The Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence was in a way hard for me to understand, yet interesting at the same time. I do not know if it was the word usage or just the overall tone I picked up from the story, but I had a very hard time following what was happening. What I did understand I found intriguing because I had never read it before.

As I was reading the Declaration of Independence, I picked up on some faulty propaganda that was used. One of the main ones I scoped out is called the name calling technique. In the name calling technique (Recognizing Propaganda), people are given a label, which sort of marks how other people perceive them. It is false because many people only get to see one side of a person, when there is always an underlying personality. The story tears the king down, which is one of the characteristics of name calling. It was used to bash the King of Britain (Thomas 123). There was a list included of past injuries and negative effects that led to a tyranny. Since the points sum up why the King of Britain was bad, that is what people believe. Along with the bad things though, usually come some good things. This story forgets to mention the good things that the King of Britain has done. Another technique that I saw being used was using false information, almost contradiction (Recognizing Propaganda). It says in one part of the story that all men are created equal and that their rights cannot be taken away (Jefferson 122). I think that contradicts the point that if all men are created equal, then why are they bashing the king? Why is everyone not treated the same way? If we all have the same rights, shouldn't everyone be exposed to the same punishments and the same approval? I thought about these questions as I was reading the story.

I think that the bandwagon technique is also used in the story (Recognizing Propaganda). Even though the list is not a positive one toward the king, the bandwagon technique builds up characteristics to make someone look good. Even though the list makes the king look really bad, it makes other people look really good. It is a persuasion technique the author uses to gain people to be on his side, rather than with the king who has supposedly cause them so much damage.

I think that the whole document is mainly based on emotions. They are trying to lay down facts, but the thing is no one really knows if the statements are true Therefore, people are basing their opinions on what they hear. When they hear negative comments, they tend to develop a negative perception of who someone is. Another technique that is in possible use is poisoning the well. I think this technique is used because it is almost like a stereotype. Putting people into a certain category that alters, or people automatically assume, what kind of person they are. The use of faulty logic works with this document though. Even though there is hidden meanings in some of them, the argument is very moving and persuasive. People listened and that is when changes were made. I think to solve the issue of faulty logic, there should be solid facts, with solid proof. No matter what, the speaker has to be able to back up what he is saying.

Jefferson, Thomas. The Declaration of Independence. Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas

Journal 10

Todays blog is about convinving  Mr. Lanlegy to bring Brach's Star Brites Mints to English class. I would just like to say if he did bring mints to class I would not eat them beacuse I find those discusting. However I will pretend I like these mints in order to write this blog. If he did choose to bring candy he should bring skittles because everyone loves skittles!

Brach's Star Brites Mints are an excellent treat to have in class for many reasons. First of all Brach's Star Brites Mints have a zing in taste that can wake any student up. Our english class is at the end of the day, right after pace and everyone is tired and ready to leave school. A little sugar from this inexpensisive treat is just enough to keep us students occupied for 80 minutes. There are a hard candy so having something to suck on in your mouth for a long time would help keep most of us awake. By waking us up the mints would turn on our minds and help us learn and respond to information from the class.

Another reason Brach's Star Brites Mints would be good to bring for class is for a reward. I know it sounds somewhat childish but it would be a good little treat for the class. For example if I anwered a dicussion question and provided an outside source, I could get a mint. Another example could be if the whole class did there blog or if it was someones birthday. Who doesnt love a little treat on the birthday? That forsure is PBIS.

I think mints would be very helpful in class. If someone dozed off all you would have to say is go grab a mint. The coolness and the overall taste would wake us up at least for a little while. I know it would sure help me and considering I fall asleep alot in your class.... Anyway I think you should highly consider bringing a tub of mints for our A5 honors english class. They are not very expensive and could really help the class focus and it would make us have something to look foward too. Overall I just think it would be an intellegent and bentifucul idea!

Crucible 4 compared with Sinners in the hand of an angry god

I liked the way that the book ended. Act four was full of a lot of suspense and sadness. I started to develop an emotional connection with the characters because they some decisions were made out of pride instead of truth.

