Journal #26: Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

I LOVE SNOW!!!!!!! I absolutely love snow, especially when it has just fallen and it is sparkling white covering everything, untouched, brand new, and beautiful. I really love snow when there is a snow day, and there is no school, because it has snowed a foot. Then all day, all you have to is go out in the snow and play. There are so many things you can do in the snow. Following is a list:

• Build a snowman
• Build a fort
• Make a snow angel
• Go sledding
• Have a snow ball fight
• Make a big snow pile and jump in it
• Make snow cones
• Play hide and seek (Only works if there is at least a foot and a half of snow on the ground
• Play snow tag (Something kind of exhausting)
• And many other snow games

Snow is just great. Yes it can be slick, making driving difficult. Yes it is cold and wet, making it uncomfortable at times. But it still is just beautiful. I love winter, except when it is just plain cold, icy, with no snow. I like Christmas, and snow, and winter. That is me. Today it was supposed to snow, but seeing how the weather app lied on my iPod, there is no snow. Unfortunately. (Electronic weather devices are not trustworthy at times). But even though I am disappointed at this "no snow" day, I am still hopeful that it will snow. I am still hoping that frozen H2O (also known as snow for you non-science people) will fall within a couple of days. I love snow. As I have now said for about the fourth time or so. Some people hate it, but I do not. I love the white fluffy stuff, known as snow.

Well, now you know that I really like snow, since I have said that phrase about six times now. But more than snow, I love the atmosphere that comes with it. The hot chocolate smell of the house, the gorgeous environment and sparkling snow, the warm clothing, and just hanging around looking at Christmas lights, and waiting for Christmas break. That is why I love snow and winter.

The Black Veil

Dark Romanticism, a sub-genre of the Romanticism Literary Period, was based around the darker side of human nature, mythical creatures, and human flaws. Two very famous Dark Romanticism authors are Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. One of Nathaniel Hawthorne's short stories or parables during the Dark Romanticism Literary Period is "The Minister's Black Veil." This is meant to be an eye opener, and it is written with many dark romantic characteristics to accomplish this.
The story is basically a mystery in a certain way. It is about a well respected minister who starts to wear a black veil across his face. The town is baffled by this, and eventually they come to fear him for it. He lives a lonely life with his black veil, as he refuses to take it off, even when coaxed by his wife. As he is dying, a new young minister begs him to take it off, but the minister with a dying breath tells the people that he will never take it off as long as he is on earth, that every one is hiding behind their own black veil, as he is; and then with that last statement, the minister dies. He is buried with his black veil on, and no one takes it off or looks under it. No one knows what the minister does that makes him wear the black veil, and it is this dark secrecy that separates him from the rest of the world. Dark romantics often wrote mysteries as this one could be classified.
Another characteristic of dark romanticism, and really just romanticism, is the symbolism used through out the story. The black veil is a symbol of secrecy, of sin, of darkness. Black is often the color of death, darkness, and sadness; and a veil covers something up, in this case, his face and his soul. "When Mr. Hooper came, the first thing that their eyes rested on was the same horrible black veil, which had added deeper gloom to the funeral, and could portend nothing but evil to the wedding" (Hawthorne, 284).
Also, the fact that the black veil covers the face of a minister is very interesting. Dark romanticism dealt with the side of human nature that we associate sin, greed, lust, and other darker elements with. The minister, someone who was respected and thought to be a pure messenger of God, was wearing the black veil, associated with sin and secrecy. "There was the black veil swathed round Mr. Hooper's forehead, and concealing every feature above his placid mouth, on which, at times, they could perceive the glimmering of a melancholy smile. But that piece of crepe, to their imagination, seemed to hang down before his heart, the symbol of a fearful secret between him and them" (Hawthorne, 285). The secrecy, sin, and darkness mentioned with the minister shows that even the people considered as righteous and good are even affected by sin and covered by it. Every one is covered by a black veil. "I look around me, and, lo! on every visage a Black Veil" (Hawthorne, 289)!
The main point of this story is that every one is affected by sin, and though they may try to hide it, it is still there. They conceal themselves from the world in hopes of being unnoticed, so that people will not know their deepest and darkest secrets and sins. Hawthorne concealed this point symbolically in a story of a minister. However, even a Black Veil cannot hide the characteristics of Dark Romanticism in this story.

Works Cited

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Minister's Black Veil." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature. Ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill. 2010. 280-289. Print.

Journal #25: Wearing a Mask

Have you ever worn a mask? And I do not mean wearing a party mask or a Halloween mask or wearing a mask at a masquerade ball. I mean an imaginary mask. Have you ever worn an imaginary mask? Wearing this, you disguised your true identity with another that was not your own. You wore a mask to cover up your personality, your true self, whether it was to impress someone, fear of not being accepted by a certain group, or contempt for yourself. Everyone has probably worn a mask at some time or another. This next story is a story about a young girl who wore a mask at one point in her life.

Her name was Susan. Susan was probably the sweetest, the nicest, and most innocent girl you would ever meet. She was always happy and cheery, even when everything around her seemed sad. She was there to help a hand, and she never complained about the work. She was always the first to volunteer, and many people liked her. However, there was a group of girls who did not. These girls were considered the "in" crowd of the school. Susan was not part of this group, but she had always admired them, for their clothes, for their hair, for their attitudes. At heart she wanted to be like them. Susan with her own personality was not accepted by them. She did not like this at all. She decided to be more and more like them, so that she too would be part of the "in" crowd. First she higlighted her hair, cut it, and fixed it into the right style. She bought new clothes to match them. Soon she was acting like them, with bad attitudes and mood swings. She dropped her friends to hang out with them. Finally she was accepted by the "in" crowd! But when she got into the group she found out it was not as glamorous as she thought. Susan put on a mask, hid her true identity, and for what? Nothing! It was not worth it. So bottom line is, do not wear a mask just to fit in. You are you, and only you. Do not just change to be like someone else. If the world was all the same without much difference, it would be extremely boring. So do not hide behind your imaginary mask. Be yourself.

The Pit and the Pendulum: Dark Romanticism

Dark Romanticism, a sub-genre of the Romanticism Literary Period, had many characteristics similar to those of romanticism, but still different. Dark Romanticism included the darker side of human nature in its writings. This would include characters who had committed crimes, lied, were suffering , greedy, who had the darker qualities or flaws of human nature. Dark Romanticism writers also included dark mythical creatures in their novels and poems, such as demons, Satan, ghosts, goblins, and ghouls. Dark Romanticism stories are usually bleak, dark (obviously), scary, eerie, and have a sad or dreary tone to them. All of these are characteristics of Dark Romanticism.

Edgar Allen Poe is considered a Dark Romanticist. He has written many things including The Raven, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Pit and the Pendulum. All of these writings include Dark Romanticist characteristics, especially The Pit and the Pendulum. The Pit and the Pendulum is a short story of a man accused during the Spanish Inquisition, and his torturous stay in prison. The Spanish Inquisition the beginning setting for the short story was "a court that arrested and tried suspected heretics, or those who opposed Church teaching. Those convicted of heresy were imprisoned for life or sentenced to death" (Poe, 262). This already shows Dark Romanticism, because it deals with human error and human paranoia. In the beginning lines, Dark Romanticism is again apparent, because it talks of death in a depressing tone. "I was sick--sick unto death with that long agony; and when they at length unbound me, and I was permitted to sit, I felt that my senses were leaving me" (Poe, 263). Here Poe leads into the main story with the person's feelings. As the story develops, the accused is sent to prison where he is left in a small damp prison cell, rat infested, and fed little food. The keepers of the prison torture him by tying him down and swinging a pendulum with the sharp head of an axe slowly down at him. He marginally escapes, but again his torturers beckon him to a deadly pit in the middle of the room. "My cognizance of the pit had become known to the inquisitorial agents--the pit whose horrors had been destined for so bold a recusant as myself--the pit, typical of hell, and regarded by rumor as the Ultima Thule of all their punishments" (Poe, 269). This phrase shows Dark Romanticism because it mentions the pit as a hell, and shows the accused's contempt for the pit. It shows his darkest fear for the pit, something common to Dark Romanticism. "I felt that it was of joy--of hope; but I felt also that it had perished in its formation. In vain I struggled to perfect--to regain it. Long suffering had nearly annihilated all my ordinary powers of mind. I was an imbecile--an idiot" (Poe, 270). Again this shows Dark Romanticism, because it talks of being an idiot, not something to be proud of, a darker part of human nature. Also it shows how his joy disappeared and how he was left in utter darkness and felt as much, another characteristic of Dark Romanticism. Edgar Allen Poe's short story, not surprising, is an excellent example of Dark Romanticism. The Pit and the Pendulum shows how human nature becomes corrupt and what happens when it does, somethings common to the Dark Romanticism Time Period.

