"The Storm" Journal Entry pg. 199

I see the title as possibly referring to the emotional storm that occurred throughout the piece. There was passion, love, worry, and other emotions shown by characters in the piece. None of these emotions and the events that tie in with them are completely developed, but the reader can infer the previous relationship Calixta and Alcèe had, as well as Bobinot and Bibi's relationship with Calixta and the state of Alcèe's marriage.


At the end of the piece, when Alcèe wrote the letter to his wife, there is a whirlwind of drama almost. Alcèe and Calixta were just messing around, when they both have spouses. Maybe I'm exaggerating things a little bit, but that's just my view of it. 

"The Storm" Reading Literature pg. 198

1. The coming storm shows the reader some of the qualities and emotions of the characters. Bobinot is described to be caring to his wife, shown when he buys her the shrimp. Calixta is described as worrisome due to the storm, and as usual. The storm is the cause of everything that happens throughout the piece. The storm gives a reason for the interaction between Alcèe and Calixta, as well as Bibi and Bobinot being forced to stay in Friedheimer's store. 
2. I see it as somewhat both. It can be taken literally, meaning the storm was over and so was the rush of emotion that was caused by the storm's passing. In the irony sense, there is no way Calixta and Alcèe are completely happy, based on their interactions in the piece. 
3. The details tell us that Calixta is married to Bobinot and has a son, Bibi. The reader also finds out that Calixta and Alcèe had once been lovers; their interaction during the storm shows this to be true. 

"Good Night and Good Luck" SOAPSTone Analysis

Speaker: There isn't a clearly defined speaker in the film, but Murrow could be seen as the speaker. The other characters could also be seen as speakers.
Occasion: The whole McCarthyism ordeal and Murrow and his news team's actions towards Senator McCarthy.
Audience: Anyone who watches the film would be considered the audience.
Purpose: The purpose of the film is to inform the people of today of the occurences between Murrow and McCarthy in an easier way. 
Subject: The main subject of this film is the role of Edward Murrow in the collapse of Senator McCarthy and the idea of McCarthyism.
Tone: The tone of this film is very serious and strong willed (in the case of Murrow and Friendly's attitudes toward McCarthy).

My Opinion on The Crucible

Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible as one huge metaphor in relation to McCarthyism. In order for Miller to not fear conviction, he used the Salem Witch Trials as a metaphor for the happenings with McCarthyism. If Mr. Urban had not told the class Miller's purpose, I probably never would've thought about it that way. I think Miller got his point across to the readers; he accomplished his goal.


I enjoyed the story in The Crucible just as entertainment. The ending killed me though. It's just one big cliff-hanger, leaving the reader to guess and wonder what happens next. In a way, to end The Crucible this way makes sense. Miller wanted to inform the people of the time of the troubles of McCarthyism. McCarthy never held responsibility for the death of anyone. In The Crucible, the town's government had hanged twelve convicted already but were not responsible for their death fully. McCarthy was this way too, in my eyes. Maybe that's just me, but whatever. 


I loved the characters and how Miller portrayed them throughout the story. The evil, passion, and overall emotion they all showed amazed me. I could sense the emotion while we were reading it in class (sounds weird, I know), Proctor and Elizabeth especially. How the two grew and developed through the acts was great. 


We need to read more stuff like this! Jus' sayiiinn'. 

"Half-Hanged Mary" SOAPSTone Analysis

Speaker: The speaker of the poem is Mary Webster.
Occasion: The hanging of Mary Webster, who was accused of witchcraft in the 1680's in a Puritan town in Massachusetts during the witch trials. 
Audience: There is no audience addressed by the reader, but it seems as if anyone who reads the poem would be the audience. The audience could also be Puritans of the time to show the feelings Mary Webster had towards them.
Purpose: The purpose for Margaret Atwood writing this poem is to tell the story of Mary Webster being hanged, yet managing to live through the ordeal.
Subject: The subject of the poem is the hanging of Mary Atwood and the witch trials. 
Tone: The author's tone can be perceived as grim, in my opinion.  

