Saturday, December 8, 2007
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Scene Response 12/6/07
The final moments of Jody's life:
On the last few pages of Chapter Eight are the final moments of Joe's life. After Janie embarrasses him in front of his friends and a few other townspeople, Joe decides to sleep downstairs in their house. He stops eating her cooking. Soon he becomes very sick. At the end of the chapter, Janie visits Joe as he is lying sick in bed. He is not privy to the fact that he may die, but Janie brings the news. He is going to die. He is shocke. Janie confronts him about how he has supressed her in the past in their relationship. He never let her be herself and seemed not to really love her. Janie also attempts to appologize for the way she embarrassed Joe. He cannot take Janies constant reminders of how he was a bad husband, seeing as though he cared for his reputation immensely. Finally, he passes. Janie lays his hands across his chest peacefully, changing them from their outstreched, decrepit form. Janie, too, can finally be at peace. She seems liberated by Joe's passing. Though she misses him, she does not grieve as long as the others do and she is back to her old self once again.
On the last few pages of Chapter Eight are the final moments of Joe's life. After Janie embarrasses him in front of his friends and a few other townspeople, Joe decides to sleep downstairs in their house. He stops eating her cooking. Soon he becomes very sick. At the end of the chapter, Janie visits Joe as he is lying sick in bed. He is not privy to the fact that he may die, but Janie brings the news. He is going to die. He is shocke. Janie confronts him about how he has supressed her in the past in their relationship. He never let her be herself and seemed not to really love her. Janie also attempts to appologize for the way she embarrassed Joe. He cannot take Janies constant reminders of how he was a bad husband, seeing as though he cared for his reputation immensely. Finally, he passes. Janie lays his hands across his chest peacefully, changing them from their outstreched, decrepit form. Janie, too, can finally be at peace. She seems liberated by Joe's passing. Though she misses him, she does not grieve as long as the others do and she is back to her old self once again.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Reading Response: 12/3/07
Scene from chapters 3-6:
"The sow-belly in the pan needed turning. She flipped it over and shoved it back. A little cold water in the coffee pot to settle it. Turned the hoecake with a plate and then made a little laugh. What was she losing so much time for? A feeling of sudden newness and change came over her. Janie hurried out of the front gate and turned south. Even if Joe was not there waiting for her, the change was bound to do her good." (Their Eyes Were Watching God, p. 32)
In Chapter 4, Janie leaves Logan Killicks. Her grandmother tries to explain true love to her, but Janie does not find Logan to be a suitable husband. They are wed anyway in an arranged marriage. Logan is big and offers Janie security, but he makes her do physical labor in the fields as well as cook for him. Over time, she finds him uglier. In town, Janie spies out Joe Starks, who is ambitious, good looking, and dapper. She is wooed by him, at the very least impressed, and he arranges to meet her outside of Logan's house one night to sweep her off on his way to Florida to carry through with his plan to start a new town. In the scene above, she is cooking and cleaning, when Logan has gone to town, but then she realizes that she has had enough and chooses to leave. Whether or not Joe Starks is there, she will start a new life for herself.
"The sow-belly in the pan needed turning. She flipped it over and shoved it back. A little cold water in the coffee pot to settle it. Turned the hoecake with a plate and then made a little laugh. What was she losing so much time for? A feeling of sudden newness and change came over her. Janie hurried out of the front gate and turned south. Even if Joe was not there waiting for her, the change was bound to do her good." (Their Eyes Were Watching God, p. 32)
In Chapter 4, Janie leaves Logan Killicks. Her grandmother tries to explain true love to her, but Janie does not find Logan to be a suitable husband. They are wed anyway in an arranged marriage. Logan is big and offers Janie security, but he makes her do physical labor in the fields as well as cook for him. Over time, she finds him uglier. In town, Janie spies out Joe Starks, who is ambitious, good looking, and dapper. She is wooed by him, at the very least impressed, and he arranges to meet her outside of Logan's house one night to sweep her off on his way to Florida to carry through with his plan to start a new town. In the scene above, she is cooking and cleaning, when Logan has gone to town, but then she realizes that she has had enough and chooses to leave. Whether or not Joe Starks is there, she will start a new life for herself.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Their Eyes Were Watching God Reading Response 1
"Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men. Now, women forget all those things they don’t want to remember, and remember everything they don’t want to forget. The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly." (page 1).
