Journal 20- Autumn

For today's journal, we are supposed to read the poem Autumn by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  This poem is about the beauty of autumn when it comes around every time of year.  This poem definitely reflects the Romanticism period for many reasons.  The first reason is because it talks a lot about nature, which was very prevalent during this time period.  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is talking about how everything gets harvested in the fall, and how nature turns golden with the changing leaves.  It is really hard to write another journal about autumn because that season has come and gone, and it is already winter.  It actually snowed last night and there is still snow on the ground.  It is officially no longer autumn anymore.  I should probably get back to the point of this journal so I can get my points for the day.  Another reason why this poem reflects the Romanticism period is because it is not very rational, like when he mentions the hand that casts over the fields for the harvests.  We can compare that to the Rationalist period because it is pretty much the exact opposite.  This is all about feeling of happiness and joy that the season is changing, and it is describing how beautiful it is.  That is basically what the entire Romanticism period was all about.  I really wish this journal would write itself because I accidentally exited out of the poem tab and I do not know how to get back to it.  I am such an idiot sometimes.  I think for the rest of this journal I will just talk about the characteristics of the Romanticism period.  One characteristic is the love for nature.  It really never talked about anything man made because nature is pure, and it focused on how people should take after that.  When you die, you eventually become part of nature, so you might as well live peacefully with nature.

Reflection- The Chambered Nautilus

For tonight's relfection on poetry and its meaning, I chose to read the poem The Chambered Nautilus by Oliver Wendell Holmes.  In the following paragraphs, I will share the literal meaning of the poem, how this poem reflects the Romantisim period, and the meaning based on the literal meaning, poetic devices and personal knowledge.

First, I will start with the literal meaning of the poem, or what I think it is.  At first, Oliver Wendell Holmes is describing a ship.  The ship is very majestic and is sailing in a place that seems very mystical because of the creatures described in it.  Sirens and sea-maids are both made up, so the literal meaning is obviously not the true meaning of the poem.

"THIS is the ship of pearl, which, poets feign,
Sails the unshadowed main,—
The venturous bark that flings
On the sweet summer wind its purpled wings
In gulfs enchanted, where the siren sings,
And coral reefs lie bare,
Where the cold sea-maids rise to sun their streaming hair." (Holmes).

 The poem The Chambered Nautilus most definitely reflects the Romanticism time period for several reasons.  The first reason is the description.  Every detail is described so you feel like you can actually see it or are experiencing it.  For example, the stanza quoted above is describing where the ship is sailing, and how it is sailing.  Things like "In gulfs enchanted" (Holmes) and "And coral reefs lie bare" (Holmes) let your imagination create a picture of what is going on in the scene, which is a trait that was very common during the Romanticism period.  Another reason why this poem is an obvious one from the Romanticism period is how prevelent nature is.  The entire poem is about a sea creature and how he lives.  Before reading this poem, I did not know what a nautilus was or looked like, so I looked it up.  Once I saw an image of it, I knew what it was right away because I am very familiar with the beach and ocean, etc.  I thought it was remarkable how Oliver Wendell Holmes was able to write an entire poem about such a little guy.  I think they are cute and I am weird.  Look them up.

Based on the literal meaning and my own personal knowledge, I think Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote this poem telling the tail of a small sea crustasaian to tell a story of survival.  He is telling how the small nautilus lives in part of his shell, and when he is ready for something different, he simply creates a new level in his home.  I think Oliver Wendell Holmes is trying to let people know that life goes on; you have to face challenges everyday and learn how to overcome them.  When the nautilus outgrew his living conditions, he moved on and started a new life for himself.  Through all of the trials and errors, the small nautilus manages to stick it out, look forward and move on into the future.






"801. The Chambered Nautilus. Oliver Wendell Holmes. 1909-14. English Poetry III: From Tennyson to Whitman. The Harvard Classics." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and Hundreds More. Web. 08 Dec. 2011. http://www.bartleby.com/42/801.html.

Reflection- Washington Irving

For tonight's reflection, I read the story The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Iriving.  I knew from the very start of reading this that I would find some enjoyment out of it for one specific reason.  Not even a full page into the story, Washington Iriving told the tale of Kidd the pirate.  What is more interesting than a pirate?  I can tell you that the answer is almost nothing.  Pirates are full of excitement and adventure!  I sound like a little Kidd again....get it?  Okay, back to the point of this reflection.  I really liked how Washington Iriving started out his story with a story in itself.  Especially one about pirates.  Oh my gosh, light bulb!  I bet that's why Mr. Langley is making us read this!!!!!  As I am reading this story, I am feeling worse and worse for Tom Walker.  His wife sounds absolutely horrible!  It says that she is "fierce of temper, loud of tongue, and strong of arm" (Irving 245).  Tom Walker must have been miserable all the time for being married to a woman like that.  I am sure that his wife was not a happy person either, and maybe she just had an aggressive personality that could not be helped.  Although, the story did say that you could tell by Tom Walker's face that she took her aggression out on him physically.  Poor little guy.  Later in the story, I found a sentence to back up my thoughts about his horrid wife quite accurately.

"...but Tom was a hard-minded fellow, not easily daunted, and he had lived so long with a termagant wife that he did not even fear the devil." (Irving 246)

Honestly, how bad of a person do you have to be to someone for them not to be afraid of the devil?  His wife seriously gets worse and worse as the story goes on, because later she is pushing Tom Walker to make a deal with the devil for the only one reason: so they can get Kidd the pirate's gold and be rich forever.  She is a very selfish person.

There are many ways that I can see this story relating to the Romanticism period.  The one that stuck out to me at first was the description of nature.  We learned that during the Romanticism period, nature was very important.  From the very beginning, when he was telling about where Kidd the pirate hid his treasure, to when Tom Walker was taking the short cut through the swamp and met the stranger, the scenery and nature was almost lifelike from all of the description.  The imagery really helped me understand and picture the story more.  Another way that I think this story could be related to the Romanticism period is the true meaning of the story.  It definitely involves a lot of emotion, whether it be the greed of wanting the treasure or the relief of no longer being abused by your crazy wife.  I think that emotion drove this entire plot.

Washington Irving.  "The Devil and Tom Walker." Glencoe Literature. By Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Douglas Fisher, Beverly Ann. Chin, and Jacqueline Jones. Royster. New York, NY: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2009. 114-18. Print.

Thanatopsis- Reflecion

I read the poem Thanatopsis by William Bryant Cullen.  I have many thoughts on this poem.  There was one passage that I particularly liked that I will used to start off my reflection.

"She has a voice of gladness, and a smile

And eloquence of beauty, and she glides

Into his darker musings, with a mild

And healing sympathy..." (Cullen).

