"Old Ironsides" and "To the Fringed Gentian"

Oliver Wendell Holmes and William Cullen Bryant are both Fireside Poets and Romanticism poets. While William Cullen Bryant writes about nature, wildlife, and is the "oldest" Fireside Poet, Oliver Wendell Holmes' writing was focused on one object per poem and was originally a medic ("The Fireside Poets" 210). The two men came from different backgrounds and wrote about different things with different styles. Holmes' "Old Ironsides" and Bryant's "To the Fringed Gentian" are about a ship and a flower, respectively, and have some similarities and some differences. Both authors wrote about an American object, Holmes the USS Constitution and Bryant a flower native to the Eastern portion of the United States, that aroused feelings of joy, happiness, and pride for Americans (Love). "To the Fringed Gentian" is a tale of death, but unlike Bryant's "Thanatopsis", not overwhelmingly depressing or downbeat. William Cullen Bryant weaves a tale of a remarkable flower that only blooms when the "quiet light" and the "keen" night occurs ("The Fireside Poets" 211). The flower blooms after all of the other flowers have stopped for winter symbolizing an older person who is still active (Huff, "To the Fringed Gentian"). The line "the aged year is near his end" again represents the aged person who is ready to go out peacefully and gently ("The Fireside Poets" 211). The fringed gentian is the what the literal meaning of this poem talks about, but figuratively the poem is talking about dying peacefully as an gracefully aged person. Just like how the fringed gentians blossom to gaze at the "blue sky" as winter approaches, the narrator wants to be an aged man who gazes at the "blue sky" of heaven as his time comes ("The Fireside Poets" 211). The fringed gentian is a symbol of hope that the narrator uses to help him come to terms with death (Huff, "To the Fringed Gentian").

Oliver Wendell Holmes' "Old Ironsides" is about the USS Constitution and about Holmes call to arms with the American people to rally and preserve the great ironclad vessel. The ship was to be decommissioned and scrapped, but Holmes' poem saved the ship (Huff, "Old Ironsides"). Playing on patriotism and pride, Holmes used the American flag as a figurative symbol for the ironclad vessel to help persuade people to join his cause and save the ship. "Long has it waved high" is literally talking about the USS Constitution, but really means that by destroying the ship, the American flag is being taken down and the symbol of American hope, pride, and joy will be gone ("The Fireside Poets" 211). Patriotic people believe that doing anything to harm or disrespect a flag is wrong and by tying the idea that by saving the ironclad ship, people would be saving the American flag is an ingenious idea by Holmes (Huff, "Old Ironsides").

While both poems are in classic Romanticism iambic pentameter, the poems' subject matter is different. "To the Fringed Gentian" is about a pleasant and ideal way to die, while "Old Ironsides" is about not going out without a fight. The poems prey on different emotions to evoke a response from the reader. "To the Fringed Gentian" uses joy over knowing that dying peacefully looking up at heaven is a good way to leave this world. "Old Ironsides" uses patriotism and pride to convince people that destroying the USS Constitution would be similar to destroying a symbol of America. Both poems got their point across and made an impact on the reader.


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

Huff, Randall. "'Old Ironsides'." The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web 11. Dec. 2011.

Huff, Randall. "'To the Fringed Gentian'." The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web 11. Dec. 2011.

Love, C. "'To the Fringed Gentian'." In Barney, Brett, and Lisa Paddock, eds. Encyclopedia of American Literature: The Age of Romanticism and Realism, 1816–1895, vol. 2, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web 11. Dec. 2011.

Journal 20 - "Autumn"

"Autumn" is a Romanticism poem because its is figuratively about nature and autumn. As a characteristic of Romanticism poetry, "Autumn" has a standard iambic pentameter and is very rhythmic and easy to read. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow literally wrote about a rich, fancy, and golden kingdom with "bright silks" in his poem. Figuratively Longfellow is talking about the season of autumn and how the colors are very "rich" and "bright" as the leaves turn colors and decorate the trees and the ground. After all "the wind, scatters the golden leaves" around during autumn. The "red harvest moon" that is above the farmers in the kingdom is another representation of autumn as the red harvest moon occurs in the fall. The moon appears to be an orange-ish color because of the way the light reflects from the atmosphere. In the fall, the farmers are harvesting their crops and the dust that is kicked up from the soil eventually floats up into the atmosphere, altering the color of refracted light from white to orange. That is why it is called the harvest moon. Adding to this representation of autumn, Longfellow adds that the farmers ask for a "blessing of the farms" during the harvest moon, which symbolizes the desire for a good harvest of crops to make money and support their families.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is a Romanticism author. I know him from writing "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" which is another Romanticism poem because it celebrates freedom, but Longfellow takes his inspiration from the myth and legend that Paul Revere was and immortalized the man in the poem. "Autumn" is a Romanticism poem because of the symbolic nature theme as well as implies different symbolic meanings with the poem. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow celebrates American nature with his ode to autumn and to the harvest time. With his "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" he celebrates America's past, people, and freedom. He is a Fireside Poet because his poetry has that warmth and inviting to the American people characteristic. Autumn is a happy time as farmers are harvesting their crops and the leaves are falling, and everything looks beautiful.

Cooley, Keith. "Orange Moon." Moon Facts and Information. Web. 09 Dec. 2011.

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. "Autumn." Bartleby.com. Web. 09 Dec. 2011.

"The Chambered Nautilus"

"The Chambered Nautilus" is a Romanticism poem because it is, in the literal sense, about nature and can be taken in two different ways, one figuratively and one literally. The poem is literally about a shell that the narrator found and is comtemplating about the shell's past (Holmes). The sea brought the narrator the shell "Child of the wandering sea,/Cast from her lap, forlorn!" and as the narrator looks it over he notices the many "lustrous coils" that the shell has made over the years (Holmes lines 16, 23-24). Science today proves Holmes' statement to be true, as the chambered nautilus does gain one more chamber in its shell (Huff). For being written in 1858, the poem is scientifically accurate. The nautilus eats shellfish and goes to shore at night time (Huff). The cephalopod travels the oceans and Holmes uses that fact with the lines, "The venturous bark that flings/On the sweet summer wind its purpled wings/ In gulfs enchanted, where the siren sings,/ And coral reefs lie bare" (Holmes lines 3-6). That also reinforces the fact that this poem is from the Romanticism period as science is backing up the facts, but the poem is not classified as a Rationalist poem because instead of using the facts logically and for reason, Holmes invokes emotion and the peace of nature, indicating Romanticism.

Figuratively the chambered nautilus shell represents the adding on layers or chambers of wisdom, knowledge, and experience to life. After all, to grow emotionally as a person, one has to learn from the past and experience life, or in Holmes' terms:

"Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul,

As the swift seasons roll!

Leave thy low-vaulted past!

Let each new temple, nobler than the last,

Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,

Till thou at length art free,

Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea!" (Holmes 29-35)

This can also be interpreted as growing spiritually as the shell is being outgrown "by life's unresting sea" and becoming "free" which symbolizes dying and going to Heaven (Huff). I also believe that Oliver Wendell Holmes is referring to archeology. Finding a chambered nautilus shell and wondering and imagining the life that it lived in the massive ocean is a daunting task. It could have been the king of the chambered nautilus or a mother nautilus who was eaten by a predator. Similar to archeology where archeologists dig up the past and determine what really happened, shells and bones are examined to see what stories can be discovered. The chambered nautilus shell had "irised ceilings" and was a "ship of pearl" (Holmes 1, 14). By the adjectives alone, a majestic, white nautilus comes to mind who goes on adventures rival of those of Jason and Odysseus. Or the nautilus could have been the prettiest girl nautilus, rival of Helen, and gotten all of the boy nautilus. That is the beauty of interpretation, anything is possible. One archeologist might see a skeleton that used to be a brave and noble prince who fought many battles, while another might see the same skeleton but who was a street rat who had to fight to survive. The imagery and figurative language that Holmes invokes allows each reader to have their own interpretation of the chambered nautilus and its adventures in acquiring its chambers.

Holmes, Oliver Wendell. "The Chambered Nautilus." Bartleby.com. Web. 07 Dec. 2011.

Huff, Randall. "'The Chambered Nautilus'." The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 07 Dec. 2011.

Washington Irving

Both of Washington Irving's short stories, "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Devil and Tom Walker" are examples of Romantic writing. Romanticism is not just defined as a piece of literature with romance and realism, but with an individual at the "center of life" with high regard for "individual thought and response" and includes a sympathetic view on the "past, primitivism, sensibility, nature, mysticism, and the grotesque" (Werlock). "Rip Van Winkle" has a protagonist who lives a charitable life, aiding others and helping out whenever he can, except at home (Irving, "Rip"). He sets a bad example for his two children because he does not do as his wife says and his farm and home are faltering. A "sympathetic" view of the past and mysticism are exemplified in this short story when Rip Van Winkle falls asleep after drinking from a keg of liquor and wakes up twenty years later (Irving, "Rip" paragraph 25). Rip Van Winkle slept through the Revolution in America! When he went up to the highest peak in the Catskill Mountain, "his majesty", George the third, was king and ruler of the colonies in America (Irving, "Rip" paragraph 13 line 6). When Rip woke up and went back into town, he saw a poster of General George Washington in the place of King George III (Irving, "Rip" paragraph 33). That time period of American history was very important and changed many things in everyday life, as Rip Van Winkle experienced by the barrage of questions that the townsfolk asked of him when he ventured down from the mountains (Irving, "Rip" paragraph 35). The mysticism of the short story is how Rip Van Winkle slept for twenty years because he drank some sort of mysterious liquid that was given to him by a stranger who knew him by name (Irving, "Rip" paragraph 19).

