up because the sides are too slippery. He was running out of time! He dived down into the tank and there was a lever at the bottom. He took a chance and pushed and all the water gushed out. He sprang into action and ran to the lab where he knew he would find The Vulture. Spiderman beat The Vulture up and sent him to jail.

Introductory post

Just checking that this work.

I'm Ashlee B.