Journal #26

Snow is fun. It is cold. I like snow. I hate the cold, though. That is the one thing I hate about winter. It is so incredibly cold, which makes my fingers and toes go numb and my teeth chatter. I love the snow; it is so fluffy and fun and it tastes good. I with we could just have snow in the summer or something. That would be so awesome. You could be all hot and sweaty out in the middle of a warm summer day, then just go run over to a snow patch and cool off! That way you could have a snowball fight and be tan at the same time. That would be my ideal world right there. Plus you would never have to pay for snow cones; you could just make your own! Ice Deli takes up ninety percent of my paycheck probably during the summer, so all I would have to do was go buy the syrup and then BOOM all my problems would be solved. Summer days would no longer be long and boring. Snowball fights, free Ice Deli, sledding down Centennial Hill: all these events could take place in the nice warm weather! It is my dream to one time experience a snowstorm in the middle of the warm summer. My life would be complete.

In my family, the humans are not the only ones who enjoy snow. My little dog, Simon, gets quite overjoyed when he gets to frolic in the white fluffy stuff. He is a white, fluffy mix between a poodle and a bichon frise. Sometimes, as he runs and jumps through the snow, he seems to disappear! He is the same color as the snow; sometimes all you can see are his little brown eyes and black nose. It is so cute, just like him. Sometimes him and I play in the snow together. It is never fun to bring him back inside, though, because his paws are all wet and so is the rest of his fur, so he gets whoever is holding him soaking wet and freezing. It is okay though, because he is adorable; plus, playing in the snow is just worth the unfortunate events that may follow.

"The Minister's Black Veil"

"The Minister's Black Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthorne begins in an odd way. The sexton is ringing the church bell, waiting for the pastor to arrive. When he does, the whole congregation is shocked. The pastor has something over his face; he is wearing a black, gauzy veil (Hawthorne 280). This upsets many people, and I as well found it to be odd. To wear a veil is often to hide behind or wear as a way to cover one's face. Pastors are supposed to be seen as holy men who are close to God; they are men whom the congregation can talk to as a spiritual guide. I found it odd that he was wearing a veil to conceal his face; that, to me, shows that he wanted privacy and was not interesting in connecting with anyone else. Another fact I found interesting was that it was black. Black is not typically symbolized as a happy or spiritual color. Black is usually shown as mystical, gloomy, or even Satanic. To me, that just did not make sense for a minister to be wearing a black veil.

On page 283, a man of the congregation made the comment that the minister's veil "makes him ghostlike from head to foot" (Hawthorne 283). After the service had ended, everyone had congregated outside, and the minister, Mr. Hooper, came out. He was still wearing his black veil, and people regarded him much differently than they used to, although according to Hawthorne the man's actions remained the same (Hawthorne 283). The people felt that the veil changed the minister's whole aura. The quote from the man showed that the congregation felt that the veil was making him seem a little mystical; he was not being seen as something spiritual such as an angel but instead as something a little more eerie and upsetting, a ghost. The black veil cast a strange and almost gloomy aura. This definitely is an example of Dark Romanticism; it is weirdly mysterious and a little bit upsetting.

Later, another strange thing happened. There was a funeral, so the veil fit in fine. However, as the minister walked up to the coffin to bid his farewell to the young woman, his veil hung straight down as if the woman might see his face. In the audience, one woman claimed to have seen the body of the woman shudder (Hawthorne 283). This symbolizes Dark Romanticism greatly. It is a strange, unnatural occurrence that could be seen as magical except for the fact that it is gloomy and upsetting. Also, as Hooper walked away, two women mentioned that "the minister and the maiden's spirit were walking hand in hand" (Hawthorne 284). This definitely adds to the mystery of the story, another sign of Dark Romanticism.

On page 285, Hooper is questioned about his veil. He says that he can never take it off, and that one day everyone will take off their veils (Hawthorne 285). He does not elaborate though, which makes his words kind of confusing; they could be taken many different ways. Hooper then says that he feels great sorrow, so the black veil is appropriate (Hawthorne 285). Again, he does not elaborate, and this mysteriousness along with the obvious sorrow characterizes the writing very clearly as Dark Romanticism.

As time goes on, Hooper leaves the veil on, much to everyone's dismay. Upsetting as everyone was getting, Hooper continued to wear the veil up until his dying day. As he is lying in bed, breathing his last breaths, another minister approached his bed and tried to take off the veil. All of a sudden, Hooper seemed to gain strength; he sat up and held the veil over his face. He then started shouting at the man, exclaiming how much people had been treating him differently all because of this veil, and he had seen the veil on every person as well (Hawthorne 289). Dark Romanticism is clearly portrayed; the man is seen as somewhat courageous and strong now that people understood his doings. However, since he portrayed his thoughts in such an odd, mysterious, and gloomy way, this story is seen as Dark Romanticism, not just Romanticism. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a strong story that clearly portrayed Dark Romanticism.


WORKS CITED

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Minister's Black Veil." American Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 280-89. Print.

Journal #25

Jack was sad. His little doggy had just died. Jack loved his dog; it was his pride and joy. Lala, who had been a small black toy poodle, had been Jack's best friend since the time Jack was a young boy. Now at the ripe age of seventeen, Lala had been quite an old little dog. Jack had known Lala's time was near, but he never wanted to actually think about it. Reality was hitting him hard in the face now, though. It was time to face the truth.

All of a sudden, Jack heard his cell phone ring. It was Jack's favorite song, "Cyclone." Usually, Jack would find himself bopping his head along; he would maybe do a little jig. Today, however, he slowly just flipped his phone open and muttered, "Hello?"

From the other end of the line, Jack heard a lot of laughing and shouting. In a loud, slurred voice he heard his best friend, Sam, shout, "Dude! Where are you? Get over here now. You are missing out!" Jack took a deep breath and straightened out a little bit. Jack, as a freshman and sophomore, had been a starter on the football team. That came with a bit of baggage, and Jack knew that. Jack had a reputation for being the big man on campus; he was quite the partier. Jack knew he should probably go to this party or people would just not know what to do. Jack slipped on his mask, cleared his throat, pushed the image of Lala out of his mind and smoothly said, "Yeah man, I'll be there."

Jack pulled on some nice clothes, sprayed some cologne, and headed out the door. He showed up at Sam's house, still upset and deeply moved by the death of his ear dog, but put on a tough face and sucked it up. Sam answered the door and wrapped him in a man hug. "What is up, my man? Dude, where have you been? People started showing up hours ago!" Jack cleared his throat but did not really say anything back, just let his head fall back with a loud laugh. Jack grabbed a drink and had a great time for the rest of the night, according to everyone else. The truth, however, was that he was miserable the entire night. He missed Lala so very much, but he could not show it. It was a very sad night.

"The Pit and the Pendulum" Analysis

Edgar Allan Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum" is a terrific example of Dark Romanticism. Taking place during the Inquisition, it tells a story of a man who has been thrown in prison for not admitting to a deed he had been accused of. The man wakes up unbound, but he does not know where he is and is afraid to open his eyes. When he does, all of his worst nightmares come true; he is surrounded by complete blackness. He continues to endure many terrible, torturous activities throughout his stay.

The one thing that stuck out to me so incredibly much about this story that was so different from other works we have read is the sense that there is no hope. While at the end, he does talk about finding hope, for the first three quarters of the story the man is absolutely hopeless. Very descriptive, dark, and dreary observations were made by the man, which served as another example of how this story fits the Dark Romanticism theme, and the man gave off the impression that there was really nothing else he could do. He spoke of the stories he had heard of the pit he was assuming to be in, and none of the stories ended well. To confirm my beliefs about his lack of hope, on page 267, he wrote in black and white, "I had little object - certainly no hope" (Poe 267).

In other literary styles, it seems as if the overall theme is overcoming an obstacle. While the man certainly did overcome obstacles in "The Pit and the Pendulum," it was portrayed in a different way. Instead of mentions of God, hope, and love, Poe instead wrote about "Fate" (Poe 264), despair, and unhappy thoughts. It seems that in the previous reading styles we have read, there has been a happier tone; the reader believed the main character would certainly make it out of a situation in a heroic way. However, in this story, the reader has really no inclination to believe the man will make it out alive. Romanticism is known for having a hero, someone that will go against the odds in order to save the day or himself. "The Pit and the Pendulum" is an exemplary example of Dark Romanticism; the man does indeed save himself, yet he is not necessarily viewed as the charming knight in shining armor that is portrayed in previous Romanticism.

Something else in the story I noticed that qualified "The Pit and the Pendulum" as Dark Romanticism was the mysteriousness of the writing and the fact that it could easily be viewed as demonic and improbable. The man speaks of writings on the wall with red, glowing, demonic eyes (Poe 273). This is an example of Romanticism because of the mystical value; it is Dark Romanticism because is sets an almost Satanic tone. It gives off a tone of deep, gut wrenching mysteriousness that is typical for a Dark Romanticism writing.

Overall, it is very obvious that "The Pit and the Pendulum" is an example of Dark Romanticism. There is a "hero," yet he is shown as a hero in a more dark and mysterious way than that of a typical Romanticism hero. He overcomes dark, demonic challenges in which others are trying to brutally kill him, and there is an overall gloomy and dreadful tone. Poe certainly did not fail in writing this mysterious and captivating work of Dark Romanticism.

WORKS CITED
Poe, Edger Allan. “The Pit and the Pendulum” In American Literature. Willhelm, Jeffory, comp. McGraw Hill. Columbus, 2009. Print.

