Journal #20 - "Autumn" Analysis

As many Romanticism period pieces of literature do, this poem represents nature in a way that describes its beauty in great detail. The opening line of the poem reads, "Thou comest, Autumn, heralded by the rain" (Longfellow 1). The line of the poem describes how the season of Autumn comes after the rain. The next few lines describe the season in great detail. One line reads, "With banners, by great gales incessant fanned,
Brighter than brightest silks of Samarcand" (Longfellow 2-3). These two lines help to describe the beauty of the leaves falling in Autumn, and it also provides an allusion. Samarcand was a city that Alexander the Great conquered. The city was known for its beautiful silks, and Longfellow claims that the beauty of Autumn is greater than the beauty of the silks. The next few lines are more about nature, specifically about farmers. One characteristic of Romanticism writing is an obsession with far away lands. During the Rationalism literary period, the United States was just starting to open up with westward expansion, with the west being a new, interesting place. Farmers would settle there, which is why I believe that this poem was written with farmers in mind.

Thou standest, like imperial Charlemagne, upon thy bridge of gold; thy royal hand outstretched with benedictions o'er the land, blessing the farms through all thy vast domain! (Longfellow 5-8)

This passage from the text talks about a farmer standing over his land, blessing all of the farms. There is also an allusion to Charlemagne, who was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Longfellow compared the farmer to Charlemagne by stating his power over his land, and how the farmer was in complete control. The bridge of gold may have been referring to his vast wheat fields, but that is just a guess. The last few lines of the poem continue on to talk about the harvest moon being the shield for the farmer and concludes with a passage comparing the blowing of the leaves to "flames upon an altar" (Longfellow 9-14).

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The Complete Poetical Works, ed. by Horace E. Scudder. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1893; Bartleby.com, 2011. www.bartleby.com/356/60.html. Dec. 13, 2011.

Poetry Comparison and Analysis

While not the only writing genre that falls under the classification of Romanticism writing, poetry is a huge part of Romanticism period writing. Two famous Fireside Poets were Thomas Lounsbury and Oliver Wendel Holmes. Both poets wrote during the Romanticism period in literary history, and their writings reflected the time period. Many characteristics of Romanticism writing were an obsession with far away places, a love of nature and a sense of innocence, especially in young people. Loundsbury's poem "Thanatopsis" is a perfect example of Romanticism writing. The poem uses nature as a medium for describing life and death in a way that was seen by the writer. He personifies nature and gives her characteristics that were similar to those used in Romanticism. Just the simple fact of using nature as a main topic in the poem is a characteristic of Romanticism writing. The poem first approaches death from a physical standpoint, which was somewhat gruesome, but then refers to death in a way that makes it seem less intimidating. One of my favorite passages from the poem described death from the point of view of the author, who had Romanticism writing styles.

 Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night...approach thy grave like one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him, and lies down to pleasant dreams. (Bryant 77, 79-81)

This passages tells the reader to not view death as a bad thing that a person should dread, but a long awaited rest after leading a good life.

The second author, Holmes, wrote a poem also about nature. He wrote the poem titled "The Chambered Nautilus." The poem was written from the point of view of a man observing an empty nautilus shell, reflecting on its life and comparing his life to that of the nautilus. Holmes chose to write his poem focused around nature, which was a major characteristic of Rationalism writing. One of his opening lines talked about a place where Sirens, from Greek mythology, sing and coral reef maids dry their hair in the sun (Holmes 1-5). The obsession with a far away land was a major sign that a literary work was written during the literary period. Holmes was refering to a far away land where Sirens and coral reef maids lived.

Both poems were examples of Romanticism writing, but they worked in different aspects. They were both about nature, and both poems did a great job teaching the reader a lesson. In Lounsbury's poem, he taught people that death was not something to be feared (Thanatopsis), and in Holem's poem, he taught people that they could learn from the nautilus and continue their spiritual growth before their death so they could be free from their physical body (Chambered). A similarity between the two poems was the topic of death. In both of the poems, death was brought up. Also, nature was used in both poems to convey the author's thoughts on the two subjects of the poems. These two poems were very similar in their subject matter as well as their approach to discussion.

Huff, Randall. "'Thanatopsis'." The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CPAP0402&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 28, 2011).

Barney, Brett, and Lisa Paddock, eds. "'Thanatopsis'." Encyclopedia of American Literature: The Age of Romanticism and Realism, 1816–1895, vol. 2, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EAmL0805&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 28, 2011).
Holmes, Oliver Wendel. English Poetry III: From Tennyson to Whitman. Vol. XLII. The Harvard Classics. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1909–14; Bartleby.com, 2001. http://www.bartleby.com/42/801.html. Dec. 8 2011.

Huff, Randall. "'The Chambered Nautilus'." The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CPAP0070&SingleRecord=True (accessed December 9, 2011). 

The Chambered Nautilus Analysis

The poem begins with the first line reading "This is the ship of pearl, which, poets feign" (Holmes 1). At first glance, the word "feign" was not a word I was familiar with, but upon further research, I realized that it means "to invent fictitiously." The first stanza of the poem basically says that a story that poets create about the Nautilus takes place where Sirens, from Greek mythology, sing and coral reef maids dry their hair in the sun (Holmes 1-5).  One major characteristic of Romanticism writing was the fascination with strange, unknown, far away places. The location of this story could be considered a far away place, which shows it is an example of Romanticism writing. In the next stanza of the poem, the author goes on to describe this Nautilus, which is a type of sea creature that is kind of like a cross between a snail and a squid (Holmes 8-14). Nature is also a huge part of Romanticism writing, so the fact that this poem was written about a sea creature points to it being an example of Romanticism writing. In Randall Huff's literary criticism over the poem, he states that Holmes is making all of these assumptions about the creature from the empty shell that he has in his hands, such as the "webs of living gauze" that it would use to "sail" around the waters of the strange place (Huff 2). Holmes describes in the next stanza how the creature built up its home through out the years, creating that "shining archway" of its shell, which was his "last found home" (Holmes 15-21). The fourth stanza is where the poem begins to have a greater meaning than just simply praising an old shell from a sea creature. Huff compared the life of the nautilus to the life of a human. He compared that all of the years that the nautilus spent developing its shell equates to all of the time that a person should spend developing themselves spiritually, so they can move on to a better life after their death (6). The final line of the poem helps to sum up Huff's interpretation of the poem, and provides great support to back up his ideas. "Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea!" (Holmes 35). This line says that just like the nautilus left its shell after its death, if we continue to grow spiritually, we will be able to leave our physical bodies after our death (Huff 6). More specifically, Romantic writing has a characteristic about not only nature, but a love for nature. This poem is based around what the character in the poem learned from a simple shell left behind by a sea creature, and how he applied it into his life. The character shared a love for the sea creature like he loved himself, and he learned from the integrity of the sea creature. That characteristic of loving nature is very prominent in Romanticism writing, which is why this poem is a great example of a Romantic literary period poem.

Holmes, Oliver Wendel. English Poetry III: From Tennyson to Whitman. Vol. XLII. The Harvard Classics. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1909–14; Bartleby.com, 2001. http://www.bartleby.com/42/801.html. Dec. 8 2011.

Huff, Randall. "'The Chambered Nautilus'." The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CPAP0070&SingleRecord=True (accessed December 9, 2011).

The Devil and Tom Walker Analysis

Washington Irving wrote both "The Devil and Tom Walker" and "Rip Van Winkle," and both stories shared many similarities and differences. Both stories were written in the style of a short story, even though they were written during the Romanticism period, where poetry was a popular writing style. Both stories also used great detail in describing aspects of the story, which was a characteristic of Romantic writing. In the story "The Devil and Tom Walker," there were a few paragraphs that described the swamp, which used great detail, a characteristic of Romanticism writing.

The swamp was thickly grown with great gloomy pines and hemlocks, some of them ninety feet high, which made it dark at noonday, and a retreat for all the owls of the neighborhood. It was full of pits and quagmire, partly covered with weeds and mosses, where the green surface often betrayed the traveler into a gulf of black, smothering mud.

The paragraph would continue on to describe the nature present in the swamp, and nature was a big part of Romanticism writing.  Another reference to romanticism writing is the use of innocence in the writing. Tom Walker was an immature, innocent person who fell into the trap of the devil trying to corrupt Tom. Innocence is used in Romantic writing, and it is present in this story. The Devil tempted the husband in the story, and he told his wife, who then tempted him to do the task. Tom did not want to do it, so his wife made a deal with both people (Irving). The story has a slight similarity to the story in the Book of Genesis, where Adam and Eve are tempted by the Devil to eat the forbidden fruit.

While both stories were written by the same author during the same literary period, the stories do have their differences. "The Devil and Tom Walker" had a moral to the story, but "Rip Van Winkle" really did not. The story was somewhat scary, and it was probably written during the time shift between Romanticism and Dark Romanticism. It wasn't really considered Dark Romanticism because while it was a story involving the Devil, it was still a short story used for the purpose of entertaining people.

