Last Blog of the Year

My favorite topic for the blogs was finding music based on the great Gatsby. It was my favorite because i really enjoyed the book and i find the twenties very interesting.  My least favorite blog was the walk through Harlem.  I found that one a little boring.  I learned a lot from doing my blogs.  Depending on how far behind i was or what mood i was in determined how much effort i put into writing my blogs. I'm really glad that i was given this task every week because it does give me time to settle down and reflect on how I feel about what i'm learning about. I enjoyed the opinion blogs because it gives me a chance to think about my own thoughts.

my favorite books:
The Great Gatsby
The Scarlet Letter
The Crucible

My favorite short stories:
The Yellow Wallpaper
A Warn Path
Walden

Advice for Mrs. Wolf

Some advice i have for Mrs. Wolff is too make sure she has structure in all her classes.  She should be able to keep her teaching fun without letting the kids take advantage of her being a new teacher.  She should definitely keep the graffiti board. I really enjoyed my sophomore English class because it was clear that Mrs. Pitman was aware of what she was doing and she kept good control of her class. My love and understanding for English grew a lot in that class. In my junior English class it was a lot different than sophomore year but i learned so much and my love for English keeps on growing. It is apparent that Mrs. Pitman and Mrs. Williams love what they do and it shows through their work. As long s she knows what she is doing and shows her love for English through her work and does not let kids slack off i believe she will be fine.

The Great Gatsby

  1) I’m Sitting on Top of the World by Al Jolson
People with “old money” such as Gatsby. Tom was in a sense higher in the world than Gatsby such as Tom were seen as better than people with “new money” 

2) I ain't got nobody - Marion Harris: This song would be fitting at the end of the book when Nick is all alone.

3)"Happy Days Are Here Again" by Johnny Marvin and The Leonard Joy Orchestra

This song reflects how Gatsby must have felt when he thought he had gotten Daisy back again. He believes he can and will repeat the past.

4) The Prisoner's Song- Vernon Dalhart This song reminds me of Myrtle because she feels like a prisoner because she is not married to a wealthy man. 

Mark Twain's Wit

Praise is well, compliment is well, but affection--that is the last and final and most precious reward that any man can win, whether by character or achievement.

- Affection speech, 1907http://www.twainquotes.com/Affection.html

I like this quote because it shows that when people do things good they don't just want an award or a pat on the back, they want to feel like what they did was good.  affection is the ultimate reward and is what people yearn for.  Affection unites people together.  Children are a good example for this.  When they are young and do something they hope is good, the thing that sticks out to them is when they are rewarded with their parents affection. Everyone wants to be loved and affection is the ultimate reward.  At the end of your life you do not remember all the achievements you made or all the prizes you won, you simply remember all the people you've loved.

How I Met Your Mother

How I Met Your Mother is my favorite television show. It is about a man named Ted who is taking his two kids through flashbacks of his life in a journey of how he met their mother.  It takes place in New York and follows Ted and his four best friends on a journey through their lives. This show is extremely funny and makes me laugh every time i watch it. For anyone who has not seen the show i would suggest watching it.

Stories of the Quest for Civil Rights

http://www.crmvet.org/nars/balt61.htm
This story is about a girl in college who participates in sit ins about once a week with a group of people. This story connects with "Coming of Age in Mississippi" In this story.In that story Anne Moody participated in sit ins in order to stand up for her rights. She had to endure a lot torment by doing this.  This is similar to that story because Roslyn Lang participated in these in order to stand up in what she believed in. I enjoyed both of these stories because it shows that people stick up for what they believe in. It takes a lot of courage to be able to stick up for yourself, it shows that these were two very strong women.

Connecting to the Delany's

I think that a lot of the women i read about are very similar to Sadie and Bessie. Much like the sister's the women did not let people influence their decisions and were not afraid to do what they wanted.  They did not anything or anyone hold them back. They were very self-determined women that strived for what they wanted not hat they were told they should be.

This picture portrays an ordinary night. All the white people go on with their night as normal, nit really minding anything. The cop stands with a knife in his hand on guard keeping an eye out for any black people.  The couple standing near the black man leaning on the door stand a little on guard.  It shows just how people back then either chose to ignore what was going on or chose to be afraid of it. 

Having Your Say

Something that i feel strongly about is abortion.  I would argue that abortion should be illegal unless needed for legitimate medical reasons.  I think abortion is wrong and should not be something people use as way to get out of responsibilities.  Innocent lives  are being lost due to careless actions.  Everyone deserves a chance at life and no matter the circumstance it is the baby's right to get that chance.  If you are not ready for the responsibility of a child, knowing that it is always a possibility, then you should strongly rethink the choices you have made.

Connections to Whitman

I believe that Whitman was trying to say every person plays a part in this world to shape other people into becoming who they are.  I think that the actions of other people somehow come together to shape people together.  To me Witman was saying that it's all about the small things. Sometimes we do not even realize the impact that such small things have on us.  It's saying to see and appreciate all things and people that we come contact with.

Emily Dickinson's Garden of Poetry

I think that Emily Dickinson was a very different character.  I don't think she was able to connect with people on a deep level, which is why i think she found such a deep connection with nature.  With people she was not able to shape them into what she wanted to be, but nature can be taken in any which you choose.  It's not judgmental like people can be.  It is something to appreciate. I believe that Emily's message was that nature can never be disappointing.  People are unreliable and untrustworthy, but nature will never let you down. 

Affirmations of Life

There are a lot of not so good things that are happening today that I am going to try and deal with in a positive way.  The first major thing is that I am at school.  I can deal with this by thinking about how fortunate I am that i am able to come to a school everyday where I know my thoughts and opinions are valued.  Also I can look at it as opportunity to spend time with my friends.  I also have many tests that i am not well prepared for. I can look at this in a learning experience to better prepare myself and spend my time more wisely. I can look at every problem that comes up in my life as a growing experience.

Connection to Nature

I have never felt a true connection to nature.  I love nature and i really enjoy spending my time in it, but i have not ever felt any sort of spiritual connection towards it. I believe it is a gift from God and we should all enjoy every piece of it, but that is as far as i have come to a connection. In the time i spend outside i will take it into consideration to concentrate more about what it all means and how I can relate it back to my life.

Team Edgar

To me i thought that Poe's writing was much more intriguing.  Nathaniel Hawthorne is a great author, but it was much harder to connect to his writing.  Poe writes from his soul so it is easier to paint the picture of his writings in your head as you read along.  While i was reading The Scarlet Letter i found it difficult to connect with the characters and truly see the message he was trying to get across.  Poe writes in a way that is more fun to read because you are able to make up so many different interpretations.