The Handmaid's Tale

     In “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood, Offred’s past life is unveiled throughout the novel. Atwood uses Offred’s memories to contrast the once-free America with the now dystopian theocracy it has become. While there is much to fear for the female inhabitants of the new “Republic of Gilead,” the females reading “Handmaid’s Tale” have even more to fear. Striking parallels are made between Offred’s memories of her former life and the lives of women living in America today. This use of parallelism leads us to wonder: could our country really become like this in the future? Offred’s recollections of her best friend Moira and World War II documentaries are used to imply what could happen to people if freedom and humanity are stripped away.

     When she is feeling especially unhappy about the way her life has changed, Offred remembers her rebellious friend Moira. Moira was an active feminist, and notably, lesbian. She typified everything that Gilead was trying to annihilate with her defiance of the norm. Whenever Offred felt opposed to something that was happening, she wished that she was as brave as her old friend. Yet, no matter how terrified she was by the public hangings, and the ever looming threat of Serena Joy and the women that kept her in line, she was still more terrified of the consequences that would befall her should she rebel. Despite the slogan “nolite de bastardes carborundorum,” (Atwood Ch 9) she could not find the courage to fight against her oppressors and continuously let the “bastards” grind her down. Towards the end of the novel, Offred discovers that Moira has become a prostitute for the commanders to maintain her life. Despite all of the sentimental memories of her friend’s nonconformity, Moira has also cracked under the pressure of the new regime. Atwood uses the broken spirit of a once strong woman to portray her themes: no matter how strong someone is, if there is no hope for free will, there is no hope for life. If fanatics are allowed to take over society, they will force their thoughts and ideas on everyone and freedom, happiness, and individuality will become obsolete and nonexistent.

     Once the Government of Gilead and select few who have power take over, women are confined to their homesteads for a majority of the day. Rather than brooding over the prospect of the future, Offred’s thoughts tend to turn to history and how it relates to how she currently lives. At one point, she reflects over a documentary that she had seen in the past; it featured a Nazi guard’s mistress talking about their relationship. Offred takes this memory and compares her own relationship with the commander to it: “He was not a monster, to her. Probably he had some endearing trait… How easy it is to invent a humanity, for anyone at all. What an available temptation” (Atwood Ch 24). Throughout the novel, Offred justifies not only her own inaction, but the actions of others no matter how evil and wrong they are. Even though the commander selfishly manipulates her to break the government-imposed rules, she still allows herself to start having feelings for him. She justifies that he is really just as unsatisfied with his own life as she is with hers, even though the commander holds all the power and she has to endure the never ending presence of fear every day. Offred’s reflections lead us to ponder our own justifications in life: how long will we wait before we fight against the evils that others inflict on us?

The Story of an Hour

     In the short narrative “The Story of an Hour,” author Kate Chopin depicts the life of Louise Mallard, a woman who has heart problems both literally and metaphorically. Upon learning of the death of her husband, Brently Mallard, she becomes unexpectedly exultant, relishing in the idea that she is free at last. However, Lousie’s long-awaited release from her husband’s expectations become very short-lived, and in turn, lead to her own death. Through the use of third-person-limited, Chopin is able to bolster the agenda of her satirical writing by portraying an hour filled with pointed adjectives, the recurring theme of freedom versus oppression, and the use of situational irony.

Shortly after hearing of her husband’s death in a tragic railroad worker incident, Louise retreats to her room alone. Although she weeps at first for Brently’s death, it is not long before Chopin reveals that her protagonist isn’t truly upset. As Louise slumps into her “comfortable” chair, it was as if her eyes were suddenly opened to the Earth’s beauty. Descriptive phraseology such as “the delicious breath of rain was in the air,” “…countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves,” and “there were patches of blue sky” (Chopin Paragraphs 4-5) paint an eerily happy scene after such a tragic accident. Traditionally, rain is used as a symbol of gloom and sadness, yet because of the cheerful diction that Chopin uses, the natural elements foreshadow the fact that Brentley’s death is considered a relief to his confined wife. Although death usually causes heartbreak, Louise is finally able to feel like her heart is as free as the birds’ that she hears chirping outside her window.

     Within the last few paragraphs of “The Story of an Hour,” Louise’s happiness turns into fantasying. Despite the fact that she supposedly loved her husband “sometimes,” the idea that she is now free to live her life without his scrutiny becomes too much for her to handle. The thought that “There would be no powerful will bending her in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature,” (Chopin Paragraph 13) illuminates Louise’s opinion on her husband’s death and illustrates Chopin’s dysfunctional theme: no matter whether it is out of love or spite, marriage is just a restrictive punishment both physically and mentally. Because of her husband, Louise was burdened with unattainable expectations and limitations throughout her life. Ultimately the restrictiveness of her marriage led to her twisted satisfaction at the prospect of Brentley’s demise. Rather than being permanently confined to her gender role, Louise was briefly able to envision the beauty of her new life.