I think this quote is referring to the habits of women. They are being compared to men. It would seem that the narrator is conveying that men are not "go-getters," or have no ambition. By "women forget all those things they don't want to remember," I believe the narrator is thinking women can "sift through" the unimportant details of life and their goals are in view and they can accomplish tasks. I think a conflict in "Their Eyes Were Watching God" may have to do with men and women.
I think this quote is referring to the habits of women. They are being compared to men. It would seem that the narrator is conveying that men are not "go-getters," or have no ambition. By "women forget all those things they don't want to remember," I believe the narrator is thinking women can "sift through" the unimportant details of life and their goals are in view and they can accomplish tasks. I think a conflict in "Their Eyes Were Watching God" may have to do with men and women.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Quotation Repsonse 10/30
Read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn pp. 197-214, then to 232
Mark Twain: "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" p. 203
1. "After all this long journey, and after all we'd done for them scoundrels, here it was all come to nothing, everything all busted up and ruined, because they could have the heart to serve Jim such a trick as that, and make him a slave again all his life, and amongst strangers, too, for forty dirty dollars."
Huck is discouraged here. The journey that he and Jim just made seems for naught now. Jim was captured by an old stranger, in exchange for forty dollars. Huck is detestful of the "scoundrels" who would give away the fact that Jim is a slave. He seems to feel badly for Jim who is about to be returned to his life of servitude. Huck will most likely get him out of his predicament, though. He is proficient in coming up with plans and is sure to find a solution to this problem.
Mark Twain: "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" p. 211
2. "-'Good gracious! anybody hurt?' 'No'm. Killed a nigger.' 'Well, it's lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt.'"
This is a conversation between Huck and a white woman that lives in the plantation that Jim had been sold to. Huck is thought to be the woman's nephew who had taken a ferry to the plantation and was a few days late. Huck, obviously not being the woman's kin, had to make up a story of why he was late. He fibbed that the ferry had blown a cylinder-head. You can tell, by this passage, that whites in the South didn't regard blacks as actual people, more so like property (even as Huck had done earlier on in the book when he found out that Jim had been sold). It struck me as strange that this would be so blatantly obvous, though.
Mark Twain: "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" p. 203
1. "After all this long journey, and after all we'd done for them scoundrels, here it was all come to nothing, everything all busted up and ruined, because they could have the heart to serve Jim such a trick as that, and make him a slave again all his life, and amongst strangers, too, for forty dirty dollars."
Huck is discouraged here. The journey that he and Jim just made seems for naught now. Jim was captured by an old stranger, in exchange for forty dollars. Huck is detestful of the "scoundrels" who would give away the fact that Jim is a slave. He seems to feel badly for Jim who is about to be returned to his life of servitude. Huck will most likely get him out of his predicament, though. He is proficient in coming up with plans and is sure to find a solution to this problem.
Mark Twain: "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" p. 211
2. "-'Good gracious! anybody hurt?' 'No'm. Killed a nigger.' 'Well, it's lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt.'"
This is a conversation between Huck and a white woman that lives in the plantation that Jim had been sold to. Huck is thought to be the woman's nephew who had taken a ferry to the plantation and was a few days late. Huck, obviously not being the woman's kin, had to make up a story of why he was late. He fibbed that the ferry had blown a cylinder-head. You can tell, by this passage, that whites in the South didn't regard blacks as actual people, more so like property (even as Huck had done earlier on in the book when he found out that Jim had been sold). It struck me as strange that this would be so blatantly obvous, though.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Quote Response 10/25
Mark Twain: "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" p. 73
1. "We shot a water-fowl now and then that got up too early in the morning or didn't go to bed early enough in the evening. Take it all round, we lived pretty high."