Poe, Edgar Allen. "The Pit and the Pendulum." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature. Ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill. 2010. 263-273. Print.

Analytical Criticism of "The Raven" and Edgar Allen Poe

"The Raven" is one of Edgar Allen Poe's most famous poems, intriguing its readers with the deep inner thoughts of the mind, put out into the open by grief, suffering, and insanity. Edgar Allen Poe was a dark romanticist, and in being this, he wrote many things about the darker side of human nature, of mystery, of the psychological mind, and of darker spiritual phantasms. "The Raven" is a dark tale of a man going practically insane from the grief of his lost love, Lenore, and talking to a raven--a symbol of death--who only replies to the man, "Nevermore." The tale has many different references in it making the symbolic and figurative meaning stronger. It can be interpretted many different ways: a grieving man losing his mind due to the suffering from the loss of his beloved, a dark tale revealing the author's own feelings toward love, or a historical meaning, such as Dave Smith, author of a criticism of "The Raven," believes.

"If we read "The Raven," despite its absence of specific local details, as an "awareness" of the life of America in 1845, we see that Poe has conjectured the nightmare of the individual cut off from history, abandoned by family, place, and community love. He experiences personally what the South will experience regionally and the country will, down the long road, experience emotionally. Though he means to celebrate Lenore, what he most intensely celebrates is the union with community, the identity of place and people which Poe simultaneously has and has lost" (Smith). Dave Smith believes that Poe's poem is Edgar Allen Poe's portrayal of the country at the time, something that I had never thought of, but that is interesting and also relevant. This idea would be accurate with the Romanticism Period characteristics, in which they wrote of emotions, nature, and patriotism. Smith's connection of the poem to the South does seem logical and it seems to fit the Romanticism time period."In this, in 1845, he speaks for the Southern white and, paradoxically, for the slave paralyzed in his garden and also dispossessed" (Smith). However, even though this does make sense, I do not agree with David Smith. I think that Edgar Allen Poe is mainly coming across and giving a story of how grieving and not doing anything to stop one's suffering of a loved one eventually makes that person go insane. He or she loses their minds to the grief and anguish caused by the loss of the loved one. "It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore--Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore." Quoth the Raven "Nevermore" (Poe, 260). I think that the poem is merely the suffering of a loved one, Lenore. Edgar Allen Poe's very articulate ryhming scheme and his use of words to create a dim and bleak, yet sincere tone, tell the story of a lonely, sad, loveless man, rather than an analogy to the South and historical United States, as David Smith believes.

Works Cited

Smith, Dave. "Edgar Allan Poe and the Nightmare Ode," Southern Humanities Review 29, no. 1 (Winter 1995): pp. 4-5, 9-10. Quoted as "Poe as a Southern Writer" in Harold Bloom, ed. Edgar Allan Poe, Bloom's Major Poets. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1999. (Updated 2007.) Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BMPEAP26&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 22, 2010).

Poe, Edgar Allen. "The Raven." American Literature. Columbus, Ohio: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 257-260. Print.

The Raven

The Raven, by Edgar Allen Poe--a dark romanticism poet--, is one of Edgar Allen Poe's more famous dark works. Here is a literal translation of the poem.

A man is sleeping from reading a book, and he hears a small tapping noise on his chamber door. He shakes it off thinking it is only a visitor. He sleeps again, but wakes to the same tapping noise again. He goes to the door opens it, but he finds no one there. Then he hears a tapping noise on the window, and as he opens up the window, a raven flies into his room and sits on a bust of Athena, the greek goddess of wisdom and war. He asks the raven what his name is and it replies. "Nevermore." He asks of Lenore, his dead wife whom he grieves, and the raven again replies, "Nevermore." He then asks if his suffering for Lenore will ever go away, and the raven replies, "Nevermore." He tells the raven to leave him, but the raven, alas, says, "Nevermore."

This poem is dark and mystical, and from the literal translation, one would not know this. However, Poe uses many literary devices to make this poem how Poe intended it to be. For one, he uses illusion, or referencing something of another piece of work or art. "But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door--Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door--Perched, and sat, and nothing more." (Poe, 258). Here, Pallas refers to Athena. Athena was the protector of wisdom and innocence, and in the poem, she is used as protection of the man's mind. A raven was commonly used as a symbol of death. As the raven flies and sits on the bust of Athena, it symbolizes that the innocence, the wisdom, and essentially, the man's mind, dies, or he goes insane.

Poe also uses repetition in his poem to set the dark theme. The raven continues to say, "Nevermore," and only that word. The raven says nothings else but that. And as the man asks the questions to the raven, and the raven gives him these terrible replies, the man perishes in his anguish and grief.

Poe's poem is a symbol of darkness and death. The man, suffering from the loss of his beloved Lenore, loses his mind in his grief. He talks to a raven, believes the answers from the raven, and goes insane. The man loses himself in his sadness and suffering. The Raven symbollically shows us that when one wallows around in his or her grief and suffering and does nothing to escape it, they eventually lose themselves, and their innocent selves die in their anguish.

Walden Criticism

Walden, is by Henry David Thoreau, a well known Romanticism poet and writer. Thoreau was very interested by nature, and he tried to become a new person through nature, something common to the Romanticism Literary Period. Walden is basically a journal of Henry David Thoreau's stay in nature and his observations. During his stay, Henry David Thoreau looks at individual parts of nature and finds ways to connect to nature through that. In a criticism of Henry David Thoreau, by Bradford Torrey, Torrey praises Thoreau on his writing and connection of nature. I agree with Bradford Torrey on this aspect, because Thoreau is an excellent writer, especially when he writes of nature. This is obviously apparent in Walden, one of Henry David Thoreau's most famous works.

Bradford Torrey says, "Thoreau's love for the wild--not to be confounded with a liking for natural history or an appreciation of scenery--was as natural and unaffected as a child's love of sweets. It belonged to no one part of his life" (Torrey). I agree with this statement. Henry David Thoreau really did have a love of nature. It was almost as if it was his life. One can see this in an excerpt from Walden. "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary" (Thoreau, 214). Thoreau tells why he made this solitary trip into nature. He wished to see how nature lived, how it operated, how it survived. From his observations Henry David Thoreau wished to live his own life according to nature. This proves Torrey's statement that "it [nature] belonged to no one part of his life" (Torrey). Henry David Thoreau did not want to live like nature only in spiritual aspects or only in work aspects. He wanted to learn from it, and then Thoreau wanted to apply that to all of his life, like Torrey stated.

There is one more main point that I found interesting in Torrey's criticism, and it pertains to Henry David Thoreau himself, not just Walden. Bradford Torrey says this, "He did his work, and with it enriched the world. In the strictest sense it was his own work. If his ideal escaped him, he did better than most in that he still pursued it" (Torrey). I agree with this point also, in that Thoreau added extra small details into his stories or poems or journals that make one think, "Is that really necessary to have that in there?" He did this with Walden even more so, because he was observing the small little details along with the obvious ones to see how those could affect his life. "Holding a microscope to the first-mentioned red ant, I saw that, though he was assiduously gnawing at the near foreleg of his enemy, having severed his remaining feeler, his own breast was all torn away, exposing what vitals he had there to the jaws of the black warrior, whose breastplate was apparently too thick for him to pierce; and the dark carbuncles of the suffer's eyes shone with ferocity such as war only could excite" (Thoreau, 218). Even though some may have thought these details over the top therefore taking away from his journal, Thoreau includes them deeming them necessary for his own work, very similar to Bradford Torrey's criticism of him.


Works Cited

Torrey, Bradford. "Thoreau's Attitude toward Nature." Atlantic (November 1899): 706–710. Quoted as "Thoreau's Attitude toward Nature" in Bloom, Harold, ed. Henry David Thoreau, Classic Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCVHDT010&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 21, 2010).

Thoreau, Henry David. "Walden." American Literature. Columbus, Ohio: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 214-218. Print.

Journal #24: Unnecesary Fear

Everyone remembers those times when they were five years old, and at night their mom and dad tuck them in bed and say good night. They just start to close their eyes when they hear a weird scraping noise. They hide under the covers until they cannot stand it anymore and run to their parents, who come in, say it is only a tree branch, and tuck them back in bed. Then they see a dark shape protruding out of their closet. What could it be? Their minds immediately go to the thought of the monster that comes and eats little kids at night! (What are kids learning in schools these days that cause them to resort to that particular thought?) They again hide under the covers, and they start to call for mom and dad, but they know if they do so, they will get in trouble. They stop, peer from outside the covers. They grab a plastic golf club sitting next to their bed. (Why there is a plastic golf club there, I do not know. There just is.) They slowly creep to the closet, and suddenly they................. Beat down on the dark shape yelling, "Die, monster, die!" (Such violence). The parents, disturbed by the yelling, run to their room, turn on the lights, and surprisingly find an embarrassed little kid, holding a plastic golf club above his head, standing next to some newly beaten bunny slippers, not a monster.