     In the end, Louise’s learns that her husband didn’t actually die in the railroad calamity. After all of her dreams of freedom, the prospects of being able to live out her own life are quickly shattered. She is so shocked when Brentley returned alive and well, that her heart gives out and died completely. Ironically, the doctors tell everyone that she died due to the joy that she felt at the sight of her perfectly-well husband. However, Louise truly died because of the overbearingly sad realization that she wasn’t actually free after all. The “heart trouble” that she had endured from the beginning was not as physical as the doctor’s had presumed. Because of the repression that she had faced during marriage, Louise ended up dying from the final fatality of her ambitions and dreams.

Response to Barbie Doll

Barbie Doll

This girlchild was born as usual

and presented dolls that did pee-pee

and miniature GE stoves and irons

and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy.

Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said:

You have a great big nose and fat legs.She was healthy, tested intelligent,

possessed strong arms and back,

abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity.

She went to and fro apologizing.

Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs.She was advised to play coy,

exhorted to come on hearty,

exercise, diet, smile and wheedle.

Her good nature wore out

like a fan belt.

So she cut off her nose and her legs

and offered them up.In the casket displayed on satin she lay

with the undertaker's cosmetics painted on,

a turned-up putty nose,

dressed in a pink and white nightie.

Doesn't she look pretty? everyone said.

Consummation at last.

To every woman a happy ending.

~Marge Piercy


     In the poem “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy, an unnamed girl is reared from birth in the ways of “true-womanhood.” As she endures the scorn and criticism of the society around her, she is ceremoniously provided with all the tools and toys that any conventional girl would need to understand her preordained gender role. From dolls that “pee-peed” to “wee” cherry lipsticks, her paradigm and place in the world begins on a self-critical and self-destructive path. Through colloquial language, parallel diction, and gruesome hyperbole, Piercy warns us of the potentially tragic destinies of any girl who attempts to grow up in the midst of society’s overpoweringly stereotypical pressure.

     Piercy’s tone throughout her poem is modern, blunt, and to-the-point. Rather than leaving the reader to ponder and question what the meaning to her tale is, her language usage is meant to send the same chilling message to everyone. The unnamed girl is provided with many modern things that girls continue to be enamored with today, causing a disturbing connection between female readers and her main character. In description, it is made clear that she has a “great big nose and fat legs,” which ultimately becomes more important to the critical society around her than her more enduring traits: good-health, intelligence, wit, and plentiful sexual drive. Because of the description, we fully understand both sides; the general public cruelly negates all that is good about her as an individual, which wears her down into a state of constant apology for that which once made her unique. The modern language used in “Barbie Doll,” creates a connection to our modern world, where the story of a degraded girl becomes a means by which Piercy can effectively teach everyone how fragile the human mind can become under too much criticism.

     Parallel diction is used throughout “Barbie Doll” to emphasize Piercy’s main points. In the beginning, the phrase, “You have a great big nose” demonstrates the lack of approval in the girl's appearance. By and by, “everyone” sees her physique as an issue. Eventually the]is overarching disapproval of her peers leads the girl to becoming so overly concerned about her minor physical differences, that she ends up committing suicide over them. The repetitive use of the word “everyone” and the phrase “fat nose and fat legs,” illuminates the true meaning behind Piercy’s satirical poem: we can’t live a happy life if we try to please all of the “everyone’s” in our lives. Much like the girl whose confidence was worn away like a common fan belt, when people conform by changing who they are for the sake of their peers approval, they will end up losing and destroying themselves.

     The image of a girl cutting off her both her legs and her nose is both extremely disturbing and grotesque. However, the extremities of such brutal imagery leads us as readers to reflect on the extremities and lengths that society can go to itself to force us into conformity. At the closing of the poem when the outside pressures of the world have ultimately caused the girl to kill herself, we fully understand the levity of humanity when it comes to how utterly we can destroy each others’ confidence. The sad ending of “Barbie Doll” leads us to question ourselves and the way we are living: is being “fat” honestly the worst thing we as humans can be? Is trying to look perfect or please everyone truly more important than the gift of life itself? As we visualize the case of this poor girl who finally ends up cutting off her limbs in a final and desperate attempt to make everyone else happy, the answer to society's’ questions become rhetorical.

A.P. English Literature

     I haven't posted a blog post in a little over a month. Fortunately, I can't attribute this to personal laziness. Lately I've become totally consumed with studying for my three AP tests this month: AP Psychology, AP English Literature, and last but not least, AP English Language.
Although I haven't posted much writing on my blog, practice essays have become a ritual of my daily life for the past week.
Yesterday I timed myself to a random poem prompt for the literature test; it took me a half an hour to dissect two poems and scribble my own piece of mind on the paper.
I'm going to type out the two poems that the essay was written about, along with the instructions and my own essay in the hopes that it might some other struggling souls going through AP English Lit or Language.