"The Devil and Tom Walker" by Washington Irving is another example of a Romanticism piece of literature, but for different reasons than "Rip Van Winkle". "The Devil and Tom Walker" centers around a man who is not very "romantic" with his wife and shows a lot of individual thought and responses for the situations that he is put in. There is a "sympathetic" view of human nature in this short story. Tom Walker made a deal with the devil that he will give his services if the devil gives him riches (Irving, "Devil" 247). But Tom has enough of a moral compass and ethics to say no to running a slave ship. While being an usurer is still bad and hurts people, the job still comes with less guilt and self remorse and regret then being a slave trader. Tom could not bring himself to do that which shows that he has a set of morals and sticks to it, no matter how much riches he could have earned (Irving, "Devil" 247). Until one poor land jobber finally broke Tom's resolve when he was an old man, Tom lived out his life with the constant struggle of trying to make himself feel better about cheating people out of their money, when they do not have any to spare. When that poor land jobber begged for an extension, Tom cried out "The devil take me if I have made a farthing" (Irving, "Devil" 249). As Tom has made a lot of money from the man, the devil came and took his life. The character of Tom Walker showed Washington Irving's view of human nature when it came to how far a man would go for riches. "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Devil and Tom Walker" are both Romanticism pieces, but are told with different characteristics of a Romantic story.



Irving, Washington. "Rip Van Winkle." Bartleby.com. Web. 06 Dec. 2011.

Irving, Washington. "The Devil and Tom Walker." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 240-250. Print.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "Romanticism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 06 Dec. 2011.

"Thanatopsis"

"Thanatopsis" is a really depressing poem. Which makes sense as the title translates from Greek to "Meditation on Death" or "View of Death" (Huff). "When thoughts of the last bitter hour" (Bryant lines 8-9) and talk of "the narrow house" (Bryant line 12) or coffin refer to dying and what happens after a body is dead. The next lines are about the dying process, "and thee the all- beholding sun shall see no more" (Bryant lines 17-18) and "in the cold ground" (Bryant line 19) which also points to this poem being depressing. While dying and death is not a glamorous thing, William Cullen Bryant makes it a grim and morose affair. After having ten lines be about ending up in the ground and having nature spread out over and in one's body (Bryant lines 20-30), Bryant brings up a happy, reassuring point with the next stanza about kings and being laid to rest by famous, wise, and brave people.

Yet not to thine eternal resting-place
Shalt thou retire alone, nor couldst thou wish
Couch more magnificent. Thou shalt lie down
With patriarchs of the infant world,—with kings,
The powerful of the earth,—the wise, the good,
Fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past (Bryant lines 31-36)

The thought of being buried in the ground where King Arthur, Cleopatra, Queen Elizabeth I, Charlemagne, Homer, Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln, Sam Houston, Voltaire, etc. are buried is a magnificent and awe inspiring thought. I had never thought of being buried after dying with that mind set before. That stanza alone could get people to chose burial over cremation. The closest one could come to meeting Alexander the Great is to be covered with the same dirt that could have touched his body or the same earth that he walk and live on. That noglastic feeling of reaching out for a piece of our past is something that every human feels at some point of their life. Bryant says that there are "millions in those solitudes, since first the flight of years began, have laid them down in their last sleep— the dead reign there alone" (lines 55 -57). That is why death should not be feared or should be a lonely thing. There are "millions" of other lonely dead souls buried in the ground. Bryant tells the reader to take comfort in that and not be lonely as there are many, many others that can be lonely with you.

To keep from being overly depressing with the constant talk of death and being laid to rest, Bryant points out that at least when the reader dies, he or she has lived more of their life than "the speechless babe" who died before its time (Bryant line 70). Whether the reader is a "matron and maid", "gray-headed man", or "youth in life's green spring", everyone ends up in the ground at one time or another (Bryant lines 68-70). William Cullen Bryant tells the reader to have a "unfaltering trust" in whatever faith and to not be afraid of death because it takes everyone and everyone will end up together in the ground (Bryant line 79). To correct my opinion, "Thanatopsis" is still a depressing poem, but I took a lot from it and appreciate what Bryant had to say on death.


Bryant, William Cullen. "16. Thanatopsis." Bartleby.com. Web. 23 Nov. 2011.

Huff, Randall. "'Thanatopsis'." The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 23 Nov. 2011.

Journal 19 - Circle of Life

From an early age, we are taught about the cycles of life, thanks to Disney movies. The Lion King not only discusses the cycles of life and death, but does it with nature and spirituality. Mufasa explains to young Simba about the circle of life using the surroundings. From what I remember (its been a while since I have seen the movie, and no longer can quote directly from it) Mufasa explains how the antelope eat the grass, then the lions eat the antelope, and when the lions die, than they become part of the ground and the cycle starts over again with the grass. It is very important to learn about the cycle of life and death. Being exposed to it at a young age helps little kids out with death of family members, pets, rabbits, poor little Bambis that people shoot. Using nature to describe the cycle of life and death helps with younger children as they can relate more to the fantasy and almost make believe side of the animals, as opposed to reality with humans dying. Spirituality also helps explain the cycle. Different religions explain it in different ways. From the ones that I know, I will mention and refer too. Hindus belief that we are reborn as another animal or organisms depending on how we lived our lives. Christians believe that after we die we go to Heaven, where we wait for other loved ones to join us and we all live in an eternity of peace and happiness. Ancient Greeks believed that everyone goes to a place called Hell when they die, then are judged and sent to one of three different places to live for the rest of eternity, the Pits of Tartarus, the Elysian Field, or wait for judgement in the Asphodel Meadows. Some chose to be reborn again, initiating the cycle of life to start over once more. Without nature and spirituality to help explain the cycle of life and death there would be much argument. Norsemen would argue that the cycle ends with Valhalla, others a Heaven like paradise, or an eternal hell like place of torture. Nature is something that everyone agrees on and can teach a unified theory, like in the Lion King, to little children so they understand death better.

Fireside Poets

The Fireside Poets' style of writing was much different than the previous periods of Rationalism and Puritanism. The Fireside Poets wrote in the Romantic time period where their writing was of family, patriotism, nature, love, and religion ("Fireside" 211). As opposed to Rationalist writers who were Deists and believed in reason, logic, and self- improvement, the Romantic writers valued feelings and instinct over logic and reason (Boucquey). They believed that nature was something to be cherished and loved, not something to study and find out how it works. The Romanticism period was nothing like the Puritan period where God and the Bible were the models for all the writing. Romantic writing was about inner experiences and faith in oneself, not in God and the Bible. Puritan writing was also traditionally formal and avoided figures of speech or any instance when their writing could be interpreted in a different way (Divine). Romanticism writing was often poetry where the stanzas could be taken in many different ways, figuratively and literally ("Fireside" 210).

The Romantic heroes were not always educated (or focused on education as Puritan stories empathized), as Puritan protagonists were in the stories, nor was their any emphasis on education, just on discovering things through personal journey or experience ("Fireside" 211). Romantic heroes also "avoid town life" which would have outraged Puritan writers who believed that the community (at least of the elect) was essential to having a good relationship with God, in sickness or in heath, for better or for worse (Divine). The subject of Rationalist writing was not necessarily a hero, but normally just the author in a journal, diary, speech, pamphlet, or essay (Boucquey). The Rationalist writers wrote about scientific experiments, God's clockmaker like relationship with the humans on Earth, and how to better themselves (Boucquey). The Puritans wrote about how God interacted with their everyday lives and if they were one of the Elect, as well as one of the Damned, how they ran their lives to be a living embodiment of what God created humans to be and to be a good Christian soul (Divine). Many of the Romanticism period writings had subjects that were not human ("Fireside" 211). William Cullen Bryant portrayed "the American landscape in words", but still managed to make his poems as interesting to read as a poem with a human hero ("Fireside" 210). Romanticism heroes were common folk who became legends as the stories were told around fires and taverns throughout America ("Fireside" 211).

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem in 1863 that is still quoted in 2011, "Listen my children and you shall hear/ Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,/ On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;/ Hardly a man is now alive/ Who remembers that famous day and year." (Longfellow). The poem brings about a sense of patriotism and love for America. None of the previous literature periods had that sense of love for our country. The Puritan period showed love for God, compassion toward others to show that one was an Elect, and a sense of companionship as they prayed together and lived in a community with everyone interconnected (Divine). The Rationalism period brought about the love of science and all things involving reason and logic. While these things did bring about change for the better for America, there was not any pride of the country associated with it. The Romanticism period changed that. America was loved for the first time in literature and everyone found a sense of pride for their country when reading works from this period.



