Journal #44

There are many contemporary movies that are great, and they all show characteristics of Post Modernism. I will write about the Harry Potter movies, because they will all have the same characteristics. There is a lot of fear in all of the movies, because in all of them, Harry, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger all run and hide from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, otherwise known as Voldemort. Voldemort killed Harry's parents and has terrorized the wizarding world for years since then. Everyone fears him, and Harry was the only one that survived his attacks, making him famous. He still fears Voldemort, because he thinks that Voldemort will be able to kill him this time, and in the meantime, he is trying to destroy all of the pieces of Voldemort's soul that he has split into seven pieces. There is also assimilation, because they are all wizards trying to get by in the wizarding world while still managing to hide from Voldemort. There is also the opposite in effect, because they are still in the world with all of the rest of the humans without magic, which they call Muggles. So they are not the same as all of those people, and they have to hide the fact that they are wizards or witches from everyone else as well. The lack of the individual is shown some, because at points, they all think that there is nothing special about them and that they are just like everyone else. They are teenagers in these movies, trying to figure out who they are, so it makes sense that they sometimes feel inferior or the same as everyone else, without showing who they really are. The opposite is in effect here as well, because at times, they know that they are the only ones that would be able to do what they are doing and that no one else is the same as them. At times they are very individualistic and selfish, and that shows that sometimes they are very sure of themselves. Many characteristics of Post Modernism are in the Harry Potter movies, and here are just a few.

Porter, Katherine A. "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall." Web. 17 Apr. 2011. .

"Katherine Anne Porter Biography." Famous Poets and Poems - Read and Enjoy Poetry. 2006. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. .

Pound, Ezra. "The River-Merchant's Wife: A Letter." Poets.org. New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1957. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. .

Liukkonen, Petri. "Ezra Pound." Www.kirjasto.sci.fi. 2008. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. .

"The American Novel . Literary Timeline . Movements . Modernism | PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Educational Broadcasting Corporation, 2007. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. .

Journal #43

Today we have to write about John Coltrane's song "Blue Train", which is a jazz song from the Modernism period of writing. This song shows a lot of different feelings and emotions in it through the tempo of the song and the range of notes that they play. In the beginning, the music starts out very slow, and it makes one really get into the music. I can picture the person in a small jazz club, playing their instrument with the drums and the piano in the background. I can see all of the people slowly closing their eyes and swaying along with the music. It quickly picks up speed, and the picture in my mind changes to a picture of people that are in rags for clothing all being together and celebrating something so they are dancing to the music. They are all extremely happy, and the beverages are definitely flowing. They have some people sitting on the side and just watching, but most of the people are dancing in the middle. They are being swung every which way, and their feet are moving at incredible speeds. The music then slows back down, and after a while the piano is the instrument that can be heard the loudest. This makes me feel like I am at an elegant party where the music is there on the side and everyone is socializing and talking to one another with flutes of champagne in their hands. The women are wearing beautiful dresses and the men are dressed in tuxedos. The music then speeds up again, but the piano is still the most easily heard. It is incredible how the transitions from slow to fast come so easily to them, because many people would not be able to make everything sound so smooth. Their group must have practiced this piece quite a bit, because it sounds absolutely perfect. They must have practiced incredibly hard when they were younger, and it definitely paid off.

Realism vs. Modernism

Realism and Modernism are both alike, yet also have many differences. Realism tried to be very realistic about what they were portraying. They wanted things to be seen they way that they were, and they did not try to make anything seem better or worse. Meanwhile, Modernism was often disillusioned, or showed signs of disillusionment. They enjoyed showing how people at the time had believed in so many different things like the government, society, and even their families, that all in the end betrayed them. They showed how there were many things that were happening at that time to cause them to second guess everything that they had believed in their entire lives. Realism, however, did nothing of the sort. They continued to discuss things realistically as they were, and did not try to put hidden meanings or motives behind it. Realism definitely worried more about what was happening here and now. They wanted to talk about what was going on in their lives at that very moment, and they were not really worried about their past or about their future. Modernism was much the same way, because they were more worried about what was happening to them right at that second. Sometimes they may look to the future and try to make some plans, but for the most part they were not really worried about it. They worked very hard to make do with what they had at the present, so they did not necessarily try to think about what they would have to come up with to survive the next few weeks or even days. Modernism involved things that happened at that time, such as the Great Depression, World War I, and the rations that many of them relied on for food daily. Realism was concerned about being in the moment, but they were not worried about it, because they had nothing huge to worry about. They may have had day-to-day worries, but it is a lot less likely that they had huge things to think about like the Modernists did. Realism also had many different aspects that can change the way that we think of it. We can think of it as Regionalism, which is a ton different than normal versions of Realism. Regionalism is nothing like Modernism. Regionalism is all about certain regions of the United States. Regionalism was more boasting about what a certain part of the United States had to offer than it was about different problems that Americans were facing at the moment. Regionalism and Modernism really are not alike at all, and that is just one more way that Realism and Modernism are so different. While both can have many advantages and disadvantages, they are both enjoyed by most people that read them. It is hard to compare the two because they can be so alike, but at the same time, it is possible to tell the difference, because they involve different topics that are both necessary. Realism and Modernism can be alike in many ways, but they also have vast differences that allow us to make them different things.

Job Shadowing

I job shadowed a teacher named Mrs. Petit from A-C Central. She taught a class of first graders that were really fun. There were only fourteen of them, but that made the day a lot easier, because I had less names that I needed to learn. The children were adorable, and very fun to be around. Some of the day was mildly boring, because I just had to sit there and listen. While I know that is what I am supposed to do, I would have loved to have been able to actually take part in helping to teach the children. I got to see them do many different things, such as music, physical education, computers, and library. It was fun to watch them all do many different things, and it helped give me a better feel for the different areas of teaching. I also got to see different reading levels, and that also helped me to realize that the children are not all at the same level. One of the young girls was a fantastic reader, but she had a hard time paying attention, so she ended up being put in the slow reading group because her mom requested it. This all helped me realize that teaching can be complicated, and working with parents on different topics is just as important as working with the children. I will need to be organized and engaging, and that will make everything go a lot more smoothly. I can definitely see myself teaching, and this experience only added to the knowledge that I am trying to gain to get there.

Journal #42

There is a lot of controversy over who people prefer to read, Walt Whitman or Emily Dickinson. Personally I would prefer to read Emily Dickinson, because she makes a lot more sense to me than Walt Whitman does. Walt Whitman was a very complicated poet, and he made every poem that he wrote have multiple meanings. Personally I prefer to sometimes have poems that I can take at face value and that are very literal, so it is a lot better for me to read Emily Dickinson. I prefer to read some of the complicated poems every once in a while, but quite often I prefer to read the poems that are simple and easy to follow. Walt Whitman tried to talk about very complex things in every single poem that he wrote, because he tried to write about Self, the every man, God, Christianity, or America in every single poem that he ever wrote. It may not have always been about all of those things, but almost every time he writes about more than one of those themes. He also writes things in a very complicated way that is quite often very hard to follow. He is very egotistical in his poems, because he says everything is him and about him and he is God and everyone else is God as well, and I do not agree with that. I do not like Whitman from what I have seen from him, and he kind of makes me mad. I much prefer Emily Dickinson, because she is a lot more simple with what she is trying to say. It is also easier, because even if she is trying to be complex, she is still a lot easier to understand than Whitman ever was. Whitman and Dickinson were not popular during their lifetimes, because many people did not agree with them or did not have their poetry. Whitman and Dickinson were both extremely popular poets after their deaths, and many people continue to read them even today.

"The way I read a letter's this:" - Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson was a unique poet that does not fit well into any specific literary category. She wrote many, many poems, that all became incredibly popular after her death. She wrote about any number of things, and her poems are very diverse. Some of them are incredibly literal and have nothing hidden in their meaning, but there are also some that are completely loaded with hidden meaning and other interpretations, so it is often hard to figure out what one will be getting in any given poem. I read a poem by Emily Dickinson that was called "The way I read a letter's this:". This poem basically talks about the speaker reading a letter from their lover. It talks about how the person wants to hide in the very back of their room and open the letter very secretively, so no one else can see the beauty of it or can feel how intimate it is. She is trying to show how meaningful and heartfelt that kind of thing can be, and how important they are to the person that receives them. Emily Dickinson talks all about how she checks every step of the way that no one is following her or sneaking in to see the letter. She talks about how she constantly feels for the letter, and makes sure that there is no way that she could drop it anywhere along the way. She talks about hiding in the corner so that she will be the only one to see how sacred and pure and amazing it is. She wants to make sure that she feels the full effect of the letter and all of the emotions that go along with it, so she makes sure to go into a private room that may well be a sanctuary for her. She talks about how she feels after reading the letter and soaking up all of the goodness that it can give to her. She talks about how much she wants her lover and how being with her lover would be heaven to her. Not the conventional heaven, but her heaven. This poem is very literal and it would be hard to take it different ways. It does not relate to Christianity, because this letter is more between lovers than it would be between a father and a son. It might be mildly awkward for people in those positions to have those feelings for each other, so it is difficult to think about. There is no hidden meaning that Christ wrote letters or received letters from lovers, so Christianity does not fit. There is not a hidden meaning, because only lovers should have these feelings for each other, because it would be awkward for family members to feel this way about each other. Friends might be able to feel this way about each other, but they might want something more with the other person if they feel this way. This poem is pretty simplistic, but it is still very meaningful and shows a lot of depth and emotion.