2005 AP ENGLISH LITERATURE FREE-RESPONSE QUESTION (Form B)
ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION
SECTION II
Total time--2 hours

Question 1
(Suggested time--40 minutes. This question counts as one-third of the total essay section score.)

Carefully read the two poems below. Then in a well-organized essay compare the speakers' reflections on their early morning surroundings and analyze the techniques the poets use to communicate the speakers' different states of mind.

Poem 1:

Five A.M.

Still dark, the early morning breathes
a soft sound above the fire. Hooded
lights on porches lead past lawns,
a hedge; I pass the house of the couple
who have the baby, the yard with the little
dog; my feet pad and grit on the pavement, flicker
past streetlights; my arms alternate
easily to my pace. Where are my troubles?

There are people in every country who never
turn into killers, saints have built
sanctuaries on islands and in valleys,
conquerors have quit and gone home, for thousands
of years farmers have worked their fields.
My feet begin the uphill curve
where a thicket spills with birds every spring.
The air doesn't stir. Rain touches my face.

Poem 2:

Five Flights Up

Still dark
The unknown bird sits on his usual branch.
The little dog next door barks in his sleep
inquiringly, just once.
Perhaps in his sleep, too, the bird inquires
once or twice, quavering.
Questions--if that is what they are--
answered directly, simply,
by day itself.

Enormous morning, ponderous, meticulous;
gray light streaking each bare branch,
each single twig, along one side,
making another tree, of glassy veins...
The bird still sits there. Now he seems to yawn.

The little black dog runs in his yard.
His owner's voice arises, stern,
"You ought to be ashamed!"
What has he done?
He bounces cheerfully up and down;
he rushes in circles in the fallen leaves.

Obviously, he has no sense of shame.
He and the bird know everything is answered,
all taken care of,
no need to ask again.
--Yesterday brought to today so lightly!
(A yesterday I find almost impossible to lift.)

2005 Free Response- Poetry

In "Five A.M." and "Five Flights Up" the respective poets allude to their own interpretations pertaining to the dawning of a new day. "Five A.M." is a flowing and metaphorical description that interprets the mysteries of allusions from the past, signifying that every day is a mystery to be embedded into the past. However, Five Flight up is a more literal interpretation. The poet uses broken enjambment and colloquial language to create a portrait of a less interpretive world as the poem explores how mornings begin, which in turn, complements a more modern state of mind.

In Five A.M., the poet uses personification to make his interpretation of the world come to life. "The early morning breathes a soft sound..." and "Rain touches my face." Not only create a tone for figurative interpretation, but also appeal to the senses of not only sight, but touch and sound as well. The poet creates rhythmic meter with long sentences with little to no breaks in between lines. This flow adds to the effect and tone of the mysterious allusions portrayed in the second stanza. The poet communicates a state of mind in which he or she views every morning as a scene of beauty, mystery, and unanswered questions as the author is enveloped in eloquent natural surroundings.

In the poem "Five Flights Up", the poet conveys the morning as a literal happenstance that is easily observed and can be described substantially with little to doubt or question. "Questions- if that is what they are-// answered directly, simply, by day itself." The poet then proceeds to use adjectives to describe how the morning appears to the world. Using enjambment, the poet creates a sense of blunt description, leaving the impression that like the poem's sentences, a morning lacks any eminent complexity and can be interpreted with little awe or wonderment.

"Five A.M." is a masterpiece communicating a mystery, surrounded by the dawn of a new day, defined by the personification of Earth's elements, complemented by flowing parallel syntax, and completed with allusions tracing back to the history of former mornings. "Five Flights Up" is a literal interpretation of a morning that is self-explanatory and presents itself bluntly through the use of juxtaposition, visual imagery and modern language that conveys the morning as a predictable, direct, and simple element to the every day flow of a provincial life.

Vietnam Wall

     The black wall reflected my white-washed skin, disheveled jacket, and loosely lopsided glasses that hung limply on my face like they had since elementary school. The smooth memorial seemed to stretch longer than death itself as I contemplated the list of names that had been etched into it.

     Memories raced through my mind, outlined by the dense rainforest battleground that reverberated with exploding artillery. I saw several comrades falling to the ground around me, visibly wounded. Others didn’t move a muscle. “Playing dead,” I forced myself to believe, trying to dam the tide of fear and panic that sent ripples of pain through my sinking heart.
“Will, help!" a young and bloodied soldier called to me through garbled groans. A hand gruffly grabbed my shoulder; I turned and met my commander’s steely grey eyes,
“We won’t survive with extra baggage, soldier. Retreat to the copter, now!” He hollered hollowly, his bruised and trembling mouth betraying his truly sorrowful regret.