Literary Criticism of Poe's "The Raven"

"The Raven" might be the poem that made Edgar Allen Poe so famous. An intriguing work of art, it makes the reader have to think about the literal meanings and the figurative meanings in order for him or her to fully understand the overall meaning behind the poem.

According to Harold Bloom, "The Raven" is potentially one of "the most recognizable poems in American literature" (Bloom). Bloom praises the poem in his literary criticism, noting its captivating style that will pull readers in. One thing I think is really interesting in Bloom's criticism is his comparison of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven" to other famous works of American literature. For example, he compares the line scheme of "The Raven" to another famous poem called "Lady Geraldine's Courtship." According to Bloom, Poe was a very big fan of the lady who wrote that poem, Elizabeth Barrett, and may have been influenced by her style when writing "The Raven" (Bloom). Another comparison I thought was really intriguing was the comparison between the raven in Poe's poem and other birds that have appeared in other well known poems. Apparently, also appearing in English Romantic poetry was an albatross, a nightingale, and a skylark (Bloom). Poe also may have been influenced by these appearances; the birds were usually very symbolic, and Poe may have found that he liked the idea of the birds. Another thing Bloom mentions that may have influenced Poe to include a raven in his story was the Bible. Bloom mentions the typical symbolance of a raven, saying it is often portrayed in the Bible as "a visitor from the dark external world and an emblem of the darkness of grief within the speaker's soul" (Bloom). I find this to be very interesting. Obviously, things people read, see, and hear about are very influential, but the thought that even worldly, famous poets such as Poe were influenced by other stories that came before them that may not stand out today is a thought I have never really considered in depth before. It puts things in a new perspective.

In his literary criticism, Bloom continues to analyze Edgar Allen Poe's poem, comparing certain settings and events to other poems. For example, Bloom wrote that the setting of the night in which the poem took place was very much like that of "In Drear-Nighted December" by Keats (Bloom). Again, I think it is interesting how alike many poems are and the fact that ideas have been used from other works of art.

While Bloom himself wrote in a tone that implied he enjoyed the poem, he also wrote that he understood that some people were not a fan of "The Raven." Some people, apparently, viewed it as demonic or extremely depressing (Bloom). I understand how this could be said after reading the poem myself. While I do not necessarily think that it is really a big deal whatsoever, the bird does possess qualities that could be viewed as demonic, such as the fact that he randomly showed up one night and would not leave, as if trying to show his power. The raven also did make the poem a bit upsetting; when asked about a one true love, the raven would just keep on repeating "never more," which gave the impression that the one true love would never return. The poem was definitely dark and dreary, but I think it gave off the impression Poe was trying to make. I agree with Bloom when he calls it "haunting." It was certainly a very haunting work of art.


Bloom, Harold, ed. "'The Raven'." Edgar Allan Poe, Bloom's Major Poets. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1999. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BMPEAP19&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 23, 2010).

"The Raven" Analysis

Literal Meaning:
One night, as I was pondering life, nearly asleep, I heard something knocking on my door.
I thought to myself, "It must just be some visitor tapping on my door."
I remember the details of that December night very clearly.
I wished for tomorrow to come. I was reminded of Lenore, and I missed her.
I heard the curtains rustling, and I grew very excited and anxious. I called out to see who was there, but when I opened the door, no one was there.
I peered out into the darkness, but I saw nothing and heard nothing except for the echo of my own voice as I whispered, "Lenore."
I turned back into the room, upset, and then I heard the noise again.
I thought to myself, "There must be something hitting up against the window; it must be the wind. I'll go check it out."
I flung open the shutter, and there was a raven.
The bird just sat there, perched up upon my door.
I realized the bird was no ordinary raven, and I asked him what his name was.
The raven replied, "Nevermore."
I realized how rare it was to have this raven perched on my door, especially a raven with the name of Nevermore.
That word, "Nevermore," seemed to be the only thing the raven could say.
He sang the word very sadly.
I pulled up a seat in front of the door and sat there with the bird, trying to figure out why he kept repeating that word.
I sat there for some time trying to figure this out, when I finally caught on.
My thoughts came together.
I yelled at the bird, shouting that the Lord must have sent him to make me forget the memories of Lenore.
All the raven said was, "nevermore."
I accused the raved of being of a higher power, then asked if there was really balm in Gilead.
The raven said, "nevermore."
I then tried to find out if the raven, who had to be of a higher spirit, knew of Lenore.
The raven replied, "nevermore."
I shouted at the bird to leave and go back to his spiritual world, for he had given me no information.
I told him not to leave any remains behind.
I told him to go away.
I told him to make everything he had brought upon me here go away.
All he said in return was, "nevermore."
The bird did not leave; it is still perched there. My soul will never again be lifted.

Poetic Devices:
Poe uses many different poetic devices in this poem. He has a rhyme scheme; the pattern is ABABB. He also uses repetition; at the end of every line he either says, "nothing more," "ever more," or "Nevermore." Alliteration is used in the poem; for example, he says "doubting, dreaming dreams." Similes and metaphors are also used. One example of a simile is when Poe writes, "as if his soul in that one word he did outpour." Poe's use of poetic devices make the poem very much more dynamic; it gives more drama to the situation and allows for a clearer perspective.

Figurative Meaning:
Poe writes of a man that was affected very greatly by his love, Lenore. He thought about her and mourned over her loss all the time. When the man heard the tapping, he immediately thought of Lenore, and when he saw it was a raven that seemed to be spiritual and not of this world, he questioned it about his love, Lenore. The Raven did not answer his specific questions. Instead, the raven just kept repeating the word "Nevermore." The man grew upset and tried to make it leave, but the raven stayed perched on the man's door, repeating "nevermore" over and over. The man realized with a heavy heart that he would never again be with Lenore.

Journal #24

Many, many years ago, I was a young girl. Living in the capital city, crime was just booming. I was a bright, intelligent girl with a great imagination from reading so many books. The one problem with me was that I never could fall asleep easily. I would sometimes just lay in bed, thinking about my complex and complicated seven year old life. Sometimes I would read an entire book in one night; I was a very cool child.

Anyway, so this one night will stick out to me for the rest of my life. I was laying in bed like normal, and my parents had already gone to bed. Ever night, my mom would come in and kiss me good night before going to bed every night. She had already come in and done that many hours ago, so it was probably around midnight or a little bit after. So there I was, laying in bed, trying to fall asleep, when I heard it. Then I heard it again. There were footsteps coming from my kitchen. The way my house had been laid out was that so most of the house was on the upper floor: my room was next to my brothers' room, and next to that was the bathroom. Straight down the hall was the kitchen, and the room next to that was the living room. My parents' room was the only room that was not upstairs, and it was in the basement, down two flights of stairs.

The footsteps were getting louder. Then they retreated. Then they got louder. Then they retreated. There was someone walking around my kitchen! I had no idea what to do. I just lay there, hiding under my covers, trying not to breathe too loudly in case the man came into my room and saw that I was awake. I had no idea how long I stayed that like; all I know is that I was scared out of my mind. Taking a deep breath, I made a decision. I was going to run into the room my two brothers shared; that way, I was not alone. I closed my eyes, said a quick prayer, and ran for my life. I quietly slammed their door behind me, then stopped short. The footsteps were coming from the room I was now in. Except... they were not footsteps. My brother's snoring had been echoing through the house. I had been deceived by my all too imaginative brain.

"Walden" Critical Analysis

Thoreau wrote "Walden" as an account of his time in isolation. Thoreau decided he wanted to get away from the city, away from modern life, and away from technology. In order to do this, he decided to go live in the woods without much to sustain him. He stated, "I wanted to live deep and such out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartanlike as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms (...)" (Thoreau 214). By saying this, Thoreau exclaimed how he wanted to kind of check out from life. He wanted to step back from the normal world in order to self reflect a little bit, which I definitely think is respectable.

Walter Harding wrote a critical analysis of Thoreau's "Walden." He discussed many different thoughts, including his own personal opinion as well as the general opinions of others. Many view Thoreau as hypocritical or not inspirational, but Harding seemed to disagree. He wrote, "In any one period of his life he was usually consistent. Contradictions can be found only if one places in juxtaposition statements Thoreau made at wide intervals of time" (Harding). I think this statement is very true. Many scholars believed that Thoreau was contradictory because of what he did; he spent time in isolation but then returned to a normal city life. Thoreau also would spend time with his sister at her completely modern house during those years. I agree with Harding though; Thoreau did stay consistent. His ideas would certainly change, but whose ideas always stay the same throughout their entire lives? As people get older, it is just human nature for their views to be altered a little bit. Scholars only looked at that one time frame, the time frame that occurred as Thoreau left the nature and returned to every day life. I think Harding worded his opinion very well; there is more to the puzzle than just one individual piece.

One thing Harding wrote stood out to me. It was not necessarily important to one's opinion of Thoreau, but I found it interesting just the same. Harding wrote, "In Walden particularly Thoreau made much of his desire for solitude. But one must be careful not to think him antisocial. When he traveled through the Maine woods and discovered true hermits living miles from any neighbor, he was appalled. He wanted merely to be able to be alone when he felt the need to be by himself, not to dwell in complete solitude" (Harding). I think this is a good point to make. Some readers, when reading "Walden," might think Thoreau had decided to live his life of solitude just because he was capable of doing it and had nothing better to do. After reading Harding's statement though, I found myself relating my life to Thoreau's. It makes me have more respect for the man. I thought about the fact that Thoreau had to live without technology; I did not really think about the fact that he was all alone though. To me, that would make the experience so much more difficult, although it does seem that you cannot live a life of solitude with other people around. Altogether, I think Harding did a very good job analyzing Thoreau's "Walden." He covered many different opinions; he was not biased. Harding also gave new insight to the work. I found it very insightful.

