Journal 23

Being self sufficient is very important in life. Self sufficient means that you do not have to rely on others to do things for you because you can do them yourself. An example of this is a farmer. A farmer works the land, so they can raise their crops. Once they have cultivated the land they can eat the food that they have grown. This means that they do not have to get food from other people. They do not need to depend on someone's crops because they have their own. This is what being self sufficient means. Another example of self sufficiency is the wonderful, talented, and not to mention lovely, Helena. Helena is very crafty. She can make pants out of fleece. This means that she can make her own clothing and does not need to depend on stores. If there was an Apocalypse and everybody was cold because all the clothing stores had shut down, Helena would be alright. The beautiful and enchanting Helena would be okay because she could make her own fleece pants. Her legs would be super warm. Helena is self-sufficient in many other ways. Helena is a fabulous cook. She makes some mean cloud cookies, seven up cake, and pasta dishes. This is why when the apocalypse comes I will search and find my friend Helena. She also knows how to garden. So, I would be happy forever because the most glorious Helena would make me fleece pants and cook things for me with fresh ingredients. It turns out she can also knit. So she can make socks and mittens for me so my small hands do not freeze and fall off.  I will survive because I have a wonderful friend named Helena. Except for the fact that I wrote this blog a few days ago. It is now December 21, 2012. I guess I will not need the majestic Helena's talents that make her self sufficient because I have thus far not encountered any apocalyptic events. Oh, well. I will now focus on making myself self sufficient because you never know when the zombie apocalypse will occur.

Journal 24

Twice a year when Semester Finals begin to roll around many students begin to get very stressed out. Finals often can determine what you will get as a grade for the semester and therefore could effect your future. This is why you cannot just go into a final exam and expect to do well. If you try to wing your finals, things will not turn out good. You could possibly fail the class. This is why the best policy is to study for the semester final. There are many ways that you can do this. When I have my exams I usually start out by looking at the study guide that a teacher gives me. Because I learn visually I go through and write out all the answers to the study guide. Some teachers,however do not give out study guides. When this happens I must take a different approach. I will then go through all of my tests and homework for the semester and look at things that I frequently got wrong and practice them. This is an especially effective way to study for math finals. I practice until I know how to do them. I also review some stuff I know how to do just jog my memory. You do not want to be blindsided by the exam and not know something you should have. This is my way to doing well on the Final exam. I also advise not freaking out about the upcoming tests. You just need to stay calm and take deep breaths. If you do not you may not be able to study as effectively because you are focusing not on the material,but stressing out about the actual test itself. This could even make you get so stressed out that you go in and take the test, and then your mind completely blanks once you go into the test. Then you do not know anything and do awful on your final exam.

"There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. (Emerson, "Self-Reliance")". This quote is very inspiring to me! I think it means that everybody gets to a certain point in life when they figure out they just need to be themselves and who they were meant to be. You just have to take what you got and work with it and this will lead to inner peace and happiness. There is no point envying anyone else because you are not them and you cannot change this no matter what you do ever because you will only ever be yourself. Envy is just a huge waste time, and you could be improving yourself with the energy that you use trying to be somebody else. You have to move on and just embrace who you are inside, or you will forever be unhappy.This quote also means that you should also not try to be anyone else because it is pointless and bad to you inner individual, or "suicide" as Emerson refers to it. By not being yourself you will lose all that was unique to you and not even able to be yourself ever again. This would be an undeniable tragedy to the world because there will never ever be anyone exactly like you ever again. This quote also talks about that you can achieve something truly remarkable if you keep working with yourself and improve on both your talents and faults. If you can do this then you will be successful and reap the rewards of all of the hard work that you had to put in to get there.

Journal 20

A wind softly grazed upon the antelopes fur, brushing through the lush grass that the antelope was grazing upon. As the wind swept across he savanna, the antelope caught the scent of something very strange. Warily the antelope lifted up his head to look around for the source of the odor. He breathed in again testing the smell on his palate, and a primal shudder went down his back. He knew this smell. It was the smell of death. His eyes raked the surrounding the grass nervously, but he did not flee. He was hesitant to leave this lush patch of sweet grass that beckoned to his painfully empty stomach, and had not yet been found by the other antelopes. The call of the grass was to strong for the young antelope to resist and foolishly went back to eating the succulent grass after seeing no signs of another animal in the grass. Perhaps the smell had been carried to him from miles away and a predator was nowhere in sight. The antelope bowed his head and broke the stems of the grass with his teeth and relished the cool sweet water that poured into his mouth as he chewed up the grass. He was too focused on his meal that he did not react in time to the sharp snap of a nearby stick. His head flew up; his ears alert. Yet it was too late for the antelope. Yellow eyes were racing toward him, and the antelope was caught in those entrancing strange eyes. The cheetah was only a few feet away from the antelope before he could react once more. The antelope raced away from the cheetah, but his long graceful legs could not compete with the raw strength of the cheetah. The antelope continued to run, but the cheetah had already made its move. The cheetah pounced and landed on the back of the antelope. The antelope fell and the circle of life continued.

Journal 22

I sat at my desk doodling on the scrap piece of paper as the teacher drowned on. As I shaded in my beautiful drawing of Allie, I heard a great commotion in the room. My head flew up and I looked around in bemusement trying to figure out what was happening in the class. All of my classmates were running to the windows while the teacher tried to control the new chaos of the classroom. Curious, I disobeyed the teacher's orders and rushed to the windows as well my drawing forgotten. Being too short to see over the heads of my classmates, I stood up on my tiptoes trying to see what was the cause of all of the chaos. I pushed my way into the crowd.I elbowed my way into so I could get through the masses until I reached the window. My mouth opened in surprise and I involuntarily gasped. Outside the barren landscape was becoming a winter wonderland.Ice laced the trees and the ground. The whole world was suddenly filled with glitter as the sun hit the ice. It was so beautiful.Soft snowflakes danced through the air and fell gracefully to the ground.Slowly, but surely a good amount of snow was accumulating on the ground. I put my hand on the glass of the window longing to be outside instead of confined in the classroom. I would have to wait too many hours until I could be outside in the cold snow. I resented not being out there immediately and wanted to relish in the bitingly cold air. My thoughts wondered to the quality of the snow. Would it be wet enough to make a proper snowman or a snowball? My daydreams of snow vanished as the teacher regained control of the class once again. I sat back in my seat and looked out the window, and waited until I could be a part of that wonderful glittering world.

Reaction to Self Reliance

I think that George Kateb is right in his analysis of Emerson's essay "Self Reliance". I agree with Kateb's essay "Self Reliance and the Life of the Mind" in that Emerson stands behinds his ideas with great conviction and that antagonism is essential in society and life.

One issue that I concur on with Kateb and his essay "Self Reliance and the Life of the Mind" is that Emerson stands behind his ideas strongly, and presents them with conviction to his readers. In "Self Reliance and the Life of the Mind" Kateb says, "It is well to emphasize at the start Emerson's difficulty and elusiveness. He is full of assertive sentences that may seem unconditional. Every sentence seems a declaration of faith. He seems to stand behind every utterance with his whole being, and risks his being by the completeness of his candor. His variety of declarations tempts us to say that he contradicts himself, but even if we resist the temptation, we are still not sure where he finally stands."(Kateb 2). This quote means that Emerson says what he wants to say and does so with utter conviction. He is able to write with such conviction because he believes wholly in what he is saying and is being true to himself. He doesn't censor himself and I think this is what makes Emerson's writing so fantastic.By not censoring what he believes in, his writing is very authentic and individual to him.