Boucquey, Thierry, gen. ed. "Rationalism." Encyclopedia of World Writers, 14th through 18th Centuries. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web 22. Nov. 2011.

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

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. "Paul Revere's Ride." The EServer. Iowa State University. Web. 22 Nov. 2011.

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

Journal 18 - Autumn Day

My perfect autumn day would be about 60 degrees with a slight breeze. Not enough to be chilled, but enough to have some movement and rustling among the leaves. The sound of the rustling leaves moving in the trees before releasing their grasp on the branches and slowly drifting downwards to the ground reminds me of jumping into what seemed like massive piles of leaves that my dad would rake up when I was little. My sister and I would "help" him, but we always would rake a small pile, watch it blow away, then rake the leaves up again. The crunch of the leaves on my feet as I leaped through the air and launched myself at the pile matched the crunch of the leaves under my feet as I would take a walk on a perfect autumn day, giving me a nolgastic feeling of my youth. As the soft breeze tosses my blonde hair in the wind, I would tie it up in a ponytail, only for a couple of strands to break free and enjoy the feeling of the wind tossing them to and fro. As I stroll down the street, taking a brisk walk around the neighborhood to enjoy the weather, I smell several grills being fired up for one of the last times of the year; people trying to get that last cookout or barbecue of the year. Hamburgers, hot dogs, potatoes, oh my! I grow hungry as I turn the corner wondering what I would have for dinner later. As I continue walking I see someone burning leaves, trying to be discreet because my neighborhood is withing city limits and burning leaves is not allowed. The smell of the burnt leaves gives him away. The once pretty, green, red, yellow, and brown leaves shrivel up and the remains catch in the wind blowing around like the scene from Pocahontas when she sings about the colors of the wind. That should be the theme song for autumn, with its variety of colors and the wind blowing the falling leaves each which way that it feels like. I would continue on with my walk hearing the fallen leaves rustle and crumple under my feet. When I would get home I would do my homework near a window so I could watch "the colors of the wind" and the leaves fall ever so delicately from the trees and enjoy that perfect autumn day.

Journal 17 - Bonding with Nature

There are woods behind my neighborhood, Harrison Park, that I used to explore when I was little. There was a couple of man made bridges that I discovered in my attempts to cross the "river" (okay it was a stream, but when it had rained and there was a lot of water, it was very wide). But of course, I was a curious little kid and had to find other means to cross the river. There was a tire in the middle of the stream that seemed stable. I decided to jump on it and use it as a stepping stone to cross the wide river. It was not stable. I bonded with nature as I went face first in the cold water and my foot sunk into the mud. The tire completely sunk into the mud and disappeared. As did my left shoe. I climbed out of the bank and laid down in the soft warm grass. Then I realized my shoe was still in the river. I was already wet so I figured jumping back in would not hurt anything. Of course my mother disagreed when she got a look at me when I returned home, but that does not matter. I fished around in the creek until I found my shoe. I hopped out and tried to get as much mud off myself as I could with the surrounding leaves and branches. There was a breeze and I was quickly chilled to the bone. So I decided that was enough adventuring for the day and backtracked across the bridge and headed home. I tried to sneak in the house without being noticed, but that is hard when you squish with every step. That was my up close experience with nature. I learned that the bottom of a creek, and the objects in them are not as stable as they appear to be. I also learn that I am immune to poison ivy as there was a leaf stuck to the back of my shirt that was a poison ivy leaf (I guess picking leaves from the ground and bushes is not the smartest thing to do).

Journal 16 - Tools

There are many tools that could be used to overcome the distance with the Farminton kids.I created a Today's Meet as an extra option for our group. It allows us to have instant textual communication with each other and the comments stay and all the members of the group are able to see it. I sent them a link to it in case we decided to use that to communicate. I also feel like we are going to use Twitter. When we Skyped with the other school they said that they love Twitter. Skyping is another way to communicate also. Seeing the members in a face to face communication will help everyone as that is what we are used to. Personally Skyping (with no lag or delay) will be the best for me as that is closest to physically meeting the group. Another way is Facebook. The majority of high school students have a Facebook and check it all of the time. That will be a convenient way of communicating as we constantly check Facebook. Personally I would like to email. I check my email a lot. I am just that kind of person. Hopefully my group members will be okay with email as that is my preference in this endeavor. Also I hope that my group does what they are supposed in terms of the video as that will lower my stress levels. I am leaning to video editor, but as non of my group have emailed back, we shall wait and see.

Another tool is common sense. If we all use common sense then the video will go so much smoother as everyone will do their part and we will be able to finish on time with an A. Common sense means that if someone has a problem they will communicate it with the group and together we will all resolve it. It also entails that if someone can not do the work then we all pitch in to help. Common sense means that everyone does their part and pulls their weight in the total group effort. Hopefully all of Group 21 has common sense and does their share of the work. This should be a very fun project if everyone has common sense and I do not get stressed about it.

Journal 15 - Challenges

Freshmen year in IED (Intro to Engineering) we did a Skype project with a class in Normal and had to design and produce a locker shelf, with each group having parts from each school. It was difficult as they had microphones and we did not. We could listen to them, but had to respond by text. We managed to overcome those difficulties and produce a successful group project. The Farmington project is very similar, but if anything should be easier as we have more communication options. We can "meet" on Facebook, Twitter, Google, Skype, etc. as opposed to being limited to text communication on a very slow and laggy internet. A problem of not being able to physically meet with our partners is the face to face aspect of communication. It is harder to convey points without being able to register their emotional response and their body language.

There are many tools that could be used to overcome the distance with the Farminton kids.I created a Today's Meet as an extra option for our group. It allows us to have instant textual communication with each other and the comments stay and all the members of the group are able to see it. I sent them a link to it in case we decided to use that to communicate. I also feel like we are going to use Twitter. When we Skyped with the other school they said that they love Twitter. Skyping is another way to communicate also. Seeing the members in a face to face communication will help everyone as that is what we are used to. Personally Skyping (with no lag or delay) will be the best for me as that is closest to physically meeting the group. Another way is Facebook. The majority of high school students have a Facebook and check it all of the time. That will be a convenient way of communicating as we constantly check Facebook. Personally I would like to email. I check my email a lot. I am just that kind of person. Hopefully my group members will be okay with email as that is my preference in this endeavor.

Another challenge is personality. All of the group members could have different personalities and can have conflicts. If another member of the group and I both try to be leaders, problems can ensue if we can not work together. Hopefully we can all get along and communicate well and every one does their work how and when they are supposed to. Ideally that will happen. Fingers crossed that will happen. Time will tell.

Ben Franklin's Virtues

Benjamin Franklin was an ingenious man. Credited with the invention of the stove, the library, the lightening rod, the postal office, and much more (Divine). He also was an influential political figure that affected the Constitution and was the oldest signer of the Declaration of Independence. Ben Franklin also was a great writer. From Poor Richard's Almanac to articles in newspapers, Franklin's writings appeared every where in colonial America (Divine). With all of those praises, you would think the man would have some major short comings or some sort of character flaw. Franklin broke the mold and did not have any character problems. He actually tried to better his character into something that he could be more proud of. Franklin knew that he could improve himself and become a better person and have better qualities. Those characteristics or virtues became the basis idea behind his System of Thirteen Virtues (Franklin 149-150).

The thirteen virtues that Franklin selected not only are things that he personally needed to work on, but things that he believed every man should exhibit. The thirteen virtues were temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. Humility was the virtue that Franklin added in later as his "Quaker friend" pointed out to him that he was a very proud man and that Franklin's pride "showed itself frequently in conversation" (Franklin 162). By realizing the problem and understanding that to fix it, he had to put in hard work, Franklin slowly chipped away at his pride until he could have a conversation with someone without it showing or demeaning someone. The other twelve virtues consisted of things that Franklin knew were the success to a happy, successful, likeable life.

Franklin was successful in making himself a better person for two reasons. The first is that he went through his Virtue System religiously and for several years, and the other is that they actually improved his life. To actually follow through with that large and complex plan is a testament to Ben Franklin's character. Not everyone finishes what they start out to do, let alone for years. The thirteen virtues aided out Franklin with than just character; his lifestyle was increased. Franklin believed that temperance attributed to his "long continued life", frugality to his riches and acquisition of his fortune, and sincerity and justice added to his patriotism and belief that the country is fair and honorable (Franklin 159-160). The virtue of order gave Franklin the most trouble, but also brought the best reward (Franklin 157). Franklin's definition of order was "Let all your things have their place; let each part of your business have its time" which means that his goal was to separate out his day so business and pleasure did not mix (Franklin 149). To aid in that quest, Franklin created an hour by hour schedule of his day to ensure that not only every minute was productive, his activities were ordered so that his priorities were straight. Keeping to that schedule proved difficult as Franklin realized that it was hard to end all work at a certain time as sometimes events happen at different parts of the day and someone might bring in something to get published or have something for Franklin to do after the allotted work hours were over. He did improve on all of the virtues as the cycles were completed.