     I pondered quietly: Die a hero? Or forever regret living? Without a second's hesitation, I hoisted Gabe onto my right shoulder; he seemed light, until I wrapped my other arm around my friend Jesse’s waist and hoisted him over the left. It was less than an hour later that I died from bullet wounds, after carrying them to safety.

     For a single moment, I thought I’d seen my own reflection in the teary-eyed man reading my name. All that I am now is a reflection embedded into the dark granite wall.

My Name

     In English fractions of my name descend from royalty. In Hebrew it means House of Figs, or the hallowed land where Lazarus was brought back to life. It is life like. Bright, energetic life, blazing like a billion gleaming orange sunbeams. The color of sunrise. The symbol of a new morning trying to prove that it is ready to face a new day, come what may, beckoning cheerfully to all and sharing promised warmth.
 
   It is a fresh new face, my name. Unlike my mom, my grandma, or her mother. Even though I’m younger than the whole lot of them, my name is older. Ancient. Tracing back to Queen Elizabeth, though I am just Beth alone. Not always lonely alone. Simply independent. The only part of my given name related to family is my middle one. A memory of the caring Grandma that I haven’t met. All I can do is Hope. Hope that one day my name will bring happy remembrances to my family. Like Grandma for mine or Elizabeth for the world.
   
     Elizabeth the I. Leading, fiercely like a lion, but calmly calculating. She conquered a Spanish fleet. Ironic for my name to be partially descended from hers, when she willed her cousin, my ancestor to be killed. I would’ve liked to have seen the passion she had for her people. The witty way she secretly allowed pirates to commandeer her enemy’s ships-- without protest. Silently amused, yet cunningly neutral. Accomplished herself in capturing subject’s loyal hearts.
   
    And for centuries since, she has maintained her dignity and fame. Remembered-- I wonder if she ever resented her life, pondered alone over whether her glass of life was half empty or half full. Queen or pawn, in the end we will all return to the same box. Beth. Though I have inherited only part of her name, I’ve inherited her passion for life, and have in my own way, have come off conqueror.

     At home, my name is never mine. At home, I’m seen through my Dad’s eyes like I was sixteen years ago. A bouncy baby kangaroo. His little jouncing Joey-- Jojo. Many nicknames blot out my own, as if it’s a simple word to be covered and replaced like white-out on paper. At school, fellow students create their own names for me. It’s as if I’m a whited-out canvas that needs more colorful paint. Fans croon as white and black face painted singers rock out, belting my name to adoring adults. In their mouths, it solemnly sounds as lonely as the moon. A name without a home to come back to.
There is no other word in the English language to describe who I am, save it be my own name. I am who I am. My name means me. When someone calls it, it’s like a sounding trumpet chord, telling the tune of my soul to those who care to listen. Yes. I will always be me.

A Broken Heart

These poems are another form that Mrs. Gray taught us today. Basically you ask a very serious question, and then attempt to describe the answer by using your own questions and comparisons. Each question should get progressively more thought provoking/ serious throughout the poem. It's almost like a Shakespearean poem with the two lines of A-B-X-B rhyming form, but the last three lines are A-B-B format instead! Confusing much? Maybe the poems will enlighten you to this unique format.

What happens to a broken heart?

Does it shrivel and shrink like toes under water?
Or blister and break apart—
Like sunburns getting ever hotter?
Does it feel crushed like a battered rock by the sea?
Or bleed like a wound—
That soon ceases to be?

Maybe it painfully crumbles
Like a man hit by a sharp spear

Or does it simply disappear?


What happens to a sad memory?

Does it fade like white-out against paper,
Or harden like a dark stone of emery--
Absorbing every other thought like a black hole?
Does it feel like a blue bird that could freely fly away,
Or like a whale trapped on the beach—
Imploring the sea in dismay?

Maybe it destroys every good memory it touches
Like a flood filling every space

Or does it die without a trace?

Impressionist Poems

     Today in English we were learning about the old impression style of poetry. At first, I was really really skeptical. The very first poem we had to read in class was by William Carlos Williams, it was called "The Red Wheelbarrow." It goes like this:

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens

     I was astonished! There was no punctuation and very little description.. It's so simple that a kindergartner could do it (or a caveman.) If that's really all the work it takes to get a poem published in a school book read by millions of American children every year, then sign me up!

Somehow, despite the lack of overall creativity and style, the poem serves the purpose that the author made it for. Can't you see the red wheel barrow surrounded by chickens despite the few details? That's a pretty cool effect if you ask me!

Well my English teacher had us write a few poems based on William's style. So here's my rendition of it.

So much depends
upon

a bright white
smile

mysterious like full
moons

rising into our
eyes


So much depends
upon

black tick-tock
clocks

counting like cocky little
children

inside time's vast
expanse


The next poem we read totally made me laugh. It was a poetic note from William's apologizing to his family for eating all of the plums out of the family icebox. So of course I had to write a few. One day I'll cut them out and tape them in the cupboard to see my family's reaction.