Dickinson, Emily. "24. “The Way I Read a Letter’s This.” Part Three: Love. Dickinson, Emily. 1924. Complete Poems." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and Hundreds More. Web. 21 Mar. 2011.

"Érudit | Romanticism on the Net N38-39 2005 : Mayer | Finding Herself Alone: Emily Dickinson, Victorian Women Novelists, and the Female Subject." Érudit. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. .

Journal #41

I read Emily Dickinson's poem "A Word is Dead" The poem says simply this:

"A word is dead
When it is said,
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day."

I think that she is trying to say a number of things. She is trying to say that while some people think that words do not last any longer than the length of time is takes to say them. They think that words are dead things that can not mean anything and can not make a lasting impression on anyone. Dickinson, on the other hand, completely disagrees. She thinks that words can last for a long time. She thinks that words can last forever, and that can definitely make a lasting impact on a lot of people. She says that words, such as those used in speeches or famous letters, can make people do a number of things, and they can also make people believe a number of things, whether or not they are true. Words are very powerful, which Emily Dickinson knew very well. She understood their importance, and she saw them as living things that last forever, no matter what anyone else around her thought. She knew that words could make a huge impact, no matter how small the word is, because of people's interpretations of the word and the situation. Words could also mean a number of other things, because they could be interchanged with quite a few things that other people do not consider important, but she believes to be so. They could be synonymous with things such as plants or animals, which Dickinson spent much of her time studying and writing about. She could see the power and importance in every situation, while many people could not, because they did not spend as much of their time sitting out studying nature and the things that are in it. Dickinson saw quite a few things that other people did not, and she saw the good, beauty, and importance in every situation.

Journal #40

Whitman's "Self" is supposedly the same in every single person, and when he found what "Self" was, he would be able to figure things out and let it apply to everyone in the entire world. I disagree with Whitman, in that I do not think that "Self" is the same in every single person. I think that every person is different, because everyone has their own unique traits, characteristics, personality, and reactions. Everyone reacts to things differently. Some people are calm in the face of danger and do not show their reactions at all, while some people totally freak out and let their emotions play across their faces like they are an open book. Some people are not easily scared, while others jump when the toaster pops with their toast. Some people are incredibly organized, while others are so messy, that they can not find anything that they ever need. On a deeper level, some people believe in Christianity, some in Buddhism, some in Hinduism, some in Muslim, some believe in Scientology, some in Atheism, and people believe everything in between. Those are more philosophical thoughts, and if people do not believe the same thing, how can they have the same "Self"? At the same time, though, people normally all have the same wants and desires on a basic level. We all need food, water, and shelter, and we all want to be loved and cared about. No one in the world can say that they would be able to live on their own their whole lives, because we were made so that we, by human nature, need to have company. If we do not have people or pets around us, we will make something into company, as "Wilson" was created in "Castaway". People may not all believe the same things and not think that all of the same things are true and correct, but we have some of the same needs on a basic level, so it depends on where one is searching for "Self".

"BEAT! BEAT! DRUMS!" - Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman wrote this poem differently than some of the rest of his poems. This poem is about the Civil War, and how the Civil War changed the lives of many Americans. This poem is talking about how all of the troops would march through all of the towns. Whitman was explaining that they should not stop for any reason at all, and that the drums and the bugles should never stop playing their music. Whitman said that they should not listen to any requests from anyone along the streets that wanted them to stop. They should not listen to the mothers that wanted their children back, and they should not listen to the people that just wanted to sit there and talk about the war. The whole point of a war is that negotiations did not work, so all of the soldiers need to go to war. Whitman may also be saying that the drummers and buglers should not stop not matter what, because the soldiers count of the musicians to help give them all the commands, and if the drummers or the buglers stopped, some soldiers could die that did not need to, because they would not know what they should be doing. He could be telling the soldiers the same message in turn through the musicians, because they can never give up as well. This poem fits well with his theme of the "Everyman", because this applies to every person that was in the military. It would have been easy for him to write this poetry, because he was a nurse in the army during the Civil War. This poem fits everyone in the military, because he is telling every single person that they should not give up. They are all going through some of the same things and understand what the others are experiencing, so they can all relate to these poems really well. This poem does not have anything to do with Christianity, because this poem is about the Civil War and how the soldiers in it should do their best, and since the Civil War was not about Christianity or how it relates to the world, Christianity is not in this poem. Walt Whitman also carried a notebook with him where he wrote some things that eventually turned into poetry. This could have easily been inspired by him seeing soliers walk by, which makes the poem that much more meaningful. Whitman wrote many poems from the Civil War era, and they probably came from many different inspirations, but Whitman had the chance to remember where he came up with every single poem that he wrote because he wrote all of his notes in the notebook that he carried everywhere with him. People are able to relate to his poems more easily since the know that they all had legitimate, good inspiration. Walt Whitman was a very controversial poet that wrote some awkward things, but this poem was good and it helped explain to many people the difficulties of wars.


"Whitman's Wartime Washington." American Studies @ The University of Virginia. Web. 08 Mar. 2011. .

Whitman, Walt. "BEAT! BEAT! DRUMS! (Leaves of Grass [1891-1892])." The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 09 Mar. 2011. .

"A Woman Waits for Me" - Walt Whitman

"A Woman Waits for Me" is a very descriptive poem of what a man does to a woman to create children. There are many metaphors in it, so younger children may not understand it to be what it really is, but most people understand the poem. It is complicated to explain and define, but it has some of the same characteristics as the rest of Whitman's poems, so comparisons to the rest of his poems and showing how they are all related is mildly easy. In this poem, Whitman talks about women that can do everything that men can do, which at the time was insane. He talks about women that can swim or row boats or wrestle or shoot guns, which was all completely unheard of at the time. At that time, women were just beginning to get rights, so to think that they would be not only equivalent of men with their rights but also man's equal in what they can do was a completely new idea. This brought about a lot of controversy at the time, and since Whitman was already involved in a lot of controversy, this did not help his cause. His critics loved this, because they could call him crazy and rage about him and his works by pointing to this. They could explain that he was out of his mind because he thought that women could be the same as men. They could show that women did not even have the rights to vote, so if they could not vote, why would they even want to be like men? They could claim that those women would not be a good or real part of society, so Whitman was insane for even trying to say that that kind of woman would exist. This poem also confused many of his friends, because he was a homosexual, so for him to be talking about women in such a sensual way. His friends may have wondered if he had become heterosexual or bisexual, and since he did not, this poem was guaranteed to have confused all of his friends that did not know his inspiration for the poem. People do not know the inspiration of his poem now, and that is why we all marvel about what he was thinking and how he could talk about women in such a sensual way if he was a homosexual male. Even some of the critics that loved his works and thought he was amazing did not know what to think about this poem. They may have thought that he was going crazy. They may have thought that in his quest for "Self" he had lost his mind. He could have been trying to get in a woman's mind, but they probably did not agree with what he said, because he said women would be able to do the same things as men could do, which was also a big controversy at the time. This poem is extremely controversial, and peope today still do not know what to think of it.

Whitman, Walt. "Leaves of Grass (1891-92)." The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. .

Whitman, Walt, and M. J. Killingsworth. "1856:Poems of Sexuality and the Body." The Cambridge Introduction to Walt Whitman. 45. Print.

Journal #39

Walt Whitman's "Bardic Symbols" is a very confusing poem. It is hard to understand, so it is hard to read into it and try to get knowledge from it. It is about a man walking beside the sea and how cold the sea was. The man wants the ocean to like him and he cries out to the ocean, but to no avail. There are many words in this poem that are not used in everyday life, and that could confuse a great number of people. William Dean Howell agrees in his criticism of "Bardic Symbols", and he shows how people did not understand Whitman or his poetry at that time. Whitman often discusses the Everyman, America, or Christianity or spirituality in his poems, and that is an easy thing to look for as a common theme throughout all of his works. "Bardic Symbols" is a harder poem to read into, but I did not see anything about Christianity in this poem. There may be some spirituality because of how emotional and sensual he gets, but that depends on the interpretation. He becomes very sensual in the poem and it becomes mildly awkward because he is being sensual with the ocean and the beach, which he calls his mother and father. Many people would not understand that, and that might make the not like the poem and eventually not like Whitman himself. There is not much about the Everyman, but people could all walk along the beach like he does. He is not talking about something that is expensive or hard to do, so everyone would be able to walk along the beach like he did here. There is also some about America, because the poem is set along a beach in Manhattan. He is discussing how beautiful it is while is calm outside and when it is stormy outside. Whitman was a very controversial poet, and as seen in Howell's criticism, many Americans did not understand his works at that time.