Bloom, Harold, ed. "The Character of Franklin." Benjamin Franklin, Classic Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web 31. Oct. 2011.

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

Franklin, Benjamin. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Henry Altemus, 1895. Print.

Deist Ben Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was not a man of great faith, but did think of himself as religious (Franklin 144-145). He believed that their was a Deity that made the world, the soul was immortal, all good deeds are rewarded either "here or hereafter", and Franklin believed those beliefs were the core of all religions (Franklin 145). Because he believed the aforementioned things are involved in all religions, he tolerated all of America's religions. Franklin is an excellent example of a Deist because his beliefs hold true with the definition of Deism: "holding the belief that God is consistent with human reason, but not with the beliefs of specific religions that claim truth on the basis of divine revelation" (Quinn). Franklin never mentioned anything about reincarnation, God interfering with everyday lives, God using people to show His great powers, or Jesus living on through or inside of people (Christian belief), but based off the Autobiography. Franklin did mention that the people he wanted to model himself after were Jesus and Socrates (Franklin 150). He did not say the son of God, Jesus Christ. Franklin just said the man Jesus which reinforces that Franklin was a Deist.

Through Deistic beliefs, Franklin better himself with a Book of Virtues. Each of the thirteen virtues helped him become a better person in all aspects of his life. Deists had to create their own standard of living as they believed that God had not and will not interfere with the Earth and He did not put a model of behavior on the planet (Deists believed that Jesus was just a man, a great man, but flesh and blood regardless) to base their lives upon (Imbarrato). Franklin chose thirteen virtues that he need to either work on personally or knew that those were things that every man should strive to exemplify (Franklin 150-151). Using those virtues Franklin made himself a better person, but not because some God or Goddess told him too. He did it purely for himself. Franklin included a prayer to God in his Book of Virtues to help to keep him on the right track (Franklin 155). He did so because Deists believe that God created the world and then left it be in a sort of watchmaker like effect (Imbarrato). In being the Creator, God is all powerful and all knowing. That is why Franklin wrote a prayer asking for His wisdom and strength as he goes on a journey to better himself with his virtue system (Franklin 155).

In a different part of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Franklin states that he was raised as a Presbyterian, but found their beliefs of "the eternal decree of God, election, reprobation, etc" "unintelligible" and questionable (Franklin 144). It was at that point in his life that Franklin became a Deist and started contemplating how to make his life more productive and better in a general sense. The switch in view points showed Franklin's open mind. He was not only able to physically change his way of living, but also kept an open and tolerant mind toward people who did not share the same beliefs.


Franklin, Benjamin. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Henry Altemus, 1895. Print.

Imbarrato, Susan Clair, and Carol Berkin. "Deism." Encyclopedia of American Literature, Revised Edition: Settlement to the New Republic, 1608–1815, vol. 1, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web 25. Oct. 2011.

Quinn, Edward. "Deism." A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web 25. Oct. 2011.

Journal 14 - Franklin's Apprentice

If I was alive during the Colonial times and Ben Franklin chose me to be his apprentice, then I would be a happy person. Franklin would open up so many possibilities. He was a Renaissance man and I would learn many different trades. Plus I could have the opportunity to have my name preserved in history alongside Franklin as the co- inventor or assistant of the stove, or the library, or the lightening rod, or the fire department, or anything from the long list of things that he invented. Franklin accomplished so much during his life time. Just to meet him would be an honor. If I was his apprentice, I could have attended the Constitutional Congress with him as his aide because he was elderly and might not have been able to keep adequate notes or write down what the different people were saying. Franklin signed the Declaration of Independence! To have witnessed all of the men signing that, and possibly touching one of the most important pieces of paper in the United States of America's history would have been amazing!

But I am a girl. I would have been lucky during Colonial times to get a formal education that might rival one of my male peers. To be Ben Franklin's apprentice? Ha! Women could not hold jobs, so what was the need to have an apprenticeship for? Even after the Revolutionary War, women could not vote or hold a position in the government. The only right that women had was to divorce their husbands and to own land in some states. Maybe I could befriend Franklin's apprentice and hear all about it from him. Or if I married an influential man who knew Franklin, then maybe under the radar I could talk to Franklin and learn from him or assist him in his projects. But if I were to chose a man to have an apprenticeship with during Colonial times, it would be Franklin as had the most variety with his talents and was remembered in history for many different things (as opposed to Alexander Hamilton who was remembered for being a Federalist and for being the genius behind the American banking system).

Journal 13 - American Dream

Today's American Dream is much different than what it was in the 1700s. Back then the Dream was to be the best person that one could be and to better yourself and your country. Then in the 1800s and 1900s the Dream changed. The American Dream morphed into becoming a successful person and making a name for yourself. Many immigrants came to America to have a better life and to become rich. Sometimes it worked out, but for the majority of the immigrants, their lives were hard. Now the American Dream is different. The Dream has changed to more of an individual goal seeking. Everyone wants to make it to the top, but the sense of companionship is not the same as in colonial times. As economic times change, the definition of successful changes. In the 1700s being successful was having enough food, receiving a good education, having a nice house and nice clothes, and marrying a good man or woman. Jobs were not as important as most sons did whatever trade their fathers were trained in. Jobs were not so much status quo as they are now. In today's time leading a successful life means that you are leaving either above your means (to show high status, even when incurring debt) or living a high standard life off of the money that you make in your successful powerful job. Having a healthy family is no longer a part of the American Dream. Many people now do not have children and are happy with their lives and have fulfilled their dreams. One hundred years from now the American Dream will change again as situations and the environment changes. My American Dream is to have the opportunity to receive an excellent education over the course of my young adult life and to have the opportunity to do whatever I want to do, whether it is go up into space and visit other planets (and maybe other races? That is the Trekkie in me talking) or designing a warp drive.

Journal 12 - Right or Wrong

If I had the opportunity to decide what was right or wrong I would probably decline the opportunity. That is a very large responsibility. But if I did have to make right or wrong rules then this is what I would do: It is right to listen to your elders and those in higher power than you, but it is wrong for those elders and people in power do abuse that respect and take advantage of the younger ones. It is right to learn as much knowledge as one possibly can to better oneself, but it is wrong to deny others of that knowledge or the opportunity to learn. It is right to respect fellow human beings, and it is wrong to take advantage of them.

Wow, these sound like commandments. I did not mean for my rules to be so strict, but the rules have to be said because if they are not documented people will take advantage of other people. For some informal rules, it is wrong to kill, steal, or disrespect. It is also wrong do abuse drugs and alcohol, although in moderation alcohol is socially acceptable. That should be common sense, but as the Founding Fathers found out not all people have the same idea about what is right and wrong. I know that stealing is wrong, but some people do it anyway and do not think twice about it. Everyone has their own opinion of right and wrong which is why everyone's rights are physically written down in the Bill of Rights. The Ten Commandments is also a recorded set of things that are right and wrong. If one person thinks it is okay to steal from another, a different person can look at the Commandments and see that it is wrong to steal from others and use the Commandments as a guide for what is right and what is wrong. For a nerdy example, the Prime Directive tells explorers when it is okay to interfere with a new race of people or a newly found society. Those guidelines tell what is right and wrong in a situation. But as all rules can, people interpret them differently. Which is why it boils down to each individual's sense of right and wrong.

Benjamin Franklin

Ben Franklin is definitely not from the Puritan time period. His autobiography does not involve God or the Bible (although the first house he sleeps in is a Quaker house of worship), nor did he reference religion in the describing the people's day to day activities, instead contributing it to the "spirit of Independence" (Franklin 107-108). As Franklin did not share beliefs with the Puritans, it is easy to compare differences. Franklin was a Deist, a man whose philosophies are reason and natural laws dominate the world, as opposed to William Bradford or Mary Rowlandson who were Puritans and believed in similar things as Catholics, but without the tainted clergy of the English Catholic faith (Divine). Mary Rowlandson knew that the "elect", or God's saved people, will aid her in her time of need as they will pray for her (Rowlandson 83). Benjamin Franklin took heart in the fact that other people will help him out through the goodness of their hearts and the united feeling of freedom and independence the colonists shared (Franklin 108). William Bradford was a leader like Franklin, but Bradford led through God. He saw signs of God everywhere: the sailor's death, the six "elect" people taking care of the contagious sick people (Bradford 15, 65). Franklin led the colonists through Rationalism, or logical thinking and reasoning abilities (Divine). He made decisions based on facts and research (I do believe I sense a Green personality) and was a great philosopher. Franklin was a scientist who invented many things, a writer whose works are still read today, and a politician who is read about in history class (Franklin 104). Franklin led with his mind, while Bradford led with his heart and soul (Jesus lives in everyone's heart, or so I am told by priests and souls go to Heaven when the body dies, therefore I chose those body parts to personify for this statement). Mary Rowlandson draws strength from her faith and the fact that God was looking out for her (Rowlandson 83). Franklin draws strength from the fact that his fellow man will go the extra mile to better himself and seek out freedom and independence (Franklin 108).