Another topic that I agree on with Kateb and his essay "Self Reliance and the Life of the Mind" is that antagonism is a very important part of life. Kateb says in his essay "Self Reliance and the Life of the Mind",That antagonists need each other for the sake of their own sanity is shown, Emerson thinks, in the political sphere where parties goad, check, and define each other. But antagonism—not just in politics—is the health of the whole world: its value is perpetual and to be preferred over synthesis or diluted compromise. No position is arbitrary or accidental. The self-reliant thinker will try to disclose, in every case, why a partisan must say what he says and what "insurmountable fact binds him to that side" ("The Conservative," p. 176)." (Kateb 8). This quote essentially means that by someone taking an oppossing stance, someone else can stand behind their issue more firmly because they are being challenged. Once challenged many people become even more attached to their ideas. This system of life gives the full advantage of many different ideas and directions to choose from. This can be seen in the American two party system. The Republicans may come up with a plan and the Democrats may come with a completely different plan. A compromise can be then reached between the two plans to achive the best of both worlds for the country. Antagonism also challenges the intellecual mentally, and that is why Emerson thinks that  antagonism is good for keeping away insanity.

In conclusion, I agree on many points with Kateb and his horrifically long essay entitled "Self Reliance and the Life of the Mind." Emerson is able to stand behind his convictions, and is correct in that antagonism is a good thing for the world as a whole.


Bibliography:
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Self-Reliance and the Life of the Mind." In Emerson's Transcendental Etudes. Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. 2003. Quoted as "Self-Reliance and the Life of the Mind" in Bloom, Harold, ed. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Updated Edition, Bloom's Modern Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= MCVRWE011&SingleRecord=True (accessed December 10, 2012).

Journal 17

 As the blue fuzz feathered through the warm current of air purring from the heating vent, I was awoken from my daydreaming by the sudden appearance of a large man. I was so scared that I was just about some of my wicked awesome kickboxing moves on him, until he held out his hands in surrender. I glared at him with slitted eyes and demanded why he had interrupted my daydreams. He stuck out a large sweaty hand and said to me, "Your a wizard." My friend Allie had come in suddenly to the room and startled the big ugly man. She had heard what the man had said and declared him to be a fake. This made the guy very upset so he turned her into an iguana. I was very upset that my friend Allie had been turned into an iguana. I turned to the man and demanded that he change her back. The big man soon became on the verge of tears and assured me that he did not mean to turn my friend into an iguana. With a trembling voice, the man spoke a new incantation. A puff of purple smoke appeared above Allie and she became to change. I watched with a heavy heart as my friend was not transformed back into a human, but a tiger. Allie was very mad and roared at the guy. He got scared and vanished into thin air. My once human friend now turned his predatory eyes vtoward me. I gave her a weak smile and said, "Stripes are a good style on you, Allie." This seemed to calm Allie. I laughed in relief and wondered out loud what we should do next. Allie looked at me with larges questioning eyes, and I got the best idea of my whole entire life. We would start a circus in which the star of the show, Allie the tiger,would do tricks and other various things. The end.

Journal 17

 As the blue fuzz feathered through the warm current of air purring from the heating vent, I was awoken from my daydreaming by the sudden appearance of a large man. I was so scared that I was just about some of my wicked awesome kickboxing moves on him, until he held out his hands in surrender. I glared at him with slitted eyes and demanded why he had interrupted my daydreams. He stuck out a large sweaty hand and said to me, "Your a wizard." My friend Allie had come in suddenly to the room and startled the big ugly man. She had heard what the man had said and declared him to be a fake. This made the guy very upset so he turned her into an iguana. I was very upset that my friend Allie had been turned into an iguana. I turned to the man and demanded that he change her back. The big man soon became on the verge of tears and assured me that he did not mean to turn my friend into an iguana. With a trembling voice, the man spoke a new incantation. A puff of purple smoke appeared above Allie and she became to change. I watched with a heavy heart as my friend was not transformed back into a human, but a tiger. Allie was very mad and roared at the guy. He got scared and vanished into thin air. My once human friend now turned his predatory eyes toward me. I gave her a weak smile and said, "Stripes are a good style on you, Allie." This seemed to calm Allie. I laughed in relief and wondered out loud what we should do next. Allie looked at me with larges questioning eyes, and I got the best idea of my whole entire life. We would start a circus in which the star of the show, Allie the tiger,would do tricks and other various things. The end.

Journal 19

There once was this guy

and he really liked to lead

Except no one else really liked him

He had made some mistakes

The guy's name was Benedict.

His last name was Arnold

And he watched with bitterness

As he watched others be promoted

But poor Benedict was not

And this created anger

that caused him to

put others in danger

This made his commander George Washington upset

and Benedict was put into disgrace

So Benedict was put in charge of a fort

A little fort known as West Point

Benedict was still upset

So he concocted a plan

He went to the British

And with them made a treasonous plan

The plan was found out

and Benedict was wanted

So he fled the country

And lived in disgrace

Journal 18

As I pondered the multitude of eyes beaming at me from the magnificent creature, it jumped out of the bush and bit me. I screamed and the mountain lion glared at me with its many eyes before it ran off into the cover of the trees. I was aware of a throbbing pain in my left hand, and looked down to see a gruesome sight. My middle finger had been taken off completely by the wicked beast. I frantically dropped to the ground and crawled on my hands and knees looking for the remainder of my mangled finger. I could only see by the moon light filtered by the trees in the forest. I slowly inched my hands across the cool soil of the ground, but I did not find my finger. As the shock of the attack wore off my hand was immersed in increased pain. Without finding my finger, I stood up and brushed myself off. An anger was rising up in my heart and I cried out. "I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE YOU DIRTY ROTTEN MUTANT MOUNTAIN LION!" I was delirious from the attack and could have sworn that I heard the mutant mountain lion chuckle off in the cover of the trees. With despair I retreated back the way I had come before my encounter with the devious mountain lion. I was just to emerge from the forest and unto a hiking path when I heard a  rattling noise in a nearby bush. I stopped dead in my tracks and listened closely. I did not dare to even breath lest I give myself away to what was in that bush. The rattling stopped and I was about to continue on my way, until I spotted the glow of multiple eyes in the bush. I gasped for I was once again face to face with my attacker. He lept out of the bush with my finder between his yellowed teeth. His lips curled upward with a sneer. Then I died.

Journal 15

One person that I miss is my brother Michael. I used to see him all the time, but now he is away at college. The college that he now attends is a several hour drive, so I do not see him often. Most weekends he cannot come home because he works at the college and has to work on the weekends, and has to give up a lot of time to come down and see us.Thankfully, many of today's modern conveniences help us keep in touch. For example, any time I want to talk to him I can text him. This provides an instantaneous way to communicate with each other. I also sometimes call him because I feel that phone calls are a more personal way of communication than texting. Besides, when I call him I do not have to wait for him to see that he has a new text, and he can respond immediately. Another way that my brother and I keep in touch is through visiting each other. He will get a long winter break so I will be able to see him then and catch up with him. Also, sometimes my parents and I drive up to his college for the weekend to see him and visit. Overall, everyone is always excited to see each other and we have a lot of fun. Despite the convenience of technology, sometimes the best way to stay in touch with someone is to visit them. Visiting someone and seeing them face to face I think is the best way to stay in touch mostly because you can create new memories with your loved one while actually being with them. Phone calls and text messages are not memorable at all and can only build a relationship so much before you fall out of touch with them. It is easy to fall out of touch because you are no longer have any experiences with them and are no longer a part of their life.