Whitman, Walt. "Whitman's Poems In Periodicals—Bardic Symbolsa Machine Readable Transcription." The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. .

Howell, William D. ""Bardic Symbols": [Review]." The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. .

"When I Read the Book" - Walt Whitman

In "When I Read the Book" by Walt Whitman, Whitman talks about boigraphies. He declares that he has read a biography. He wonders if when he dies, someone will write a book about him, and he wonders if that person will know anything about his life. He also says that sometimes he wonders how much he actually knows about his life, because he only catches hints of himself. He rarely sees his true self, and realizes that the few hints of his true self that he does see, he uses to their full extent to try to find the "Self" that everyone fits into. Whitman claims that if anyone wanted to write a good biography of him, it would be best for them to write their book from all of his poetry in "Leaves of Grass". He claims that people would find the best and most true part of him in his works, and most of his works were collected together to create "Leaves of Grass", which was revised a number of times and had many works added to it before its final completion. Whitman could have been thinking about a number of things when he was writing this poem, but it is most likely that he was thinking about all of the critiques that he had been getting. He had not been getting very good reviews, because most people either loved him or hated him, and he probably thought more about the bad reviews than he did the good ones. He was curious about what the people who had written the bad reviews of his works would say about him after he passed. He wanted to know what they would put in his biography, and he wondered if they would be nice about him and portray his life in a good light, or if they would hate him and be rude about him and portray his life as an awful thing that did not need to happen. Thought the reviews were mostly supposed to be about his works, many reviewers slammed him, as well as his works, which did not help his self-esteem at all. He may have felt really bad about himself because of all of the things that he had been hearing, but he did not let it get to him enough that he stopped writing. He persevered through many hard things in his life, and that can be reflected in some of his poetry, because he wrote about things that inspired him. He wrote many different poems that were very diverse in their inspirations and in their style. He talked about obituaries and the circle of life; he talked about ploughmen and the noises of America. Whitman was a very controversial author that got mixed reviews, but many authors now are influenced by his works, because he wrote in a style that was new at that time. His style blew minds at that time, because nothing had ever been done remotely life it before. People now do whatever they want in poetry, and that comes from Walt Whitman and his revolutionary changes to poetry.

Whitman, Walt. "WHEN I READ THE BOOK. (Leaves of Grass [1891-1892])." The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 02 Mar. 2011. .

Oliver, Charles M. ""When I Read the Book"" Critical Companion to Walt Whitman: a Literary Reference to His Life and Work. By Walt Whitman. 235. Web. 2 Mar. 2011. .

Journal #38

"As I Watched the Ploughman Ploughing" is a short poem about life and death, and how they are related to plowing, sowing, and harvesting. This work shows that life and death are like the seasons, and they all come at some point. Walt Whitman says that life is like plowing or sowing. He says that they come in their own season and that there is a specific time for it. He also says that harvesting is like death. This could be tied to Christianity in that Whitman could be saying that there is a divine being like God that is doing the plowing, sowing, and harvesting of people. He could be saying that God is in charge of when people are born and when people die. There is also a passage in the Bible that says things along the lines of "There is a time for everything, there is a season for everything under Heaven". It is along those lines, and that can also be tied to this poem. This poem is very similar and it says basically the same idea in a different way. Whitman could have read that passage, and he could have realized that he wanted to write about it or write something similar to it. He also could have just heard the passage as a child and not really remembered it when he grew up. He could have subconsciously remembered it, and used it as his inspiration, even thought he did not really know what he was talking about. Whitman could have gone to a church one day, heard that passage, and realized that he would be able to sell many copies of a book or poem if it was about that passage, because the passage was so optimistic and comforting when something bad happens. Whitman definitely had some roots in Christianity, and it shows in some of his works; it especially shows in this work. This poem is incredibly spiritual, and it can be inspirational to any number of people.

Whitman, Walt. ""As I Watch'd the Ploughman Ploughing"" Leaves of Grass. 1900. Print.

Walt Whitman's "Self"

Walt Whitman was a very unique poet, who wrote of many things that were controversial at the time. He was not afraid to speak of things like sexuality, and many people considered his conceited. He can be taken a number of ways, because he speaks of the world and how everything is one. He tries to say that everyone is everyone else and is also God at the same time, so many people are not sure how to perceive him. He was a complicated man, with many emotions, and it helped him a lot in his poetry writing.
Whitman emphasized Self very much in his poetry, and he does it in many ways. He tries hard to show that everyone is the same as everyone else. This could be taken to say that everyone should have the same rights, because they are all the same people, but at the same time, they are all God as well. So, it could also be taken that all people should have all of the same rights as God, because they are all the same and they are also all God. This helps to show how complicated his works were and how far ahead of his time he really was.
Whitman uses Song to factor into Self in a poem called “One’s-Self I Sing”. In this poem he talks about how bodies do not matter and really do not count for anything. He says he is cheering for males and females alike, and that meant a lot from him, because he often was on the fringe when discussing sexuality. He often put women down quite a bit, and it is surprising that he would cheer for women as much as he would cheer for men. He claims that bodies do not matter, because he is talking about souls and how souls are all the same because everyone is the same person. He says that brains also are not the only things that are needed, because, while they are a part of the body that is vitally important, they do not complete the body, and that is what he wants. He wants the whole thing to come packaged together nicely in a set, because he claims that makes things much better and easier. He claims that songs can help oneself in that they can make one much more cheerful and can help give one much passion, which he explains as very important in the life of a person. He realizes that people need to be happy to really live, and he says that songs will definitely help them do that. He also wants people to be modern and up to date, because he thinks that will help the self become much better and much more complete. He realizes that there are many components to being a good soul, and he really thinks that songs will help humans achieve that amazing soul.
Walt Whitman was a very influential writer that has been compared to Shakespeare. He wanted people to think of the Self as the most important part of the being, and people were split about whether they should listen to him or not. There were not many people that were on the fence about him, because most people were either whole-heartedly for him, or they were whole-heartedly against him. Many people will argue for days about whether or not his writings were egotistical, and that all depends on where people draw the line. He may not have thought that he was crossing the line while other people did, and that makes his works very controversial. He was a good author and he had new ways to convey his thoughts and meanings, but new things are not always taken well in the beginning and his works were not an exception.

Journal #36

My favorite meal is probably Thanksgiving dinner at my grandmother's house. She cooks an unusual Thanksgiving dinner, because we eat with her for lunch, and we go to my father's mother's house for supper. She knows that we will have the standard Thanksgiving dinner for supper, consisting of turkey and sometimes ham, mashed potatoes, noodles, rolls, deviled eggs, and often some other things as well. At my mother's mother's house, we eat turkey or ham, macaroni and cheese (my favorite food), potatoes, green beans or corn, delicious rolls with jelly, and all of it in abundance. The meat is always cooked perfectly, with steam billowing off of it and it is very easy to cut. The macaroni and cheese is made from scratch, and it is amazing. The cheese is gooey and the noodles are delicious. The potatoes are very soft and buttery, and they are always very hot. I do not like green beans, but my family does, so they always eat some and they say that they are really good. I like the corn, because it is also buttery, which is always a good thing. The rolls are always soft and flaky, and the jelly is also cold and homemade. She always makes the most delicious food, and I absolutely love going to her house. She always has amazing food, and every morning that we are there for breakfast, she makes us cinnamon rolls. They are so soft and chewy, and the icing is dripping down the sides. They may be store-bought, but they taste as if they are homemade, because she puts so much love into them. She makes amazing cookies that are known throughout half of the junior class, and she also has homemade icing that has been spread throughout our family, and I love going to her house to eat, because she always makes the best food. Everything that she makes is homemade and delicious, because she cares so much about the people that she is making the food for.

Journal #35

It would be very hard to be a reporter during a war, because it would be just like being in the army, without killing people and having to interview people and give reports. It would be just as scary as having to fight in the war while overseas, and it would be the same amount of danger. Since one would be staying with the troops, one would have the same worries of ambushes in the middle of the night, of bombs randomly blowing up and hurting, maiming, or even killing people, oneself included, and of being shot while one is trying to get the latest news. It can be very complicated being in the trenches overseas with troops, and it shows that people will go to great lengths just to know the latest news about what is happening, when we could in all reality go about getting the news in different ways. We could try to find people in the troops that may have wanted to get a degree in news or reporting but could not afford the schooling without going into one of the armed forces. We could give them the chance to help us and tell us everything that they see and know about the war, because then we would not have to send any extra people there with writing articles or cameras or any other utensils needed for the news. We would not get in the way of the troops, because they would not have to deal with the extra people and the extra duties that they would bring. We would not have to feed all of them, protect all of them, or clean up after them. If we did want to bring reporters, we should make them care for themselves, because they are just adding to the work of the troops, who are already occupied full-time with their safety and trying to win battles in the war. There are pros and cons to being a reporter in the trenches with the troops, but I would definitely not want to do it.