The Rationalism period differs from the Puritan writing period as the times in the country have changed. No longer is it a struggle to stay alive in the harsh winters and fight off the "savage" Indians for land in America (Divine). In Franklin's time cities were flourishing and the British helped fend off (sort of, see the AP US text book for reasons why the British failed in that aspect as I could rant about that for a long period of lines) the Indians (Divine). The environment in which Mary Rowlandson grew up and endured as an adult greatly varied in comparison with Ben Franklin. Rowlandson was captured by Indians and had to march from location to location, selling what she could to scrape by with small amounts of food (Rowlandson 84). Franklin came from a poor family of seventeen children, but made himself a better person and took advantage of every opportunity that came his way (Franklin 104). If business ventures like the ones that Franklin was involved in were around during Rowlandson's time (and assuming she was not captured by Indians, although she did have a nice little business going for her), then maybe her life could have been different. But because it was not we got a nice piece of literature by the name of "A Narrative of Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson" that reflected her point of view in the Puritan time period in which she was alive during.


Bradford, William. "from of Plymouth Plantation." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 15, 62-67. Print.

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

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

Rowlandson, Mary. "A Narrative of Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 82-85. Print.

Journal 11 - Aphorism

"Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." That is Murphy's Law and is absolutely true (hence the law suffix as opposed to a theory). Those short eight words summarize so much in life. While the aphorism is a law of physics, it still applies to real life. Last year in Principles of Engineering (POE) we made a marble sorter out of Fischertechniks. The programming was sound as well as all of our mechanical parts and hopper. In theory everything should have been fine and dandy. In our test runs, my group encountered no major problems with the sorting and everything was working as it should. But of course, when the time came for the sorting to be graded, the marble sorter had glitches and funny things happened. Mr. Conklin and the rest of the class knew that my group's sorter works, as they had seen it many times before. But as Murphy;s Law states, anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Our sorter developed a temper and any time Mr. Conklin came near it with a clip board and rubric, the marbles got stuck on the track, the arms did not go up and down properly, the light sensor read the marble as a wrong color. But as soon as we fixed things and ran it again it was fine. At least until the rubric came near it.

One of my favorite ancient aphorisms is "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts". I have read the Iliad several times and in it Laocoön said the aforementioned aphorism. Homer technically wrote it down, but both share credit. In the Iliad the Greeks brought a large wooden horse, a Trojan horse, in front of the gates of Troy. Of course the Greek soldiers led by Odysseus were inside of the horse, waiting until the Trojans were sleeping to attack, but no one listen to poor Laocoön. In the book that I am reading, The Son of Neptune, Greek and Roman demigods meet for the first time in centuries. One of the Romans warned, "beware of Greeks bearing gifts" when a large floating ship, the Argo II, flew over their camp. I thought it was ironic that I was reading about aphorisms while learning about them in English.

Thomas Paine

"The Crisis, No. 1" is a very important piece of writing in the Revolutionary Period in America. Thomas Paine, who wrote "The Crisis, No. 1" also wrote the pamphlet that started the rebellion that led to the Revolutionary War, "Common Sense" (Divine). After the Revolutionary War had started Paine wrote the first "Crisis" (Paine 132). The pamphlet was very influential at that time. General George Washington"ordered that this first pamphlet be read out loud at every military campground" (Paine 132). Paine wrote very persuasively toward his idea of independence against England. If his writings were not persuasive propaganda, then we would not be reading the pamphlets today. Similar to Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine expressed his idea eloquently through his writing with enough good points to hide the name calling propaganda and faulty logic (Paine 134-136).

Thomas Paine's "The Crisis, No. 1", is an example of a Rationalist piece of writing because of two main things: his skepticism of European ideas and the "absolute right of monarchs to rule their countries" (Boucquey). Paine is skeptical about England having the right to impose taxes on its colony (Paine 134). The majority of European countries tax their all territories whether they are colonies or not (Divine). But what makes America's case different is the fact that England viewed the American colonies with a state of salutary neglect, or completely ignored them. It was not until England saw how create a crop that tobacco was and then became in a huge amount of debt, that they threw the salutary neglect out the window and became involved in the colonists' lives. The loss of independence was a shock for the colonists who were used to being on their own (Divine). That is why the taxation was such a big deal to the colonists; they never had outside forces impacting their lives. I would not like it if England suddenly told me that they spent a ton of money losing a war against France and need my help (even if I had to pay part of the bill already as the Seven Year's War was fought on American soil and now my colony is in debt) to pay it because it is my "civil duty" to help the mother country (Divine). Thomas Paine agreed with my opinion and made it clear that the colonists needed to "lay their shoulders to the wheel... when so great an object is at stake" (Paine 136).

Paine completely believes that England does not have the right to have an "absolute rule" over the colonies, as in the phrase"tyranny, is like Hell" referring to the English rule in America (Paine 134). An ocean separates America from Britain and that wide gap is the difference of independence and British rule. If the colonies would have been in, say Spain, then England would have direct access and dictate the colonists' lives. But because of the Atlantic Ocean, the colonists had to have self- reliance as they could not wait months for a decision to get to England, be made, then sailed back. The whole "Crisis, No. 1" is about persuading the colonists to join the fight because the English are taking over the colonies, and it is not acceptable. Washington had it read to his troops because Paine's points were so concise and influential that even a Tory would have wanted to join the fight (Paine 132).


Boucquey, Thierry, gen. ed. "Rationalism." Encyclopedia of World Writers, 14th through 18th Centuries. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web 21. Sept. 2011.

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

Paine, Thomas. "The Crisis, No. 1." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 132-136. Print.

Declaration of Independence

The "Declaration of Independence"was not solely written by Thomas Jefferson. Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and two other (apparently less important as they were not mentioned) people helped edit and draft the document. With that aside, this monumental piece of writing still holds up to today's standards and has survived the ever changing English language (the style of writing used is much easier to read then Old English or any Shakespearean text) . The writing itself does have flaws though. There are a few instances of bad propaganda techniques and faulty logic. As a whole, the good points covered for the incorrect propaganda, as the American people remember the "Declaration of Independence" as a marvelous piece of writing, not something that is poorly constructed and insults all English people.

In the second paragraph the "Declaration of Independence" starts off with a sentence containing an error of weak reference. "That all men are created equal" is not a true statement (Jefferson 122). It is not true today, and it was certainly not true in the 1770s. The only people who were free during that time were white male land owners that were middle aged or older. Not only could women of any color, Indian men, or black men not vote or participate in the government, young white men had a very hard time getting involved in the government. The youngest person to sign the Declaration was 26 years old, but "the majority of the signers were in their thirties or forties" ("About the Signers"). Jefferson's statement was incorrect, although brings about feelings of hope and pride, as only a select group of people were "created equal" (Jefferson 122).

Later on in the "Declaration of Independence", Jefferson called the King of Great Britain a tyrant by indirectly referring to him by saying that cutting down on elected officials' representation was only "formidable to tyrants only" (Jefferson 123). Calling King George a tyrant is name calling propaganda. Normally that would make the reader turn away in disgust because no one wants to read something that tries to make their points by negatively referring to their opponents (and that is a generalization, but at least I acknowledge it and am aware of the fact that some people would be turned off by that type of writing). In this case, the audience of this document are Americans. Many people in America disliked the English, and calling the King a tyrant is not going to make them like England. The loyalist who already love England are not reading the "Declaration of Independence" to realize their love for America and the epiphany of King George's tyranny. The target group that the Declaration was written for would have only become more for the revolution with the "tyranny" name calling (Jefferson 123).

Another negative name calling propaganda that was used was "the merciless Indian savages, whose known rules of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions" (Jefferson 124). That breaks the name calling propaganda rule four times! The Indians were not all "merciless" and "savage". Maybe one Indian acted savagely to white stranger and the impression stuck. I know that their were many Indians who aided the white settlers such as Squanto and Sacajawea. The aforementioned Indians also did not fight in wars against white colonists or discriminate against "ages, sexes, or conditions" (Jefferson 124). While the colonists might have agreed with Jefferson, the line from the "Declaration of Independence" dates the document.

"About the Signers." Declaration of Independence - Constitution Facts. Oak Hill Publishing Company. Web. 27 Sept. 2011.

Jefferson, Thomas. "Declaration of Independence." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 97-99. Print.

"Recognizing Propaganda Techniques and Errors of Faulty Logic." Cuesta College. 06 Mar. 2011. Web. 27 Sept. 2011

Journal 10 - Logic

The vocabulary homework should be postponed as not everyone has access to a computer, and several people, including myself, have short amounts of computer time. The reflection blog takes up a good chunk of the allotted time as I have to read the story via a flash drive on the computer. Besides the 95% computer homework we get in English, several members of this class also have other computer homework. Wednesday we do not have a reflection blog for homework, therefore the computer time can be spread between today and Wednesday. Spreading the homework load between two class periods can ease the burden on people who do not have access to a computer as well as people with limited computer time. To make sure that the quality of the vocabulary homework is high and something to be proud of, the extra time will give no excuses to the students as that is the only homework on Wednesday. Even with sports and other homework, having an extra two days on the vocab allows more planning on the student's part. If a computer is needed at school, then they can get a PACE pass and work on it at school. With the extra time, the vocabulary homework should have a higher grade as well as have a higher rate of completeness amongst the class.

