Let it Snow!!

Snow is the best part of Winter. Winter is a sad time. There is no color in the world. All of the trees are dead and it is always cloudy. The worst part is that it is so cold outside. I do not like being cold. I do not like having to put on a coat just to go outside to my car and get something. The only good thing about Winter is snow, Christmas, and New Years. That is not good, only three things to look forward to for four months is sad. Snow makes Winter worth it. It is so beautiful. It is bright, especially when the sun is shining on it. It is also fun to play in. There is many things to do in the snow. There is sledding. I have a big hill behind my house that I always go sledding down. I have two snowmobiles that are a lot of fun to ride on. My step-dad drives them mostly, but I enjoy riding. He likes to go fast and fling snow everywhere. There is also building a fort to play in. I make snow men. I give them hats and arms and a nose. Snow ball fights are also fun to have. When you have a big group it is fun to have a huge fight. It is nice when it is snowing because when you are thirsty you can just bend down and pick up a hand full of snow and it is just like drinking some water (just be sure not to drink the yellow snow). It is also nice that when you are done playing outside, you go inside and my mommy always has hot chocolate made of me to drink and warm me up. Then it is nice to take a nap and just enjoy not doing anything. It is calming to watch it snow. It is so eloquent and peaceful. Sometimes snow makes things diffucult though. I have to be careful because of my shoes. I do not want them to get ruined by the water. It is also bad jsut when it starts to snow and I can't drive anywhere because the roads are bad. Sometimes, if it is close enough, my step-dad will drop me off on the snowmoible. Other than that, snow is wonderful!!

The Minister's Black Veil

The Ministers Veil by Nathanial Hawthorne is an example of dark Romanticism. First of all it is set in 1700 New England. This is a Puritan town. Puritans were the first people to come to America and they also think that everyone is sinful )Hawthorne). They think that only a chosen group will go to heaven and that is it. They knew the group was chosen, but they still tried to do their best to get to where they want to be, heaven, not hell. No one wants to go to hell. It is a scary place that I think no one should go to. People should believe in God and he will believe in you and lead you to the place where you need to be. Puritans tried to resist the natural urge to sin. They were trying to make a good impression and they could not sin. Everyone sins. It is impossible not to. Its not that the rules or commandments are too hard or that there is too many of them, it is the fact that no one is perfect. No one can be perfect. We can try, but it will never happen. The Ministers Black Veil is also a Parable. A Parable is a story that teaches a lesson (Hawthorne). Dark Romanticism is a form of Romanticism that is more depressing and sad. It deals with the sinful part of life and its troubles (Dark Romanticism). At the beginning of the story it seems cheerful and happy. They are talking about the sunshine on Sabbath day (Hawthorne). This is not Dark Romanticism. This is Romanticism because it is talking about the positive of nature and what beauty it brings to the table. In the beginning of the story the man put a black cloth over his head just until his mouth. It scared the people and they did not know what to do with the parson who put a cloth over their head. They did not understand (Hawthorne). I think that the veil represents the mask that people put on. The minister is putting on the mask to show the congregation and the people around him the wrongness of not being who you are and being true to yourself. The veil could represent the "unveiling" of him. The people got freaked out and they did not know what to do. The people do not know that he is representing them with the veil and the masks that they put on to fit into society. Masks are not really a bad thing. I mean sometimes you can put on a mask to protect someone or something, but overall, putting on a mask is not a good thing because if that mask gets glued on it is very painful and hard to take off. They all thought that he was sick. They did not know that he was teaching them a "Parable" (a moral lesson). The minister was a smart man for doing this because he knows that deep down these Puritans want to be able to sin like normal people, but their religion is stopping them because they are not allowed to sin because they are afraid they would not be in the chosen group.




Dark Romanticism - New World Encyclopedia." Info:Main Page - New World Encyclopedia. Web. 30 Nov. 2010tp://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Dark_romanticism#Characteristics>.

Hawthorne, National. "The Minister's Black Veil." Glencoe Literature. By Jeffery D. Wilhelm. and Douglas Fisher. Vol.American English. New York: Glencoe McGraw Hill, 2009. 278-289. Print.

The Mask

The other day we had a man come to our school and talk about putting on a mask. The guy came and talked to our school about putting on a mask. He had many examples of putting on a mask. Putting on a mask is not actually putting on a literal mask. It means to put on a cover to cover up who you really are. Like covering up your real self to fit into the situation that you think you need to be to fill the gap. The guy who came to talk to our school talked about a story that one day, his daughter came in to his bedroom in the morning. She liked to get her daddy up to play games with him in the morning instead of waking up her mom, she just woke up her dad. Her dad would not wake up so she got on the bed. She jumped up on top of him and she put all of her weight and her elbow into his groin. He was injured. Instead of yelling at his daughter and getting mad, he slowly got up and did not say anything to the young girl. The guy said that he put on a mask that day because he did not want to scare his daughter. There is a difference in the types of masks that you put on. This guy put on a mask so he would not scare his daughter though he was in extreme pain. He was very strong through this and it was a very thick mask that he put on. The bad type of a mask is putting it on so you could impress other people. I have been known to put on a couple of these masks. I do not mean to put them on, but sometimes I feel like I have to. A major reason I do this is so I do not have to deal with the consequences. I do it when I deal with my step mother. I do not really care if I impress her anymore, but I used to dress to her standards and I would not be comfortable. Sometimes I still put on that mask, but I have gotten stronger on standing up to her and wearing what I want to wear.

The Pit and the Pendulum

The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allen Poe is a story about a guy that is in jail. It is a story about his feelings in jail and how he feels about it (Poe). It is a good example of dark romanticism. It is because the guy is sad because he is in jail. If I was in jail, and in the line to die, I would be sad also. Dark Romanticism is a romantic view of life just dark and more depressing. Dark Romanticism is a form of writing that concentrates on sin and self destruction (Dark Romanticism). This means that the writer has their characters in their stories go through a time of turmoil and the have a deep self revelation of who they are and how they are evil. It is kind of scary. I do not like dark romanticism that much. I am much more of a fan of the idea that many things can happen, being happy with nature and not looking for things to call the devil or satin. Romanticism before it was dark was happy and revolved around nature and going with your own thoughts, just like Transcendentalism. It is a very powerful thing and it also can go with Self Fulfilling prophecy. I learned that in Psychology and Romanticist writers went through this. The dark Romanticists are not like this. If they did follow out what they thought and wrote down it would not be a pretty site because there would be devil and bad things all over the place and the whole world would be in extreme chaos. In the story the Pit and the Pendulum, Poe talks about how if a man dies what goes with him to the grave. He also questioned if there is anywhere for a man to go when he is dead. This is dark romanticism because he is questioning the reader on their beliefs and bringing up the question to the table about what happens after death. This is a very deep and personal question. Everybody has different beliefs on what is going to happen to them when they die. Some believe that their bodies go back into the earth, some believe they reincarnate and become animals, and some believe that they will go to heaven with God and live in his kingdom. Another example of dark romanticism is when Poe wrote that the character was thinking "Was I left to perish of starvation in subterranean world of darkness?" (Poe). This shows dark Romanticism because he is referring to nature in a negative way. Romanticism dealt with a lot of nature, that is what it was mainly focused on. It is dark because he is talking about a dark world. A dark world is a scary world where you can not see anything and you do not know what is happening. Poe uses a lot of examples of dark romanticism in the writing of the book "The Pit and the Pendulum". I liked the story!!



Poe, Edgar Allen. "The Pit and the Pendulum." Glencoe Literature. By Jeffery D. Wilhelm. and Douglas Fisher. Vol.American English. New York: Glencoe McGraw Hill, 2009. 263-273. Print.

"Dark Romanticism - New World Encyclopedia." Info:Main Page - New World Encyclopedia. Web. 30 Nov. 2010tp://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Dark_romanticism#Characteristics>.

The Raven Criticism

The Raven is a poem by Edgar Allen Poe. In the poem he is talking about a raven that has come to haunt him. He is also trying to get over his lost wife and lover, Lorene. I choose the write on the criticism, The Composition of "The Raven"
by Edgar Allen Poe. I think it is interesting that Edgar Allen Poe is writing on his own poem. It is a short criticism. It is cool because he talks about what was going through his mind when he was writing on this topic and he gives his ideas about the poem now that is it is published and finished. He talks about specific instances where he talks about certain topics in his poem. He talks about the bird. He he picked the bird, the Raven, because it is a bird of ill omen. This means that the bird, when it repeats the word nevermore at the end of each paragraph is setting a tone of melancholy (Poe). It does set a tone of melancholy. IT does because it makes the reader, being myself, realize that there is something that is going to never happen again. For example, he misses his wife and he is trying to forget her by reading books. The bird comes knocking on the door and the man thinks that it is his lost wife that had died earlier (The Raven). Poe and his example with the nevermore statement that the bird makes and the end of each stanza is important to the theme of the poem. The melancholy tone sets makes the word more important to the theme. It lets the reader know that the man is going through a tough time and a lot of inner conflict on never being able to see his beloved wife again. Poe says, in his criticism, that —"When it most closely allies itself to Beauty: the death, then, of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world—and equally is it beyond doubt that the lips most suited for such topic are those of a bereaved lover." (Poe). I think this is what is the matter with the man in the poem. His beautiful love Lenore is gone and he does not know what to do with himself. It is true that love and death are the most talked about topics in poetry. They are because they are two very powerful forces. I believe when you love someone that anything is possible between those two people. I also believe that everyone is able to fall in love. This means that since almost everyone will fall in love that everyone has the spirit to write about it and express their feelings. Poets are the people that like to express how they feel about love. Death is also very powerful because never seeing someone again is a very heart rendering thing to through, especially if it is with someone that you love. Poe and his reflection on his poem is a very Strong feelings of love and death and fear.


Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Philosophy of Composition" (1846) in Edgar Allan Poe: Poetry, Tales, & Selected Essays (New York: Library of America, 1996): pp. 1378–80. Quoted as "The Composition 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://fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BMPEAP20&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 21, 2010).

Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Raven." Heise Online - IT-News, C't, IX, Technology Review, Telepolis. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. .

The Raven

It was a dead night while I was thinking weakly.
Overnmany interesting and curious items that have been forgotten.
While almost asleep there was a tapping at the door.
It was a gentle tap.
Its a visitor I said tapping at my dor.
It's just tapping, no one is there.

This happened on a cold December.
Each dying ember brought its ghost.
I wished for tomorrow, without answering the door, I went to bed.
From my books a stopping sadness a sadness for the loss of Lenore
A rare and bright girl named Lenore.
She is no longer mentioned.

The sad purple curtains rustled uncertain.
It scared me, it filled me with fear I have not felt.
The fear in me stopped my heart, I stood saying.
There is a visitor at my door.
Ther is a late visitor at my door.
The is none at my door.

I got over my fear, I waited no longer.
Mr. or Ms. I asked for forgiveness of wanting to know who was at the door.
I was sleeping and you knocked on my door.
It was a light knock, your knock at my door.
I didn't think I heard you, I opened the door.
You weren't there

I looked in the darkness afraid.
I thought of things no one has thought be true.
It was completely silent, there was just darkness
The only noise was me saying "Lenore
When I said the name all I heard was an echo
Just an echo, nothing else.

I went back to my chamber with a burning soul
There was a louder tap.
"Surly" there is something at my window
I want to see the threat and the mystery solved
My heart stopped when I went to explore the mystery.
It was just the wind.

I opened the shutter, many things moved.
An impressive old raven stepped out.
He was not obedient, he did not stay put.
With eloquence he was perched above my dor.
Sitting on some Pallas above my door.
It perched and sat

The dark bird made me smile
It sat there properly with a human trace
The crest is short feathered, but is still pretty.
An old raven wondering from the ocean
Tell me what lord is on Nights Plutonium Share
It's name is Nevermore"

I marveled this ungraceful bird and goes on so plainly
It has no meaning, little to do with my problems.
We cannot agree anyone had a bird above their door.
I am blessed to have this bird above my doors
It's than a sculpture
The raven's name is Nevermore.

The lonely easygoing bird only spoke
one word which he gave his soul
He did not say anything else, he did not move
The guy said other birds have flown before
The raven will leave tomorrow just like other birds
The bird said Nevermore.

The man was startled by the raved talking
The bird only says what is has heard
That he learned from a mean master
He was told the word until he know it.
The song of his bird was sad
of "Never never more"

The raven still makes me smile
I moved a chair from the door
In the chair i sunk. I began to put together
fancy unto fancy, thinking about this old bird
A grim, improper nasty bird
who can only say Nevermore

I was guessing but there was no noise
the birds eyes wer boring into my nest
I thought of this while laying down
On a velvet bed ithe light was on
Whose light was on?
The raven shall leave.

The air smelled like it was burning
Seraprium who walked light on the floor sprayed it
I cried, God has sent angels
I stopped the drink and forgot about Lenore
I was drinking to forget Lenore
The saiven said Nevermore

Is the bird a bird or the devil.
The Devil sent the raven here
uncovered and haunted on my land
I am really scared in my house
Is there a healer in Gilbed? I have been told.
The raven said Nevermore

Is the bird a bird or the Devil
We both like heaven we adore God
The sould has a lot of sorrow like far away Aidenn
It should capture the angle Lenore
Should capture a rare souled Lenore
The raven said Nevermore.

The bird is leaving are we friends or enemies? I started yelling
Go back to where you came from
Leave no mark that you were here
Leave me lonely from my door
Get away from my heart and leave
The raven said nevermore

The raven did not move
he is still above my door
his eyes look like a sleeping demons
the lights gives his shadow
My sould is a shadow
I am in heaven.

Repetition is used when the bird keeps saying the word nevermore. Poe even says that nevermore is all the bird is able to say.

The rhyme scheme is used. It is ABCBBB. I think it helps to explains main points.

The tone is saddening. He lost his lover Lorene and he is sad about it.

Personification was used when the bird talked.

He uses similes when he compares the birds eyes to the devil. It shows how scared he was of the evil bird.

Figurative:
He is forgetting his lost love, he wishes she was at the door
Lenore mad a big impact on him and he must live day by day without her.
He is afraid to die.
He was curious who was at the door.
He wishes Lenore was at the door.
He is scared and wants to know what is haunting him.
He is shocked to see the raven in his door, he was not expecting it to be there.
The bird is beautiful and scary. He is happy to see the bird.
He does not see a reason that the bird is at the house.
The raven that is there said "Nevermore".
The bird has been taught by an evil master.
He doesn't know it's evil. He wants to watch the birds movements.
The bird is still to get the meaning to the guy.
He thinks God is cursing him.
He realizes the bird is evil. He doesn't understand because he thinks the bird likes God.
He is scare of what the bird means.
He wants to be alone rather than go to Hell.
The devil is always watching him.

Boogey Man is Under My Bed

So, it was a dark and scary night. Madison was watching a scary movie with her sister and her sisters friend. They were watching the movie called do not look under the bed. It was a movie about this really scary movie with this nasty looking monster. He was called the Bogey man. It was a movie about how this monster, the Bogey man, was hiding under a girls bed, and under that bed, there was another world the world that the Bogey man belonged to. through out the movie, there was many other scary monsters that were all over the place. They were jumping out and they were touching the other kids in the movie. The kids were screaming and it was just plain scary. That night I had to sleep with my sister and her friend. I had a hard time falling asleep and it seemed impossible to be able to have a full peaceful night sleep. Even since that movie I have always been afraid to look under my bed. I believe that if I did there would be another world that this Bogey man lived in and I would get sucked up into it. I grew out of this stage and was soon able to clean under my bed when my mother told me I needed to. There was another movie that still scares me to this day. It was call gremlins. It was about these cute little fur balls and they were all cuddly and everything. They would stay that way unless you fed them after 11:00 p.m. The gremlins stopped the clock so when the stupid owner fed them they went crazy. It was horrible. They started to eat things and they were hiding under the guys bed and they ate a guy whole. It scared the poop out of me. I was terrified. When I went to bed I would not get out of my bed in fear that they would be under my bed and they would eat me. When I got so scared, I would run as fast as I could and get in bed with my parents. At times, I am still scared when I get out of my bed at night.

Henry David Thoreau... Walden

Henry David Thoreau's Walden is about he (he puts himself in third person and calls himself Walden) decided to go into the forest and stays there for ah wile and reflects on what he sees in the forest (Walden). I also used the literally criticism by Michael Cisco called "Henry David Thoreau: Bachelor of Thought and Nature" It is a criticism that talks about how Thoreau uses nature in his writings and the importance on nature to Henry David Thoreau. Cisco says that Thoreau thought that there was things in nature that resembled God. "Thoreau often saw in his natural surroundings a set of signs that seemed to be symbols of God; in the spontaneous order and balance of nature, he saw in microcosm a sign of a greater universal order and balance." (Cisco). This is interesting because because it helps me to realize that he saw much more than just nature when he looked at it. It makes me realize that he sees a form of God and all of the things God has created and loved. Cisco also talks about a lot of other writers that were in the time period. He mentioned Tomas Hobbes. He influenced America to think that nature was nasty, brutish, and short." This thought held itself for about half a century (Cisco). This is sad, nature is a beautiful thing and it should be enjoyed by people, not downgraded. Cisco also gives another example, but it is the opposite because he thinks it is a good thing. Jean-Jacques Rousseau is who Cisco was talking about. He had the opposite view than Hobbes. He said, "society corrupts and demoralizes mankind. Nature is innocent and orderly by comparison."(Cisco). This agrees with Henry David Thoreau because he liked nature and he thought it was important. That is why in his story, he goes into nature to try to forget everything that is going on in society. Rousseau hit on the head when he mention that society it the bad thing, not nature. Nature is God made and society is man made. This make society much more flawed than nature for that reason. When Walden goes to live by the pond for a year, he does not take a clock or any thing that deals with technology with him. He can tell the time by the seasons. Cisco quotes from more in the book Walden, "As every season seems best to us in its turn, so the coming in of spring is like the creation of Cosmos out of Chaos and the realization of the Golden Age." Cisco). Here is when Henry David Thoreau also known as Walden in this story realizes that everything is always changing and it will always change. We should sit back and enjoy the changes and allow them to happen for the better. Micheal Cisco wrote a very good literally criticism on Henry David Thoreau and his book "Walden". He gave many examples from other writers and novels to gain information on where Thoreau got some of his ideas for the romanticist period. He also covered greatly on Henry David Thoreau's ideas about nature and how it influenced him.

