Civil Disobedience

Thoreau honestly thinks that the United States government is garabage and it goes against just about everything he believes in. His writing style sort of reminds me of the rationalism style. He has very strong opinions and truely believes that he is correct. He also has specific examples to prove his points. Such as saying that not everyone voices get to be heard. Just the majority is heard and to him that means the most thoughtful people do not have an input of what happens in the country. I believe that all he wants is peace and freedom. He wants the United States to be a place where people make the decisions on their own based on what they know is right and wrong. "Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience, then? I think we should be men first, and subjects afterward." (Thoreau) In his eyes the government was making all wrong decisions and treating people completely unjustly. You can tell Thoreau's writing completely follows the Transcendentalism style of writing. He believes in morality and individual intuition. He surely was an individual, standing up against such a government would be a hard thing to do. He does not agree with this system we have so he just decides not to follow it. He does not pay a tax as a way of protesting the government and the Mexican and ends up spending the night in a jail. While making his decision he knows he was going to War end up in prison. How could he not? He just believes strong in what he thinks is right. He decides to get rid of the government in his life "washing his hands" clean of it he says. He believed the government was "impure." In other terms he thought they were stupid jerks. Thoreau not only opposed war but he also was against slavery. His ideas of how the government should be is pretty far fetched. It would just never work out. " Thoreau reminded his fellow Americans that people, not the government which people created, must be held responsible for the good and bad in America: "the government itself never furthered any enterprise. . . . It does not keep the country free. It does not settle the West. It does not educate. The character inherent in the American people has done all that has been accomplished; and it would have done somewhat more, if the government had not sometimes got in its way." (Wayne) Thoreau means that people have all the deaths and suffering of the slaves and people in the war on their shoulders. The people decide what is going on in the country. Therefore, it is their fault for whatever happens to the people. Thoreau does not want to have the guilt of making the people suffer. All he wants is a peaceful country that lives on good moral values where people make their decisions based on their conscious.

"Thoreau's Civil Disobedience - 1." The Thoreau Reader. Web. 25 Jan. 2012

Wayne, Tiffany K. "'Civil Disobedience'." Encyclopedia of Transcendentalism. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc

The Minister's Black Viel

At the beginning of this story you would not guess it would turn out to be such an eerie and dark story. At first Nathaniel Hawthorne was describing the Sabbath day. Everyone in the town was gathering to take part in mass, "Children, with bright faces, tripped merrily beside their parents, or mimicked a graver gait, in the conscious dignity of their Sunday clothes. Spruce bachelors looked sidelong at the pretty maidens, and fancied that the Sabbath sunshine made them prettier than on week days." (Hawthorne) From this first glimpse it seems that it would be a typical romanticism story since it was describing the scene in such a happy way. But soon after the setting changes a bit and becomes very dark and odd. When Mr. Hooper shows up the mood drastically changes. Everyone was scared of the view of Hooper with the black viel covering his face. This is a characteristic of dark romanticism, fear. So everyone assumes there has to be something going on with Hooper. Some say he was mad others think he committed a crime so awful he could not show his face. But whatever is was Hooper must have had a reason to do it and what the reason was it is hard to say. In my opinion Hooper was trying to teach people and use the viel as a symbol. The viel stood for sin. Even a minister like himself is not perfect and does make bad or wrong decisions. Just because people see him as a holy man doesn't mean that he is one. People were looking at him from the outside and did not see his true inside. That is why he put on the viel as a way to mask what people set their minds to see and to see what was really there, which was sin. In the Puritan days people believed only a select few would make it to heaven and Hooper was trying to show they he may not even be one that will make it to heaven. It was a way to change the way people thought and mess with them mentally. It sure did mess with people's heads. They began to think horrible things just because of the mans appearance. "The veil, he says, is but a symbol of the masks of deceit and sin that separate all individuals from truly facing themselves, their loved ones, and the divine spirit. All individuals wear such a mask, and Mr. Hooper's veil has been only a symbolic reminder of a truth that most are unwilling to admit. Mr. Hooper pays a high price for this lesson: he is feared, misunderstood, and left to live a lonely, solitary life." (Cengage) He sacrificed his life of happiness just to have people learn. Elizabeth who actually loved him let the viel get in the way of her feelings. This caused Hooper to feel alone and left Elizabeth confused. She mentally was confused and scared of the man she once found comfort in. She also represnets a character of the dark romanaticism period because she has fear.