I chose this passage to start off my reflection for many reasons.  I liked it because of the description.  I always like when boys describe girls and make them sound so wonderful and beautiful.  When I read this piece of the poem Thanatopsis, it makes me think of a girl who is not only beautiful looking, but also had a beautiful soul.  A "healing sympathy" makes me believe that the woman being described in this poem is a very good person.  If someone were to have a "healing sympathy," I think that they would be a person who would be very generous with their time and emotions to help out others who are having problems.  She is most likely selfless, and is legitimately more worried about the well being of others than the well being of herself.  After reading the passage I have selected over again, I also picture this particular woman to be kind, but also mysterious.  Almost like her kindness givers her some sort of power.  She is obviously a strong human being, and is most likely admired by many.  I just really appreciate when male writers take the time to recognize the beauty, strength, and mystery of woman, and do so in a way that is very flattering to all who read it.  I absolutely love being a female.

There is another part of the poem Thanatopsis by William Bryant Cullen that I also very much liked and found it to be pretty interesting:

"Go forth, under the open sky, and list

To Nature's teachings, while from all around--

Earth and her waters, and the depths of air--

Comes a still voice..." (Cullen).

I think I liked this part of the poem because of the way it is talking about nature.  Nature is obviously the purest form of the planet earth.  I feel like with new technology and our need for expansion, manufacturing products, and so on, people forget about what nature is really all about.  In all honesty, this section of the poem reminded me of Pocahontas.  Maybe that is why I like it so much...but seriously.  Pocahontas always talked about how important it was to connect with the earth and understand how much it really means.  This part of the poem is pretty much saying the same thing.  It is telling you to go out into the heart of nature, and soak in the experience.  There is so much that people, in any generation, can learn from pure nature. It is untouched, and for that it is beautiful.  William Bryant Cullen is telling the reader that nature has its own voice, and if you listen carefully enough, you can hear what it has to say.

"Thanatopsis, by William Cullen Bryant." Poetry Archive | Poems. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. http://www.poetry-archive.com/b/thanatopsis.html.

Journal #19- nature and spirituality

I think that nature and spirituality are very important in the cycle of life and death.  I feel like your spirituality has a lot to do with your death, because what you believe in and what your spirituality is decides what happens to you if you die.  Some people believe that when you die, you go to Heaven or Hell.  Other people believethat when you die, you are reincarnated into something else.  Depending on how you lived your life, you will either be reincarnated to something better and nice or something gross and bad.  I hardly even know how this has anything to do with the topic of this journal.  In my opinion, I think that everyone should have a relationship with nature.  Is using the word relationship and nature in the same sentence weird?  Who even cares.  I really do not even know what this journal is supposed to be about because I literally just did a journal exactly like it.  So to take up words, I am just going to rant about an idea that I may or may not agree with.  I can not even think right now.  I think that nature is important because it teaches people what the world is like without human influence, and without the interference in human life.  How many words has this taken up?  Human life and all of the things that we have created have basically destroyed nature.  The amazon rain forest gets smaller and smaller every year because of our selfish need for paper.  Save the planet!!  Recycle or something!!  Make the world a better place!  I feel like I belong in the 1960's or something.  I would have so been one of those radical teenagers.  I was born in the wrong century.  I already listen to the Beatles and Grateful Dead and everything.  Why did I have to be born in this age where all we care about are material things and making our world more comfortable?  Give peace a chance, everyone. <3

Fireside poet- reflection

For my fireside poet, I chose to read a poem by William Cullen Bryant.  I did not choose him for any specific reason.  The poem that I read is titled A Dream  by William Cullen Bryant.  In this poem, William Cullen Bryant talks about a dream that someone had. In this dream, nature plays the biggest role.  Along with nature comes with growing old, which also plays a role in the poem, but not as great as nature in general.  I guess they can both be considered parts of nature.  Either way, the dream is about life.  The dreamer describes the dream as sunny, warm, and beautiful in the summer.  Everything was happy, colorful, and buzzing of life.  One particular part of the poem, I found especially nice.

"Fast climbed the sun: the flowers were flown,
There played no children in the glen;
For some were gone, and some were grown
To blooming dames and bearded men." (PoemHunter).

I think I liked this passage because of the description.  I picture lovely ladies in old fashion, pretty dresses and classy looking men in old fashion, business-casual suits.  Pretty much, I get a scene from the movie Gone With the Wind in my head.  I also liked how nature is described in this passage.  I am an individual who really enjoys and appreciates the outdoors, so the vision of the warm, shining sun and a meadow of flowers added to the detailed description.

If I were to compare a fireside poet like William Cullen Bryant and his writing style to the style of a Puritan, I would argue that they are very different.  The Puritan style of writing was pretty much solely based on God and religion.  As you can read from at least ten of my other blogs from this class, I have done a lot of work on the Puritan's and their form of writing.  The Puritan writers are known for including their religion and how God was relative in their lives.  God and religion were always the main focus of the entire written piece.  On the contrary, the fireside writers were different.  They were from the Romanticism period.  During the Romanticism period, their focus was more on intuition, emotion, and based on feeling.  Nature was included in this because it is pure and not man made.  Obviously, the example from A Dream by William Cullen Bryant shows that perfectly.  The fireside writers did not include religion because it was not as important to them.  The Puritans thought that God controlled every single thing that happened in their lives, and they were either destined to go to Heaven or destined to go to Hell.  The people of the Romanticism period were not as worried about it as the Puritans.  They believed in having faith, but it was a much more open faith.  The people during the Romanticism period basically sat back and enjoyed life for what it was.  This included the good and the bad, which is reflected in many fireside poet's poems.  They did not have the rules and regulations like the Puritans did.

PoemHunter.com. N.p., 5 Apr. 2010. Web. 22 Nov. 2011. <http://poemhunter.com/poem/ 

     a-dream-120/>. 

Journal #18- autumn

In my opinion, the perfect autumn day includes many things.  Each of the things that make a perfect autumn day can be related to all five of the sense.  A perfect autumn day would have plenty of sunshine.  The sun would warm you up just enough so that the crisp, chilly wind does not make you shivery cold.  The leaves have turned colors.  They are to the point where they are colors such as red, orange, and yellow, but not quite to where they are brown and falling off the trees.  I think that the changing leaves on the trees is the most beautiful part of this season.  On the perfect autumn day, I picture going to some sort of outdoor festival.  Last year, and in years before, I went to the outdoor art festival.  It was perfect because the weather was gorgeous, and they were serving things like hot chocolate and pumpkin pie.  When I think of autumn, I also think of the tastes.  This would include things like caramel apples, pumpkin pie, hot apple cider, and hot chocolate.  Those are the main staples of this season, but other foods could include turkey, stuffing, mash potatoes, and anything else that you would normally eat on the holiday of Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is coming up!!  Only a few more days until my favorite time of the year!!  Autumn brings Thanksgiving, which in turn brings family together.  I love this time of year because I get to see members of my family that I do not see very often.  I love autumn!