Cisco, Michael. "Henry David Thoreau: Bachelor of Thought and Nature." In Bloom, Harold, ed. Henry David Thoreau, Bloom's BioCritiques. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2003. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=1&iPin=BCHDT03&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 15, 2010).

Thoreau, Henry David. "Walden." Glencoe Literature. By Jeffery D. Wilhelm. and Douglas Fisher. Vol.American English. New York: Glencoe McGraw Hill, 2009. 89. Print.

Camping

Living with out the delicacies in life would be a hard feat to master. It takes a lot of concentration to be able to live with out the technologies of today. The easiest way to get away from the world would be to go on a camping, trip. There is many different things to do on a trip. First there would be no point to take a phone with me on this trip. It would be stupid to take it because there is no service where ever I would be in the forest. There is also a greater chance of losing you phone. It is nice to sometimes not have to worry about my phone and constantly worrying about where it is at all times. I could live without a computer. I am not a big fan of facebook. I do have one and i do get on it a couple times a week. I could go without facebook or the internet for a week. It would be hard to go a week without electricity. I mean no showers, no toilet, no really good food, no a lot of things. I am excited that Ben Franklin invented electricity because it makes my life so much easier. I like to shower and I like to use a toilet when I go to the bathroom. That would be a down fall for me while I am getting away from society. I value taking showers and I like the feeling of being clean. I do not know that I could go a whole week with out showering. I also do not know how I could go with out a toilet. I mean where am I supposed to go to the bathroom... I could live without a car. It would be a difficult transition because I would be in a forest the whole time with no actual paved roads. To make the time pass by faster, I would take a lot of walks. I would also have my boyfriend around in case I get lost or if there is a bear who wants to eat me, he can defend me. I would also go swimming and I have campfires and sings songs.

Thoreau vs. Gandhi

Henry David Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" is a short story about his time in jail. He was thrown in jail because he refused to pay a poll tax. In the document, Thoreau talks about how the government has strayed because they are no longer serving to people. He also talks about slavery and the war with Mexico (Thoreau). In Gandhi's story, he talks about the taxes that were placed on the Indians for salt. In the story he says that since there is a tax on the salt, the Indians and people should not talk the salt, to take the salt would be an offense to the culture. He also says this is a way that they can violate the law. He talks about three ways to violate the laws. The first one is to make your own salt, they can not take away the salt that you make for yourself (Gandhi). In Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" he calls the American government a tradition, he also says that it is not an old tradition. He questions the government and if they think they are still as true as they are today and how the government will be for the future generations. A point that shined out to me was how the west would still expand, the people would still be educated, and the American people would still be the same way they are today even without the government interference (Thoreau). This a great point. I think that the government helps us to have uniform and control over our country, but we would still be educated and we would still have the desire to expand our country. The government limits us for our abilities of learning and moving because they are afraid of the unknown. Thoreau also talks about how trade would be easier if the government was not in the way. He said that if trade was not made of "india rubber" it would never be able to get passed the government to become what it is and needs to be to get goods to the people. He also compares himself to a dog. HE does this because he is comparing himself to a dog because the government is like his master and they punish him physically for things that he does wrong. He did not pay his poll tax and the government immediately toke it that he was "standing on the other side of the rock wall" and they beat him up (Thoreau). This is like Gandhi's speech, "On the Eve of the Historic Dandi March" because with his march, Gandhi was going against what the government was telling him to do (Gandhi). He did not like the tax on the salt. He believed it was his right to the salt because it came from the earth and they should not put a tax on it. These stories are also alike because both men are speaking gout on topics they do not agree on. I think Gandhi was more mature about his speech/ writing because he gave facts and it seems like Thoreau was just complaining.

Gandhi, Mohandas K. "On the Eve of the Historic Dandi March." Glencoe Literature. By Jeffery D. Wilhelm. and Douglas Fisher. Vol.American English. New York: Glencoe McGraw Hill, 2009. 89. Print.

Thoreau, Henry David. "Civil Disobedience." Glencoe Literature. By Jeffery D. Wilhelm. and Douglas Fisher. Vol.American English. New York: Glencoe McGraw Hill, 2009. 89. Print.

Emerson and the Work of Melancholia

Emerson is a Romanticist writer. He is one because he follows what he feels. He also follows a set rule that he places in front of him. For example, he finds it bad to mourn death. When his wife, who was only 19 years old and his favorite brother died 5 years later, he did not cry or mourn. He bleieved that mourning was a weakness. He knew that he will some day see the souls of the people again and he was not sad that they were physically done with the earth. He also believed that it was embarrassing to be caught mourning. He had this theory called the "mispace". The midspace was the part of transition where you are not completely in heaven, but your body is not on the earth anymore for living people to enjoy your presence. He thought this was a time that if you were a mourner it would show. He found it shameful to be caught mourning (Edmundson). This is a sad theory. I believe it is because it is okay to mourn the death of someone, yes you will see them again some day, but it is still had that you have to live the rest of your life without seeing them or talking to them ever again. It is okay to mourn it helps to relieve the stress you may have from loosing the close friend or relative. People also need to move on with their lives and realize there is much more to live and they should remember the person that passed, but should find new happiniesses. Emerson's mind changed when his son, Waldo, died. He writes in a letter to his friend Caroline Sturgis, "Alas! I chiefly grieve that I cannot grieve; that this fact takes no more deep hold than other facts, is as dreamlike as they; a lambent flame that will not burn playing on the surface of my river." This is the opposite of what he has been preaching his whole life and it has bitten him in the butt (Edmundson) He wants to grieve over the death of his son but he is not able to because he does not know how to grieve or show mourn or saddness. The death of his son helps him to realize how the path he has followed for his whole life is wrong. He realizes that he should have "learned" to mourn. He has never felt the need to mourn because he felt it was wrong to do so and it was embarassing, but when his son died, he noticed that mourning was a good thing. He was over powered by the fact that his son was so young. It probably hit Ralph Waldo Emerson hard because his son was a part of him, or Waldo was half of Ralph becuase he helped to created him and he loved his son to no end, just like anyo other father loves his child. He knew that he would see his son again in heaven, but Emerson felt that heaven was a far time away and he missed his son.

Edmundson, Mark. "Emerson and the Work of Melancholia." Raritan (Spring 1987).
New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts
On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?.

Breaking the Law

Breaking the law is bad. I do not think that it is a good to break the law. Laws are set in place to have society to run smoothly. There is a bad peneality for breaking the laws. The most important reason that there is laws is to have an Utopian society. The bad thing about breaking the law is getting caught. Most people will get caught. If you are caught, you will go to jail. I do not think that jail looks like a lot of fun. It looks scary to attend jail. I follow the rules so I do not have to go to jail. The police are also scary. Just seeing a police officer scares me. I know that I have not done anything wrong, but it still scares me when one comes up to me. When a deer ran into my car, I was scared to talk to the cop. I have not done anything wrong, but it is still nerve racking. The cop was very cute though so then it was not as bad. I am usually intimidated by police officers. I do think that they are overrated. I think that they believe that they can do anything they want to. They probably do not break the rules, they do follow them correctly. When I watch cop shows it seems like they are a bunch of pre mo donas who act like they are trying to be a real hero. One law that I believe can be broken is killing a person for your own safety. I believe this a a good self defenses mode. It would be scary to kill someone. I believe that everyone should be taught self defense. People should also be taught the correct time to use self defense. Someone might jump the gun and kill someone who they think is trying to hurt them but they actually are not. It is okay sometimes to break the rules. Just try not to get caught.

