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.