Journal 14

     
Often have I felt the creeping chill of total fear. One time when I was  seven years old my brother and I watched this odd show on the television. It described these people's encounters with aliens. The people on the show were just saying these awful things about aliens and what they did to humans. This freaked my young self out, and I wanted to change the channel, but my hideous brother Danny refused to. This made me even more upset, but I kept watching anyway. My fear grew even worse when a new "victim" of the aliens came in the show and said that he had been abducted by aliens several times. He went on to describe how the aliens tortured him several times in his life. He even claimed that he had been abducted from his bed as a child. Since I was young and impressionable, I believed his whole story. I was terrified. That night I lay in my bed shaking with fear. My imagination was being overactive, and I was positive that the aliens were going to come into my room and take me to their spaceship. I believed that they were going to experiment on me and I would die. They never did come and I soon fell asleep. In the morning I was relieved that nothing bad had happened to me. This relief soon faded though when I went back to bad the next night. Like the night before, I was terrified that the aliens were still going to come and abduct me from my home. Once again I had trouble falling asleep until I could no longer keep my eyes open. This ritual continued on for about two weeks, but fortunately the aliens never came to do their grisly experiments on me. After several weeks I began to completely forget about the aliens. My fear had faded and was forgotten, until I would hear strange noises and get scared all over again.

Journal 13

Honestly, I do not feel that I learned very much from this project. I feel that we had already analyzed Franklin's virtues enough in class that I really did not need to do a project on it for a couple of weeks. The virtues were pretty easy to understand and I really did not gain much from doing the extra analysis on it. I did learn how to communicate with group members that did not go to my school. By having people from different schools in my group, I was able to see other people's perspectives on Benjamin Franklin and his thirteen virtues. I also did not like how much we had to depend on technology so much in this project. My Internet connection at home is pretty slow and frustrating. I also had to use technology that I had never used before. This could have helped me gain some knowledge about the computer, but I do not think that I will ever need to use programs like Xtranormal again ever for a school project or anything else.Sometimes Gmail would not work and I could not communicate with my group members.
I think that several things can be done to make this project better. First, I would get rid of the group video part. Everything that was in the video was already compiled on the group page, making the video part unnecessary. I also did not think the video was useful because one person had to be the video editor. This person had to do much more work on the video portion than everyone else did. The project was also very complex. There were too many parts to it and too many deadlines. This made me very confused about all of the things that I had to do and when I needed to do it by. I think that we should have taken more time to look over the project and have it explained.

The Pit and the Pendulum

Edgar Allen Poe, the author of "The Pit and the Pendulum", was a writer during the Romanticism period of American literature. The Romanticism period was a time when writings were based on emotion and elements that caused emotion."The Pit and the Pendulum's" supernatural elements, mystery, and use of fear are some characteristics of Romanticism and create emotion. 

One characteristic of Romanticism that "The Pit and the Pendulum" contains is supernatural elements. The supernatural in this story makes it very creepy and heightens the emotions of the reader. This is critical in Romantic writing styles because it is all about human emotion over logic. An example of supernatural elements in this story is when the main character is describing his judgement at the Spanish Inquisition (263). In "The Pit and the Pendulum" the main character, who remains nameless throughout the story, says, "I saw the lips of the black-robed judges. They appeared to me white, whiter than the sheet upon which I trace these words, and thin even to grotesqueness; thin with the intensity of their expression of firmness, of immovable resolution, of stern contempt of human torture. I saw that the decrees of what to me was fate were still issuing from those lips." (Poe 263). This description of the judges makes them seem like hideous monsters (Poe 263). From this description the reader is just imagining a person made of horrible and gross lips declaring the main character's fate. By making the judges appear more supernatural then human Poe expresses the character's absolute fear. It is also an emotional appeal to the reader to sympathize with the character in his experience in the prison.

Supernatural elements, however, is not the only characteristic of Romanticism in "The Pit and the Pendulum". This story also includes mystery, which is a property of Romanticism. Mystery can be seen often in this story. For example, in the story many things are very vague such as the character's name. The reader also does not know what the character did to receive such a punishment, or even who is behind the scenes watching the main character and inflicting the tortures upon him (Poe 272).  At one point the reader is unsure whether the character is dreaming or not (May). The use of mystery in the story heightens the readers interest in the story. The reader wants to know all of these things that Poe is not telling, and it makes them keep reading so they can eventually find out. Poe, however, does not give in and never resolves the mystery of the place the main character was in. 

In addition to supernatural elements and mystery, "The Pit and the Pendulum" also uses fear which makes it a writing of Romanticism. Fear may be important in Romanticism writings because it is very emotional. Fear is irrational and can not sorted out by logic. This may appealed to writers of the Romanticism period because it was the something that the writers of the Rationalism period could not work out with their logic and very emotional. Since logic can not get rid of fear, it places fear and other emotions over reason. An example of fear in this story is when the character is afraid of the rats crawling all over him (Poe 272). The main character is terrified of the rats, but he cannot move because he is tied up and the pendulum with the blade is getting closer to him (Poe 272). This means that the character must get over his fear of rats or die an awful death by the pendulum (Poe 272). The character chooses to conquer his fear and calms himself down (Poe 272). When he calms down he finds that the rats have chewed through his bondage (Poe 272). This enables the character to get out of the way of the swinging pendulum before it skewers him (Poe 272). This shows the individual conquering fear. Since the character was able to work out his fears emotionally he was able to win in the end. This shows that Poe felt that the emotions of the individual could conquer fear. The fear also engages the emotions of the reader and make them feel connected through the story because they too fear and can empathize with the character. 

In conclusion, "The Pit and the Pendulum" contain many characteristics of Romanticism. These characteristics include supernatural elements, mystery, and fear. By using all of these elements, Poe was able to evoke emotion, which was the main goal of Romanticism writers. 

Bibliography: 

May, Charles E. "Alternate Realms of Reality." In Edgar Allan Poe: A Study of Short Fiction. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1991, pp. 96–97. Quoted as "Dreams and Reality in the Story" in Harold Bloom, ed. Edgar Allan Poe, Bloom's Major Short Story Writers. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1998. (Updated 2007.)Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BMSSEP39&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 5, 2012).

Poe, Edgar Allen. "The Pit and the Pendulum." Glencoe American Literature. N.p.: McGraw Hill, 2009. 263-73. Print.

Franklin's 13 Virtues analysis

It seems that the main goal of Benjamin Franklin when creating and implementing his thirteen virtues was that he aimed to be a better person. Franklin was successful in his goal of becoming a better person by having his thirteen virtues because he became self disciplined and he learned what it takes to overcome flaws.

One of the ways that Franklin was able to become a better person through his virtues, is that he learned to be self disciplined. No one made Franklin create a list of virtues to use in his everyday life (Franklin 89). He did this for himself, and so that he could be a better person. After creating the list, no one was going to be looking over his shoulder watching to make sure that he was carrying out his virtues like he had promised. He had to do this all on his own, and the only obstacle in obtaining his goals would be himself. Franklin, however, was able to make himself carry out the virtues (Franklin 88). He did this in an organized way and says in his autobiography, "I made a little book, in which I allotted a page for each of the virtues...I might mark, by a little black spot, every fault I found upon examination to have found"(Franklin, 85). It took self control to make sure that he went through his book and marked down all of the times he did not follow the virtue (Franklin 85). He could have lied and put down no mistakes for that virtue, but this would have been redundant in the fact that he was lying to himself instead improving himself.

In addition to learning self discipline from his thirteen virtues, Franklin also was able to overcome the flaws that he saw in himself. Some people saw Franklin as wise, far sighted, and useful ( Tuckerman 5). Yet, this great Founding Father too had flaws. It is almost impossible to improve yourself if you do not recognize your flaws. Franklin did this, and he was able to write down a list of thirteen things that he needed to improve on (Franklin 83). The next step is trying to prevent yourself from breaking the virtues. Franklin also did this by having a little book (Franklin 85). In his book he would observe a virtue every week and make a mark when he strayed from the virtue of the week (Franklin 85). This helped Franklin to see what he was doing wrong, and where he needed to improve. After Franklin became accustomed to living his life with the virtues he was able to see his mistakes diminish with time (Franklin 88). Franklin says in his autobiography, "After a while I went thro' one course only in a year, and afterward only one in several years, till at length I omitted them entirely" (Franklin 88). This quote shows that Franklin got to a point where he no longer needed his book because he had implemented the virtues into his life without straying from his goals. He successful incorporated his thirteen virtues into his life, and did not need to observe himself. 