Ben and Ralph

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Benjamin Franklin are two very different men. First of all Benjamin Franklin was a very intelligent man. He was a scientific man. He followed what he knew and studied what he did not now. He also invented a lot of cool and nifty things. First of all, he invented electricity. This would later become a world wide invention that effects people all over the world. This is because every place all over the world uses electricity. I like power. Power is a very powerful thing. If Benjamin Franklin did not capture the lighting bolt we would not have the power and electricity we use and love today. If he was not interested in this new and unknown objects which is lighting we would not have it and it is vital to our lives today. He was always curious on the things that were not known and he was always looking for ways to find new things. He also invented the bifocals. Bifocals are important to society. I do not have need for them at this time but I am sure that when I get over I will use them. I hope that I will not need them because I make fun of my parents who wear them, but I know I will use them. Emerson was not like this at all. He let things go with how they come. He did not believe in mourning. He did not believe in this because he knows that he will see the soul again and he should not be sad against them. They are alike because they believe in new things. Emerson created a new level of romanticism by following it to the extreme and allowing things to happen for a reason. Franklin did not follow this theory just like this, but he talked and invented things that he knew could exist. Franklin believed that things were possible through inventing things and Emerson believed that he could do anything.

Self Reflection

Self reflection is a very good thing. Self reflection is a good thing because it can help a person define who they are. They can discover who they are going to be and how to be a better person. For example. Last night we lost our volleyball game by 2 points (that is the lowest score between two teams that can happen). The last point a man/ogre hit the ball at me and I shanked it into the stands. It was shattering. The news showed the last point and they showed me rolling on the floor like a fish out of water. It was embarrassing. I went home and I watched the film over and over. It was not fun. I need to reflect on myself and how I played that night. I overall play very well. The coach from the other team said that their team has never had this much/ that good defense. I was proud of that considering defense is the spot that I play the most. Actually it is the only thing that I do. The news only showed me with my last play. It did not show everything else I accomplished that night. It was sad. I am reflecting on myself and how I can get better for next year. This means I will need to work out more and get stronger. I will also need to eat healthier and learn how to do better ball placement so next time we play a man the ball goes into the court. I think it is time for a break. I have been playing for three and a half months and it is time for a break. Though I have tryouts for another team this weekend that I might attend. It is also hard because now I do not know what I will fill my time with. I think I have enough homework to keep me occupied. I am excited for next year and I am ready to play well. Tonight I am going home and taking a nap. I need a break and I am going to get it this weekend.

Ideal America

America is a very big country. It has many beautiful qualities to it. Colorado for example has huge mountains that are just gorgeous. An ideal America would be a country with no pollution or garbage on the ground. It would be clean and people would enjoy our country and want to come here to see all of it beautifulness. They would travel from all over. I would also have no money. I read a book one time and there was no money, everyone still worked, but they earned their food and housing. They were not paid for it. It was cool because then there would be no economic crisis like there is today. That would be better because then we would not have dumb wars on money and stuff. It would be happier society because we would count on each other and everyone would do their job. This is an Utopian society. We would also have a government. They would hear people's problems and we would decide what would be the easiest way to solve the problems. They would have to go through a series of smaller courts and if they can not have their problems solved, they move to the next level and so forth. We would have an army. They would be trained. They would not have to fight in wars because there would not be war. They would be in the cities and they would help to enforce the laws and make sure people are doing their jobs. We will take in all orphans. We will all help each other out to become the perfect society that we plan to be. We will have jails to put the people who do not follow the rules. We will have specific professions and people will chose the thing they want to study and they will enjoy their lives. We would all be friends. We would accept anyone into our society. One exception is that they must be able to speak our language.

Italy- John Whittier

1- Literal
The nations are complaining to each other. They are tearing themselves apart.

He wants weak people toachieve freedom. They have to fight because they are setting themselves up for death.

He turns from the sight along with thousand of other people who don't say anything. Children are the biggest hope for change.

People are scared and run from change. We need to be able to adapt like mother nature does.

God rules everything. He has a plan for us to follow. People are dumb. He knows what is good. Men should listen and follow God.

Change will happen. It will happen for the better.

2-Poetic Devices

Personification- Bones and blood are crying. Shows that it is a time of great turmoil.

Imagery- Sultry skies. It shows the sky is becoming bad and gives the image of a storm coming.

The rhyme scheme is " abaab" This is an uncommon rhyme scheme. I liked it. I have never seen this kind. It is effective because it stresses certian lines that go together and leaves out other lines that aren't importnant.

3- Figurative

The figurative meaning is that war degrades a country. They country is killing itself by being in war. They need to do something about it to get out of the war. They believe God will help them and they need to trust in him.

Rain

It was the first day of Fall, It started
to rain. The leaves were changing colors and
me and my one true, only love parted.
I have no idea what I will have planed
But I know that my God will be with me
I have trust in him and in the earth to
help me get through whatever I need be.
I have hard tasks in life I must go through
At the end, I will be able to hold
my head up high, and go into heaven.
This is one task that will help me to mold
my personality into seven
Different parts to become a better
lover and person to give all i can
I hope that I am to never severe
this glorious and harmonious plan.

Thanatopsis

1- Literal
Nature speaks to the guy. Nature makes him happy when he is sad. He is preparing to die and it is sickening to him. He is getting ready to go forth to nature. Nature is accepting of him. He will not see the sun in a couple of days. He was buried in the ground while people were crying. He came from earth, he is going back to earth. The roots from the oak will overcome his body. He is alone with earth and he likes it.

Everybody is equal because they are all in the same situation. The sun and hills are the same age. It is quiet. Nature is proud of itself, but it is also sad because of the death. Heaven is glad to have a new person to join them. There is more people dead than alive. The dead are in Heaven. A lot of people have been buried. Each dead person controls themselves. Does his friends notice his absence. He is finishing his destiny. The happy people will laugh about their sorrows. Dead people are able to haunt/be phantoms. Some people do not become phantoms, they just go and make a final rest. People follow the phantom and they also will die.

People want to die and are willing to join others in heaven. Heaven is a mysterious thing. People still want to go there and enjoys it.

2- poetic device.

Personification- Saying the planets are sad. He uses this get show that everything has emotion.
- Earth is talking to him. Shows that we can communicate with earth.
Imagery- Uses images to get a point across of how beautiful nature is.

3- Figurative meaning- Everyone will die. We need to be comfortable and one with nature because we will be with it at some point. It is also comforting because everyone will die. Those who acknowledge death know it will come upon them and they fear it. This poem tries to take away the fear of dying because everyone does it.

Nature

Nature is a very beautiful thing. It was put here for us to enjoy and to take care of it. I love nature. It is soo beautiful. It is fun because there is so many different activities to do in nature. A time that I bonded with nature was went I went to summer camp. At summer camp, we did everything outside. My house that I lived in was outside and there was no running water except in the shower room. I had to go to the bathroom in an outhouse. Out houses are nasty!!! They smell and they are so unsanitary. In camp, I had to walk everywhere. It was in the middle of a forest. There was a lot of bugs. They liked to sting me and it hurt. There was also animals that were neat to look at that were a part of nature. One night during the camp, we went camping outside of our houses. I had to hike to the spot where we were staying. When we got there we had to get wood for a fire. This was neat because I got to get off of the path and look around the forest. We also went swimming in a pond. This was a nice time bonding with nature because the water was beautiful and warm. Then, we got dressed and we ate our dinner. We cooked hot dogs on the fire. They were Delicious and it was cool knowing that we started a fire that we made with the sticks that we found ourselves. But, sadly that night, it rained. It was still a nice time bonding with nature and mother nature refueling the earth. It was scary because it did lighting and thunder. I am afraid of storms and I was scared. The counselors started singing songs to get our minds off the storm. IT helped a lot and it turned into a very fun evening. Unfortunately I had to use the restroom. I did the nature thing and went outside, but I did not see the poison ivy that I sat in. My butt was itchy for the next week. It was a great time bonding with nature though not all of the aspects were very fun.

My favorite.

My favorite meal is macaroni and cheese. It is very delicious. I love it when it is really cheesy. I think that macaroni should be eaten everyday. The only problem is that mac and cheese is not very healthy. The noodles in this delicious treat are not very good for a person. My favorite color is blue. Blue is such a pretty color. It is very good color and it goes with many different things. There is also so many different shades of blue. It also reminds me of a blue sky. When the sky is blue and there is in no clouds, it is my favorite thing to look at. My favorite person is Josh. He is really nice to me. He is also very cute. I like to spend time with him. My favorite sport is volleyball. It is a fun sport to play and I enjoy playing it when the team gets along. My favorite thing to drink it Diet Mt. Dew. It is a very good drink. It goes down the throat easily. Unlike Coke or Pepsi. My favorite past time is to read. Reading is like watching a movie, but a person has the advantage to add in things that they want and it allows a persons mind to use imagination. My favorite book series is Twilight. They are such good novels. I like them because they deal with many different things that happen. They are things that could not happen in real life. I love the fiction in books. I like to believe that things that could never happen, happen. My favorite vampire is Emmet. He is soooo cute. He is also funny. My favorite werewolf is Jacob Black. He is my favorite because he is cute and he allows Bella to be Bella. My favorite time of day is the afternoon. One reason is it is when the sun is the highest. I love the sun. It is also because the food is the best at lunch time because you can eat whatever you want to eat.