Even if this is not exactly how your story turned out, it still probably follows the same idea. That idea is that we let our fear get into our head distorting what we see. The little kid saw a monster, not bunny slippers. However, when the lights were turned on, he realized that it was indeed his pink bunny slippers, not a monster. Hopefully now, as we are older, we do not beat up slippers, thinking they are monsters, but we do let fear control our emotions at times. For example, I use to be afraid of the dark because I thought that some hungry animal would attack me. Whenever it was dark outside, I would stay inside, and if I did go out, I clung to the closest person. I soon realized this fear was ridiculous because there were no hungry animals big enough or aggressive enough to attack me in the dark. Everyone has different fears, but the bottom line is that we cannot let them get into our heads and control us.

Emerson and Melancholia

Ralph Waldo Emerson was a poet and essayist during the Romanticism Period. The Romantic Period of Literature was a time where people wrote things based on religion, feelings, intuition, patriotism, love, nature, and the exact opposite of the reason and the logic of Rationalism. He was considered a Romanticist early in his career, but he later gave that up and is now considered a transcendentalist poet. Transcendentalists are those who went off of intuition and to find the meaning of something took a long process of thought and examination. Ralph Waldo Emerson has written many things, including Self-Reliance, and Nature, a very famous piece of work. The criticism on Emerson says that he basically goes through changes in life that has therefore shown up in his writing, common to the Romanticism time period. "What Freud characterizes as the progression from narcissistic attachment to melancholia to mania is the movement central to the great Romantic lyrics of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Browning, Tennyson, Emerson, Whitman, and Stevens, to all of the poets of certain loss and qualified restitution" ("Emerson..."). So what were these changes? It says he progressed from narcissistic attachment to melancholia to mania. But what are those things? Narcissistic is being self-obsessed, basically. One is in love with oneself. They are self centered, and they do not notice much outside of themselves. Melancholia is the state of being overwhelmed by one's life to the point where they become depressed and sad, and they are like that most of the time. Mania is being excited with something, being again obsessed with it, like it is the newest and most popular thing around. These progressions are obvious in his work, such as Self-Reliance. It is interesting how Emerson goes through these changes, and even though they are completely different from each other as compared individually, one can see how they are linked together. If a narcissist, one who is self-obsessed, self reflects and sees how his life is not the way he wants it to be, then he could become depressed and saddened therefore emerging into melancholia. But what about the switch from melancholia to mania? "Freud would perhaps stigmatize this exuberance as mania, the exultation which follows upon an achieved work of melancholia, when 'a large expenditure of psychical energy, long maintained or habitually occurring has at last become unnecessary, so that it is available for numerous applications and possibilities of discharge….'" ("Emerson"). Well, this has happened numerous times before. For example in response to the scientific ways of the Rationalism Period, there came the Romanticism Period. This was quite the opposite, and it came on strong. This is the same idea with the different generations. This is the stages Ralph Waldo Emerson went through with his life and his writing, since poets lives were usually connected with their writing. This is another common style of the Romanticism Literature Period. "Freud, against his own wishes, has provided us with a map of that process in which the self is constituted by powers not its own, and initiates a self-wounding drama of exorcism and incorporation whose final issue will be nothing better than a motive to begin the process once again. This unfolding act of self-destroying self-invention, which is at odds with our humanistic ethical principles, may in fact be the driving force within what we have come to call the Romantic sublime" ("Emerson"). This criticism is interesting that it explains the switch and progression of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and it did an excellent job explaining Emerson's life and the connection of that to his life.

Works Cited

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

Journal #23: No electronics... what?!

Our society today is pretty much hooked on electronics. Common uses of electricity today are phones, lights, microwaves, iPods, stoves, fans, computers, alarm clocks, Christmas lights, and other digital electronic devices. People almost always have their cell phones or iPods with them. It is a connection to other people, a connection to the rest of the world. IPods are a source of entertainment. So what if we went away, somewhere where we could not use these electronic devices, where they were non-existent. WHAT?! Some of you who are reading this just nearly had a heart attack. Sorry about that, but this is the topic, so this is what I am going to discuss. If you have a history of heart problems, please, stop reading, step away from the computer, and go lie down. For those who are brave enough to go through this electronic stagnation, pleases, continue reading. Thank you.

So, picture yourself in the Teton Mountains. That is in Wyoming for you geography impaired people. You are in a log cabin. There is a little stream behind the cabin. Trees and willow bushes everywhere. The mountains are right there, clear as air, and just majestically huge. The sky is clear blue, and the weather is crisp and cool but sunny. Nature is all around, and it is just plain beautiful. If I were to get away from electronic devices, this is where I would go. I have already gone on vacation here and have described it in an earlier blog, and in short, it is wonderful. It really is. However, I would still miss my cell phone and iPod, because those are my entertainment and connection to the world. If I did not have those things, then I would obviously do something else for entertainment. I would go horse back riding across the mountains for all of the morning. Then I would have a delicious lunch and ice cream. I would then go walking around and just hanging out, relaxing, reading, or take a nap, quite possibly. Then in the evening, I would go fishing and eat a delicious dinner. Then I would just hang out and look at the stars. I really like nature and out doors, if you have not noticed. This is how I would live if I did not have technology for a certain amount of time.

Thoreau versus Gandhi

Henry David Thoreau was a Romanticism poet during the 1800's. Romanticism poets were obviously during the Romanticism period, a period of literature in response to the earlier Rationalism Period. Rationalists believed in using logic and reason. They were very interested in learning and gaining knowledge, and they were also very interested in and curious about science. This is when many early inventions, such as the lightning rod and stove, came about. As a response to that period, came the Romanticism Period. This time of literature was quite the opposite. Romanticists believed in using intuition rather than logic, feelings rather than reason, and searched for a figurative meaning in things rather than a scientific meaning. They wrote about nature and the beauty of it, patriotism, love, myth, happiness, and religion. This time period was much different from the Rationalism Period. Thoreau was of this period, and even though he started out with the literature consisting of the Romanticism ideal, he later gave this style of literature up.

    One of the ideas of Romanticist poets was that it was okay to break the law if it went against one's morality or innocence. This was their idea. This is also in common with Gandhi, an Indian peaceful activist. Both said that it was acceptable to break the law since it went against the rights of the people. "I have paid no poll-tax for six years. I was put into a jail once on this account, for one night; and as I stood considering the walls of solid stone, two or three feet thick, the door of wood and iron, a foot thick, and the iron grating which strained the light, I could not help being struck with the foolishness of that institution which treated me as if I were mere flesh and blood and bones, to be locked up" (Thoreau, 224). In Gandhi's "On the Eve of Historic Dandi March," Gandhi says, "Wherever possible, civil disobedience of salt laws should be started. These laws can be violated in three ways" (Gandhi, 229). They both gave permission to the idea of civil disobedience, of not following the government laws because they were not in favor of the people. However, Henry David Thoreau and Mohandas K. Gandhi were different in how they used the civil disobedience.

    Thoreau disobeyed the law for himself. He did not want to pay a poll tax, so he did not. He did not include others in his opposition, only himself, and to him, it was more of a single gain, not for multiple people. "Even the Chinese philosopher was wise enough to regard the individual as the basis of the empire" (Thoreau, 227). Henry Thoreau went it alone and individually gained from it, but Gandhi was disobeying for all of the people. He wanted everyone to continue the peaceful fight for rights. "I shall eagerly await the news that ten batches are ready as soon as my batch is arrested. I believe there are men in India to complete the work begun by me" (Gandhi, 230). Both of them disobeyed, but only Gandhi looked for the bigger and greater outcome. Thoreau looked to benefit himself, and though they both criticized the government, Gandhi did so in looking out for the many others of India. Thoreau did so for the individual, not the group.

 

Works Cited

 

Thoreau, Henry David. "Civil Disobedience." American Literature. Columbus, Ohio: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 222-227. Print.

Gandhi, Mohandas. "One the Eve of Historic Dandi March." American Literature. Columbus, Ohio: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 229-230. Print.

 

Journal #22: Breaking the Law According to Romanticism Poets

Breaking the law is not good, as made so by our society. Duh. This is obvious, because if someone breaks the law they are punished. If breaking the law was a good thing, "criminals" (now considered regular citizens because they are following the law by breaking it) would get lollipops rather than ten years in prison. Unless you are in some crazy backwards, upside-down, opposite world, that lollipop scenario is non-existent. Breaking the law is a bad thing in this society. Again duh. So now that we got that down, I am going to twist it to match the views of the Romanticism Poets.