"Rip Van Winkle" was a story on the opposite spectrum of short stories compared to "The Devil and Tom Walker." In the story, Rip helps a man carry a keg, and then proceeds to take a drink from it, which ends up being a lot more than he thought he was taking, which caused him to fall into a deep sleep (Matthews). This aspect of the story helps to relate to the characteristics of Romanticism writing similar to the characteristics in "The Devil and Tom Walker." Rip stood for innocence, since he was a character who fell victim to alcohol that caused him to "fall asleep" for a very long period of time. Young people. along with innocence, are key aspects of Romanticism writing. The two short stories, while not poems, are great examples of Romanticism writing.

D'Ammassa, Don. "'Rip Van Winkle'." Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Horror Fiction. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EFHF0432&SingleRecord=True (accessed December 7, 2011).


Matthews, Brander, ed. The Short-Story: Specimens Illustrating Its Development. New York: American Book Company, 1907; Bartleby.com, 2000.www.bartleby.com/195/. [Date of Printout].

Thanatopsis Analysis

As I have discovered by reading many different articles on this poem, the simple title "Thanatopsis" is not a very inviting phrase. According to Randall Huff in his article in The Facts on File Companion to American Poetry, the title loosely translates to "Meditation on Death" or "View on Death." The poem also expresses the importance of nature in life. Just in the first few lines, the author personifies nature saying, "She has a voice of gladness, and a smile and eloquence of beauty" (Bryant 4-5). Bryant gives nature characteristics like a smile and eloquence of beauty to help the reader understand "her," as he would refer to it as. The poem quickly shifts from a happy feeling to the topic of death. Bryant writes in lines 8 and 9 "when thoughts of the last bitter hour come..." and the timbre of the poem drastically changes. The author gives a very interesting take on death, using great detail to describe his body's life after his death. He says,

Thine individual being, shalt tho go to mix forever with the elements; to be a brother to the insensible rock, and to the sluggish clod, which the rude swain turns with his share, and treads upon. The oak shall send his roots abroad, and pierce thy mould. (Bryant 25-30)

The passage puts a very dark twist on death. In this particular passage, Bryant strictly looked at death from a physical standpoint. The fate of his body was analyzed in this section, which is not the way many of the previous authors we have read about would have chosen to do. Authors like Jonathon Edwards may have chosen to write about his spiritual afterlife in that situation instead of the literal afterlife of his body because he was a writer during the Great Awakening, when religion was a major influence on writing. It is obvious that nature plays a huge role in this poem, and according to Huff, nature is "more teacher than companion." The point of this poem was have the reader learn a lesson that is perfectly described by Brett Barney in his literary criticism. He states that the last stanza of the poem sums up the moral of the poem.

Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night...approach thy grave like one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him, and lies down to pleasant dreams. (Bryant 77, 79-81)

This final passage from the last stanza is saying that you should live your life so that dying is not something to dread and fear, but it should be like a long awaited rest from living a great life. I can relate this idea to some of Franklin's Rationalist writings. Franklin was known for his 13 virtues that he implemented to make himself a better person, and the last stanza of this poem is aimed at good people. If you have lived a good, solid life, death will not be a bad thing, but a well deserved time of rest after being the best person you can be.

Lounsbury, Thomas R., ed. Yale Book of American Verse. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1912; Bartleby.com, 1999. www.bartleby.com/102/. [Nov. 28].

Barney, Brett, and Lisa Paddock, eds. "'Thanatopsis'." Encyclopedia of American Literature: The Age of Romanticism and Realism, 1816–1895, vol. 2, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EAmL0805&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 28, 2011).

Huff, Randall. "'Thanatopsis'." The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CPAP0402&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 28, 2011).

Journal #19 - Nature and Life Cycle

From a scientific standpoint, nature is a key part of the life cycle.For example, when an animal is born, the life cycle begins. Through out the life of the animal, it will consume food, such as plants or other animals. When the the animal dies, its body will decompose in the earth and feed the plants that are growing in the ground. Those plants serve as food for other animals, which helps to complete the cycle. Each organism in the cycle is just as important as the next, no matter how big or small. Rock are the stupidest animal in the entire animal kingdom. The rock, in its natural habitat, will literally just sit there and do nothing. It serves no purpose. Only stupid animals will eat the rock, and the rock will never die. So the rock doesn't really have a place in the system of life. In all seriousness, nature plays a huge part in the life cycle. Many of the experiences that people have in their life are due to nature. Some of those experiences help a person to learn something that they will use for the rest of their life. For example, when a person forgets their umbrella and has to walk in the rain, they can be sure they will never forget it again, and it was all because of nature. Death is a factor that ties nature and the life cycle together. In many aspects, one could not exist without the other. I have a feeling that the topics of nature and death are going to be in some of our upcoming poems that we will be reading in the Romanticism period of time. I know that nature is a big part of the literature of that time period, and I can only assume that we will be reading a poem that relates nature and death. While seemingly completely different, nature and the life cycle are connected in many different ways.

Writing Comparison: Romanticism vs Rationalism

Of all of the writers that we studied through out the Rationalism period, Ben Franklin was the author that we focused on the most. Franklin was a paradigm for the Rationalism period because of his use of scientific knowledge and rational thinking. Many characteristics of Rationalism period writing would highlight using the authors own thoughts, Deist influences and using facts to back up thoughts. Franklin's autobiography is a perfect example of Rationalist writing. Franklin was very forward with his Deist beliefs.

I never doubted, for instance, the existence of a Deity-that he made the world and governed it by his providence-that the most acceptable service was the doing good to man-that our souls are immortal-and that all crimes will be punished and virtue rewarded, either here or hereafter. (Franklin)

This quote from Franklin's Autobiography clearly states that he was a Deist, and his writing reflected that thought. The passage provided a very broad, general statement about Deism, which was a characteristic of Rationalist writing. His Deist beliefs also led to his creation of his system of 13 virtues, which also were an example of Rationalist ideals. His system was very logical, and it was put in place to make Franklin a better man. Because he held Deist beliefs, he knew that he could make himself into a better person because he was in control of his life.

The literature that we are moving into now is much different from the previous readings. First of all, it is obvious that the passages we are reading are poems, which are different from the Autobiography of Ben Franklin. The lines in the reading have a rhyming pattern, which makes them very different from the non-fiction passages we read in past units. One major difference between the two styles of writing is the use of figurative and descriptive language. The poem that I chose to compare with, Old Ironsides by Oliver Wendel Holmes, uses a lot of very descriptive language, which was a characteristic that was lacking in the Rationalist writing. There were many passages from the poem that were perfect examples of the type of language used in Romantic writing. "The Eagle of the Sea!" (Holmes) is a line that compares a ship to being an eagle. Obviously the ship is not actually an eagle, but the comparison of the giant metal ship to an eagle is a great way to be able to visualize the intent of the author.

This change of style can be linked to many different things. Many of the influences in the writing came from a love for nature. The comparison of the ship to the eagle is a perfect example to support that. The author wrote "Her deck, once red with heroes' blood," (Holmes) which leads readers to believe that the ship had more meaning than just as a ship. The ship referred to in the poem may have been a Revolutionary War ship, and Nationalism was another influence for Romantic writing. Between the two styles of writing, many differences can be drawn to set the two styles apart.

Franklin, Benjamin. The Autoboigraphy of Benjamin Franklin. Philadelphia: Henry Altemus, 1895. PDF.

Holmes, Oliver Wendel. "Old Ironsides." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 211. Print.

Journal #18 - A Perfect Autumn's Day

I just realized that this is the second journal that we have had about Autumn, and it has gotten me thinking. Why do we have so many journals about Autumn? It really isn't logical; we are in the season of Winter, Autumn starts with "A" which is the first letter of the alphabet, which would have no correlation to the day of the month that we are in, the 21st to be exact. Also, Autumn has 6 letters in it, and Langley has 7, so that cannot be the connection either. The only conclusion that I can come to is that Mr. Langley is obsessed with the season of Autumn. In reality, however, the real reason that we are discussing a perfect Autumn's day is because nature is a huge part of the writing style that we are about to start reading. A perfect Autumn's day would consist of a slight breeze, just strong enough to blow leaves out of the trees but weak enough to not disturb the piles on the ground below. The leaves themselves would all be turning different shades of yellows, reds and oranges, all Autumn colors. Children and their parents would be outside raking up the leaves and doing last minute yard work before the upcoming frost smothers all signs of plant life in the yard. The sun would feel warm on your skin, but the cool breeze would still make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up with chills. People would be out walking with warm winter coats on to protect themselves from the cool breeze that many could not enjoy. Runners would jog by with their headphones in, and clouds of condensation would flow from their mouth as they pant down the street. The end of the day would come soon, as do many sunsets in the Autumn and Winter seasons. The evening would bring the same temperature that the afternoon did, but the breeze would die down quickly. Families would gather around by their fireplaces and drink warm, soothing drinks and watch tv, until they all climb into their warm beds and drift off into a deep, peaceful sleep.