Logic and Reason

Well, many people in this huge, weird, crazy world do not use logic and reason. It is a good idea to use logic and reason in a person's life. When a person uses reason and logic, they are thought more highly in society. They are seen as smart and intelligent. People that are smart and intelligent are able to solve problems better. Solving problems is a good skill to have. There is many different types of skills a person needs in their life. There is the need to use logic in a classroom with your studies, a need for reason in a discussion in your daily life when you need to argue out a point. I do not always uses logic and reason. Sometimes I talk without thinking or I think and write things on my homework and in papers that I do not use much logic. It is a bad habit to use. It is because when I do not use logic, I feel stupid. I do not like to feel stupid. I know that I am smart and it degrades myself when do not use logic and reason. I really enjoy school when I do use logic and reason. I do because it makes me feel smart when I realize that I use reason and logic. I like to feel smart. It is a nice feeling when I get a good grade in school. It makes me realize that I will be able to go far in my life if I designate myself enough to my studies and my brain power I will be able to gain reason and logic. My mom has some energy thing that is supported to help my brain be able to take in more knowledge and be able to put the knowledge into my everyday life. I do not really like to do the things and I do not think that they always help me to do my best in school. I also do not use it correctly because I think it is weird and I do not want to do it.

Common Sense Reflection

Tomas Paine seamed like a man who thought he was smart and no one else around him was. One point he stressed was that we should not have a monarchy. He said it was a sin for the Jews to think about one and it is a sin for America to have one. (Paine). I do not understand why he would even talk about it because we are not a monarchy. Though, Washington was offered the position of kind, he turned it down. Maybe this is why Washington did turn it down because of Paine's writ ting. Toman talks about colonies being to big for one group of people to represent. He states that there should be more people to represent it. He also talked about how when the colony increases in the amount of people, then the amount of interest and problems grows (Paine). This is a good point. It is because it is true. When there is more people, there is a need for more people to represent them. Also, the more people the more problems there tends to be because there is a need for more food, jobs, houses, and other vital things to life. Tomas Paine also talks about the fighting with England. He says that he know is ts hard for use to get along with them because we want to be independent, but we also take some of the ideas from their Constitution and they are in ours (Paine). This is true. If we are going to piggy- back ideas from England, then we can not hate them that much if we are willing to follow their rules. He also confronts the problem of debt. It was confusing when he said that we need to be in debt. He did have a good point when he said that national debt connected us together (Paine). I believe there is no reason for debt. Tomas Paine also said that with debt, there comes a Navy (Paine). I come to reason that there would still be an army and navy, even if we were not in debt. Before America was in debt to France, we had the Contineal Army. This is a prime example of an army without a debt. Though the army did put us in debt. Tomas Paine also talked about what would happen if we made an alliance with Britain. He said talked about if they would protect us. He said that the British would probably put a navy in the ports to protect us. He also said that if they do this, common sense will tell us that they will trick us into slavery and then they would probably rule us over again (Paine). This is a very very good point. It is because if we allow the country that we were in such great battles against and a country that wants to rule us back into our lives with open arms for "protection" who not be smart. They would slowly take us over, but this time with our permission because we allowed them to come back into our country.

Paine, By Thomas. "Thomas Paine's Common Sense - Text Version." Archiving Early America: Primary Source Material from 18th Century America. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. .

Benjamin Franklin and the American Dream

Benjamin Franklin was a very intelligent man. He is very informative about his writings and his surroundings. Benjamin Franklin had an idea about the American Dream.J.A. Leo Lemay really liked Franklin. I could tell this because he talked about Franklin with a voice that is very jealous. He said that Franklin was one of the greatest writers of letters and novel. He also gives the opinion that Franklin is the best writer in the world, and that his works should be shared throughout the different cultures (Franklin). I think this is good because Lemay is writing about something that he enjoys and someone who inspires him. It does not seem all that right though because Lemay is going to side with Franklin, but he does present the facts correctly.
Franklin came from a poor and unfortunate family. He changed this with his writing skills and his brain. Being from a poor family, he was very frugal with his money and he did not want to spend it. Franklin emphasize the "rags to riches." He states this as a minor theme in the American Dream (Franklin). This is good because there is more to the American Dream than just becoming rich. To go along with his "rags to riches" theory, Franklin also talks about impotence to importance, dependence tp independence, and helplessness to power. These theories were stronger than "rags to riches"( Franklin). I think they were more important to Franklin because he was a very independent man and he wants others to know what he knows on how to try to live a well thought out life.
Benjamin Franklin's third theme of the American Dream was his theme to become an individual. It is a philosophy that individuals can change the world themselves and they have the power to do it on their own. According to Lema, "The American Dream is a dream of possibility- not just of wealth or of prestige or of power but of the manifold possibilities that human existence can hold for the incredible variety of people of the most assorted talents and deives." (Franklin). This is a very good theme. It shows that people in America who are looking for the American Dream can find it within themselves. With this, Franklin believed that the world can be effected by individuals and the changes that they want to make to the world. It gives people goals to be the best person they can be, it allows people to believe they can accomplish things they set their minds to, and the American Dream also helps people to have the common sense to get things done the correct way (Franklin).
Franklin also talks about the ability of a person to make their own decisions and have their own free will (Franklin). I believe in this theme because people will be as great as they want to be. They also have the choice to become whatever they wish to be in their lives. Benjamin Franklin was a smart man who inspired many people to be who they want to be.


"Franklin's Autobiography and the American Dream." Facts On File Online Databases. Web. 13 Oct. 2010. .

Declaration of Pie.

Pie, according to dictionary.com, Pie is a baked food having a filling of fruit, meat, pudding, etc., prepared in a pastry-lined pan or dish and often topped with a pastry crust. Pie is delicious. There is many types of Pie. There is apple pie, peach pie, cherry pie, banana pie, orange pie, Oreo pie, pecan pie, pumpkin, blueberry pie. rhubarb pie, french silk pie, ice cream pie, mint pie, strawberry pie, mince pie, chicken pot pie, mud pie, cow pie, Shepard's pie and there is also to many pies to list. All pies are delicious. They are also fattening. The bad thing about pie is that it is used only for special occasions. Pies are usually brought out on special occasions and they are not enjoyed daily. I declare that pies should be mad daily. Pies are so delicious that there shall be pie in all the food groups. Pie is healthy for people. There is fruit in it. Fruit is very good for a people to eat, thus this makes pie very healthy for people to eat. There is also the fact that there is bread. The bread goes into the category of grain. It is very good for people to eat. There is also the fact that there is many different types of pie. This allows people to have more opportunity to eat different types of Pie. I Declare that every year there is a national pie day. During these events, there will be a pie cook off and there will be a fundraiser to be able to cook More pies. Pie will be a national trademark. Our country will become the country that is made for pie. We will praise pie and we will always have pie in our houses to eat. People of all ages will eat pie. At every dinner, there will be pie. All students must take ten years of pie classes. They must be able to name every pie imaginable and they must be able to cook 20 different pies. We will become a Pie nation. (I wish I liked pie.)

Spirit Week

Homecoming is a very fun time. It is also a very memorable time for all high schoolers. It is fun to participate. When the school participates, it is so much fun. We have a lot of fun activities planned out. On Monday, we wore our jerseys to school. The junior class did not participate very well. We got last out of all the grades. It is disappointing when i find out that our grade it not doing the fun stuff that is planned out for us. We did win 80's day. That made me very happy. It was a lot of fun to dress up like we were from the 80's it was a lot of fun because everyone was dressed up and it felt like we were really part of the 80's. We also had class color day today. We had the color blue. It was really cool when Dylan Robinson put blue face paint all over his face and arms. It was a nice touch and it makes me happy and proud to see people taking a part in their school. Today in our last hour class, we are going around to decorate the gym and the football field. If everyone participates correctly, they gym and football field will look amazing and I will be so happy with all the school spirit. All the people need to take part in the decorating because there is a lot of work that needs to be done and we all need to work together to get it done in the amount of time that we have. Our football fans also need to get into the game. We have a theme at the game. Tonight it is camo. I am not a fan of the camo. I think that we should do school spirit to the game because it would be a lot better. People also know that red and blue to a game is a necessity and that people should part take. People also do not own camo and that could be an issue.