Jack London — "To Build a Fire"

"To Build a Fire" is the story of a man who was out in the wilderness trying to reach his friends (London). He was following a trail that went through the woods and it was negative fifty degrees outside and rapidly dropping (London). He had a dog with him that was following him to his friends' house (London). He wanted very much to get there, although an old man in a shop that he had passed through warned him not to travel (London). The old man said that it was too cold and too dangerous to travel outside without a hiking partner (London). The man did not heed the old man's warning and went out hiking anyway (London). He managed to avoid most of the holes that were filled with water, but eventually his foot went through one and started to freeze (London). He had matches with him, so he built a fire and lit it to keep him warm (London). However, the tree that he was pulling branches from dropped all of its snow on him and his fire (London). He had to keep moving and try to build another fire (London). He kept trying and kept trying, but his fingers were going numb because he had to take his mittens off to make the fire (London). Soon, all of his extremities were numb, and the man started to panic (London). He started running down the path as fast as he could, which on numb, frostbitten feet was very hard (London). He kept stumbling and falling, and eventually he gave up trying (London). He lay down and waited for the cold to take him, and he quickly fell asleep and passed away (London). The dog lay for a while, waiting for its master to get up, but when he realized his master was dead, he went back in the direction of their camp so he could find a new owner (London). This work is Realist, because it is in the moment and realistic. It is kind of ridiculous that it is so cold, but it is realistic that someone would go out hiking alone and freeze to death (London). It is not Naturalistic, because there is no studying of the man or his feelings, just descriptions of them (London). It is also not Regionalistic, because while there is mention of the landscape, there is no promotion behind it (London). This work does not really reflect society, because it is about one man and his opinions and methods (London). There is nothing about religion or government, and there is a little about nature, in how cold it was and how the snow hindered his progress (London). There is also some about how the rivers and streams, while frozen over, still could be broken through to make things freeze (London). There was not much about human nature, but there is some in the fact that people are stubborn and do not always want to listen to others that may be more knowledgeable (London). There is also nothing about the American Dream, because this man is not planning anything for the long term, he is more worried about reaching his friends (London). There is no figurative language and there is also nothing about a Hero, because there is no American Dream (London). London wrote this very well, and it is almost heartbreaking when the man dies.

London, Jack, Douglas Fisher, Beverly A. Chin, and Jacqueline J. Royster. ""To Build a Fire"" American Literature. Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. Columbus: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2009. 601-14. Print.

Edwin Arlington Robinson – "Richard Cory" and "Miniver Cheevy"

These two works are also very different, even though they are by the same author. They both tell stories of people yearning for something that they do not or can not have (Robinson). In "Richard Cory", everyone thought that he was the greatest thing on earth and that he had everything and could never be in want (Robinson). They went home and cursed the few things that they owned, when suddenly, Richard Cory killed himself by shooting himself in the head (Robinson). No one could believe it because of how amazing they thought he was, but he obviously wanted something that he could not have and he found no alternative solution (Robinson). In "Miniver Cheevy", Miniver is a young boy that was born in the time period that the work was written, but he had always wanted to be with King Arthur and his knights (Robinson). He always felt like something was missing and that he would never be able to do what he really wanted to do, because he really wanted to live in that time period, and that was basically all he could think about becuase his desires consumed him that much (Robinson). He was desperate for the chance to live with King Arthur, but he never got the chance (Robinson). These works fit in the Realist period becuase they are both realistic (Robinson). Often, it seems like the people that have the most or are the greatest are more likely to kill themselves, and it is totally plausible for someone to kill themselves(Robinson). It is also realistic that people feel like they were born in the wrong time period, and feel like they should be able to go back in time so that they could fit in and find somewhere to belong (Robinson). They are in the moment, and they are full of emotion as well (Robinson). These works are not in the Naturalist period, because they have nothing to do with science or the evaluation of humans or their reactions to certain situations (Robinson). These works are also not Regionalistic, because they have nothing to do with land or any regions whatsoever, so they can not be from the Regional time period (Robinson). These works reflect society pretty well, because they proclaim that everyone wants something that they can not have, and they can go mad over not getting it (Robinson). These works have nothing with religion or with government, and there is nothing in there about nature (Robinson). These do reveal things about human nature, however, and they are things such as the need for more and the desire to have the best (Robinson). These ideas have been taught to people since they have been born, and by this time it is human nature to want to have and be the best. These works have not much about the American Dream, except for the fact that they both want something that they can not have (Robinson). There is no figurative language, and there is nothing about a Hero, because these poems end well for neither of the subjects (Robinson). Robinson did a good job in writing these poems, because they are intruiging and the endings are unexpected.

Robinson, Edwin A. ""Richard Cory"/"Miniver Cheevy"" American Literature. Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Douglas Fisher, Beverly A. Chin, and Jacqueline J. Royster. Columbus: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2009. 573-76. Print.

Paul Laurence Dunbar – "Douglass" and "We Wear the Mask"

Dunbar's "Douglass" and "We Wear the Mask" are both different poems that both have a somber mood. "Douglass" talks about Frederick Douglass (Dunbar). It says that they are in a situation where everyone needs Douglass to be there for them and comfort them and reassure them (Dunbar). "We Wear the Mask" is different, in that it says that the world sees us as certain people, but in all reality we only let them see us with masks on (Dunbar). It claims that the world never knows the real person behind the mask, and that the world may not even know we have a mask on (Dunbar). They may take us at face value, which would not allow them to see very much of a person, and not try to get to know us at a deeper level at all (Dunbar). These poems are both very different, but they both have the same note of sadness in them that makes the reader upset (Dunbar). These poems are not cheerful or happy, and could easily ruin someone's mood. These poems fit in the Realist period, because they are both realistic (Dunbar). While they may be sad, they are both realistic and could possibly be true (Dunbar). They are both also emotional and they are in the moment, not looking toward the past or the future (Dunbar). These works are not Naturalistic, because there is no science involved (Dunbar). There was a lot of emotion used in writing these two works, and there was no studying of humans or of their reactions to different situations (Dunbar). These works are also not Regionalistic, because there is nothing in them about a certain place (Dunbar). Dunbar is not trying to promote a certain area or put down a certain region, and there is not even the mention of certain places anywhere in the works (Dunbar). These works kind of show society, but they show it through Dunbar's eyes so it is a tainted view (Dunbar). These works show society as a mean, ruthless, emotionless group, and that is not always true (Dunbar). Sometimes society can be very kind and open-hearted, so the view of society in these works is not necessarily to be trusted (Dunbar). There is nothing in these works about religion, and the only mention of government is in "Douglass" when he is trying to say that slavery should have ended sooner (Dunbar). That is also the only mention of nature, because he compares how long it took slavery to end and the obstacles that it had to go through in terms of nature and the sea (Dunbar). There is nothing really about human nature except for the fact that humans will always try to hide their true emotions if they are not deemed appropriate for the time that was taking place (Dunbar). There was nothing about the American Dream, except the African Americans' American Dream of being freed from slavery (Dunbar). The only figurative language was the comparisons to nature, and those are pretty self-explanatory (Dunbar). There was not a Hero involved in these works, and the Hero could only be the one to save them from slavery (Dunbar). Dunbar was an author that stood for his beliefs but often felt caged in by society (Dunbar).

Dunbar, Paul L. ""Douglass"/"We Wear the Mask"" American Literature. Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Douglas Fisher, Beverly A. Chin, and Jacqueline J. Royster. Columbus: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2009. 568-71. Print.

Chief Joseph – "I Will Fight No More Forever"

Chief Joseph's speech is very short, and may not necessarily mean a lot to a number of people, but it rings true, and many Indians hold it in high regards. It showed how weary he was of fighting, and how he just wanted to find a way to finish the fighting so he would be able to look for his children and make sure that they were all there with the rest of the tribe (Joseph). He was too tired of dealing with all of the pain and heartache that comes with war, and he just wanted to stop learning about deaths from the fighting (Joseph). He did not want to lose anyone else to the random, pointless skirmishes that had been taking place along their trekk to Canada in the hopes to escape to freedom, but the Americans rounded them up and shipped them off to reservations while they had gotten very close to their target point (Joseph). This work fits in to the Realist time period for a number of reasons (Joseph). It was definitely in the moment, and it was very realistic because it was what was happening at the moment (Joseph). It entailed a ton of emotions, because Chief Joseph was so involved with the events that had been happening, and that proves that it is Realistic (Joseph). It is not Naturalistic, because there is the emotion in the work, and there is nothing scientific at all (Joseph). There is no studying of humans or studying of their emotions, and science is not even mentioned or insinuated in this work (Joseph). This work is also not Regionalistic, becuase they had been going all over the place, and there is nothing about a specific place that they had been or were going to (Joseph). This work kind of reflects society, becuase it shows how upset the Indians were and how the Americans were trying to take over everything with no consideration for anyone or anything that had been there previously (Joseph). There was nothing about religion (Joseph). Chief Joseph was talking to their government, and it just shows that he was ready to stop fighting (Joseph). There was nothing about nature, and there was only very little about human nature (Joseph). The little about human nature was about Chief Joseph and how people will always be willing to give up wars if they think their efforts are futile or they are more worried about what is happening to everyone else (Joseph). There is nothing about the American Dream, there is no figurative language in this speech at all, and there is nothing about a Hero (Joseph). One could say that the Hero would have been the one that led the Indians to safety and kept it to the least amount of casulties necessary, but that would have been extremely hard to come by (Joseph). Chief Joseph did a good job by himself, and not very many people would have wanted to change the fact that it was Joseph that led them through such hard times. Chief Joseph was very influential and his people looked up to him immensely. He led them through many hardships and they were always willing to listen to his advice.