Journal #17 - Bonding with Nature

In my life, I've had many experiences with nature. When I lived at my old house, we were back right against a wooded area. I was walking back there one day and saw that there were two trees very close to each other. I decided that I was going to construct a fort between those two trees. I was only 10 at the time, but I set off on my adventure to find supplies. I ended up tying up a branch and using knots and lashings to finish my fort. I even slept out one night in it. It was great.

Another time, in that same back yard, Chris O'Connor, Taylor Ray and I decided to build a boat to sail on our creek in my back yard. First, we started by building a bridge from one side of the creek to the other. Obviously, my parents had no idea what we were all doing back there, and that was probably best. We would have gotten in trouble for sure, and we eventually did. But before everything fell through, we had the time of our lives. We searched my garage for essentially anything that we thought would float and basically just tapped it all together. We threw it in the water and somehow, it floated! we were all amazed, and we voted that Taylor should be the first one to try it, since he was the lightest of the three of us. He laid down on it, and amazingly, it held him out of the water! Remember, the creek we were in was only about 3 feet wide, which was the width of the boat, and it was only about 2 feet deep, so there really wasn't much room to mess up. We grabbed hold of the rope on the front of the boat and we pulled him down the creek on our homemade raft. At one point we encountered an obstacle, a tree in the water. Taylor hopped off and we put the boat over the tree, but I ended up dropping my phone in the creek! I grabbed it out as soon as I could, but the water damage was very noticeable. That was when we, and by we I mean I, had to tell my parents and they were not happy. That trip was one of the most fun experiences I've ever had with nature. 

Journal #16 - Overcoming Obstacles

In our Franklin's virtue project, it is obvious that I will encounter many obstacles through out this project. The main one will be communication. Since we are doing this project with not only members of other classes, but students from another school, it is key that we all develop a strong line of communication so we can effectively get work done on our project. The easiest method of communication that will be most effective is email. Whoever created email was a complete genius. Sometimes, however, I don't always get the chance to check my email on a daily basis, and I'm sure that others are the same way, so we will obviously have to find other great ways of communication to help speed up our project. One way that I find very effective is communication through Facebook. One of the members of our group from the other school has already added me as a friend on Facebook, and we have been sending messages about our project back and forth to each other, rather quickly. It has been a great improvement to our line of communication. Another student suggested that a Today's Meet chat be set up to be used as an ongoing tool for communication between our group members. It would be a great way to communicate thoughts and ideas to our whole group without being in constant contact with each other.

Another obstacle that I have had to overcome has been the level of work ethic. Since we are in an honors class, the kids in our English occasionally have a higher standard of what is acceptable to turn in, and it is sometimes hard to make sure that the entire group project is done up to the standards of one person. I, however, don't want to put my name on something that I would not turn in as my own project, so I will just have to make sure that the project's overall appeal is up to the standards of an honors class requirements.  

Journal #15 - Overcoming Barriers

There are many problems that I am sure I will encounter through out our project with Farmington, but with the wonders of technology, I will be able to overcome them. The first problem that I will probably encounter will be getting a dorky partner. That is a serious risk. This is a person that I'm going to have to communicate with for almost 3 weeks, so I really don't want to get a socially awkward person, especially if we are going to have discussions together. I will be able to overcome this problem by being funny, telling jokes, and making that group member feel more welcomed into the group. That is something that Franklin would do. The second issue that I might face in this project is getting a partner who is not on the same intellectual level that I am. I don't mean to say that I am a genius, because I'm not, but I don't want to get a partner who doesn't do the same quality of work that I like to turn in. I will be able to fix this by making sure that whatever has my name on it is up to par with the standards that I have been expected to do. A third problem that I may encounter is unreliability of my partners. If I end up with a partner who is not responsible, I'm going to be in trouble. I, myself, am not very diligent with my work, not as much as I should be, so if I am partnered with someone just like me, we're in a world of trouble. We probably would get along great, but our project grade probably would not be turned in on time. We'll just have to see how the cookie crumbles. Overall, this project is going to be a pain. It really isn't going to be easy, and I feel that I am going to encounter all of the problems that I listed above, but I think I will be able to overcome them.

Franklin's Virtues

Throughout history, Benjamin Franklin's name has left its mark in all of the books, as well as in all of our minds. Being on of the greatest minds of the Revolutionary period, Franklin was known not only for his genius ideas, but also his strong moral character. Franklin is widely known for his system of 13 virtues that he used in an effort to transform himself into a better person. Franklin's system of virtues must have worked very well for himself because his autobiography contains many insightful quotes that he created throughout his life time.

He that loses five shillings, not only loses that sum, but also all the advantages that might be made by turning it in dealing, which, by the time that a young man becomes old, will amount to a considerable amount of money. (Franklin 15)

This quote contains a level of higher thinking that many people of the time would not be able to see. One of Franklin's virtues was industry, and that passage is a key aspect of that virtue. Many people would only see the 5 shillings lost, but Franklin considered the loss to include the business that could be created with the 5 shillings. Franklin's higher level of thinking could really only be obtained through his system of virtues, which is why I believe that Franklin truly did become a better person through his system.

Henry T. Tuckerman wrote a criticism about Franklin's character in 1856, which was nearly 66 years after the death of Franklin, but he thought so highly of Franklin that his review was mainly full of praises to Franklin. One flaw, however, that Tuckerman does point out in Franklin's character is the fact that he did not find an even balance between scientific development and religious growth (Bloom). None of the 13 virtues that Franklin followed "religiously" had anything to do directly with religion, which is surprising. One would assume that in an effort to become a better person, someone would make an effort to become a more spiritual person as well, but in Franklin's case, that is not true. That would be the one place I find fault in Franklin's system of virtues. Yes, they may have overall made him a better person, but leaving out a key aspect of life is a major downfall on his part. To truly create a well balanced, better person, someone should focus not only on the physical characteristics of a good person, but also the spiritual aspects of a good person.

While Franklin's system lacked a spiritual aspect, I believe that overall he was successful in becoming a better person, and Tuckerman's criticism is a reflection of my thoughts. Tuckerman wrote:

His wisdom was applicable to the immediate and the essential in daily and common life; he dealt chiefly with details; he advocated habits, ideas, and methods based on positive utility. (Bloom)

All Franklin wanted to do with his system of virtues was make himself a better person, and "advocating habits, ideas and methods based on positive utility" (Bloom) is definitely a good start at making someone a better person.

Franklin, Benjamin. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. New Haven: Yale UP, 1964.
Print.

Bloom, Harold, ed. "The Character of Franklin." Benjamin Franklin, Classic Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://fofweb.com/activelink2.aspItemID=WE54&SID=1&iPin=CCVBF019&SingleRecord=True. October 27, 2011.

Journal #14 - Franklin's Apprentice

If I had the privilege of being Ben Franklin's apprentice, I would not only be honored, but I would use the experience as a tool to improve my moral compass. Franklin was known as a very insightful man during his time; he was also a very good role model for people to follow after. If I was able to study with him, I'm sure that I would learn a lot. One of Franklin's 13 virtues was the virtue of industry, which would be a great virtue for an apprentice to follow. During my apprenticeship, I would try to learn from Franklin, picking out every piece of information that I could to enlighten my life. Since the invention of a time machine has not occurred yet, so it is not possible for me to be Franklin's apprentice. If, by some branch of scientific genius a time machine is created, I would be more than happy to become Franklin's apprentice. We could forge swords, ride horses and eat lamb legs, which is pretty much everything that people did in the 1700's. In our history books as well as our English class, we learned that Franklin was a great thinker of his time. He probably had so many ideas and theories that he never got to write down. Those theories could be some of the greatest ideas in the history of time, but people may have thought he was crazy, so he might have not recorded them. If I was his apprentice, I would be able to listen to his teachings and take information from him, and after citing him using correct MLA parenthetical citations, I could write a paper consisting of all of his great knowledge that was never recorded. Franklin also had his own views on the American Dream that I would be so happy to listen to. He was a very insightful man with much to say, but there weren't many people of his time that were on the same intellectual level that he was. I would love to just chat with Franklin to hear what that great man had to say.

Franklin on Deism

Deism was a belief in the idea that God created the world, but it did not focus on organized religion and the importance of scripture (Gilje). Deist also believed that in order to pay respect to their God, they would live their lives in a "moral and virtuous" way (Gilje). The ideology had a great effect on many revolutionary leaders, including Benjamin Franklin. Franklin even created a set of 13 virtues to which he modeled his life after (McKay). The 13 virtues were all written and created with deist views in mind, which was what Franklin had in mind.