It seems here that Huck and Jim seem fairly happy in the situation that they are in. Though they are both on the lamb and cannot even go out during the day without a disguise (like Huck dressing up as a girl), they can often enjoy the little things in life like a good supper of water-fowl or catfish. It even seems ironic that they are so chipper in the condition that they are in (hiding from everyone).
Mark Twain: "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" p. 83
2. "'I didn' know dey was so many un um. I hain't hearn 'bout none un um, skasely, but ole King Sollermun, onless you counts dem kings dat's in a pack er k'yards.'"
Jim says this after Huck reads to him about "kings and dukes and earls and such." I found it interesting that he hadn't heard of other kings other than King Solomon. Solomon was known for making wise decisions, one of which was deciding which woman was the mother of a child, of whom both claimed was theirs. Jim seems to make some wise decisions so it seems that he and Solomon are alike in that aspect. It would seem likely, though, since he is an uneducated black man, that he would know more kings in a pack of cards than there actually are in the world.
1. "We shot a water-fowl now and then that got up too early in the morning or didn't go to bed early enough in the evening. Take it all round, we lived pretty high."
It seems here that Huck and Jim seem fairly happy in the situation that they are in. Though they are both on the lamb and cannot even go out during the day without a disguise (like Huck dressing up as a girl), they can often enjoy the little things in life like a good supper of water-fowl or catfish. It even seems ironic that they are so chipper in the condition that they are in (hiding from everyone).
Mark Twain: "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" p. 83
2. "'I didn' know dey was so many un um. I hain't hearn 'bout none un um, skasely, but ole King Sollermun, onless you counts dem kings dat's in a pack er k'yards.'"
Jim says this after Huck reads to him about "kings and dukes and earls and such." I found it interesting that he hadn't heard of other kings other than King Solomon. Solomon was known for making wise decisions, one of which was deciding which woman was the mother of a child, of whom both claimed was theirs. Jim seems to make some wise decisions so it seems that he and Solomon are alike in that aspect. It would seem likely, though, since he is an uneducated black man, that he would know more kings in a pack of cards than there actually are in the world.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Quotation Response 10/15
Mark Twain: "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" p. 18
1. "Jim was monstrous proud about it, and he got so he wouldn't hardly notice the other niggers. Niggers would come miles to hear jim tell about it, and he was more looked up to than any nigger in that country."
This exerpt refers to "Nigger Jim," who was watching the kitchen at the widow's house when Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn were creeping by, attempting to sneak Huck off the premise. He tripped on a root though, startling Jim. He knew he heard something so he attempted to listen for the hooligans. They stayed quiet, though, but eventually Jim came from the doorway and leaned up against a tree to listen more closely. He fell asleep. Tom suggested that they tie him to the tree, but Huck opted not to. Instead, they meerly took his hat and hung it on a branch. When Jim awoke he fabricated a story that witches took him around the world and brought him back to the tree and hung his hat up. I found this quote interesting because the "n-word" is used so loosely in the book. Today, it is considered derogatory, however in the context it is not.
Mark Twain: "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" p. 20
2. "We'll keep them till they're ransomed to death..."
I think this is rather ironic. This is a group of young boys, one of whom cries, who are planning on killing, stealing from, and "ransoming" people. Other than the fact that they are young and planning on killing people, this is ironic because they do not know the first thing about robbing someone or holding someone for randsome. Tom Sawyer tells the others that they will read books to find out how to do these things. I was tickled by this because these boys don't seem to be the type that would read or attempt to learn.
1. "Jim was monstrous proud about it, and he got so he wouldn't hardly notice the other niggers. Niggers would come miles to hear jim tell about it, and he was more looked up to than any nigger in that country."