So Romanticism poets believed in youth innocence, purity, morality of oneself, intuition or a gut feeling, and human nature and emotions, not science and logic like the Rationalism Period. According to certain poets, their philosophies basically say that if the law goes against someone's morality or intuition or something they believe, then it is okay to break the law. For example, and this example is exaggerated a lot, there is a guy named William. He is a young teenage boy in his prime, and he knows this. He lives in a world governed by a stern cross man, Mr. Mean. Mr. Mean has made it a law for this world that everyone needs to be adult like and wear a clean suit. Sweat pants, loose clothing, and other casual clothing items are not allowed to be worn in public, only in the privacy of one's house. Clause: if there are guests at one's house (guests are considered people who do not live there on a daily basis) then clothes must be in dress uniform as well. William hates this. He is just becoming his own person and he is young, and figuratively speaking, he has just learned how to fly. William does not want to wear dress clothes, because he feels that it takes away from his youthful innocence, that he is not himself anymore, and that he is speeding to quickly into adulthood. He breaks the law, and wears casual clothes in public.

William just broke the law. According to the Romanticism Poets, this would be okay, because the law went against his feelings, youth, and morality.

However, this does not mean that you should go and steal a flat screen television and argue at your trial that you did this out of your own morality and it goes against yourself to pay for a television. Do not argue that the Romanticism Poets allowed this, so it should be fine now. That is wrong and just plain crazy. Please do not be that crazy guy who takes things far past the limit and tries to make them work when it is obvious that they do not work and he is just insane.

Journal #21: Ben Franklin and Ralph Emerson

Ben Franklin is an obvious historical and famous person during the rationalism period. He invented certain things such as the lightning rod and a certain type of stove. He was a famous writer, writing works including almanacs, books, newspapers, journals, and even his own autobiography. Ralph Emerson, who has the middle name of Waldo, (What a cool middle name!), is probably not as well known as Ben Franklin, but he is still a known figure. He was a Romanticism writer. Well, actually, he was more of a transcendentalist writer during the Romanticism Period as he later gave up Romanticism writing. Anyway, he wrote many essays and prose poems, including Self-Reliance, Heroism, and Nature, the essay I will be discussing a little bit in this blog. There is a little tad bit of their literary history, and now for the real question. How are those two different men similar in their beliefs?

So, how are they? One was from the Rationalism Period, and the other one was from the Romanticism Period. In case you are not quite sure what these two literary periods were about, these periods were pretty much opposites. Rationalism, which came first, was about the scientific facts. It included logic, reason, knowledge, proof, science, and the longing of all these things. Romanticism, which came next as a reaction to Rationalism, was about intuition, religion, nature in its beauty, feelings, patriotism, human nature, and a person's soul. They are two different things, but the people of these period do have one major thing in common. This is the view of creation, including God and nature.

Ben Franklin believed that God created the world and nature, and that this was apparent, but that that was it. God was not considered a reigning figure in each person. God was associated with creation and nature but not with a personal relationship or association with a person's soul. Emerson had pretty much the same view as Franklin. Emerson believed that anywhere one looked in nature, God's influence could be seen. In other words, it was also apparent that God created nature and the world.

This idea is the main similarity between these two different men, Benjamin Franklin and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Journal #20: Self Reflection

Self reflection and getting away from society is a good thing to do. For me, it gives me a chance to calm down, and relax, without any distractions whatsoever. Society can get kind of crazy and very busy at times. So that I do not blow up, and they have to clean my head off the wall, I like to go into my room and just relax, chill, chillax if you want to call it that. I like to listen to some music, take a nap, just lay on my bed, or I like to go outside and just be quiet and look at the surroundings. Society these days is generally very busy. I mean you have all the big cities like New York City, Boston, Houston, Las Angelos, Las Vegas, and many other cities around the United States. Then inside those cities are hundreds of thousands of store, factories, offices, sky scrapers, and other buildings, where there are many many jobs. Plus, achievement is a major theme in our country. That is why we have colleges, graduates schools, and schools in general, and other teaching facilities. Nearly everyone wants to be successful, to make money, to support themselves, and to achieve fame through their work. Not to mention, there is all this new technology, cell phones, computers, iPods, game boys, game cubes, Wii, Xbox, Macs, PCs, the technology list is nearly endless. Sports have become very popular, including extra curriculars, hobbies, rec centers, and other places for people to do what they want. With this society, people's lives have become very busy. Getting away from this, turning off your cellphone or iPod, taking a vacation, is a good way to just calm down, relax, and slow down.

It is also good to self reflect at this time, because one can think back on his or her actions for the week. Self reflection can lead to a change in one's life, which can help that person. Thinking back on one's life can make one see they need to change something to avoid bad decisions or situations. Getting away, slowing down, and relaxing are some very good things to do.

Journal #19: The Ideal U.S.

What would be an ideal United States? Well, everyone would have different opinions. These opinions would be based on Republican viewpoints, Democratic viewpoints, conservative viewpoints, and liberal viewpoints. Each person's view of the ideal United States would be different, and right now I am going to give my view of the ideal United States.

First off, it would be a democratic society as our nation was formed as. There would the freedoms mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Amendments, just like now. The ideal United States would be prejudice free, and there would not be an inferior or superior feeling to anyone. It would be a hard working society. People who are lazy, do not try in school, which would still exist as it now does, and just throw away their lives, would probably not survive in my ideal United States. Now, they have a long extension of "leeway" time, but I think that is wrong. While some of them do nothing and just keep asking for more time, living off the government, there are the hard working people paying for those slackers to keep slacking off and throwing away their lives. Those hard working people should not have to pay for someone's laziness. In my ideal U.S., people would work hard and earn their pay, not steal it from others. Also, crime would be kept to a minimal.

Along government, I think that it should be less government in the lives of the people, and less spending on things that are not needed. Basically, I have a conservative Republican view on the ideal U.S. If you do not share this view, that is fine, but this is my ideal U.S. MINE! So stay out of my ideal idea and create your own.

That is my ideal United States; and, unfortunately, it is only that, ideal. However, this is a journal, so I can write about my ideal United States, if I would like to. Well, that is all I have to say about that.

Poem by John Greenleaf Whittier

This is a literal translation of A Day by John Greenleaf Whittier.

"Do not think of the sad cold November when a warm June breeze comes and blows the grass. Trees cast shadows, birds sing, and warm sunny rays go down the hill. In the winter, the birds do not sing, and the bees do not hum. The crickets do not chirp; the squirrels hoard nuts for the winter. The hemlock's slowly come awake, and the bird's come and defy winter's cold threat. O wonderful new and old beauty! Oh nature extra dear when the warm sunshine warns the oncoming winter. I hold close to my heart the lovely things and hope for the flowers and nature of spring from God."

This poem talks about nature through imagery, and he uses his own longing and feelings to make the poem more dramatic. Figuritively, the poem describes how the longing of spring keeps him going through the cold hard winter. Thoughts of the animals and the flowers and the warm sun play a major part in the making of this poem. Whittier's thoughts of these things give the poem that hopeful theme and tone throughout the poem.

Journal #8: Romanticism Poem

One day I walked along the brick-layered street,
Looking at the many bustling stores.
And taking in the cool, brisk air so sweet,
I felt tired and worn from all the hustle and more.


And then I came upon a wonderful sight;
There in the middle of all the motion
Was a tree that seemed to shine so bright.
I was swept away as if by an ocean.


The dashing leaves of green and gold and brown
Fell towards the ground with such gentle care.
Fanning out in the shape of a marvelous crown,
The leaves just sat there, come in pairs.


And when I looked upon those leaves so great,
I thought of the tree from whence the leaves had fell.
Compared to others, the tree had bloomed late,
But compared to others, it still looked well.


This wonderful tree gave me a peace of mind,
And rest, and patience, and a memory of the quiet past.
It was more than a tree or leaves; it was an object to find
The softer and gentler side of life at last.

This poem talks about a tree in the middle of the city, literally. The city is very busy and as I walk around the city, I notice how life is so crazy, and I basically become very tired from it. But in the middle of the city, there is a tree, with wonderful leaves. The tree reminds me that life is not so busy. It offers rest, peace, quiet, and gentleness that is sometimes forgotten in a busy environment. This is my romanticism poem made by myself.

Thanatopsis Analysis

Thanatopsis is a poem by Fireside Poet and romanticism era William Cullen Bryant. Here, I am going to analyze it literally and figuratively. The literal meaning is the following.

Nature speaks to those who love it, happiness when they are happy, and sympathy when they are sad. When one thinks of death and sad thoughts come into one's mind, go out into nature where you will hear a voice, and a few days later you will die. You lived by the earth, and you will be part of the earth, and people will walk on you. Roots of an oak tree will penetrate your form. You will not die alone, and you could not wish for a better resting place. You will be buried with the wise and the kings of the past. The sun, the valleys, the rocks, and the oceans are the scenery of your grave. The universe looks down sadly at death. Everyone on the earth will die. Go out into the wonderful nature and woods, and there are the silent death all around. You will die, but what if no one notices that you died? Everyone will die. The happy will laugh, and people will go on with their lives, but they will die eventually. People will go on, but the young will grow old and die, and those after them will die as well. So live your life so that when you die it will not be in agony, but rather in peace and rest.