I have eaten
the cereal
that was in
the cupboard

and which
you were probably
looking
for breakfast

Forgive me
it was heavenly
so crunchy
and so refreshing

I have eaten
the marshmallows
that were in
the pantry

and which
you might have
eaten
while camping

I'm sorry
they were delightful
so gooey
and so sweet

Rather bizarre, but it's rather fun to write zany little things like that sometimes! And now for the most confusing poem at all. See if you can find the meaning of the broken up words. Hint: try reading the words in parenthesis and then the broken up words before and after parenthesis.

B(E
A S
T E
R)U
N N
Y(E
G G)

You should find "bunny," "Easter," and a combination of either "runny egg" or "Easter egg" depending on the way you're looking at it.

East of Eden and Huckleberry Finn

     Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and John Steinbeck’s East of Eden have many similarities, yet they also have a few differences. Likewise, many of the themes and ideas such as the fight between good and evil, lying, and internal characters’ internal conflict and struggles become a major part to the story and how it plays out. However, the differences come about in the author’s different opinions of these struggles, Steinbeck continually shows through his novel that people have the right to choose, and oftentimes people will choose good over evil in the end. For the most part, Twain sees the evil in the world with a pessimistic outlook; evil people are not likely to change who they are, rather they will continually choose wrong if it conforms with society’s views.

     “We have only one story. All novels, all poetry, are built on the never-ending contest in ourselves of good and evil. And it occurs to me that evil must constantly respawn, while good, while virtue is immortal. Vice has always a new fresh young face, while virtue is venerable as nothing else in the world is.” In this sentence, Steinbeck stresses how everything, including our lives, is centered on the conflict between good and evil. Steinbeck’s opinion is that evil always changes to accommodate, but goodness always stays the same. Similarly, Mark Twain addresses the idea of good vs. evil. However, he is more cynical, addressing the conflict in a more negative way. Huckleberry Finn is faced with many hypocrites, liars, and vagabonds throughout his adventure. Twain uses a majority of his characters to point out the flaws in society and it’s lack of good, especially when it comes to the issue of slaves being property. However, it is symbolic that in the end, Caleb (who was constantly fighting doing what was wrong,) and Huck (who had to confront the issue of slavery head on,) chose to do good over evil in the end. The “good” side that they chose was the ultimate goal from the viewpoint of both authors.

     “Cathy was a liar, but she did not lie the way most children do. Hers was no daydream lying, when the thing imagined is told and, to make it seem more real, told as real. That is just ordinary deviation from external reality. I think the difference between a lie and a story is that a story utilizes the trappings and appearance of truth… But a lie is a device for profit or escape.” Steinbeck addresses lying head on, by telling readers what his own opinion of lying is. Throughout East of Eden, the characters who were really struggling with being evil or were already completely evil lied and twisted the truth to their gain. In the end, when Caleb’s brother Aron found out the truth, he could not handle it and ended up getting killed. This sad ending to an innocent character represented how lies can ruin a person’s life. Twain also believed that lying was wrong and hypocritical in many instances. In the church one day, the Grangerfords and the Sheperdsons received a lesson on brotherly love, while the next day, they were killing each other over an issue of marriage. However, Huck lied straight out many times throughout the book to protect his friend Jim from being captured. Contrastingly, Steinbeck’s strictly negative view on lying is truly different than Twain’s belief that lying is okay if it is used as a means to an end for the right purpose.

     The internal conflicts between Caleb from East of Eden and Huck from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are startlingly similar. Steinbeck illustrates how Caleb’s mother was a monster, “And just as there are physical monsters, can there not be mental or psychic monsters born? The face and body may be perfect, but if a twisted gene or a malformed egg can produce physical monsters, may not the same process produce a malformed soul?” Caleb’s mother Cathy was infinitely evil, and she never changed. He was forced with the fact that his mother was an evil woman who constantly lied and ran a brothel house. Steinbeck’s character chose to overcome the sins of his mother by deciding not to be like her and to become a decent person despite the evil part of her that was in him. Likewise, Huck’s father was evil, he beat Huck and was extremely racist. Huck was confronted by the fact that society had told him his whole life that if he helped a slave that he would go to Hell. Like Caleb, Huck’s internal conflict was solved when he finally made his decision. “Alright then, I’ll go to Hell.” The difference between the two is strongly different in the sense that Caleb will not jeopardize what he feels is right, while Huck will consort to stealing, and lying to do what he feels is ultimately right.

     Although Steinbeck and Twain’s optimistic and pessimistic views seem to contrast each other, the two authors have the same views on many things. Evil is wrong; like their characters, you can overcome it whether it is passed on through genes or all around you in society. Lying is wrong, but in Twain’s view, it is occasionally okay to lie to serve the right purpose. We all face problems that must be resolved, however, whether our decisions are good or evil, we will ultimately decide in the end.