This exerpt refers to "Nigger Jim," who was watching the kitchen at the widow's house when Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn were creeping by, attempting to sneak Huck off the premise. He tripped on a root though, startling Jim. He knew he heard something so he attempted to listen for the hooligans. They stayed quiet, though, but eventually Jim came from the doorway and leaned up against a tree to listen more closely. He fell asleep. Tom suggested that they tie him to the tree, but Huck opted not to. Instead, they meerly took his hat and hung it on a branch. When Jim awoke he fabricated a story that witches took him around the world and brought him back to the tree and hung his hat up. I found this quote interesting because the "n-word" is used so loosely in the book. Today, it is considered derogatory, however in the context it is not.
Mark Twain: "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" p. 20
2. "We'll keep them till they're ransomed to death..."
I think this is rather ironic. This is a group of young boys, one of whom cries, who are planning on killing, stealing from, and "ransoming" people. Other than the fact that they are young and planning on killing people, this is ironic because they do not know the first thing about robbing someone or holding someone for randsome. Tom Sawyer tells the others that they will read books to find out how to do these things. I was tickled by this because these boys don't seem to be the type that would read or attempt to learn.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Reading Response: 10.8.07
-- Would you label Dickinson as Transcendental? Why or why not?
I would label Dickinson as Transcendental because her works contain many references to nature, which is "the perfect manisfestation of [the] Truth." In this passage, labeled "Day 1," Emily Dickinson also writes about religion, showing she has her own philosophy on the topic. "I never spoke with God, Nor visited in heaven; Yet certain am I of the spot As if the chart were given." I think Dickinson is also a transcendentalist because of her views of life, shown in "XX" in "Day 1" (p. 86).
I would label Dickinson as Transcendental because her works contain many references to nature, which is "the perfect manisfestation of [the] Truth." In this passage, labeled "Day 1," Emily Dickinson also writes about religion, showing she has her own philosophy on the topic. "I never spoke with God, Nor visited in heaven; Yet certain am I of the spot As if the chart were given." I think Dickinson is also a transcendentalist because of her views of life, shown in "XX" in "Day 1" (p. 86).
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Quotation Response 10/7
Walt Whitman: "Song of Myself" p. 83
1. "I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love, If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles."
To bequeath is to "dispose by last will." He explains here that once he dies, he will become part of the earth and grow from "the grass that [he] love[s]." His soul can simply be found beneath your feet. It is not bizarre that Whitman would say this. Passage 51 of "Song of Myself" is filled with references to nature. In the first sentences, he compares himself to a brilliant hawk, a beautiful part of nature. It seems that after his comparison, it would be fitting that Whitman would want to be part of the earth when he dies.
Walt Whitman: "Song of Myself" p. 83
2. "And such as it is to be of these more or less I am, And of these one and all I weave the song of myself."
Walt Whitman is describing how the populance and masses are part of him. In another section, he says, "I am large, I contain multitudes." Passage 15 of "Song of Myself" is like "I Hear America Singing" in that there are many different types of people and what they do. They all are part of Whitman because he is part of the populance and they are his representation.
1. "I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love, If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles."
To bequeath is to "dispose by last will." He explains here that once he dies, he will become part of the earth and grow from "the grass that [he] love[s]." His soul can simply be found beneath your feet. It is not bizarre that Whitman would say this. Passage 51 of "Song of Myself" is filled with references to nature. In the first sentences, he compares himself to a brilliant hawk, a beautiful part of nature. It seems that after his comparison, it would be fitting that Whitman would want to be part of the earth when he dies.
Walt Whitman: "Song of Myself" p. 83
2. "And such as it is to be of these more or less I am, And of these one and all I weave the song of myself."
Walt Whitman is describing how the populance and masses are part of him. In another section, he says, "I am large, I contain multitudes." Passage 15 of "Song of Myself" is like "I Hear America Singing" in that there are many different types of people and what they do. They all are part of Whitman because he is part of the populance and they are his representation.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Quotation Response 10/3
Nathaniel Hawthorne: "The Minister's Black Veil" p. 58
1. "Beloved and respected as you are, there may be whispers that you hide your face under the consciousness of secret sin. For the sake of your holy office, do away this scandal!"