Hawthorne, National. "The Minister's Black Veil." Glencoe Literature. By Jeffery D. Wilhelm. and Douglas Fisher. Vol.American English. New York: Glencoe McGraw Hill, 2009. 278-289. Print.

Cengage, Cale. "Short Story Critism: The Minister's Black Veil." Enotes. 2000. Web.

Journal # 25

The most immense fear I have ever seen is in my cousin Alex. He is a marine and has been involved in different missions for two years. He is home for two weeks right now and it is the first time his family has seen him in quite some time. It is safe to say the marines have changed him and not in a good way. He lives in fear. He has flash backs to the things that he has done but he will not tell anyone about what he has been through. He doesn't want people to know he is capable of killing. Everyday he lives with the guilt and fears that someone is out to get him. He won't let anyone touch him. He is careful about what he eats and who he takes things from. He is very quite and isn't allowed to tell people where he has been. The whole time he is away from home he is uncomfortable and thinks someone is out to get him. It is not a fear like many others experience. It is an uneasy feeling and anxiety. He always feels uncomfortable that someone is watching him and out to get him. He can't stand the fact that he has three more years left having to take this fear. I think this is a fear that not many people could understand. Not very many people go through things like this in there life. It can't even compare to the fears I have of silly things like spiders and such. I could not imagine how he must feel. Though I do think my fears are bad but I don't have anything extreme to compare them to. I do have a strong disliking for windmills. They really freak me out. I haven't heard of anyone else who is scared if them so it makes me feel lame. But compared to thing I could be scared of I think I can live with it.

The Pit and the Pendulum

How does this guy think of these weird stories? This story is kind of disturbing and definitely really weird.. I really doubt that this is a true experience though. In this story Poe would continue to change his mind between if he wants to die and end this torture or if he wants to keep struggling and live. He randomly gets hope that he will be able to live. Luckily, he keeps trying and ends up living through it. If he would have given up he could die for no reason since, the French save him. At the end of they story all I could wonder is how he would live his life after the story's end. He has to be a mess in the head. I mean anyone would be a mess if they were going through such torture that Poe does. He has to have some anxiety issues after such a life changing experience like this. Post traumatic stress disorder would have to be an overwhelming part of his life after being tortured in a small dungeon for days and days on end. But, even during the time he is in the dungeon you can tell Poe is having some mental issues. He wants to die and he even was thinking that through death not everything in his life could be lost. But how can this be? Death is the end of all so I don't really see how he could think that death could not be the end of life. " What of it there remained I will not attempt to define, or even to describe; yet all was not lost. In the deepest slumber -- no! In delirium -- no! In a swoon -- no! In death -- no! even in the grave all is not lost." (Poe) He is hopeful that all will be well and he will have some sort of after life. But, not letting himself die seems a little odd. Knowing that you are going to die I think most people will just give up and jump into the pit. But he does not. He lets the torture overwhelm him and he takes all the different things the people throw at him. The pit, the pendulum, the immense heat, he takes it all. You think most people will be tired of going through such things and just let the events kill him. So I think it shows he is psychologically different than most because he does not give up he just lets the thought of death and the view of it stay around him. He knows death is near and is some how very calm about the whole thing. It is all around him and he is abnormally calm about it, don't you think? You think people would be freaking out if they are in his position. But this is a typical example of the dark romanticism period. It is a tragedy where the main character suffers but he ends up fine in the end. This is like other tragedies such as Romeo and Juliet. Characters in dark romanticism also are put through a lot of pain and agony which Poe is. But it seems as though he knows there is a God. In the romanticism writing they believe God is in everything around them and causes the beauty in the world. I think Poe does see God but not in the beauty but in the dark bad things.