Joseph, Chief. ""I Will Fight No More Forever"" American Literature. Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Douglas Fisher, Beverly A. Chin, and Jacqueline J. Royster. Columbus: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2009. 531-33. Print.

Edgar Lee Masters – "Spoon River Anthology" (or excerpts from)

There were two excerpts from "Spoon River Anthology" that needed to be analyzed for this blog, and they were both very different. They each draw the reader in and make the reader want to read every story that is in "Spoon River Anthology". They are all very descriptive and paint a picture of lives that were filled with joy and happiness (Masters). "Lucinda Matlock" speaks of woman that lived a long and illustrious life where she cared for her children and kept the house (Masters). "Fiddler Jones" was about a man that tried to be a farmer, but who was so good at playing the fiddle, he never got anything done (Masters). They are both very different works, and they are both part of a greater number of works compiled in "Spoon River Anthology" (Masters). Masters made these works very complex, as they are all poems and are supposed to be considered the epitaphs for those people (Masters). They both fit into the Realist category, but it is hard to tell why (Masters). While the poems reflect on the past, they tell what the person is thinking in the exact moment that they are written, and both of the situations are realistic and could have easily happened (Masters). These works are definitely not Naturalistic (Masters). They have nothing to do with science, and they are full of emotion (Masters). These works shows that in poetry like this, it is a lot harder to try to fit science into them, which in general makes it a lot harder for these works to be anywhere close to Naturalistic (Masters). These works could kind of be considered Regionalistic, because they talk all about Illinois (Masters). They talk about different areas of Illinois and things that can be done there, which can qualify this work as Regionalistic, though it is not necessarily obvious (Masters). These works do not really reflect society, but they talk a little bit about small towns and the interactions between people in those small towns (Masters). These works do not talk about religion or government, but there is a little bit about nature (Masters). There is not much about nature, but in "Fiddler Jones", there is a little about the fact that he was a farmer and farmers work with nature (Masters). There is not much about human nature, but in "Lucinda Matlock", there is a claim that states "It takes life to love Life", which basically says love is incredibly important in life, and that is a part of human nature (Masters). There is nothing about the American Dream, although they are both happy in their lives and what they did (Masters). There is no figurative language in these works, and there is also no mention of a Hero in either of them (Masters). They may each think that they are their own Heros, but that is mildly dumb (Masters). Edgar Lee Masters wrote extremely well when he wrote these works, and each one that is read makes one want to read more and more of them. They are intriguing and draw the reader in, which is what is wanted from every work that has ever been written.

Masters, Edgar L. ""Spoon River Anthology" (or Excerpts From)." American Literature. Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Douglas Fisher, Beverly A. Chin, and Jacqueline J. Royster. Columbus: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2009. 514-17. Print.

Mark Twain – "Two Views of the River"

This work is very different than the last work of Mark Twain's that was analyzed. This work is more serious, and instead of necessarily telling a story, it shows that too much of a good thing can be bad (Twain). This work talks about Mark Twain's years as a steamboater (Twain). It talks about how in the beginning, he marveled at the beauty of the river and the sunsets that reflected off of it, but he soon lost the newness of it all (Twain). He said that after he had learned his trade of boating well, he lost all concept of the beauty of the river (Twain). He then began to notice the same things, but he realized the meaning for the boat that came from those things (Twain). He realized that some meant that the river was getting shallower, others meant that one well-known landmark would soon be gone because the tree would die, and yet others meant different things about the current (Twain). These things could all hurt the ship, and since that was what he had been trained to notice, that is what he began to see (Twain). He lamented over this and realized what a shame it was, but he also knew that there was absolutely nothing that he could do about it (Twain). It made him yearn for the times where he could just look at the river and marvel in its wonder and beauty instead of looking for the things that could be harmful (Twain). This work is Realist, because it shows what he is thinking of in the moment (Twain). It shows his feelings and it is definitely a realistic situation that he was in (Twain). This work could be a little bit Naturalistic, because of the way that he describes the river in the end (Twain). He is more analytical at that point, like scientists are, and it makes the work lean toward the Naturalistic end (Twain). This work is not Regionalistic (Twain). While it talks quite a bit of nature, it does not try to promote a certain region or put down a certian region (Twain). He is more describing the landscape than talking about life there (Twain). This work does not really talk about society at the time, because it only talks about the point of view of one man, and one can not know what the others were thinking (Twain). This work does not talk of religion or of government, but nature was very important to this work (Twain). This work shows that too much nature, or different jobs, can detract from nature and can just hurt the experiences one could have in nature (Twain). This work does not really talk about human nature, but there are things about how he is very upset about the fact that he can not really take nature at face value anymore (Twain). There is nothing about the American Dream, but Twain really wants to see nature again as he could in his youth (Twain). There is no figurative language, and there is also nothing about a Hero (Twain). Twain was a good author that could write in a number of different styles. He was very complex, and that makes for good stories.

Twain, Mark. ""Two Views of the River"" American Literature. Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Douglas Fisher, Beverly A. Chin, and Jacqueline J. Royster. Columbus: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2009. 504-05. Print.

Mark Twain – "The Celebrated Jumping Frogs of Calaveras County"

This work is comical, just as a good deal of Mark Twain's works. It is complete fiction, but it is very interesting, and shows something different from the Realist period than most people are used to seeing. Mark Twain basically wrote two stories when he wrote "The Celebrated Jumping Frogs of Calaveras County" (Twain). First, he wrote a man that had been asked by his friend to talk to town citizens about a man named Leonidas W. Smiley (Twain). In this story, the author describes that he asked a bartender who got Mr. Smiley confused with a Mr. Jim Smiley (Twain). This begins the second story, which is all about Jim Smiley (Twain). The second story talks about the fact that Jim Smiley was willing to bet on anything, and even though he did not normally have any idea what the outcome would actually be, he often won because of pure luck (Twain). It talks of a few different animals that Jim Smiley had that, though seemingly tame and meek, always managed to win whatever bet Smiley had on them (Twain). This work is Realist, because it is really about two friends conversing about an old one, which makes it in the moment and realistic (Twain). It is realistic that one could ask about a person they used to know, and the person that they asked happens to like telling tall tales (Twain). That person could have made up a tale like this one, and that goes to show that this story is realistic (Twain). This story is not Naturalistic, because this work has nothing to do with science or studying the reactions of different people (Twain). It is also not Regionalistic, because it has nothing to do with different regions of the United States (Twain). This work reflects some of society somewhat well, because it shows that some of the more rural towns still were places where everyone knew everyone else (Twain). It shows that they were all still friendly with each other and were willing to lend a helping hand (Twain). It does not have anything about religion, government, or nature, but there is a little about human nature (Twain). This work shows that some people like to have a lot of attention and that they will do ridiculous things such as making up insane stories, just so they will get all of the attention that they want to get (Twain). There is nothing about the American Dream in this work, because it is more of a made up story than anything else (Twain). There is no moral to it, and it shows nothing of people moving up in society (Twain). This work has no figurative language, although it consists of dialect, so it can get mildly confusing at times (Twain). There is nothing about a Hero in here, because the Hero ties in pretty closely to the American Dream, which is also not in this work (Twain). Mark Twain was an incredible author that wrote many works that are still influential to a number of people even today. Many people look up to him, and it is right that they should do this because he was such a good author.

Twain, Mark. ""The Celebrated Jumping Frogs of Calaveras County"" American Literature. Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Douglas Fisher, Beverly A. Chin, and Jacqueline J. Royster. Columbus: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2009. 496-502. Print.

Stephen Crane – from The Red Badge of Courage

This work is a very emotional work that can leave the reader with mixed feelings. This work is about a man while he is at war and how he is feeling while he is under fire (Crane). It is about a man that is furious about his inadequacies and the things that he can not do against the other men (Crane). In this work it describes that the man is not furious about the fact that there at men rushing at him in the smoke, but that he is furious about the rage and the feelings that are suffocating him (Crane). This work can show many different things about people, and it is very enlightening for people that are not in the military. People can take this different ways, because it shows a different side to people that is not normally shown when one reads works. This work fits in the Realism period, because it is realistic and shows how the man is feeling in the moment (Crane). It shows what he is thinking right now, instead of in the past or in the future (Crane). This work is somewhat Naturalistic, because of how this man is compared to so many different things (Crane). He is compared to things like subjects of scientific studies are compared to things, so that one can understand the relation (Crane). It is almost studying his feelings and what he wants to do to kill all of the men around him (Crane). It is studying him in a certain setting to see how he reacts and to see if the researchers could find that all people react in the same way to certain situations (Crane). This work is not Regionalistic, becuase it has nothing about certain places or how they are better than others (Crane). It is not a promotional work for a certain region (Crane). This work reflects society at that time period not very well (Crane). It shows that they were beginning to have a greater interest in science and how the human brain works, but it does not show current events, political issues, or opinions on global issues (Crane). It does not show what people were thinking. There was nothing about religion, government, or nature, but there is some about human nature (Crane). This work shows how frustrated humans get about their inadequacies (Crane). It shows the human nature behind the desire to be happy and not worried (Crane). There is not really anything about the American Dream, because this man is not getting anywhere in the world, and there is also not figurative language (Crane). Lastly, while there is no mention of a Hero, this man's Hero would be the perfect person that would not have dark clouds hanging over him and would have a gun that could do more than just one shot at a time before reloading (Crane). Crane wrote an interesting piece when he wrote this work, and there were mixed feelings over it. People were not sure how they should take it, and Stephen Crane may have hoped for that when he was writing it. He could have wanted it to be a work that made people think, and could have provoked a wide variety of emotions from a number of people.