In conclusion, Benjamin Franklin was able to become a better person by following his thirteen virtues. Franklin was able to teach himself self discipline and the process in which flaws can be eliminated. Franklin's virtues can be compared to the Michael Jackson song, "Man in the Mirror". The song talks about that the way to make the world a better place, is to improve yourself first. Franklin realized this and was able to change his whole existence by implementing his thirteen virtues, and becoming an overall better person.






Bibliography:
Franklin, Benjamin. Autobiography. London: J.M. Dent, 1948. Print.

Tuckerman, Henry T. The Character of Franklin. N.p.: n.p., 1856. Print.

Journal 12

I think today's American dream starts with going to college. Many people nowadays go to college, so they can learn more and be able to get a good job. College is instrumental in developing the skills that you will need for the rest of your natural life.Despite the fact that so many Americans go to college it is still a dream instead of reality. The thing is that higher education is very expensive, and some people that deserve to go to college cannot because they do not have the money. This is what makes college an American Dream instead of a reality. The next part of today's American Dream is to go out and find a job. In today's economy this is no easy feat at all. Job positions are no longer as plentiful as in times past.Many times people are not able to get a job that they had prepared for in college. A lot of people just have to settle because something is better than nothing at all. Jobs are very important because they provide financial security.With a job you can also pay off the mountain of student debt gained from college.  Once you get a job you can start investing in other things like a car or a house which is the next step of the American Dream. Many people like to buy houses or cars because it gives them a sense of ownership and a tie to where every they live. Another part of the American Dream is getting married. Many people find marriage good because it gives them someone they can be with for the rest of their lives.I think marriage is apart of the American Dream simply because everyone else is getting married. After marriage comes children. Biologically speaking we are supposed to want to pass along our set of genes, so for many people children are a must. Then people want to send their kids to college. This starts the American Dream all over again.

Journal 11

My list of virtues are a code by which I try to live my life. My virtues that I live with are very important to me because they are apart of my identity. One of the virtues that I try to live by is to be compassion. Sometimes I have to look outside of my self and understand what other people are going through. It is easy to caught up in my own life, but I find it very important to be there to support others as they go through hardships and whatnot. Forgiveness is also apart of the compassion I try to live by. This means that even though I may be upset with someone else, I forgive them because everybody makes mistakes because we are only human. Forgiving others allow you to move on and live a happier life. Forgiveness is also important because when I make a mistake I want forgiveness, and I may be more apt to receive forgiveness if I give it in return. I also want to live life to the fullest. Life does not have a redo button, and I want to live the best life I can since you only live once. I do not want to be on my death bed wishing that I had done something different with my life. I want to be able to die satisfied with the existence I have led. Another one of my virtues would be doing my best at all times. Like I said you only live once, so why do anything halfway? I am not satisfied if I do not do my best and this tends to bother me a lot. Doing my best means that I dedicate myself to anything that I do. I do this because my results will be a lot better if I do the best that I can. I can apply this virtue on almost anything that I do, including my school work. My education is very important so I do the best I can. This enables me to learn and receive the most that I can get out of my education.

Literary Analysis of Ben Franklin's Autobiography

While reading Benjamin Franklin's work of literature entitled Autobiography, I was able to identify that Franklin too had been apart of the American Rationalist writing movement. I was able to determine that Franklin had a rationalist writing style due to his use of logic and experimentation in his virtues and the way he carried them out.

One element of Rationalist writing that Franklin used in the making and execution of his virtues was logic. I can see that his thought process that led him to making the virtues used logic and reason. For example, Franklin states in his Autobiography that he was displeased by the morals being preached to him at church, and he says in the passage, "...since not a single moral principle was inculcated or enforced, their aim seeming to be rather to make us Presbyterians than good citizens."(Franklin 81) So, Franklin decided in his dissatisfaction that he would make up his own list of virtues that he would like by to be a good person, instead of listening to morals that he did not agree with (Franklin 82). This is a very logical to solve a problem because Franklin thought the situation at hand thoroughly and was able to come up with an answer that satisfied his moral needs. Franklin also logically looked up several different thoughts on the different virtues that he wanted to include to find the best definition for his list of virtues (Franklin 82).

Besides logic, Franklin also used experimentation in his quest to find a set of virtues right for him. Franklin used experimentation when he made a little table for himself that had a spot for each virtue on his list (Franklin 85). Franklin says in the passage, "..I might mark, by a little black spot, every fault I found upon examination to have been committed respecting that virtue upon that day."(Franklin 85). This means that Franklin could go through his daily life and see what virtues on his list he was breaking his rules on (Franklin 85). After observing himself and his habits for awhile, then he would be able to see what virtues he needed to improve on or what virtue were not so important to him after all. He was also able to determine his strength in a particular virtue and whether he could move on to the next virtues on his list or not (Franklin 86). This experimentation with his habits allowed Franklin to fully observe his results so he could fix them according to logic.

In conclusion, two elements of Rationalism that Benjamin Franklin uses in the making and execution of his virtues are logic and experimentation. By using a rational approach to creating morals for himself, Franklin was able to create a system of virtues that met his morality needs.



Bibliography: Franklin, Benjamin. Autobiography. London: J.M. Dent, 1948. Print.

Propaganda in the Declaration of Independence

While the Enlightenment influenced many people during the eighteenth century to use logic and rational thinking, there is use of propaganda in documents like the Declaration of Independence that suggest writers of the time did not only rely on strong reason, but had weak arguments as well. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson uses propaganda like name calling and an appeal to the people to persuade the public.

One of the weak propaganda techniques that is used in the Declaration of Independence is the use of name calling. The reader can see name calling in the Declaration of Independence when Jefferson lists all of the reasons that America is deciding to sever ties with England and declare independence (Jefferson 124). An example of this is the part of the document that states, "He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidey scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous age, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation." (Jefferson 124).  In the passage the author is tearing apart the British and criticizing them for be barbarous and cruel. In this passage the reader sees how Jefferson only mentions the bad things that England did to America. He chooses not to include the things that the British did do for the colonists like defending them from threats. This name calling and tear down of the British is a way for the author to effectively get his point across, but he is not presenting all of the facts to the readers("Recognizing Propaganda Techniques and Errors of Faulty Logic."). This is what makes this part of the Declaration of Independence propaganda. The author is using emotional appeals and keeping information from the reader instead of using a rational approach that includes pure reason and logic. 

Not only does Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, use propaganda in the form of name calling, but he also uses the weak argument of appealing of the people. It seems like that in the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson is trying to persuade the general public with emotion instead of reason to cut off ties with Great Britain (Jefferson 122). It seems that he thinks that he knows best and a portion of the document states," Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government." (Jefferson 122). In this passage Jefferson is trying to justify the break with England by including all of the people of the colonies having the right to break away from unjust forms of government (Jefferson 122). It is clear that he involves everyone to make them sure that they all have a right to break away from England, and will be an asset in declaring independence.

In conclusion, The Declaration of Independence is not based solely on logic, but also propaganda that appeal to emotion, which is a weak argument. In the Declaration of Independence, the author uses propaganda like name calling and an appeal to the people.



Bibliography:

Jefferson, Thomas. "Declaration of Independence." Glencoe American Literature. N.p.: McGraw Hill, 2009. 122-24. Print.