WORKS CITED

Harding, Walter. A Thoreau Handbook by Walter Harding: pp. 131-173 (New York University Press, 1959). © 1959 by New York University Press. Quoted as "Thoreau's Ideas" in Harold Bloom, ed. Henry David Thoreau, Bloom's BioCritiques. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2003. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BCHDT05&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 17, 2010).

Thoreau, Henry David. “Walden” In American Literature. Willhelm, Jeffory, comp. McGraw Hill. Columbus, 2009. Print.

Journal #23

It was pitch black outside. Under my hut made of sticks and leaves, I shuddered in the violent wind. It was a chilly November night in the back woods of the Gower forest. More than anything, I wished for a small hand held heater or something to keep me warm, but I had nothing. All modern technology was gone; it was just nature and myself. I did have a few blankets and warm clothing, but it got to the point where I might as well have been wearing nothing, lying in a field of ice. It really would not have been so bad had the wind not been blowing, but the wind was like the ice monster himself blowing his fury all over my hut. In a normal, everyday circumstance, I would have just pulled out my phone or my iPod or something to distract myself from this harsh reality, but I had no technology! I could not do any of those things! I could not even send a status to facebook alerting all of my friends of my unfortunate night! I just did not know what to do. I do not rely solely on technology; I am a very active person and spend much of my time outside. However, this was just going a little tad bit too far. I was frozen solid; I felt like I would probably become some sort of human ice block before too long. It was painful and boring and I felt so helpless. Looking back, I should have done it in the summer or something where my fingers would not have frozen off like they did. In the summer time, the lack of technology really would not have bothered me at all, as I am a pretty free person. I do not need technology to make me happy. Yes, I do enjoy cell phones and facebook, but I can easily get by without them. Apparently that does not apply to when the weather is horrendous.

Thoreau vs. Ghandi

Personally, I think "Civil Disobedience" by Thoreau and Gandhi's "On the Eve of the Historic Dandi March" are two incredibly different works. While I did find both writings interesting, I do not think the mindset was necessarily the same. Although the overall meaning was remotely similar, Thoreau and Gandhi are two very different people.

In Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," Thoreau told the story of a time in which he was thrown in jail for a night because he refused to pay his taxes. He did not feel as if the government was right; he thought it was corrupt and wanted to express his disapproval. Since he did not pay his tax to the government, he was thrown in jail for a night, and he wrote "Civil Disobedience" about his night in jail. While I think it is interesting the way he described it, I also think he kind of just sounds like a new age hippie. Plus he really made no impact on anyone besides himself by doing this. I think he believed he was making an impact, but truthfully I think it was pointless. For example, he states, "Is it not possible to take a step further towards recognizing and organizing the rights of man?" (227). By saying this, it makes me believe that Thoreau thought he was taking the step further; he was showing the government what he thought to be the right of a man. Put into a bigger perspective, though, he was just one man spending one night in jail. The government most likely did not care at all.

What I thought made Ghandi's writing so much different from Thoreau's is the fact that it actually did impact other people in the world. "On the Eve of the Historic Dandi March" is written about Ghandi's testimonial with his followers; it is about how he wants them to make the government see their point of view even after he is gone. Ghandi's plan was to have his followers "protest the salt monopoly" (229) in order to open the eyes of the government. The government would have to notice this being done; they would have to step in and take legal action. Although Ghandi knew he was going to get in trouble for this, he was doing it anyway. He did not do it to find a peace or oneness with himself like Thoreau; he was doing this to make a change in the lives of the people to come after him. One thing Ghandi said that I really thought added to his speech was, "This is my hope and prayer. I wish these words of mine reached ever nook and corner of the land" (229). By saying this, I really think it shows how important it was to Ghandi to get his message across. Yes, I do think that Thoreau was a good man and that he was doing all that he could to go against the government in order to make it less corrupt, but he really did not do much to impact the community as well. He did write this passage, but actions speak louder than words, and I think his actions were more of a whisper than a shout. Ghandi, on the other hand, was shouting to the high heavens. He had come up with a plan that would cause actual tension on the government and would enable a change to actually potentially occur. While Thoreau and Ghandi had the same general idea in mind, Ghandi definitely made a stronger physical impact than Thoreau.

WORKS CITED
"Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau." The Transcendentalists - including Ralph Waldo Emerson - Henry David Thoreau - Others - Dial Magazine. Web. 15 Nov. 2010.

"Famous Speeches Of Gandhiji : On The Eve Of Historic Dandi March." Mani Bhavan - Gandhi Sangrahalaya: Mahatma Gandhi Museum & Reference Library. Web. 15 Nov. 2010.

Journal #22

Sam was out shopping at Wal Mart. It was a normal day; he had woken up late, but it was a Saturday so it did not really matter. He had realized he had some shopping to do, so he headed out to Wal Mart, obviously, since that is the best place to shop besides Target. Sam only needed a few things: shampoo, shaving cream, and toothpaste. A young man at the ripe age of twenty three, he was finally living out on his own and doing well.

As Sam was pushing his shopping cart, two small children sprinted in front of him, shrieking and laughing. He brought his cart to a halt so that he would not hit them, and he laughed a little bit. He watched with a smile on his face as the two kids ran in a circle around him and then proceeded to take off somewhere else. Sam loved kids; he had a little brother of his own, and he planned to have a few kids himself someday soon.

Sam continued along his way, finding his shampoo and shaving cream. As he went behind the aisle to grab his toothpaste, he was stopped short by a shocking sight. A young woman was crying and holding on to the two kids while a large, mean looking man whispered something to her. Sam stepped back a little bit, so that he could see what was going on but they could not see him. However, one of the little kids spotted him, and wedged his way out of his mother's arms. When the big scary man turned his back for a brief second, the little boy ran to Sam, crying. Sam pulled the child aside and quietly asked him, "Are you okay?"

The boy shook his head. "That mean man told Mommy that he wanted us to go with him. We don't wanna go with him! He's big and yucky and he hit Mommy and made her cry." The boy's shoulders were shaking with his tears. Sam looked back up towards the boy's mother, other brother, and the man. The man was saying something into his cell phone, with his back still turned. Sam knew what he had to do. It was risky; he had his whole life out ahead of him and he could potentially get in trouble for this. He had to do it though. Sam, a strong man who had been an all-state wrestler and soccer player, quietly walked up to the large man, waited for him to turn around, and punched him in the face. Sam then proceeded to attack the man until he stopped fighting back, and then Sam walked to the woman and the children and embraced them. He stayed with them until security came to take him away.

Emerson and the Work of Melancholia

I think "Emerson and the Work of Melancholia" was actually kind of interesting. Although it was very lengthy, it was quite informative. When reading works by Ralph Waldo Emerson such as "Nature" and "Self Reliance," it seemed very evident to me, and to other readers I am sure, that Emerson was a Romanticist. The flowery way he wrote, the way he related to nature so vividly, and his thoughts on human greatness all contributed to this thought. However, according to Mark Edmundson, Emerson rejected Romanticism later on in his life (Emerson). While Emerson was certainly considered a Romanticism writer, he gradually began to write against it until he rejected it completely (Emerson).

One thing I found interesting was that Emerson started using a Transcendentalist writing style after initially just using a Romanticist style (Emerson). Although Transcendentalism is just a break off of Romanticism, in my opinion it allowed Emerson to expand his thoughts a little bit more than he had, which I think in turn led to his complete rejection of Romanticism. Some might argue this point of view, but it makes sense to me. Since Emerson began drifting the slightest bit away from the general idea of Romanticism, maybe he began to see what it was like to not completely look at the world in a straight Romantic way.

In his later years, Emerson completely began rejecting Romanticism (Emerson). He began to act almost morose, writing about nature not in fact being the most important aspect of life. He wrote that the imagination was so incredibly powerful and dangerous; it was more powerful and compelling than even nature (Emerson). This shows such a change in him because before he had been so in love with nature and everything about it. His realization that imagination was more powerful than nature seemed to make him sad and depressed, and it led to his overall rejection of Romanticism. Emerson writes, "Thus we trace Fate, in matter, mind, and morals,—in race, in retardations of strata, and in thought and character as well. It is everywhere bound. or limitation. But Fate has its lord; limitation its limits; is different seen from above and from below; from within and from without. For, though Fate is immense, so is power, which is the other fact in the dual world, immense. If Fate follows and limits power, power attends and antagonizes Fate. We must respect Fate as natural history, but there is more than natural history" (Emerson)

This passage describes his view on nature as opposed to fate. Again, it is portrayed that nature is no longer the most important aspect of life. Fate is more powerful than natural history, which Emerson had previously ranted and raved about to no end. Emerson reached the dismal understanding that fate and a dreadful imagination can lead one down the wrong road, and it certainly ruined him. I think that "Emerson and the Work of Melancholia" is a sad but accurate representation of the literary life of Emerson, and it is both interesting and very compelling to think about.

Journal #21

The views between Ralph Waldo Emerson and Benjamin Franklin were very different. Benjamin Franklin, or as his friends call him, Benjie, believed that we should do all these different virtuous things so that we would better ourselves as well as bettering the community. He believed in things like respect and honor; he thought that we should show these things to other people so that they could see our greatness, and at the same time we would be honoring them and doing good deeds towards the greater good. We would be bettering others and bettering ourselves at the same time! This is a great way to think in my opinion. However, it is very hard to do. Our class had to do a little thing about it where we would demonstrate those virtues every day and then journal about them, kind of like he did. It was not an easy task, I will tell you that. I do not really know how Benjie managed to do it for such a long time; he must have not been a very exciting person.