Crane, Stephen. "From "The Red Badge of Courage"" American Literature. Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Douglas Fisher, Beverly A. Chin, and Jacqueline J. Royster. Columbus: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2009. 493. Print.

Kate Chopin — from The Awakening and "The Story of an Hour"

Kate Chopin was a radical author for her time, because she wrote of how women wished to be free (Chopin). She wrote of how women could do nothing except care for their husbands and children, and how often they wanted to just be free to live their own lives (Chopin). They did not want to have all of their decisions made for them, and they wanted to let their true emotions show (Chopin). Kate understood how those women felt, for she was a wife and a mother as well, although her time as a wife was cut short when her husband passed (Chopin). Her works were very controversial at the time, and often they went unpublished, because she could get no one to look at anything that radical and filthy (Chopin). After she had passed, when women were fighting for their rights to vote, someone found all of Chopin's works and published them, helping the women's cause (Chopin). This work definitely fits with the time period of Realism, because it is about the moment and what the women were feeling (Chopin). Her works showed a lot about women's true feelings, and that shows that her works were incredibly realistic (Chopin). These works were not Naturalistic, because they were not a calculated study of women and their feelings, it was just about letting the emotions run freely (Chopin). These works did not have any Regionalistic characteristics, because there was nothing about a certain place or how one region was any better than any other region (Chopin). These works show quite a lot about society at the time. They show that women of the time were often very unhappy with their lives, but that they could do nothing about it (Chopin). Even when Chopin wrote these works, no one took her seriously, and that shows that the men either did not care what the women were thinking, or they did not think that Chopin was right, so it was only her works that they did not care at all about (Chopin). There was nothing about religion, for a woman's feelings about her personal life do not necessarily always involve God (Chopin). There is nothing about government, because this problem did not stem from the government, it stemmed from stereotypes of the time (Chopin). There was nothing about nature, but human nature played a large role in these works (Chopin). These works showed that human nature is to let one's feelings out, but women of the time could only do that in private (Chopin). They show that when one is in a tough position, one will often bend to make everything work out well until they are bent so far they will break (Chopin). This shows the American Dream of women, to get their freedom from a life of boredom and pain (Chopin). There is no figurative language, and there is also nothing about a Hero (Chopin). Kate Chopin wrote radically for her time, but she was eventually recognized for her great talents. Many people look up to her, and she was an amazing and strong woman that deserves all of the credit that she gets. People really appreciate her straightforward style, and enjoy the fact that she was willing to speak her mind.

Chopin, Kate. ""The Awakening"/"The Story of an Hour"" American Literature. Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Douglas Fisher, Beverly A. Chin, and Jacqueline J. Royster. Columbus: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2009. 491+. Print.

Willa Cather – from O Pioneers! and "A Wagner Matinée"

Willa Cather often wrote about life on the prairie, for that is where she lived while she was young (Cather). In the beginning of her career, she wrote many works that portrayed the prairies as awful (Cather). She hated her prairie life and showed that all throughout her works (Cather). Later in her life, she changed her point of view and started portraying life on the prairie as a good thing (Cather). She realized that while life was hard on the prairie, it helped one become stronger (Cather). It called to ambitious people, and those people had to be extremely creative to survive (Cather). These works were definitely Realist, because they talked about things that happened in the past that were affecting the moment that they were in. The works were bursting with emotion, which makes them nothing like the Naturalist works of the time. There was no science involved, and science was almost irrelevant to them. This work was definitely Regionalist, because it was all about life on the prairies and how things were in the West (Cather). While in the beginning Cather wrote about the bad things on the prairie and the tragedies that befell many of the pioneers that traveled west, she eventually did write about the good things on the prairie (Cather). She began promoting it as a good thing, and that is characteristic of Regionalistic works of the time (Cather). This showed society of the time, because they had mixed feelings about the prairies. They did not know what to think, and often when something is not known, people automatically chalk it up as a bad thing. Some works of the time helped this opinion to grow, even when people did not really know what they were talking about. These works do not talk of religion or of the government, for the do not have necessarily as much importance when one is out on the prairie with no other human to be seen in the surrounding areas (Cather). Cather's works both talk about nature, and about how the prairie is a bleak landscape that is one color: brown (Cather). They talk of how life on the prairie is so hard because of the droughts or overwhelming rain (Cather)). Weather on the prairies were contradictions, and no one ever knew what they should expect when they were planting and cultivating their crops. There is a little about human nature, and how it is easily broken when one lives on the prairie (Cather). When one came from privilege but fell in love with a man that lived out on the prairie, it was often easier to fall apart, because on has to do everything for oneself, instead of having help (Cather). These works talk about the American Dream of expansion and having everything that one could ever want (Cather). There was no figurative language in the works, because they were both straightforward (Cather). There was also not a Hero in either of these works, for there was really not position for a Hero to come in (Cather). Willa Cather was an influential author about the prairie, and many people listened to what she wrote in her works.

Cather, Willa. ""O Pioneers!"/ "A Wagner Matinée"" American Literature. Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Douglas Fisher, Beverly A. Chin, and Jacqueline J. Royster. Columbus: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2009. 489+. Print.

Robert E. Lee – from "Letter to his Family"

Robert E. Lee was very important to the Civil War, and even before that, he did a great deal for the United States army. He was a very intelligent man that came from a prestigious family. When the Civil War was beginning, Lee was heartbroken (Lee). Lee did not want the United States to fall apart into a country that needed force to uphold its laws and its idea of brotherly love (Lee). Originally, President Lincoln requested that he be the general for the troops that were in the Union, but when Lee's home state of Virginia seceded, he decided that he could not fight against his home state (Lee). Lee decided to go fight for the South, because he could not handle fighting against his home state and his family that was there (Lee). He quickly moved to the top of the ranks, and he became general of the Confederate army (Lee). He did well for a while, but he eventually lost too much and had to surrender to the North (Lee). We have letters that he wrote to his family before the war, and in the letter to his son, he talks about the heartbreak that he was experiencing over the breaking up of the United States (Lee). This work is Realistic, because it talks about his feelings at that moment in time (Lee). It is not Naturalistic, because it does not evaluate or study humans or what was happening (Lee). It is not really Regionalistic, even though it discusses different regions of the United States, because it is not trying to promote a certain place over others (Lee). This reflects society at that period, because while many people may have thought a war was inevitable, they did not want one (Lee). While many people were upset about the treatment between the North and the South, they wanted a war even less. This work has nothing about religion, and not really much about the government (Lee). It has a little, because Lee talks about the fact that if they had a war, their government would dissolve into nothing (Lee). There is nothing about nature, and the only human nature was about a work that Lee had just read because his son had sent it to him (Lee). The American Dream is not really in this work, but Lee's American Dream could have been that the Union would not break up, which did not end up happening (Lee). There was no figurative language in Lee's letter to his son, and there was also nothing about a Hero (Lee). This work was a lot about Lee's feelings about the politics going on at the moment and what was going to happen to the Union more than anything else, and while he wished for there to not be a war, his wishes did not come true (Lee). He was a very honorable man that wanted the best for his country and the people in it, rather than wanting the best for himself or for personal gain (Lee). Lee was an incredible general and man, who did his best to preserve the country.

Lee, Robert E. "Letter to His Family." American Literature. Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Douglas Fisher, Beverly A. Chin, and Jacqueline J. Royster. Columbus: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2009. 382-85. Print.

Sojourner Truth – "And Ain‘t I a Woman?"