Poe, Edgar A. "The Pit and the Pendulum." Literature.org - The Online Literature Library. Web. 22 Jan. 2012.

Journal # 24

Home alone, I was sitting on the couch just minding my own business. The Notebook was on so of course that's how I was spending my night. Every time I'm home alone I seem to get paranoid at some time or another that there is somebody in my house, breaking in, or trying to kill me. But, I was so into this movie I couldn't have a worry in the world. I wasn't thinking about all those fears that I usually get while I am home alone until I heard the noise. My house has mine subsidence so it does tend to make a lot of creaking noises and it sounds pretty eerie. But this time the noises seems different. There is no way it was my house making these noises. It sounded sort of like huge, glass beads dropping down and rolling onto the floor. As soon as I heard the noise my stomach dropped and I frozed. I sat there on the couch and did not move a muscle. If someone was in my house I didn't want them to hear me or see me. I didn't want them to know I was home alone, so I just sat there. Different scenerios went through my head but I knew none of them would play out. I'm just too weak to stand up for myself and the guys the break into houses are usually pretty buff, right? Yeah, so there was no way I'd be able to beat them in a fight and save my life. I had my mind set that something horrible was going to happen and my life would turn out to be like the horror movies I always watch. So there I sat just waiting for something to happen or for me to think of an amazing idea but nothing came to mind. Everything was completely still and nothing at all happened. I heard no more noises and saw nobody.

Edgar Allen Poe

I read the poem Alone by Edgar Allen Poe. First off I'd just like to say I feel sorry for this poor guy. He seemed so unhappy with life and completely miserable. Which I guess goes along with the whole dark romanticism theme. This part of literature was pretty dark and seemed pretty depressing. But, Poe's poem was discussing how he feels different from everybody else he knew, From childhood's hour I have not been As others were; I have not seen As others saw; I could not bring My passions from a common spring." (Poe) Those are the first four lines of the poem. So right off the bat it starts off pretty sad just knowing he felt different from everyone. A characteristic of the dark romanticism period is pain and I definitley think Poe was feeling some sort of pain of confusion of why he was the why he was. "Recognizes the central significance of individual experience" (Imbarrato and Berkin) This is referring to characteristics of romanticism. Poe was definietly experiencing an unique individual experience. But, he did find interests in the world. He does say he loves but, what he loves he loves alone so that's the depressing side. But being in love with something or someone gives a purpose for living. Later on in the poem he goes on explains on the nature around him which is a big part of the romanticism period, "From the torrent, or the fountain, From the red cliff of the mountain, From the sun that round me rolled In its autumn tint of gold, From the lightning in the sky." (Poe) He went into much description of what was happening around him. I believe he was trying to infer that everything around him is beautiful but unfortunately he does not see it. Even though there is a lot of good in the world he blocks it out and only sees the bad side of things. "And the cloud that took the form (When the rest of Heaven was blue) Of a demon in my view." (Poe) I think those two lines mean that even though the nature is good he cannot see the good and can only see the pain and bad things in his life. He is missing all the good and can't seem to appreciate it like others. Poe was smart man he knew that there was beauty but his feelings kept him from experiencing it "centered on individual experience and emphasizing emotion over reason." ( Imbarrato and Berkin) Other characteristics of this dark and depressing romantcism writing is a troubled hero. In a way I see Poe as a hero. He is so miserable in the world and doesn't really feel that there is much going for him but, he keeps on living and writing beautiful poetry. If people felt the way Poe did I bet a lot would give up on life but it doesn't really seem like that's what he did. This poem is very serious with great detail and not really any humore involved. That is also another characteristic for this period. I really enjoyed this poem because I think they are so different than everything else that we have read. Everyone has times when they feel depressed and don't feel like they belong or fit in so I think people could really relate to this poem.