"Recognizing Propaganda Techniques and Errors of Faulty Logic." Recognizing Propaganda--Guide to Critical Thinking--Academic Support. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2012. <http://academic.cuesta.edu/acasupp/as/404.htm>.

Journal 10

It is my belief that our English class should be provided mints. This is my belief because this will add an incentive to the class that will motivate my classmates and I. When provided mints we will feel as if we have earned something special and continue to strive for many more rewards in the future. A possible result in bringing in mints to the classroom would be a renewal of enthusiasm for coming to class. Rewards will award the students and may make us more willing to be engrossed in the subject matter at hand. Another possible reason that bringing mints into the class would be beneficial is that studies done by scientists suggest that eating mints stimulates the brain. While we were taking standardized tests in middle school, the teachers would provide us mints for the reason of stimulating our brains so we could end up doing well on them. I feel that our English class would be much more productive and engaged with out brains stimulated by mints. This could lead to our class staying on task well and being able to learn and absorb new information about what we are discussing in class. Having our brains stimulated would be essential to learning because we have class the last period of the day. I ,personally, am starting to feel mentally strained at this time of the day and I just want to go home. Eating mints will rejuvenate the whole class for our last hour class, so we will be able to do more and will be much more willing to take in new information. The mental weariness that the whole class could be experiencing after a long day may even vanish because we would have something special that will ignite a sense of goodwill feeling throughout the whole entire class. Overall, I think that mints should be brought into class to encourage students with rewards and stimulate our mentally strained minds.

Journal 9

I love autumn with all of my heart. Honestly, I could gush about the wonders of autumn all day long. First of all I love the violently vivid colors of the Fall. I cannot but help to love how beautiful the earth looks as it changes into various colors of orange and red. These colors brighten the whole world and are very appealing to me. Another thing I love about the autumn is the weather. I cannot stand the summertime because it is way too hot for me and I love being cold. Autumn is my saving grace from the oppressive summer heat and I am eternally grateful for this. The weather becomes perfect for me. I love to emerge outside and feel the cool pristine air of the Earth in my lungs. This is a time where I feel perfectly content. The weather is especially nice in October and I cannot be outside enough. In the autumn the stars at night are also a lot more bright. Even though I know little about the names of the constellations, I love to look at them because they are so bright. The stars always make me realize how big the universe is that I get to play a part in. The stars are to me as gorgeous as the turning of the leaves, and seeing the stars always has a way of comforting me. I am also a huge fan of all of the holidays that occur in Fall. Halloween always excites me even though I no longer dress up and go trick or treating. I still use Halloween though to stuff myself with an inappropriate amount of candy and other goodies. I also enjoy seeing all the kids dressed up in their funny costumes and how they how much joy they experience  in the special days in life like Halloween. I also love Thanksgiving because who doesn't love all of that delicious home cooked food and time with family?

Journal 8

Sometimes having a rational response to someone who is emotional can be very helpful to the conflict that is upsetting the other person so much. For example one time a friend of mine came up to me and was very upset because her hamster had passed away the day before. She had loved her hamster more than almost anything in the whole world. At first I had no idea how to console my friend about the loss of her beloved pet and was unsure of what to say to make her feel better. After considering the situation and evaluating the ways that I could react, I decided to take a rational approach with my friend. I knew that anything I would say in her time of emotion would not necessarily fix her broken heart, but when she considered it later that she could begin to heal. So, while my friend was looking to me for comfort about her hamster, I reminded her of the sickness that the hamster had been dealing with a long time. I gently told her that her hamster had lived longer than was expected and she should be happy for that. I also told her that the hamster was always in pain, and that now he would be free of his burden. I think that this gentle and rational response was able to help my friend heal a lot. I think that if my response had been emotional like many of the other people she talked to had been, I would not have been able to help her feel better. She realized that she had let her own feelings get in the way when think of her hamsters death, and she realized that her hamster would no longer feel the pain he had during life. I think this made my friend be able to accept the death of her beloved pet much more easily. In the end I think my rational response was very helpful.

The Crucible Act Four

While reading The Crucible by Arthur Miller, I noticed many similarities between this piece of literature and Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards. Most of these ideas seem to come from the shared beliefs in the wrath of God that the Puritans in The Crucible and Jonathan Edwards has in his sermon, and that the final judgement lies with God.

I noticed while reading The Crucible and Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God a similarity in how the Puritans perceive God as full of wrath and very vengeful. In Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God the speaker Edwards says, "God is dreadfully provoked, his anger is as great towards them as to the those that are actually suffering the executions of the fierceness of his wrath in hell..." (Edwards 97). Edwards is pretty much saying that everything you do wrong is making God angry, and every new sin adds to this fury. It also means that if you are sinning, in God's eyes you are not any better than the people already in hell. In The Crucible it is clear that many of the characters believe this like Reverend Hale. At the end of the story he realizes his mistake in supporting the witch hysteria in Salem and knows that many of the condemned are innocent (Miller 132). The reverend can be seen blaming himself for the death of many of the "witches" while he pleads to Danforth to postpone the hangings. He says to Danforth, "There is blood on my head! Can you not see the blood on my head!!" (Miller 131). Hale may believe that God may punish him for his help in the murder of innocent people and that his involvement is making God angry.

Besides the vision of an angry God, both The Crucible and Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God also share the same idea of the final judgement in life to rest with God. In Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God this idea is represented when Edwards says, "And they have nothing in the least, to appease or abate this anger, neither is God in the least bound to by any promise to hold them up one moment." (Edwards 97). This means that God does not care for you, but will only give punishment to you that he finds suit you after being judged. It also means that God has no obligation to keep you from Hell if he thinks it is right. The idea of God's judgement can also be seen in The Crucible when John is asking Elizabeth whether she thinks that he should confess and save himself (Miller 135). Every time he asks Elizabeth responds, "I am not your judge, I cannot be." (Miller 138). Elizabeth means that John has to make his choice by himself because at the end of the day it is not she who will judge him, but God.

In conclusion, there are similarities between the ideas of Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God and The Crucible. Both of these pieces of literature contain ideas on the wrath of God and the judgement of God. Between the similarities of these two pieces the reader is able to perceive important religious ideas of the Puritans.

Bibliography: Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.

Edwards, Jonathan. "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." Glencoe American Literature. N.p.: McGraw Hill, 2009. 97-99. Print.

Journal 7

When many people think of bullying and harassment they usually only think of the effects on the victim of the bully. While many detrimental effects are put on to the victim, I think bullying tends to affect both the victim and the bully. For example, if a kid gets beat up, they will obviously have bad feelings towards the event and the person that abused them. Being beat up could make them feel very weak and start a plethora of self esteem problems in the victim. They also may start to harbor resentment for not only the other child that hurt them, but also the system that allowed such a thing to happen to them. This resentment could spread till the victim feels all out hate and this is when they themselves can get violent or cruel. They may figure it is better to be the bully than the victim. The victim could also decide that the pain from the mental and physical pain is just too much and tragically give up on life. The bully too can feel negative effects from bullying someone. After bullying someone the bully may one day feel remorse for all they have done to a specific person. The bully will not a get the chance to atone for what they did and this is something that they will have to live with for the rest of their lives. This remorse could even be multiplied if they drove their victims to extremes like giving up on life. Overall, I think that certain measures should be taken in the future to prevent bullying. I think that if we were to cut down on the bullying in the world then both parties could be saved from the pain that bullying creates. The bully could be saved from later remorse and the victim could be saved from social and emotional stress. In the end the world may be a better place where everyone can feel safe and comfortable because they are not bullied.

Act Three of The Crucible

In The Crucible by Arthur Miller many of the characters are given some of the worst traits that humans can have. In The Crucible, human nature like the envy of Abigail, the greed of Putnam, and selfishness of the girls are displayed by the actions of the characters and the events of the story.