Journal #17- nature

At time when I was bonding with nature?  That is pretty much my entire childhood.  I was such a tomboy back then!  I used to spend all of my time outside, and I would always wish I could be like Pocahontas and run around without shoes on and not step on anything or hurt my feet.  I was also a huge fan of anything that had to do with history.  I remember when I was very little, we lived in Carlinville, Illinois.  Our house had a very big front yard and we lived out in the country.  There was a very big tree in the very front and I remember thinking it was the coolest thing ever.  It was absolutely huge and there was a little space at the bottom of the tree where my little self could fit.  I called it my Secret Tree.....I was also very weird.  I do not remember a specific time where I bonded with nature, but if we can include pets and animals under the nature category then I guess I will just talk about that.  I sound really dumb for separating my words, but I just want to take up as much words as I possibly can.  I have always loved animals.  It does not matter what kind, any animal has a place in my heart.  I am such a sap sometimes.  When I was five years old, we got our first Great Dane.  We grew up together, and I can honestly say I will never have another dog (or friend...awww) that I will love as much as I loved Elke.  I miss you, old girl.

Journal #16

There are several possible tools that we, as a class, to communicate with our Franklin virtues project partners from other Pleasant Plains High School english students and the Farmington high school student.  Is this journal not the exact same as the one we just did last class?  Oh well, I guess I will just say the exact same things as I did two days ago because no one is here to explain what we are supposed to do.  One way to communicate for this Benjamin Franklin virtues project is Twitter.  I think that this will probably get used the most because when we did the video chat with the students from Farmington High School, they told us that the students in their school use Twitter a lot.  I also have a Twitter (aslifer18, follow me!!), so this will probably be the option that my group and I will use the most.  Another option of communication for this project could be messaging through Facebook.  I do not have a Facebook anymore because I deleted it, but I am sure that other students in different group will use it.  I doubt that they will write on each others walls because everyone can see it.  The email messaging on Facebook is more personal, and you have the option to send it to more people.  I think that this will be a very popular form of communication.  I feel like I am repeating everything I said last class and it is making me kind of mad.  The third option of communication for this Franklin Virtue project would be the use of cell phones.  There are many ways that you can use a cell phone to communicate with people.  One way is texting.  I gave out my number to these people I hardly know, even though last blog I went on a rant about how I probably did not want them to have my number forever.  Well, I forgot that I said that I guess because I just sent it in an email.  Who even cares.

Journal #15- overcoming challenge

I think there are many ways that I, as well as the other students in the English classes from both Pleasant Plains and Farmington High School, can overcome the challenges of working with a partner who is not from the same area as us.  In my opinion, social networking is probably the biggest thing that can be used.  Things like Facebook and Twitter will be a big help in several ways.  There are ways you can message people via these sites, which is personal and an easy way to get a hold of someone.  You can either right on someones wall on Facebook, or just message them.  On Twitter, a person can be tweeted or messaged, similar to an email.  These online social networking sites are also helpful because it is very easy to transport and exchange online information.  In this class, we do a lot of online stuff.  It is pretty much one hundred percent online...even though we are not getting an internet credit, and it is extremely inconvenient sometimes.  Links can be easily accessed through Facebook, Twitter, and basic email.  Another way to keep in touch with the people from different areas that we are working with is texting.  This is not as easy with a group project because texting is strictly from one person to another person, but it is still very easy to use.  I think that I will mostly be using Twitter and emailing.  I do not really want these people to have my phone number after this project is finished.  I would used Facebook, but I deleted it because of too much drama and I never got on.  I am not about to reactivate it just for some project.  I think that if I get people in my group who are actually willing to work and will not slack off and make me do all the work, this can be very fun.  Someone just said something about calling the people in our group...no thanks.  I am not about to talk to strangers on the phone; that would be the most awkward thing on the planet.  I think I will just stick to what I know: texting and Twitter.

Reflection- Tuckerman

 In The Character of Franklin, written by Henry T. Tuckerman, he states in the second paragraph that Benjamin Franklin's character was definitely more on the practical side (Tuckerman).  I would say that I agree with this for many reasons.  Based on The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and what I was forced to read in this English class, Benjamin Franklin had a thought process that did not include much emotion, personal opinions, and religious beliefs.  He focused only on the real facts, and did not muddle the facts with what he thought, whether he agreed or disagreed. 














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://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCVBF019&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 3, 2011).

Reflection- Benjamin Franklin: Virtues

Benjamin Franklin had his own system of virtues that I believe definitely made him successful in becoming a better person.  Benjamin Franklin's system of virtues consisted of thirteen main virtues with their own description.  The first is temperance, which means "eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation" ("Being Virtuous").  This means that you should not eat because you are bored, or drink excessive amount of alcohol just for fun.  The second virtue is silence: "Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation" ("Being Virtuous").  Another virtue is order, which is when you "let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time" ("Being Virtuous").  The fourth virtue is resolution, or "resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve" ("Being Virtuous").  The next virtue is frugality, which means "make no expense but to do good in others or yourself; i.e, waste nothing" ("Being Virtuous").  The sixth virtue is industry:
"lose no time.  Be always employed in something useful.  Cut off all unnecessary actions."  Another virtue is sincerity, which means "use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly" ("Being Virtuous").  The next virtue is justice, meaning "wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty" ("Being Virtuous").  The next virtue of Benjamin Franklin is moderation: "avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve" ("Being Virtuous").  The tenth virtue is cleanliness, which means "tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation" ("Being Virtuous").  The next virtue is tranquility, meaning "be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable" (Being Virtuous").  Another virtue that Benjamin Franklin followed is chastity, which means "rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or anothers peace or reputation" ("Being Virtuous").  The thirteenth and final virtue is humility, which means "imitate Jesus and Socrates" ("Being Virtuous").

I think there are many reasons why these thirteen virtues helped Benjamin Franklin become a better individual, or at least helped him try to be a better individual.  Benjamin Franklin was always aware of what he or someone else was doing.  He seems like a man who was very in touch with his surroundings.  Benjamin Franklin kept a small journal with him at all times, and in the journal he kept track of the virtues he did and did not follow daily.  This helped him physically see written down on paper what he felt like he had to work on to become a better person.  I think that they fact that he always had the journal with him as a reminder made him remember to make the effort to portray all of these virtues.  As time went on, he did not even need the reminder anymore.  Maybe he just got so used to trying to be the best person he could be, it started to come naturally to him, without any extra thought.  I think people would benefit from making special efforts like that. The world would be a better place.