Ralph Waldo Emerson had a different way of thinking. He thought that we should basically just live for ourselves. He also had an interesting way of viewing death. His whole idea thing revolved mostly around nature; he said that we were created by nature, we lived in and with nature, and when we died our body would go back to nature. Since he thought like this, death really did not upset him very much. He had some close family members die, but he did not even mourn. He thought that since our bodies went back to nature, it was just how it was supposed to be and it should be thought of more as a beautiful thing than a sad thing. I guess this makes sense to me, but it would be difficult to truly believe that when faced with a challenge. Both men were very different, but they were both inspirational and influential.

Journal #20

I think self reflection is a pretty important thing. One needs to look back on their behavior every now and then just to kind of check themselves out. I think it could potentially be really eye opening. Sometimes, people might not know that he or she is doing something idiotic, annoying, or just plain ignorant, but my doing a little self reflection they might realize it and be able to change. This is definitely a good thing. Self reflection can get out of hand, though. Some people "self reflect" way too often. These people become self conscious; they are forever trying to analyze their every move and it becomes all they can think about. That is definitely not a good thing. Those people usually become extremely insecure and and may suffer all the time. On the mic is a queen, now listen to me sing. This is just not a good thing! Too much self reflection can be destructive and potentially even fatal.

Personally, I do make it a point to self reflect every now and then. I am a really talkative person and I get really annoying. I am aware of this fact, but sometimes I do not realize when I am doing it until it is too late. For me, it is good to self reflect because it allows me to see when I just need to cool it. It also allows me to see what I need to change or what I should keep the same. Sometimes it is hard to do because I am obviously biased, but I still think it is helpful. I write a lot, and for me that is my form of self reflection kind of. I have a little journal thing that I occasionally write in, and that allows me to get my feelings out. Sometimes later I will then read through what I have written, and I will do a little self reflection. I will look back on my feelings and actions and see if I think they were understandable and reasonable at the time. This is a surefire way to make me a better person, and I really think that I benefit from it.

Journal #19

I think the United States is far from being ideal. People try to say that we are this perfect country because we are free and have such a diverse culture and there is no segregation or sweatshops or things that other countries have. We are this free country run by an amazing, powerful man who is going to change the world.

Frankly, I think that is horse poop. People that think like that do not know what they are talking about; they have obviously just been holed up in their own perfect lives or something. I doubt they think about the war that has been going on for almost ten years now. I doubt they consider all the changes that Obama has not made. Everybody hated Bush, and people thought he was our worst president and screwed everything up. Again, those people are idiots. Obama has done absolutely nothing positive for our country; he is just a great speaker and, to be put bluntly, is black. Because of these things, the younger generations seem to be in love with him, which I find ridiculous. We are definitely not living in an idea United States. People are ignorant and uninformed, and even though we supposedly have all these rights and freedoms, sometimes it seems that they do not apply to everybody. Personally I think our government is corrupt and should probably be cleaned up a little bit before our country is in shambles.

In an ideal United States, like I said, everybody would be informed and there would be no blockheads. Honestly though, I do not think the "ideal" United States is even possible to come upon. There is always going to be that one person who disagrees or tries to screw everything up. Just look at a high school class. There really is not an ideal way to be, because you have to be realistic. There is always going to be someone who is disruptive or argumentative, which ruins the "idealness" of it, but then if there was no person to bring upon that second opinion, we would basically be thinking and living in a box. There is no ideal way for the United States to be because we need that differentiation at times, but not all the time.

Journal #18

The sun shines so bright.
Does it ever get burned?
Does it ever start to cry
When away it has turned?
A beautiful sight
Until one looks too close
And sees not want they want to.
And although it's supposed
To bring light to the darkness,
Does the sun ever need
Someone's hand to hold onto
Or a shoulder to lean
Its sad, lonely head on?
But this never could work.
Once the sun's guard is let down,
The world goes berserk.
Everyone needs the sun
To shine bright just for them,
Retreating back to the sky,
The sun is alone once again.

"In Peace" Poem Analysis

Literally, the poem "In Peace" by John Greenleaf Whittier is very descriptive. It tells of a riverside blooming with flowers and colors. It describes a very peaceful setting, filled with waterfalls and beautiful sights. Whittier uses many colors to describe the setting, and he creates a very peaceful scene. When reading this poem with a literal on look, one would understand that Whittier finds nature to be peaceful; it is a comfortable place for him. Towards the end of the poem, Whittier writes about death, and he describes it as not terrible, but instead as a way of connecting with nature. He says that if one realizes the beauty of nature, dying is not all that terrible.

Figuratively, this poem can be taken in a different direction. When I read the poem, I had an image of someone finally finding peace in the nature. In a crazy and hectic world, sometimes it is good to just step back and enjoy what God has given you. The waterfalls and beautiful flowers symbolize the serenity and wonder of the earth, and it is important that we realize that. When we see the creations God has given to us, we will learn to appreciate God and maybe see Him as a higher creation; He is someone that can truly create everything. Through this, maybe one could learn to believe in God. If this happens, dying is actually not a bad thing. They will go to Heaven with God and be in peace. Figuratively, I think this poem is about finding peace on Earth so that when it is your time to die, you will have peace with God.

This poem uses many different literary devices. Whittier is extremely descriptive; he describes all the different colors and shapes of the nature. Whittier also uses imagery, which allows the reader to truly see what Whittier was seeing when he wrote the poem. This is incredibly important because otherwise a reader might interpret the poem in a way that was unintended by Whittier.

"In Peace" is a beautiful poem about finding your inner peace both on Earth and with God. Its literal and figurative meanings are somewhat different, yet each portrays a beautiful and peaceful idea.

Thanatopsis Analysis

Poems can have many different meanings. A poem can be taken literally. It can also be taken figuratively. These two different methods are incredibly different from each other.

In Bryant's poem, he writes about death and becoming one with the world. From a literal perspective, one will see that Bryant believes that humans die and are buried. When this happens, they become one with nature. It does not matter what your social or monetary status on Earth while you were alive had been; every single person winds up with the same fate. When a person is dead and buried, they are mixed in with the soil and eventually become "one" with the Earth. Therefore, all the nature we see around us today are the remains of those people who have lived before us. I think that this is kind of a beautiful perspective; however, it is also kind of creepy. I think it is definitely an interesting way to look at things. Literally, Bryant writes that we will all become a part of nature one day and live on together forever through its beauty.

This poem can also be taken figuratively. Although it says pretty plain and simple that everyone will be immortal though nature, one might take it even further. When understanding something figuratively, the reader must take the information that is given to them and infer things from it. When I read Bryant's poem, I thought that he meant that since everyone will wind up in the same place anyway, do not spend time worrying about everything around you. Do not waste time trying to be better than someone else, but instead enjoy the life that you are given and make the most out of it while you still can. I also think that, figuratively, the poem is saying not to fear death. While it portrays it as a cold, sad, lonely thing, the poem also talks about how you will never be alone, and you will become of a beauty that people for years to come will enjoy.

There are many poetic devices in this poem. Overall, I think Bryant uses a lot of imagery. He describes the trees and the nature very vividly, which gives the reader a deeper insight and a better image of what he is trying to portray. He also uses metaphors, which I think adds to the overall scheme of the poem; it makes it more interesting and captivating.

I actually enjoyed this poem. I think both the literal and figurative meanings of the poem were insightful and strangely beautiful. It made me think, which I think means that the author did his job well.

Journal #17

Some call me Nikki. Some call me Grimer. Most people, however, know me by Pocahontas. I am a nature Queen. I hate all things that could be considered technology, such as cell phones, computers, facebook, toilets, showers, sinks, microwaves, refrigerators, kindles, x ray machines, and all things that are not powered by the good Lord. I feel most comfortable when I am out in my wigwam made of sticks and the hides of animals I caught, killed, and skinned myself. I love running around with just the clothes I was born with when I left my mother's womb. It lets me get away from the crazy, hectic life of the city. I was not meant to live in the city. I cannot bond with brick buildings and honking cars; I need to smell the oak trees, taste the wild berries, and see the stars above me when I sleep.

The first time I bonded with nature, I was six years old. I was living with my parents at the time. Their names were Sunset and Grassland. They had been raised in the nature, but events had taken them in to the city, where they raised me. However, by the time I was six, they realized I too needed the nature around me. So there I was, surrounded by trees that seemed to go higher than the clouds and flowers that were brighter and bigger than any I had ever seen in my life. Without me even realizing it, my parents had slipped away to let me explore on my own. All of a sudden, I saw a wild boar. Instead of being afraid, I felt a sudden sense of peace come over me. I walked over to the boar, held out my hand, and began to gently pet his noggin. When my parents returned, they found me sound asleep, curled up with the boar. That day, I bonded with nature, and I have been bound ever sense.

