Reflection Blog- Civil Disobedience

In Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience, there are many characteristics from both the Romanticism and the Trancendentalism time periods. A few characteristics that are commonly found in Trancendentalism writing are that it is very political, it also values emotion over reason, and it stresses that every person knows the difference between right and wrong. There are a few similar characteristics between Romanticism and Trancendentalsim, but there are also quite a few differences. For example, Romanticism writings are more likely to include imagination and descriptions than Trancendentalism writings. I think that Civil Disobedience is a great example of Trancendentalism writing because the entire essay is about government, and one of the characteristics of Trancendentalism writing is that it is very political. Throughout his entire essay, Henry David Thoreau is discussing the problems he sees with the government and pretty much defines what he think is an unjust government. At the very beginning of his essay, he says that he agrees with this statement "That government is best which governs not at all", which I think shows that he really does not like the government (Thoreau's). One of the biggest things Thoreau argues in his essay is that there is sometimes a difference between what is right and what is voted on by the strongest group (Thoreau's). Basically what he is saying is that just because the biggest or strongest group votes on something, that does not make it right. He thinks that people should decide things based on conscience rather than majority rules. He says

Must the citizen, ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience, then? I think we should be men first, and subjects afterward (Thoreau's).

Thoreau believes that if a person respects laws and the government to much, they will do bad things. He thinks that people should do what they are obligated to do, not just what the laws tell them to do. Although throughout most of his essay he is critizing the government, in this passage he states that he is not looking to eleminate government, but to make a better one

But, to speak pracically and as a citizen, unlike those who call themselves no-government men, I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government. Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obaining it (Thoreau's).

I think that Civil Disobedience was a really cool essay to read because it was filled with Henry David Thoreau's opinions on the government. I thought it was neat that he said just because its the majority does not mean its right because the majority could just be the strongest group, not necessarily the group that is justified. I think that Civil Disobedience is a great example of Trancendentalism simply because of how political it is and because that is a characteristic of the writing style from this time.

Bibliography

"Thoreau's Civil Disobedience - 1." The Thoreau Reader. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. .

Journal #26- Breaking the Rules

I think that maybe in some situations people see no other way out than to break the law, but if you ask me I think there is always a better way of doing things. There are some people who break the law for fun, which I think is kind of ignorant but there are also people who break the law because they do not know of any other way to get what they need. There are a lot of laws that everyone breaks like speed limits and curfews, which is not really a big deal but I think shoplifting and things similar to that are never acceptable because there is always a better way to get the things you need to live. For example, if you do not have enough money to pay for your own food then there are many ways you can get around this without stealing food. If you have more stable relatives then maybe you could go ask them for help, and if that is not an option there are still many other ways to get by without shoplifting. Some people break laws for fun, which should not ever be acceptable but I suppose some of the laws that we have in society today are really pointless and stupid. For example, jay walking is illegal so I think that everyone has broken that law and in my opinion it is acceptable to break that law because it is so silly. Sometimes I wonder why people break the laws because with all of the technology we have in today's society it is almost impossible for them to get away with it. If someone is shoplifting there are censors on many items, cameras outside and inside the store, and if all of that fails it is likely that there are witnesses around to see it all go down. I think that people should really think about all of their options before they go and break the law because almost every time there is something that can be done to help them out.

Reflection Blog- The Minister's Black Veil

Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote The Minister's Black Veil, which is a short story that tells us about a sexton who wears this black veil over his face and about all of the drama and mystery this black veil brings. I thought that this story was kind of weird at first, but once I finished it and looked back at what everything actually meant it was a pretty cool story. This story starts out with people's first reacitons to seeing Mr. Hooper with a mysterious black veil covering most of his face. From what I understood from this story, it seemed that people thought that he was crazy or that something. For example, on page 283 there is a quote from a man discussing the matter with his wife:

But the strangest part of the affair is the effect of this vagary, even on a sober-minded man like myself. The black veil, though it covers only our pastor's face, throws its influence over his whole person, and makes him ghostlike from head to foot (Hawthorne 283).