Sojourner Truth was a good orator as well as Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, but what gave her more of an impact was the fact that she was an African American, and a woman as well. Sojourner Truth fought very hard for rights for African Americans and for women, and she wanted to show the world that there was nothing different between them all (Truth). In her speech, she showed the world that many men were saying that women were delicate and needed help getting into carriages and getting over mud puddles, she was a woman and no one had ever helped her with any of that (Truth). She showed the world that as an African American slave, she had never gotten the benefits that the rest of women got (Truth). She showed that since she had to work as a slave, she had done hard work that many men in the North could not do, because she had no choice and had to do it (Truth). This work fits in the Realism period because it is in the moment and not about the past. It looks forward to the future and concentrates on what could happen (Truth). It is realistic, and she made realistic demands and proved her point based on things that she had gone through (Truth). It does not fit in the Naturalism period, because the speech was given with feeling and it showed the feelings of everyone (Truth). It was not scientific and did not study humans, so the Naturalists would not claim it as theirs (Truth). It is also not in the Regionalism period, because it is not based on a certain region of the United States that wants more attention (Truth). While this work does not really have anything to do with religion, it has a lot to do with government and different issues of the time period (Truth). This speech, while it does not outright attack the government, it is fighting to go against what the government had been saying (Truth). She wanted to get rights for African Americans and women alike, and to do that, she needed to go against the government. She wanted to be able to do everything that men could, because that is what she had been doing her entire life (Truth). This speech does not talk about nature, unless her working in the fields would count, and there is not much about human nature (Truth). One could say that it was about human nature, because she is trying to change ideas that had come to pass because of some original human nature (Truth). This also talks about the American Dream, because one of the most basic American Dreams is equal rights (Truth). She really wanted equal rights, not just for her, but for many other people as well. She was a minority, but she did not want to be treated as such (Truth). There was not any figurative language, and there is not much talk about the Hero, but the Hero would be the one to give them their rights (Truth). Sojourner Truth was an important orator who wanted equal rights for everyone and thought they were very important.

Truth, Sojourner. "And Ain't I a Woman?". Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Douglas Fisher, Beverly A. Chin, and Jacqueline J. Royster. Columbus: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2009. 368-70. Print.

Anonymous – "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," "Go Down, Moses," "Keep Your Hand on the Plow"

African Americans really wanted their freedom, and there are many ways that they would find to talk about it (Wilhelm). They made up many different songs that would discreetly talk about it (Wilhelm). They often did not come right out and say it, but the majority of their songs are completely about their freedom or their slavery. Their songs definitely belong in the Realism period. Their songs, while not necessarily realistic in all aspects, are Biblical and do tell stories of Biblical events that are real and true (Wilhelm). Their songs are in the moment, and do not concentrate much on the past (Wilhelm). A few songs tell of how they came over from Africa, but most of their songs talked about the slavery that they were in at that moment or the hope for a better future (Wilhelm). Their songs do not belong in the Naturalism period, because while they may involve nature, they do not talk about human beings as something else to study or about the decisions that humans make and why they do them. These songs could possibly fit into the Regionalism period, because they may have talked about features that are unique to that area, but I do not think the African Americans were concerned about getting their area of dwelling more attention. These literary works are very good about showing us things from that time period. They show us how awful slavery was, and they show us how desperate the African Americans were to get their freedom (Wilhelm). The works show us that the African Americans never lost hope or gave up, even though they were in horrible circumstances where they could not do anything wrong or they would get hurt, beaten, or even killed (Wilhelm). It reflects society in that time period because it shows that no one in the North completely knew what the slaves were going through, but the South did know and they turned a blind eye. Religion is definitely involved in these songs, because some of them are concentrated on events that happened in the Bible (Wilhelm). They wove religion in because they thought that they were like the Jews that had been trapped in slavery in Egypt for an extremely long amount of time (Wilhelm). The African Americans thought God would save them like he did the Jews, and that is why they chose some of the stories that fit their same situation (Wilhelm). There is nothing about government in these songs, and not really anything about nature (Wilhelm). There could be a little bit about human nature, because they show how much the African Americans hoped for their freedom and how desperate they were to get it (Wilhelm). The American Dream for them was almost the same, because they wanted their freedom more than anything (Wilhelm). There was also a lot of figurative language, because they called the South "Egypt", and the North was often either "heaven" or the "promised land" (Wilhelm). This was also about the stories of the Jews, because that was their situation as well (Wilhelm). The Hero was probably anyone that would save them, but there was nothing about the Hero in these songs. African Americans had a hard life as slaves, but they found ways to talk about their freedom and entertain themselves at the same time.

Anonymous. ""Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"/"Go Down, Moses"/"Keep Your Hand on the Plow"" American Literature. Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Douglas Fisher, Beverly A. Chin, and Jacqueline J. Royster. Columbus: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2009. 344-48. Print.

Abraham Lincoln – from "Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865" and "The Gettysburg Address"

Abraham Lincoln was a great orator, and he was great at inspiring many people. His speeches helped him be elected President, and he continues to be an inspiration to many people today because of the great things that he did while he was President and the speeches that he made that were so encouraging and inspirational. These two speeches are both from the Realism period, but they do not fit in the Naturalism or Regionalism periods (Wilhelm). That is seen because of the fact that while his speeches are realistic and in the moment, they do not portray humans as just another animal species that they can study as Naturalists did, and they are not about just characteristics of a certain region that is trying to get attention, like Regionalists (Wilhelm). His speeches, while they did involve God and some of the things that were written in the Bible, the speeches were mostly about what was happening in the moment (Wilhelm). He talked about trying to end the war as fast as they could, but he also talked about how it was God's will and how they would not be able to do anything against God's will (Wilhelm). In his Gettysburg Address, he was consecrating the battlefield that all the soldiers had fought and died on, and he was very inspirational, because he talked about that they could really do nothing more to the ground than the soldiers that had been there had already done (Wilhelm). He realized that the greatest sacrifice was death, and there was really nothing that the living could do to add to that great sacrifice (Wilhelm). They could only realize the gifts that they had been given and try to give others those same gifts (Wilhelm). He was very in the moment, because he did not dwell on the past and the tragedy that had happened, he concentrated on what they were doing for that battleground in the moment. These works reflect the time period, because they are all about the Civil War, which was going on during his entire Presidency (Wilhelm). The speeches are about ending it and remembering all of the people that gave their lives for the living (Wilhelm). These speeches do have religion in them, because Lincoln talked about God and how it was God's will that they are fair to everyone and need to end the slavery (Wilhelm). This speech does not really talk that much about government, but since Lincoln was President, these speeches are all about the government and what they are doing (Wilhelm). These speeches do not talk about nature, except for consecrating the ground that the Battle of Gettysburg had been fought on (Wilhelm). While the speeches did not have to do with human nature or psychology, these speeches definitely have to do with psychology, because Lincoln was so inspirational, he probably could get people to do whatever he wanted them to do after his speeches (Wilhelm). This talks a little about the American Dream of African Americans in being freed (Wilhelm). There was not figurative language, and there is also no mention of the Hero (Wilhelm). Lincoln was an incredible speaker, and he is still very inspirational.

Wilhelm, Jeffrey D., Douglas Fisher, Beverly Ann. Chin, and Jacqueline Jones. Royster. Glencoe Literature. New York, NY: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.

Frederick Douglass - from "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro"

Frederick Douglass was a very powerful speaker before, during, and after the Civil War, and many people used what he said in many different ways. He showed the North that the slaves were being ruthlessly beaten and killed (Wilhelm). He also showed the North that the South had been lying when they said that they were kind to their slaves (Wilhelm). He showed Americans that the Fourth of July had a completely different meaning for the African Americans as slaves than it did to the freed Americans (Wilhelm). He described the hypocrisy that the slaves felt on that day (Wilhelm). He showed that while Americans were celebrating freedom and justice for all, the slaves were still forced to do things against their will (Wilhelm). They were not free, and there was no justice for them. Even after the Civil War, the white people still did not give blacks all of the rights that they deserved to have as human beings living in America. There was still a ton of racism and injustice against the black people, and many people just overlooked it. Douglass was not afraid to speak up against the injustice, and he continually showed people how hypocritical they were and still are today (Wilhelm). Douglass's speech from "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" was definitely a speech that belonged in the Realism time period. It shows the perspective of people that were not in the highest, richest class. From "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" is very about the here and now, and how the Negros felt at that moment in time (Wilhelm). It was not about the past or what had happened on July Fourth when America won its independence, it was about how the Negros were outraged by the injustice that they were receiving and the hypocrisy of the rest of America. This work definitely reflects society of the time period, because the speech was given a few years before the Civil War. It shows that the Northerners had no idea what was going on, and it shows how unhappy the African Americans were (Wilhelm). It shows that tension was growing immensely, and that it would only be a short amount of time before all of the tension finally burst out and caused something enormous to happen (Wilhelm). This work does not talk about religion or nature, but it can be tied in to government and human nature. Douglass could have been talking to the government, as government officials may have been there listening to his speech. He could have been trying to stress how much of a change really needed to take place. He was trying to show how awful it really was for the slaves that had to do so much physical work out in the fields all day long. It can also be tied to human nature, with all of the hypocrisy that had been happening. Americans had been so cruel to all of the African Americans, but they seemed to overlook it all of the time. They turned away, so they could pretend that had not seen it and would not do anything about it. They celebrated freedom for all, while they had slaves working out in their fields and serving them their drinks every single day. They were very hypocritical, on that day most of all, and Douglass really wanted to bring it to their attention. There was not a hero in this piece, but Douglass also talks about the American Dream of African Americans: being freed (Wilhelm). That is central to his speech, and his speech would have had no effect if African Americans had not wanted freedom so badly. Douglass was an amazing orator, and his impact is still seen today.