Journal #16

My favorite animal is the ligerpus. It is a character that was discovered by scientists in 1979 on the banks of Africa, and it has also been found in the forests of Berlin, Germany. This incredible creature is no joke. It is a mix of the fierce tiger, the great and powerful lion, and the feared octopus. The liger was found on August thirty first, 1978 in the jungles of Beijing, China, and it was thought to be an extravagant discovery. Just imagine scientists utter and pure joy when the found the ligerpus! This beast just may potentially be the greatest discovery ever. I do not even think that aliens could compare to this. Speaking of aliens, one might wonder why the ligerpus is not a commonly known animal. The answer to this is simple. Scientists and animal protection people were afraid that people would go crazy when they heard about the ligerpus and try to hunt it for its unique fur. The fur is a leathery, thick, tough hide, but it is also as silky as silk. Of course this animal would be illegally hunted by the evil men of the world. Also, the knowledge of the ligerpus would probably just send people into shock because of the astounding greatness and beauty of it. Because of these reasons, the ligerpus was put into a building in Nevada protected by special agents. Not many people actually know what is located in this area, called Area 51, but since I am the great Nikki I was informed that the ligerpus is indeed kept there, not aliens as some may expect. There are still ligerpi running freely in their natural habitats, but there are some kept in Area 51 for studying and protecting. I myself actually own a mother ligerpus and two baby ligerpi. They are my pride and joy. The ligerpus is quite obviously my favorite animal. If others were allowed to know of this great animal, I am sure it would become their favorite as well. However, Luke, Paige, the special agents, and I are the only existing people on this universe that are aware of the great ligerpus's presence. We are very blessed people.

Journal #15

I use logic and reason a lot in my every day life. I mean, basically every decision I make has to do with logic and reason, and pretty much every action one makes in a day is based off a decision in one way or another. A decision is a choice based off of logic and reason; therefore, every little thing you do in life is based off of logic and reason.

The great Luke Reynolds is choosing to argue with me on this here topic. Luke states, "Well, what if you base a decision off of pure gut instinct? What if you make a choice based on the reaction you first feel; you use your instinct, not logic or reason? Then you would obviously not be using logic or reason."

I say, "Luke Reynolds, you are a foolish and petty boy. You must use some abstract thinking here, friend. At one point in your life, you made the conscious decision that you were accepting of using your gut instinct; it is a choice whether you want to follow that gut instinct or not. I can be making a decision and feel one way in my gut but consciously be aware that I should make a different choice. Therefore, I use or am using logic and reason even in making "gut instinct" decisions." Boom roasted, Luke. Nice try though.

Without logic and reason, the people of America and the planet Earth would be foolish little organisms running around in circles, acting like chickens with their heads cut off. We would not be able to make smart decisions that could positively influence our state, our country, or even our world! What would we do? We would actually not be able to do anything at all; I really just do not think we would be able to live longer than a few days because we would not be able to make decisions about how to act of even the right nutrition and nourishment we need. People would probably live miserable lives, except without logic and reason, they probably would not even realize they were miserable. Our society would just be a wreck.

Thomas Paine's "Common Sense"

Thomas Paine was evidently not very happy about the English government. Written by Thomas Paine, “Common Sense” expresses very clearly how corrupt Paine believed the government to be. After reading what he had to say, I must say that I agree with him. He had some very strong points; a lot of his ideas had been expressed before in previous writings I had read, but he expressed them in a way that was a little bit stronger and made me believe them more. Thomas Paine does a great job in expressing his distaste towards the British government. There are some points where he rambles or where he does not really make any sense at all, but when I did understand what he was saying he made his point of view seem very logical and believable.

One of Thomas Paine’s arguments was that the British government was way too complex. He said that he would have preferred a much simpler government, as it could have been run much more efficiently. Paine states, “But the constitution of England is so exceedingly complex, that the nation may suffer for years together without being able to discover in which part the fault lies, some will say in one and some in another, and every political physician will advise a different medicine” (Paine). Although this sentence is very long and complex, and the reader might have to read it slowly and more than once as I had to do, it actually makes a lot of sense. Basically, he was saying that since the government is so complicated, when something goes wrong, no one knows who to turn to, who to blame, and what to change. Therefore, the problem never really gets solved. I think this is a very valid point.

Paine also was not very satisfied with how the King fit in with the government. The King was issued power, but was supposed to have people look over his rulings and decisions. However, he was allowed final judgment, which basically means that the idea of having people watch over his doings is pointless. Paine words it way better than I can when he says, “But as the same constitution which gives the commons a power to check the king by withholding the supplies, gives afterwards the king a power to check the commons, by empowering him to reject their other bills; it again supposes that the king is wiser than those whom it has already supposed to be wiser than him. A mere absurdity!” (Paine). Again, this sentence written by Paine is probably a bit too wordy and could have been reduced to a much simple sentence that would have been much easier to understand. However, it does have a solid point and he presents his case very well. By reading this, I think one would easily believe what he was writing.

The way Paine states his argument is very clever; he writes in a way that expresses his views as being completely correct and the mere idea of him being wrong is just too silly of a statement to even question. While sometimes this writing style can get annoying because of the writer seeming arrogant or overly confident, it often is actually very effective at making someone believe your point of view. Paine was very efficient at making others see his ideas exactly how he wanted them to. After reading this article, I was definitely convinced that the English government was a bit ridiculous and corrupt.

WORKS CITED

Paine, Thomas. “Common Sense.” Archiving Early America. Online. 18 Oct. 2010.

"Franklin's Autobiography and the American Dream" Reflection

The article written by Lemay was both interesting and insightful. It gave me ideas that I had previously not thought of as well as ideas that I had not previously thought were very important. However, I do think that Lemay portrayed his ideas in a very effective way. I think that he kind of drew everything out; he made everything much longer than it needed to be. He could have gotten his point across in a much more efficient way that would have been even more influential and inspiring to readers. However, once read through very carefully and deliberately, one sees the true thought process behind Lemay's ideas. While it is boring to read, Lemay certainly did let readers know his thoughts on every subject.

I think it is very interesting that Lemay things of Franklin's "Autobiography" as the "singe most important book" in American literature (Lemay). While, yes, I do agree that the writings of Benjamin Franklin were incredibly intruiging and filled with new ideas, I do not necessarily think it is the single most important book in American Literature. Lemay argued that this book introduced all these new ideas to America that basically shaped it into what America is today. I do think that Franklin influenced a lot of people through the book, but I think that other factors were included. Franklin was not the only Rationalist that was popular at the time; the whole idea of Rationalism was booming. It was not just Franklin himself that changed the course of life, I think it was the mere fact that Rationalism was becoming popular and known. I do definitely agree that Franklin helped spread Rationalism; Franklin was obviously a well known man of high status that was clearly a Rationalist. However, I do think that people were at the point where they were already done with the Puritan or Catholic Church and were ready to move on to the Rationalism period. I do not find it very probable that almost every individual read this work of literature by Franklin and automatically converted.

One thing I did like in Lemay's writing was how he described the American Dream. Sometimes, things get kind of mixed up in translation, and while the American Dream that Franklin thought about is not a necessarily hard concept to grasp, there were a lot of details that went along with it. However, Lemay paraphrased it in a way that was both clear and effective. He wrote, "the American Dream is the hope for a better world, a new world, free of the ills of the old, existing world. And for the individual, it is the hope for aProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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ew beginning for any of the numerous things that this incredible variety of human beings may want to do" (Lemay)

I think that the way Lemay wrote that better helps individuals understand the point Franklin was trying to get across. Although I still think Lemay wrote a little bit too wordy and in kind of a boring fashion, I do have to admit that he definitely did his research and knew his stuff. He was also very good with words, as demonstrated in the quote above. Lemay showed how Franklin's views and ideas still apply today, and he wrote in a way that can allow individuals such as ourselves to understand and apply Franklin's words to our own lives.


WORKS CITED

Lemay, J.A. Leo. "Franklin's Autobiography and the American Dream." InThe Renaissance Man in the Eighteenth Century. Los Angeles: William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, 1978. Quoted as "Franklin's Autobiography and the American Dream." in Bloom, Harold, ed. The American Dream, Bloom's Literary Themes. New York: Chelsea Publishing House, 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=1&iPin=BLTTAD005&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 11, 2010).

Journal #14

The Declaration of Nikki

I am writing what is to be known by people all over the world as The Declaration of Nikki. The Declaration of Nikki is to state the views, goals, hopes, and dreams of me, Nicole Elise Steinwart, also known as Nikki.

We, the people, in order to form a more perfect union, will stop being idiots and learn to respect each other. There is enough negativity in this world to last us all lifetimes. We need to become a strong, supportive community in which people are not necessarily the same but learn to accept each others' differences. In that same way, we need to accept our own differences. If you are born one way, embrace it! Love yourself! We should not feel the need to change who we are just to become someone else. In the world of today, too many young people, adolescents if you will, are becoming so caught up in fitting a certain image. Unfortunately, this image is not a positive one. Many of these people feel that, in order to fit into their culture and society, they must do stupid things in order to be funny and gain respect. We shall not stand for this behavior any longer! Why should it be "cool" for a thirteen year old to be smoking weed? Why are fourteen year old kids getting pregnant? Why are mere middle schoolers out partying on weekends and getting drunk? Heck, why do high school kids even do it? People are trying to fit in to this corrupt society that has been created, and it can not stand for much longer. It is up to us to knock down these walls of negativity. We must take a stand for what is right, and we must sit down against what is wrong. It is up to us, good people, to make a change. Obviously Obama has done nothing, so hand me the golden, flaming torch. Together, WE can be the change you want to see in the world. We will be the change.

