Blog Evaluation

       Of all the blogs this year, my favorite was the one about Mark Twain. I liked reading all of his quotes and seeing what he had to say. I also enjoyed the one about the civil rights stories because I learned so much just from reading peoples' stories. I did not like the blog where we had to rewrite the ending to The Pit and the Pendulum. I think it was a good idea and I'm sure many people enjoyed it, but I don't really like to write stories. It was difficult for me to come up with something to write. I tried to put as much effort as I could into most of my blogs. There were a few I just did very quickly, but for some I had to do research and evaluate on something. I put a lot of time and effort into them. I think blogging is a good way for us to reflect on some things and learn new information. I learned a lot, for example about Emily Dickinson, Joseph McCarthy, Mark Twain, etc. I probably will not continue this blog, but I think it was a new, fun, creative idea for class. Next year's class should definitely use blogger to experience and learn new things. My three favorite stories were:
1. Self- Reliance
2. Yellow Wallpaper
3. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

Gatsby Soundtrack

"Ain't Misbehavin" by Fats Waller- I think this song would suit the book because it's talking about someone waiting for a woman to come so they can fall in love forever. The song could be about Gatsby waiting for Daisy. He would do anything and wait forever just to be with her.

"Blue Skies" by Irving Berlin- This song's meaning is about being happy. At first, the song talks about being gloomy with cloudy skies, then good luck came and the person became very happy. This relates to Gatsby because he got a lot of "good luck" by bootlegging and earned enough money to obtain a rich house to impress Daisy. He also did win Daisy over for a period of time, but it didn't last too long. Gatsby had "blue skies" for some time in the book.

"Ain't We Got Fun?" by Richard A. Whiting- This song is talking about being careless and only having fun. In the story, Gatsby had many parties that went late into the night. He didn't really care about anything else while they were going on, except Daisy of course. All he wanted was to have fun.

Three Little Birds in a Row

Three little birds in a row
Sat musing.
A man passed near that place.
Then did the little birds nudge each other.

They said, "He thinks he can sing."
They threw back their heads to laugh.
With quaint countenances
They regarded him.
They were very curious,
Those three little birds in a row.

     I like this poem because it's about how the three birds saw a man and started laughing at him because they thought he couldn't sing. It relates to my life because it's saying that we shouldn't judge people just by our first impression. Some people may seem different, but once we get to know them, we learn that they're actually not what we thought. I know I'm not supposed to be judgemental and criticize people, but I do sometimes. It's like the saying, "don't judge a book by its cover." Everyone does it even though we all know it's wrong. It's not good because it can be very hurtful to people.

Mark Twain's Wit

"A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way."
     -Mark Twain      I like this quote because it is saying that we have to learn our mistakes by experience. We have to experience being wrong and sometimes we can't learn it's wrong until we find out for ourselves. People will tell us it's bad or not the right thing, but how do we know for sure? I think this quote pertains a lot to little kids. Their parents will tell them not do something, but they won't listen until they try it. For example, a mother might tell her child not to touch the hot stove, but the kid won't believe her until he touches it himself and finds out she was right. Sometimes people need to experience mistakes so they can learn not to do it again.

Stories of the Quest for Civil Rights

http://www.crmvet.org/nars/staugbar.htm 

     This is an interview with a woman named Barbara Allen, who was very active in the Civil Rights movements in New York and Florida. She was part of clubs and fundraisers, just like Anne Moody, who wrote, "Coming of Age in Mississippi." She would go to sit-ins even though they were very violent and dangerous. She would risk her life to stand up for her race and make sure they were treated with respect, like the whites. The whites were willing to kill people to keep things the way they were, but the blacks weren't going to tolerate that. They were willing to risk getting killed to stand up for their rights.

