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.

Nature

I confess that after class I did not go and sit outside and observe nature. I knew that I was going to the other side of this state and that I could observe the changing landscape of South Dakota.

I love South Dakota! I was born in Sioux Falls and lived here until I was 5, then I moved to Spearfish and lived there for 2 years. I then moved 10 miles North to Belle Fourche and lived there for another 2 years. After that I returned to Sioux Falls and have been living here ever since. How different the people and the landscape is in South Dakota.

East River you have the typical praire. We have nice green grass and you can see for miles around because of how flat we are. We are very beautiful though. It also gets pretty humid here, so it can get mighty hot. There are also many lakes and many places to go fishing and swimming.

West River we see a big change. There are the beautiful Black Hills, or "paha sappa" to the Native Americans. This forest is very beautiful. There are many pine trees that line the landscape that make the mountains look "black" hence their name. Around Deadwood and also down by Keystone, you can see the damage of wildfires. There are whole sections of forrest with burnt pine trees for miles. It is very saddening to see this because of how long it took for the black hills to form and then how quickly they can be destroyed.

Drive 10 miles North of Spearfish, which is the ending of the Black Hills National Forrest, and you will be in Butte County. The landscape there looks almost like the wild west. There are tumble weeds blowing in the wind, rattlesnakes singing in the wind, and small butes all around. It is also very dry, with little to no grass in some places. I think Butte County is the most beautiful county in the state.

South Daktoa has everything: great, diverse landscape; wonderful, caring people; great attractions and things to do with the family; it just has everything. I always wonder why we still have a small population for this great state. I know many people that have moved here from other parts of the country and have never left because they like it here so much.