Journal #13

Homecoming week is the best week of the school year. We get to dress up and just be ridiculous without getting in trouble for it. I love it. However, people in our class are terrible. They are absolutely terrible. Our class of two thousand twelve sucks, to be blunt about it. There are like no kids in my grade that are dressed up today, and today is eighties day, which is the most fun day this year. I do not know if kids are too embarrassed or what, but it is so dumb. I mean, come on, how hard is it to put your hair up in a side pony tail? On hat and jersey day, I do not think anyone at all had a good excuse. I confronted one girl in my grade about it, we will call her Kay. Kay said, "I do not have any jerseys at my house!" I then asked her why the heck she was not wearing a hat then, since I knew she owned at least one hat. She just kind of sat there sputtering. I was like, you have no school spirit, you disgust me. I did not actually say that out loud because that would be rude. However, I think I would have had a legitimate right to be rude since she was being rude towards our entire class. It just does not make me happy. What does make me happy is that we won for the float contest. I rode on the float, and it was freezing. We had sand, and somehow it had gotten wet. Therefore, the sand was absolutely freezing. I am not exaggerating right now. My feet were numb. All the people on the float had taken off their shoes and rolled up their pants so that we looked awesome, but it was so incredibly cold. It was still fun, though. We won, which made up for the coldness. I sure do love homecoming week.

Journal #12

Will was working with a partner. He did not actually like working with other people, but the teacher said that he had to. So, there Will was, working with this kid in the class named Lucille. Lucille was not exactly a nice person. Actually, she was extremely mean, negative, and pretty much just did not have a very good outlook on life. She complained all through every class, and no person in the entire school liked her. It was just Will's luck that he would be paired with her. There was no going back now, though, especially since Will and Lucille's teacher was mean and would not let them work individually or pick a different partner.

"Let us get started," Will said. "I mean, if we have to do this, we might as well get it done as soon as possible." Lucille just looked at him with an ugly sneer on her face. "Okay then," Will said, "I guess I will just get started." They were supposed to build a boat that was able to sail down a creek without sinking. I guess it would be better to say they had to build a canoe, since a boat is kind of extravagant. This project was to be due in one week, as in seven days, which really was not a lot of time. See, the teacher really was mean. Will just did not know how this project would ever get done.

Will tried to be as polite as possible during the following week, but Lucille was just the biggest jerk ever. Will tried to set up different times outside of school where they could work on the canoe together, but Lucille would either not show up or she would show up and just sit there. Will just did not know what to do. He pretty much just wanted to cry. This project was work one hundred percent of their grade, and he knew that if they failed, he would not be able to graduate at the top of his class. Will worked day and night, all by himself, with his hammer and nails just trying to get the project done. He managed to finally get it done, and it was perfect. However, Lucille never did a lick of work and she still got an A. Will does not like to work with partners anymore.

Journal #11

So, this journal is about ethics and values. I personally think that I have extremely good ethics and values. I am well behaved on a whole, and I care very much about how other people are being treated. This reminds me of a funny story in eighth grade. I think I will share it with all of you right now. Just so you know, the names of everybody have been changed.

Elise was at her grandparents' house. It was Christmas. Actually, the day was Christmas Eve, but she was at her grandparents' house for Christmas. Elise was thirteen years old and had been dating Robert for a couple months. She really liked him and their relationship had been going well. However, since it was middle school, it was not like it was anything too serious yet. Anyway, Elise called Robert to see how he was doing. Since she had not seen him in a couple of days, she was really excited to talk to him. To her dismay, when they finally began talking, he did not sound very happy. Elise asked him what was wrong.

"Elise, do you like Thomas?" Elise did not know what to say. She was just in utter shock.

"No! If I liked Thomas, why would I be dating you? Robert, I swear, that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Why would you even think that?"

Robert replied, "Well, I was talking to Ann the other day, and she told me that you flirted with him all the time. Plus she told me that your morals and values have been changing."

Elise just kind of sat there, confused. "Robert. You know Ann likes you. Obviously that is why she said that. And what does that even mean, my morals and values have changed?"

Robert paused. "I actually have no idea. That is kind of dumb."

THE END.

To this day, "Robert" and I still joke about that conversation. It is funny because I obviously have and had good morals and values; however, "Ann" obviously did not have very good morals and values. She is my friend now though. <3

Journal #10

There is very much debate when it comes to science verses religion. A lot of people believe in religion and God, while others believe in science. Personally, I think there is a mix of both that is evident in this world. I believe in God; I think He created every little thing that there is. I believe that He created the earth, and that He made every single one of us. I do not believe in evolution; however, I do think it is quite possible for things to evolve. I do not think we came from monkeys or whatever. Frankly, I think that is quite ridiculous. They do not have a developed frontal lobe or something in their brain and there is no way it could become as developed as a humans; scientists said something like that quite recently I do believe.

One book that I think made sense of science verses religion was the novel Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. In that book, he discussed different ideas about religion and how it can relate to science, and I thought his viewpoints are very interesting and intriguing. I never watched the movie, but I imagine that it is very good as well. The book was kind of gruesome, though, like when the religious people were hanged and killed and stabbed and stuff like that. The funny thing is that I do not actually remember how the book even ends. I can't seem to remember who the bad guy actually is; I know it has something to do with Victoria's dad, though. At least I think it does. Maybe it does not, since I kind of thought he died. Maybe I should just reread that story sometime.

I think it is dumb that people get into wars and fights and stuff like that over religion. I definitely stand up for my religion whenever I am faced with that choice in a situation, but I think it goes against everything people are trying to represent when they fight in wars to prove how right they are. Basically, I understand why there is so much debate over science and religion, but I think it is ridiculous that there is so much hype over it.

Puritan Presentation

Journal #9

There are many different forms of organized religion. Some are good, and some are bad. I practice the Lutheran religion. We are a break off of the Catholic church kind of. We are not nearly as strict as the Catholic church, but we are not as cool as Southern Baptists or anything. If I had a choice, I think I would be Southern Baptist. Actually, I would definitely be a follower of Richnology.

Richnology is by far the greatest religion ever created on the face of this earth. I think it is actually probably the greatest religion in the universe. Is there a face of the universe since there is a face of the earth? I bet the great god Richno could create a face on the universe. It would probably be extremely good looking and handsome with olive colored skin, bright sparking brown eyes, and dark luscious hair. It might just be too much to handle. It would be fantastic.

Richnology is not one of the most popular religions out there, but give it some time and it will be. Once people experience the great goodness of Richno, they will probably convert right away. He brings people a feeling of peace and goodness inside of them, which I think is something most people would want to feel. At our little school of Pleasant Plains High School, I would definitely say that Richnology is one of the most practiced religions. Along with Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Baptist, it is a very popular religion around here. This is probably because we have all been able to see and experience the great Richno in his own being and wonderfulness. When he becomes a famous man someday and other people can actually see who he is, there is not a doubt in my mind that Richnology will become by far the most practiced religion in the world, even more so than Catholicism and Lutheranism and Muslim. It will even be more powerful than the Ku Klux Klan, which is arguable a religion. According to Ryan Barnes, it is a supremest group and not a religion, but it is still undeniably powerful. Once Richnology is known to the world, it will become the most powerful religion or organization to ever have been created.

Journal #8

So, we just got done watching "The The Impotence of Proofreading," also known as "The Importance of Proofreading." I thought it was pretty funny and creative. Basically, this guy, Taylor Mall, was doing this three minute and thirty second speech about the dumb mistakes we make while typing papers or essays or whatever. For his entire three minutes and thirty seconds, he acted as if he was reading off of a paper with someone who really sucked at grammar; for example, most of his words were not right. He used "pices" instead of "pieces" and things like that. One thing that I thought was funny is that at the end, he meant to say, "The red pen is your friend," meaning that when spellcheck does the little red underline thing it is there to help you. Since he was trying to show examples of how our stupid mistakes affect what we are trying to say, he instead said, "The red penis your friend." This obviously gives a completely different impression than the one he was trying to make. What struck me as funny, though, is that my friend Alexander Olivero has a brother named Anthony who is a few years older than us. Anthony tells the story of his seventh grade year, when one of his teachers was trying to write on the board, "The pen is red" as a grammar exercise or something. She instead accidentally put the words "pen" and "is" a tad bit too close together, and I think you can figure out what the board read instead. Granted, since these kids were in seventh grade, they all thought this was the most hysterical thing they had ever seen and to this day still laugh about it. This just goes to show how simple spelling or grammar errors can completely change the overall point you were trying to make. I think this guy did a really good job of portraying it in his speech; that would be one difficult thing to memorize. Overall, I thought it was an interesting lesson.

Journal #7

I really do not think I follow any superstitions. Personally, I think superstitions are kind of dumb. For example, Paige Graham, who sits in the seat right beside me, believes that every time a dog barks at her, she will have bad luck for two years. That is so ridiculous. That would amount to like nine thousand nine hundred and eighty years of bad luck, which I do not think is really possible. Basically she would have bad luck for the rest of her life just because a dog barked at her. That is quite laughable.

I think OCD traits are kind of like superstitions a little bit. Well, maybe it is not quite the same, but I am just trying to do a simple comparison. For example, if I put lotion on one leg, I feel like I must put lotion on the other leg or else I will feel all weird and jumpy until I do apply the lotion. However, I do not feel like if I do not put the lotion on I will be cursed or something; who would think that? Oh yeah, witches. But I am no witch. I just feel like my equilibrium is off and that bothers me quite some bit.

When I think of superstitions, I always think of the Fairly Odd Parents. There is this one episode they used to play way back in the day where the anti-fairies are released from jail. They take joy in making people miserable, so any superstition that is broken is punished. For example, Timmy Turner walks under a ladder and his mom's back breaks or something. There is also the time when he spills salt, breaks a ladder, sees a black cat, steps on a crack, and stuff like that. I think his mom's back breaks every time. It might be his dad whose back is breaking though, just because his dad is usually the main parent. Either way, it hurts one of his parents, and it continues to do so until they return all the anti-fairies back into their jail.

