Journal #26

Snow is crazy. Some people like snow very much and wish it would snow everyday. Some people like snow, but only because it is cold. They think that because it is so cold, that it might as well snow. Some people tolerate snow, while other people totally and completely hate snow. I like snow up to a point. I like snow on the very first day after it has snowed, when absolutely nothing has touched it and it looks so pristine, sparkling and beautiful. After there are footprints on the snow, it is not pretty anymore, and I do not enjoy the cold so I never want to go outside and play in it. I also hate the snow because of driving. It is fun when it does not stick to the ground and is only slightly snowing and it lightly blows across the road, but if there is a really strong wind I absolutely hate it. I also hate when snow has been on the ground for a few days and has been driven on for quite a while and it turns to slush or ice, because that can be very dangerous. I get nervous when I have to drive on it, because I am afraid of what could happen if the slightest thing went wrong. Snow can be fun if people want to play in it and do not mind all the cold. They can have snowball fights, make snowmen, or even go sledding if they can find a hill that is big enough here in Illinois. I have never been truly sledding, because there is not a hill big enough around my house except the one in Centennial Park. That hill is always busy though, so I never go there because there are so many people. Snowball fights can be fun if they are fair and against people that will actually have fun with it. Snowmen can also be fun to make, becuase they can be made anywhere with anyone. It is a very fun activity, but I haven't done any of it in a long time, and I normally do not have time for it unless it is a snow day. Snow can be fun, but it can also be a pain.

"The Minister's Black Veil"

The Minister's Black Veil is a dark story that is very upsetting to many people. Many people could think that the story was meant to be very dark and mysterious, but the author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, was trying to leave the ending up to the reader. In the story The Minister's Black Veil, a minister named Mr. Hooper, who was very much loved and adored, suddenly started wearing a black veil that covered his face down to his mouth (Hawthorne). Many people were very frightened by the veil, for they thought that the veil had partially come from the Devil (Hawthorne). The veil gave chills to many people, and they did not want to be anywhere near it (Hawthorne). They wanted Mr. Hooper to take the veil off, but they were all too afraid to ask him (Hawthorne). He was the kind of man that would have overthought any of his actions if anyone had said the least thing to him, but no one had the courage to talk to him about his black veil and how it frightened them all (Hawthorne). Finally, his intended wife, who was unafraid of the veil and did not feel anything at all when in its prescence, decided to talk to Mr. Hooper about it (Hawthorne). She was very straight forward in her approach, and she made it easier for both of them by doing so (Hawthorne). She asked why he wore the veil, because many people that were a part of his congregation were very scared of it and thought that he was trying to hide a sin that he had comitted (Hawthorne). He refused to take it off, though, because he said it was a symbol of the veil that every human wears because they have sinned, so he could not get rid of it (Hawthorne). She was very upset about it and began to feel the same terrors as the rest of the congregation had, and she was weeping because of it (Hawthorne). She actually broke off her engagement with him, because she was so afraid of it and because she would never be able to see his face again (Hawthorne). Mr. Hooper went around for the rest of his life wearing that black veil, and everyone else completely avoided him (Hawthorne). They either went out of their way to avoid him or they were very rude and ran in to him on purpose (Hawthorne). Children ran away when they saw him walking in the distance, women looked down their nose at him, and men just avoided him (Hawthorne). He lived in solitude, and he became very good at being a minister (Hawthorne). Soon, though, he was dying (Hawthorne). His ex-intended was the nurse that was by his bedside, and she had never let go of her feelings for him (Hawthorne). Soon, as he was taking his last breaths, the people around him asked him if they could take off the veil for him, and he refused them (Hawthorne). He held it on his face while he was dying, so they left it on while they were having his service and even buried him with it on (Hawthorne). People were still very freaked out about it after he died, and the story continues to be freaky (Hawthorne). The Minister's Black Veil shows many characteristics of Romanticism, and the main one is all of the details that Hawthorne puts in to the story. The people were very emotional and did not let reasoning take place in thier minds. The story was also a lot about the individual and what happened to Mr. Hooper, not anyone else. There were a ton of fears, mystery, emotions, and superstitions in the story, and people were mostly going crazy from fear. The Minister's Black Veil is a very mysterious, enjoyable story.

Hawthorne,, Nathaniel. "The Minister's Black Veil." Ibiblio - The Public's Library and Digital Archive. Web. 01 Dec. 2010. .