Camparing The Fire-Side Poems Reflection

The two poems I will be comparing and making sense of are The Chambered Nautilus and Flower-de-Luce. Both poems are very well known, but for different reasons I believe. The first poem, The Chambered Nautilus by Oliver Wendell Holmes is about life and the growing in life. In line 17 and 18"Still, as the spiral grew,; He left the past year’s dwelling for the new," ("801. The Chambered Nautilus..)This displays how the poem talks about life and moving forward. It says how the "spiral grew" meaning the thing is growing. Metaphorically it is meaning us as humans are growing physically, emotionally, and intelligently. This growth means to move forward in life and leave the past behind. Like the poem above said "He left the past year's dwelling for a new", meaning leaving the past as the past and moving on to new things. Randell Huff writes in his criticism "The moral is to keep growing spiritually (the soul's building of ever more stately mansions, line 29), leaving the "low-vaulted past" (line 31) for ever loftier temples until finally free from the outgrown shell (the physical body after death) by "life's unresting sea" (line 35).",(Huff) showing that he also believes that leaving the past behind and moving forward is the general meaning of the story.
On the other hand the poem Flower-de-Luce is about the opposite. It is about mourning and living in the past of those who are dead and have left their earthly form. In line 13 and 14 "For the one face I looked for was not there,; The one low voice was mute;" (Longfellow) This is talking about how the author or reader is looking for someone who is not there because they have passed on. They are trying to hear their voice but it isn't there because they have passed. The metaphorical meaning of the whole poem is those that are dead are gone for good and will not be able to pass on their knowledge or ideas anymore. An article on Facts on File revealed this about Longfellow, "Tragedy struck again on July 9, 1861, when Fanny and two of their daughters died in a house fire. While melting wax to seal envelopes containing cuttings of her children's hair, Fanny dropped a match onto her dress. Fanny was only 44 years old; their two youngest daughters were five and seven. Longfellow had tried to rescue Fanny by smothering the flames with a rug. As a result, he received terrible burns on his hands and face, and, since shaving became difficult due to scars from the fire, Longfellow grew a beard. Deeply depressed, he immersed himself in translating Dante into English and returned to Europe." (Oakes) This being in 1861 and the work of Flower-de-Luce being written short years after could also be a reason why poem is so sad and stuck in death. Although the poem is about the great author, Hawthorne, and his death, I believe there is also an underlying feelings of his family.
These poems are alike because they both relate to the emotions of a person. Although the emotions are on total opposite sides of one another, they are still displayed. Also a great deal of nature and description is involved which a key part to something is being a Romanticism piece of work.



Huff, Randall. "'The Chambered Nautilus'." The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CPAP0070&SingleRecord=True (accessed December 12, 2011).

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The Complete Poetical Works, ed. by Horace E. Scudder. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1893; Bartleby.com, 2011. www.bartleby.com/356/[224]Web. 12 Dec.

Oakes, Elizabeth H. "Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth." American Writers, American Biographies. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2004. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= AW144&SingleRecord=True (accessed December 12, 2011).


"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. 12 Dec.

Reflection! The Chambered Nautlis

The poem I chose to do was the poem "The Chambered Nautilus" by Oliver Wendell Holmes. I take a lot of emotion from the poem about the greatness of the sea. "Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea" When taking this literally one would say that it is talking about some sort of shelled creature leaving its old small shell for a larger new shell, also adding that the creature lives in a non resting sea. That is the most literal way you can take it. If you look at in a metaphorical sense you would see it differently, just as see if differently than some of my class mates might. I see it that in a world that never stops, we have to learn to leave some things behind and adapt to the changes around us. It is saying not the sea, in other words world, never rests. Also that leaving your old small things in the past makes your future. "Year after year beheld the silent toil; That spread his lustrous coil; Still, as the spiral grew” Literally, again you could take this as a silent creature who begins to grow over time. Metaphorically though, I see a real symbolic message of life involved. The message is how although we may not speak up as loud as others or be as big as others right away, sometimes it's time that adds up. Someone may come up with this big fabulous speech and look really good, which is a good thing, but there are some people who are just as good you tell people the right thing to do routinely and slowly make the same impact. Sometimes it is even a more lasting impact that the one that was given before by the great speaker. I am not the only who sees these as secret metaphors either! "The specimen before him has had its shell "rent" (broken, line 14, or perhaps sawed in half to reveal its exquisite structure) and "its sunless crypt unsealed;" a metaphor inviting comparison with human architecture." (Huff) He believes that this part of the story displays the connection to the human body. This to me is a HUGE display of Romanticism because it is very descriptive with a hidden meaning. Romanticism is huge on displaying metaphors as well because that uses a lot of emotional and imaginative thinking, instead of logical, like in the Realism, or religiously, like in the Puritan era. The author himself though might have had his own reason for these metaphors. Randell Huff wrote in his literary criticism over The Chambers Nautiluses "Applied to the poet's family history, it suggests that he may have viewed his father's ministry as an advancement over its more fundamentalistic predecessors and his own even more liberal beliefs as an advance over his father's." Huff thinks that his poem have a more emotional meaning to the author, not just what we can read or even imagine of without knowing such information. This is what makes Romanticism so beautiful to me, every little stanza and line can mean something different from person to person’s points of view.



Huff, Randall. "'The Chambered Nautilus'." The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CPAP0070&SingleRecord=True (accessed December 7, 2011).












Huff, Randall. "'The Chambered Nautilus'." The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007.Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CPAP0070&SingleRecord=True (accessed December 8, 2011).

Journal Autumn

The sonnet is called Autumn by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is about nature. The time of autumn to be specific. Henry gives this time a very pleasant and good light because he must feel that it is beautiful. A sign romanticism is displayed in how it is literally talking about farmers but it is meaning to talk about the autumn. By using descriptions of what happens in he time of autumn. "Blessing the farms through all thy vast domain!" (Longfellow) This is meaning to say that literally something is blessing the vast farms. But I think his true meaning is that the time of autumn is the time where farmers are blessed with the crops they need to get money to provide for their family. This time is when they are able to grow their crops for their family and to sell for just their well being. This is also a Romanticism example because it talks about people and their livelihoods. There is no actual logic in how they farm or why the crops grow which makes it not a Realism writing era. It strays more into the hypothetical meaning of why autumn is a beautiful time for the farmers especially. "Like flames upon an altar shine the sheaves;" (Longfellow) Literally this means that the flames are shining upon the alter. Theoretically it means that this time is when the light shines brighter than ever and the time of God is flowing. This is especially Romanticism because it deals with the feelings and emotions of the people. The beauty of this time makes it the time for people to come to themselves, or that is how I took the poem he was writing. It was important to Henry to get in touch with the nature and the emotion and strength it gives to us as humans. Overall the poem was very good in my opinion because it allows me to take the poem how I interpret it.




Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The Complete Poetical Works, ed. by Horace E. Scudder. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1893; Bartleby.com, 2011. www.bartleby.com/356/.html#[8]. [December 9, 2011].

Reflection: The Devil and Tom Walker

The short story, "The Devil and Tom Walker", was written in 1824 by a man named Washington Irving. The story is set in New England, specifically in Boston, Massachusetts. The story is basically about a man named Tom Walker who lived in Boston in the 1700's. Throughout the story he is confronted by a man that goes by the name of Old Scratch, who in reality is the Devil himself. The Devil begins to tempt Walker with things that he knows to be wrong. The writer reveals that it is not of Walkers personality to fall for such foolishness of the Devil's tricks. "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 240) This shows how the author gives a background on why the story of him being taken by a Devil's trick is so out of the ordinary. The story is very much from the Romanticism period for a huge reason from the very beginning, nature. "A few miles from Boston, in Massachusetts, there is a deep inlet winding several miles into the interior of the country from Charles Bay, and terminating in a thickly wooded swamp, or morass. On one side of this inlet is a beautiful dark grove; on the opposite side the land rises abruptly from the water's edge, into a high ridge on which grow a few scattered oaks of great age and immense size. Under one of these gigantic trees, according to old stories, there was a great amount of treasure buried by Kidd the pirate." (Irving 240) This is just the beginning of the story and the idea of displaying nature and truly explaining its beauty is a sign of Romanticism writing. Staying away from an scientific or logical reasoning of why nature is the way it is, is another huge give away from Romanticism writing. This is very similar to the story "Rip Van Winkle", also written by Washington Irving, because of its Romanticism qualities. "At the foot of these fairy mountains the voyager may have described the light smoke curling up from a village whose shingle roofs gleam among the trees, just where the blue tints of the upland melt away into the fresh green of the nearer landscape." (Irving) Here Romanticism is displayed in the warm details the author gives and also with the raw explanation of nature. There is no science or logic involve in the descriptions, like there would be in the Rationalism period. Having both of the stories being written by the same author will obviously make the writing itself very similar but not the same. The huge variance in the story lines themselves does give each story a slightly different style simply because Washington knew that stories can't all be told the same way. That’s what makes Washington a good Romanticism author because he knew how to really tell a story, not tell information. The Romanticism period was known for its wonderful stories and details it gave, not logic at all.