Journal #6

Sam and Dottie were sitting in a classroom together. They were in Math class. Sam, an seventeen year old senior, was just sitting quietly doing her homework. She had a ton of work today and wanted to get it done as soon as possible so that she could go home and study all night. She was a very good student, and everyone's parents loved her because she was just a good kid. Dottie was sitting beside her. Dottie was, to put simply, the exact opposite of Sam. Dottie was a quite rebellious child. At age sixteen, she had finally received her license and went crazy. She was out every night partying and having a good time. Her parents were too meek to do anything about her, so she was basically just going psycho.

So, these two girls were just chilling in class. They were not friends by any means; in fact, the two actually did not like each other. All of a sudden, their teacher walked out of the room. Dottie stood up with a sneaky looking smile on her face. She sauntered over to the phone that was attached to the wall and dialed a couple numbers. Then she started screaming.

"Office? This is Sam. Get help now! There's a kid with a gun! Another one has a knife!" Sobbing, Dottie hung up the phone, and immediately the sobbing turned into a vicious cackling. Sam sat there, her mouth open in shock. Then Dottie pulled the fire alarm. Alarms started going off all over the school, and cries and screams from the students could be heard all around.

Sam was expelled from the school. A couple of kids had been hospitalized as everyone tried to run through the slender doorways at the same time, and Sam was responsible. She did not make it into the college of her choice, and she was no longer allowed to be the class valedictorian. Dottie got away with everything.

Journal #5

So, I have these super strict parents. Whenever I do something remotely wrong, whether I even think it is wrong or not, I will get grounded from one thing or another. Usually Facebook is taken away from me. My cell phone used to be the most common thing taken away, but now that I can drive they do not really do that anymore. It would just be my luck that the one day I did not have my cell phone, I would get in an accident or hit a deer or run out of gas or something ridiculous. Now my parents just ground me from Facebook for a day or too. I hate that. Facebook is my main method of communication. My parents are like, can you not just pick up the phone and call them? I am like, no, you cannot creep on people's pictures over a phone call, duh. Plus I have a lot of friends on Facebook that are from other schools and stuff, so Facebook is pretty much how I keep connected with them. Yeah, I could text them, but then my parents will complain about how all I ever do is text and they would get mad about that and then I would probably talk back and get grounded from Facebook again.

While I do hate this, it is fair. It is a lot more fair than getting grounded from my car or something extreme. Some people I know do not get punished at all for anything, and I think that is kind of ridiculous. I mean, I do not like getting punished and I think a lot of parents punish their kids for way dumb reasons, but when the parents just let their kid do whatever they want, they will probably grow up to be bad people. Bad people equal a bad community, and then our own children will be growing up with all those bad influences. What would the world come to? It would certainly not be a very happy place.

Journal #4

I love long trips. Unfortunately, since I participate in cross country and softball, both of my brothers play baseball, and my dad is a baseball coach, there is not much time for my family to take vacations. There is also the fact that both of my parents are teachers and I work at Dairy Queen. It is hard for us to take time off, and, let us face it, we are obviously not rolling in extra money. I mean, I obviously am, since Dairy Queen is such a luxurious job. My parents, on the other hand, cannot exactly pay for us to go to Australia every year or anything. That is the one place I want to go more than anywhere in the world. The reason behind that is that my grandma lived in Australia until she was about twenty. That is when she met my grandpa during the war and she came back to America to live with him.

Anyway, let me clarify what I meant when I said I have never been on a long trip. I have never seen an ocean. Obviously, with that being said, I have never been to another country. Or Canada. I have never even been on a moving airplane. So for my family, long trips, also known as vacation to Wisconsin, is a fun little car ride. For me, though, I enjoy it. I get along well with my two younger brothers, so the long car rides are usually fun. I get to spend time with my whole family, and even though we drive my parents psycho, I usually end up getting closer to my brothers. Until Johnny spills an entire large milkshake in the backseat and it makes the car smell like rotten milk for the rest of the week; yeah, I was not really a fan of him right then. Long trips, though, always seem to bring my family closer together just because we are pretty much forced together for days or weeks at a time without any other friends as a distraction.

Journal #3

I woke up with my head pounding. My eyes were dry and itchy, and my throat was sore. There was something covering my mouth, but I could not reach up to see what it was because my hands were roughly tied behind my back. I wiggled around, trying to free my hands, but something that felt like twine tore into my wrists. They began to burn and bleed as the rope tightened.

I looked around, terrified. I had no idea where I was or how I had gotten there. I was in an empty warehouse; all I could see was the gray concrete floor around me and the dark, moldy wall I was leaning against. It was so dimly lit that I could barely make out the heavy metal door on the other side of the room. I looked down to see that my feet were strongly twined together as well, and I made the decision that I did not yet want to mess with getting my feet free. I could not afford to weaken my feet and ankles so soon; I would most likely be needing those for later.

All of a sudden, the metal door swung open. A big, burly man walked in with a wooden club. He had a gun in his holster. The man was really quite large, and he did not exactly seem to be pleasant. I shrunk down against the wall, not knowing whether to appear weak in order to humor him or strong in order to defy him. I was so scared that I really had no control over my actions, though. I winced as the man came closer, swinging his club back and forth against his hand.

"Hello, Nikki." This man knew my name. How did he know my name? "Glad to see you are doing so well." The man smirked and handed out a cell phone. "Want to go ahead and call that daddy of yours now that you are awake?" Confused, I reached for the phone. "Woahhh there, sister. Before you make this call, we have to go ahead and discuss what you are going to say. First of all, tell him I need the money."

"Wait a minute," I interrupted, then winced from fear. When he just looked at me, I continued. "My dad is a teacher and a baseball coach. What money is he supposed to give you?"

The man then looked as confused as I. He started to say something, then stopped. Finally, he made out, "Oh. You are the wrong Nikki. Sorry."

With that, he untied me and set me free. It was the scariest and most random day of my life.

Journal #2

Tommy the Turtle was lost. He was taking a daring journey from his humble abode in the Washington Street Creek, finally venturing out into the dangerous world. The problem was, neither he nor anyone in his family had ever gone on this venture before. Therefore, nobody could really tell him what was out there and how to get there. Basically, Tommy the Turtle was the Columbus of the turtles. He had set out three days before, and he was enthralled with all these new sights. There was more out there than his little creek! The flowers were so bright! The trees were so tall! For the first three days, Tommy the Turtle was just in a haze of excitement. He just had to return home to tell all his friends and family about this new world! He turned around, determined to make it home in record time. All of a sudden, his step fell short. He realized he had absolutely no idea how to get home. He did not know in which direction the creek was. He could not recall where any landmarks were, and he did not remember where his last resting place was. Alone and terrified, Tommy the Turtle did not know where to go.

Tommy the Turtle sat down, defeated. He did not know what else to do, so sadly, he laid his head down and fell asleep. Two hours later, he awoke, and decided that he should probably start walking and maybe find a place he recognized. He set out across the green pastures, and started to build hope. All of a sudden he came to a rough, gray surface. He had never seen anything like it, but decided he had to cross it. All of a sudden, a huge roaring thing bigger than even the bears in the woods came ripping across the horizon towards him. Some giant black rolling things holding a big shiny, colored box was trying to kill him! Tommy shot into his shell as the thing rolled past him, missing him by centimeters. Tommy was so scared. All of a sudden, a huge bird landed next to him. The bird said, "Hi! I am Barbara. Your mom was afraid you would be here." With no further explanation, she fit his shell into her huge beak, started flying, and dropped him off back at his creek.

Journal #1

I do not know very much about Native American culture. Basically, everything that I do know about their culture comes from movies, such as Disney's Pocahontas, or fiction novels, such as Things Not Seen by Jodi Picoult. I know that they were very nature friendly, and instead of going to supermarkets for food and stuff like that, they grew their own food. They also generally would wear loincloths or clothes made from animals they have skinned themselves; they would hunt for food and clothing instead of having someone else do it for them.

I tend to get a little confused, as I imagine many others do as well, with the culture of Native Americans today as opposed to the Native Americans from the time of Columbus. When somebody says the phrase "Native American," I immediately think of animal skins and and war paint. I think of teepees, of wooden sticks with spears made of bone on the end, and feathered head decorations. However, I really have no idea if the Native Americans today live like that as well. I imagine that, like any culture that has evolved, there are the more traditional Native Americans and the more contemporary Native Americans; maybe some of them are still living in cabins shut away from society. However, I think nowadays many young Native Americans are probably living just like any other family would, with houses, store bought clothes, and normal trips to the grocery store.

Like I said, I really do not know very much about traditional Native American culture. Every summer, my family goes up to Wisconsin on vacation to stay in a little cabin on a lake. In that cabin, there are pictures all over the place of Native American people and teepees and things of that nature. When I think of Native Americans, I really just think of how they have been portrayed to me through media and pictures. It is definitely not good that a high school student does not even know anything about the important people who lived on this country before we did, but sadly I do not know very much at all.