"Being Virtuous: Benjamin Franklin’s 13 Virtues of Life | The Art of Manliness." The Art of Manliness | Men’s Interests and Lifestyle. Web. 27 Oct. 2011.

Reflection- Benjamin Franklin: Deism

Benjamin Franklin believed and followed thirteen virtues that definitely represent the philosophies of Deism.  Deism is the rational belief in God, and “a belief in God based on reason rather than revelation and involving the view that God set the universe in motion but does not interfere with how it runs” (Microsoft Word).  Benjamin Franklin’s thirteen virtues were temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility.  In his writing in The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, there are many examples that we, as readers, can observe and conclude that his ideas and reactions to his experiences could certainly be an example of the philosophies of Deism.

            I think that one example of a Rationalist idea from Benjamin Franklin in the writing of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin could be when he is discussing his first few days in Philadelphia.  One of the first things that Benjamin Franklin talks about is how there was not a place to buy good books anywhere in the entire area (Franklin 139).  The only way that he, or any others, could get books was by either importing them from Europe (which is what everyone mostly did) or borrowed them from each other (Franklin 139).  The people that Benjamin Franklin associated with in Philadelphia were the ones importing their books and exchanging them with one another. 

“Finding the advantage of this little collection, I proposed to render the benefit from the books more common, by commencing a public subscription uncertain…Not having any copy here of what is already written, I know not whether any account is given of the means I used to establish the Philadelphia library; which from a small beginning is now become so considerable.” (Franklin 139)

In my opinion, Benjamin Franklin’s act of creating the first public library in Philadelphia could be a combination of several of his virtues: order, resolution and industry.  Order means to “let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.”  Resolution means to “resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.”  Industry means “lose not time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.” (Amidst a tangled web.)  Ben’s ideas for the library were practical, which absolutely supports the philosophies of Deism.

            Another example that I found in reading The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin was when Ben was describing how he and his wife were living while he was trying to get the new public library up and running.  He talks about how much his wife had been helping him, and that their lifestyle had to make some sacrifices since money was tight.

“We have an English proverb that says, ‘He that would thrive must ask his wife.’  It was lucky for me that I had one as much disposed to industry and frugality as myself.” (Franklin 143-4)

            It states right in the passage that both of the Franklin’s followed at least two of the thirteen virtues.  They had to buy cheap furniture and Ben Franklin says that he ate breakfast out of a “two-penny earthen porringer, with a pewter spoon” (Franklin 144).  Although his wife was frugal, she surprised her husband with a china bowl and a silver spoon because she was so proud of how hard he had worked.  If love was one of the thirteen virtues, they would be the perfect example.

Franklin, Benjamin. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Henry Altemus, 1895. Print.

"Deism." Microsoft Word Dictionary/Thesaurus. Microsoft Corporation, 2006.Software.

Journal #14- aprentice for Ben Franklin

If I were the apprentice for Benjamin Franklin for a day, I feel like I would have the best day ever.  Ben Franklin is one of the most genius people in American history, and the things he did every day must have been so interesting.  I can imagine that such a smart man would need fuel for his brain to get through the day, so the first thing we would do together is get breakfast.  I know for sure that I would have french toast, scrambled eggs, an English muffin with strawberry jelly, bacon and a tall glass of hot chocolate.  I do not know much about Ben Franklin's personal taste, but I can picture him having something similar to me.  Maybe a stack of pancakes smothered in butter and maple syrup, eggs sunny side up, and a lot of sausage.  He needed brain power!  After our very hearty breakfast, we would go out into town and visit the important people that we needed to discuss things with.  Maybe we would stop by Thomas Jefferson's house and pay him a visit.  This would be around the time that the Declaration of Independence was being finalized.  We would definitely be going to the Constitutional Convention and trying to work out some decisions with the other people of importance.  Some of these people would include Thomas Jefferson, Hamilton, and many others.  I would definitely run up to Thomas Jefferson and shake his hand because he was a Democratic Republican.  In history class we had a debate between the Federalists and the Democratic Republicans, and I am very happy to say that I am totally with the Democratic Republicans.  I love Thomas Jefferson!  Honestly, I can not remember which side Ben Franklin was with, but I do not care.  I still love him and would love to be his apprentice.  I think that it would be so sweet to go back in time and be able to meet all of the amazing and intelligent people who were so influential on our country.

Reflection - Patrick Henry

The Rationalism writing style is know for using logic and reason to answer questions or explain things. It is very different from the writing style of the Puritans because it leaves religion, beliefs, and emotional feelings out of it to explain idea or situations, and to make decisions. In Speech to the Second Virginia Convention, written and spoken by Patrick Henry, there are several examples of how his speech exemplifies the Rationalism writing style. In the first part of his speech, Patrick Henry is beginning to discuss slavery and freedom (Henry 116).

"It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason toward my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere about all earthy kings." (Henry 117)

One of the key points to the Puritan lifestyle, which includes the writing style of the Puritans, is how involved their religion and God was in making any decision of any kind. In this statement, Patrick Henry comes right out and straight up says how he views the subject of bringing religion in the conversation (Henry 117). He makes it clear that while he does believe in God and views him as much higher above any human being, he does not want that personal information to offend anyone or give them the wrong impression. Patrick Henry obviously feels like bringing religion in as the main decider in a big decision or conflict is unecessary, and it is much better to let everyone keep their personal beliefs at home so they can focus on the conflict itself and trying to find a logical solution (Henry 117). I do believe that the fact that Patrick Henry even mentioned God leans a little on the side of the Puritan style of writing, but it is immediately followed by stating that it does not matter because it is not relevant to the rest of the speech.

Patrick Henry also makes another point in his speech that can lead the reader away from the idea that this was written in Puritan writing style and was obviously written to immatate the Rationalism style of writing. Patrick Henry is talking about how people sometimes close their eyes to bad situations and attempt to avoid them, hoping they will eventually go away (Henry 117). "For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst and provide for it." I think that this can be considered an example of Rationalist writing because he is saying that he wants the truth and nothing but the truth. The Rationalists were very straight forward. The focused on having nothing but the raw facts, and Patrick Henry is saying how, no matter the consequences or what may happen, that is all he wants to hear.