Irving, Washington. Matthews, Brander, ed. The Short-Story: Specimens Illustrating Its Development. New York: American Book Company, 1907; Bartleby.com, 2000. www.bartleby.com/195/. [December 5, 2011]

Irving, Washington. "The Devil and Tom Walker' Short Story" Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 240. Print.

Thanatopsis

The story the "Thanatopsis" by William Cullen Bryant is about life and death in my opinion. It can be taken as a warning or even a threat about death depending on how you perceive the poem but I do not see it this way. I see it as more of a calling to accept life and death the same because they are both inevitable. "So shalt thou rest; and what if thou withdraw; In silence from the living, and no friend;Take note of thy departure? All that breathe; Will share thy destiny." (Lounsbury) This quote displays what I was emphasizing on above that death and life is inevitable. When it says "all that breathe will share the same destiny", meaning all that are living will die no matter what. The part before that talking of withdrawing and being silent to me means how one lived their life. Specifically if one lived their life in a somewhat social way and had people around them who cared in their time of dieing and after being put to rest. This is one reason why I disagree that it is a threat of death because I don't believe it is a way of making someone fear death. I think this poem is more about fearing how one has lived their life before their time to leave this world has arrived. "Their sharpness, ere he is aware.When thoughts; Of the last bitter hour come like a blight; Over thy spirit, and sad images; Of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall,; And breathless darkness, and the narrow house,; Make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart" (Lounsbury) The quote displays what I was saying on how one is fearing how they have lived their life when death is approaching. It ways "sad images; of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall", to me this is referring to one reflecting on their own life and seeing things that are painful and one wishes would not have happened. It then says "and grow sick at heart" which means they were truly saddened on the events they were remembering and wish they could take them back. This to me shows that the poem is more of a warning on how you are living your life and how important it is to live a full life than it is saying that we should fear death. Death is not something that someone needs to fear because it is inevitable. It think this poem displays that very well because it shows how death happens. In a way it gives a glorious outlook. Although many people seem to see it as a warning that death is coming to be afraid of it, I think they are skewed away from the real purpose. That purpose IS a warning, but not about death at all! It is about the life that we are all living now and BEFORE our death even comes. His wisdom tells us to live life to the fullest because we should be afraid of leaving this world not making the best of life.

Lounsbury, Thomas R., ed. Yale Book of American Verse. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1912; Bartleby.com, 1999. www.bartleby.com/102/. [November 27,2011].

Journal #19

Nature is the one thing that is always there no matter what. Since the day we all began nature has been a part of our lives. Nature has given us cures for our ailments, wood for our homes, and oxygen for our life. Without nature we could not live because without the medicines we make out natures goods and food it provides us, we wouldn't survive a week. We wouldn't even survive one minute without the oxygen it provides to us. Nature is the reason we live and the way we make a living. Everything we have has been made or provided by nature. With nature we live but also with nature we are allowed to leave. It is the wear and tear of nature and life that makes our bodies come to an end as well. We live and we die through nature’s trials and attributes. Nature itself takes us when we dies as well if we are buried or have our ashes spread we return to the earth we took so much from. Though nature keeps us alive it is also the spirituality that keeps many alive. Without some kind of passion for life and spiritual uplifting feelings many can go through life in a fog. Spirituality allows many to make sense of their life and give it a true meaning and purpose. When someone feels they have a true purpose for living, it makes life's trials easier to get through because you are more accepting to the fact that it is supposed to happen. Many spiritual people believe that everything happens for a reason, including myself. Being spiritual does not always mean religious in my opinion. It to me can mean that you just are connected with yourself and know who you are and want to be. Religion and spirituality is connected to much in my opinion. I feel they are totally different. They do not need to have a direct connection to one another because they can come from many different outlets.

Reflection over Fireside

Fireside writing was generated because it was as simple as the name itself. It was poetry that was thought to be read to families while sitting around the fire. ("Fireside Poets") This is probably why I noticed that the story "Old Iron side" was very descriptive with and uplifting ending to it. "And give her to the god of storms,; the lighting and the gale!" ("Fireside Poets") This is the very ending of the poem and shows the uplifting spirits of the bad women being given away. This also begins to symbolize the huge difference from the Puritan era from the Fireside poets. One HUGE difference is the use of God and religion within the writings themselves. The writing The Crucible by Arthur Miller displays puritan writing at it's best. One quote "Let you not mistake your duty as I mistook my own. I came into this village like a bridegroom to his beloved, bearing gifts of high religion; the very crowns of holy law I brought, and what I touched with my bright confidence, it died; and where I turned the eye of my great faith, blood flowed up.(Miller, Aurthur) This describes how it is VERY religious based and no matter what the topic surrounds religion. But when you look at "Old Iron Side" there isn't so much religious aspect as there is a nature and emotional aspect. This is displayed in "The meteor of the ocean air,; Shall sweep the clouds no more" ("Fireside Poets"). When this was written much later than the Crucible the idea of religion being the main concept had faded already because of the Rationalism era. A famous author from this time was the great Thomas Paine, author of The Crisis. From this story he showed the transition from the very religious Puritan era to the very logical Rationalism era. How does this compare to the "Fireside Poets"? The answer is very simple, the ideas of logic are basically thrown out the door. The ideas of imagination and expression flood through much more because there are no logical rules to be followed or analyzed. "And many an eye had danced to see, the banner int he sky" ("Fireside Poets") The ideas of imagination and vision between real and fake is really a true factor when reading this. You don't have to think logically because there is very little logic in it at all. Unlike The Crisis where everything is written blatantly and logically to what makes scientific sense. For example "We did not make proper use of last winter; neither could we, while we are in a dependent state." (Paine 135. While unlike in the "Old Iron Side" quote, there is no thinking that is needed to be done. The statement is basically exactly what it is. So all in all the timeline of the literature is Puritan, Rationalism, and then the "Fireside Poets". This also shows the progression first away from completely religious, then away from completely logically, and then onto the imaginative and nature driven writing. This is personally my favorite and would recommend everyone to read this era of poetry.

Paine, Thomas. The Crisis No. 1. Wilhelm, Jeffrey D., and Douglas Fisher. Glencoe Literature. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.

Miller, Aurthur. The Crucible. New York: Penguin Group, 1976. 132 Print.

"Fireside Poets" Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 210-211. Print.

Journal #18

Autumn to me is the time of fresh air and falling leaves. When the colors gold, orange, and brown are the normal shades of trees. They gleam when the sun shines through them because of their natural happy glow. Some of them fade though into a deep brown and fall beneath the trees letting them feed the soil beneath them. It is weird in a way of the death of one leaf can help feed the entire tree of which it once lived from. This adds a true amount of the feeling of life in the time of Autumn when everything seems to begin making its circle of life. This is the time wear the warmth of the sun still beats through but the cool winds of winter begin to blow. The feeling of the wind makes my skin shiver but not to long after does the sun begin to warm it again. This feeling is one that only comes during fall. Only the works of nature relieve the cold and relieve the heat on its own. Not the relief of a pool or a warm heater, just the feeling of nature at its best. The smells are just inviting. It's one that can not be described in words or compared to any other scent that I have ever known. It's just known as the scents of fall. This is the time where you can hear the cheers of fans at a football game. You can hear the leafs in the trees louder than ever and the birds are showing their feelings to the cold. The world around us seems to slow down and let us appreciate its true beauty. I feel the true love towards this wonderful time because it is also the time that I was born as well.

Connecting With Nature #17

The bright sun fought the thick branches of the trees to try and reach the ground. I walked under the branches getting the patterned sun look on my skin. The slight covering of the trees cooled my skin from the heat of the sun. The slight sun warmed my skin from the cooling of breeze that was bustling through the forest. I walked along the thickness of the brush bellow touching my hands along every tree as I went. I could feel every bump and crevice in the bark of the trees. It was soothing walking along and feeling nature through my fingers and under my toes. I could hear my friends calling out to me because they got a little bit ahead of me. I ran up to meet them where we came upon a creek. Here the sun was beating down and I could feel my skin begin to heat up immediately. We all had the same idea because we all began to take out shoes off and walk into the creek. The cool water immediately gave me chills because of how warm my skin was from the sun. I could feel the clay-like mud beneath my toes. It felt soothing until I hit something hard. I bent down and dug up to hard object to find a beautiful rock. Me and my friends admired the nature made beauty. That day I felt more connected with nature because I was truly enjoying the many wonders it provides. Trees gave me shade from the wonderful warmth of the sun. The trees trunk through my hands gave me peace and tranquility. The cooling water gave me perfect cooling amount from the hot air. The beautiful rock gave me admiration for the true beauty that nature provides with no help from us as the human race. Sometimes we go through life forgetting how truly amazing the world is around us when we just take time out of our busy lives to enjoy it.