A Walk Through Harlem

     Sadie and Bessie lived in Harlem, New York, which was home to many famous people and places of the 20th century. Seventh Street was the road Bessie's dentist office was located, along with many other famous places in Harlem. It was a prime place to see many different types of architectural buildings like Striver's Row, very prestigious and wealthy homes, and the Mother A.M.E. Zion Church. The Abyssian Baptist Church was also popular because it was one of the most influential congregations in New York City. Sadie and Bessie would go to Madam C.J. Walker's Beauty Salon to buy their beauty products. Madam C.J. Walker developed a hair product for African American women, becoming the first female millionaire in the United States. Another very important spot on Seventh Street was Speaker's Corner, or the "crossroads of the black world". It was named this because many people used it as a pulpit to voice their opinions on the issues that affected African Americans. Sadie and Bessie would run into people like A. Philip Randolph or Marcus Garvey there. Many influential people and places were located  in the city of Harlem at the same time as the Delany sisters.

Expressions in Art

This picture, by Tom Feelings, shows a man who is standing with his foot forward. This says that we should put our best foot forward and stand up to what we believe in. Sadie and Bessie were strong believers in this theory, showing that many times in the book. If someone made a rude comment or did something unjust, they would stand up to them and tell them what they thought.

http://berkshirereview.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/cruikshank.jpg 

Having My Say

      There are many things I feel strongly about, one of them being smoking. I personally think smoking is gross for both the person doing it and the people around him or her. It is proven to be very dangerous for the health, causing all types of diseases and cancers. I am so glad Illinois passed the law to ban smoking in public places. I think the rest of the country should do it, too. It's so nice to walk into a restaurant and not have to specify if you want to be in a smoking or non smoking section. I think it makes the whole building much more clean and professional. It's not pleasant when you're trying to eat a nice dinner and all you can smell is smoke. I don't think anyone enjoys it. The people that do smoke are not very happy about it, but maybe it will make them think twice about smoking and if it's really worth it.

There Was a Child Went Forth

     In this poem by Walt Whitman, he is talking about children and how they interact with society. When kids see someone do something, they will imitate the person. No matter if it's good or bad, they don't know any better and think it's right. They become what they see. Also in this poem, it says "early lilacs become part of this child, and grass and white and red morning- glories". This phrase means that since the child sees these everyday, they are a part of his childhood. When he grows up and sees these flowers, it will remind him of when he was a kid. Whitman lists many of these things that talk about his childhood. This part relates to me and my life because there are certain things that bring back memories of when I was a child. For example, during the summer when i was young, my sister and I would always eat popsicles outside on the swing set. To this day, whenever I have a popsicle, I think about swinging on the swings in the backyard with my sister when I was six. I think a lot of people can relate to this poem and Whitman did a great job explaining children.

Nobody Knows This Little Rose by Emily Dickinson

Nobody knows this little Rose --
It might a pilgrim be
Did I not take it from the ways
And lift it up to thee.
Only a Bee will miss it --
Only a Butterfly,
Hastening from far journey --
On its breast to lie --
Only a Bird will wonder --
Only a Breeze will sigh --
Ah Little Rose -- how easy
For such as thee to die!

      
       This is a poem about life and death. The rose is life, and in life, we go through many hard times and obstacles. We give everything we have to life and yet not everyone sees it. The people that care will notice and appreciate you through everything. The bee and butterfly represent those people. They need the rose and the people that need you will love and cherish you. On the other hand, the bird and breeze are the people that don't know you. They might wonder about you, but they will pass by like a bird or a breeze. Hastening from a far journey says that we've gone through so much in our lives just to lay it all down and die. According to the poem, dying is not a big deal because the people that cared will still be there and those who didn't care will just go on not caring. You give all you have to the world, but the whole world doesn't acknowledge you.

Transcendentalism vs. Anti-transcendentalism

       Transcendentalism and anti transcendentalism are complete opposites. I prefer to read transcendentalist stories. These say that man is born good, children are God's perfect creation, and that one can only find God in and through nature, and the belief in universal truths. On the other hand, anti transcendentalists believe that man is born with sin, they are destructive forces in nature, and one can only find God through works and life experiences. I feel like transcendentalists are optimists and look at things on the bright side which makes their stories more fun to read. For example, Henry David Thoreau's Walden was very intriguing to me. I think it was cool how he gave up his life to just enjoy nature and try to find the meaning of life. There were many inspirational quotes and phrases that I thought were neat. I just think that these stories are much more fun to read than anti transcendentalist stories like The Scarlet Letter. I get much more out of the transcendentalist stories and think they give a great perspective on life.