... (later on in class)

Okay now we do not have vocabulary this class! Which is good, as I really do not have time to work on any more homework as I am not going to be in class Friday because I will be in Rolla visiting Missouri S & T. I was invited to attend an engineering lock-in. Which is awesome, but I'm missing an AP Chem test as well as a Pre-Calc quiz. Therefore postponing the vocabulary homework until Wednesday is a relief as I can spend that extra 15 minutes studying for one of my tests or working on Edline. Thank you to Abby for having a well structured argument that convinced Mr. Langley to postpone the vocab homework.

Patrick Henry's Rationalism

Patrick Henry's speech is a very good example of a Rationalism piece of writing from the Enlightenment period in American culture. The Enlightenment was a time when people moved away from the religious ideals and theological government with the idea that logical and rational thinking can explain everything (Divine). As science became a bigger thing, and religion took a back seat (the Great Awakening did occur toward the end of the Enlightenment period, but as religion became popular in society and not in the government or thinking, religion was no longer a factor in political life) as the colonies moved to unification and toward the Revolutionary War (Divine). I am concurrently learning about this time period in AP United States History, therefore have a nice background into this particular time period of American history.

One Rationalistic view was of the monarch's right to "absolute power of their country" (Boucquey). Patrick Henry showed that view point in part of his speech: "Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort." (Henry 117). That quote exemplifies Patrick Henry's rationalism towards England and the king. He believes that the king is just using his military power as a last resort to get what he wants. The king's needs might not be what is best for the kingdom, provinces, or colonies, but because he thinks they are necessary then the king's word is final. Henry and other Enlightened people realized that the monarch's ultimate ruling power was not acceptable and started to do things about it. Patrick Henry used the power of rhetoric, debate, and emotional power to get his meaning across.

Another Rational influence on Patrick Henry's speech was his use of rhetorical questions that urged the audience to think for themselves and even though the answer was obvious or answered later in the speech, to give the audience the self confidence and morale boost that comes with the feeling of knowing something right or the answer to a question. Henry asks, "What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have?" (Henry 118). The two questions prompt an emotional response in the audience who want to yell back, "Freedom!" or "Independence!" or something along the lines of the end of British influence and to go back to a solitary colony ignored by the mother country. The last line of Patrick Henry's speech answers his rhetorical question. "... but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" (Henry 118).

Patrick Henry's ideas still are true today in this modern technological world. Rationalism is still a big part of today's literature and media. Many newspapers write their views of the political system with different rhetorical questions. While the majority of the newspapers are not technically committing treason or treason like offenses with their articles like Henry did, they are still expressing their opinions. Science is being used to explain phenomena that used to be associated with religion and God. As long as science still determines what is "real" or "not real", the Rationalist period continues onward.

Boucquey, Thierry, gen. ed. "Rationalism." Encyclopedia of World Writers, 14th through 18th Centuries. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web 21. Sept. 2011.

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

Henry, Patrick. "Speech to the Second Virginia Convention." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 97-99. Print.

Journal 9 - Emotional to Rational

I was recently in a very emotional situation and the resulting action was through a logical approach. Driving to swim practice in Petersburg after school yesterday I almost ended a life. I was on an old one lane country lane with my sister and Hannah Jackson in my car, just minding my own business. I was going relatively slow, about 45 mph, going down a hill in case a car was on the other side. As I was approaching the bottom, I point out a dog about 100 meters away on the right side of the road. As I did that, I was applying the brake and slowing down. Then all of the sudden my sister yells, "DOG!!!" and I slam on the brakes. The dog had ran in front of my car. I hit the brakes in time and did not kill the dog. I did bump it though. The dog did not fall down, and walked away in the direction it came. It walked slowly, but did not seem to have any injuries. That was the first time that I have even come close to hitting something. Not only was I upset, but Hannah and Olivia were freaking out. I finally convinced myself and them that the dog was fine, and that he would be fine and a little child will not have his childhood crushed as he lost his best friend. The logical side of me took over and banished the emotional and very slightly hysterical side away deep inside my brain. That was the first time that I had come close to running something over. It was very scarring, but I still had another 10 miles to drive before I reached PORTA and knew that I had to pull it together. I rationalized that as I had not only my sister's life in my hands, but I was also responsible for Hannah's life. I had to continue driving onward, although I drove extremely slow and cautious the rest of the way.

Journal 8 - Autumn

I do not like to spell Autumn. The silent n's always get me. In the Spanish translation that we just did for homework I misspelled solemn. Anyways I enjoy the season of autumn. It is just the right temperature. I like low 70s, upper 60s temperatures as opposed to below freezing temps or 90 plus temperature. Spring and fall (I prefer saying fall instead of autumn because not only is it only easier to spell, but one less syllable) are the best seasons because of the temperature and outdoor sports. I swim and throw shot and disc in track. Both of these sports need warm weather. Although swimming is outdoors, it is not very fun to walk out to your car in a wet suit and towel after practice is over in the freezing cold. Track meets are the best when it is slightly on the cool side, similar to temperatures in autumn.

To go back to something I mentioned above, why are the words fall and autumn interchangeable? They mean the same thing: season in between summer and winter with cool temperatures, trees whose leaves change color, and harvesting crops. I use autumn with formal writing and fall with informal writing. If I have time this weekend I might do some research on why there are two words for the season and when is it correct to use each term.

Autumn. A ton. A ton of dumb. Atone men. Ought to mend. Ought to get 'em. Out of Tums. That is very entertaining. I enjoy word games. Always Use Tylenol Unless Mother Neglects. All Universes Tend to Utilize Mother Nature. Americans Utilize The Ultimate Mighty Nose. I have been in Scholastic for too many years to not break down a word into such things like above. Autumn: nut, aunt, mat, tan, ant, man. Autumn is half vowels and half consonant. The two u's do not help with the anagram - like game.

Free write journals are fun. Autumn autumn autumn. And I am working on expanding my vocabulary and working my brain.

The Crucible and "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"

The last act of The Crucible was about how far John Proctor would go to save his life on Earth and to save his life in Heaven. He confessed to witchcraft orally, but would no sign the papers (Miller 142). He knows that God might have it in His heart to forgive his adultery sin and even his false claim to be in league with the devil. But John Proctor knew that God can not forgive him for physically signing a paper acknowledging that he was associated with the devil (Miller 142). The fear of not being able to ascend into Heaven upon death was enough to straighten John Proctor out and make him rearrange his priorities.

Jonathon Edwards's extremely pessimistic sermon (I have to admit that when the author and story title on the English lesson plan page, I thought it said Jonathon Edward "Scissor Hands of an Angry God". That is what I get for doing the blog last in my homework schedule this evening.) about how God "holds you over the pit of Hell" (Edwards 99). In a twisted way, John Proctor and Jonathon Edwards agree that God makes the choice of who goes to Heaven and who goes to Hell, as well as the fact that they both believe that themselves and everyone around them are going to Hell. Even in Grapes of Wrath there was the crazy Mrs. Sandry lady who believed that everyone was a Sinner and therefore was on a straight path toward eternal rot in Hell. That pessimistic view point was apparently a popular one. I would like to have assumed that the majority of people thought they were going to go to Heaven, but I guess many people believed that they did not deserve to go to Heaven because of the sins and crimes that they committed on this Earth.

The Crucible took place in 1692 (Miller) and Jonathon Edwards's sermon was first delivered in 1741 (Edwards). Even with the almost fifty year difference, the points made by The Crucible and Edwards's sermon were very similar. Edwards preached that now is the time, and possibly the only opportunity, to join with God deep inside and emotionally and physically, not just going through the motions of praying and reading the Bible (which Edwards mentions once, maybe twice, that will get you a spot in Hell [like the joke? Edwards basically tells his congregation that they are all terrible people who are going to burn in Hell because God does not want them, and for the entire sermon! The WHOLE entire thing!]). John Proctor is slightly more optimistic because he did not think he was going to Hell until he broke one of the Ten Commandments. Committing adultery was some pretty serious stuff back in Colonial America, as it is still today in the United States of America. That got Proctor a dangling spot "above the pit of hell" (Edwards 99). Then after he confessed to supposed witchcraft and being a devil worshiper, John Proctor realized that he had it better off with just the adultery against him. The devil worshiping thing would have got him a much worse spot in hell.

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

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts. New York, NY: Penguin, 2003. Print.

Journal 7 - Bullying

Bullying has always been a problem and will always be a problem in society. One of the first forms of bullying occurred in the beginning of human awareness when one Neanderthal was bigger, faster, and stronger than another Neanderthal and made fun of him (obviously it was not exactly verbal abuse, but probably something along the lines of physical abuse). Bullying has evolved from picking on people based on physical appearance or activeness to anything that can be viewed as different through verbal, physical, and emotional abuse. With the plethora of technology available today, cyber bullying is also a very important issue as well as the normal bullying that happens in every school in the world, and just like the War on Drugs and the War on Terror, bullying may be reduced, but it well never be eradicated.