Journal #16

There are actually a lot of ways of communicating without being face to face because of the technology that exists in today's world. There are many different devises themselves that we can use to communicate without ever having to see each other face to face. The first and most popular one for teenagers our age is Facebook. This way we can get to know the person a little more too while we work with them. Facebook is also something we access a lot so we would be very available. Another online source is email, it is easy and very convenient. I keep up with my email more often then I ever have just simply because of school related things and now I get it all to my phone. There are also many other ways online such as IM'ing and blogging. Another not as good way of communicating but still works is twitter, it is pretty vague and not very informative but it is still communication. Another devise is a cell phone. With this you can text which is VERY easy and convenient. This is something that is probably the most handy out of all of the ways. Calling is also a way of communicating with your cell phone but the bad thing is it is not as convenient. Calling has become much more of an inconvenience though because of how busy we are and the difference in most peoples schedules now a days. There are many ways of why this would prepare you for your future. When you get older the amount of face time you will get with someone could be very limited. In college you will need to have ways to communicate with your teacher if you need help because most students in college don't get that one on one time with the teacher. Another way this will prepare you is for the future in your career. For me I am planning on going into advertising, so for me I will have a LOT of communicating to do with many people. I mean I will more likely have to talk with people in places that are far away that I will not have the ability to talk to face to face.

How to overcome distance

When doing a project with someone else from somewhere else it causes a lot of problems as is because you have to combine your thoughts and your ideas into one combined thought. Sometimes this makes the project scattered because your thoughts are not always the same. A way to overcome this is setting up and exact outline that will allow both of your ideas to be able to be shown in the same amount of light. That is just a problem as it is so having distance on top of that. The distance can cause the communication hard to get across. On top of that with the differences in ideas and then the lack of communication. This can make your ideas come across differently and in very small quantities. One way to help overcome this is by using as much detail as possible. Keep the people in your group totally informed on what you think can make it easier to decide on exactly what they believe is valid and want to use and as a group make the project with the best information possible. Another problem is that distance can also cause time schedule differences. When one person is in class the other might not be and working on the project will have to be based on available time. This means that you can base your entire days work off of someones email that they might have sent you hours before. Also you may try to ask them a question and they might not answer or respond for hours when you are done working on the project. A way to help soften the hardness of this, you keep your communication ways completely available at all times. Keep checking your email and Facebook to see if your group has tried to contact you. Also you should try to respond in a fast and speedy manner and stay polite. Politeness can also cause many people to want to work on a project because they want to do good.

Tuckerman- Virtues- Ben Franklin

Ben Franklin then developed the thirteen virtues of which he was going to live by so he truly could get to his goal of moral perfection. He thought that these virtues would help him to become a better Christian as well. The virtues were temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. (Franklin 12-13) Temperance means to have self-discipline and to follow the other thirteen virtues. Silence means to speak when it is needed and not fill your conversations with mindless chatter. The next one, order, means to keep things in your life in a very good organized way. Resolution is another virtue and means to have a strong determination to accomplish your goals. Frugality means to basically "spend less than you earn". Industry means to always be a hard worker and put one hundred percent in everything you do. Sincerity means to avoid speaking in a hurtful way to or of others. Justice means to be good in the law and helpful to others. Moderation means to obtain things that you need and don't always shoot for more. Cleanliness means to keep yourself and your home clean and presentable. Tranquility means to control your anger and basically let the little things go. Chasity means to only have sex for offspring or health while not being able to hurt their reputation. Lastly Humility means to be of God and only of Him and how He would live. ("Being Virtuous) Henry T. Tuckerman, a well known analyst of popular writings, wrote on Benjamin Franklin and the virtues he made. He stated "But while official duty and patriotism gave Franklin occasion to propagate and actualize so many useful and requisite principles,—to become the thinker and advocate,—the incarnated common-sense of his country and his time,—there was another sphere of mental activity, another range of sagacious enterprise, in which he expatiated with kindred success." (Bloom, Harold, ed.) Which he is basically stating how Franklin was a very successful man because of these virtues in many ways. He was a smarter and good influence on the people who looked up to him as a patriotic and political figure. Also he basically is saying how with his mind and good heart he became a better person and good influence on the peoples lives around him. "But in the case of Franklin, this practical service of authorship was immeasurably extended and enforced by the prestige of his electrical discoveries, by the dawning greatness and original principles of the country of which he was so prominent a representative, and by the extraordinary circumstances of his times, when great social and political questions were brought to new and popular tests, and made the homely scientific republican an oracle in the most luxurious and artificial of despotic courts." (Bloom, Harold, ed.) Here Tuckerman is showing how Franklin was different than the other authors of his times. He used his knowledge of other aspects in life in his writing which made what he said more in depth and credible. Tuckerman sees what he says as a true remnant of the goodness in society and how we should all base out life on socially, politically, and cognitively most of all.

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).



"Being Virtuous: Benjamin Franklin’s 13 Virtues of Life | The Art of Manliness." The Art of Manliness | Men’s Interests and Lifestyle. Web. 03 Nov. 2011. .






Franklin, Benjamin. Autobiography. Henry Altimus, 1895. Print.

Reflection- Ben Franklin

Deism is the belief in God and is very much a Christian but yet at the same time, use logic and reasoning when pertaining to life. ("Deism: Its History, Beliefs and Practices.") This caused a lot of controversy in this time for people who believed this way at first because most people in this time were of the puritan belief. Benjamin Franklin was of the deism belief and this did cause a little bit of controversy for him because those who were of the full puritan belief still saw his views to be incorrect. Benjamin Franklin in a way used his book the Autobiography to allow himself to defend himself. He used many different examples of what he believed. "I had been religiously educated as Presbyterian; but, through some of the dogmas of the persuasion, such as the eternal decrees of God, election, reprobation, appeared to me unintelligible, others doubful, nearly absented myself form the public assemblies of the sect, Sunday being my studying I never was without some religious principles." (Franklin 7) This shows that Ben Franklin has always been born with a religious background and has kept religion as a huge importance in his life. Yet, as he grew older he began to question the extent of some of the beliefs in his religion and challenge them. He found himself not believing in some/many of the ideas that we was raised with. He then adopted the idea of deism because he was still very much a believer but he had his own opinions on the idea of inventing, science, and challenging religious "facts". He explored the ideas of morals which was not exactly an idea that was explored by those in a very large religious faith because they believed the only rules morally were in the Bible. Ben Franklin did not disagree with that but he was not in full agreement either. "It was about this time I conceived the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection". (Franklin 10) This was the plan for Ben Franklin for the next few years of his life. This showed his religious beliefs of how he truly wanted to perfect himself as much as a person as he could. Ben Franklin then developed the thirteen virtues of which he was going to live by so he truly could get to his goal of moral perfection. He thought that these virtues would help him to become a better Christian as well. The virtues were temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. (Franklin 12-13) Each of these were based of what he believed was morally and religiously correct. These all are things that on an average day we all break and Ben Franklin did to. Even as he started this he was always breaking them, not on purpose, but he was always honest about it. Every day he chose to work harder and harder to achieve this religious and moral task that he put on himself.




"Deism: Its History, Beliefs and Practices." Religious Tolerance. Web. 26 Oct. 2011






Franklin, Benjamin. Autobiography. Henry Altimus, 1895. Print.

Journal #14

If I was the apprentice of Ben Franklin I would have had a whole different life than I do know. One huge difference between my life now and what it would be then is my education. If I were his apprentice I would learn things about English, science, and philosophical ideas. This is different than now because now I learn a lot more other subjects and have a lot more options than would have been given to me at that time. Another big difference would be my typical day. It would probably start when the sun rises because that would be the only thing that would be there to wake me up in the morning. I would then have to do my morning chores that would of course not want to do. I would do this in a timely manner so I could get to Ben Franklin's shop/office. After I got there we would start working on all the inventions he was planning on doing. I would watch him and do what he told me to do because after all I am his apprentice and am there to learn from his wisdom and insight. I would be doing a lot of paperwork for him because while he worked I would need to make sure I am writing things down so that we do not forget the really important stuff we did or how we did those things. Also so we could mark new ideas or new concepts to old ideas. These are very important in the process of inventing new things. I would also do a lot of research to make sure we do not copy another persons hard work. My childhood would not be much of a childhood because I would be working all the time. I would also get a lot of publicity though because of his huge recognition. My every day would be a life of learning and experimenting from the best there was and would be worth the loss of my childhood..