This passage shows a glimpse of how some of the people in the town felt about the mysterious black veil that covered the face of their pastor. I think that because Mr. Hooper wore this black veil, he troubled many of the members of his church because no one knew why he was wearing it. Finally when Mr. Hooper is on his death bed, he tells everyone that he had been wearing the black veil because of his own personal belief that his black veil was similar to a persons face because both hide a persons evil thoughts and sins (Hawthorne 280). That right there is a quality of Dark Romanticism writing because they expressed the belief in sin and evil throughout this story. The Minister's Black Veil included many characterisitcs from the Romanticism and Dark Romanticisim time period. A few characterisitcs of the Dark Romanticism time period are that it is said to pay attention to the mysteries of life, and to have a belief in sin and evil (Dark). In addition to those characteristics, people during these times valued feelings and emotion over reason and also emphasized looking inward for the truth (Dark). I think that it is pretty cool to see how much people freaked out about Mr. Hooper wearing a veil over his face because if you really think about it, it is not a big deal. I think what scared people most about the black veil that covered their minister's face was the fact that to them the meaning behind it was a mystery. People thought Mr. Hooper had gone crazy, or that he was a monster, but really he was just proving a point. He believed that a veil is the same as a person's face because they both hide the truth and sin. I think that the way the people react to Mr. Hooper's black veil is very realistic though because I know that if something similar to that happened to me I would think they were crazy as well. I think that people fear what they do not have an answer to, and because they did not know why Mr. Hooper was wearing this black veil they feared it.

"Dark Romanticism - ArticleWorld." Main Page - ArticleWorld. Web. 23 Jan. 2012.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The Minister’s Black Veil.” Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm,
Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed.
Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 280-289. Print.

Journal #25- Fear

I am scared of a lot of things. I am scared of many things that are not real, and many things that are. One of my biggest fears is alligators and crocodiles. I do not really know why I am so scared of them since the only time I have ever been around one is at the zoo, but for some reason I am terrified of them. Another one of my biggest fears is spiders. I think having a fear of spiders is more normal than having a fear of crocodiles because unlike crocodiles, I actually come into contact with spiders occasionally. I have tried everything to spider proof my room but somehow they always seem to sneak in. One of the scariest encounters I have ever had with spiders is when I was in the shower one day and out of the corner of my eye I saw a little black dot descending from the ceiling. I am very lucky that I did not fall and injure myself because the second I saw it I had a mini heart attack and then I jumped out of the shower, nearly slipping and falling. Another time I had a close encounter with a spider was when I was home alone and I was sitting downstairs waiting for my ride to come. You see, the first problem with this is that I was home alone. Every time I am home alone something seems to happen that is super freaky. Anyways, I had to go upstairs to go to the bathroom and as I was at the very top of the stairs I noticed a huge black dot on the wall and I stopped and stared at. When I tell people this, they think I am crazy but I swear this spider and I stared into each others eyes and it was one of the scariest things ever. I was so spooked by this spider that I decided I did not want to go to the bathroom so I started back down the stairs. I decided that I should keep my eye on the spider just in case it moved so right as I got to the bottom of the stairs I walked directly under it and right as I was in its path, I saw it lunge off the wall and try to land on me! The spider tried to land on me but thankfully I am extremely fast and I was able to dart out of harms way. I knew from the moment I made eye contact with that spider that it was evil, and after what had just happened it was confirmed. I took a shoe and threw it at the spider a few times until I knew it was dead.

Reflection Blog- The Pit and the Pendulum

Edgar Allan Poe wrote many poems and short stories during the Romanticism/ Dark Romanticism time period, and is still today a pretty well known author. In his short story The Pit and the Pendulum, he tells about the horrors of a soldier who is sentenced to death during the Spanish Inquisition and is held in a cell with hot iron walls that are constantly moving in forcing him into a deep pit (Poe 263). When I read this, I was not surprised by all of the horrors and scary things that Edgar Allan Poe wrote about because it seems like a lot of his writing as well as many writings from this time period in general include evil and horror. In this short story, Edgar Allan Poe uses quite a bit of detail in describing the situation this solider is in. For example, on page 263 in the first paragraph he boldly states that this solider is sentenced to death and later on the same page tells us that he will be tortured (Poe 263). I think it is safe to say that death was a very common theme for poems and short stories during this time period. Some characterisitics of the Romanticism/ Dark Romanticism time period are valuing feelings over reason, valuing imagination, and also sometimes it consists of evil and tragedy. I think that there are many instances throughout The Pit and the Pendulum where Edgar Allan Poe shows characteristics from this time period. At many points throughout this story, this solider is telling us how he feels during certain situations. For example, on page 265 he says

I felt nothing; yet dreaded to move a step, lest I should be impeded by the walls fo the tomb. Perspiration burst from every pore and stood in cold big beads on my forehead. The agony of suspense grew at length intolerable, and I cautiously moved foreward...(Poe 265).

and again on page 267 when he says

In other conditions of mind I might have had the courage to end my misery at once by a plunge into one of the abysses; but not I was the veriest of cowards. Neither could I forget what I had read of these pits- that the sudden extinction of life formed no part of their most horrible plan (Poe 267).