Reflection- Ben Franklin

The writing of Ben Franklin in his autobiography is very different from the writing styles of the Puritans in many ways.  Ben Franklin is very well known for being more of a rational thinker, which means that his thinking was more logical and not based on religion or God, like that of the Puritans.  In The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, he makes a few key statements that support the idea that he was more of a Rationalist thinker.  The first quote I found to be particularly interesting.  "Man is sometimes more generous when he has little money than when he has plenty; perhaps to prevent his being thought to have but little" (Franklin 108).  I think that this sentence can be contrasted to Puritan writing in one key way.  The life of the Puritans was based on their religion, and the Puritans believed in predestination.  This means that God had already decided who was going to Heaven and who was going to Hell, but the person was not aware of which they were.  To try to make sure that they were chosen to go to Heaven, the Puritans spent their life doing very good things, including charity, to try to change God's mind in a sense.  Ben Franklin's thought states that it is typical for men to be more likely to do charity when they themselves do not have much.  To the Puritans, doing charity and being generous was just a given.  You were supposed to do that all of the time.  Ben Franklin is saying that men only do that sometimes, and typically is it so other people do not suspect them of not having enough for themselves.  In a way, this type of charity would solely be based off of selfishness.  I think that Ben Franklin's point to this statement was to prove that sometimes, people only do good things to show people that they can do good things.  It kind of takes the goodness out of it, which it what the Puritans pretty much lived for.

Another part of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin that I believe proves that his writing differs from Puritan writing is the passage when he talks about joining the Quakers in Philadelphia. 

"Thus refreshed I walked again up the street, which by this time had many clean-dressed people in it, who were all walking the same way.  I joined them, and thereby was led into the great meeting-house of the Quakers, near the market.  I sat down among them, and after looking round awhile and hearing nothing said, being very drowsy through labor and want of rest the proceding night, I fell fast asleep and continued so till the meeting broke up, when some one was kind enough to rouse me.  This, therefore, was the first house I was in, or slept in, in Philadelphia."

 This passage goes against Puritan writing style because it simply involves another religion.  The Puritans were not very open-minded people.  The act of going into another religious place, as Ben Franklin did, would have been totally out of line.  Benjamin Franklin was so comfortable he fell asleep in it.

Journal 13- American Dream

I think that the American Dream in the present day should be similar to the original American Dream that was created in the early nineteen-fifties.  Back then, the American Dream was to have the perfect family, in the perfect house, in the perfect neighborhood, with other perfect necessities.  The perfect family was considered pretty kids, who had very good manners and were well behaved.  I think the parents wanted the children to be considered perfect because they thought that the kids were portraying them and their way of life.  I think the parents back then were very concerned with what other people thought of them.  If their children were misbehaved, the parents by be accused of not bringing them up properly.  The perfect house of the American Dream was considered the “cookie-cutter” house that was located in the suburbs.  I do not think that that is the same as what is considered the American Dream in the present day.  Nowadays, I think that there are two different kinds of houses that can fit the mold of the modern American Dream.  The first would be the biggest house ever.  I think that all Americans dream of having the biggest, most beautiful house in the neighborhood.  This would show society that they have good taste and enough money to have good taste.  The second option for the American Dream home would be the most unique house ever.  I think that this is the total opposite of the nineteen-fifties version of the American Dream.  Back then, the Dream was to be like everyone else.  If you were out of the ordinary, you were considered weird.  In the present day, it’s like the weirder your house is (weird in a tasteful way, if that can make any sense), the more popular and desired it will be.  Now, the American Dream is to have a very high paying job so you can have things that are high quality.  This would include name brand clothes, expensive cars, big houses, and a very good education at a well known, expensive school.

Journal 12- rules

If I were to make up my own rules about right and wrong, I could fill an entire series of encyclopedias.  My first rule about what is considered right and wrong would be "always be hones."  In my complete and serious opinion, honesty is ALWAYS the best policy.  I absolutely hate when people are not honest, and I really think that there is no need for it.  In Sliferville, aka Princesstown, honesty is the only policy.  If anyone chooses to lie in my town, there will be extremely bad consequence.  Lying is a sin and no matter what you believe in, there will always be something bad.  Nothing good ever comes of out of lying, especially in my theoretical town.  Another rule in my town would be to always try to look your best.  I know it is a little superficial, but I think it is kind of disrespectful and gross when people walk around after they had literally just rolled out of bed.  Like really, can you not take a shower or something?  Or change clothes?  I guess a better rule would be you are required to take a shower every single day.  The citizens of Princesstown are going to be well known and famous for being clean and not smelly horrible.  The person who smells disgusting will get kicked out if they do not shower after the first warning.  You do not have to be pretty to live in Princesstown, just try to keep yourself cleaned up.  It is completely wrong to let yourself go and be gross for other people to see and smell you.  Another rule that I would enforce would be to always be positive.  My biggest pet peeve is when people have negative attitudes.  When you are negative, it effects the people around you.  Princesstown is supposed to be a friendly and cheerful place.  There is a zero tolerance policy on being negative.  No one likes it because it it the most annoying, selfish thing on the planet.  Princesstown will be the happiest place on earth. <3

Journal 11- aphorism

Aphorisms are defined as "a short, pointed statement that expresses a wise or clever observation about human experience."  One aphorism I found that I particularly thought was enjoyable was "efficiency is intelligent laziness."  I think that these words of David Dunham very much explain human nature.  Human beings are generally pretty lazy.  The only reason why technology and new discoveries are made is because we are lazy and simply trying to make our lives easier than what they are.  If you think back even only one hundred years ago, there are so many things that we have now that have been invented for the specific reason of making the human life much easier and more convenient.  There are many examples of this.  One would be the very laptop I am writing this blog on.  I really liked using laptops until I came into this class and that was the only thing that we worked on.  That invention could have been skipped or overlooked.  Another invention that was not invented one hundred years ago was the cell phone.  My cell phone is pretty much my entire life, and I am sure that I can speak for the rest of the teenage and young adult possible.  I definitely think that the cell phone is a good example of the aphorism "efficiency is intelligent laziness."  Before even the regular phone was made, the people's only form of communication was one of a few things; either word of mouth, by letter, or you had to tell the person the information directly face to face.  Another big example that I just now thought of is fast food.  How lazy does our society have to be to invent food that you have to eat on the go!  No wonder we are so fat!  I think that David Dunham was spot on when he came up with that aphorism.  It explains our society exactly, in many good and bad ways.  There are mostly bad though I think.

Reflection - Rowlandson/Bradstreet

In the writings of Anna Bradtreet and Mary Rowlandson, there are many things that we can compare.  Not only can we compare them to each other, but we can also compare them to the time period because both are from around the same time.  In Mary Rowlandson's writing of A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mary Rowlandson, she is describing the time in her life when she was captured by and lived with the Native Americans.  Mary Rowlandson is a Puritan, so obviously she is going to talk a lot about her religion and how God is a major part in her life.  As she is living among the Indians, Mary Rowlandson is not having a very good time.  One of her children was lucky enough to be able to stay with her, but it was very sick.  She tried to carry it with her so it would have a better chance of living, but finally it past away in her arms.  Mary describes how before she could never had standed the thought of being next to a dead person, but she laid with her dead baby all night long. 