Journal #12

There is many things that are wrong about what people do in life. People have very low morals in my opinion and it is only getting worse. It is much easier with all the technology today to become rude because people aren't as worried when its online and not in person. One rude thing is not responding to someone in either a text, email, or ect. That to me shows that one does not care about either what the person is saying or that person in general. Now in person a person would more likely do the right moral thing and talk to the person, but now with technology it is easy to be rude. Things like that can be hurtful to many people which to me would be a rule of wrong. A right to this would be that no matter what you respond to the person unless they are saying something hurtful or mean to you. Another rule that I would give at least high school students is to not give your heart away to easily. In high school you feel love for the first time so it is easy to let yourself fall in love with someone but it is a wrong. It can turn out with you very hurt and upset! So that wrong rule would be to not fall completely in love until you are engaged or married. That is more permanent situation to be in. The right rule to that would be to guard your heart from possible pain. This does not mean do not ever love, just don't do it completely. Another rule for wrong it do not give let being afraid stop you from doing anything. It is wrong for many people do not do something just because they feel that they will fail or fall in it. The right rule to that would be to take chances and live in the moment because if you don't, you will lose that moment forever. You cannot take moments back so make the best of every single one you live in.

Franklin Comparrison

I am going to compare the authors Thomas Paine and William Bradford to Benjamin Franklin. Both Thomas Paine and William Bradford have writings of the Puritan style. Franklin on the other head was a huge leader in a Rationalist colony. (Divine) All three authors are fairly different so that is why I chose the people I did to compare. William Bradford is very much a Puritan writer. William is also a very large leader just like Benjamin, but Bradford led through God. He saw signs of God everywhere, the sailor's death, the six "elect" people taking care of the contagious sick people (Bradford 15, 65). Franklin doesn't see stuff that way. He does not see that God is everywhere constantly acting of humans lives. Franklin being a scientist,someone who invented many things, a writer who is still popular today as he was in his time, and someone who is constantly read and talked about in History. (Franklin 104) No where do I talk about him having a prominence in the church or within a religious community because that was not who he was. He led everything with his mind and Bradford was more of a leading by his heart instead. Thomas Paine, another fantastic Puritan style writer, also was one to lead with his heart instead of his head. He was very into telling people how they should and should not be following God. “Say not that the thousands are gone--turn your tens of thousands; throw not the burden of the day upon Providence, but show your faith by your works, that God may bless you” (Paine 136). This is just one quote that shows that to be very true that he thought he knew exactly how it should be and how people should be doing it. Franklin on the other hand was not just saying something was right, he was proving it at as well. He did not just throw out empty statements, each one had a reason for it to be said. Also each one had something behind it, whether that be a hidden meaning, a fact, or some type of statistic. There was just about always something behind it. Franklin did not feel that God really did make any decision. Although he was not fully on board with the God thing, Franklin did still believe in the existence of God. "God grant that not only the love of liberty but a thorough knowledge of the rights of man may pervade all the nations of the earth, so that a philosopher may set his foot anywhere on its surface and say: This is my country. " (Petrie) This quotes the believing in God that Franklin did have. Except he still is asking for knowledge and things that will make things more logical in life. Unlike Paine and Bradford, Franklin does not force the fact of God and believing in him onto people. Franklin just speaks of him or to him.



Petrie, John. "The Greatest Benjamin Franklin Quotes." John Petrie's Home Page. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. .

Franklin, Benjamin. "from The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 104-108. Print.

Divine, Robert A., T. H. Breen, George M. Fredrickson, R. Hal Williams, H. W. Brands, and Ariela J. Gross. America Past and Present AP Edition. Boston: Longman, 2011. Print.

Journal #11 Aphorism

A popular aphorism that I think is very insightful is one by a Mr. Robert F. Kennedy. He stated that "Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly." ("Robert Francis Kennedy Quotes.") This makes a compelling argument almost on how you should also strive for the best even if you know it is possible you will fail. Just because there is a chance that you might not reach your goal doesn't mean you need to totally get rid of the goal all together. This is a problem many people have in there life, not just teenagers either. Grown men and women have a lot of problems with giving up on there goals because the make excuses to why they can't do it such as; I am too busy, can't leave/ do this with my family and kids, not enough money, or not enough connections. These are things that hold a lot of older men and women back in their lives. The hardest part for teenagers is that they are worried about people seeing them fail. Nothing is more important to a teenager than their reputation. This causes many people to give up on their dreams and put them on the back burner because they are scared of failure and make excuses. This states that the only way you can be great is if you take the chance of failing greatly. If you do not ever take the chances in life that might change it, yes you will stop your chance of getting hurt, but you will never experience something great. As much things hold us back because we don't want to get hurt, sometimes we need to get hurt so we can remember when times are good. Bad time tend to make the good ones seem even better. These bad times are hard to get through but you have to get through them or life you leave you behind because it won't stop. You must take chances at failure so that you can possibly get something completely great out of it.


"Robert Francis Kennedy Quotes." Find the Famous Quotes You Need, ThinkExist.com Quotations. Think Exsist, 1999-2011. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. .

The Reflection "The Crisis No. 1"

The story the Crisis No. 1 was written in sense of defense of the new settlers in America. This is also written in a very rationalistic way that displays the Rationalism period very well by showing opinions and giving the facts to support them. The author begins talking about their dependence on the British for their lively hood in the Americas. "We did not make proper use of last winter; neither could we, while we are in a dependent state." (Paine 135) This quote displays the pure dependence the Americans felt they had on the British. The people felt as if they did not have a proper way of life, or at least enough to be able to fend for themselves. The author believes that this is not their fault though. The author thinks that the British have put them in this dependent state so that they will not be able to revolt or go against them and become almost a slave to the British. "Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right(not only to tax) but "to bind s in all cases whatsoever"; and if being bound in that manner is not slavery, then there is not such a thing as slavery upon earth." (Paine 134) This quote displays the thoughts of practically being a slaver under "her" rule. Which in my opinion is referring to the government that is being forced upon them as a she. This is at least how I have perceived it. I perceive it this way because of the time period that they are living in. The Rationalism period caused many to begin forming their own opinions, especially when it comes to the government. This is why when I read the quote I displayed above, I felt that it was a true testament against the government with fairly accurate facts to support it. Emotional appeal was still very much involved in the speech which is not exactly a good display of Rationalism period but shows how the author knew how to displays the facts and give emotion. He would get your attention and hearts with the emotional appeal, but then he backs it up with facts that are needed to make you feel like what he is saying is accurate. (Paine 134-136) The author still does display a Christian oriented belief though that may also be a pull on the hearts for many of that time. "I have as little superstition in me as any man living; but my secret opinion has ever been, and still is, that God Almighty will not give up a people to military destruction, or leave them unsupportedly to perish, who have so earnestly and so repeatedly sought to avoid the calamities of war, by every decent method which wisdom could invent" (Paine 135) With this quote he still connects a little bit to the Puritan period by talking about God and his almighty power in the world. All in all though, it is more logic based making it very much Rationalistic period.


Paine, Thomas. The Crisis No. 1. Wilhelm, Jeffrey D., and Douglas Fisher. Glencoe Literature. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.

#10 Logic and Resoning

Our vocabulary assignment needs to be postponed for the wellness of the grades in our class. As of now I can forge for myself and at least two other class mates that we are not caught up on the previous assignments that we have been assigned. The reason that we are so behind is because we are all trying to give very quality work and we are getting very behind. The work we are trying to give you is in-depth and accurate, and to do this we must have a lot of time of which many of us do not have. Postponing the assignment will allow us more time, which is something that being busy high school students cherish. Although I do understand that there is a time schedule to follow for vocab, but if you do not allow us time we will suffer with our grades. If our grades suffer in a class such as this, then we will have trouble keeping a good grade point average. If this class makes our grade point average fall then we will all suffer when it comes to trying to apply to colleges. Our long term lively hood of schooling could suffer simply because of this vocab assignment not allowing us to really express and show a good and accurate blogs. If we are not able to catch up on what we are behind on because we are assigned more, we could also become stressed. Stress can cause many physical and emotional problems with us, especially as high school students. This time for the next two nights could be used to catch up and fix our previous blogs and be able to relax and not have to stress on our minds and bodies that extra homework can apply. So these are the two main reasons that we should post pone it is the possible chance of not going to college and the stress levels of our lively hood. These are the two most important and ,in my opinion, logical reasons that we need to post pone the vocab assignment.

Reflection over "Speech to the Second Virginia Convention"

The passage "Speech to the Second Virginia Convention" is a perfect example American Rationalism Period. When it begins, the feeling of real authority and power just begins to come through the words. Patrick Henry feels that what is being said is the only and absolute truth. He gives very much of his opinion, which is exactly what people began to do in the American Rationalism Period. "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 above all earthly kings." (Patrick 117) This quote displays my exact thoughts that he is a product of the rationalistic times by stating that his opinion will be shared and it will be understood. Which leads me into my next point, understanding. Rationalism is a time of understanding and making sense of the life around them. The author of this wants to understand the governing system he is under at this time. "They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when the British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction?"(Patrick 118)This is the largely apart of the rationalism time because it displays how the want to know the truth and to know what is going on, is of an utmost importance to this man. This was a great time of revelation for many because they realized the world around them is going out of their control and that it is their time to take control of it. Henry is doing just that to show how he knows that something needs to be done, and he will make sure is voice is heard. This has caused much controversy with all the revelations because others are having their own revelations of which do not agree. The idea of deism which basically is an idea form the Enlightenment. They believed that God set the world up as a clock and just made it and lets it run its course. (Imbarrato) This is why I think that "Speech to the Second Virginia Convention" is written the way it is because they believed that God was letting us run our own course so they need to do that. This is going to make people want to take control and that is what they did.