Poe, Edgar Allen. “Alone.” Poetry X. Ed. Jough Dempsey. 29 Nov 2004. 19 Jan. 2012

Imbarrato, Susan Clair, and Carol Berkin. "Romanticism." Encyclopedia of American Literature, Revised Edition: Settlement to the New Republic, 1608–1815, vol. 1, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc

Journal #23

I think that suspense makes scary movies extra scary. Not knowing what is going to happen and what might pop out keeps me on the edge of my seat and cringe as the music speeds up. The back up music creates a sense of suspense as well. The music becomes louder and faster until finally you see what happens and what may pop out at you. Of course, light and airy happy music what really set the mood. But dark sounding music that gradually speeds up makes peoples hearts start to speed along with the music. Drawing out and making the viewers wait to see what happens makes them cringe. The timing has to be just right. If you wait to long for something to happen the viewers will be like, "What is going on?" or "This is really boring." Throwing things out at the viewers too fast is also not as scary. Then the audience doesn't have the opportunity to become anxious and start to wonder what may happen. Having things pop out of no where and sudden bursts of loud noises causes a fright. If everything is quiet then all the sudden, "BOOM" that is pretty scary. But things don't have to be loud or unexpected to be scary. Sometimes just knowing a character is in danger causes you to be scared. The story line is very important to making something scary. If the story seems realistic and the characters seem to be like real people then the story will seem more scary. If the story seems like it could happen to them anytime I think it makes it good. But, then again, having something completely different and out of the ordinary may be just as scary. Seeing something never seen before or having an idea that has never been heard to scare people can really hit home and scare the people because it is so different. Stories based on situations that have happened in the past are the scariest to me. Such as stories about natural disasters or the holocaust. Those really scare me just knowing they have really happened.

Journal # 22

The snow falls down on to the childrens heads
To the park they go carrying their sleds

They like to go to sled during the day

It is better than staying in to play


They make their way on to the tallest hill
As they quickly slide down it is a thrill

They scream as they glide quickly to the ground
Everyone laughing and no one frowned

All day long they stay on top a sled
Untill its dark and cold and time for bed

They dream sweet dreams about the day they had
It all so wonderful and nothing bad

They see the sled moving downward so fast
But the day is not stuck in the past

Again they will go to that special hill
the wind hitting their face sending a chill

Untill tomorrow they will have to wait
To live another day it will be great

Journal # 21

It is a white wonderland when I look around me. Wind blows the powder around the icy landscape. The snow is perfectly smooth except for a few foot steps through it from the kids playing outside. You can hear them playing. They are creating a snowman. They take the snow in their gloves and add wads of it on to the ball of snow that will eventually form into their new friend. There are no birds or animals to be seen. The earth seems perfectly still at times. It is so peaceful and quite. The branches of the trees are completely frozen and look as if they are sticks of ice. The wind can blow the snow around but the branches of the trees are completely still. They seem so stiff. The sky behind the branches is so grey and is full of clouds yet it seems very bright outside. It is almost hard to look because of all the bright snow. The sunlight reflects off the snow. It burns my eyes but it is so beautiful I can't help but stare as more snowflakes fall from the sky. The flakes of snow do not fall in a straight line down but come down in a slant as the wind gently blows it in one direction. It is not a heavy fall but a light flurry. You can still easily see pretty far in every direction. No matter where I look it is a beautiful white landscape. It looks as if it is a painting from a little kid's story book. It is a perfect place for kids to play and it is what they hope for all year. Even an adult can really enjoy this type of weather but not for the same reason as the kids. But, the aduts would realize the beauty and the innonce and purity of a snowy seen. There is something about the white color of the snow that makes me think of purity like it is so beautiful that nothing could go wrong when the snow is around.