John Proctor was a very brave man in the end of this book. After being chained up in a cellar for a long time, he was really quick to just give away his life knowing what waited for him at home if he would confess. I felt bad for Elizabeth in this scene after she talked to him. Before she had a chance to talk to him, she really had no emotion and it seemed like she could care less if her husband hung or if he lived. I did not really like her attitude and tone in this part of the act, but in the end after seeing him, she became very emotionally attached to him. I think that she secretly wanted him to confess and for them to both be forgiven. I think that John had to much pride, for he knew he was a liar and God already was frowning upon him. He did confess, but only to rip up the document in the end because he believed everything was already taken away from him except for his name, which he was not willing to give away and died for it. I think that The Crucible goes right along with "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" because they both are based on God in general. In the final chapter of The Crucible, the court was trying to get people to confess. If the people accused confessed, they were more likely to be saved from God and forgiven. If they did not confess they were to hang. All of the people accused were sinners, and God did not like to save the sinners. Judge Hawthorn believed that many of the accused souls were already in Hell, so he did not want to postpone the hangings unless they confessed; unless they finally saw the light of God. I do believe God was angry in the Crucible. From the way the characters were acting, God was not willing to forgive people of their sins if they were not willing to confess. The play is very confusing in that way because everything was through God, but the town people, who are sinners themselves, are supposed to be caring out the works of God. I think that Judge Hawthorn was a sinner also. He did not always follow God's way and either did Parris. I think that people just assumed they did because they were both religious figures. The Devil could have really been seen by anyone in the story. If so many people were being accused, its hard to believe that they could just save themselves because they had some kind of authority in the town. "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" has a tone that is very angry, so that people pay attention and really listen to what is happening. In the last act of The Crucible, the tone is very angry and threatening because they are trying to make Proctor realize and make a decision that will make or break his future. I think the stories go hand in hand with each other because they both are following sinners as their souls slowly go to hell when they should be going to and praising God.

 

Miller, Aurthur. The Crucible. New York: Penguin Group, 1976

 

Journal 8

Write about a time when someone was emotional and the situation was solved by a rational approach. 

This is a simple journal but I am going to flip about it. However, I do not think that I will be able to get 325 words about it. I will try my best. A rational approach means be straight up honest. I love when people are rational. Why would you lie when you could tell the truth? Example. A girl is doing her makeup and it totally looks like crap, she asks you if it looks good. Say no because it is the truth! Another example. A rumor is going around about a girl and her drinking on the weekend. Instead of spreading it around or telling her no one is talking about it tell her. Then the girl can do something about it... DUHH. It is not that hard. Anyone here is a story example that will hopefully get me 325 words. 

Once upon a time there were two girls named Taylor and Breayn. Breayn was having a bad day because her phone broke and her car was taken away. Then to top things off her boyfriend Carl dumped her. Breayn was very emotional and was crying her eyes out. Then five minutes later Carl texted her again saying he wanted to get back together. Taylor had to be rational and say no! He did it once, he would do it again. This is a radical approach because obviously the dumb boy will do it again. If Breayn gets mad at Taylor that is stupid. She was being a good and honest friend. But clearly this approach is not for everyone. It is my choice but it might not be hers. I think people have to look at the situation and decide on the best way to handle it. I think I will  always tell the radical side but that is my personality and the way people know me as. 

Journal 9

Autumn is a great time of the year. The weather is the perfect temperature and everyone seems to be in a great mood. Except for me. Who gets laryngitis. Laryngitis sucks. You can not talk or breathe and everyone laughs at you because you sound like you are high as a kite. Also you have to whisper. Whispering sucks too. No one can here you and everyone finds it funny. I also have sinusitis. That is horrible too. I have to come to school though or else I will miss this lovely class and my four other weighted classes. Anyways when my body does feel normal and I have a talking voice I love fall. Jeans and sweatshirts and yoga pants are my favorite things to wear. Everyone has there hair pulled back and does not really care. Fall is also when football playoffs are and when basketball season starts. I love cheerleading in the fall and I love cheering for a good football team. Autumn also means thanksgiving. I love food so obviously I love thanksgiving. If I do not have my voice back by fall I will cry. I will not be attending this school anymore because I will not be able to handle it. Actually if it is not back by next week I will probably cry to. I wish everyone had and or gets Laryngitis. That way I can laugh at them and make fun of them. And they can suffer like me. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. But really people will regret it. And this lovely illness, not a disease, can ruin their fall and their cheer leading and basically their lives. You can not eat the seasons food such as caramel apples and pies. When you have this illness you cannot eat nor sleep or basically do anything. I would do just about anything to get my voice back. I would write 12374389718479834789104710 words to get it back.  That is a lot of words. I can barley get 325 about the great season of autumn/fall.

Journal 7

Today journal is about bullying. Everyone in the world knows bullying is a huge issue and has gotten even bigger since social media sites like twitter and facebook became popular. There are many people who try to stop bullying and honestly I do not think the problem will ever go away. I think there will always be people trying to put others down. I think people should continue to prevent bullying I just do not think they will ever 100% succeed.