Franklin's first virtue, Temperance, is one of the most important virtues (McKay). Temperance refers to restraint in actions, which was key to Franklin's ability to stick with the virtues and complete his task of becoming a better person (McKay). If Franklin couldn't stick with his virtues, they would mean nothing. This virtue doesn't really display deist views, but it is essential to the list of virtues. Franklin's second virtues, Silence, is a virtue that is easier said than done, or not said if you will. Franklin included silence in his list of virtues to show that sometimes it is better to keep silent and listen to what other people have to say. Going along with the deist beliefs, in order to please God, it is best sometimes to keep quiet and let others speak, because part of becoming a better person is knowing that you are not perfect and that you can learn from others just as much as yourself. Frugality is a word that is not often used, but it is a very important virtue to follow. Since God created the world and then stepped back, according to deist beliefs (Gilje), it is very important to waste nothing that He created in order to please him.Sincerity is a crucial virtue to deist beliefs. Sincerity is one of the cornerstones to deism because it is all based on people treating others with respect (McKay). I truly am surprised that respect is not one of Franklin's virtues, but many of his virtues cover the same idea as respect.

Franklin's Autobiography also contains many specific examples of Franklin's beliefs on virtues and deism.

I never doubted, for instance, the existence of a Deity-that he made the world and governed it by his providence-that the most acceptable service was the doing good to man-that our souls are immortal-and that all crimes will be punished and virtue rewarded, either here or hereafter. (Franklin)

That quotation sums up most all of Franklin's deist beliefs. He claims that he truly believed in an almighty God, that he made the world and then stepped back, and that the only way to serve him is to do good to others and the virtue would be rewarded and the crime the opposite. That passage proves that Franklin definitely let deist beliefs influence his life, including the virtues that he modeled his life after. Many of Franklin's virtues were simple little things, but when added together, would lead a person to a virtuous life based with deist beliefs.

Franklin, Benjamin. The Autoboigraphy of Benjamin Franklin. Philadelphia: Henry Altemus, 1895. PDF.

Gilje, Paul A. "deism." In Gilje, Paul A., and Gary B. Nash, eds. Encyclopedia of American History: Revolution and New Nation, 1761 to 1812, Revised Edition (Volume III). New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2010. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE52&iPin=EAHIII109&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 26, 2011).

McKay, Brett, and Kate McKay. "Being Virtuous: Benjamin Franklin’s 13 Virtues of Life | The Art of Manliness." The Art of Manliness | Men’s Interests and Lifestyle. 1 June 2008. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. <http://artofmanliness.com/2008/06/01/the-virtuous-life-wrap-up/>.

Journal #13 - American Dream

The American Dream is a topic that is sometimes distorted. Some view the American Dream is viewed as a gain of material things, such as money, cars or big houses. Shelby’s American Dream consists of marrying a professional baseball player so he can buy her lots of stuff. That might not have been what the original colonists had in mind when they came to America. The real American Dream had to do with freedom. The colonists had a vision. They envisioned living in a nation where they could own their own business, their own land. They wanted to live in a nation where they would have a voice in their government and would be able to have a say in the choices that were made. That vision of the American Dream changed later in history. During the 1950’s, the American Dream turned into a vision of uniformity and relaxation.  During the 50’s the vision of the American Dream shifted to include cookie cutter houses and well paying jobs that supported a small family. The American Dream today has shifted to something that really is more materialistic than in the past. 

The American Dream is something that can be interpreted many different ways, so there are many different ideas from people. America was formed on the basis of creating an American Dream. Being in a country that has "a dream" that people have an influence on is such a nice thing that people take for granted. In some countries, the idea of a dream for a country is non existent. Americans are very lucky that they are able to create what kind of future they want to live in, which is some thing that is such a novelty. If the American dream was somethign

Journal #12 - Rules about Right and Wrong

If I was able to create my own set of rules and decide what was right and what was wrong, things would probably be a little different. First of all, "suns out, guns out" would be a law. That really is the most important law in the world, it should be a law now. Also, I would out law bad music, such as the following: certain Justin Bieber, almost every Lil' Wayne song, and the genre of country music would no longer exist, that really is an abomination to the music industry. Basically, everything would be exactly like it is now, but the music scene would be much more appealing. The rules and regulations that are in place now are really just perfect. It is really hard to think of something differently because I do not know any different.

There are many things that should be wrong in our society today that aren't. It should be wrong to take advantage of someone, no matter the situation. Taking advantage of any person is never right. What if that person was you and someone was taking advantage of you? People should also do more good things for others. It should be a societal norm for people to go out of their way to do nice things for other people. That would make our world a much better place. People in the world don't realize how little they would have to do to make the world so much better. If every person in the world went out of their way one time a day to do some simple thing for another person, that would add up very quickly and it would make someone feel very good about themselves. That would make the world a generally better place, and if I got to make the rules, I would make sure that those things got put in place. Too bad no one thinks this way. Most people just want to know what is in it for them, not what they can do for others.

Ben Franklin

Since Franklin's autobiography was written in a completely different time period, it is very easy to compare and contrast the two writing styles. Just to give some background information, when the Puritan writing style was being written, the colonists did not have thoughts of revolution. Also, they were very interested in religion, as it was during the great awakening period of history. Franklin mostly wrote in the Enlightenment time period, which was where people shifted their beliefs to natural laws and fact instead of religious beliefs. One mention of religion in his writing was that one place that he stayed for the night was a church, which I found funny when Mr. Langley asked the class a question pertaining to the passage (Franklin 107). Even though Franklin fell asleep in a church, that does not prove that church is boring, it simply proved that the church was inviting to Franklin, even though it was not his church (that was just a side note that really didn't have anything to do with my argument.)

I noticed that Franklin used a very creative style of writing that was very interesting. He used many of his famous aphorisms that we studied in class, many indirectly. One memorable passage from the story was when Franklin wrote about how people are more likely to share when they have less to offer (Franklin 108). Obviously, the Puritans were big on sharing because they believed that everything that was given to them was God given, so that was a similarity that I noticed in his writing to Puritan writing. Bradstreet was big on the idea that everything in her life was God given. While this sounds like a similarity to Puritan writing, Franklin really did not directly reference God once in his writing, which is a major difference to Puritan writing. They referenced God often in their writing.

Ben Franklin was known for his aphorisms, which tells a lot about his writing style. Aphorism are more rational thoughts that tell life lessons. Even though not a whole bunch of his aphorisms were referenced, Franklin's other writings can be used to help evaluate his writing style. I believe that his writing was more Rational because unlike Puritan writing, Franklin used longer, precise sentences that use description. Puritan writing was very short and declarative, which made the writing more simplistic. 

Franklin, Ben. "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 106-110. Print.

Journal #11 - Aphorism

"Don't count your chickens before they are hatched" - Ben Franklin

This aphorism pretty much sums up my entire life. Let's be honest, whenever I get really pumped up for something that I think is going to happen, it usually doesn't. For example, last year, I decided that I wanted to be on the drumline this year. Tucker Good and I decided to propose the idea to Ms. McGovern about it, and surprisingly, she took it very well. She actually said yes. I was ecstatic. It was going to be a blast.  Tucker and I immediately started creating ideas. We first decided that we were going to play traditional grip instead of match grip. Match grip is for noobs. We also decided that we  were going to have extra drumline rehearsals so we could be amazing. We also had this amazing idea that we were going to have a drumline invitational, which would be a competition only for drumlines. We had so many great ideas, and we were going to do our best to make all of the ideas work. Tucker and I wrote out all of our ideas on paper, which took almost 3 pages. Everything was going to be great because everyone knows that the coolest members of the band are on the drumline.

Well...then came the spring. A few weeks had passed, and Tucker and I just came up with more ideas that we were going to try and do. I remember that day like it was yesterday. I got a pass in my first hour class that said Ms. McGovern wanted to see me. I figured that it was just something stupid that she wanted me to do, but it was worse. She met with me to tell me that I would not be on the drumline in the upcoming marching season. I was crushed. I really shouldn't have gotten my hopes up so quickly because I would never recover from that tragic event. It was the worst day ever.

Franklin, Ben. "From Poor Richard's Almanac." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 110. Print.

Thomas Paine

The Crisis was a very interesting piece of writing to read, but it was very enjoyable to read. It was the type of reading that kept me engaged, and it was fairly easy to understand the purpose of the writing. One of the main topics that we covered in our AP History class was tyranny that the colonists had to deal with during the revolution, and this essay was written from the perspective of the victory over tyranny. While the document may seem a little emotional, most writing of the time period was partially based on emotion, it also provides many facts that back up the emotion, which is why the writing is definitely rationalist writing.