One of the bad aspects of human nature that can be found in the personalities of the characters in The Crucible is envy. Envy is displayed mostly in the story by Abigail Williams. Abigail is a teenage girl that had an affair with a married farmer named John Proctor (Miller 110). Eventually John's wife, Elizabeth, found out about their relationship and fired Abigail from her job as a servant in the Proctor household (Miller 110). Abigail resents Elizabeth because she was fired (Miller 23). Abigail also believes that John is in love with her (Miller 24). This causes Abigail to begin to envy Elizabeth because she is John Proctor's wife and Abigail is not. This envy that Abigail feels begins to grow and gets out of control. Abigail begins to believe that if she gets rid of Elizabeth, that she and John can finally be together (Miller 110). It is due to envy that Abigail claims that Elizabeth is a witch that has been practicing dark magic (Miller 73). Abigail acting on her envy results in the wrong attempted persecution of Elizabeth.

Not only is envy one of the aspects of human nature shown in The Crucible, but also greed. Greed is shown by the townspeople that try to take advantage of the chaos of the Salem witch trials. One case of this is the Putnam family. They endorse the witch trials because they can declare the people who have land that they want witches (Miller 96). In the time period, when someone is hanged for witchcraft, they forfeit all of their land (Miller 96). This means that the land of the accused will go back on the market and can be purchased (Miller 96). Putnam declared his neighbor a witch in hopes that he would hang, and Putnam would be able to acquire his land (Miller 96). Putnam is driven by the greed for more farmable land, and this drive causes the suspicion of an innocent person.

Selfishness, in addition to envy and greed, is another part of human nature that is portrayed by the events in The Crucible. Many characters in the book are selfish, and can be seen lying to save themselves and persecuting others. An example of this in the story is when the group of girls claim that they were dancing in the woods naked was because they had been bewitched, when in reality they had been doing it for sport and rebellion (Miller 42). To avoid being punished for dancing, they blame their servant at first, but eventually they get caught up in the chaos and begin to declare people witches for sport or revenge (Miller 44-48). This plunges the whole town of Salem into witch hunt that imprisons many and even results in hangings (Miller 48). I think that this is the epitome of selfishness. To escape punishment they put the blame on others, and this leads to persecution and tarnished reputations for the people they declared witches.

In conclusion, The Crucible by Arthur Miller depicts many of the bad sides of human nature. Among these traits are envy, greed, and selfishness, which are represented by the different characters and events within the story.

Bibliography: Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.

Journal 6

It is very wrong to use someone else as a scapegoat, and I feel that what goes around comes around. There are always repercussions for putting the blame on another. It is unfair to blame something on somebody that did nothing wrong, and it is a sign of weak moral character. It creates problems though when people start to disbelieve the claims that you made about somebody else. This makes people angry because they have been mislead and lied to. This anger could lead to a torch and pitch fork situation for someone who blames other people. No one wants to be fooled and you would lose all of your credibility, and the population would try to ostracize and exile you. The person you blamed also may try to get revenge against you for blaming them for something. It will probably turn out worse the bigger amount of blame you put on them. If I were somebody's scapegoat I would try to get revenge. No one will tolerate being blamed for something they did not do, and this gives the person drive for revenge. They will most likely try to get back at you no matter what. It may turn out that what they do to you is even worse than the punishment you would have to begin with. So, I think that it is best to just deal with your punishment the first time around and not blame anyone else. Blaming others does not help you when you do something wrong. It simply draws the situation out, and things tend to get worse with time. Once you lie once it is easier to keep lying instead of telling the truth. This eventually will lead up to a web of lies. If you mess up once and it is found out that you lied, all of the other lies are revealed and everyone else will not be happy with you. This makes the situation ten times worse than it was from the start. It also makes you seem not trustworthy and provokes the wrath of however you blamed for your actions.

Reflection Blog: Act Two of The Crucible

While reading The Crucible by Arthur Miller, I noticed all the different personalities of all of the characters in the story. Two of the characters that have distinct characteristics are Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor. While these characters are radically different they both nearly match a role of the True Colors assessment. By knowing their characteristics and True Colors, I am able to get a better understanding of Abigail and Elizabeth's personality and what their future actions may be.

In The Crucible, Abigail Williams would be green by the True Colors test. People who are green by the True Colors test are usually intelligent and think by logic and not emotion. They also tend to be leaders and are driven. This drive can make people who fall in the green category tend to not really care about the feelings of other people. I was able to determine that Abigail was green by her actions in the story. From the very beginning of the story, I was able to see Abigail's cold cunning as she started a witch hunt in her town of Salem, Massachusetts (Miller 48). She was able to cover up her odd behavior that would have gotten her in trouble with the church by saying that the servant Tituba bewitched her and her friends (Miller 44). While this is a cruel move, it is also undeniably a smart one by Abigail because she got off the hook and now has an incredible amount of power over everyone in Salem. She has become the leader of a witch hunt and can declare almost anyone a witch without barely any proof at all (Miller 48). This is the leadership role that comes to people who have a green personality naturally. Abigail also has a disregard for the feelings and welfare of others as well. In The Crucible, Abigail wants John Proctor and believes to love him (Miller 24). There however is one obstacle in her path to get to John and that is his wife Elizabeth Proctor. So, to get rid of Elizabeth, Abigail declares her to be a witch and plants a needle in her own stomach (Miller 74-75). She does this because at the same time she has her friend give Elizabeth a voodoo doll with a needle in it that the judges find in the Proctor Household (Miller 74). This is supposed to give evidence that Elizabeth is indeed a witch, and she is taken away to be tried at the end of Act Two (Miller 78). Abigail does not care at all that Elizabeth could hang from the false accusations she has made, and only cares for want she wants. Since I know that Abigail is green, I suspect that through the rest of the story Abigail will relentlessly try to get rid of Elizabeth and take her place as John's wife.

Elizabeth Proctor is on the opposite side of the personality spectrum from Abigail. Elizabeth is blue on the True Colors test. Blue means someone that is passionate and kind. Blue can also mean that someone that does not like confrontation and is forgiving. I think that Elizabeth embodies all of these things in the story. Even though Elizabeth seems to be a little weary of her husband John from his past relationship with Abigail, she seems to have forgiven him for what he did (Miller 55). She is not harsh with him and even seeks his approval him when she does stuff like make dinner (Miller 50). It is clear that she is still unhappy about John's affair with Abigail, but she is not confrontational about it. It can be seen that she does not like confrontation when the men form the court come to take her away and try her for witchcraft (Miller 72). John does not want her to go, but Elizabeth steps forward to go with them (Miller 77). This is because she knows only more trouble will be caused for them if John tries to fight off the men (Miller 77). Elizabeth is kind and selfless even as she is taken away, worrying not for herself but for her children and how she does not want them to fret about her (Miller 78). I think this personality may get Elizabeth in trouble later in the story. She is so kind and may risk herself to save John or someone else from persecution, by giving up her own life.

In conclusion, the personalities and True Colors of Abigail and Elizabeth gave me a deep insight into why the characters do what they do. It also gave me some basis to predict what they may do later in the story.

Bibliography: Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.