Elizabeth, Hooper's wife-to-be, says this. From Hooper's first sermon to the wedding of the couple, the parish has been gossiping about the veil. The people deemed that the reason for the veil may be from shame (or "consciousness) from some secret sin. Elizabeth begs of Hooper to remove the veil if he hopes to keep his job as a spiritual leader.
Nathaniel Hawthorne: "The Minister's Black Veil" p. 58
2. "If I hide my face for sorrow, there is cause enough, and if I cover it for secret sin, what mortal might not do the same?"
Mr. Hooper says that he hides his face from the world, separating it from the negative aspects of the world. In this quote, he attempts to justify his wearing of the veil. Hooper says that if he feels sorrow and that is what he is hiding his face for, that others have felt the same sorrow. If he covers his face for secret sin, others have shamed themselves with secret sin just as he has. He is simply justifying the use of the veil.
1. "Beloved and respected as you are, there may be whispers that you hide your face under the consciousness of secret sin. For the sake of your holy office, do away this scandal!"
Elizabeth, Hooper's wife-to-be, says this. From Hooper's first sermon to the wedding of the couple, the parish has been gossiping about the veil. The people deemed that the reason for the veil may be from shame (or "consciousness) from some secret sin. Elizabeth begs of Hooper to remove the veil if he hopes to keep his job as a spiritual leader.
Nathaniel Hawthorne: "The Minister's Black Veil" p. 58
2. "If I hide my face for sorrow, there is cause enough, and if I cover it for secret sin, what mortal might not do the same?"
Mr. Hooper says that he hides his face from the world, separating it from the negative aspects of the world. In this quote, he attempts to justify his wearing of the veil. Hooper says that if he feels sorrow and that is what he is hiding his face for, that others have felt the same sorrow. If he covers his face for secret sin, others have shamed themselves with secret sin just as he has. He is simply justifying the use of the veil.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Quotation Response 9/30
Nathaniel Hawthorne: "Young Goodman Brown" p. 67
1. "What if a wretched old woman do choose to go to the devil when I thought she was going to heaven: is that any reason why I should quit my dear Faith and go after her?"
The old woman is a witch and chooses hell over heaven. She chooses a menacing and evil life, though she taught Goodman Brown his catechism. Young Goodman Brown thinks if he should leave his wife, Faith, and a life of doing good to follow the old woman and take a different path. This seems plausible because of the mysterious journey that Goodman is on, accompanied by the devil.
Nathaniel Hawthorne: "Young Goodman Brown" p. 71
2. "But he had no power to retreat one step, nor to resist, even in thought, when the minister and good old Deacon Gookin seized his arms and led him to the blazing rock."
This quote is powerful and mysterious in that Goodman Brown is being forced to this strange ritual in the middle of the woods. Strangely enough, the townspeople of Salem village, where the Salem witch trials took place, are there. All of the people who were involved in his religious life are there at the ritual. Now, he is to see what will become of it and the seemingly supernatural aura about it.
1. "What if a wretched old woman do choose to go to the devil when I thought she was going to heaven: is that any reason why I should quit my dear Faith and go after her?"
The old woman is a witch and chooses hell over heaven. She chooses a menacing and evil life, though she taught Goodman Brown his catechism. Young Goodman Brown thinks if he should leave his wife, Faith, and a life of doing good to follow the old woman and take a different path. This seems plausible because of the mysterious journey that Goodman is on, accompanied by the devil.
Nathaniel Hawthorne: "Young Goodman Brown" p. 71
2. "But he had no power to retreat one step, nor to resist, even in thought, when the minister and good old Deacon Gookin seized his arms and led him to the blazing rock."