There were many passages of text that stuck in my mind while reading "The Crisis." One passage included
"to blind in all cases whatsoever." (Paine 134) This basically translates into the idea of slavery, and this statement came from an act passed by parliament. This really does seem like an emotional piece of evidence for the argument, but if the colonies have no say in what they do and can't see what the English are doing, they are basically slaves to another country. Thomas Paine used a very vivid comparison in his writing that accurately compared the King and his government to thieves (Paine 136). Basically, they were just that. The British placed taxes on the colonists as if they were citizens England, but at the same time reduced taxes in England. They were stealing money from the colonists, so their comparison was backed up with fact, which is a characteristic of Rationalist writing. The colonists realized how unfair Parliament was treating them.

Thomas Paine's writing style was proven so effective that the pamphlet not only was read to soldiers, but could have been read by any person who was fighting for the cause, not just physically. Some may have only seen his writing as an encouragement for the soldiers to continue their fight, but it was also a push to get people to join the fight. Another technique that Paine used was bringing religion into the writing, which some would say makes it more Puritan writing, but it still uses logic to back up assumptions. The simple quote "that God may bless you" makes it seem as if God is approving of the battle and is even on the side of the colonists (Paine 136). Obviously, that is simply not true, but Paine did a very good job of making his argument present the war as a war of sides, and he really made people want to join the cause.

As with many writers of the time period, Paine obviously wanted to create a group of people who felt strongly for the revolution and wanted to help make a difference. His writing in "The Crisis" was a clear picture of his goal to do so. I believe that the crisis was a pamphlet that appealed to many different people of the time, and it was probably a very effective piece of writing for the time.

Paine, Thomas. "The Crisis No.1." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 134-136.

Declaration of Independence

The reading over the Declaration of Independence was sort of like a sandwich. At the beginning, or the top piece of bread, it was very opinionated. The main point of the first few paragraphs was that when it comes time for a group of people (the colonies) to break away from their political bonds (England), they need to do it formally and present all of their reasons for seceding. The next part of the text was basically a list of all of the reasons that the colonists wanted to secede. It was a somewhat boring passage, and I'm not gonna lie, I spaced out a little bit during the middle. Many of the reasons that the colonists wanted to break away from England had to do with fair treatment. They were not happy about the unfair taxation that they were facing, but they really didn't think about it from England's perspective. After the Seven Years' War, England had a huge war debt that they were forced to pay off. They decided to ignore their policy of salutatory neglect and take charge over the colonies by taxing them. It really probably wasn't wrong of them, but the colonists were outraged. In all of their rage, they referred to the King of Great Britain as a tyrant, saying that "the history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpation, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states." (Jefferson 122) Since Jefferson referred to the king as a tyrant, he lost some of his credibility. Because it was an example of faulty logic, some of the people that were "on the edge" about the revolution may be influenced to sway towards the loyalist side of the war. They might find that Jefferson is very opinionated and writes his speeches based on emotion instead of reason, which is not what the colonists were looking for. At the same time, however, Jefferson provided numerous reasons for why the colonists decided that they were going to revolt, so that would help to sway some of the colonists towards the side of revolting. "He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without the permission of our legislatures." (Jefferson 123) That is a sign that England didn't really trust the colonists, so they had to keep an eye on them. I can see why that would upset the colonists, who were trying to be their own independent nation at the time.

The last paragraph of the text is basically the paragraph that sums up the entire reading. It basically states that the colonists are not happy, and even though they have tried to get the King to listen, he will not so they are forced to do something about it. That is like the bottom piece of bread that has the mustard and mayonnaise on it. It really drove the point of the Declaration home, and it was a great summary paragraph.

Jefferson, Thomas. "The Declaration of Independence." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 122-124. Print.

Journal #10 - Argument

Deciding to put off our vocabulary is not a good idea at all. Yes, it will be more class work, but in the long run, it will be beneficiary to our learning experience. Many students would argue that our vocabulary assignment is easy enough to do outside of class, but why wait? If we wait, there is a chance that some of the students will forget to do the assignment, which will result in a late grade for those students that forgot. Also, if we do our assignment right now in class, we won't have to worry about doing it for homework. Something could come up tonight or tomorrow night that would not allow us to finish our assignment. We might also get an even larger assignment in our 3rd hour class, and if we just finish our vocabulary assignment now in class, we won't have to worry about completing both. In my personal experience, it is just better to finish any homework you possibly can at school so there is less to forget about at home. I think that we should do our vocabulary assignment in class quickly because it probably will not take a very long time. If we do it in class, we will be able to use our classmates to help complete our assignment, and it will take even less time. Doing our work in class would allow us to ask our teacher for help, which would help to assure complete points on the assignment. Now that I realize what Mr. Langley was talking about, I regret writing this journal. In retrospect, it really doesn't make sense compared to the topic. I feel so stupid. But I still believe that we should have just started our vocab assignment. It would have been done and out of the way and it would have made me so much happier. Although, I do believe that our class is happy that we did not start our vocabulary assignment, so it's not the end of the world.

Journal #9 - Emotion vs. Rationalization

Once upon a time, there was a magical princess. She was the most beautiful princess in the entire kingdom, and her name reflected her dashing good looks. Her name was Gertrude. One day, Gertrude was faced with a very serious problem. Gertrude had to make a very important decision that would effect the entire kingdom. Gertrude had to decide between a banana smoothie or a strawberry smoothie. She had no idea, and she got very upset. Gertrude's father, King Alexander, did not like seeing his daughter so upset. He decided that he would do everything in his power to make his daughter happy. First, he tried to get her both smoothies, but that did not make her happy. She still went up into the tallest tower of her castle and cried for hours. Then, the king outlawed strawberry smoothies so his daughters choice would be easier to make. She was not happy still, and the crying continued. The Princess was very emotional about the whole ordeal, and she just simply did not know what to do. Then, from the depths of the deepest ocean, a Prince rode into the kingdom on a dolphin. The Prince was know as Ted. He was the smartest, most logical man in the entire kingdom. He came to help the Princess make her decision. The Prince decided that the most logical way to make her decision was to have a survey for the entire kingdom. After the survey, the results were posted on the castle wall for all of the Kingdom to see. It was ruled that exactly half of the Kingdom voted for each of the two choices. Ted was furious. He decided that in the interest of the Princess, he would inflate the results in favor of banana. The decision was made, and Gertrude and Ted lived happily ever after. The couple never had to make a major decision again because Ted used his logic every time, which was much easier than using emotion to make a decision.

Patrick Henry

Patrick Henry's speech that we read from our book was a great example of Rationalism writing. The style of writing was very different from Puritan writing in many ways. First of all, the sentence structure was very different from that of Puritan writing. Henry used great detail in his writing, and used more complex sentences, including metaphor. Also, the Rationalist writing had a slight difference in opinion on the subject of God. I don't believe that God was referenced one time in the writing. In our history class, we learned that this speech was written during the Enlightenment period. The Enlightenment period was when people started accepting scientific ideas and they drew away from the church. Jonathon Edwards was one of the preachers who wrote in response to the Enlightenment period. I believe that there was a shift in personal belief when this speech was written. Henry wanted to tell all of the people that he was presenting his ideas, and that the people could take them as they wanted, not as God told them they had to. Also, they were Patrick Henry's ideas and thoughts, not God's. This was a time where people were breaking away from the church, and it showed in the writing style.

The speech was basically given telling the colonists that they needed to go to war with England. The speech implied that the war was unavoidable, and if they did not start the conflict first, the British were going to start it with them. Patrick also brought up the point that the colonists had tried to talk to the English government officials to reason with them, but they just ignored them and treated them even worse. Henry mainly used his speech to appeal to the colonists emotions. Emotion is a very powerful thing, and sometimes it is even more powerful than rationalization. That seems funny, because it was written during the rationalism period, and emotion seems to be the exact opposite of rationalization. One way that he appeals to his audience's emotion is by asking many rhetorical questions. The audience would become engaged in the speech and become more willing to fight.

One major thing that Henry does that could hurt his reputation is when he insults the English government officials. He referred to one of them as a "tyrant," which may have been more of a hindrance on his speech than a help. By insulting the English, he may have lost some of his supporters who were "on the fence" about the idea, and it also ruined his credibility. That was one of the only major flaws in his speech.

In Edward's sermon, he tried to scare the Puritans into coming over to his belief, while Henry left it up to the listener to decide. Henry's approach was much more inviting, but still making a good point very clearly. Edward's sermon also made a very clear point, but he made it in a way that would be very intimidating to people. Henry made his cause sound very inviting and gave people a reason to join him in his fight.

Henry, Patrick. "Title of Speech" Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. Page Numbers. Print.