Wilhelm, Jeffrey D., Douglas Fisher, Beverly Ann. Chin, and Jacqueline Jones. Royster. Glencoe Literature. New York, NY: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.

Regionalism

Regionalism is quite a bit different than Realism. While it does involve Realism, it also involves quite a bit of Romanticism (Campbell). It involves quite a bit of reminiscing about the "golden age", and that in and of itself has a lot to do with Romanticism (Campbell). At the same time, there are always many small details about the region that prove that it was also influenced by Realism (Campbell). Regionalism became very popular after the Civil War, and it was often written by people that had little to no power, including those in the Midwest, women, African Americans, or immigrants (Campbell). The narrator is often a storyteller that has seen the story and is now here to tell it to the rest of the world, which was often the urban, white males who had all the power (Campbell). While there was not normally a real plot in the modern sense, the narrator told of things that had happened in the region they were writing about, and they told of little things that only come from that area (Campbell). Regionalism showed a lot more the of traditions of an area and its history, so these stories often fit quite well into history (Campbell). This was good for the United States, since it was right after the Civil War, because this helped unify the North and the South again (Campbell). It showed that there were many different things that were important to many different people, and that they can all work together to save these traditions and dialect. Regionalism was very important to many people, and each different region had their own way to portray things. Often there were different heroes, because each group had a different ideal. Women would often pick young girls or unmarried women, while African Americans that had been newly freed might pick another African American that had gone through many hardships, but had succeeded and was now looking to start a new life (Campbell). Regionalism was very important to our nation's history, and its function was very important.

Campbell, Donna M. "Regionalism and Local Color Fiction, 1865-1895." Literary Movements. Dept. of English, Washington State University. 20 Jan 2011. Web. 26 Jan 2011.

Naturalism

Naturalism is often categorized as the same thing as Realism. While they are similar, they are also different in a number of ways (Campbell). They both came about around the same time, and they both involved science (Campbell). Naturalism, however, involved a lot more science than Realism ever did. Naturalism was all about science, and how it affected man. Naturalism involved the lower middle class and the lower class, and the novels were often about struggles within man (Campbell). Naturalists portrayed free will and choice as a complete illusion, so the struggles that were so often seen made a much bigger impact when coupled with the futility of trying to change things (Campbell). Naturalism involved more basic things, and the basic wants of man. Often the works were concentrated on survival and being determined to have things the way that the main character wanted (Campbell). Naturalists portrayed man in urban environments, and often discussed many things such as sex and violent crimes (Campbell). They discussed such passionate or violent things because they thought man struggled the most with keeping that part of himself hidden in a society that would completely disapprove (Campbell). Often the theme involved despair, as man finally realizes that his attempts at individuality actually do nothing for him, and everything that he has tried and will ever try will completely let him down (Campbell). The authors thought that by making man just another object to be studied, they would be able to figure out the unwritten rules that govern the world and mankind (Campbell). They thought that by showing the beast that man could be, they would figure out what must happen in every situation. They assumed that every man would react the same way, and did not take into account how different people can be in the reactions and in their decision making. They did not think about the fact that we are all different, and not just another animal species to study. While Naturalists may seem a little twisted, they still wrote some intriguing works that are still relevant today.

Campbell, Donna M. "Naturalism in American Literature. " Literary Movements. Dept. of English, Washington State University. 27 July 2010. Web. 24 Jan 2011.

Realism

Realism can be defined many different ways. Many people do not really know how to define it, and it is tied very closely to Naturalism (Campbell). In fact, a majority of people do not know how to tell the difference between the two eras, so it is hard to try to explain the differences (Campbell). Realism started rising because people were getting sick of Romanticism, and they wanted more of science that had also been on the rise (Campbell). People had started working with science and the scientific a lot more (Campbell). They had started philosophizing, but not in ideals like Romanticists (Campbell). They philosophized quite rationally, and also started studying how previous documents had been written (Campbell). They wanted to know more about what was happening right in that day, and they focused a lot more on the here and now then about ideals or nature's influence on things (Campbell). They often told stories that did not have an obvious moral to them, because they would write of the everyday and try to draw their morals from that (Campbell). The Hero to them was a normal person that could draw morals from everything and knew how to grow from past experiences. The American Dream was to learn from every experience that they had, and to always be morally improving. They wrote more from the viewpoint of the middle class, so they could see society from a different perspective than they had in the past (Campbell). They could see how the higher class could flaunt their wealth and could be so mean, but they also saw how poor the lower classes were, and they may have felt pity. Realists concentrated a lot on ethical choices; sometimes ethical choices were what the whole plot was based off of (Campbell). The events could have really happened, and they wrote in the same style that they spoke, unlike previous authors who had written more poetically (Campbell). Realists were very different than Romanticists, because they were not concerned with ideals, but they were very similar to Naturalists, and it is often extremely hard to tell the difference between the two.

Campbell, Donna M. "Realism in American Literature, 1860-1890." Literary Movements. Dept. of English, Washington State University. 21 Mar. 2010. Web. 24 Jan. 2011.

Journal #34

ACT essays are very important. They are necessary to get a good ACT score, and can be kind of confusing. ACT essays need to have good introductions and conclusions, that are very clear and well-developed. Sentences must vary, and word choice must be effective. There should be few to no spelling or grammar errors, and they must not impede understanding. Paragraphs should show the point of view chosen to represent, and it is necessary to have a counterargument as well. It is easier to show counterarguments in the same spot as the argument that is being presented. On the prompt, while you may believe one thing, you should pick whatever argument you have more evidence for. If you do that, you will be able to write a better essay, because it will be easier to elaborate and give good support and evidence, which is very important. Without good evidence, it is impossible to get a good score, so elaboration and in depth support is vital. It is also necessary to stay on task and focus on the prompt, because going off topic will also do nothing but harm the score and impede the possibility of getting a 6. The grading scale for the writing portion is a six-point holistic grading rubric. Without everything for one score, it is impossible to go any higher, so try to cover all of the bases. It is important to get everything, or a good score is impossible. It is also very important to proofread your essay before you turn it in, because without proofreading, some of the language used could impede understanding and comprehension, which could cause a worse score. Proofreading is important in everyday life, but it is especially important in the ACT argumentative essay, because it can only help your score. It is possible to get a good grade on the ACT argumentative essay, it is just important to cover all of the bases and write well.

Journal #33

There are many things that are particular to this area. Horseshoes are the greatest example, because they are only in Central Illinois. A horseshoe is a food item that would be considered an open faced sandwich. It consists of a piece of bread on the bottom, a hamburger on top of that, french fries on the burger, and cheese drizzled over the whole top. If one does not like hamburgers, one can substitute a different kind of meat, and one can put any different kind of cheese in the sauce, or they can use a mixture. Another thing that originated in Springfield is Charlie Parker's, which is another restaurant. I have never been to Charlie Parker's, but my father has, and he says it is delicious. Charlie Parker's has also been on the Food Network Channel on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives with Guy Fieri. That shows that it is incredibly delicious, plus it also has huge pancakes. I am pretty sure that their pancakes are the size of a small pizza, and they will serve four at a time. They have contests, and if one person can eat all four pancakes, they get their meal for free. I think it would be extremely hard to eat all four pancakes, especially in one sitting, but apparently some people manage to do it. If I ever got an order of those pancakes, I would bring along my father, my mother, my two brothers, and my boyfriend, and I would make them all help me eat it. I would probably drown it in syrup, but since there is such a vast quantity of pancakes, there would probably be gallons of syrup that I would have to use. I would have to cut it into about a billion different pieces, just so it would be bite-size and I would be able to eat it. I like Springfield, and many great things have come from here, most of them being food or food-related.

Journal #32

A memoir can be a number of things, and while they normally come about later in life, I am being asked to write one today about what I did over my winter break. While winter break was very fun, I did not do very much except for basketball. I could probably pull a memoir from one of our practices, because our coach, Paul Kastner, is very philosophical. He always manages to come up with new sayings and ties normal life into basketball. However, I will be writing a memoir of one of our games.We played a number of games over break because we had a tournament in Beardstown. We were playing decently well, and we had worked very hard throughout the game. The other team was definitely better than us, and while we were doing our very best, it seemed like none of our shots would go through the hoop. We had good shots and we passed the ball very well. We worked hard to get open, had very few turnovers, and we were talking to each other well, but it seemed like nothing would fall for us. We were also playing very good defense, staying low and not getting beat, but it seemed like they would shoot anyway, and no matter how awful the shot, it would go in. Coach Kastner understood that we were trying our best. He always found something to yell at us about, because that is his job, but he also yelled at the referees quite often. He knew that they were not helping our cause with their calls, and he was not about to let them forget it. This was it. The last few minutes of the game. We were down by quite a few, but if we made a run for it, we had a chance. We played our hearts out and were all over the floor going for loose balls, but alas, we lost. I realized, soon after our game was over, that while sometimes one's best is not enough, it will always be satisfying to do one's best, because that way the person knows that the other team was just better and there was nothing else they could do.