That was the literal translation of the poem, and it does not seem very cheerful since it talks about death. But if one looks at the parts of the poem, one can understand the figurative meaning of the poem. For example, the poem has a lot of imagery which deals with nature and the beauty of nature. "The hills/ Rock-ribb'd and ancient as the sun,--the vales/ Stretching in pensive quietness between;/ The venerable woods; river that move/ In majesty..." (Bryant). Bryant's descriptions of nature as beautiful, majestic, show his celebratory attitude towards nature, a common Romanticism theme. They also show, that the poem is not a sad attitude about death, but rather a happy one, because he says that nature is so beautiful that when we die, we are surrounded by a wonderful thing. Overall, Bryant is not feeling sorry for death or being afraid of it, but looking at it optimistically since to him, when we die we are surrounded by a great and magnificent force, nature.


Bryant, William C. "Thanatopsis." Poetry-Archive. Poetry-Archive.com, 2002. Web. 26 Oct. 2010. http://www.poetry-archive.com/b/thanatopsis.html

Journal #17: Nature

I like being out in nature. I am not one of those city girls who cannot stand to be anywhere around a tree or in the woods or something without freaking out. And if you are one of those girls, then that is perfectly okay. That is you, and you are free to be you, and I am free to be me. I am not like that though. I am the outdoorsy type, one who enjoys walking out in the woods, fishing, hiking, hunting (occasionally), and just being outside. My grandpa owns a little peninsula shaped part of land on a lake. We go there all the time to go fishing, skeet shoot, and camping. A few years ago, I went camping there, and I had so much fun. My grandma and grandpa invited our family, some of our really good friends, some of their really good friends, and my family from Kansas. It was basically one big lake party. We got there a little bit after lunch and started fishing. The lake mainly has blue gill, crappie, small mouth bass, sunfish, red fish, and carp. I used a fly rod, different from a bobber, worm, and reel pole. A fly rod is a rod where you do not just cast it once and wait for the bobber to go down. Instead, you cast it a specific way, move the line a little, recast, move the line again, recast, and repeat, until you feel a hit. We also went rope swinging into the lake, which was a lot of fun. When it got dark outside, we lit up the campfire, roasted marshmallows, and camped outside under a star filled sky. It was great!

But the time that I really connected connected to nature was when I went to Wyoming with my aunt, uncle, and cousin. Our cabin was right in the middle of the Tetons, and I saw those beautiful mountains every day. We went horse back riding, hiking, boating on Jenny Lake, fishing on the Snake River, white water rafting, shopping (of course haha), and camping. I loved Wyoming. It was so amazing being able to visit another beautiful state. It was one of the best trips that I have ever been on.

I will always be an outdoorsy girl. I just love being out in nature. When you look up at a clear night sky, and you see all those trillions of stars just shining down at you, you just get that feeling that everything is just okay. I love that feeling of being out in nature.

Journal #16: My Favorite Day

My Favorite Day, would be the best day of my life where I could do whatever I wanted for the entire day. It would be my day, my favorite day. So....

My Favorite Day would be on a Saturday. Saturday is a day where there is no school, and there is no pre-school day, such as Sunday. So my Favorite Day would be Saturday. I would wake up at seven o'clock on the dot so I could get an early start on my Favorite Day. For breakfast I would have a big bowl of fruit loops, my favorite cereal, and a blueberry strudel with icing, my favorite kind of breakfast pastry, and a glass of milk. I would watch a little bit of television, and then I would head into town. Also the day would be in the fall, and the weather would be cooler with a small breeze, just strong enough to blow down the colorful leaves. I would meet up with one of my best friends, Caroline, and she would tell really funny and slightly mean jokes, that would just make my day. We would go shopping at the mall and have a bunch of fun. We would go to American Eagle, Kohl's, Shoe Carnival, and of course, Target! Then we would go to lunch at Subway, my favorite sandwich shop, and I would order a ham and turkey on Monterrey cheddar, with lettuce, spinach, green peppers, vinegar and oil, and oregano, plus baked barbecue chips and a Dr. pepper. We would just hang out and have a great day, until approximately two o'clock pm. Then I would meet up with my other best friend, Hope, and we would just hang out and probably go to a park and ride all the rides, because we are cool like that. After this, I would meet with another best friend, Jordan, and play basketball with her. We both love basketball, because it is one of the greatest sports ever. My day would end with a steak dinner, medium, with a baked potato, corn on the cob, a crescent role, and some grape koolaid. After that I would just chill outside, play with my dog Max, a chocolate Labrador, and just look at the stars and the really amazing scenery known as outdoors. Then I would watch television, Family Matters, to be specific, and go to bed about eleven o'clock.

This would be my Favorite Day.

Journal #15: Logic and Reason

When do I use logic and reason? I use logic and reason in my math class and science classes. Obviously, one needs to use logic and reason in a math course, because that is what math is. It is not a theoretical class of what if's; it is a class of fact, of one right answer, of a certain way to do a problem to get that one right answer. This is why I like my math class. It deals with problem solving to get the right answer, no if's or but's about it. For example, I am in Pre-Calculus. If a problem dealt with the unit circle and asked for the point on the unit circle where sin= radical 2/2 and cos= radical 2/2, then the answer is pi/4. pi/3 would not be the right answer. Why? Through logic and reason of course! The coordinate on the unit circle for pi/4 is (radical 2/2, radical 2/2). Plus both are positive, which means they are in quadrant one, (the happy place, where everything is positive.) It is not pi/3 because the coordinate for pi/3 is (1/2, radical 3/2), so it obviously cannot be pi/3. Therefore, it is pi/4. This is figured out through logic. Just like when a second grader checks his or her homework of 15+3=? They added it up and got the answer of 17. (Silly second grader!) The correct answer is 18. We got this through logic and reason. 15 plus 3 is 18 because one can count it out, adding three more items to something does not get one two more items. That brings in chemistry with the Law of Conservation of Mass, but that is another subject for another time. Anyway, logic and reason points to the answer of 18.

One can also use reason and logic when in a predicament. There is this thing called common sense. Many people do not use it, something that drives me crazy. (However, sometimes I don't use common sense, and I end up looking like a fool, and thinking, "Now why in the world did I do that?") Even though, many people don't use it, it still exists and should be used. For example, if one is contemplating whether to stick one's hand in an aquarium full of hungry Piranhas, one should use common sense. That means they should decide not to stick their hand in the tank, because it will no longer exist in approximately five seconds, something that would be very painful. Common sense, if one used it, can save one from a very dumb or dangerous situation.

Thomas Paine's Common Sense

Thomas Paine, who was a political writer, was a well known Revolutionary figure. He wrote many pamphlets and letters, including Common Sense, The Rights of Man, and The Age of Reason. Common Sense was a pamphlet written during the before stage of the American Revolution against Britain. During this time, there was controversy whether to fight the British off and become their own nation, or whether to just stay part of the British empire. This pamphlet strongly represented Thomas Paine's view of fighting off their oppressors, the British. In this pamphlet, Paine offered his views and gave examples to back his ideas up.

One of the ideas in his pamphlet is that government should not be based around a king, but that it should be based by and around the people. It is not the king that makes the people happy; it is the people themselves who make each other happy through their own government. "And as this frequent interchange will establish a common interest with every part of the community, they will mutually and naturally support each other, and on this (not on the unmeaning name of king) depends the strength of government, and the happiness of the governed" (Paine). This was one of the basic ideas that was a foundation for the democratic government that is now The United States of America. Parts of Thomas Paine's pamphlet, Common Sense, have ideas in them that are part of the Declaration of Independence. "MANKIND being originally equals in the order of creation" (Paine) is an idea stated in the Declaration of Independence. This just shows that the Declaration of Independence was not something thought off the top of the head by only one person; it was something that represented the thoughts at the time by multiple people, which I find very interesting.

The other thing that I find interesting in Thomas Paine's Common Sense is the truth behind his statements of the King of England. His ideas of the king and the king's duty and life are true, rather than just exaggerated statements of an angry radical. "But it is not so much the absurdity as the evil of hereditary succession which concerns mankind. Did it ensure a race of good and wise men it would have the seal of divine authority, but as it opens a door to the foolish, the wicked; and the improper, it hath in it the nature of oppression" (Paine). Paine says that hereditary succession would be a good thing, if it ensured a good ruler, but it does not always do so, so it is a bad thing. Paine also says in his pamphlet that a major problem with hereditary succession is that it is possible that a successor is not as wise or great as his father or mother in ruling. Many times this is true, that a great king leaves a younger, foolish, and unprepared prince in his stead, who does not follow the ways of his father and puts a nation in danger. The truth behind Paine's comments is what makes the pamphlet believable and logical. Plus, Paine's tone of voice through out his writing makes the pamphlet, Common Sense, come alive and become not just another boring complaint but a strong, passionate petition against the British Empire. His word phrases, examples, historical facts, and analogies help his work come alive with a strong purpose.