Also, Edgar Allan Poe shows us a little evil and horror throughout this short story. For example, on page 271 he is describing to us the rats that surround the solider

They were wild, bold, ravenous; their red eyes glaring upon me as if they waited for motionless on my part to make me their pray (Poe 271).

Another example of evil in The Pit and the Pendulum is on page 272 when the solider is describing the chamber he is kept in

Demon eyes, of a wild and ghastly vivacity, glared upon me in a thousand directions, where none had been visible before, and gleamed with the lurid luster of a fire that I could not force my imagination to regard as unreal (Poe 272).

I guess that this passage is not exactly evil, but I think it is scary and cynical which is what a lot of the stories from this time period had.

Bibliography

Poe, Edger Allan. "The Pit and the Pendulum." Glencoe Literature. By Jeffrey D. Wilhelm and Douglas Fisher. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2009. 263-73. Print.

Journal # 24- Spooky

Unfortunately I have been spooked too many times to count, but there are a few times that really stand out to me. Oddly enough, my mother, the one who is supposed to comfort you and what not, is generally the one who spooks me the most. Scary movies that have demons also spook me a lot. My mom loves scaring me and freaking me out so sadly for me it happens a little to often. Every time after I watch a scary movie my mom always attempts to scare me. One time, I was sitting in my kitchen with my friends Ashley, Megan, Rachel, and my cousin Tiffany while my mom, dad and brother were out grocery shopping. We were all sitting around the kitchen table when we heard a loud knock on the window so we all freaked out and ran into the living room. We all huddled together on the couch and then I called my dad and told him to hurry home because we were all freaking out. In my living room, there is a huge glass door that goes to the porch on the side of the house and we have a huge tan curtain hanging over the windows. It was about sunset so it was not very light outside but there was still enough for us to be able to see shadows against the window. Once I got off the phone with my dad he told me they would be home in like ten minutes so we all sat there waiting for them to get back. We had been sitting there for like two minutes when we saw the shadow of a person walk in front of the window in the living room so we all started freaking out really bad. Then the person suddenly just disappeared and was out of sight for like another two minutes and then all of a sudden we all heard a loud banging on the door that leads to the porch! Right after we heard the loud banging my mom and dad and brother all walk into the house laughing hysterically. We were all so scared and spooked that a few of us started crying. This is only one time my mom has completely scared me to the point of tears, but I know that it is all in good fun.

Eldorado- Edgar Allan Poe

I chose to analyze Eldorado by Edgar Allan Poe for a few reasons, but mostly because I have seen movies about people traveling the road to Eldorado in search of gold and I thought it would be cool to read a poem about a similar journey. The second reason I chose to analyze this poem is because it is short and simple, so hopefully it will be easier to understand. The first time I read through this poem, I had an idea of what it was about. From what I understood, it was about a man who is in seach of Eldorado but he does not find it. Then I read through this poem a second time and I got a little better understanding of what was happening. When this poem begins, Edgar Allan Poe describes the character as "a galliant knight" who is on a journey in search of Eldorado (Eldorado 2). In the Romanticism time period, we see quite a shift in the values of people and in the way they think. The Romanticism time period is when people moved from reason to feelings, and it is easy to see the difference in the writing styles between the two. Earlier this year we read stories by Benjamin Franklin that valued reason over religion, and now we have moved on to poems that seem to value feelings and nature over reason . Also, in many Romanticism style poems there is some sort of a hero portrayed and in this poem, when Edgar Allan Poe says "a galliant knight" the first thing that comes to my mind is a brave, courageous hero (Eldorado 2). It seems that in a lot of the Dark Romanticism/Romanticism writings there is some tragedy or death that occurs within the poem or story. For example, in Edgar Allan Poe's Annabel Lee he tells the story of the love he shared with this girl but then she died and it was tragic. In Eldorado there is kind of a tragedy when Edgar Allan Poe says "And as his strength failed him at length, He met a pilgrim shadow-" (Eldorado 15-16). I think that this passage shows the sadness of death and tragedy because Edgar Allan Poe is telling us that the strength of this knight is not enough to get him to Eldorado and that he is failing. After reading so much about how awesome Eldorado is supposed to be, I thought back on all of the movies I have ever seen that were about peoples journey to Eldorado and I remembered that in one of the movies two young men were traveling to Eldorado in search of gold and riches. The knight in this poem is on a journey searching for Eldorado because he wants the gold and the riches that are supposedly there. I think this poem is a good example of the Romanticism writing style because it shows a lot of characteristics from this time period and it also has the right mood. Edgar Allan Poe is a very popular author from this time period.