Imbarrato, Susan Clair, and Carol Berkin. "deism." Encyclopedia of American Literature, Revised Edition: Settlement to the New Republic, 1608–1815, vol. 1, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EAmL0103&SingleRecord=True (accessed September 30, 2011).

Henry, Patrick. "Speech to the Second Virginia Convention". Wilhelm, Jeffrey D., and Douglas Fisher. Glencoe Literature. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.

Emotional

When some one is emotional they tend to get angry, sad, or even depressed very easily. The biggest thing that stops people from being rational is their swing of emotions. When something or someone causes a person to become angry or upset, that thing consumes their lives and they just cannot handle it anymore. The hardest part is that people might try to fix their emotions through even more emotionally blocking strategies. This makes rational thinking become nearly impossible. The trouble with emotions is that they are constantly there and apart of our everyday lives. The thing with being rational is that we have to use your brain to be rational. Many people do not like to use your their brains and actually think things through. I am a pretty good example of an emotional person. I take everything to heart, but I can take a joke when it is meant to be a joke. My emotions cause me to speak my mind a lot and give my opinion in times when maybe it is not exactly needed. The hardest part about that is that it tends to cause problems sometimes when my opinions or feelings are cared about or wanted. The only rational way I can think to fix this is to basically just keep my mouth shut. All I can do is just vent my feelings in writing or speaking aloud to myself because the more people I involve in my problems, the more problems that causes. When people get involved they add their emotions into as well. So rationally, I would keep it to myself and keep my mouth shut. Would this really be the rational thing to do? Maybe....maybe not, but I have no other choice but to sit and think about it. This is my way of turning my emotions into rational thinking to minimize more emotions and problems in my life. I will need a lot of thinking time.

Autumn

The leaves are turning from their vibrant green to the deep oranges and browns of fall. The long summer days are slowly fading away into the shadows of the great days of fall. The great days of pep rally's, football passes, and foggy cheering nights. The fans screaming and hopefully the score board going up. This is a time of spooky ghosts and goblins where little kids get multiple cavities. These days become shorter and the night becomes shorter. We loose daylight time but receive more beautiful night. The stars seem to glow in the dark of the night, while the wind rustles through the trees. Cold enough for a jacket and yet warm enough to not have to wear a coat. The days don't seem to drag on as much during fall. The sun shines and yet the breeze blows. The rain might fall, but no snow is coming yet. Autumn is a time of warm days and cool nights. The perfect weather for me because its not to hot yet its not to cold. School bells begin to ring and students begin to realize that school has really begun. Students begin to realize that homework is becoming the norm, as well as sports. Whether you are kicking a ball, passing a ball, swimming a lap, dancing a turn, or doing a stunt. These things are all becoming very prominent in most weekly lives of students. Hunters begin to go on the prowl to get their prey. Animals start getting ready for winter because as we all know, Autumn is the gateway to winter. The gateway of the dreadfully cold and hard times. But also is the gateway to that fat man who brings us presents. Gateway to the family times, whether they be good or bad. The time of silent nights and holy nights. But for now we enjoy the wonderful weather and good breeses fo fall.

Act Four

Act Four was a good and rounding ending to the whole play of The Crucible. The story has had a HUGE Christian based theme as we all know. It started with the idea of witchcraft and ended with the unraveling the lies and faults in all the stories. As many people know, we as humans like to find the answers to things. When we do not know the reasons for something, we make up reasons. These people used witchcraft to explain the conundrums they are having. This is not something that is done today because we have the insight of science but also because we are honestly not as based around the church as we were in those days. The story "Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God" displays the very strict and hardness of the Christian faith in that time. It shows how sinners in that time deserved to be hung and then burn in hell. They believe that sinners had no right to live on this earth and no right to associate with "true" Christians. (Edwards) The worst part about this is that it caused many innocent people to die. This is because if someone was accused of a sin that they did not commit they were punished. The only way for them to be given the chance of life, is for them to admit to their sin. For those who are truly Christian and did not commit the sin, they do not want to do this of course because they do not want to lie. They know that in the eyes of God they did not commit the sin they are being accused but that if they lie God will see that lie. That lie would be the sin that God would see. So many would die because they did not want to lie in the eyes of God. "I can. And there's your first marvel, that I can. You have made your magic now, for now I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Procter. Not enough to weave a banner with, but white enough to keep I form such dogs." (Miller 144) This quote displays when a good Christian man does not fall for the hard and ridiculous faults in the church at that time.


Edwards, Jonathan. "From Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 97-99. Print.


Miller, Aurthur. The Crucible. New York: Penguin Group, 1976. 144 Print

Bullying

In the world today bullying has become the norm in schools, colleges, and work place. This has become a huge problem in the schools lately because bullying has gotten out of control. With the new technology it becomes easier for teenagers to bully because they are allowed to hide behind a computer. Whenever you don't have to face someone face to face it is easy to say what you really want to say. Whether it is mean or nice things, mostly mean, they can say whatever they want. It is hard for teenagers especially because we take things very hard. We are in the time of finding ourselves and we are having people go against us and make fun of us for the little thing we do. This causes many people to become insecure and secluded to myself. These thing can also cause extreme depression. Suicide because of bullying has also become something that is a known fact. Twenty, even ten, years ago that would seem ridiculously extreme. The bad part about this is that it is causes students to feel so bad about themselves that they do not want to live. A lot of this is caused by cyber-bullying more than it is caused by actual face to face bullying. People have honestly become more afraid to do things face to face for what ever reason. This to me shows again how people have become completely consumed in the technological aspect of communicating. A lot of people only communicate over text, Facebook, or other technological communication devises. This makes bullying so much easier for them. A bully is someone who most the time is insecure about themselves even if they do not know they are insecure about themselves. This becomes a huge problem because it is hard to tell someone that the reason they are mean to others is because of themselves. This also makes them angry because they do not want any blame to be on them because they don't want to show their feelings.

Act Three- Human Nature

In act three the idea of peoples human nature really does come out, and not technically in a good way. The characters are put in a very stressful and hard situation/situations. This causes many upset, frantic, and unexpected behaviors to come from the characters. In act three the character of Giles Corey really begins to show his angry and protective nature. His wife, Martha Corey, is on trial for being a witch, which of course he does not believe to be true. He feels that he has legitimate evidence that his wife is not a witch. His anger comes through when he bursts into the courtroom claiming his wife innocence and makes a huge angry scene as he is drug out of the courtroom. (Miller 84) His protective nature is hidden behind all of the anger that he is giving off. For it really is human nature that when we become very protective of something, we become angry towards those who want to hurt them. For example, when your dog feels that something is threatening to you, it will most like growl, bark, or even snap at whatever it is that is a threat to you because it wants to protect you. Another character known as Mary Warren has a huge part in act three. She is the one person who can really determine Elizabeth Procter's and Martha Corey's innocence. Her human nature of fear plays a huge part in this act. Martha has a terrible fear of the devil, which is expected because her strong faith believes that the devil is all things evil. Her fear of Mr. Procter comes into play when she admits that he forced her to go there and say they were pretending. She also said that Mr. Procter threatened to kill her if she did not do as he said, the fear of him made for the chain of events that happened in act three. (Miller 118-119) Whether Mary was telling the truth, I have not yet decided. If she was not telling the truth, the fear of the court, judge, and possible jail time or hanging could have been what truly scared her into making up lies about Mr. Procter. Mr. Procter shows very similar human traits as Mr. Corey except Mr. Procter adds lying into the mix. Mr. Procter has been lying to all his peers and community about his affair with the young Abigail. He doesn't want his name to be put to shame and telling people would do just that. The truth finally comes out and his protective nature (of himself that is) comes out with a mad furry. (Miller 109-112) These few human traits such as protectiveness, anger, fear, and lying were all displayed fairly bluntly by theses characters in act three. These traits are also things that people today display both bluntly and secretly which makes it human nature to do many of these things. Be them good or be them bad.