Conflict in Men, Society, and Self

Dear Blog Readers,
     I apologize once again for publishing one of my essays for English, but I figure it will help someone out there. It recounts the external and internal conflicts of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in four double-spaced pages. I really liked that book, which was extremely surprising to me. I'd read the Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain beforehand. Personally, I hated the book and don't know why I finished it. Initially, I dreaded having to read a Mark Twain novel again. Well, I ended up being pleasantly surprised; you can't judge a book by one cover, and apparently you can't judge an author off of one book! Enjoy the read if you have the time, don't feel bad if you don't want to read it; it is an essay after all!

     In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck faces many trials as he and Jim down the Mississippi River on their way to Cairo. Throughout the book, Mark Twain’s personal opinions can be seen throughought his novel. His views from pre civil war times tell of his opinion on subjects including conformity, guilibility, greed, corruption, misunderstanding, slavery, and the importance of telling the truth. Huck and Jim’s trials throughout the book reflect the inconsistencies and issues in society and man, they also revealed major internal conflicts that were faced in the novel.

     “The pitifulest Thing out is- a mob; they don’t fight with the courage that’s born in them, but with courage that’s borrowed from the mass, and from their officers” (145.) Colonel Sherburn’s speech told of Twain’s views on society; movements in society are often fueled by cowards, who in turn are backed by followers with little courage themselves. These “followers” in society are men and women who don’t open their eyes and think for themselves; rather they will conform to the will of others around them or go with what is considered “popular” by the mass. Men oftentimes join the rest of society so that they might appear normal, thinking that they will be more accepted if they are like everyone else, sometimes that is true.

     Another example of corruption in society was the symbolism behind the Duke and the King. The Duke and the King represented all of the flaws and lies in society; in spite of their record of being complete phonies, they were almost instantly accepted into an ignorant society. Only the informed Doctor tried to defame The King’s feeble attempts of acting like Peter Wilk’s brother, “He is the thinnest kind of imposter- has come here with a lot of empty names and facts which he picked up somewheres; and you take them for proofs, and are helped to fool yourself by these fools…” (166.)
The gullibility of the town was shown when the Doctor offered evident proof of the King’s ineptitude to fake a British accent. The fact that nobody was willing to accept the Doctor’s proof shows that the society believed what it wanted to believe. If Huck and The Doctor hadn’t acted on behalf of what they knew to be true, Peter’s innocent, young, orphan nieces might have lost everything that they had.

     A great example of the corruption of men individually, and the conflict between good and evil was the conflict between Huck and Judge Thatcher with Pap. Pap says, “Look at it, says I- such a hat for me to wear- one of the wealthiest men in town if I could get my rights.” (35.) In his head, pap is seriously misguided by the idea that money is the only way that he could be happy and earn his rights. Rather than trying to work hard to achieve his American dream, he tries to make Judge Thatcher give him Huck’s money. There is a conflict when the Judge refuses to give Huck’s money away so easily, and there is a physical conflict when Huck doesn’t give Pap the money that he is desperate to obtain.

      Another conflict was shown when Jim and Huck have differing views on the tale of King Solomon. “Doan’ talk to me ‘bout yo’ pints. I reck’n I knows sense when I sees it; en dey ain’t no sense in sich doin’s as dat.”Jim personally didn’t believe that King Solomon was wise to want to cut a baby in half; Huck, on the other hand, believed that Solomon was using the threat of cutting a baby in half to suit a wiser purpose. This scene goes to show what lengths people will go to to stick with their beliefs. Men can be narrow minded when it comes to hearing other’s opinions, especially when their mind is set on a particular idea or ideal.

     Perhaps the most significant conflicts were conflicts that raged inside of Huck throughout the story. Huck was constantly fighting himself over the issue of slavery, and whether or not he should help Jim become free. At one point, Huck felt so terribly about what he was doing, that he almost wrote to Miss Watson to reveal Jim’s whereabouts, “I was a-trembling, because I’d got to decide between two things, and I knowed it… Alright then, I’ll go to Hell” (107.) Huck had learned his whole life to fear going to Hell, but despite this, he decided in the end that he would risk everything and anything to help his best friend. Slavery was a huge issue during Twain’s lifetime, Twain’s views were reflected through the way that Huck finally sees the importance in helping a man who was like a brother to him, in spite of the consequences.

     Another conflict arose when Huck had to choose whether he would be honest with Mary Jane about The Duke and The King’s fraud to earn their money. Huck had grown up telling lies to save himself from getting in trouble or being beaten by his abusive father. He finally learned that sometimes it really is better to tell the truth, “I reckon a body that ups and tells the truth when he is in a tight place is taking considerable many resks… I’m blest if it don’t look to me like the truth is better and actuley safer than a lie.”