Journal #8 - Autumn

Autumn is such a tough topic for free write. There really aren't that many things to talk about when it comes to Autumn. I mean, yeah its a season, but other than that its nothing else. I guess it could be a girl's name. It could be a boys name too, but that would be so weird. That guy would probably get made fun of a lot. Just like a guy named Shannon. My hockey coaches name is Shannon, and he's quite the character. But anyways, Autumn is almost my favorite season, it actually leads into my favorite season. Winter is my favorite season because there are so many awesome things in Winter that are awesome. Autumn is pretty cool too though. Autumn is high school football season, golf season and marching band season. I greatly enjoy all of those things and there is something about the cold weather that I really like. Usually people are complaining because it's "too cold," but I really like the cold. Maybe it is because I live in the ice rink, but I just really like the cold. Autumn is also the season of Homecoming, which is kinda fun. I won't get all crazy and talk about how much I love it, but it is a fun way to spend a Saturday. See what I mean? This topic is so hard to write about, I barely have 240 words, I probably don't even have that many. I really hope this topic relates to what we're doing in class, because this is so difficult to write about. I hope that this gets over soon. It's supposed to be over now, but Mr. Langely is too busy checking our pictures and making fun of them. Autumn is spelled so funny. It doesn't sound like there is an "n" at the end of the word, but spell checker tells me that there is. Who created the spelling for Autumn and decided to put an "n" on the end? That is just mean. It makes no sense, it serves no purpose.

The Crucible: Act Four

Drawing parallels between these two literary works, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God and The Crucible is almost impossible. It's 9:30 and I just got home from golf, so my creative juices aren't exactly flowing. 500 words is going to be difficult. Here goes nothing.

The story Sinners is actually a sermon written by Jonathon Edwards. The sermon is very angry and it has a very hostile tone. The sermon tells of all of the scary parts of Hell and how the sinners are going to go to Hell unless they seek God. Edwards is almost angry because he doesn't understand why the people did not go to God to be saved when he has been there all along. He really tries to scare the people listening to his sermon. In the book The Crucible, Abigail tries to scare the girls into keeping quiet about the witch craft. That was such a lame comparison, I'm really sorry.

"The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment. It is to be ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to hell the last night; that you were suffered to awake again in this world, after you closed your eyes to sleep. And there is no other reason to be given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that God's hand has held you up. There is no other reason to be given why you have not gone to hell, since you have sat here in the house of God, provoking his pure eyes by your sinful wicked manner of attending his solemn worship. Yea, there is nothing else that is to be given as a reason why you do not this very moment drop down into hell (Edwards 69)."

That passage was a great way of showing that the Puritans believed that God was in control of their lives, much like in the story how the people thought that they were able to take the trials into their hands, but in fact God was the only person who could come up with the outcome. The two stories share many different important factors, mainly because they are both examples of Puritan writing. The Crucible however was written much later than the sermon, but they both have a similar writing style. The sermon has a much different tone, it is very scary.

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

Journal #7 - Bullying

Bullying can really damage  a student's emotional state. I would know because I have to sit by the meanest person in the world in English class. Shelby is the meanest person in the entire world. She does nothing but torture me during class. Whenever I don't know the answer to a question, she volunteers me to answer it. I then get embarrassed in front of the entire class, and I go home and cry. She also intentionally trips me when I'm walking down the hall, and I usually fall on my face. The entire school then laughs at me, and Shelby just laughs. I usually cannot wait to get home and lock myself in my room so I can cry. I usually cry about 2-3 hours a day, sometimes more on B days, because I have English. I don't even know why Shelby is so mean to me. I am nothing but nice to her. I help her when she doesn't know the answer, I buy her lunch with the money she steals from me and I even help her look for lost items when she shoves my head in the trash can. I just don't know how much nicer I could be to her. It really bothers me that she is so mean to me, but she just will not stop. I don't know what I am going to do because it is starting to effect my school work. I am now failing all of my classes, and I spend a lot of time in Mrs. Brandon's office because I am so upset. And to make it worse, she tries to say that I am the one bullying her. She claims that I am the meanest person in the whole world, but it is the exact opposite. I just don't know what I am going to do. I see no end to her torment, this school year is going to be such a long year.

Journal #6 - Wrongly Accused

There was a time in my life where I was heading in a downward spiral towards oblivion. At that time in my life, I did some very bad things. I just was not myself. I remember it like it was yesterday. Oh wait, it was yesterday. I was sitting at my kitchen table and decided that I was starving. I walked across the kitchen and opened up my cookie jar. My grandmother had given me that cookie jar, and she made a habit of filling it with delicious, warm baked chocolate chip cookies. Since it was Friday, I knew the jar had to be close to empty, so I assumed that there would be at least one cookie left in the bottom of the jar. As I opened the jar, to my horror, I stared at the bottom of the empty jar. I was absolutely furious, but I calmly walked into the living room where my family was watching t.v. The first thing I did was pointed directly at my sister. I knew she had done it. She ate my cookie. She tried to deny it, but she was lying up a storm. My parents backed me up completely, they told her to go straight to her room. After that, my parents called the police and a few minutes later, there was a knock at my door. The men in uniform walked up the stairs and carted her away to jail. She was sentenced to life in jail without parole, and she was not allowed any visitors. I walked back into the kitchen after the whole ordeal was over, and realized that the cookie was at the bottom of the jar, stuck to the side of the container. Oh well. She probably had it coming. After all, I did owe her a birthday present, and a trip to a state penitentiary is worth no amount of money, unless you calculate it in state tax dollars.

The Crucible: Act Three

Human nature is a funny thing. As humans, we all react to situations differently because no two people are exactly alike and think exactly alike. That is what makes us humans. At the same time, however, there a few major reactions and observations that people make and generalize to create something called human nature. Maybe it is the lust for money or power, the will to survive in a threatening situation or even the lust for air, but all of those things are grouped and associated with human nature. Sometimes things that are in our nature are not good things, such as some of the events that are occurring in The Crucible.

One of the darker elements of human nature is the fact that we never want to get into trouble. If you think back to when you were a child, there was probably a time where you did something that was wrong. What did you do? Probably, like most kids, you tried to push the blame off onto someone else. That is what every human would do. Being in trouble is not fun, so we do everything we can to avoid it. That exact example is what is going on in the story in Act 3. All of the blaming is going around because no one wants to be convicted guilty of being a witch. In the courtroom, Mary Warren tried to confess to the truth. It seems so funny that even though the truth is the only thing that will set a person free, they never seem to just tell the truth. After she tries to tell the truth, the other girls turn on her, including Abigail. Proctor seems to be the only smart person of the group because he finally decides that after all of the hiding he had been trying to do, he told the truth about his affair with Abigail. That would also help to prove that she could not be trusted. In a way, he acted in a way that was opposite human nature. He confessed to his wrongdoings, and it helped him as a person, but not really in the trial. It actually backfired on him. It was decided that Elizabeth would be the absolute authority on the subject, so they brought her into the court room to decided who was lying, Abigail or Proctor. Elizabeth did not want to get her husband into trouble, so thinking that she was helping her, she lied and said that he never cheated on her. Actually, all she did was make Proctor look like a liar, and since she lied, she made an even bigger mess. The moral of this is that lying will get you nowhere, even though it is a huge part of human nature. Escaping trouble is sometimes more important to a person than  telling the truth. The scene in the court room is a perfect example of how an innocent person can be taken down by a person lying, even if they are trying to make things right.

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

The Crucible: Act Two

Ever since Mr. Tadla's good old heath class, I really have not once thought about the color personality test. It really has not come into my day once. I cannot think of one time where I thought to myself, "Man, I wonder what color that girl is?" In literature, however, it does make more sense to use the color profiles to identify characters, and I am sure that when the author wrote the book, he had a sense of what color each of the characters were in his mind.

Proctor is a very strange character. I believe that his main color is green, but his secondary color definitely has to be orange. Proctor is a very honest and good man, and that is where the green comes in. He is a thinker, and when he knew he was wrong (for example, cheating on your wife is wrong) he did everything he could to make it right. Since he cheated on his wife, however, I believe that is where the orange comes in. He could not help himself. If he was straight up green, he would have used his logical skills and realized that cheating on his wife would mathematically lead to bad things. But an orange person desires things that are intense and crazy, such as cheating on your wife. That doesn't sound very green to me.

At this point in the story, Abigail is definitely orange. She seems like a character that really only cares  about having fun and does not worry about the rules. For example, she decided it would be fun to dance around in the forest at a "witch ritual" and she just had the time of her life. She didn't really care about her family, who she threw under the bus by doing all this witch craft, and she obviously didn't care about the rules, since she broke a whole bunch of them. She never really seemed like she wanted to learn from her mistakes, which definitely rules out gold or green, since both of those colors like to be right, and you can't be right if you don't know anything. She is just an immature orange little girl.

Hale is definitely a green person. I myself have a primary color of green, and many of the green traits fit me very well. Green people use logic and research to figure out problems and make sure they're right. Hale used his logic skills to try and figure out what was happening in Salem. Hale also thought over his accusations before accusing anyone of witchcraft.