Symbolism Journal

I felt that there was a significant amount of symbolism in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. While it may seem unlikely that Bradbury did this specific example of symbolism on purpose, I think that the Giant Hound symbolizes technology and how it is becoming a crutch for some people. The firefighters used it as their crutch; when they did not want to do the dirty work themselves, they set the Hound out on the job. The make the Hound capture and kill anything they do not want around. Because of this, the firemen are becoming lazy. They also use it for pointless entertainment. When Montag rebels, the firemen send the Hound out to catch him. In my opinion, the firemen are beginning to rely too heavily on this piece of equipment, and it shows how their society has become even worse; instead of doing jobs themselves, they rely on the Hound. Since Fahrenheit takes place in a futuristic setting, I think this Giant Hound symbolizes the rise of technology and how it is beginning to get out of hand.

Finally Done!

I just finished reading The Grapes of Wrath. I am kind of a mix of emotions right now. I am extremely psyched because after this blog I am completely done! I am sad though, too, because of how the book ended. I am really upset about Rose of Sharon's stillborn child; for some reason that upset me even more than the family's problems with work and whatnot. I am also kind of weirded out. The Grapes of Wrath had a very unique ending that is not exactly the norm. I guess it just goes to show how great of a family the Joads truly were; even though things sucked for them, they were still going out of their way to help others. Nursing a man back to heath though... That is just kind of weird. I am glad they did the right thing and the man lived, but I think that just kind of be an awkward situation.

I thought parts of this book was really predictable, such as there not being work once they got in California. Honestly, I was kind of surprised that they even made it that far. Once they got there though, I thought it was dumb that they had expected there to be a ton of work. They saw all the people heading to California; they should have realized that jobs were being taken left and right. I respect them for how they made their life work though. Instead of become incredibly upset and going crazy, they did what they had to. They found a house, even though it was not exactly ideal. They got jobs, even though picking cotton in California was no better, really, then picking cotton back at home. I felt really bad for them since they had expected so much more, but I was happy that they kept pushing right on.

Rose of Sharon's stillborn child really upset me a lot. Even though she was not necessarily one of the main characters, not as much as Tom anyway, I had kind of connected to her and I really wanted what was best for her. Plus, anytime I hear of a child being born stillborn it breaks my heart. I really want kids someday, and I would just completely be crushed if it happened to me.

Overall, The Grapes of Wrath was not necessarily a terrible book. I would have much rather been reading something else, like a Jodi Picoult book or something, but it was not a big deal. I kind of like how weird the ending was; it makes it memorable. However, I am so very glad to be done with all my summer work.

Missing Eyes and Legs

I only have two blogs left! I am so super excited right now. I knew I would be able to get them all done, but I was afraid I would be crunching for time. However, that is obviously not the case! This will be my last blog for now, because I am going to put on my thinking cap and read the rest of the book as quickly as possible and then do my last blog over the entire book. In other words, that blog might be published tomorrow morning; we will just have to see.

So, my plan was to read Chapter Sixteen in about ten minutes tops, have this blog done by the fifteenth minute, then spend the rest of the night reading. That plan was shattered when I realized Chapter Sixteen is twenty nine pages long. It took me a little longer than I planned to read it, and then I just ate dinner. Now I am finally about to do this blog, and then I will do my last blog once I finish the book!

A lot happened in Chapter Sixteen. One of the cars broke down, so that had to be fixed. Tom and Al went to a car place that was basically just a junkyard for old cars and stuff. They met this strange guy that was missing an eye. The way Steinbeck described him was disgusting; he said that when the man would move one eye, you could see the muscles in the empty eye socket shifting. Steinbeck also aroused a question in my brain. If you do not have an eye, can you still outwardly cry from that eye? I mean, if your tear duct is still intact, I think it is possible, but my brother said he thought the tears would just go inside the empty socket. That is just something to ponder. Tom was really rude to the man though; he basically shut him down and told him to stop complaining because no one cared. He then told a story of a whore with only one leg who charged extra. I really do want to know what was going on in Mr. John Steinbeck's mind.

Car Crash

I thought Chapter Fifteen was actually pretty interesting. It was kind of random, but it was certainly interesting. It was about two people, a married couple I believe, named Mae and Al. They owned a greasy little restaurant joint, or maybe it was a bar, but it was like a classy bar. They talked about how they loved when truck drivers came in because they would always buy meals and they would usually leave a tip. One of the truck drivers told Mae a really funny joke about a bull, and I actually laughed out loud when I read it. What a surprise, it was pretty darn inappropriate; I told you John Steinbeck was a dirty man. It was funny though, so I have no complaints.

One thing that worried me when reading this chapter, however, is that Mae and Al spoke of a car crash they had just seen happen on the road. It was between a nice vehicle going at least ninety miles and hour and another vehicle that was not so nice. They described it as one of those sawed off cars with stoves and plates and chickens and children everywhere. Then Mae and Al said that a little boy died. This concerns me because the Joad family was obviously traveling in a vehicle that could be described that very same way, and they had a young boy. I am going to be extremely sad if one of their little boys dies, even if it is Danny. I sure would not wish death upon that young child, even if I do think he is very annoying and needs to keep his mouth shut. The good thing is that many, many vehicles are sawed off and stacked with tons of random things since the darn government was making so many people relocate, so hopefully that was just a random accident they were talking about for no reason. Maybe John Steinbeck was just trying to show how the road was dangerous. I sure hope that was the case.

Funny Signs

One of the signs mentioned at one of the bars in The Grapes of Wrath struck me as quite funny. Actually, two of them did. One of them said, "Ladies May Smoke But Be Careful Where You Lay Your Butts." That one is funny for the obvious reasons. Plus, one time in the Ozarks I saw a little bowl thing kind of like that and my brother and I got a picture sitting on it. The sign that struck me as the most funny and creative read, "IITYWYBAD?" When I read that, I was confused. To be honest, I figured it was probably something sexual. Do not get me wrong, I do not have a dirty mind of anything, it is just that Steinbeck seems to talk about that kind of stuff a lot. Reread the story; it is true. Anyway, I wanted to know what all of those letters meant, and luckily it had a little number next to it which meant its definition was in the back of the book. I flipped to the back of the book, and lo and behold, there was the definition. It means, "If I tell you will you buy a drink?" I do not know why I find this so funny, but I do. It is really quite creative, as a bartender, to put this up, because people with a good sense of humor would probably go right on ahead and buy a drink just because of that. I know that if I grew up and owned a bar like Mr. Scropos used to, I would make a sign that said that. Some people would probably get annoyed by it and not find it funny whatsoever, but I mean hey I would not want those downers in my bar anyway. I would want the fun, easygoing people who would understand it and laugh their heads off like I did, and then they would buy a drink from me so I could earn a good living. That way if I was ever forced off my land like the Joads, I would have enough money to go to California in my trusty little purple Honda, which by that time would probably be about forty years old. It would be a grand life.

Understood Verbs and Useless Nonsense

Wow, my last blog was four hundred and six words long. If that is not considered super over achieving, I do not know what is! Today is the day of my dad's birth, but instead of being a nice, caring daughter and spending time with him, I am sitting here doing blogs and reading the Grapes of Wrath. I mean, I only have three hundred pages left, so maybe I will get to spend a couple minutes with him before the clock strikes midnight. Or maybe not. My brother Timothy James, T.J. for short, is sitting in the room with me doing Honors English homework too. Our situation is not good, since my poor dad is left alone with a television and my mom. My other dumb brother is at the fair. He obviously has no moral values whatsoever.

Is there such thing as an understood verb? I read aloud the first sentence of Chapter Fourteen. It reads, "The western land, nervous under the beginning change." I said to T.J., this is stupid. It is not even a complete sentence. T.J. told me that there is the understood verb, is, and therefore it does make sense. I have never heard of this in my life but I guess it makes sense.

The rest of Chapter Fourteen is just weird. Steinbeck is dumb and mixed up his ordering of the dumb chapters versus the normal ones, so now I guess the even numbered chapters are going to be the pointless ones? This chapter was about results or something; honestly I could not understand what he was saying very well in the first half of the section. The second half of the chapter was about companionship and not being alone, which is all well and good, except Steinbeck did a pretty awful job of saying it. Basically I read that chapter as fast as I could, just so I could get on to the next chapter and stop reading nonsense.

Grampa is Dead

Grampa just died. When I read that, I exclaimed inside my mind, "What the heck?!" He was my favorite character. Now he is gone. Who is going to make this book funny now? I mean, Granma is a pretty funny lady, but now she is all sad because her husband just dies, which is totally understandable, but now this book is going to be so incredibly boring. I hate to say it, but it was probably the Joad family who killed him. When he would not leave the house, they made him drink that medicine. Has anybody read any of the magazine headlines lately? People try to kill themselves by overdosing on medicine. Grampa probably had a pretty good overdose going on right there, and, mixed in along with his old age and screwed up joints, it probably killed him. Maybe it did not; maybe it was just his time to go. But the fact that he never really woke up out of his little drug haze that had been going on makes it a little suspicious.

I would be really sad if my dad or my grandma died, obviously. It would make it even worse to have it happen right as I was getting ready to start a new, more glamorous life. Plus, they buried him in the ground. Like, they tied him up in a blanket and straight up buried him in the dirt. If I was in their situation, I guess I would have done the same thing because there was really nothing else they could have done. I would be super incredibly sad, though, because it seems like he did not even matter. That would suck a lot.

I think it is smart of the Joads and the Wilsons to combine forces. To continue their journeys separately all the way out to California would probably be impossible, but with the two families working together, it just might be possible. For some reason, just now I could not type the word "possible." It took me like six tries. That was really weird. Anyway, I want to know what is up with Sairy Wilson. She is in some kind of pain that is obviously very strong, yet she has not let anyone know why yet. This adds some suspense to the book, which is good. Now I kind of actually want to continue reading in order to find out what is causing this pain.