Miller, Aurthur. The Crucible. New York: Penguin Group, 1976. 84-112 Print

Blamed

When things go wrong in life people tend to look for someone or something to blame. No one wants it to be their fault but even more than that no one wants it to be no ones fault. People like to be able to point someone specifically out for the problem they are having. They don't want to be stuck with a problem and no face to it. The problem with this is that some times people put the blame on just someone because their really isn't anyone to blame. People even make up "facts" that do not actually exist because they want to justify the blame they are putting upon the person. This can make many problems for many people or just that person who are/is being accused. One problem it could cause is someone who is not to blame could get badly hurt. If you say someone said or did something maybe racist or sexist could make them get a target on their back. This could cause someone to maybe want to start a physical fight with someone that could really hurt them. Another thing is the person could go to jail. If you accuse someone of something and get a convincing lawyer this could cause someone to go to jail or even go to prison. That person could have their life completely ruined and their families destroyed. That could also cause many conflicts in prison or jail depending on what you accused them of. Falsely accusing someone can ruin their lives and even kill them, that blood would be on you, the accusers, hands. When people blame someone they not only put a target on the person they are accusing but they are also putting a target on their own back. That means if facts come back that you are wrong, your life could be ruined. You could lose all credibility and respect of your peers, elders, and basically everyone. The fine line between accusing someone falsely and rightly is so small that it causes many to not accuse people because they don’t want to cause problems.

Act Two- True Colors

There is a system known as True Colors and based on how you answer these certain amount of questions, you will be given a color. The colors will be given to you displaying how much you were a certain color based on how you answered them. The colors each have their own meaning that displays a type of personality. There are four colors; green, blue, gold, and orange. Green basically means you are very analytical and think things through very well and are very firm and consistent in all they do. Blue means that you are very much about emotions and loving, people who are blue tend to like things to stay very calm and conflict free. Gold people are sensible and practical; you will find they are very learning oriented and hard working. Orange means they have a lot of energy and strength, they will work very hard to win and accomplish their goals.("The Meaning Behind the Colors.") The colors show GENERALLY how people are, and do not mean that we cannot display more than one color at different times. In the book, The Crucible, the characters all display prominent colors. For example, John Proctor displays a prominent green color. This is because he thinks out things a lot before he does things. This is why he doesn't just rat Abigail Williams out because he knew that she could tell their secret. (Miller 22-26) As for Abigail Williams, she is very much a blue. She wears her heart on her sleeve and is very emotional. She is also a little bit orange because she works towards what she wants and puts all her energy into it. For example, her wanting to be with John Proctor and for him to admit he loves her. (Miller 23-24) Reverend Parris is what I would consider an orange. He is very power hungry and goal oriented. He will go through anything and anyone to get what he wants. Rebecca Nurse is a half and half of a gold and blue. Although she is very emotional, she does have a very smart and sensible whit to her. For example, when she is being accused of being a witch, she was emotional but used her brain to talk to everyone.(Miller 27-31) Elizabeth Procter is quite the opposite of her husband, she is a blue in my opinion. She wears her heart on her sleeves and in her words. She is not like Abigail's blue though, she is a mean women with her heart on her sleeve. She uses her emotions in rash and not very good situations such as going straight to firing and trying to ruin Abigail's life after finding out about the affair between her husband and Abigail. (Miller 76) As I have demonstrated to you, the characters all have different colors, and those who are the same colors still can have opposite sides of the color, some of these being good and others not being so good. This causes many conflicts between the characters themselves which makes for a very interesting story line.

Miller, Aurthur. The Crucible. New York: Penguin Group, 1976. 22- 76 Print

"The Meaning Behind the Colors." True Colors. My True Colors Incorperated. Web. 11 Sept. 2001. .

Act One

A Puritan is someone who is fully invested in the church and in the lord. Puritans are known to be a little extreme when it comes to the Lord. They feel the need to be over the top and a bit ridiculous. They have a tendency to be very judgmental of those who are not in the same mind set as them. Which pretty much means to be completely involved in God and the church and there is no other way to think about it. The idea of being totally involved with someone to the point where you don't even question it anymore is scary to me. That is something that doesn't make sense to me. In the book The Crucible is very Christian based and oriented to the point where it is basically a Christian book. "Let God blame me, not you, not you." (Miller 39) This is a quote that shows how much they believe God was the only judge of them. They need not worry about what other people think of them because God is the only judge that matters to them. The person that said that was Mrs. Putnam who is what I would consider an extreme Christian. (Miller 39) At the same time I do not think she is a puritan because she is not a very good christian at all. She goes around accusing people of wrong doings with her husband and daughter because she feels like she needs to seek revenge to those who have done her wrong.(Miller 12-20,37-38,47) The biggest problem with that family is that they feel like everyone is against them and they need to be against everyone. This is their biggest and worst fault which causes many problems with the people in the town. There is a lot of talk so far in the book about witches and witchcraft. Many young girls including the minsters daughter and niece are some of the people being accused of witchcraft. (Miller 9,13-20) There is a lot of speculating going around which is causing a very unchristian like atmosphere. The puritan life style includes no funny business such as witch craft. So ultimately that is the biggest conflict in the book. From here on out I feel that the witch vs. Christian will be a theme throughout.

Miller, Aurthur. The Crucible. New York: Penguin Group, 1976.3-31 Print.

My LONG Trip in the Fit

I went to Tennessee one year on a family trip. This trip consisted of my Nona, my Nona's boyfriend Bob, mom, step dad, aunt, uncle, two cousins, and my two brothers. We had to take three cars for the trip because there were just too many people. On the way down to Tennessee in my car consisted my mom, step dad, older brother, and younger brother with his huge car seat. The car we drove down in was a Honda Fit. If you don't now what a Fit is, I can only explain it as basically a toy car. The back seat that had to fit three people and a car seat. The trip was so long and I was practically on top of my brother because that gosh darn car seat took up one and a half seats. Then I was stuck in the middle with a half of the smallest seat in the car already. Now I may not be huge but I am sure not small enough to fit in a half-half seat smooched up against plastic seat and my brother. If it could get any worse my little brother, one and a half or so at the time, was screaming and kicking. It was my job as the back middle seater to calm him down. With all my efforts I just ended up with food all over me and a punch in the face, multiple times. On top of that my brother was complaining that I was taking up to much room, which was impossible. If it couldn't get any worse my parents decided that fighting over directions would be a good idea. Finally after screaming, griping, and a couple punches later, we arrived at our cabin. The view was beautiful, that made it all worth it. I learned patience when it came to dealing with my insane family. I also learned that sometimes the hard times have to happen to get to the beautiful times.

of Plymouth Plantation

The author of "of Plymouth Plantation" is William Bradford. William Bradford was a young thirty year old man aboard the Mayflower in 1620. He was what you call a separatist. ("Before You Read" 62) A separatist is a person was a person who withdrawals from the established church. ("Separatist | Define Separatist at Dictionary.com.")This was very much so for the young thirty year old. This is like a puritan in a way because they did seek to reform the church. The difference is that actual puritan people are very strict on their morals and religious matters and wanted to purify the church with these strict rules.(" Puritan | Define Puritan at Dictionary.com.") William Bradford believed very much in the church and the rules of the church. He believed that God was playing a part of his life every day. The story "of Plymouth Plantation" has a very strong Christian base to it. It is very obvious that William believes that God is affecting everyone's lives everyday. The quote "And yet the Lord so upheld these persons as in this general calamity they were not at all infected either with sickness or lameness...." (Bradford 66) shows how William Bradford believe that God chose is someone were to live or die that day. He believed that we had no choice in when we lived or died. Bradford wrote about how on the Mayflower certain people died because the Lord said it was to be so and that some people did not die because the Lord believed that to be so. This is a huge comparison to the Puritan life style because they believe that the lord affects everything in their lives. The quote "But after they had sailed that course about half the day, they fell amongst dangerous shoals and roaring breakers, and they were so entangled therewith as they conceived themselves in great danger; and the wind shrinking upon them withal, they resolved to bear up again for the Cape and thought themselves happy to get out of those dangers before night overtook them, as by God's good providence they did." (Bradford 65) shows the long and perilous journey that Bradford and those on the Mayflower with him endured. It also showed how throughout the men and women still put there eyes and faith towards God. This is why they believed that the only reason they finally made it to the Cape's shoreline was because of God's good graces. These are just two of many examples in the story "of Plymouth Plantation" that show how William Bradford story had puritan writing qualities to them. The story was constantly showing how God was the reason they lived, died, helped, or were abandoned. They believed God controlled all and Bradford displayed this in his story.



"Separatist | Define Separatist at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 05 Sept. 2011. .


"Before You Read: From Plymouth Plantation." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 62-63. Print.

Bradford, William. "From Plymouth Plantation." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 64-67. Print.

" Puritan | Define Puritan at Dictionary.com."Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 05 Sept. 2011. .

Journal #3 Captive

I woke from my forced sleep to a dark and lonely room. Shivers went up and down my spine with an eerie feeling of someone watching me. After I really comprehended what was going I frantically began to try and move. That is when I realized my hands were tied behind my back. The old rusty wire that bound my hands together rubbed away at my skin without mercy. I then felt the tears rolling down my face. Soon I felt my throat began to be sore and realized I was screaming. I felt my head spinning and my body become weak. After what seemed like hours of pacing I finally fell to the ground like a ton of bricks. As I lay their feeling completely defeated, the tears finally stopped and the scream become a moan then fell to silence. Soon after I completely stopped moving, lights brighter than the sun flashed on. Everywhere I looked I saw the bright white lights. They burned my eyes and made me start to cry again, and yet I could not close my eyes. They felt as if they were glued open. When I finally adjusted to the light I could see I was in a all concrete black room with one black chair. An intercom came on and man’s voice greeted me with a creepy yet inviting hello. He went as far as to ask how I was doing. I was not sure if I was supposed to answer so I sat their in silence. I realized that I was supposed to answer when he screamed the question at me again. I then cried and mumbled "I'm fine". I have no idea why I said I was fine because I was obviously not. From my head ache, to my bleeding wrists, and my aching stomach, I was not fine. Then I heard a door open and looked around frantically. I spotted the door and saw the large figure of a man. As soon as he stepped into the light, I heard my alarm go off. That is when I woke up.