I have thought since of the wonderful goodess of God in me, in preserving me so in the use of my reason and senses in that distressed time, that I did not use wicked and violent means to end my own miserable life. (Rowlandson 83)

  Mary Rowlandson gives credit to God for why she made it through in such hard times.  This was not the only time that Mary thanked God for giving her the will to live.  She explains that her most prized and precious belonging that she had during the time spent with the Native Americans was her Bible.  She is constantly thankful to God for giving her opportunities to keep living and to make it through the day when times seem to be at their worst.  Sure, living with the Native Americans wasn't impossible, but it was no walk in the park.  As any good Puritan would, Mary Rowlandson gave all of her glory, gratefulness, and life to God.  In Anna Bradstreet's poem titled Upon the Burning of Our House, there are also many examples of the traditional Puritan writing.  Anna Bradstreet is talking about how her house had burned down, but how God was there for her and everything was okay.  "Then, coming out, beheld a space / The flame consume my dwelling place. / And when I could no longer look, / I blest His name that gave and took, / That laid my goods now in the dust. / Yea, so it was, and so 'twas just. / It was His own, it was not mine, / Far it be that I should repine; / He might of all justly bereft / But yet suffient for us left. / When by the ruins oft I pass / My sorrowing eyes aside did cast."  I think that this small portion from the poem pretty much sums it up.  As a Puritan, Anna Bradstreet believed that God controlled every single part of her life.  When God chose to take away everything that she owned, Anna did not sulk or feel sorry.  She felt that everything belonged to God, so He had every right to take it away from her.  Her real home was up with God in heaven.

Reflection- Thomas Paine

In the writing of Thomas Paine, he is addressing the revolution to the colonists in America.  His passage of  The Crisis, No. 1, there was one passage that especially made me believe this: "These are the times that try men's souls.  The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of a man and woman,  Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."  This is the very first paragraph Thomas Paine wrote in The Crisis, No. 1.  Thomas Paine makes an excellent point.  He is trying to get the point across that the Revolutionary War is most definitely worth fighting for, and people should not be afraid of it.  Yes, wars are extremely dangerous, expensive, and inconvenient, but the cause of the war makes it worth it.  He is asking the colonists to consider what could happen and what the consequences would be if they fought a war to gain their independence from England.  Not all consequences have to be negative.  He wants them to think about the positives that would happen.  If the Americans were no longer under the English thumb, think of all of the differences that would happen and make their lives so much better.  The English would no longer be able to control every little thing that the Americans do.  This would include taxes, and their control over their imports and exports.  Thomas Paine is trying to convince the people of America that if they fought a war against England, it would be very much worth it in the end.  I can imagine that it would be very hard to fight a war if the citizens were one of two things: either unaware of both the negative and the positive consequences (which Thomas Paine is attempting to portray in his passage The Crisis, No. 1), or is not on board with the idea of fighting against the country of their ancestors.  Thomas Paine compares the way England was treating the colonies with that of slavery and tyranny.  "Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right (not only to tax) but to 'bind us in all cases whatsoever'."  Paine is trying to explain that England really had no right to claim any superiority over any of the colonies, or America as a whole.  At this point in time, the colonists had been in America for around two-hundred years.  Until England started to get in other wars with difference countries, they literally paid no attention to anything going on in America.  This was called Salutary Neglect.  When England got out of the Seven Years War, they were heavily in debt.  The taxes, as well as the complete control over their trading of imports and exports, were used as revenue to help pay England's massive debt.  Because of this, Thomas Paine supports his opinions that a war for their independence would be extremely beneficial.

Reflection- Declaration of Independence

When reading the Declaration of Independence, there are a few things that Thomas Jefferson makes a very good point about.  As he does this though, there are several instances when Thomas Jefferson, among others, uses from faulty logic to try to back up his points.  One example of the use of faulty logic in the Declaration of Independence would be using name calling.  "The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states..."  This statement could be questionable and believed to be faulty logic.  The Declaration of Independence was made to give the rights and freedom to America.  People reading this were supposed to agree and feel like they were a part of the country.  Someone reading the Declaration of Independence who was on the border of agreeing with anything Thomas Jefferson saying might take this to offense; what if they still favored the King of Great Britain?  I know that if someone was saying bad things about a person or a subject that I liked or agreed with, I would immediately get offended and decide two things: I would decide to hate the person, and I would decide to hate anything that they were about, including what they had written.  Thomas Jefferson could definitely have lost some fans by bashing on the King of Great Britain.  That is one of the consequences of using faulty logic; there is a very good possibility that someone will recognize it and choose to disagree with you.  The chances of that person going around and spreading their negative opinions about your ideas are very, very, very great.  I do not know if Thomas Jefferson knew this risk, but he obviously did not care and just wanted to get a strong point across to the crowd he was aiming his information at.  In the end, though, I feel like Thomas Jefferson made his point across in the Declaration of Independence.  His use of faulty logic did not effect enough people for his document and information to be totally wrong.  His only problem was sprinkling his own personal opinions into what he was writing.  As long as some people agree with his opinions, then he was successful in spreading the word in the Declaration of Independence.  As I think about this topic of the use of faulty logic, I am sure that there are many other uses of faulty logic in many more important documents.  Who even takes the time the read these documents and analyze them enough to realize that they may or many not contain faulty logic?  I do not mean to sound like I am getting heated, but these are the questions that go through my mind as I read these documents and write these blogs.  In my opinion, I do not think that faulty logic is bad all of the time.  Sometimes it is nice to have some outside opinions.  If you do not understand the topic, maybe the way someone thinks about it may help you understand.  I don't even know what I'm saying anymore.

Crucible: Act 2

In Act 2 of the book the Crucible by Arthur Miller, the story really begins to take a turn. There is a lot of ciaos going on in the Virginia area. Abigail and her little clan of brats are pretty much causing all of the trouble. They are publicly claiming and "confessing" that they are witches and freaking everybody out because they were saying how other people were also witches, and how the devil was having an impact on their lives. There are fourteen people in jail. If the accused "witches" who are in jail do not confess to the things they are accused of, they will be sentenced to death by hanging. So many people are getting arrested because Abigail and her band of mean girls tell the people that they are the reason why they girls are acting strange. Th girls go into fits of hysterics, and while they are freaking out, they blame someone else for it. Abigail is making sure all of these weird things are happy so scared people accuse the innocent. At this time, everyone who thought the slightest thing was out of place accused it of the devil or witchcraft. One example is the use of the poppet. Mary Warren had sewn a poppet in the courthouse, and when she came home she gave it to Elizabeth Procter, simply as a nice gesture. There are more people in jail because of Abigail. Apparently, Abigail was in the courtroom at the same time as Mary Warren, and saw her sewing the poppet.  While she was creeping on Mary Warren, she also noticed that she stuck the needle into the doll.  She took advantage of the situation to accuse both Mary Warren and Elizabeth Procter of being witches and dealing with witchcraft, as well as the devil.  As the story goes on, the Virginia area is getting more suspicious of everything going on.  Even things that used to be considered normal are now being assumed of dealing with the devil.  As I have said before, Abigail is the brat that is making all of this up and making life horrible for the whole entire area.