All of my color assignments are from my reading so far. As the story progresses, I may find that some of the colors may change, but as of this point in the plot, I feel that my color assignments are very solid and accurately describe the characters. Assigning the colors to the characters is a great way to obtain a greater understanding of the characters in any story. Also, knowing what kind of writing style the author used would help greatly.

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

http://www.true-colors.com/WhatisTrueColors.html

The Crucible: Act One

Many of the stories that we have been reading in English have been written by Puritan writers, and their religious beliefs are very prominent in their writing. The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller, and it takes place and regards the Salem Witch Trials. While the story was written in the 1950's, it still contains many factors of Puritan writing. There were many passages, just in the first act that were about religion.

 "The Salem tragedy, which is about to begin in these pages, developed from a paradox. It is a paradox in whose grip we still live, and there is no prospect yet that we will discover its resolution. Simply, it was this: for good purposes, even high purposes, the people of Salem developed a theocracy, a combine of state and religious power whose function was to keep the community together, and to prevent any kind of disunity that might open it to destruction by material or ideological enemies. It was forged for a necessary purpose and accomplished that purpose. But all organizations is and must be rounded on the idea of exclusion and prohibition, just as two objects cannot occupy the same space. Evidently the time came in New England when the repressions of order were heavier than seemed warranted by the dangers against which the order was organized. The witch hunt was a perverse manifestation of the panic which set in among all classes when the balance began to turn toward greater individual freedom (Miller 6-7)."

This quote from the passage is a big hint that leads to the downfall of the entire story. The narrator explains that a theocracy is based on the principle that some people should be included and some people should be excluded from society, based on their religious beliefs. Basically, when taken to extremes, religious fervor always results in tragedy. The Puritan society was heavily based on religion. The whole reason they came to North American was to "purify" themselves, and in the end, that was their downfall.

One characteristic of Puritan writing that was not as prominent was the use of short, declarative sentences. Yes, the author does use declarative sentences, but they contain a little more detail than the average Puritan writer would include

"He was the kind of man - powerful of body, even-tempered, and not easily led - who cannot refuse support to partisans without drawing their deepest resentment."

 If that would have been written by a Puritan writer, I believe it would have contained less detail. Most of the writing still resembled very closely to Puritan writing (Miller 20).

After all of the blogs that I have written about the question "How does the writing reflect Puritan writing?" it has become obvious that there is only so much a person can say to answer that question. To me, the biggest reference to Puritan writing is their reference to God. In Puritan writing, there are many references to God, such as in the first passage that I cited above. The Puritans writing style also mirrored a 4th grader's, in my opinion. They used very short, declarative sentences, which got their point across, but lacked a personality in their writing.

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

Journal #5 - 21st Century Punishment

Punishment is a word that is thrown around a lot these days, but what does it really mean? Punishment is the act of ruining a kid/ your child's life because they did something that you did not like/agree with. Examples of punishment would be: letting your child make plans for the weekend and then making him cancel his/her plans or making your child do extra chores that the parent is too lazy to do such as take out the trash, clean the kitchen or scrub the toilet with their toothbrush. Obviously, to an outside point of view, these acts sound completely outrageous, and they are. But from a parent's point of view, it is completely fine. Parents believe that since they are older than the children, they can do anything they want to do. From a child's point of view, that is completely false.

So on to this punishment thing. I believe that a good 20th century punishment would be as follows: Say your child comes in late for curfew. As the parent, you should let your child know that he/she is late for curfew, but then praise them for coming home at all (as a side note, always praise your child, it makes them know they are loved). After praising your child, tell them that you are going to take them out the next night. On that "date," allow your child to pick all of the activities, up until curfew. When it is time for curfew, tell your child that you are going to show them what they could have seen since they stayed out late for curfew the previous night. Some good places to take them would be a bar, an alley, a bad neighborhood or even to a gentleman's club.That will really let your son or daughter have a good time, but at the same time teach them a valuable life lesson. This style of punishment would be much more effective than telling them that they are grounded for the weekend. What would they learn from that? Nothing, that's what they would learn.

Journal #4 - Vacation

In the beginning, I went on summer vacation. It was the greatest time of my life. We had so much fun just chilling in our condo. But the trip there, was awful. At first, it was completely fine. Sam and I hooked up a t.v. and played Xbox for a while, my sister and her friend were asleep and my mom was driving. We were all doing just fine. But then, my sister woke up. Then it all went downhill from there. The trip was a hiving "heck" from then after. All she did was yell and scream and complain. Because of that, she made everyone else's life miserable. We made if for about 3 hours before all of this started. Now, it may have just been a coincidence that everything started going bad when my sister woke up. I believe that in every trip, at some point, no matter how good of friends the people are, they will eventually start fighting. I can't imagine how the Pilgrims must have felt when when they traveled by ship to America. They must have gotten sick of some of the people on the ship, but they had no choice. And to make it worse, they were going to another country and the only people there were the people that they were fighting with. To think about it, I didn't have it so bad when I went on vacation. The Pilgrims had it much worse, so I should be thankful that our trip was as good as it was. Also, I knew that I had the option to go home as soon as the trip was over. The Pilgrims didn't have an option to go home. They were stuck with the people they traveled with, so they should have become friends, otherwise, their lives would have been awful. Overall, I love taking long trips and I would love to travel overseas by ship, possibly to England or Germany.

Reading Reflection: Bradford

The Puritans had a very strong basis on religion, and it showed in their writings. The memoir written by William Bradford told of his journey to America. Many people are confused as to who came to America, the Pilgrims or the Puritans. Puritanism is a religion, while being a pilgrim describes a person on a religious journey. Sure, most of the Pilgrims were Puritans as well, but not all of them were. An example of that same situation would be that all Catholics are Christians, but not all Christians are Catholics. Same type of deal (sorta...). On just the first page there was a reference to God. "But it pleased God that he caught hold of the topsail" (Bradford 64). The Puritans tended to refer to God a lot in their writing, mostly because God was a huge part of their lives. Another main example was when the Pilgrims were searching for a place to sleep in the cove. They were looking too close to the shore, and found themselves in a little bit of trouble. They claimed that it was by "God's good providence" (Bradford 65) that they were able to be freed. It couldn't have had anything to do with their amazing sailing abilities. The Puritans literally gave God credit for every single little thing that happened, because they believed that since everything that existed was created by God, every interaction was an act of God as well.

"They fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven..." (Bradford 65). As soon as the Pilgrims realized that they had reached a safe place, they immediately gave thanks to God. Enough said. In a passage at the beginning of chapter 11, Bradford told of the people that helped the dying Pilgrims. The people would feed them, cloth and unclothe them and make their beds (Bradford 66). Bradford then said that it was by the power of the Lord that they were not effected by sickness or lameness (Bradford 66). Basically, he said that God protected the people that were protecting them. I find that a little weird, because it almost sounds like Bradford is acknowledging that a person was responsible for doing God's work. Obviously, no man can do God's job for him, but the way it was presented in the reading, Bradford was giving thanks to a man before he gave thanks to God. Hmm...

Bradford showed many characteristics of Puritan writing, just like Rowlandson. Both left a huge stamp on their writing with their faith. I mean, it is categorized as "Puritan writing," it's obviously going to mention God a lot. The writing was really more than just mentioning God a lot though. Through the writing, it was easy to see that the Puritans really believed what they were writing. Bradford wrote about how he believed that God was watching over his people and Rowlandson wrote about how God was watching over her as she was captured. Both heavily relied on God for guidance and safety, which is why both works would definitely be classified as Puritan writing.


Bradford, William. "from Of Plymouth Plantation." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 64-66. Print.

Rowlandson, Mary. "A Narrative of Capitivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 84-88. Print.