This quote is powerful and mysterious in that Goodman Brown is being forced to this strange ritual in the middle of the woods. Strangely enough, the townspeople of Salem village, where the Salem witch trials took place, are there. All of the people who were involved in his religious life are there at the ritual. Now, he is to see what will become of it and the seemingly supernatural aura about it.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Quote Response 9/23
Henry David Thoreau: "The Heart of Thoreau's Journals" p. 32
1. "This shall be the test of innocence- if I can hear a taunt, and look out on this friendly moon, pacing the heavens in queen-like majesty, with the accustomed yearning."
Thoreau paints a picture in this journal entry. He is standing beneath the moon in a picturesque atmosphere in the winter months. He can see the moon "pacing" by the slight breeze pushing the illuminated clouds by it. By "taunt," I believe Thoreau means to hear an unwelcome sound that would ruin the atmosphere. By "innocence," I think that Thoreau means the true isolated and peacefulness of his location, secluded from society and the hustle-and-bustle of life. If his surroundings really are suitable for his experiment, right now, in this moment in time, nothing should disturb the serenity.
Henry David Thoreau: "The Heart of Thoreau's Journals" p. 36
2. "I will tell fortune that I play no game with her, and she may reach me in my Asia of indolence and serenity if she can."
By this, Thoreau means that one must not barter with fate and assume that one will get lucky once in a while. In Thoreau's eyes, hard work is key. Once you do not show interest in trying fortune, laziness will not bring you down. He continues to say, "For an impenetrable shield, stand inside yourself." This quote of Thoreau's only heightens your assumption that he feels that hard work is key. Thoreau said this on June 27th, during the summer months. It could be predicted that he was growing and maintaining his own crops by then. I worked on a farm for a summer. If anything, it requires constant hard work.
1. "This shall be the test of innocence- if I can hear a taunt, and look out on this friendly moon, pacing the heavens in queen-like majesty, with the accustomed yearning."
Thoreau paints a picture in this journal entry. He is standing beneath the moon in a picturesque atmosphere in the winter months. He can see the moon "pacing" by the slight breeze pushing the illuminated clouds by it. By "taunt," I believe Thoreau means to hear an unwelcome sound that would ruin the atmosphere. By "innocence," I think that Thoreau means the true isolated and peacefulness of his location, secluded from society and the hustle-and-bustle of life. If his surroundings really are suitable for his experiment, right now, in this moment in time, nothing should disturb the serenity.
Henry David Thoreau: "The Heart of Thoreau's Journals" p. 36
2. "I will tell fortune that I play no game with her, and she may reach me in my Asia of indolence and serenity if she can."
By this, Thoreau means that one must not barter with fate and assume that one will get lucky once in a while. In Thoreau's eyes, hard work is key. Once you do not show interest in trying fortune, laziness will not bring you down. He continues to say, "For an impenetrable shield, stand inside yourself." This quote of Thoreau's only heightens your assumption that he feels that hard work is key. Thoreau said this on June 27th, during the summer months. It could be predicted that he was growing and maintaining his own crops by then. I worked on a farm for a summer. If anything, it requires constant hard work.
Friday, September 21, 2007
paper choice
Paper choice 2:
A comparison between the self-reliance opinions and views of Thoreau and Emerson.
A comparison between the self-reliance opinions and views of Thoreau and Emerson.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Quote Response 9/19
Henry David Thoreau: "Where I Lived and What I Lived For" p. 25
1. "...but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts."
Thoreau is showing the reader that your own good actions can improve your day and change its outcome for the better. He feels that making better of your own day is much greater than beautifying a canvas with a paint brush. If I do not procrastinate in school and I do well on my quizzes and tests because I study, I am relieving myself of extra stress, which would have been hanging over me if I am always allowing the procrastination. This totally changes the outcome of one's day and you are able to "... carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look..."
Henry David Thoreau: Where I Lived and What I Lived For" p. 24
2. "The morning, which is the most memorable season of the day, is the awakening hour. Then there is least somnolence in us; and for an hour, at least, some part of us awakes which slumbers all the rest of the day and night."