     This concept of telling the real truth becomes significant again in the end. Tom was able to free Jim from slavery only through telling the truth. Tom, the romantic in the novel, made Jim sleep with snakes,write with his own blood, and eat sawdust. If Tom had never told the truth about Miss Watson’s death and will, Jim would never have been set free.

     There were many conflicts both internal and external in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. They helped the reader to see Mark Twain’s personal views on controversial topics of the day. Issues such as lying, greed, slavery, misunderstanding, and cowardice through conformity were all addressed and resolved in the end.

The Crucible

     Crucible- 1. A heat resistant container in which ores or metals are melted 2. A place or a set of circumstances where people or things are subjected to forces that often make them change. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the unhappy plot unfolds as fear and revenge heat up the whole town, despite their best resistance to it. The hot temperature of the fire around the crucible continually soars as Reverend Parris tries to serve his own needs by interrogating his niece Abigail. Abigail helps intensify the heat of the inferno even more as she takes revenge on her lover John Proctor and his wife. Following in her wake, the whole town becomes a raging blaze, accusing others so that they may remain unaccused.

     Fear can change a person into someone completely different from who they truly are inside. As in the case of Mary Warren, she ended up having to choose between risking her own life to hanging or condemning the innocent John Proctor to his own death. Eventually her courage broke, and she accused Proctor of witchcraft even though that was something totally against her value of honest. The town girls kept accusing others so that the blame for their dancing in the woods would shift onto someone else. Realizing when they first started accusing that they were completely lying, knowing that lying was a huge sin, they tried to justify their own sin of lying by accusing others who had also sinned. Fearful of what might happen if they were caught lying made them feel like they had to continue these lies to remain safe.

     Gossip appeals to people emotionally because it spreads other people’s private actions and thoughts in a dramatic fashion that appeals to our senses. Eventually our strong belief in something that can’t be proved becomes so strong through our own self analysis that we begin to believe gossip that could be completely untrue about others. John Proctor rightfully accused Abigail of lying and trying to kill his wife, but Elizabeth ended up condemning her and her husband’s lives by not revealing the actual truth. Because of Elizabeth’s inability to tell the truth, gossip and lies seemed to be the only truth. The lies by gossip could not be proved or disproved, but the actual truth ended up being told and perceived as a lie, thus furthering the “evidence” that Abigail’s and the girls’ accusations were true.

     Because of the flames started by Reverend Parris’s questioning Abigail and Abigail’s lying, the heat that they caused in the town eventually melted their crucible, the once resistant resolve of the town completely crumbled. When Proctor chose to die in innocence of crime rather than living a lie and dishonoring his name, he took the heat of the whole town into his whole being. Proctor chooses to let them kill him in innocence rather than giving them the means to justify the fact that they had killed so many people already. A name can be compared to a person’s soul; a name is a personal describing adjective that describes who you truly are as a person. John Proctor realized that he could not be true to his name or himself by continually living a lie for the rest of his life; he knew that he hadn’t been true to himself in the past by cheating with Abigail, but he also knew that integrity was a value worth dying for. At the end of the book, an honest man realized that living life after denying who you truly are isn’t even worth it.

Where I'm From

I am from old fashioned picture frames,
from fading pink paint with many names.
I’m from blooming buds and wilting roses
to lanky limbed trees grown in unique poses.

I am from happy green playing fields
Fraught with kids riding bikes without yields.
I am from “love yous” and “don’t hurries”
From “stay safes” and “Don’t you worries.”

I’m from a joking military dad,
and Mom who’s a computer software grad.
I’m from family paparazzi grandma
With old, silly, sweet-toothed grandpa.

I’m from drinking hot chocolate all year round,
From eating Grandma’s “cooking” without a sound.
I’m from Mom’s Mexican, Italian, and more,
From eating so much it makes me sore.

And in this world that can be so bleak,
It’ll be those memories that I keep.
Locked deep, safe and sound in my own heart
I love them all, every single part.

The Stories of King Arthur and Don Quixote

     If any of you finish reading this essay, then you are an Arthurian legend! I was rather proud of myself for this one, so bare with me. This was a thirty point part of a test that we had thirty minutes to write, and here was the result; my essay comparing the tales of King Arthur, and the parody Don Quixote (also known as Man of La Mancha.) Good luck, may Excalibur be with you!

     Though the lands of La Mancha and Camelot were far apart, the stories of both Don Quixote of La Mancha and King Arthur of Camelot have similar literary concepts. The stories are comparable in that they both involve a type of “courtly love” and romance as well as foils to help give characters defining characteristics. The Arthurian legends and the parody of Don Quixote still remain popular stories, because they can still inspire and entertain all ages.


