#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.