"Are You Now or Were You Ever" Questions

1. By using the metaphor of the Salem witch trials, Miller allowed the reader to experience the same actions and occurrences happening in real life through a different setting, as to allow them to fully see and understand the message. He showed the idea of McCarthyism through the actions of the girls in the play.
2. The criticism is that Miller believes the government does not acknowledge the truth. The power of the Robeson's declaration and how the fact was brought to light leads it to be called a rocket that lit up the sky.
3. The theme would be coming to senses with what's around you. The whole point of The Crucible was to get people to not conform with what everyone else was saying, to see McCarthyism for what it really is.
4. I think Miller is using the Devil as a metaphor for McCarthy. Not necessarily calling McCarthy the Devil, just simply using it as a metaphor to coincide with The Crucible. It is vital for the people to remember that everyone has their own opinion and they should voice these opinions. 

Girl in Front of 9/11 Mural Journal Entry (pg. 160)

The photograph shows the mural that has been created in remembrance of the events of 9/11. The mural in itself has an enormous amount of emotion poured into it. The photograph does the mural no justice in the emotion meant for it to show. 

I find the mural itself more moving because anyone can take a picture, but not everyone can make a piece of art like the mural. The person who painted the mural was moved so much that he/she decided to post something that anyone can see at anytime. Someone can take a picture of the mural, but you don't feel the total emotion and amazement as you would if seeing the mural for yourself in person. 

"Girls in Front of 9/11 Mural (Photo)" Questions (pg. 160)

Reading Images

1. The details expressed in the mural include: the date of the incident (obviously), the American flag,  and "In Memory Of...". Nothing really dictates the exact composition and arrangement of the items, but when it comes to the American flag, there is a certain design that it has to follow. 50 stars, 13 stripes (7 red, 6 white). In the mural, there are only 6 red and 5 white stripes. 
2. I think the photographer wanted to get a message of understanding and what effect the occurrences of 9/11 could have had on the youngest Americans. The details included in the photograph communicate this impression by the representation of the American spirit through the American flag, the stars, and the words. 
3. From what I can see, the photographer seems to be presenting an objective view of the subject. This is based solely on the fact that there seems to be no evidence of personal opinion in the photograph, as far as I can see anyway.

"Shooting an Elephant" Writing Workshop (#3)

"Elephant Joins Victim in the Afterlife"
In the early course of yesterday morning, a 'must' elephant ran rogue throughout the town, bringing on destruction wherever it went. Homes were damaged beyond repair, crops were destroyed, and a life was lost.

The town of Moulmein was in chaos until the bravery of a police officer, George Orwell stepped in to save the town and its citizens from the horrible entity that was the elephant. Orwell, followed closely by a group of over two thousand devoted and concerned Moulmein citizens, tracked the elephant through the town until it reached the paddy fields outside of the town. Orwell mounted his rifle and set his sights on the beast.

A shot rang out. The crowd roared with excitement. Orwell had struck the mighty beast in its enormous head! Yet, the monster still stood, seemingly unaffected by the bullet. Orwell proceeded to fire round after round into the great beast, starting at his head and moving down to target the monster's belly.

Blood and moans of desperation and agony poured out of the doomed, but not yet deceased creature. Orwell, satisfied with a job well done, left the elephant to pass and for the townspeople to ravage what they could from the body of the slain beast.

Orwell is honored for his bravery, but now has to deal with an angry mahout who has one less elephant than he had two days ago.

(Note the exaggeration throughout the article, because I see this in journalism quite a bit.)

"Shooting an Elephant" Journal Entry

I completely, with no doubt in my mind believe that Orwell is a coward, based on what I've read. The fact that he killed an elephant (that cause no intentional harm) just because he didn't want to be laughed at just utterly disgusts me. Humility should not be a justifiable reason for killing, whether is be human or animal.