Works Cited

Paine, Thomas. "Common Sense." Common Sense (1971). Archiving Early America. Archiving Early America, 2010. Web. 17 Oct. 2010. .

The American Dream in Accordance with Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin is a well known historical figure. He was a diplomat, scientist, and writer. He is very famous for his lightning rod, but he is also famous for his literary works. Benjamin Franklin wrote many things, including newspapers, journals, almanacs, and even his own autobiography. J. A. Leo Lemay discusses The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin in his literary criticism, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and the American Dream. In this he discusses the main topics and themes throughout Benjamin Franklin's novel.

The thing that I found interesting is how Lemay connected "the American Dream" to Benjamin Franklin's autobiography. He said there was one main theme throughout the work that was consistent with the American dream at the time of Franklin and now. That is the idea of going from "rags to riches," "dependence to independence" (Lemay). "This aspect of the American Dream motif gives the book much of its allegorical meaning and its archetypal power" (Lemay). Lemay's criticism is in agreement with a general overview of the book. Since it was written during the Rationalism Period and during the Enlightenment, it has views regarding those two things. Benjamin Franklin tells of how his experience and knowledge kept him going rather than God. He viewed God as more of a teacher and creator rather than an interactive being in people's lives. Science became more popular because of the longing of facts, proof, and knowledge. These themes are seen throughout the work and are tied into the American Dream. For example, J. A. Leo Lemay says, "A more fundamental reason for the book's power and popularity lies in the archetypal appeal of the individual's rise from helplessness to power, from dependence to independence. In that normal development that every human being experiences from nebulousness to identity, from infancy to maturity, we all recapitulate the experience of the American Dream."

Also, Lemay digs deeper into Benjamin Franklin's work, not just discussing that it is a very popular novel, but also why it is so famous. He talks of the complexity in Benjamin Franklin's autobiography. Franklin includes anecdotes and simple advice, along with his own life, and also a sense of the American Dream. "Franklin deliberately creates a certain kind of fictive world, embodies that world in some unforgettable scenes, creates and sustains one character who is among the most memorable in American literature, and writes vivid truths that strike us with a shock of recognition. For these, among other reasons, I believe that the Autobiography is a major literary achievement, more complex, and in many ways, more artful, than a beautifully constructed novel like The Rise of Silas Lapham, which, of course, is much indebted to Franklin's Autobiography" (Lemay).

I agree with Lemay's view of Franklin's work in the complexity of the autobiography. His view is interesting how it goes much deeper into the work, rather than just looking at the story of Franklin's life. He connects the outlook of the Enlightenment and Rationalism Period into Franklin's views and a basic concept of the American Dream.

Lemay, J.A. Leo. "Franklin's Autobiography and the American Dream." InThe Renaissance Man in the Eighteenth Century. Los Angeles: William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, 1978. Quoted as "Franklin's Autobiography and the American Dream." in Bloom, Harold, ed. The American Dream, Bloom's Literary Themes. New York: Chelsea Publishing House, 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BLTTAD005&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 13, 2010).

Journal #14: Declaration of My World

Everyone has always pretended to be in some other world. Some worlds are crazy imaginative worlds, others are conservative, some are just plain scary, and some are just regular worlds. They all have one thing in common. This is that they are all part of our imaginations. Well, seeing as nobody is alike, and all have different ideas and imaginations, please do not insult or judge my world if yours is different than mine. That is not very nice, and you would not want someone to judge your world, so please do not judge mine.

So the Declaration of My World states: -Everyone can breathe above land and underwater. (how cool would it be to not have to hold your breath or use heavy underwater gear? Instead we could just swim underwater without coming up for air!) Like I said, don't judge.
-Everyone is not be allowed to kill each other. (DUH)
-One has to wear a name tag in public.
-Everyone dresses up in a themed costume every Friday of the month.
-Church is every Sunday, and people have the choice to go or not.
-I am the leader, but there are representatives from different families.
-Everyone does their homework and studies and goes to school. (Yes, I can be classified as a "nerd").
-Everyone has to participate in some kind of outdoor activity, to get rid of laziness.
-One must ride a bike if they are in proper condition on the first Saturday of the months of April, May, June, July, and August. (Weather permitting)
-Everyone is to follow the law or accept the consequences. (Just as in the real world.)

That is pretty much my Declaration of My World. That is my world, and everyone can have their own declaration of their own world. When I was younger, those were the things that I thought would have made my world perfect. Everyone is entitled to their own dream world. So, as I have said before, please do not make fun of my made up world, when you know that yours is designed by you, and mine is designed by me, and you and I are completely different.

Journal #13: Homecoming Spirit

I love homecoming week because everyone... (well not everyone)... dresses up and participates and if they do, it makes the week really fun! For our week, Monday was hat and jersey day. Tuesday was cowboy/cowgirl day. Wednesday was 80's day. Thursday is class color day, and Friday is school spirit day.

I hate it when people do not actually dress up for school spirit day. It really annoys me. I mean, take 80's day for example. I went all out. I had the green neon converse with pink leg warmers, blue tights, short shorts, loose shirt hung over a bright green tank top, with a pink neon mesh shirt thing over the other shirt. I had tons of jewelry and makeup and my hair in a curly side pony tail. It was so much fun! But of course, even with the neon track suits, side pony tails, spiked hair, loose bright clothing, converse, and bulky jewelry, there were people dressed in regular clothing. WHY????? That is no fun. People say, I will look like a loser if I dress up in 80's attire. But really, they look like losers if they don't dress up. It is just fun to dress up like people did 30 years ago. It just bugs me when people don't dress up because they think they are too cool for it (not true) or if they are too lazy to do it.

Also, school spirit day is really fun because nearly everyone dresses in red or blue, and some people go all out, and paint their faces and look like smerfs. Haha. It is just fun to be in the spirit of things, and those people who do not dress up or participate during homecoming week are just depriving themselves of a great time. Plus the homecoming week activities lead us into homecoming, and the more fun the week was, usually that carries into the dance, and makes it more fun. Of course that also depends on the DJ and music he plays, but you get the idea.

So if you are contemplating whether to go all out during homecoming or spirit week, do it, because I guarantee, no matter how ridiculous you look along with other people, you will have way more fun than the people who think they are too cool (which they aren't) to dress up and participate during the week!

Journal #12: Partners?

To have a partner? Or to not have a partner? My preference is to not have a partner. "Why you may ask? Why would you want to do the work all by yourself? Why would you want that responsibility? Why do you not want to hang out with that partner--friend? But having a partner means less work. It means more fun on the project!"

I like working by myself. Why? Because I like doing the work. I am one of those "weird" people who actually likes to do most of the work. That is me. I like coming up with the idea and using my idea. I like being able to take full responsibility of the project, to do it my way, and not someone else's way. That is my personality. People always joke about how I will go the extra mile and go over the top on something. Or they will joke that I can never work well with people on something, because I want to do it my way. This is somewhat true. I have gotten into arguments about how to accomplish a project because I wanted it done one way and my partner wanted it done another way. My dad always jokes about that they should never argue with me, because I will eventually get my way in the end. HAHA Dad! (not really)

It is also a trust issue. How do I know that my partner will go home and do his or her part of the project? I don't. If I work alone, then I know that I am getting it done. And if I do something wrong, then I take full responsibility of the fault. I know what I did wrong and later when I am doing a similar project, I know what to avoid. However, I don't want to get in trouble with a project because my partner did not do his or her work or did it poorly. I am kind of a perfectionist, so I like things done extremely well, and done by me.

Plus, if my partner knows I will do the project, then they get credit for something I did. I hate that. It is wrong. Lazy people should not get rewards for feeding off of the prepared and those willing to do the work. That is why I prefer no partners.

Journal #11: Ethics and Values

Every one has different ethics or morals or values. Mine are probably different from the next person, which are different from the next person. Certain politicians have different morals and ethical values that I do not agree with... cough cough... (Rod Blagojevich)... cough cough... Anyway, I am just going to talk about some of my values, or morals, or ethics, whatever you prefer to call them.

One of my biggest morals is to not cheat. I hate when people cheat, because all it says is that they did not take the time to actually study for a test. You are in the class room for a reason, to learn the subject of that class. Notes or teaching or whatever method the teacher uses to teach that information is what you are to learn. If you do not want to learn, then do not sign up for that class, although sometimes you have to take a certain class. Still, when a test comes, for me cheating is wrong. One you are cheating that person. All you are doing is taking their effort into the test and passing it off as your own. Plus you are cheating yourself. When you cheat it is usually for a short period of time, like a test. You usually do not retain that information. So all in all, you are cheating yourself of learning that material and actually processing it. Cheating is against my morals.