Having Friends and Partners

Having friends help a lot in life. It helps people and myself to understand the circle of life. I need friends for many reasons. I need friends to help me get through hard problems. It is nice to have a friend to go shopping with when you need to look for an eighties outfit for spirit week at your school for high school. Having friends, especially smart friends has a lot of benefits. A big benefit is that when you are low on ideas or you do not understand the topic that you need to present or research, a person can pick a friend who knows what is going on and they can help you figure out what you need to do. It also helps when you have an artistic Friend who knows how to draw pictures that look attractive. It makes the project go faster because they can draw the pictures and they look pretty compared to a picture that I could draw that would look like crap because I am not a good artist and I would rush it and the picture would look bad. It is also nice to have a partner that helps out. It is a good arrangement when a partner does their part of the project or assignment. It is because instead of me having to do all the work while the other person gets credit, we are both responsible for the grade and they care equally as much. A draw back of using a partner is you need to worry about scheduling. It becomes an issue especially when the kids do not know how to drive and their parents have to drive them all over the place to find the materials and to do the project. It is also a bad thing when a person has a partner who does not do all the work. Usually a project that is assigned to two people because it is to big for one person to do. It sucks when a person is in my group and they think I will do all the work for them, I will not.

Ethics/Value

Values are very important to how a person views themselves. Values helps a person to become who they are and they can establish themselves. Values are things that people value and focus their lives around. Values are basically a set of rules that a person sets for themselves that they follow. Values are usually easy to follow because a person sets them for them selves. For example, a persons value is to be nice and to help others. This is a good value because it is helping out a person and the person who is giving out the niceness. Values are all different types of things. A person could set all their values based on the Bible. This would mean that they follow what the Bible says. They will also follow the 10 Commandments as closely as possible. Following the values in the Bible would be a very good thing. It would help build a Utopian society, even thought the Bible was not aiming for one. If people would follow the rules, society would run a lot smother. A value I have is to help others. I like this value, though I do not always follow it because when I do something good for another person and they are grateful towards me, it feels very nice and it is rewarding. I like to spend my time doing rewarding things. Ethics are very important. I have been learning about ethics in Psychology. We are studying on the ethics of some experiments. An example they gave us was the Milligram experiment. It was an unethical experiment because they did not tell the people what they were being tested on. They were told the experiment was about memory, but in reality it was seeing if people would act like the Nazis in the Holocaust. Ethics are very important to society to be sure the public act accordingly. We have to be sure we are treating people with respect and they must know what is happening to them.

Science vs. Religion

Science and religion are two completely different creatures. Science has to do with the study of things and items. In science we do not try to use religion. They try to stay away from religion as much as they can. If religion influences science, then it might not be correct, and it would be wrong. For example, they scientist who are studying the creation of how the Earth was made and are trying to discover how humans came about. They are guessing that humans came from monkeys and primates. We are in the same class of species and we do have very many similarities, this is why the scientist think we are origanited from the monkey. If science was influenced by religion this theory would not even exsist. The Bible says that humans came from God and dust. It never says anything about us coming from monkeys. Science needs to stay away from religion because we would not discover anything because we would think that we already knew it all because we only need to know what is in the Bible. Ben Franklin was a scientist. He was not a very religious man. He discovered many important things to society today. Since he was not concerned with religion, he was able to be put things together and risk things to make awesome discoveries. Religion is a very impportant thing in life. Religion helps us to be able to make a path in our life. It gives us a path to follow and to obtain to. It also gives us a plan for when we pass and lets us know where we will end up. Religion is and was very important to the Puritans. They followed the Bible like crazy and they tried not to stray away from it. We need both, religion and science in our society because it gives us a religious view on life and a scientific view. They are both very important to how we know and how we live our lives.

Organized Religion

Organized Religions are religions that have a structure. They follow a certain order of events for the church. Organized religions follow a certain text or thing. Puritan religion is an organized religion. They follow the Bible. That is their form of Scripture. They also have rules they follow. I think organized religions are good. it is good to have structure in a religion. If there is no organization, the religion becomes unorganized or corrupt. It become unorganized because the people do not know what to do. They do not have a plan what to study and praise. There needs to be organization so people know what they need to pray to. Religion become corrupt if there is no organization because people try to take over. Everyone thinks they have the best ideas and they think they should be the leaders. There can only be one leader. If there is more than one leader, there is chaos in the church. The people start to fight over rights and rules. There needs to be organization because people need to know who they should look up to for inspiration. Organized religions, if they are ran correctly, are inspiring and welcoming. The people want to go to church and praise their gods. I like organized religions. I am a gold personality. That means I like the structure of the church that is organized. It means they have a purpose and they are getting stuff done and it is not just chaos the whole time. If i was a priest, I would be in an organized church. First of all because they are preaching for a purpose. Unorganized religions do not seem like they are studying anything. It seems to me that they just get together and practice anything they want to without any Scripture to follow. I want to follow something that has a meaning and does something for the better of things. Organized religions mean something because they have a plan and they follow it and it is easy to follow.

Proofo reading

Proof reading is very important. It shows the reader the author knows what he is talking about. The short video we watched the man showed a lot of examples of proof reading errors. Most of the errors that were given as examples were mostly words that were spelled correctly, but it was the wrong word all together. The man made a point that we need to check our papers ourselves and we should be responsible about it. He said he got spell checker once and he thought he was okay because he got all the underlined words fixed, and he did not have to read the paper again. He was wrong. When he turned in the paper, the teacher made him come up to the front of the class and present it. There was a lot of immature mistakes in the paper, but he had to read them. The guy learned that he must check his own work. He said this was all his fault because the computer does not know what he wants to say. The computer just guesses and hopes it is right. It is the persons job to check the paper themselves to make sure the words are correct. I do not usually check my own work. I usually just spell check it, then i turn it in. He makes a good point to check the work because we never know what words the computer might put in. The guy on the video was very immature. He thought it necessary to use innaoproite words to get his topic across. I understand he was probably preaching to a college level class, but it is still immature, but it was funny how he did use the words. It would be something that a normal person would do also. I will try to review my papers to check for stupid mistakes. This video was a good example of proof reading and the mistakes that are usually made within writing.

Weird Superstition That I Have

There are many different superstitions in the world. There is to many to decide which one I want to follow. I decided I want to follow more than one. I believe the superstition about knocking on wood. If I say something that I am joking about and I do not want it to happen, I knock on wood. The act of knocking on the wood is like deleting what i just said. It deletes the thing I said and I believe it will go away. Another superstition I have is blowing out the candles on a birthday cake. When the child makes a wish, it should come true. The only way it would not come true is if the person did not blow all the candles out. This is a hard thing to do the older the person is. If a person is thirty, they have a lot more candles to blow out that a ten year old. They must get all the candles out in one blow. Birthday wishes always come true. It is the one day that is your day and the wish deserves to become true, and it will. Seeing a black cat is another superstition I have. If I see a black cat, I believe that bad luck will strike. I started to believe this because when I was a little girl, my neighbor was pregnant. She said she saw a black cat and now she is pregnant. This is what started my fear of black cats. I was ten years old and I did not want to be pregnant, so I could not look at a cat. I believe that if a person walks under a ladder will have bad luck for seven years. I believe this because if a person is lazy enough to walk under the ladder they deserve to have bad luck. Swallowing gum is another superstition. I was told when I was a little girl, that if I swallow gum, it will stay in my body for seven years. I did not swallow fum because I did not want to die from gum build up.

Girls

I just love girls. preferably volleyball players. They are the best friends anyone can EVER have. I love all my volleyball team mates. They are alllll soo nice to me. They can take the blame for themselves all the time. They believe they do things wrong on the court and that they should fix their mistakes. They are really kind and considerate. They are fun to hang out with also..... Did you catch on to my sarcasm?! Yea, I know, it was bad, but I can not stand people who blame other people. Take responsibility for your actions and step up. The number one example I could think of happened this weekend. I had a volleyball tournament in Mohomnet. We started of the day well. We played together and we Had fun and we won. The day went on the the energy started to die. We started to loose. I do not like loosing and I try to do everything I can to keep from loosing. i Can not control the other girls on the court. I can just worry about my self. My team mates do not take well to criticism. They believe if you are critiquing someone, they expect you to be perfect, NEWSFLASH!! I am no perfect. As hard as I try, it just can not always be. Some of my team mates were not playing as smart as they should of. They had horrible attitudes and they would not change for the life of them. I did not bring up the topic during the day, but I did text one of my friends and asked her what was wrong (she did not play very well that day). She did not reply to me. She toke it as I was telling her she sucked and I did not. I asked her if she was okay and she got all pissy at me. She was blaming me for God knows what and now she wants to quit and tell me to shove it.... Sorry I was caring for my team and I actually want to get better, not be the same every time. People need to realize they are doing stuff wrong and they need to change and not blame other people for their stupid mistakes.