     In the stories of Don Quixote and Arthur, romance plays a key part. Arthur was born to King Uther and Igraine, parents who were not married at the time that his mother first became pregnant. Although that isn’t exactly considered, “romantic”, the romantic notion of courtly love continued later in Arthur’s life when his best friend “Sir Lancelot” fell in love with his wife, Queen Guinevere. In the novel Don Quixote, Cervante’s concepts of romance are the same, even though they are skewed to make the story more comedic. The “knight errant,” Don Quixote, dedicated himself to a bar-maid whom he barely knew; she wasn’t even a noblewoman as was tradition! Don Quixote’s “courtly love” with Dulcinea was an insanely conceived way for him to try to follow the normal knight “code.” Despite the fact that his love interest wasn’t exactly ideal, he did worship her from afar, just like Tristan and Iseult, and Lancelot and Guinevere.


     A must in all medieval knight legends was the “side kicks” to the main hero, often a squire or a fellow knight. Generally foils were the complete opposite of the hero and lots of times they were everything the hero wasn’t, even though they were best friends or very helpful to their hero counterparts. In the tales of Arthur, Lancelot was the king’s counterpart. Lancelot was not as shining as his idol at first. He was a lonely young nobleman who wanted to prove that his outward appearance would one day be out matched by his skills and talents. He became who he wanted to be (while still an outsider) because of his idol, King Arthur. In Don Quixote, his sidekick (a married peasant and famer,) serves as a perfect squire to his crazy master and counterpart, Don Quixote. The short and plump farmer, who rides on a measly donkey, is completely uneducated, yet he tries to help his master see reality. Sancho provides many opportunities for Don Quixote to have humorous and witty lines that contradict him. It is significant to the comparison of the two tales that Arthur’s best friend became his foil, betraying him and in part, causing his downfall, while Quixotic’s newfound friend and foil, ironically, stays loyal to him until the end.

     Even in our twenty-first century society, there are still important parts of literature that almost every story has. There are problems that the heroes have to face, such as Arthur having to punish his wife over his best friend, and Don Quuixote being in love with a “lady” who is a common barmaid. Each individual Arthurian legend, and the novel of Don Quixote contains metaphors, descriptions, details, trials or problems, and at the end, everything is resolved (whether happily or sadly.) Because of Cervante’s, and the many authors of Arthurian tales, wonderful adventures, heroism, love stories, and humor, both stories remain popular to this day.

     Overall the stories of King Arthur and Don Quixote were fairly similar. Both stories included lots of romantic and chivalrous drama, as well as character foils to support both the plot and the heroes, and finally, because of the literary techniques and devices, both the heroes and their stories remain well known, highly acclaimed classics of literature.

Attention

     As I sit down every day and work on the end of year slide show; I always end up shaking my head in unbelief. Being one of the workers of the slide show, I get to see nearly every picture that has been taken this past school year. Some pictures are interesting none to say the least... Looking at these pictures makes me very curious.
   
     Why do students do the crazy things that they do in front of the camera? What is up with the crazy faces and poses? The flimsy facades? It all goes back to the things that we've been learning about the past few chapters in Stargirl. It seems as if everyone wants attention. Whether it's making the dumbest possible face you could when your grandma is trying to get a picture for her scrapbook, or going "skater" and wearing pants so tight that you have to wear tights under them to fit them on; everyone does something for attention.

     My Dad was watching a special about crime and murderers on T.V. yesterday, and as my dad recounted the scary stalker stories to freak me out; I realized that it boiled down to the same thing! Lack of attention! Almost every murderer that my dad told me about wasn't remorseful; they enjoyed killing people because it made them "look strong!"

     I can't even begin to pretend like I understand the necessity for attention, but as I sit here and brainstorm I start to see a pattern. From how I see it, people think that attention can only be showed and shared through the mouth. Which would explain exactly why silences are awkward, there is no attention, no communication! The lack of attention is what makes a silence so difficult and avoided.

     Whether you know it or not, people are always paying attention to you; the observer may not always tell you everything about their observing, but as I observed others for my English assignment, I've come to realize that others observe me too!

     Mr. T told us a few weeks ago how it seemed like students are becoming robots, always checking, "Is this right?" "I'm following instructions correctly aren't I?" It seems like nowadays we have to have "positive reinforcement" or "positive attention" either to keep us "straight" or "make us feel good." Sorry for the randomness, but lots of things are connecting in my brain as I sit and brainstorm the mysteries of attention.

     One last example of this strange attention that people crave. About the "positive attention" thing that I mentioned earlier... Have you ever met someone who insults everything they do? It's almost like they aren't trying to be modest, they are trying to get that positive back up, I'm sure you've heard something like, "Aww this drawing isn't very good... I wonder if it will get full credit." Girl one flashes the illustration at Girl two. Girl two has that same kind robot reaction, "No, that drawing is great!!! That must be the best drawing ever!"

     Why do you think that people are so desperate for attention?