I don't think Orwell is truly a racist, based on the simple fact that he was tormented so much by the Burmese. Obviously he isn't their biggest fan, but he isn't racist by any means of the word. The only case in which I would call him a racist is if he told of an incident in which he committed racist acts or harsh judgement, etc. In this essay, I saw no evidence of this.

"Shooting an Elephant" Questions

Comprehension

1. Orwell is hated by the Burmese people because he was a European police officer of the town and the Burmese were not the biggest fans of Europeans. Orwell hated the English empire even more than he hated the Burmese, making it so that he almost sympathized with them.
2. The elephant was a danger to the town and its citizens, whether the elephant decided to be harmful or not. To the Burmese, and also an English crowd, the shooting of the elephant would be fun to them; plus they wanted the meat.
3. The elephant was shot because the crowd of two thousand Burmans wanted Orwell to do it and he could not disobey them; they would laugh at him. Orwell saw that they elephant was not incredibly dangerous unless it was aproached too closely. He also contemplated the effect it would have on the elephant's owner.
4. It almost gave him a reason for shooting the elephant. It is a better reason than to say he shot the elephant because the people wanted him to.

Purpose and Audience

1. Orwell sees the real nature of imperialism as the truth behind an empire. Everyone hears of the nobility and amzing feats accomplished by major empires, but never all of the horrible things that went along with the great conquests. The shooting of the elephant showed the "behind the scenes" of a great empire.
2. I think Orwell wrote this essay to inform the reader of an incident that he lived through. Maybe there was some kind of message in the reading that the reader was supposed to come across. The emotion Orwell presents in the essay shows that he is trying to get some kind of point across, not necessarily persuade.
3. The thesis is: "In Moulmein, in lower Burma, I was hated by large numbers of people-the only time in my life that I have been important enough for this to happen to me." (I'm not really sure about this one. :/)

Style and Structure

1. Orwell's first paragraph sets the setting, mood, and tone of the essay. The introduction is over after the first two paragraphs. The third paragraph begins the narrative.
2. Maybe Orwell wanted a very personal view of the experience to come across to the reader. Maybe Orwell saw the other people involved as having little significance in the actual telling of the story, when it came to speaking anyway. I think the absence of dialogue is a strength in this essay, because the reader is never distracted by what someone is saying and is more focused on the actions occuring. Without dialogue, Orwell has total control of the reader's focus, rather than a certain character involved.
3. The detail of the elephant's misery shows that Orwell felt extremely awful about what he had just done. More detail means more focus. Orwell wsas focused on the elephant at this time because he did not want the elephant to suffer, but rather it to die a quick, painless death.
4. I would characterize these comments as Orwell's even more personal thoughts and expressions given to the reader. They are set off from the text because Orwell could have possibly added them in as he was editing the original essay and felt they deserved to be set apart from the rest of the essay.
5. In relation to the theme in paragraph two, these statements reinforce the battle Orwell has with "choosing sides".

So That Was "The Scarlet Letter"...

Huh. Well that was interesting.

Honestly, at first, I had almost NO idea what was going on on any given page of the book. I got lost in the intricate sentences that were constantly describing something that I wasn't focusing on. I promise you, there were more descriptions in this book than dialogue. It was RIDICULOUS at some points. I'd get so lost that when we talked about the first few chapters of the book in class, I wouldn't remember anything that everyone else was talking about. But, once I got used to the writing style and a little more dialogue was used, I got a hang of the book and actually liked it. 

I LOVED all the drama involved in the book. Maybe that's because I'm a teenage girl and we like any drama that we're not involved in, but hey, that's just how it is. The story itself was incredible, but predictable. It was almost obvious from just about halfway through the book that Dimmesdale was the father, which took some of the edge off. What got me hooked was Dimmesdale's story and all the pain he was going through. I never knew what was going to happen next when it came to the minister.

I didn't really like how predictable the story was. We were almost positive who Pearl's father was halfway through the book, which I wasn't all that crazy about. Sure we didn't know EXACTLY how the book was gonna end, but we knew a major part of the book only halfway through.