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

Journal 10- pursuading

There are many reasons why Mr. Langley should postpone the Vocabulary assignment until Wednesday, September 28. Setting aside all emotional reasons, like purely not wanting to do it because we are teenagers and hate homework, there are a few legitimately logic reasons why the assignment should be postponed. First of all, there are many student athletes in this class. Because of the amount of sports going on right now, there are a lot of practices and games that take place after school. Knowing from personal experience with playing volleyball after school, sometimes we do not get home until nine or ten o'clock at night. There is barely any time to get all of the homework done. The average junior probably has around three to four subjects of homework per night. Depending on the subjects, the students could be spending up to three hours on their homework. Adding the vocabulary assignment would just add the list. The students grade could be jeopardized because of this assignment. One of two things could happen. The student athlete with too much homework might be tempted to not get this particular assignment finished because they are too tired to get everything done. If they fall behind on their homework, their grade will suffer. Usually, if a student gets behind on homework, they are behind for a long time. It takes a lot of effort to get forward and catch up. All of that effort takes a lot of time, which like we have gone over, students athletes do not have a lot of. Mr. Langley should postpone the vocabulary assignment to Wednesday, September 28 because student athletes will not have time to do it. And if they do, it will not be done well.

Journal 9- rational approaches

If I had to think of an emotional situation that was solved by a rational approach, I would have to use the time when my friends and I helped out another friend when she was having problems with her boyfriend. She was at my house with us, and it started out like normal girl hang outs do. We sat around, ate a ton of food, watched a few movies, and talked without fear of running out of things to talk about. In the middle of our endless talking, our friend (we will call her Karen...please look up Dane Cook's "Friend that Nobody Likes" skit) brought up her boyfriend. Being her friend at the time, I only wanted the best for Karen. I had never had very high opinion of her boyfriend. There were too many rumors that I personally knew were true, and they definitely were not in favor of him. Let's call him Kevin. Karen and Kevin were the worst couple in the whole entire world. They were so annoying together. Anyway, at my house, Karen brought up that she and Kevin were having some problems. My friend and I gave each other the "here we go" look. When were they not having problems. Apparently, Kevin had not been texting Karen back when he had told her he would, and he was going to a place where Karen believed he would get himself into trouble. All of a sudden, Karen bursted into tears. She ran into the other room where her phone was plugged into the charger in the wall. My friend and I ran after her, after a moments hesitation where we shared the mutual feeling of several things: being annoyed, and feeling like we have been through this more than a thousand times. She was calling Kevin, balling, and leaving him voicemails and texts. We were just sitting there looking at her, trying to give her our advice. She was so emotional it was ridiculous. You could definitely call it an emotional situation. My friend and I were attempting to bring the rational side with our advice. "Karen, seriously stop calling him. He'll call you back later. He is probably busy." "Okay...Kevin if you do not call me back the next time I call we are DONE." I guess it was a failed attempt, but my friend and I tried to be rational, but we ended up being mad.

Journal 8- autumn

I love autumn. I love everything about autumn. Autumn is my favorite time of year for many reasons. One of the reasons why I love autumn so much is the temperature. It is the perfect temperature because the weather is getting colder, and the humidity goes away. It is not as cold as winter, though. The sun is always bright and shining, which adds just enough warmth for comfort. The skies are clear all day and all night. When it is dark, every single star in the sky is twinkling and dancing in the blackness. Autumn is the best time of the year for bonfires. In the summer, it is too hot and sticky outside to have one. And there are too many bugs too. Autumn is cold enough to want to be near a fire and in a sweatshirt. Another thing that I especially love about autumn is that it brings so many fun things along with it. Homecoming is the in autumn! I can not wait for October 7th or whatever to come around!! I have had my dress since around Christmas time! I am so excited words can not even describe. I think all of my girls are going together. Autumn also brings apple cider. Apple cider and hot chocolate are absolutely PERFECT around this time. Anything that can make you warmer and is sweet and delicious is good at any time during the fall. Another thing autumn brings that I love is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday! So much food! Besides all of the fun things, like Homecoming, Thanksgiving, and different festivals, fall brings, I think that my favorite thing about it is that it brings the season of jeans. I always miss wearing jeans, and there is no better time than fall. They keep you just warm enough, but still let the cool, crisp air surround you.. in a good way :)

Journal 7- bullying

In the act of bullying, there are many effects on the bullier and the one being bullied. I think that bullying definitely effects the one being bullied a lot more than the one doing the bullying. I think that one of the biggest things that effect the person being bullied is the mental aspect. If the person who is getting bullied lets it get to them, it could really upset their head. In my opinion, one example from the book The Crucible by Arthur Miller would be when Mary Warren is in the courthouse with all of the girls, including Abigail, and the other witnesses and people involved. Mary Warren is trying to tell them that the girls were pretending to be involved with witchcraft. It was all just a game, and Abigail was the starter of it. She is the one to blame for the girls making up stories and blaming other innocent people for acts of witchery. Because of the fear Mary Warren had of Abigail, she had kept it a secret that they were pretending and made up stories with the rest of the girls. This took Mary Warren a lot of courage to stand up for what was right. When they did not believe her, the men of the court decided to bring in the other little girls. Abigail was still the prominent one. When the judges asked Abigail to tell the truth, she pretty much freaked out on Mary Warren. She and all the rest of the girls started to pretend that Mary Warren was casting a spell on them. At first, Mary was defending herself and calling them out on making it all up. The girls would not let up and as Mary Warren got more and more upset, she gave in to the pressure the girls would putting on her. Mary told Abigail she would not hurt her anymore, even though she really did not do anything.