20th Century punishment

There is so much technology going on in the 20th century. With this technology, there needs to be some kid of respect. Kids need to learn they should do the right thing online. It is wrong to post inaproiate pictures, words, or comments. The technology is items like telephones, face book, online games, and etc. These are all privileges to our society. We can live without this technology. I know this because there was once a time where these items did not exists and we did without just fine. Children are always on and acquainted with these Internet and wireless activities. Children also have a tendency to get in trouble. Parents are thinking and some of them are taking these things away from children. I think this is a good punishment. It is because it is like telling a child they can not hang out with their friends. Since most kids use these communication devices, they have no contact to the outside world. They can not talk to their friends or make plans to see their friends. This is becoming a more common punishment. Parents are taking phones away from their children when they do things wrong. It is also allows the child to know that they are doing some thing wrong. I think that the punishment where the child is not allowed to go anywhere is lame. Because now, instead of not being with their friends, they can face book them or play online games with them. It takes the point of the punishment away from the child. I think the taking away of phones and technology should be used more often. The parents also need to be strict about this rule. A child could lie and say they are doing homework while they are really on face book, the parents need to monitor the computer. I also think face book and online things are good because it allows the people to communicate and find things out that they could not have found out on their own.

Vacations

I have been to many places in my life. I take vacations and long trips with my family almost every year. I have been all across the country. I have been to New York to California. These trips give me the experiences to have a fun life. It would be boring if all I did was look at cornfields and trees. It is cool experience to travel to different states. All states are different. California is very dry, Colorado is full of mountains, New York has mountains of buildings, and Florida is very humid. My favorite place, that is the most beautiful was Colorado. I went dirt biking in the mountains and it was so pretty. We rode to the tops of mountains, and in the forests. It was a great and tiring day. I also love New York. It is something completely different from Springfield Illinois. These is no grass, there is only buildings. The buildings are huge. Times Square was awesome. It was so busy. There is always something to do in New York. It was a wonderful place to visit. I probably would not mind if i lived there for a little while. I think it would be a great experience. Florida is not my favorite place. I do love the ocean, but it is to humid to do anything. There was not much to do. I think Florida is over rated. My favorite place I have ever been to is California. I really like California. I love the sun. It is always sunny there. I love the beaches. The Pacific Ocean is so beautiful and the waves are huge and they are fun to play in. I also love the laid backness of it. There is always something to do, but you also do not have to anything. It is a wonderful place and I day dream about it a lot. Long trips have impact on me because I love to travel and it also makes me miss home.

OH MY GOOODNESS!!!!! I AM HELD HOSTAGE!!! SAVE ME!!

Ok, it was a noraml day in the life of Natille Baits. She went to school in the morning. She had a lot of homework. She had a lot of homework because she is in very hard classes. She had to write a reflection paper for english, she had a psychology test the next day, and she also had to read a chapter for history. She also had volleyball practice that evening after school. She was stressed out and she needed to go home so she could study and do her homework. She went to volleyball. Sheh did very good at practice and the coach was very happy because she was doing so good. While she was at practice, her mother texted her that she had to go to the bank to cash in her paycheck. Natille was upset because she did not have the time to go to the bank. She needed to go home to do her homework. She gets over herself and she goes into the bank to get her paycheck. She went in and she was talking to the workers and doing what she needed to do. Then, all of a sudden, two men, in ski masks, came into the bank with loaded guns. They yelled at all the people in the bank to get down on the ground. Natille was so scared. She was terrified for her life. She listened to the men and did what she was told to do. She gave them her cell phone. She did that without texting her mom to tell her what was wrong. She was scared that she would never see her mother, or her hansom boyfriend, Anotnio, ever again. She began to cry. She was so stressed out that this incident put her over. The robbers got an employee to go into the safe and to get all the money out of the safe for them. There was also about four other people in the bank. The police were aware of the situation and they showed up. Since Natille was being held hostage, the robbers did not give up. She knew that the police would win. Even if she died, the men would be in trouble and put in jail. She was figuring they would not kill her and she calmed down. After much waiting, the robbers tried to escape out a window. They did not get far and the police got them. Natille was scarred form this event. She held on to her life and she is glad she is alive. She also got her homework done.

Native American Animals being Hospitable

Mother Goose was getting ready for a big party that she was having at her house. She invited the whole farm to the dinner. There was Rat, Donkey, Horse, Cow, Pig, and Cat. They were all close friends of Mother Goose. They were also very excited to go to the dinner. Mother Goose is a great cook and she was cooking fish. Fish is a delicacy on the farm and it is not served very much. The little goslings were helping Mother Goose to prepare the food, and all the other animals were helping to prepare the farm for the big dinner. The horses were putting the tables out, the Cows were putting out the chairs, the cats were setting the table, the rats were picking flowers, the pigs were getting the activities for the animals to do and the donkeys were doing nothing. Everybody was helping out to make sure the evening was fun and everyone enjoyed. The fish arrived and all the animals, except the donkeys were pitching in to help fry the fish. Frying fish takes awhile and it goes by fast when everyone is helping out. While all the animals were cooking fish, the donkeys were out in the field eating the grass. When all the fish was cooked, the animals all sat down to enjoy the food and the activities that they prepared for the evening. The donkeys also came to enjoy the meal. The Goslings thought this was unfair that they had to do all the work while the donkeys did nothing. The animals put it by them and they were nice enough to let the donkeys eat with them. After dinner, all the animals went to pick up the table and wash the dishes and the donkeys left to go take a nap. The goslings were upset because they were tired also. The games that the pigs planned started. They were playing the donkeys favorite game, polo. The donkeys came back to play. Mother Gooses told them that they could not play. The donkeys were mad and they did not understand why they could not play. The donkeys saw the other farm animals having fun and they wanted to play. The donkeys went up to the animals and they said they were sorry. They promised they would help the animals out and they thanked them for their food. The donkeys learned that they need to be thankful and they need to help out on the farm.

Native American Culture #1

There is much to know about Native Americans. They are a very cool culture. They have a lot of customs. The first time that the Spanish came to America the Native Americans, Indians were there to greet them.They gave them food and housed them. The Spanish, Christopher Columbus, was very rude to him. He was the one who discovered the "New World." He did not actually discover America. He announced it to the eastern side of the world. He thought he was in India and that is why the Indians are named Indians. Columbus toke the Native Americans back to Spain to be traded and this started the slave trade and all the problems that the Native American are going to go through to this day. The Native American culture was greatly influenced by the Spanish. They used to be a society that was very into themselves, they wore no clothes, the females did a lot of the work, and they were a very faithful culture. They hunted a lot of wild life in the region and grew crops to eat. The females were incredibly strong. The females would take care of the home life while the man went out to catch the food. The women would work in the fields even when they were pregnant. They would work until the day they gave birth. Then, the next day, they would be back working in the fields. This is an extreme culture that was hardened more by the Spanish. They started to kill them and the cultures began to die. On the slave trade, they Indians had horrible living courtiers. Since that time period, the Indians have had a hard time. They were once recognized as slaves. When they got over that, they were discriminated from white people. Now Native Americans are recognized as people and not animals. Indians live on reservations and they are trying to keep their culture alive. I think the Indian culture is a cool thing and we should study and it was a sad thing that Columbus started.

Symoblism in The Grapes of Wrath

Symbolism was a big part of The Grapes of Wrath. The first symbolic thing was when Tom Joad was on his way home, he saw a turtle on the way home. He was studying the turtle and admiring it. It symbolised the feeling of security. Tom felt that way while he was in jail, but when he was out, he had no one to protect him, no food, or place to sleep until he got back home to his family. The shell of the turtle represented the feeling of a home and safety.
Another big symbol is Rose of Sharon being pregnant. It is because the Joad family is on their way to California for a new life and change. The baby stands for the hope and for that dream becoming a reality. The Granparents on the trip represent a totally different thing. They symbolize the past being left behind and the new change. On the way to California, they both die. This shows that the past is now behind them and there is no going back.
The biggest symbol of all is Rose of Sharon's baby being stillborn. The baby was not alive when it came out of the womb. It symbolizes the loss of hope. At this point in the novel, the family has no work, money, or place to stay. They realize that the dream they hoped to come true is not and will not come true because winter is coming and they have nothing. The baby is the sign that their awaited happiness will not come upon them.

The Catche in the Rye #10 (50!)

I did not like the novel The Catcher in the Rye. It was very hard for me to get to the end. I felt like there was not real plot to the books. It was just a story of a boys life. I did not care much for Holden Caulfield. He did not think anyone was as good as he was and he was always bagging on everyone. The book just had a lot of negative things in it that is did not like. His favorite word was phony. He loved to say that word and apply it to the people around him. There were enough phony words to be on every page. The only thing that he did not call a phony are he did not make fun of or have anything negative was his little sister. Even when she was making him made, he still was bragging about her and saying how smart she is. He also liked to use people. If I was one of his friends I would not hang out with him. He is rude and inconsiderate. He only thinks about himself and that is if he does much thinking at all. I just did not like the book at all. There was no climax that I could find. I would think that it is when he is walking across the streets and he is holding himself together and asking for help from his dead brother. I think this is because it is kind of where he realizes he is immature and that he needs to grow up, but he does not know how to. It was a hard book to read because he did not have anything nice to say. He did not follow the rule, "if you do not have anything nice to say, do not say anything at all". Holden was so immature that he could not keep it to himself. It make the book extremely hard to read. I AM DONE WITH BLOGGING!!!!!!!!!!!