In this quote, Thoreau expresses how he feels about the importance of the morning. In a man, there is less sleepiness in the morning. Every part of one's body is awake and functioning. This part grows less active as the sun rises in the sky, then it "slumbers all the rest of the day and night." The morning is the most important part of the day in my opinion. It is the start of a new day and at this time you can alter and sculpt the outcome of your day. You can change its shape, whereas towards the evening, your day has already formed a trend, which should continue to be followed.
1. "...but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts."
Thoreau is showing the reader that your own good actions can improve your day and change its outcome for the better. He feels that making better of your own day is much greater than beautifying a canvas with a paint brush. If I do not procrastinate in school and I do well on my quizzes and tests because I study, I am relieving myself of extra stress, which would have been hanging over me if I am always allowing the procrastination. This totally changes the outcome of one's day and you are able to "... carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look..."
Henry David Thoreau: Where I Lived and What I Lived For" p. 24
2. "The morning, which is the most memorable season of the day, is the awakening hour. Then there is least somnolence in us; and for an hour, at least, some part of us awakes which slumbers all the rest of the day and night."
In this quote, Thoreau expresses how he feels about the importance of the morning. In a man, there is less sleepiness in the morning. Every part of one's body is awake and functioning. This part grows less active as the sun rises in the sky, then it "slumbers all the rest of the day and night." The morning is the most important part of the day in my opinion. It is the start of a new day and at this time you can alter and sculpt the outcome of your day. You can change its shape, whereas towards the evening, your day has already formed a trend, which should continue to be followed.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
homework 9/17: 4 Quotes/explanations
---From "Nature" by Ralph Waldo Emerson: "...few adult persons see nature." This is a true statement. Emerson is trying to explain that perhaps not all people stop to take the time to enjoy all that is around them. Often times I feel that I do not get to really see and feel the nature around me because of a busy schedule or just plain inattentiveness.
---From "Nature" by Ralph Waldo Emerson: "In the woods, is perpetual youth." Grief, calamity, and stress, for example, age us. If one were to live in the forest, he would find none of that. There is only yourself and the woodland creatures around you. Such activities in the woods such as the scuttling of chipmunks, for instance, could never bother a man, thus he stays young and happy forever, whereas the loudness of urban life could fill someone with negative feelings.
---From "Self-Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson: "'What have I to do with the sacredness of traditions, if I live wholly from within?'"
Here, Emerson is explaining that you do not have to follow the traditions of others, so long as your life is whole and has meaning and you have found yourself. The traditions of others have nothing to do with you, so long as you are self-reliant and you have your own free spirit and your own way of thinking.
---From "Self-Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson: "...truth is handsomer than the affection of love. Your goodness must have some edge to it, -else it is none." You can be a seemingly good person by always saying "hello" and "thank you," but to be truly good ("goodness with some edge to it") you must have feelings behind everything you do. All actions of yours should be truthful and meaningful.
---From "Nature" by Ralph Waldo Emerson: "In the woods, is perpetual youth." Grief, calamity, and stress, for example, age us. If one were to live in the forest, he would find none of that. There is only yourself and the woodland creatures around you. Such activities in the woods such as the scuttling of chipmunks, for instance, could never bother a man, thus he stays young and happy forever, whereas the loudness of urban life could fill someone with negative feelings.
---From "Self-Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson: "'What have I to do with the sacredness of traditions, if I live wholly from within?'"
Here, Emerson is explaining that you do not have to follow the traditions of others, so long as your life is whole and has meaning and you have found yourself. The traditions of others have nothing to do with you, so long as you are self-reliant and you have your own free spirit and your own way of thinking.
---From "Self-Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson: "...truth is handsomer than the affection of love. Your goodness must have some edge to it, -else it is none." You can be a seemingly good person by always saying "hello" and "thank you," but to be truly good ("goodness with some edge to it") you must have feelings behind everything you do. All actions of yours should be truthful and meaningful.
Monday, September 10, 2007
What do you want to get out of this course this year?
This year in American Literature, I want to be able to learn more about American history through literature. Also, I want to learn more about certain American writers and poets. It would also be nice if I could figure out this whole blog thing.
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