Journal #3 Hostage Situation

I remember a time where my skills were tested to their breaking point. I was just visiting the country of Iraq with the peace corp, and we were bringing supplies to a military base in a heavily populated war zone. Yes, the job was dangerous, but I live on danger. In fact, danger is my middle name. Anyways, we were driving out convoy into the military base with three trucks full of water, dehydrated food and toiletries to bring to the troops. While we were unloading the truck, a group of terrorists ambushed our base. They caught us completely by surprise. Three armed men grabbed the three drivers and shot them, in cold blood. That image has been burned in my mind, even after 15 years. I will never forget the faces of those scared truck drivers. They thought they were just going for a routine delivery, but in the end, they lost their lives. It was right then and there that I decided I was going to save every last person. Since I previously was a Navy Seal, I was trained in combat/hostage situations, and I possessed many skills that I knew I would need to save those innocent people. I decided that I didn't want to blow my cover right away, so I let the terrorists take me and two other people hostage. They put bags over our heads, and threw us in the back of one of the trucks. Luckily, it was the truck with the water. Once we were in the back of the truck, I could feel it moving. I tried to keep a sense of how long we had been in the truck so I could possibly judge how far we were traveling. I then took off one of my shoes, revealing the metal knife I always kept inside the sole of my shoe. Once I was free, I cut open one of the cases of water so my friends and I could drink and regain our strength. My two friends were still in complete shock, so when I cut them free, I had to convince them to stay quiet. We had been moving for what I estimated to be about 3 miles (as it turned out, we had gone about 3.4 miles) and we pulled to a halt. I told the hostages to keep their bags on their heads, and that I would take care of everything. When the man opened the back of the truck, I jumped out at him and struck him. He crumpled to the ground, and I quickly shut the back of the truck and locked it. I did not want my friends to go anywhere. I grabbed the keys off of the terrorist, and ran to the front seat of the truck, evading gunfire. I threw the truck in drive and sped off. I had a slight idea where I was, but I kept driving in one direction until I found a road. I then followed that road back to the military base. All of the soldiers were so relieved to see us, and they didn't even care that their supplies were gone. We were all flown back to the U.S., first class, and the event was never spoken of again.

Reading Reflection: Rowlandson

The Puritans were a group of Protestants who came from England to North America in search of religious freedoms. They obviously had a strong basis on faith, and it showed in their writings. In the first few lines of the Rowlandson memoir, a figure from the bible was mentioned. She referred to a quote that Job said in the bible (Rowlandson 82). Rowlandson also mentions how bitter and tough her journey was, but that God was with her to guide her (Rowlandson 83). She also mentioned that when her child died, God was with her to give her strength (Rowlandson 83). Rowlandson mentioned that she would not use "wicked and harmful" means to end her life. Religious people know that suicide is a sin that cannot ever be forgiven, so that is just another example of religion. Through out Rowlandson's entire story she lost a child and was even sold for almost nothing. Yet somehow, she still seemed to find some good in the whole ordeal through God. Bradstreet takes a similar approach as Rowlandson. In her poem, she tells of how she came to terms with the loss of her house. She said that the fire was God's will to get her to focus less on earthly possessions. God was a huge aspect of Puritan writing.

One aspect of Puritan writing may have included the Native American's hostility. Who could blame them anyways? I'm sure the Indians were not happy at all. First, the Spanish come and explore the new land and decide that they can take whatever they want from the Indians. Of course the Indians aren't going to let the Puritians do whatever they want. The Puritians probably wrote about Native American hostility because they were shocked when they came to the new land. They left their countries in search of religious freedom, but all they found were cranky Indians.

I found it interesting that both authors were women. At the time, you wouldn't picture a woman writing a book or a poem, let alone getting it published. That may have had to do with the fact that they were Puritans. They didn't conform to the typical rules of society, which was part of the reason that they left. I also found it interesting that both stories were based off factual events. Pruitians may have mainly written about events that really happened because they were effected by God. They were kind of like testimonials for how great God is. They wrote about the actual ways that God influenced their lives so that people would hear their stories and feel the same way.

Both women had to overcome some pretty steep obstacles in their lives. Rowlandson was kidnapped (or captured) by indians and Bradstreet lost her home in a fire. That message can translate into what all Puritians were going through. They moved to America to have an easier life, but at first they had some struggles. They were able to translate that through their writing, and both Bradstreet and Rowlandson were able to communicate their troubles.

Bradstreet, Anne. "Upon the Burning House." Glencoe Literature. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2009.

Rowlandson, Mary. "A Narrative of Capitivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson." Glencoe Literature. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2009.

Journal #2 - Hospitality

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, there was a zebra. This was no ordinary zebra. This zebra was the most stylish zebra in all of the land. He wore the newest, trendiest clothes, and had the best hair style around. He wore jewelry and even wore sunglasses in the dark. This zebra was "the man." One day, the zebra went to the mall to pick up his new shoes. These were no ordinary shoes either. These shoes were the newest, coolest shoes on the market, and because the zebra was so stylish, he just had to have them. They were bright pink and green, and all the cool animals in the kingdom had them. Since zebra was a biter, he had to have them.
As soon as the zebra got his new shoes, he never wanted to take them off. He wore them everywhere. He even wore them to bed! The zebra was so excited when he got his new shoes that he wanted to show everyone. He decided to go show his friend lion his new shoes.
When he got to lion's house, he was so excited to show his friend that he didn't think to take off his shoes before running through loin's house. At zebra's house, he could wear his new shoes where ever he wanted to because he thought they were so cool. At lion's house, however, the rules were very different. Lion's mother had just spent the day planting new flowers outside the house, and on his way in, zebra walked right through a big pile of dirt. Zebra didn't notice until after he had done it, but he had tracked mud all through lion's house. He was so embarrassed, and he apologized to lion's mother. He did not mean to cause a mess, but because he didn't think about his household manners, he ended up causing lion's mother a lot of hard work! Zebra learned from his mistake, and he never wore his shoes inside someone else's house ever again.

Journal #1 - How the Zebra got its Stripes

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there was a zebra and a rabbit. At the time, the zebra was all black, and the rabbit was all white. The zebra was a very arrogant animal, who walked around the plains strutting his black coat in front of all the animals. The zebra thought that he was the best animal in the kingdom, and he let everyone know. The rabbit, on the other hand, was the exact opposite of the zebra. The rabbit was very quiet and shy. He also had a beautiful white coat, but he was much more modest than the zebra. He quietly hopped around and stayed out of everyone's way.
During the summer time, all of the animals in the animal kingdom gathered to have a contest. The contest was to see who had the most beautiful coat of fur in the whole kingdom. There were lions, tigers and bears, oh my! That year, the zebra decided to join the contest because he knew that he had a beautiful coat. The rabbit, even though he had a wonderful snow white coat, decided not to join. He decided to just watch the contest, because he felt that an award would just draw unwanted attention to himself.
When the contest finally came around, all of the animals gathered under the tallest tree in the land. They all lined up in groups, and the judge, the very wise owl, looked each animal up and down. The lions were very majestic, the tigers had beautiful stripes, but the standout of the group was the zebra, with his beautiful black coat. The owl then decided that the zebra was the winner.
As you would expect, the zebra was not a gracious winner. He took his title and gloated in front of all of the animals. He even made a special point to call out the white rabbit.
"Why did you not enter the contest? You think you have a beautiful coat, show it off!"
The rabbit then replied,
"I am just a quiet, humble rabbit, I have no need to be in a contest."
The zebra mocked the rabbit from then on, saying that his white coat was inferior to his coat, and even said it was ugly.
The very wise owl had been observing the events for quite some time, and was not pleased with the zebra. He spoke to the zebra.
"Zebra, you have made a fool of yourself by putting this beautiful rabbit's coat to shame. I am not pleased with your behavior. You will be punished for your actions."
There was a very bright flash of light, and when the lights cleared, the zebra was covered with white stripes.
"What has happened!" Said the zebra. "My beautiful black coat is ruined!"
The owl replied, "You will now be sentenced to live with these white stripes to remind you of the very rabbit you mocked and belittled for all for all of time!"
The zebra was devastated, and he went to quickly apologize to the rabbit, but his stripes remained even when the two animals were the best of friends.
That is how the zebra got its stripes.

Coda

Well, here we are, the final blog. This will be my last blog entry, as I have reached my summer goal of 50+ blogs. I have to say that blogging really wasn't as bad as it was made out to be. I remember last year around this time, looking on Facebook and seeing all of the Juniors rushing statuses about finishing their English blogs, and I really dreaded the thought of having to blog about the books I read. Honestly, writing essay's would have been so much simpler. It would have taken so much less time. But writing an essay for a teacher that you have never had would just be silly. There is no way to know what expectations that teacher has for writing essays, and you'll probably just fail your essays. Blogging was actually an enjoyable experience. Some students would say that they would actually read the books and get the same thing out of them as if they blogged, but lets be honest, that just isn't true. Blogging really made me pick apart the books that I read and get a fuller understanding of the novels. If I didn't blog about the books, I wouldn't know about the thematic importance of DiMaggio in The Old Man and the Sea. I probably would have just thought it was a stupid baseball reference, not a strong symbolic image that was absolutely necessary to the story. Blogging was a way to informally keep track of ideas and notes while reading a story, or after completion of the story. It made sure that I really knew and understood what I was reading, and not just going through the motions of reading a book. Blogging does require technology, but it is absolutely beneficiary to the students. I can confidently say that I really have a strong grasp on the summer English books that I read. I did choose to read 4 books, and because of the blogging required, I know that I have a good grasp on the concepts in each one. Blogging should be used in all English classes for summer work, in my opinion, because it opens up doors for personality in writing while still keeping the learning aspects intact. Blogging was definitely not a waste of my summer, and I know that I really do understand the stories that over these past few months.