Bibliography

"Eldorado by Edgar Allan Poe." PoemHunter.Com - Thousands of Poems and Poets.. Poetry Search Engine. Web. 17 Jan. 2012.

Journal #23- Scary Stories

In school every year we watch students present scary stories, and one thing that I noticed most of the students doing while they were presenting was they all tried to create suspense. They all began kind of slow but as the story went on they built up suspense by pausing randomly throughout their story. It seems that everyone who tells a scary story always has a long pause right before they tell the scariest part, and I think that is because they want to create some sort of a suspenseful moment for the audience. Also, it seems that there are quite a few moments of complete silence when someone is telling a scary story because they are trying to create suspense and really get the audience into the story. Personally, when I was little I used to hate scary stories because I thought they were so creepy and spooky, but now I actually enjoy listening to scary stories because I think they are entertaining and its interesting to see how people tell a scary story. Also, sometimes scary stories are accompanied by weird music or creepy sounds which I think can sometimes have a negative affect of the scariness of a story. Sometimes it seems like the music can really add to the suspense but on the other hand sometimes it seems like it can ruin the suspense of a scary story. When people tell scary stories I think they always try to exaggerate everything and make everything thing seem a lot more dramatic than it actually is because it can add to the suspense of the story. One of my favorite parts of listening to a scary story is at the very end when the storyteller pauses and then says the last scary line. I like this part a lot because it can either make or break a story. I think there are a lot of factors that contribute to the scariness of a scary story and I think that in order to effectively tell a good scary story you need to add suspense in all the right places and keep it simple and scary. My life is a scary story because my computer is going to shut down in :50 seconds and its so suspenseful. Suspense is one of the biggest factors in a scary story, but I think a story can be scary without suspense depending on what it is about. For example, I have been told scary that had no suspense but it was still scary simply because it was a true story. Depending on how you tell the story, you can make a story that is not scary at all into a really scary story because of suspense and everything else that attributes to a scary story. I think some people are better at telling scary stories than other people because some people are not good at delivering a story and other people are. Suspense is probably the most important element in telling a good scary story, so I think that should be one of the biggest things a scary story teller focuses on because if you have good suspense you will have a good scary story.

Journal # 22- Sledding Poem

I love to go sledding in the white snow,

even though it is always really cold.

Speeding down the hill I put on quite a show,

But I fell off and down the hill I rolled.

Sledding reminds me of the Christmas season,

and it always brings me such a thrill.

I enjoy going sledding without a reason,

and I love the feeling I get as I race down the hill.

Every time I go outside to play with my sister,

we bundle up with a coat, gloves, and a warm fuzzy hat.

Once it was so windy it looked like a twister,

so we stayed inside and had a lovely chat.

During this season we decorate our Christmas tree,

and open lots of presents from my friend Kris Kringle.

On Christmas morning up the stairs I flee,

to hear the magical bells jingle.

The winter season brings some people joy,

and it is sometimes referred to as the season of giving.

I always love it when I get a cool toy,

and it is a time of great living.

Before you know it winter will be long over,

and the season will change to spring.

You can exchange the snow for a lucky four leaf clover,

and look back on winter and miss everything.

Journal # 21- Snowy Scene

It was two days before Christmas the first time it snowed. I remember waking up and rushing to the window and seeing the white glow of the snow covering everything in sight. The wind was blowing snow all around my house and through the trees in my yard. After looking at the snow for awhile, I grabbed my coat and opened the front door. Just as I opened the door I felt a crisp, cool wind blow into my house. The excitement every child feels the first time it snows is indescribable. I remember running into my sisters room begging her to come play outside with me in the snow. Our mom always made us bundle up before we go play outside, so we each gathered up all of our coats, hats and gloves and we were soon ready to go. I remember the sound of the snow crunching under my boots and the feeling of the cool wind blowing on my face. My sister and I built igloos, made snowmen and even snow angels in the snow. The sun was shining down on the snow and I remember everything looked so sparkly and bright. Also, when we have snow days for school I always end up going sledding with my friends. We go sledding on a really big hill that was made for sledding. The feeling you get when you go down the hill is so awesome because it seems like you are going so fast. The sled scratches against the ice and as you pick up speed the snow begins to fly up around you and it is very exciting. Every time I am out in the snow for very long I always get a runny nose and cold cheeks, but that is just part of the season. Usually after I am done playing in the snow, I go home and drink some delicious hot chocolate and lay in my bed. Winter is a beautiful season, and snow is cold.