Also, I do not believe in having sex before marriage. I am a Christian, and God says that is wrong. I believe Him, and follow that rule. Sex before marriage can complicate and ruin a relationship, cause emotional feelings and drama, or can result in a pregnancy. Also along those lines, if one does become pregnant, I believe in pro life.

These are some of my values along with, honesty, not stealing, not using drugs, not drinking alcohol before the legal age, and telling the truth. As I said before, many people probably have different morals than me. That is them, not me. All I am saying in this blog, is a list of my morals and ethics.

Journal #10: Science vs. Religion

Science versus religion has been a big debate through all ages. Galileo was put on house arrest for some of his scientific discoveries, because they went against what the church originally said. In the mid 1900's, science and religion and education were being tied together, and then were finally separated. Openly teaching and practicing religion in the public schools was not allowed. Science was becoming a religion, and religion was attempting to be proven by science. So what is the difference between science and religion???

I am a Christian. I believe that God created the earth and people in seven days, (well really six, because He rested on the seventh day.)I believe that evolution is incorrect, and that we are not descendants of apes or bacteria or whatever. I do not believe in the Big Bang Theory, that a random piece of dust somehow floating in space went kablooooooooey and bang, there's the universe. There is no scientific evidence that the creation of the universe was by the Big Bang Theory. No one was there to see, and there is no evidence on it. It is exactly what it says, a theory. The same applies to evolution. There is no evidence that evolution is how we came to be. And as much as I would wish there was evidence, there is no evidence of the creation by God in seven days. We were not there to witness it, and there is no evidence. Now there is evidence that the Bible is true, and because of this, we assume that God created the earth in seven days. However, there is NO EVIDENCE on ANY IDEA OR THEORY about the creation of the universe.

So why does this matter? Well, I believe that God created the earth. That is my faith, my belief, my religion. My religion is based on faith, faith in God, who I believe created the universe, died for our sins, and created a way for us to go to heaven. Yet faith is not equal to science. Science to me is the absolute knowing of things through experimentation, through observation. Science is fact, and the yearning and process to obtaining those facts. However, science is also based on faith just like religion. That is the connection. Scientists are always searching for truth to the creation of the universe. A scientist may sincerely think one way or the other. He has faith in his theory that he is right. Just like a person has faith in their religion. There is evidence of truth of the Bible and my Christian religion. There is evidence in science. But there is not evidence of the creation of the universe. There is only faith.

Puritan Exam

This is a google presentation on the Puritan Literary Period and the lives of the Puritans. It talks of many different aspects of their lives and writing.

Journal #9: Organized Religion

Organized religion is... well it is religion that is organized, has a set way of doing their religion. Examples of this are Catholicism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. With Christianity, there are many sub branches such as Lutheran, Baptist, and Presbyterian. I am just plain Christian, no denomination. So I will tell you what I do on Sundays at my church.

A day at my church goes like so:

First off there are four different main services, or as many people call it, big church. The services start at 7:45, 9:00, 10:15, and 11:30. The first service is more traditional in being; they play hymns rather than the contemporary Christian music. Many of the elderly people like this service and go to it. The other three services play contemporary music. A band plays, and a couple people sing. The words are posted on the screens to the left and right of the baptizing area. They usually play three songs, everyone greets each other, and then we all sit down. The preacher goes to his little pulpit and starts to teach his sermon. Usually there are Bible verses to go along, and they are posted on the screens by the power point people. His sermon usually lasts about twenty to thirty minutes. After this we have a time where people can come up and either become members of the church, or they can decide to become baptized. Then we take communion and offering. After this, they post announcements on the screens for everyone to see, and the preacher tells everyone about upcoming dates that include conferences, new sermons, and small group times and places.

After big church, people can go home or go to Sunday school. In the high school Sunday school, we talk for a little time to our friends, and we just hang out for a little while. Then we have worship and sing a couple of songs and pray. Our high school leader comes and speaks, and then we all pray. After this we have announcements as well. Then he asks us to clean up the room and stack our chairs for the other people who might come in that room. After this, we go home.

That is the church schedule on Sundays at my church.

Journal #8: Proofreading Mayhem

Taylor Mali has a video that discusses the importance of proofreading. (Parents be warned that it does have some mature content in it.) His entire speech called, "The The Impotence of Proofreading," comically makes fun of those who do not proofread carefully, but it also shows the importance of proofreading. As he talks, he talks like one who did not proofread, only spell checked. So for example, if he really meant the word, "world," he might have said "word" or "worl." However, as comical as it is to talk nonsense and mispronounce or say misspelled words, there is also truth behind it.

Too many people fall under the assumption that if one types a paper in Microsoft Word, then Word will automatically spell check and proof one's paper. This is a big mistake. Word only spell checks misspelled words! It does check sentences and grammar, such as run on sentences or fragments, but it will not check the meaning of the words in the sentence. For example, if one wrote the sentence, "the cat and dog ran about the garden, while m s Mary picked flowers," and they did not proofread the sentence, that person would have a problem. Microsoft Word does not see any misspellings in that sentence, but we know that "m s" should really be "mrs." Microsoft Word does not count single letters as being misspelled. So if someone is typing too fast and makes that mistake and does not proofread it, then they could get points marked off for that particular sentence.

Another problem that occurs is that a person uses a correctly spelled word, but it is not the right use of the word. If the sentence was, "The flower was very pretty, and it smelled good," and someone typed it as, "The flour was very pretty, and it smelled good," the person has a sentence they did not want. The second sentence could make sense, but not as much sense as the first one makes. They could also end up with, "The hour was very petty, and it spelled good." This sentence makes no sense at all. However, if the person did not proofread this, only spell checked it, they would not notice anything wrong. Word does not check meaning of the words in the sentence, just spelling. This is why proofreading is so important!

Remember, spell check on Microsoft Word is not good enough when it comes to reviewing papers!

Journal #7: Superstitions

I am not exactly very superstitious, but I do have one little superstition that once I was obsessed with. This superstition is that I think a four leaf clover has some good luck in it. I will show you what I mean in this next story.

One day, my brother, dad, and I were playing some football in a field next to the church we attend. As my dad threw the football at me, and I caught it, my brother jumped up and exclaimed, "I found a four leaf clover! I found a four leaf clover!"
"So?" I said in a rude tone, annoyed that he had interrupted our football game.
"So! Four leaf clover are lucky, Lauren! There are only a number of them scattered around, and when you find one, it means you will have good luck for as long as you have it, or until it dies." Obviously, this is not a real win win situation as the clover dies within a couple of days when you pick the plant due to the lack of sun, water, and nutrients. However, I still believed it, being young at the time, and I was jealous that my brother was going to have good luck for months--the time I though it would last--now because of that silly little flower. My dad said, "Great, now put it down, and let's finish our game!" However, he was too late in saying so.

My brother was searching for more four leaf clover in hope of obtaining more good luck. I was running around the field looking for more clover patches. It was a furious race between us to try and obtain the most good luck. I found a large clover patch, got down on my hands and knees and furiously started to pick each little clover plant. I was so set on finding good luck and the status that came with it. (My brother and I were very competitive then, and we still are somewhat, and anything that I got before him or had more of placed me at a higher pedestal than him.) With no luck, I tried to fake the clover by holding another leaf under the three-leaf clover. This attempt failed, and with it, I thought my luck had run out. I thought I would never have any good luck, and I would only have bad luck. However, this turned to be a silly thought. The whole situation got out of control, and rather than having fun playing football, I had no fun, as I found no four leaf clover. Later, my dad told me in secret that four leaf clovers were no luckier than three leaf clovers.
I said, "I know that, and I won't go crazy over them ever again."
Yet, every now and then if I am playing out in our yard, or stretching on the ground during softball, I look for that four leaf clover, hoping to find that small bundle of luck.

Journal #6: Backfire

Blaming has become the quick fix to any fault... or has it? Many people think that blaming someone will get them out of trouble and will place any fault on the person they are blaming. However, this does not always come out clean for the blamer. The fault could backfire on them and get them in even bigger trouble. All in all though, one should just accept their punishment rather than passing it off to someone else. This next true story shows how blaming someone else for one's faults backfired on the blamer.

In a family of seven there was the mom, the dad, three daughters, and two sons. The daughters' names were Mary, Margaret, and Mildred, and the sons' names were Alfred and Arty. (The names listed are not the actual names of the people, seeing as there is a security risk there.) Out of this group, we will only be looking at the two boys, Alfred and Arty, and the mom.