The bully has problems. By making fun of someone else, they relieve the pressures and insecurities that they have through other people's pain and suffering. Even though everyone knows that through Bullying Prevention and all sorts of lesson plans and seminars that students have to sit through, people still bully. It is hard to break the habit, no matter if you know why you do it. The bullied person is always hurt in the situation whether it is physical or emotional. Some hide it on the inside, while some hide it on the outside. The introverted ones are the hardest to spot. Unless you are the bully or the bullied, it is very hard to pick up on the introverted people and that they are hurting on the inside. The bully victim could be not only physically harmed in the short run, but in the long run can be emotionally scarred.

In any situation an opportunity to make a mean comment is available. Withholding the comment and instead making a positive remark will help put a stop to bullying. Bullying can never be one hundred percent stopped, but each person can make a different by saying hello or complementing someone that they would normally not have talked to.

The Crucible - Human Nature

Throughout The Crucible, all of the characters exhibit human characteristics, causing the story to be personal and emotionally reachable. The human nature aspect that each of the characters exhibit gives them depth and is the difference between boring, forgettable characters and characters that stick with the reader and have an emotional impact on the reader. The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during the early 1690s in a time that we know we refer to as the Salem Witch Trials (Miller 3). The first thing that I thought of when pairing the phrase 'human nature' with The Crucible is fear. The fear that the people of Salem had for things not in the norm and the fear of difference brought forth the notorious Witch Trials (Miller). A group of young girls danced in the woods. That does not sound bad, evil, or an act that should be shunned; at least in our times. In Puritan Salem, people of any age were not allowed to dance in the woods, naked or not (Miller 10). As everyone knew and understood that rule, it was thought that the Devil possessed a person do break the law, as a good Puritan would never even dream of knowingly breaking any law. The girls, led by Abigail Williams, led everyone to believe that they were possessed by the Devil and bewitched to dance naked in the woods (Miller 10). But of course, they did not sign a contract with the Devil, they were cursed by a witch. At first the villagers believed that there was "No element of witchcraft her" (Miller 14). But as the fear spread, the belief of witches among the villagers spread like wild fire. Fear is a very important part to human nature. Fear is a motivator. Fear can motivate people to do things that they would normally never dream of doing. Most of the time it is not for the best though, as in the case of The Crucible when more than twelve innocent people died because of the fear of differences that ran high because of young girls blaming others to cover up for themselves (Miller 129).

Pride is another aspect of human nature represented in The Crucible. Many of the characters exhibit their need to have a good reputation and to be thought of in a good way. Abigail Williams does not want her "good name soiled" with accusations of adultery (Miller 12). Even though the accusations are true, Abigail does not want her name to be associated with negative opinions. Because of that pride, Abigail frames Elizabeth Proctor as a witch to get back at her. Also Abigail's pride leads her to call witch to cover up for her naked dancing in the woods. As there are no witches (I believe they do not exist, unless they attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry), Abigail was lying to cover herself up and protect her pride. John Proctor also tries to protect his "good name" after he commits adultery against his wife, Elizabeth, with Abigail Williams (Miller 143). He overcomes his pride, as he admits to his adultery to save innocent lives from being tried and hung as witches (Miller). His moral sense of righteousness conquers his pride until the end of the fourth act when he can not bring himself to sign a document that says he confesses to being in league with the Devil (Miller 143). His sense of pride triumphed in the end, which led to John Proctor's death.

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts. New York, NY: Penguin, 2003. Print.

Journal 6 - Misplaced Blame

Blaming someone for something that they did not do has repercussions for both parties. The person being wrongly accused for obvious reasons. In the case of The Crucible the wrongly accused are sentenced to death. That is an extreme case, but nonetheless the wrongly accused always suffer. The person doing the blaming usually is the person who did the act and does not want to take responsibility for it. By directly the blame onto someone else they get out of the consequences for their actions. Only if they are not figured out. If someone realizes what they have done, then the accuser will face consequences that are even more dire then what the original consequences were. The wrongly accuse will never completely be healed though. Even if the truth comes out, their reputation can not be reestablished that easy. Accusing someone of witchcraft for example is an awful thing to do. Even if they are proven to be innocent, they will be forever branded as a witch. To give an example in a less extreme case, my sister and I accuse each other of things that we know they did not do all of the time; as all siblings do. If the tooth paste is left out or the mirror on the downstairs bathroom has splatters on it, we blame each other. Half of the time my sister actually did do it, even if she accused me or my dad. About 35% of the time it is me, even if I still blame my sister for it. The remaining 15% it was my dad, but he never admits to it. Which is a problem as Olivia and I both get in trouble for it because we both tell my mother that we did not leave stuff out in the bathroom and will not admit to it as we did not do it. That is why blaming someone for something that they are innocent of is a bad habit to have, as it hurts yourself and the person you are blaming.

The Crucible - True Colors

In Arthur Miler's The Crucible, all of the characters have developed personalities. The characters were so well developed, that I can apply Carolyn Kalil's True Colors to each of the main characters. The four colors: gold, green, orange, and blue, represent four different characteristics. If someone is gold then they are a leader, planner, and get the job done on time and efficiently (Kalil). They are the bossy person who tends to be slightly have OCD and stress the rules. If someone is green then they are the problem solver, thinker, and also could lead (Kalil). The green people know that they are always right, and if they make a mistake they have to correct it because it bothers them to no end. If someone is orange they are the motivators and spontaneous (Kalil). They are the artsy people who tend to have a slight tendency to be ADHD. If someone is blue they are very helpful, romantic, and lovey-dovey (Kalil). They make people feel good about themselves and are the emotional support of the group. Everyone is primarily one of those aforementioned colors. Also, everyone has a dominant second color that shows in their personality. Arthur Miller's characters follow Kalil's True Colors and they each have a primary and secondary color.

John Proctor, for example, is primarily green and his secondary color is blue. Proctor is green because he is a thinker and knows he is right. When he messed up (cheating on Elizabeth with Abigail) he can only concentrate on fixing his mistakes, and knows that he might have to take a blow to his reputation before everything is settled and his mistakes have been fixed or reconciled (Miller 22). John Proctor is also secondarily blue as he is emotional and tries to communicate his problems with Elizabeth to her as well as tries to nicely inform Abigail that there is nothing between them, so her feelings are not crushed(Miller 54). But as she did not respond well to that, Proctor had to be angry and use force to get his point across (Miller 152).

Abigail Williams, the antagonistic, crazy girl, exhibits gold traits as her primary color. She is deceptive and even though she is a young girl, she places herself in a position of power over Salem (Miller 77). She is a leader, even if it is to death, fear, and terror. Abigail's secondary color is blue. She is a romantic and loves John Proctor, even if he no longer returns the feeling (Miller 150). She fantasizes about the two of them, even going as far as to accuse Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft (Miller 61). Elizabeth believes that Abigail "thinks to kill me, then to take my place" (Miller 61). Abigail is a very evil person, but falls into Kalil's True Colors spectrum with ease.

Reverend John Hale is definitely has a primarily green personality. He uses logic and book to try to figure out what is occurring in Salem (Miller 66-67). His books are "weighted down with authority" (Miller 66). Reverend Hale thinks before making rash decisions like in the case of accusing Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft (Miller 69). From what I have read in the first two acts, Hale does not strike me as to having a secondary color. After finishing the story, another color could become apparent. But Hale doesn't strike me as blue or orange. Maybe a tad bit gold, but there is not overwhelming evidence.

Kalil, Carolyn. "Carolyn Kalil's Personality Quiz." Follow Your True Colors. Web. 11 Sept. 2011.

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts. New York, NY: Penguin, 2003. Print.

Journal 5 - 21st Century Punishment

I believe that parents who take away their child's cell phone are hurting themselves as well as their child. Cell phones are such a great way of communication that we take for granted today. Parents have become used to instant communication with their children for sports practice, extra curricular activities, and social activities. After I pull into the church parking lot every morning at school I text my parents saying that I arrived safely. When I am in my car getting ready to leave swim practice in Petersburg I text my parents that I am leaving. With that information my mother knows when to have dinner ready and my dad will know if he will be home before or after I arrive, and can tell me which side of the garage to park behind. My parents never take my cell phone away as they will lose that communication and the reassurance that my sister and I have arrived at our destination safely. By parents taking away their child's cell phone they lose that instant communication. Taking away Facebook or an iPod would be the way to go if a parent wants to take away their kid's technology. I think another fair 21st century besides taking away technology is simple grounding. If a parent gave out a week's worth of grounding and enforced it, I believe that would be as effective as taking away technology. While virtually talking to people is great, it can not substitute physical human interaction. Grounding deprives a kid of that, causing an effective punishment. For people like myself who stays at home the majority of the time, grounding would not be as effective punishment if the kid does not go out with their friends all the time. In that case taking away a computer, television (or television show, I would go through a withdraw if my Warehouse 13 is taken away from me), or even books would be the most effective punishment. In the 21st century punishment is very different from the previous century's punishment. If I was to be punished in the 70's I would have been hit with a belt, spanked, soap in the mouth, or hit (hoorah for public schools without nuns armed with rulers) with wooden objects. In the 21st century physical punishment is no longer popular with cases of extreme punishment being called child abuse.