Journal #5

I think that the punishments discussed in the video we watched are appropriate twenty-first century punishments for unruly children. Yet, I think that not all of the punishments will really work effectively. I think it would also be easy for the child to find a way to work around the punishment, and then they would not really learn their lesson at all. For example, the expert in the video suggested having the children give the parent the password to their Facebook account, or briefly changing the password so the child may not log onto the social network. I think that this is a good idea in theory, but may not actually work. The child for example may refuse to give up their password to Facebook or other social media sites. The parent then would not be able to effectively use Facebook as a punishment since they could not access the account. Also, the child may give over their password to the parent, but then can just start a whole new Facebook account that is a secret from the parent. I think the most effective way to punish a child by taking away Facebook is to just take away their computer and smartphone privileges. The child will learn that using the computer is a luxury not a right. Maybe taking away computer will even make the child go and play outside or something more active. If they have homework that requires research I would stay by my stance on not using the computer. I would send the kids to the library and research the old fashioned way. Many parents might worry about their kids not having their phones, which often have Internet as well. The parents could take away the smartphone and buy a cheap phone to put their kid's sim cards in. This would allow the parent to still reach the child, but the kid could only really call on the phone and not have all of the fancy options of today's smart phones.

Reflection Blog: Act One of the Crucible

The first act of The Crucible by Arthur Miller gives the reader an insight into his version of the Puritans. From The Crucible the reader can see the qualities of the Puritans and the breakdown of their beliefs.

From reading The Crucible, I could see many qualities of the Puritans. One of these qualities is the zealously with which they regard God. It seems that God is very important to the Puritans, and their whole life revolves around God. The importance of God to the Puritans can be seen through the many references of God in the dialogue between all of the characters. An example of this in the story is when Reverend Hale yells, "Glory to God! It is broken, they are free!" (Miller 48). In this line of dialogue Hale is praising God for Betty, Abigail, and Tituba's confession of being in league with the devil and then renouncing the Devil for God (Miller 48). I think this ironic that Reverend Hale is praising God for releasing the girls out of a fake cooperation with the Devil. It is clear that the girls were never involved with Satan or ill, but gets caught in the panic and wants to use their neighbors as scapegoats. They women also may be enjoying the attention they are getting from the spectacle. This can be seen at the end of act one when Betty, Abigail, and Tituba just began yelling out random names of women that are supposedly cooperating with the Devil (Miller 48). The irony is increased by the fact that this whole scenario was born out of religious zealous of the Puritans and their strong fear of the Devil and going to Hell.

While the Puritans in The Crucible all may share a common zealous of God, it is clear that not all of the Puritans agree with what is going on both at church and with the girls. One of these Puritans is a farmer named John Proctor. Proctor seems to be the voice of reason amid all of the panic and chaos over Betty's mysterious "illness". He can even be seen criticizing Parris often (Miller 28). One example of this is when Parris is talking about how he called the Reverend Hale to come out and look at Betty in hopes of finding out what is wrong with her (Miller 27). He questions Parris about whether he went through the appropriate channels like calling a meeting together before calling out Hale to come look for witches (Miller 27). Parris did not and Proctor seems to disapprove of this (Miller 28). After this the reader can also see John Proctor, publicly disagreeing with the way Parris does his sermons (Miller 29). Proctor says to Parris, "I have trouble enough without I come five mile to hear him preach only hellfire and bloody damnation. Take it to heart, Mr. Parris. There are many others who stay away from church these days because you hardly ever mention God anymore." (Miller 29). This shows that there is a split in the church, and that different Puritans may differ on how things should be done in the church. I also foresee something bad happening to Proctor because of his views about the sermons in a church that is notoriously intolerant.

In conclusion, The Crucible by Arthur Miller gives the reader insight into his version of the Puritans, including what they believed in and how some views between Puritans differed.

Bibliography: Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.

Journal 4

A long trip that I have taken was when I went to Boston. This trip had a large impact on my life. I went to Boston when I was fourteen. To get to Boston my mother and I flew and this was my first flight that I had taken since I was very young, and made me realize how much I love flying in airplanes. When I got to Boston I stayed at a hotel that was right on the Atlantic. I had never before seen an ocean before, and I couldn't stop myself from admiring the strange beauty the chaotic turning of the gray waves created. My trip to Boston also gave me a chance to explore the all of the historic significance the city had to offer. I have always enjoyed studying history and it is my favorite subject. While in Boston, I was submerged in history and it was fascinating. It seemed to me that on almost every street in Boston had some significance. For example, I was able to see the warship the U.S.S. Constitution also nicknamed "Old Ironsides". I was also able to visit Paul Revere's home on the Freedom Trail, and see many important places like Boston Harbor where the Boston tea party took place. Besides history, Boston also had a large mix of different cultures in it that I found fascinating. In one part of the city was a "Little Italy" full of Italian restaurants that fulfilled promises of some of the world's best pizza. Boston also had a strong presence of Irish culture within the city as well due to all the people there that were descendants of Irish immigrants. Overall, I decided that I loved my trip to Boston and would jump at the chance to go back. I loved everything from the food, shopping, history, and the cold and rainy weather. This trip had such a huge impact on me because it made me discover how much I loved to travel and experience new things like different cultures. It also made me realize how important history is and it seemed to come alive in Boston.

History of Plymouth Plantation reflection blog

Through reading "History of Plymouth Plantation" by William Bradford, I can see many qualities of traditional Puritan writing. Bradford's Puritan style of writing includes many references of God and simplistic writing.

"History of Plymouth Plantation" by William Bradford seems to have a reference to God or other biblical things on almost every single page of the book. For example, one passage from the writing shows this when it says, " Satan hath raised, maintained, and continued against the Saincts, from time to time, in one sorte or other. Some times by bloody deaths or cruell torments; other whiles imprisonments, banishments, and other hard usages; as being loath his kingdom should goe downe, the trueth prevaile, and you churches of God reverte to their anciente puritie, and recover their primitive order, libertie, and bewtie." (Bradford 1). This passage essentially means that the Puritans think that Satan is always out to get those who believe in God (Bradford 1). The Puritan Bradford remains firm, however, in his belief that Satan may cause many awful things for those who follow God, but that the Church always fights and wins against what the devil throws at them (Bradford 1). From the passage, readers can understand how important God was for the Puritans. It is clear to me that they thought that if they believed in God and followed Him, that they would be protected by all of the bad things that Satan would do to them and they would win against Satan (Bradford 1). This may explain why the Puritans thought so much of God and were so devout in their faith that they incorporated Him into their writing.

Bradford's "History of Plymouth Plantation" not only shows Puritan qualities in writing by having many references to God and the Bible, but it also shows Puritan writing qualities by its simplistic nature. This simple writing style can be observed from the passage that says, "Experience haveing taught them many things, those prudent governours with sundrie of ye sagest members, begane to both deeply apprehend their present dangers, and wisely to forsee ye future, and thinke of timely remedy." (Bradford 22). From this passage, I can tell that Puritan writers had a simple style of writing that was very straightforward. At first glance the text seems elaborate to the modern reader because of the use of Old English. Once getting past the vernacular of the Puritans of early America, I can see how plain the writing really is. All this passage really only says that the leaders of the colony became smarter and saw what was the dangers to the colony (Bradford 22). Then the author goes on to say that the wise leaders of the colony began to think of ways to fix the problems (Bradford 22). This is so simple because many writers would not come right out and say all of this. Many other writers would use a actual problem that was dealt with and how it was solved. They would leave the reader to infer that the leaders were getting wiser about colony affairs the longer they lived there, but Puritan writers do not do this. They get straight to the point and do not use symbolism, or let the reader read between the lines. I think that the Puritan writing is so simple because the Puritans themselves were not into being extravagant or elaborate in case they accidentally upstaged God.

Bibliography: Bradford, William. Bradford's History "Of Plimoth Plantation." Boston: Published for the Massachusetts Historical Society, 1856. Print.