One day, Alfred and Arty were playing with some games. Arty decided that he wanted to play with the action figure Alfred, the older brother, was playing with, rather than his card game. Arty, the younger brother, thought that the best way to go about playing with the action figure was to take it away and not ask to play with it. Arty snatched up the action figure, and laughed at his brother. Alfred, being very stealth, snatched it right back and went on with playing with his action figure. Arty was extremely mad that Alfred took away his toy, which was really Alfred's in the first place. Arty jumped on his brother, who wiggled out of the grasp of his younger brother. Arty swung at his brother, who ducked, and Arty hit the hard wooden door, breaking his hand. Arty went screaming to the mom, saying that Alfred had broken his hand. The mom, furious, started to yell at Alfred. Alfred glared at Arty, and under this stare, Arty broke down and told the truth, that he hit the door, but he still added the blaming device. He said it was Alfred's fault that he broke his hand, because Alfred ducked. The mom, just ignored this blame, and Arty got in a lot of trouble for starting the fight and lying about it.

Because of blaming his brother on his own silly fault, he gained more punishment, and he just looked plain silly. Blaming someone does nothing for oneself; it can backfire on one and just cause more consequences and humiliation.

Journal #5: 21st Century Punishment

Punishment has gone from whippings in the early days of America to spankings, from spankings to grounding, and now the taking of electronic devices. Today, parents take away cell phones, iPods, computers, televisions, facebook, twitter, and other privileges as punishment. But what is considered a fair punishment in the 21st century?
For me, I think a fair punishment is based on the child and his or her likes. The following examples demonstrate what I mean by that.
Say a boy really likes playing video games and playing on his PS2. The boy, named Tim, lied to his parents about cleaning his room. He said that he cleaned everything up and that is was as clean as a whistle. However, when his parents stepped into his room, they realized that it was not as clean as a whistle. There were clothes thrown everywhere and most of his toys and things stuffed under the bed and in the closet. He only said his room was clean, because he wanted to play with his PS2 and video games. He could only do this if he cleaned his room, but no one likes to clean their room including Tim. His parents punished him. How?
Since Tim likes to play with his video games, PS2, or game boy, I would take away those things. Whatever is dear to him, take away for an extended period of time. Then he will learn that in order to keep those things, he should not lie or do anything wrong. The same applies to a girl.
If Cecilia talks back to her parents and gives them attitude, and she is told countless times not to, then she should be punished. If Cecilia really likes her cell phone, and texts all the time, I would take her cell phone away. Then she might realize that she should not sass her parents and that her phone will not be taken away if she does not talk back to them.
In this century, technology is a major part of people's lives. Taking technology away from them is a fair punishment in my opinion for those who like technology. The punishment should be based on what the child is dear with. Whatever they like, take it away, and hopefully they will learn not to do that wrong thing again.

Journal #4: Wyoming

I love to travel, especially if I go somewhere far away or out of state. In sixth grade, my aunt and uncle asked my brother to go to Wyoming with them. Lucky for me, my younger brother becomes homesick very easily, and my aunt and uncle asked me to go. I was extremely happy to go with them to Wyoming.
We were going to go to a dude ranch in Wyoming up near Jacksonhole, Wyoming. We were going to go horse back riding, fly fishing, hiking, sight seeing, and of course, shopping. I was very excited to be going.
A few days before the trip started, I packed my large suitcase with tons of warm clothes, shoes, and hats. I packed my boots and the cowboy hat my dad gave me especially for the trip to Wyoming. We arrived in Kansas, where my extended family lived, and I packed my stuff into their big Tahoe. After many hugs and goodbye's, my aunt, uncle, and little cousin left for Wyoming, a good day's drive. On the trip I took many pictures of the scenery with my digital camera, and I still have those amazing pictures. When we got the ranch, we were welcomed with a cookout and singing. The next day, I went horseback riding for the first time, and I instantly loved it. My cousin nearly got kicked off the horse, so we had to leave early for safety reasons. Then we went fishing at Snake River, where I was the only one who caught a trout. The best part of going to the Snake River was that my aunt fell in and became soaked. And being the crazy uncle he is, my uncle tried to scare away a buffalo. That was definitely an interesting experience. The next couple of days we went shopping, horse back riding, white water rafting, and hiking in the great Tetons. They were so beautiful, and we were able to see them, almost wherever we went.
That trip was an amazing trip, and I am still glad that I went on that Wyoming trip. The scenery was beautiful, and one got to see nature everywhere. I did benefit from the trip; I was able to become closer with my family, and I was able to see another state. It was really neat to see the Tetons and all the landscape in Wyoming, that I did not see in Illinois. It was a really amazing trip to Wyoming.

Journal #3: Hostage Situation

In Mary Rowlandson's work, A Narrative of the Capture and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, Mary was taken hostage by a tribe of Indians and was a slave to them. She was sold to other Indian groups, and as she was a hostage of the Indians, she dealt with many hardships, starvation, weakness, death, and sadness. Yet in her experience, she trusted God to get her through and to strengthen her each day, and she survived to tell her story.
If I was taken hostage, I would probably not be as calm as Mary. I would be extremely scared, wondering if I was going to survive the incident. However, I would probably not act the same depending on the situation.
For example, if I was suddenly kidnapped, I would not stay quiet and allow them to take me wherever they pleased. Instead, I would kick, scream, and fight back as much as possible. I would make a lot of noise so people could hear me and help me. In that particular case, I would not be calm, rather I would be loud, and I would fight desperately to get away from the kidnappers.
However, if I was taken hostage at a public place, such as school, or the bank, or the mall, by some person with a gun, I would not act like I would in the above-said situation. Instead, I would be calm and do as they told me, until the situation calmed down. If the person with a gun told me to get down to the floor, that is exactly what I would do. If they told me to be quiet and put my hands out in front of me, I would do it. I would not want to make the gunner angry as that person could hurt me and others at the scene.
In each situation though, there is one thing that I would do, no matter what the problem. I would pray to God and trust Him to take care of the hostage situation. I would try my best not to worry as God would take care of me and the other people. This is what I would do if I was in a hostage situation.

Journal #2: Animal story

In a small wood directly next to a small clear blue pond, there was a community of small forest animals, including a family of ducks, rabbits, turtles, deer, beaver, and owls. Each animal did its part in the small forest of Jojoba. The animals worked to bring in food and materials for shelter. The small community of Jojoba worked well together and got along, because each member of the small forest community knew everyone. There was no secrecy among them, for they all acted as family. If a Beaver became sick, not only would his own beaver family help him, but Turtle would bring Beaver flower soup. They were all friendly to each other; however, their friendliness towards strangers was non-existent. The small Jojoba community was so small, because they did not welcome strangers who were different from them.
One stormy day, a family of strange animals came into the Jojoba community seeking shelter. As they saw the nice, dry huts of the animals of the Jojoba community, they became excited and relieved that they could finally come out of the storm. The family went to the first large hut they saw and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" asked Rabbit.
"We are a small family needing shelter from the storm. May we stay a little while?" asked the family.
Rabbit opened the door, ready to welcome them in, but as soon as he saw what they looked like, he slammed the door in their faces. "You are not welcome here! Go bother Duck as you have a bill similar to hers."
The family left, confused by the encounter and also a little disappointed. They found Duck's house and knocked.
"Who is it, and what are you doing out in this storm?" asked Duck.
"We are a small family asking for shelter, only until the storm is done. May we please come in?"
Duck opened the door wide to let them come in, but as she looked at them she yelled, "Go away! you are not welcom here! Go to Beaver and bother him, seeing as you have the tale of a beaver!" Duck slammed the door in their sad, wet faces.
The family ran to Beaver's house, desperate to find shelter. As they knocked loudly, the door suddenly swung open, and standing right there was the meanest and biggest beaver they had ever seen. "What do you want? There is no room for you!" Beaver shouted.
"We only need shelter until the storm stops. We are cold, wet, and very tired. May we please stay here, just until the storm lets up?" asked the family.
"Why would we let you stay here? You are a complete stranger, and you look very strange and suspicious to me, like no other animal! What are you?"
The bigger animal of the family spoke up. "I am Platipus, and this is my family. May we stay here or no?"
"NO! Get out of Jojoba! You are never welcome here!" Beaver yelled furiously and slammed the door in their upset faces. They left Jojoba and moved on the next small forest community only a little ways from Jojoba. There the animals welcomed the Platipus family with open hands. They took them to a dry shelter, gave them blankets and towels, and gave them a basket of food. The Platipus family was extremely grateful, and they told the small community of Lemon how Jojoba had treated them so terribly! The animals listened, and then told their families, who told their friends, who told other friends, and so on. Soon the word was spread that Jojoba was a terrible community, and any strangers or travelers who had to pass through, ran without talking to anybody or even making eye contact. If they did, they were rudely kicked out and yelled at.
Many years later, Jojoba became a non-existent town. Because the animals there were so mean to strangers, outsiders, and travelers, no one wanted to settle there. If only the animals of Jojoba were friendlier to the visitors, Jojoba may have grown and never died. The animals cruelty only led to the ghost town, known as Jojoba.