The Catcher in the Rye #9

There are a lot of big symbols in the book The Catcher in the Rye. One symbol is Holden's red hat. He has this red hunting hat that he wears all the time. It is bright red and it has flaps on the side to cover his ears. The hat symbolizes his uniqueness and his wanting for attention. It does because not many people in New York wear hats like that and it draws attention to him. When he sees his sister, he gives her the hat. This symbolizes that he is going to try to change. They get in a fight and she gives it back, this shows that he did not change and he is just the way he is. he tries to give it back to his sister, but she does not want it. It shows that his sister is more mature than he is. The Museum of Natural History is also a symbol. It is because it shows the youthfulness that Holden has. He is walking through it one day and he realizes that the statues and the fake people are in the same spot they have been for as long as he can remember.This represents that he does not want to change to become more mature, but he realizes that there is a problem. The Catcher in the Rye is a job that Holden wants to have. In this job, he stands under a cliff and catches kids that fall off. There is a field above the cliff where all the kids play and they will fall off and he will catch them. This is a big symbol because it shows that he does not want change. He wants to stay there all his life and do the same thing everyday. The kids jumping off the cliff stands for their journey in the maturity. Holden is stuck in the middle. He still wants to be a kid, yet he wants to be mature. That is why he helps the other people cross and then nothing ever has to change for him and he can just be the Catcher in the Rye forever.

The Catcher in the Rye #8

There are a couple themes in the book The Catcher in the Rye. A small on is uniquiness. It is because Holden Caulfield a very different, unique person. He is very judgement and he acts like a tough guy. Okay mayby he is not that unique everyone is like that. Holden has a hard time growing up. I think it is because he is a middle child and he likes the attention. He says he does not like his parents much, but everyone says that. He flunked out of school. That was a sign that showed that he wants and needs some attention from his parents. He is not mature to realize that he does not want this kind of attention. When he went to go and visit his sister he did not want to get caught by his partents. He snuck in quietly and did not make any noise. When he was leaving, he said that he did not care if his parents caught him. I think he wanted them to catch him so they would have to spend some time with him. This makes Holden very immature. The novel is mostly about his way to becoming mature. He takes everything lightly and he seculdes himself. He does this because he is such a negative nancy. He does not like very many things. They only thing I could tell that he liked was his sister. He loved her very much and he did not critize her at all. Another theme is that we need to apply oursleves in the activities we do. Holden goes and stays the night and an ex teachers house. The teacher was talking to him about becoming mature and actually trying in school instead of just blowing it off like Holden as always done. He told Holden that he might be surprised to find out that he is good at something and he should find something he loves to do and he should do it.

The Catcher in the Rye #7

Holden Caulfield is a sixteen year old junior. He also likes to smoke and drink. He smokes about a pack of cigerettes a day. This is horrible. It is because he is killing himself and he does not even know it. During this time period, nobody knew the problems that smoking could cause. They might have, but they ignored them anyway. They could probably feel that their throwt was all scratchy. Once Holden was dancing with his little sister, Phoebe, and they danced about three dances and he was out of breathe while she was not even breathing hard. He is destroying his lungs and he is ignorings it. This time there is no education against smoking. There is no scientic proof that smoking causes cancer and sstuff. There was a point when Holden was sitting on a bench reading a magazine and it said that if you have a sore in your mouth for a long period of time you have cancer. He said that he had a sore that had been there for two weeks ane he thinks he has cancer. His little breother, Allie, died of cancer. He had lleukimia. I do not think that Holden had cancer, but he should have been more cautious and stopped smoking.
Holden also liked to drink. He knew place that he could go and they would not card him. He also had grey hair and was very tall. he liked to use this as an advantage. His favorite drink was vodka and soda. He ordered that mostly everywhere he went. He also said he is a heavy weight. He could sit there all night a keep putting down beers and not feel a thing. One night he was bored and lonely and he got drunk and went to walk in Central Park. Drinking is one stupid thing to do. It is because you do not really have control of what you do. I think it is a stupid thing to drink especially at his age because he is only sixteen and it can harm his growing process. Teenagers do it all the time without thinking of the consequences. This is a horrible thing because drinking causes more problems than it solves.

The Catcher in the Rye #6

New York City is an amazing place. I had the honor of visiting there this summer. It was so big and loud and just plain cool. The reason I am talking about New York is because the book, The Catcher in the Rye is set there. The main character Holden Caulfield was born and raised in New York. He knows where everything is and he is not afraid of it. When I went, my mom was terrified. I was not that bad. It was a little scary, but it was so cool. First off, the plane landing stripe was on top of the water. There was no room for it in the city, so it is on the outside on the water. It was cool looking out the window and seeing the skyline. We landed and got to our hotel. The hotel was huge!! It was also two blocks away from Times Square. We tried to get tickets to go see Wicked, but they were sold out. We went to Mama Mia instead. It was very good. When the play was over it was dark outside. New York City is a scary place to be when it is dark outside. Since we were by Times Square, there was a lot of cops. I do not understand how Holden was confident and so was his little sister to walk around alone. The next day we did the double decker bus tour. We got to look at all the big skyscrapers and everything. We got off and went to see the Sattue of Liberty. She is huge. We waited in line for about and hour to get on a huge ferry to take us there. We walked around and hung out. Then we toke the boat to Ellis Island. We did not get off, but it was a cool place to see. We did a lot of site seeing that day. One day we went to Central Park. We did not spend to much time there because it is so big and we thought that we would get lost if we did. Holden said that he knew Central Park like the back of his hand. He must have been in there a lot. I loved New York and I was sad to leave. I am glad I live where I live it is so peaceful and quiet, but I would like to live in New York for a little while.

The Catcher in the Rye #5

Holden Caulfiels is a very opinionated boy. He is sixteen years old and he is attending school at a boarding school called Pencey. He does not try very hard in school and he flunked out of the school and was kicked out. The only class he did pass was english. He has always loved to write and he enjoys to write. He is very tall. He is a junior and he is sixteen. He also is starting to get grey in his hair. He uses his height and his hair to an advantage to be able to get alochol and to drink. He also smokes. He has one older brother, D.B., who lives in Hollywood and writes scripts and books. Holden hates movies and he does not like his brother for being west and writing movies. He has a little sister Phoebe. He is a little fireball. She brings out the best and most passionate side of Holden. When he is around his sister, he does not think about how bad things are, he only tries to keep her happy. He did have a younger brother. His name was Allie. He died of leukiamia. He was two years younger that Holden. Holden loved his brother and he still misses him. He thought that he brother, though he was younger, was incredibly smart and he always had something good to say. When I said Holden is opioniated, I meant it. Throughout the whole entire book, all Holden does is complain. He comments on everything. He talks about how he hates his roomate and the guy who lives in the dorm next to his. He also calls everything phony. That got really annoying because he would call things that everyday people do phony. He had a thought about every thing there was. Most of the thoughts were not good thoughts either. He usually kept the thoughts in his head, but he was on a date with a girl and while she was in the middle of talking he told her she was a pain in the ass. I did not like Holden to much. I only liked him when he was with his sister because I could tell he loved her very much and he cared for her a lot.

The Catcher in the Rye #4

The title, The Catcher in the Rye is a unique title. At the beginning of the book, I had no idea what the significaince of the title was. I did not even know what the word "rye" meant. I looked it up in a dictionary. The meaning I think is correct for the novel is it is a wheat plant and "the seeds or grian of this plant, used for making flour and wiskey, and as livestock feed." I think That J. D. Salinger, the author, meant for the meaning of the word rye to be aquantied with wiskey. I think this because Holden Caufield, the main character liked to drink. He was only a journor in highschool and sixteen years old. He was not old enough to drink. That is a big thing to do and that is why I think that Salinger stressed the wiskey so much. As I read the book, I learned that the Catcher in the Rye is what Holden wanted to do with his life. I know this because when his little sister, Phoebe, asked him what he wanted to be in life, he answered he wanted to be the catcher in the rye. What he meant by this was that he imagined a bunch of little kids playing in a field and there was this big ledge. The kids did not know the ledge was there and they would fall off. Holden wanted to be standing in a field of rye and he wanted to catch the children as they fell. He just wanted to stand in the same spot and to catch the children and to be sure they are safe. This is a big change in Holden because so far as the book goes, it does not seem like Holden care for much. He thinks everyone is a phoney and he does not like stuff. His sister brings out his soft, sensitive side. I think this means that Holden tries to act tough, but he just wants to help people. This was a good title for the book and it had a lot of symbolic meaning in it.