Walt Whitman

What an interesting person he was. I do not agree with his ideas on God though. God is someone that should be on our mind all the time. Should we try to squeeze him into a textbook? No but he is way more important than other people.

To be fair though his poetry is beautifully written. We can learn a lot from him. He wrote on whatever topic he wanted to and that took guts. As we discussed in class some of his poetry is very sexually elicit. Some even challenged the ideas of what "normal" relationships should be as he discussed homosexuality. He challenged the conventions and beliefs of his time and I respect him for that.

Edgar Allan Poe

I really enjoy reading Poe's works. I am not a big fan of poetry but I love reading his poems. I especially like the poem, "Annabel Lee." I always feel so sad when I read this poem. I can't help but think that it was written for his young wife that died. I have never been married but I can't imagine losing a spouse. The grief and pain that comes with it is unbearable. There are so many emotions that run through you as in the poem. There is blame that one has. In the poem Poe blames the "heavens". He claims that they were jealous of their happiness together and that they took her. He is a grief-stricken widow and sometimes it is good just to get your frustration out. Poe's poetry can still speak to us 150 years later and that is why they should be studied.

Here is a link to a great video of the poem, "Annabel Lee"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRhIJB6YD-4&feature=related

Herman Melville

This was quite an interesting story. I pretty much enjoyed reading it. I guess I am a little confused on what Melville was trying to tell us though. Bartleby is a weird loner guy who eats nuts, lives in his place of work, dosen't listen to his boss, and says "prefer" a lot. Oh yeah, he also dies in the end. What? It is an interesting, entertaining story but why are we still reading it 150 years later? I look forword to the class discussion today because I am sure there is some meaning to all this. I am usually the last one to get a joke so I will probably be the last one to go, "oh yeah, I get it now."

Uncle Tom's Cabin

What a wonderful book this was! I had boughten it about 5 years ago and planned to read it then but never did because I thought it was going to be an old boring book. How I was wrong! I would have to say this is one of my new favorite books. It was very entertaining but it also touched your emotions. It really makes a person think and reflect on their own life and what they believe in.

There are many injustices in the world that I see and that I think are wrong. I think the sex trade is horrible. I think it is aweful that there are millions of people in the world without clean, safe water to drink. I think it is aweful that there is child abuse. I can go on and on. But what am I doing about any of this? Am I helping these people at all? No, I am not. If I have means to help someone I should. Does this mean I should feel like I should help everyone in the world? I do not think so. That would be impossible. Not one person can save the world, but one person can impact their community and help their neighbors in need. I am going to pray for the injustices I see in the world but then I want to help people that I meet everyday. I want to go out of my way to do something nice for them. On campus, if I see someone lost, I can stop and help them find their way. Little things like that can make a person's day. Also I can volunteer at local agencies and help that way.

Here is a little video about the book: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5gLVulWa4s&feature=related

Here are some volunteering opportunities in Sioux Falls

Angel food ministires: https://www.angelfoodministries.com/hosts.asp?name=&city=&state=SD&zip=&miles=20&B1=Search&search=search

American Red Cross:
http://www.redcross.org/

Habitat for Humanity: http://www.habitat.org/cd/local/affiliate.aspx?zip=57101

Jaycee's: http://www.usjaycees.org/index.php?option=com_sobi2&catid=2&Itemid=63

Meals-on -wheels: http://www.mowaa.org/Page.aspx?pid=480

The Salvation Army: http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn_2.nsf

There are many more opportunites just do a google search.

Nathaniel Hawthorne 3

Wow! What a conclusion to this romance. I was totally not expecting Dimesdale to die. I was really rooting that the three of them would spend the rest of their lives together. I was hoping for a fairytale ending. I guess that is how life is though; rarely does anything go the way it was planned. Sometimes life can be cruel.

Also, I guess I am a little confused on the moral of the story. Is it that when your sin gets found out to live as a "saint" the rest of your life? Is it not to hide your sin from others because it will only bring harm to yourself and might kill you? Is it about if you try to run away from the consequences of your sin, God is going to strike you down? I don't really know. Maybe my thoughts about what the moral is is all wrong. I do know that I really enjoyed the last 3/4 of the novel. I want to reread the novel now so I can pay more attention to the beginning details of the novel. Maybe that will help me understand what the significance of the morals of this romance are.

Nathaniel Hawthorne part 2

Now that I am over half way done with the book I can see why it is one of the top American novels of all time, but I can also see why kids get bored of it. As Tasia said in class today, Nathaniel Hawthorne takes two paragraphs to say something that he could have said in one sentence. I find myself lost in some parts of the novel especially the "Leech and His Patient" chapter. Hawthorne was going on and on and he was describing things too in depth that I lost focus on what he was originally describing.



On the other hand, I do love the plot of this story. Who would of thought that Pearl's father was Arthur Dimesdale, the priest? He is preaching every week about purity and all that and he and Hester slept together. Wow! Stuff like this in the novel keeps me wanting to continue reading the novel to see what else is going to happen next.

Nathaniel Hawthorne

I really enjoyed reading the first couple chapters of the Scarlet Letter. I had heard of the book but I never read it before. In High School other English classes had to read it but I never had to. Fellow students who were reading it told me how boring it was and how they could not understand Hawthorne. I completley disagree. He is not boring at all. He keeps the reader entertained the whole time, (except the Custom House introduction. I did find that boring). I also found him very easy to follow along with. I was able to comprehend what I was reading these first few pages. From this short first reading of this novel I now understand why it is considered one of the greatest American novels. I am excited for tomorow's class discussion and am interested in what others thought of the novel.