Crucible: Act 1

In Act One of the story the Crucible by Arthur Miller, religion plays a huge role in the starting of the plot. The story takes place in the time of the Salem Witch Trials. The Salem Witch trials were sparked by the fear of superstitions and anything that had to do with it. They were Puritans, so their entire life was based around their religion and God. The Puritans believed that God controlled every aspect of their lives. The Puritans also believed that you were predestined; that is, God specifically chose who was destined to go to heaven and who was destined to go to hell. This was all predetermined in their eyes, so there was really never any knowing of who was the "select" and who was not. Because of this obsession with wanting to be a "select," the Puritans (which is including the citizens of Salem, Virginia) were extremely afraid of anything that was out of the norm. They felt like being different from the general population indicated that you did not agree with their beliefs; therefore, you belived or were overpowered by the devil. Obviously, no one wanted to deal with the devil if they were trying to buy their ticket to heaven. When the girls are caught dancing in the woods naked, it startles the people of Salem because it is clearly not normal. During this time in history, the punishment for acts of witchcraft or witchery was the death penalty, usually by that of hanging. The only way to get out of the embarrassment of what they were doing was to make up stories that they were witches. One character in particular that causes the most trouble. She is pretty much a brat and forces these girls to tell stories of being witches, and blaming other innocent people of also commiting acts of witchery. To avoid getting in more trouble than what they were already going to, the people were forced to confess. Abigail is also having relations with Mr. Procter. She is a freak. So far in the story, Abigail is starting problems within the community by sparking the massive fear of the supernatural. From here, it was a downward spiral for the colonists. As Act One ended, there are many problems arising within the community and it is easy to see that a resolution may not be in the near future.

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

Journal 6- repercussions

I think there should be many repercussions for blaming someone for something they did not do. First of all, lying is a sin. If you are a religious believer, one repercussion would be going to Hell for lying. As is said in the book The Crucible by Arther Miller, "God damns all liars." So, to anyone who believes in God and Hell and Satan and all of that kind of stuff, they do not have anything to look forward to by lying. Their repercussion would be spending an eternity in Hell. In other situations involving lying, there should be different repercussions. School could be one example. If you do something bad in school and lie about it, D'Wayne will be all up on it. You could get punishments such as an awkward meeting with Mr. Peterson, as well as Mr. Ward, an awkward meeting with Mr. Peterson, Mr. Ward, and one or both of your parents, one or more detentions, suspension, or even expulsion.

Journal 5- 21st century punishments

I think that the punishments are very different in the twentieth century than they were in the past. Because there is so much more technology these days, especially things that kids or teenagers have or are involved in, there is a lot more for parents to take away. Knowing from personal experience, this does not just include a cell phone. Parents (or at least mine) can take away the cell phones, the laptop, the iPods, and the TV. My little sister, Lily, is always getting grounded for having a snotty attitude. The first thing my parents go for is her cell phone. That seems to be the worst and the biggest punishment that they give her. It always makes her very upset, and I think that could be used as a generalization for the youth of today. Technology is such a huge role in our lives today, and it seems like sometimes we can not live without it. Our cell phones seem so important. I know that when I do not have my phone with me, I feel one of two things. I am either paranoid about not having it, or I am worried about someone not being able to get a hold of me. I would be worried about not being available to someone who needs me. My little sister, on the other hand, is basically the exact opposite. She has to have her phone with her twenty-four seven because she feels like she has to be talking to her friends. My parents feel like all she does is social network and text her friends, so it is their first instinct to take all of that away from her. Parents want to take away the things that make kids the happiest or most entertained, and in today's society, technology makes up most of that.

Journal 4- traveling and its impact

Over the years, I have traveled to many places and had many experiences. Not only have I gone on vacations with my family, I have also been on many trips for fun or just for the heck of it. Every summer, my family rents a condo in Florida in Tampa Bay. We rent the same one every year, so it is kind of like a home away from home. I think that our yearly family trips makes a huge impact on me, not only short term but also long term. We always drive down to Florida, which usually takes us around twenty-four hours. It is extreme family time. Even though we get on each others nerves, it never fails to bring us together. I think that sometimes it is easy to forget how you love your family, or how much you need them. Our family vacations are like a wake up call to all of us. We are forced together for an extended period of time, so all of us realize that we have to make the best of it. If I ever get upset with my family, I have to remember all of the memories we create on our summer vacations to Florida. Another trip that changed my life was my trip to Indianapolis in April of 2010. I went with my competitive volleyball team for the National Volleyball Tournament. We were there to play against hundreds of volleyball teams for the championship. I had never been so nervous in my life because there were supposed to be college coaches there to scout talent. My dream is to play volleyball in college, so I obviously wanted my team to do our absolute best. As the days went on, the players of my team got more obsessed with doing well for the coaches. It got to the point where we were not playing as a team because we were so focused on personally looking our best. It was probably one of the most disappointing trips of my life. That experience taught me not to be selfish because, in the end, it effects everyone negatively.

Of Plymouth Plantation - reflection

The sections from the book Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford relfect the qualities of the writing of the Puritans in many ways. First of all, it makes many references to God, and how God sent them the things and people that helped them as well as sent the struggles and the hardships to them. The Puritans were very relgious, so God was their entire life. Everything that happened was controlled by God. One example would be when they had just gotten to the New World, and everyone was getting sick. If you were not dead within a few weeks, you were most likely suffereing from the disease another person had died from. This was happening with the excepetion of seven people. The author describes how these very few people were doing everything in their power to help the sick and the suffering. He explains that God put them on this earth so they could help the ones in need. "And yet the Lord so upheld these persons as in this general calamity they were not at all infected either with sickness or lameness..." I think that William Bradford was basically saying that God gave them these people, who seemed invincible to the disease going on, so that there would be hope in the future. There was not hope for everyone since more than half of them died, but they believed that the healthy people were sent from God to assure them that not everything was going to be horrible forever. There is always hope in the future, and their faith in Him kept that going. Without their hope and belief in God, I am sure that most of the people who did survived would not have. The faith they believed raised their spirits enough to keep them alive through the winter. Another person the Puritans believed was sent from God was the Indian named Squanto. The lucky pilgrims who had survived the unimaginable starving time would definitely had not lived for much longer without the help of Squanto. Squanto stayed with the pilgrims for an extremely long time; in fact, he did not leave until he passed away. Besides translating and helping the Puritans communicate with the other Indians, he also helped the white people get to know the land. Since they had never been there before, they had no idea how to grow or obtain food. Squanto showed them how to plant corn and other sources of food, where to fish, how to live properly in conditions, and how to get around in places they had never been to. Without his help, the pilgrims would have been absolutely clueless. They were very aware of how lucky they were to come across such a helpful friend. Because of his kindness, the Puritans were convinced that God sent him to teach the people how to survive. "After these things he returned to his place called Sowams, some 40 miles from this place, but Squanto continued with them and was their interpreter and was a special instrument sent of God for their good beyond expectation." Without Squanto, the pilgrims would have been hopeless.