Compare And Contrast The Stories

The two stories we were told to read were "Narrative of Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson" and "Upon the Burning of Our House". We were told to compare and contrast the two stories in this blog.
The first story I read was "Narrative of Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson". The story was mainly talking about a women and her travels of being captive to master after master. It talk of her struggles and slight triumphs. The second story was about another women who's home had burnt down. The story HUGE comparison was the large amount of religious views and christian belief. During the first story she was constantly praying to God, thinking of God, and reading scriptures from the Bible. "I repaired under these thoughts to my Bible (my great comforter in that time) and that scripture came to my hand." is just one of many examples of where she used the Bible and God to help her through her everyday problems in life. (Wilhelm, Jeffrey D.) The second story also was very Christian based. She put everything on God and in Gods hands. She said everything was about "Him". " It was His own, it was not mine,; Far be it that I should repine."(Wilhelm, Jeffrey D) is an example of how she really led her life in the was of the Christian faith whole heartily. God played a huge part in both these ladies lives, especially in their times of trouble. Another similarity is just the simple fact that both are going through really hard times during their stories but still look to God and are optimistic. Both stories have a supreme optimism to them making the stories very appealing, although both are fairly sad. A third similarity is that both of the stories have a very prominent sense of optimistic sadness. With that I mean there are very sad and sorrowful parts in each of these stories. The optimistic part comes in in the women's words of pureness in their hope and faith. Their unfailing beliefs make them very strong and honorable characters.
One difference in the stories is that the women are in totally different situations. The first story the women is in captivity and is taken away from her home, children, and her whole life. The women in the second story lost only her home in a fire. The big differences in the women but yet the same amount of faith between the two shows how truly unfailing it is. The most prominent difference is that the first story is written in a narrative format and the second one is in a poem format. The first story is actually an exert from a larger story. The second is just a poem not taken from any other source. This is one of biggest things that separates the writing styles of each story very distinctly. The first has a very formal paragraph- sentence style. Where as the second is a poem so it consists all aspects of a poem. Big difference!


Wilhelm, Jeffrey D., Douglas Fisher, Beverly Ann. Chin, and Jacqueline Jones. Royster. Glencoe Literature. New York: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.

Hospitality Rules from the Nice Mice and the Rude Rat

In the home of Mrs. Mouse she had two young children. Mrs. Mouse had two mice, a boy and a girl. The children were very nice and well mannered to their mother and others. The kids were always saying please and thank you when asking and receiving things. It was the first day of school and the two young mice were waiting for the bus at the local bus stop. There is where they met the rude rat who lived down the street. When the two mice saw him they greeted him with a friendly hello like they knew they should. That rude rat just snarled at them and turned their back. The nice mice didn't like this but they just let it go because they didn't want to start a fight. The bus arrived and just as the mice were about to offer to let the rat go through first he barged through them and got on the bus. The two mice didn't mind him and got on the bus. They greeting the bus driver with a good-morning and a friendly hello. The bus driver was pleasantly surprised to see these cheerful pair of mice. The boy mouse joined his friend in one seat and the girl joined her friend in the other. The young girl became curious of where that rude mouse went. When she looked up she saw him in the very back seat of the bus all alone. The girl felt bad that he was sitting alone and knew that her friend she was sitting with now was very popular and would have plenty of people to sit next to her, so at the next stop she moved. The young girl mouse went all the way to the back and plopped down next to that rude mouse with a smile. She greeted him and again was ignored and snarled at. Finally the young mouse asked him why he was being so rude. He finally responded to her by asking what she meant. She then told him that he didn't great them back at the bus stop, like he should have. He also didn't even offer to let someone get on the bus before him or even greet the bus driver, like he should have. He gave her a blank stare because he didn't understand what he was supposed to do. He wondered why no one wanted to sit with him and why everyone put their backpack next to them when he passed. The young mousse explained that simply smiling, saying hello, and small acts of kindness will make people want to be your friend and sit with you. Then by the young mouses surprise, that rude rat stuck his hand out and smiled, "Hello!". That rude rat was not very rude anymore.

Journal #1 Native Story

There is a story of a rabbit and a turtle. I am sure you have heard about it! The story that slow and steady wins the race, and that he did. Now I ask you , have you heard of the story that sometimes slow and SMART wins the race. One day there were two cheetahs. The cheetahs were always fighting because they both could never beat each other in anything. They cheetahs were always matching each other in everything. The first cheetah was very brawny and strong. The second was smaller but this also made him very quick on his feet. Each of them ran as fast as the other for different reasons. No matter how many times and different places they raced they could not beat each. One day the cheetahs were fighting because they were tired of always being in a tie with one another. They were growling so loud that half the forest could hear them. All the animals came running to see the fight. The scared rabbits hid behind the shouting roaring lions. The rowdy zebra screamed "Fight, Fight, Fight". Many of the animal followed in the zebras chants besides the young bear cub. He slowly walk up to the two cheetahs and asked why they were fight. They cheetahs explained how they were tired of always ending each race in a tie. So the young cub thought and thought and finally said, "What if we had the animals of the forest make the hardest race ever and then we will see you gets to the finish line first, and of course I will be in the race too." The cheetahs laughed at the little cub, and soon the whole forest was laughing along with them. The little cub didn't mind them and waited for the answer. The cheetahs agreed to do the race because they knew that they could beat the cub in any race that any animal could make. A week later the three animals were at the start line. With a ready, set, go they were off. The two cheetahs neck and neck up front and the little cub hobbling behind. The cub was running as fast as he could, but soon the cheetahs were out of sight. The cub studied and knew the forest very well. While the cheetahs were running everyday gearing up for the race, he was studying every inch of the forest and because of this, he knew every short cut and every hard spot of the forest. The cheetahs didn't know the forest nearly as well so as soon as they were off they ran into a huge lake. They look across the lake to see that little cub already passing around it. You see the little cub knew it was there so had already made the short cut to go around it. Yet again soon enough the cheetahs zoomed off and went around the cub. The cub did not mind them though. He just kept running as fast as he could. All of a sudden the cheetahs ran into the edge of a rocky hill, and stopping dead in their tracks they peered out to see that little cub running as fast as his little legs can take him to the finish line. The cheetahs tried to run back down and around the rocky cliff but they were too late! The little cub knew the cliff was there, so he went around that pesky cliff and crossed that finish line still running as fast as he could. The cub used his brain to know where to go while the cheetahs only used their brawn to try and win. Although the cub was going as fast as he could, he also used his brain! This is why that little cub became the famous winner of the two cheetah race.

Favorite book of the three and why!

The three books I read for summer reading were Old Man and the Sea, Grapes of Wrath, and Catcher in the Rye. There were things about each book that I did like. I liked how in Old Man and the Sea it had a strong message of how strength can come from other places besides just the gym. I liked how in Grapes of Wrath the author allowed the story to have huge amounts of detail and depth that made the story very well rounded. I liked how in the Catcher in the Rye the story was very relate-able and easy to understand. I loved how all three books had that timeless essence to them that allows them to be favorites for many many years. Although I did have things I liked about all of them, my all time favorite was Old Man and the Sea. The book was just all around good to me. There were things here and there that I would have changed but they were so little in comparison to the things I liked. I loved how the younger boy was the strength to Santiago when he needed it most. I also likes how there was a lot of symbols and repetition throughout the book. This gave it a more emotional appeal to me as the reader. The meaning behind it all and the message it gave was so good that the book couldn't be beat by the other two. The runner up would probably have to be Grapes of Wrath just because of the amount of detail the book had. Although this was kind of boring at times there was just so much to the book that it gave a lot of ways to relate no matter who you were. The third book Catcher in the Rye was not my least favorite because I didn't like it or anything, it just wasn't quite as good as the other two. All in all, all three of the books were worth reading and I learned something from each of them.