Journal #3

If I were ever captured and taken hostage like Mary Rowlandson it would be a huge understatement to say that I would be scared. I would mostly likely be all alone without any help, and if others were with me chances are that the captors would hurt them in addition to myself. I speculate that when I would first be taken I would shut down emotionally. I would probably start to become paranoid and think of all the bad things that could happen to me while I was being held captive. This would keep me freaked out for several days, and my only hope would be that there was someone out in the world looking for me. I think slowly after being captured I would become more accustomed to my mew surroundings and situation. It would take al long time for me to become settled probably because the people holding me hostage would most likely not be all that nice to me. They would not really care if they kept me fed and sheltered if they did not need me alive. I have lived a very soft and comfortable life, and the mistreatment and neglect would take its toll on me. When I became used to my new surroundings and the people that had captured me, I think that I would try to escape. I am a very stubborn person and when I want something to happen, I make sure it happens. I would do everything in my power to escape my prison, even if it meant waiting my captors out. See, I bet that the people holding me hostage would start to get lazy after awhile of me not trying to escape. Just a slip of a little information would help me, and I would watch and wait for my chance to escape. When I would make my escape I wouldn't hold back, and just run for my life until I found someone or something that could get me back home.

A Narrative of Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson and Upon the Burning of our House Reflection blog

After reading A Narrative of Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson by Mary Rowlandson and "Upon the Burning of our House" by Anne Bradstreet, were both written by Puritans. From reading these two passages, I was able to gain a strong understanding of the importance of God in Puritan writing styles.

In A Narrative of Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, the reader can see the author's Puritan values come through from her many mentions of God. For example, in the story the author says, "O the wonderful power of God that I have seen, and the experiences that I have had! I have been in the midst of those roaring lions and savage bears that fear neither God nor man, nor the devil, by night and day, alone and in company, sleeping all sorts together; and none of them ever offered the least abuse of unchastity in word or action. Though some are ready to say that I speak it for my own credit; but I speak it in the presence of God, and to His Glory."(Rolandson 85). This means that the author is grateful to God for the experiences that she has had. I think that this is a bright side that the puritans tend to look at when they think of experiences that God is testing them with. I believe that this passage also means that the Rowlandson is grateful to God for letting her survive all of the challenges she has faced such as the lions and bears (Rolandson 85). From this passage I can tell that the author is also grateful for having her be captured by people that do not endanger her virtue or harm her physically and mentally, and she attributes this stroke of fortune to God and his mercy (Rowlandson 85).

The poem "Upon the Burning of our House" by Anne Bradstreet, also exemplifies some qualities of traditional Puritan writing. This poem focuses mainly on the authors feelings as her house is burned to the ground (Bradstreet 91). The author feels sadness that all of her material goods are being burned up and turned to ash (Bradstreet 91). The author thinks about all of the special events like having guests over will no longer be able to happen because her house has burned up (Bradstreet 91). Bradstreet now has no material objects left in the world, but she only lapses into self pity for a short amount of time. As she dwells on her burned house, she begins to think of God (Bradstreet 91). This seems to cheer her instantly and provide some comfort over the tragic event (Bradstreet 91). Much like the other author Mary Rolandson, Bradstreet manages find a bright side to her situation. In the poem she says, "Raise up thy thoughts above the sky, That dunghill mists away may fly. Thou hast a house on high erect, Framed by that mighty Architect."(Bradstreet 91). This means that the author begins to turn her thoughts toward heaven (Bradstreet 91). She is comforted by thinking that the house that burned up was not her real home, but that heaven is her real home (Bradstreet 91). I can tell that the author believes that her place in heaven is worth more to her than any worldly possession.

Bibliography:

Rowlandson, Mary. "A Narrative of Capture and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson." Glencoe American Literature. N.p.: McGraw Hill, 2009. 82-85. Print.

Bradstreet, Anne. "Upon the Burning of Our House." Glencoe American LIterature. N.p.: McGraw Hill, 2009. 91. Print.

Journal 2

Once in a land far far away lived a purple dragon named Tootsie. Tootsie was a very clumsy dragon with a bad attitude. See in the mountains where Tootsie lived, manners were a very important part of society. All of the other dragons lived by a strict code of rules of politeness. All except Tootsie the purple dragon. See, Tootsie lived on the outskirts of the dragon community in a desolate cave. Since Tootsie lived so far from all of the other dragons and was cut off from often contact with them, she was never taught the polite codes that all the other dragons had learned by heart. Tootsie, of course, was not aware that she was missing knowledge about how to behave around the other dragons, and she made blunders after blunders in social situations. For this the other dragons found her lack of manners distasteful, and ostracized her. This badly hurt Tootsie the purple dragon, and she was very confused as to what she did to the other dragons that made them despise her so. Being shunned by the other dragons caused resentment of her own kind to grow steadily in her heart and mind. This is what gave Tootsie a bad attitude and sometimes even cruel. Tootsie's live changed one day she was visiting the local unicorn for some medicine. When Tootsie walked in the unicorn's house she did not bother to wipe her feet on the carefully placed doormat. The unicorn noticed this and was bemused for he knew what manners all of the dragons had. He scorned Tootsie and told her to go back and wipe her feet on the doormat. Tootsie had never done such a thing, but she did as the unicorn asked of her. She later questioned the unicorn about why she had to do that and he replied that it was the polite thing to do. Tootsie had never even heard the word "polite" and the unicorn soon understood that Tootsie had never been taught manners. He the explained the rules of cordiality and Tootsie began to realize her social follies with the other dragons. From that day Tootsie was always polite and all of the dragons began to love her and treat her as one of their own.

Journal #1 How the narwhal got his horn

Once upon a time there was a young whale named Merlin. Merlin however was not quite like the other whales. All of the other whales liked to frolic around the ocean, but this made Merlin the whale very uncomfortable. He wanted more in life than just swimming around the ocean. Merlin's aspiration was to become famous. Merlin wanted nothing more than to be an individual and not just another whale. Merlin was very restless, and none of the other whales could ever understand why Merlin was unhappy. One day Merlin's whole life changed. It started when Merlin was moping around the bottom of the ocean. His eyes were downcast and did not know that another whale was just a few feet away swimming. The other whale approached Merlin slowly and she asked what was wrong. Merlin was caught off guard and looked up to find whom he decided was the most beautiful whale in the whole entire sea. The whale introduced herself as Hermione and once again asked what was the matter with Merlin. Still captivated by the girl, he found himself blurting out all of his insecurities about who he was and his desire to be special. Merlin's odd desire seemed to resonate with Hermione and the two whales struck up a conversation. Soon after this fateful meeting Hermione and Merlin became friends and then even fell in love. There, however, was one problem with Hermione and Merlin's romance. His name was Sheldon and he had his eyes on Hermione. See, in the ocean if two males whale wanted one female they must have a competition of superiority. This was how Sheldon challenged Merlin. It was clear to Merlin that Sheldon would win because Sheldon was both bigger than Merlin and had the most beautiful singing voice in all of the sea. Merlin was just about to surrender because he had no chance of winning the show of superiority. As he was on the way to the competition with his head bowed in defeat he ran into a sea turtle named Archimedes. Archimedes was an old and very wise turtle that was aware of Merlin's predicament. Archimedes had been around so long that he remembered the old magic of the sea. The elderly sea turtle decided to take pity on Merlin because he had a sense of humor and loved an under dog story. The sea turtle offered Merlin a deal he couldn't refuse and soon Merlin was on his way to the competition with a strange potion that had been rubbed on his head by what he thought was a senile sea turtle. When Merlin arrived at the event, a curious thing occurred. A horn began to grow out of his head. This horn was sharp and very fearsome. So fearsome in fact that Sheldon surrendered immediately, and Merlin became known as what is now called a narwhal. With his horn he was more confident and felt like an individual. Merlin had finally gotten all of his wishes granted, except one. Hermione had not been aware of the competition and was set into a rage when she found out. Hermione ended up dumping Merlin because she was an independent woman and belonged to no man.