The Crucible - Puritan writing

The Crucible is about the Salem Witch trials conducted in colonial America during the late sixteen hundreds. The town of Salem was a part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Massachusetts was established as a refuge for English Puritans. Therefore the majority of the people who lived there were Puritans. The town of Salem was a typical Northern Colony, with the church or town meeting place being the center of the community and was governed through religious figures. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in 1953 (Miller), almost three hundred years after the Salem Witch Trials had started (Divine). Arthur Miller is not a Puritan, but did manage to relate the story of the Salem Witch Trials in a Purist manner.

Puritan writings referenced and acted as a model from the Bible. In The Crucible Reverend Parris preaches sermons with the intent of scaring people into straightening up and talks to great lengths about the Devil and Hell (Miller 29). He follows his own interpretation of the Bible. The Putnams on the other hand looked for God in their everyday lives. Ann Putnam believed that it was "not natural work" (Miller 39) that claimed the lives of seven out of the eight of her children. She and her husband also think that there is a witch in Salem; what else could explain all of the young girls' sudden illness? The girls themselves could not conjure up the Devil and confer and plot with it. Minister John Hale also gives the slave Tituba the reassurance that she was protected from the Devil because "the Devil can never overcome a minister" (Miller 46). Minister Hale draws that from the fact that he believes that he is one of God's chosen and one of the elite "elect", therefore the Devil can not harm him or any of those people that are under Hale's protection.

My favorite quote in Act One of The Crucible is Reverend Parris saying with a fury, "What are we Quakers? We are not Quakers here yet, Mr. Proctor. And you may tell that to your followers!" (Miller 30). In AP United States History, we are also talking about early colonial America (isn't that just convenient?) with the Puritans, Quakers, Pilgrims and Separatists, and Catholics. Therefore I find the Quaker joke quite humorous. Quakers are friendly people who speak their mind and believe that everyone can find their way to God through the Inner Light (Divine). They did not have the same theological government as Massachusetts had. For all of those aforementioned reasons, the Puritans were not exactly fans of the Quakers. The Puritans did not like the Catholics very much, but the Quakers were just intolerable. That is why the Parris quote struck me as funny; a Puritan (who is not known for speaking their mind so bluntly) flat out saying that Quakers are basically low lives that are something that they same in the same tone as a Democrat would say, "What are we Republicans?" (Divine). Oh the irony and hilarity of colonial intolerance of the supposedly tolerant Puritans.

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

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts. New York, NY: Penguin, 2003. Print.

Journal 4 - Traveling

In my sixteen years I have traveled a lot. Nevada, Arizona, Washington D.C., Texas, Florida, Kansas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin are a few examples. The longest trip that I have taken is to Florida where I spent six nights in Disney World. Vacations and long trips are good and bad. Good because a change in environment can be relaxing as well as a change in schedule can be a nice break from the stressful daily routine at home. Long trips can be bad as being gone from home for so long makes it hard to come home when such a fun time is commencing with family or friends. Also if the vacation is not planned well, the relaxing factor could be thrown out the window if what you thought you were going to go see or visit does not work out. That point could go the other way, depending on the type of person planning the vacation and who goes with them. If the trip is micro planned and every minute has an activity, then the spontaneous fun that comes with vacations.

The personal impact long trips and vacations have on me is knowledge. I always learn something when I go on vacation. I know that sounds weird, but it is true. My family went to Texas and visited the Johnson Space Center and saw a ton of cool NASA paraphernalia. I learned about the Ares Program that was going to send many rovers and eventually people to Mars (which was later scratched due to budget cuts, as I learned when I went to Florida's Kennedy Space Center two years later). Not all of my trips had the original root of knowledge seeking, but I still learn something every time. I have been to Disney World three times (ages 5, 9, 13). I learned something every visit. The first time I became aware of the fact that mermaids can breathe above water (thanks to meeting Ariel herself) and that walking cartoon characters do not speak because its just a person in a suit (Crazy right? What's next, Santa Claus isn't real?). The second trip Space Mountain broke and I saw the roller coaster with the lights on and with people working on it. Seeing the mechanics and technical parts of such a cool ride made me realize that Disney is not all magic, it has some actual people who have to build and fix the rides. The third time I became aware that behind every ride, every strategically placed water fountain or bench, or simply the giddy, youthful, magic feeling that comes with Disney World, was a person or team of people who discussed and executed an idea and implemented it in the park. Trips and vacations always effect me for the better as I come away with more knowledge than what I started out with.

Bradford's "of Plymouth Plantation"

Well first of all William Bradford was a Pilgrim, which is a branch of Puritanism. Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, not Puritans (Divine). Just like not all Catholics are Christians, not of all of the Pilgrims followed strict Puritan guidelines. Puritans wanted to "purify" the Catholic Church, where the Pilgrims want to "separate" from the Catholic Church. That is why they went to America to start a new life. Pilgrims, like William Bradford, were also tolerant of members of the Catholic Church. "Presbyterians and maverick non believers" were living in Plymouth without being forced to practice the religion of the majority of the colony which is a testament to the tolerant Pilgrim faith (Bradford 62). Other Puritan colonies would have nothing to do with non Puritans. They even kicked people like Anne Hutchinson out because her beliefs did not match up with Puritan beliefs (Divine). Pilgrims and Puritans do share similar beliefs as the Pilgrim belief was derived from Puritanism.

The first excerpt from Bradford's writings showed the Puritan "Providence of God" quality. Bradford gives an example of a sailor who berated the Pilgrims and told them how he would enjoy "casting half of them overboard" (Bradford 15). That sailor was the first to succumb to disease and the Pilgrims helped throw him overboard. Bradford believed that was a sign from God showing the Pilgrims that God is among them and is watching out for his children. That sign is one of the first feasible sign that I have read about in Puritan writings so far. Having your house burn down and saying it was a sign from God is a little to far fetched from the pessimistic non-believer in me. Having a man who says that he hates you and can not wait until you die so he can dispose of your body, be the first one to die of sickness? Now that is a sign from God. Or the Pilgrims had really, really good karma. Either way, that helped the Pilgrims in their difficult times ahead as they could pull from that fact to keep a strong faith as God was looking out for them.

The second excerpt from "of Plymouth Plantations" continued four entries from different points in the colony's early years. Bradford's writing format is a journal which is consistent of Puritan writings. But he writes with a historical viewpoint, not just the traditional religious view. That is what made "Plymouth Plantations" such a success. The writing could be taken as unbiased from that time period because all of the other writers were influenced by religion and their writings were one sided. Bradford talked about the Indians without mentioning generalizations of the Indians fed to arriving colonists by early explorers. When he originally mentioned the Indians, Bradford acknowledged the opinion of the early settlers and explorers (Bradford 65). But later he told about meeting Samoset and Squanto with much joy as the two "savages" saved the Pilgrims from certain death (Bradford 67).

Just like Mary Rowlandson, William Bradford believed that having people of the same faith taking care of a sick person or person in need, allowed them to recover quicker and have faith in God. When more than half of the Pilgrim population at Plymouth died during the Starving Time, there was "six or seven sound persons" who took care of everyone in Plymouth (Bradford 65). Those six or seven never got sick and "the Lord so upheld these persons" (Bradford 66). They received a sign from God that told them how good of people they are and they were rewarded by not dieing or getting sick when everyone else around them died. The Pilgrims were doing something right as God showed His approval of their colony and the Pilgrims are still talked about 400 years later.

Bradford, William. "from of Plymouth Plantation." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 15, 62-67. Print.

Cline, Duane A. "Pilgrims, Not Puritans." Sail 1620. Society of Mayflower Descendants in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Web. 03 Sept. 2011.

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

Journal 3 - Hostage Situation

If I was in a hostage situation there would be a variety of different ways that I would respond, based off the unique situation. I will go through random plausible situations and give what I hope would be my response. Situation A consists of an Iron Man type terrorist hostage situation. If I was kidnapped and held hostage (for whatever reason, maybe my DNA has a special strand that cures cancer, or something awesome like that, as I am not rich or have political influence so the above reason is the only realistic reason). I would not give in to the terrorists, and hold out on the information or blood or whatever. I would like to believe I can withstand a decent amount of pain, but I know at some point I will succumb to it. To end the hostage situation I would love to have Arnold Schwarzenegger come in on a plane and rescue me like in Commando, but as that only has a 0.09% chance of actually happening, there would be some sort of jail break or escape organized by either fellow hostages or by some outside force with the intention of liberation. Situation B is a bank hostage situation in which I was innocently was depositing my work check and someone decided to hold up the bank. I would get down on the floor like I would be instructed and try not to catch the attention of the bank robbers. I would stay incognito as they have guns and I would love not to be shot. I would try to use my phone and call for help, but other than that its every man for themselves. If they would happen to pick me as a body shield or hostage then I would cooperate the best I can until the police came when I would try to help out the police in whatever way I can. If I was in a colonial Indian hostage situation like Mary Rowlandson, I would listen to the Indians as I could have much worse captors. I can't sew, but I am sure that I could figure out something to trade for food with the Indians.