Catcher in the Rye- What I did not like about the book

It is hard for me to write an entire blog on what I didn't like about the book because I liked the book a lot, but here I go. To start with I didn't like how the book seemed so short lived. I felt like every story didn't seem to last very long. I thought that more depth could be added to each of the stories told. Like when they talked about Allie's death, Holden's parents, or the fight between Maurice and Holden, they could have added more interesting detail. That was the thing that was missing most from the book was detail. There was plenty of detail when it came to Holden himself but everything else fell a little flat in my opinion. "It's really too bad that so much crumby stuff is a lot of fun sometimes." (Salinger, J.D. Chapter 9) I feel like this passage could have had so much more depth in it if the author would have just added some more detail. It is hard to relate to a part of a story when you don't really understand what it means. When there is not much of an example to go off of. The book could have also had a little bit more of happiness in it. As much as I liked the sort of depression theme to it, I feel that it could have been lightened up a bit. Maybe simply adding some crude humor or unlikely happiness to keep the theme and flow of the book intact. Just a little bit of a pick-me-up passage here and there would have been nice to see. All in all though I can not sit and bash the book to much because it really is a good read. If you allow yourself to broaden your thinking than the book can be a really good lesson to many people and teenagers especially. The messages it gives are fairly straight forward if you read the book at all.

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown and Company. 1951.

Catcher in the Rye- What I liked about the book

The book Catcher in the Rye was all in all a good book. One of my favorite thins about the book was the fact that I could read it without ever really being confused. This was unlike the other two books I read for summer reading. Those books at one point or another had me slightly confused. I loved how the book was first person! This is odd for me because normally I hate first person books because I don't feel like I am getting the full story, but in this book I didn't feel that way at all. I think this is because the book was a story about only the main character pretty much. There weren't very many add-ins about anyone other lives but his. This made it easy to follow. This also made it easier to connect with the character. When you can follow a single characters thought about everything you can know exactly how they are thinking and feel about things. Giving the feeling of a bigger connection between the reader and the character because they know the characters thoughts. I believe the author displayed great writing skills when it came to writing in first person. Sometimes in books that are first person the author tends to say "I think" a lot. They just tell exactly what the character thinks by saying I think. Instead J.D. Salinger would write this ""There isn't any night club in the world you can sit in for a long time unless you can at least buy some liquor and get drunk. Or unless you're with some girl that really knocks you out." (Salinger, J.D. pg) By just saying exactly how the character feels and not putting I think, makes you feel like your really in the characters mind, because when you are thinking something you don't out "I think" in front of it. So between the authors writing ability and the relatable story line, the book is a good one.

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown and Company. 1951.

Catcher in the Rye- Character Analysis of Phoebe

Phoebe is Holden's little sister. She is my favorite character in the book because she is very head strong. She knows what she wants and she will do anything to get it. She puts one-hundred and ten percent into everything she does in her life. She also puts a lot of heart and hope into the people in her life. She had an older brother named Allie who she of course loved dearly. Even more than probably anyone else because of how deep she loved things. He brother Holden was also very close to him as well. This played a huge role in Holden and Phoebe's relationship. This brought them a lot closer to one another because they had the loss of their brother to bond on. That was the a big release of pain for them because they had someone to talk to about it. Phoebe also was very persistent. She never just gave up on something because she thought it might be to hard. When her brother was leaving her she didn't just decide that is was okay and that she couldn't do anything about it. Instead she packed her bags and planned on leaving with him. (Salinger, J.D. pg. 208) This is just the kind of strong willed little girl she is. She was not going to let the person she loves so dearly leave without her. This shows the strength and bond of her and Holden's relationship. Phoebe was the only reason Holden ever really found happiness at all. Phoebe taught Holden how to be himself and helped him find the person he really was deep down inside. Although Holden only really acted himself around her, Phoebe was the only real reason he found himself in the first place. This makes he a huge character in the book. Also this makes he my favorite. Phoebe became Holden's true happiness and when he was around her that is how he felt, happy.

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown and Company. 1951.

Catcher in the Rye- Character Analysis of Holden

Holden Caulfield is the main character in the story. The story is told in first person so the story is completely about him and his thoughts. The book is telling of his teenage years. Holden is definitely what I would describe as a pessimist. A pessimist is a person who only sees the negatives in just about everything. This is very true in how Holden views other people. "People never notice anything." (Salinger, J.D., pg. 9) This is just one example of how he feels other people are. He feels that other people are just rude, incompetent, and really have no feelings. This is one of the reason he has no/ very few friends. When he sees everyone as bad it is hard for him to want to be friends with anyone. It would be hard to make friends through such an awful outlook on them. I do like that Holden is very real and truthful. He is what most would call brutally honest. He tells it how it is and he doesn't hold anything back because he doesn't see the point. This makes him come across as mean and arrogant sometimes. Holden does have one weakness and that is his family. He doesn't care much about what other people think or say besides his parents. He is always worried about being a disappointment to them because he does want to please them. This is hard for him though because he seems to always be doing the opposite of what they would want. His other weakness is his sister. She is about the only person he is close to in the story. She really makes him become himself around her and he can definitely tell the difference. With her he finds the happiness in the little things that he has been searching for. When he sees his sister happy he feels just a feeling of pure joy that he can't find in anything else. This is why he becomes so close to her and keeps every promise he makes to her sacred.

Catcher in the Rye- Question 8

The questions I will be answering are “How accurately does this novel reflect events in history? What responsibilities does the author believe exist between various groups in society, such as workers and bosses, men and women, blacks and whites, etc.? What people, ideas, and events probably influenced this author?” from the book Catcher in the Rye. The book itself really did not have any historical events displayed at all. The book was just a story of a young boy and his struggles. There were not historical events to even comment on whether they are accurate or not. So in this case I can just say that the book was neither accurate nor inaccurate when it came to actual events in history. The book just didn’t really need to have specific events because it would not have furthered the story. In fact I believe it would have hindered it because it would make it meaning be sidetracked. Holden is very socially awkward and the book was in first person so there was little talk of other people. The only real responsibly in society I could see was given through the teachers. It was their responsibility to help the children in all aspects of their life. This was a huge thing for Holden because they were the ones that really affected him in the time in his life that the book displayed. By how the book was written he was probably very influenced by his teenage years. Since the book is all about the years of being a teenager the author must have had his own experiences in dealing with these times. Maybe he was exactly like Holden and that’s why it seemed such effortless writing when it came to writing about Holden. It could also be that he was the complete opposite and wrote from the stand point of what he was not and saw of other students or maybe even another student in particular. I can’t really find much other things the author could have been influenced by in the book.

Catcher in the Rye- Question 7

The question I will be answering is “What techniques does the author use to engage the audience and make the story effective?” from the book Catcher in the Rye. For a story to be interesting an author must find unique ways to make the reader want to keep reading the story. There are many techniques that J.D. Salinger uses were suspense, mystery, and the truth of human nature. In the book Holden owes a man five dollars and he doesn’t want to pay it to him. He then begins to get threatened by the man and he begins to punch him in the stomach. Holden is scared and feels as if he is dying. This gives the reader a sense of suspense because you want to just keep reading to see what happens but are a bit scared on how it will turn out. (Salinger, J.D. , pg. 102-104) Will he actually die? Well obviously he does not seeming’s as there is still half the book left, but that technique made the reader even question it. The second technique was mystery. The story was told in first person and because of this you were shut out on what everyone else was thinking and sometimes doing. This leaves a mysterious factor on what really might be going through the family, the teachers, or even the man, Maurice, who beats him up minds. This leaves me as the reader a chance to fill in my own blanks, which is yet another great tactic the author uses. The last technique the author used was just the raw truth of human nature. The raw truth makes any person interested and become invested in a book because even though we hate to hear it sometimes, we all want the truth. This keeps many people wanting to read even more and more of the book. Having used these techniques, gave the author and the book the recognition it got. Many authors have a problem with keeping a book current and interesting but J.D. Salinger did it perfectly.

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown and Company. 1951.

Catcher in the Rye- Question 6

The questions I will be answering are “Why do we still read this book? What is so timeless about its message and characters? What can we learn from reading this novel?” from the book Catcher in the Rye. This book has such a timeless and unfailing messages that everyone can take form it. This book is especially good for those in the adolescence age because it is very relatable. This book allows those who have a more optimistic attitude to understand why some people may be mean or pessimistic all the time. This book may also help those who are mean really begin to understand why they act the way they do. One of the messages it gives is that everyone has their own problems. "In my mind, I'm probably the biggest sex maniac you ever saw." (Salinger, J.D.) This is a problem that the protagonist Holden faces in his life. He can’t get over the fact of it, which explains the strippers and the messing around. The more people start realizes that people have actual problems and less time on making fun or judging them, the better everyone will be. I think this is one message the author is trying to convey. Another may be that people who are always mean and bully others have problems with themselves. This is a fact that will never change no matter how much time passes, which is another thing that makes the book timeless. Another message that Holden gives off is the struggle to fit in. He himself has problems with being understood and fitting in. He wants to have friends but he feels that he just doesn’t like people. This message is that many people struggle to fit in but they themselves don’t even know why. This is why it is important that for those of us who do “fit in”, to not judge those who do not because they might not know the reason either. We can learn to accept that no one is ever going to be the same, so we must accept those who are not just different, but completely opposite of everything you are.

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown and Company. 1951.