The weight of religion in the community significantly impacted the plot of the story. If religion wasn't such a huge part of Dimmesdale's life, he might not have suffered as he did over his sin. Sure, he'd feel bad, but he wouldn't have torn himself apart over it most likely. Honestly, if religion wasn't so important, the whole story just wouldn't have ever been written and seen as having some truth to it.

Overall, I liked the book and LOVED the drama. The language was difficult to understand at first, but I got it now. (:

Civil Disobedience Questions

1. Laissez faire governments command respect due to the way they handle the government and society. The people are more involved and there is not a strict outline of what has to be done and how you have to do it.
2. (a) Thoreau accepts the motto "That government is best in which governs least". (b) He would like to see a government to abide by this motto as to allow the society beneath the governments freedom to act on their own, not just by what a leader tells them.
3. (a) Thoreau believes "That government is best which governs not at all". (b) Once every man knows what form of government would command his respect, the closer they will be to obtaining it.
4. (a) Thoreau is asking his readers to realize that as long as they let the government control every aspect of their lives, it will keep doing it exactly how it is. (b) Thoreau presents are very convincing argument for acting on one's principles.
5. (a) Depending on what form of government would replace the standing one, could possibly lead the society into chaos. (b) Any society that has had success with weaker governments that have had a considerable amount of needs and wants of individuals in mind when governing.

Self-Reliance Questions

1. Many people now, as in Emerson's time, are looking inward for guidance, rather than from an outside source. People don't rely on God, but their own personal guidance in what they want from life.
2. (a) Emerson uses terms like conspiracy and joint-stock company to describe society.(b) In Emerson's mind, society's main purpose is to conform everyone into thinking and believing the same way.(c) Emerson believes people should completely disregard what other people ssay due to the fact that as a person, the only thing that you need to worry about is yourself.
3. (a) All of these men were wise and misunderstood. (b) The use of the examples of the great men supports Emerson's claim that "to be great is to be misunderstood".
4. (a) It shows Emerson's emotion towards the subject and hints that he may be affected by the foolish consistency he is referring to. (b) I don't think there would any amount of circumstance that would make Emerson advocate the benefits of consistency. He has showed many times over how against it he is, so why would he ever write anything good about it?
5. (a) From Emerson's point of view, divines play a role as conformists, trying to get everyone they can to conform to the church. (b) Emerson would say that finding their own path, using their own guidance, in any way they can, is each person's reason for living. Judging by the way he speaks of conformists and the reliance of oneself, I think he would see this as a fitting description.
6. I would use the statement "Absolve you to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the world" as a guideline for personal conduct because it seems as if he is saying that if you only worry about what's going on with you and disregard what's going on in everyone else's mind, the world is at your fingertips. Anything is achievable.

Journal Entry pg. 106

Some of my experiences in school have been "extensive and irrelevant preparations for adulthood". Every year there is a student who asks "When am I going to use this in real life?" I'm not always the one asking the question, but when someone brings it up I think about it. "When am I ever going to use this in real life?", "Why are there so many letters involved in math?", "Why does it matter where a comma goes?" It may sound stupid, but teenagers ask these questions to themselves and their teachers all the time.

I have definitely had situations like this where I thought what my teachers were teaching me had absolutely no purpose in my life. I mean, who doesn't have moments like this? It's just the way we teenagers think. Some like school, some don't. Some understand, some don't. That's just how it is.

Now that I look back on the times I thought this way, I do realize that there was some form of value in them. Everything being taught to me has a purpose and reasoning in some way, shape or form. It may not make sense at the time because of the age factor, but eventually everyone understands.

Journal Entry (pg. 95)

The Vulture is planning another evil scheme in the safety of his New York City skyscraper lair, but Spider-Man has information on The Vulture's whereabouts and is going to stop him. Spider-Man swoops into The Vulture's lair and is knocked unconscious. Spider-Man awakes in a water tank and proceeds to attempt several methods of escape, none of which are successful. Spider-Man then realizes how he can escape the water tank; he implements his plan and quickly jumps on The Vulture's trail.