Being bullied is probably the worse thing ever. I think everyone at some point in there life goes through being bullied. Some defiantly have it worse than others. I have personally been attacked through school. When you have a father as an administration people constantly pick on you and say everything you do is because of your parent. I usually just ignore it because I am older and wont see most of these people ever again but it was really hard when I was in elementary school. I remember one time I got student of the month and people told me it was because of my dad. It is stupid that people feel the need to bring others down. I know my bullying experiences are not as near severe as some. People have been physically treated and attacked online. I have never really had to deal with that. It is sad that people have to bring others down to make themselves feel better but I guess that is how the world is. :(

Although most people wont admit it I think it is accurate to say most of us have bullied someone in our lives. That could be a sibling or younger student or even a friend. We have all said something hurtful to a person if we know it or not. I know I have had plenty of unnecessary comments that have offended someone and I don't mean it to come off as bullying. I just tend to speak my mind. I honestly have no clue what goes through a bully s mind. I do not see how you could physically harm someone or attack them on a social website. I hate when people talk about others for who they are dating or what they are or aren't doing. I think the world today is filled with bullies and victims and we all know how it feels to be hurt.

Act 3

In act three the idea of the characters human nature really does come out. Technically this human nature does not come out in a good way. The characters are put in very stressful and difficult situations. This causes many upset, frantic, and unexpected behaviors to come from the characters.

In act three the character of Giles Corey really begins to show his angry and protective nature. His wife, Martha Corey, is on trial for being a witch, which of course he does not believe to be true. He feels that he has legitimate evidence that his wife is not a witch. His anger comes through when he bursts into the courtroom claiming his wife innocence and makes a huge angry scene as he is drug out of the courtroom. (Miller 84) His protective nature is hidden behind all of the anger that he is giving off. For it really is human nature that when we become very protective of something, we become angry towards those who want to hurt them. For example, if your sister has an issue with a girl at school and is being bullied you are probably not going to be very nice or respectful to them. This is because you are protecting your sibling. I think this behavior is expected because his wife is being accused of something he does not think is true.

Another character, Mary Warren, has a huge part in act three. She is the one person who can really determine Elizabeth Procter's and Martha Corey's innocence. Her human nature of fear plays a huge part in this act. Martha has a terrible fear of the devil, which is expected because her strong faith believes that the devil is all things evil. Her fear of Mr. Procter comes into play when she admits that he forced her to go there and say they were pretending. She also said that Mr. Procter threatened to kill her if she did not do as he said, the fear of him made for the chain of events that happened in act three. (Miller 118-119).

Whether Mary was telling the truth, I have not yet decided. If she was not telling the truth, the fear of the court, judge, and possible jail time or hanging could have been what truly scared her into making up lies about Mr. Procter. Mr. Procter shows very similar human traits as Mr. Corey except Mr. Procter ads lying into the mix. Mr. Procter has been lying to all his peers and community about his affair with Abigail. He doesn't want his name to be put to shame and telling people would do just that. The truth finally comes out and his protective nature comes out with a mad furry (Miller 109-112).

These few human traits such as protectiveness, anger, fear, and lying were all displayed by characters in act three. These traits are also things that people today display both bluntly and secretly which makes it human nature to do many of these things.

Miller, Aurthur. The Crucible. New York: Penguin Group, 1976. 84-112 Print

Journal 6

The topic for today is a plain and simple question. What are the consequences when blaming someone they did not do.This is an obvious blog and there are only like three things that can happen. So I do not understand how we will get 325 words. This seems to be a challenge every single blog.. Hmmmmm.... As I say in everyone of these great journal entries: Here we go...

I think that there are many consequences when blaming someone for something they did not do. The most obvious example would be getting caught in the lie! Chances are you will get caught and you will be punished. One example of this is in high school. A girl, lets name her 123, can make up a story about her best friend named 456. Girl 123 told the whole school that 456 got a speeding ticket on the weekend when she really did not. Obviously 456 knows she did not and can prove to people she didn't do anything wrong with the law. 123 not only looks like and idiot but also loses her best friend in the time being. Her punishment for making up a stupid lie is losing her best friend. No one wants that. Another punishment example could be blaming someone for stealing someone you stole. The chances of  the truth coming out are high and you could get in trouble with the law. This goes the same for murder. Once you kill someone justice will probably be served and you will rot in jail. It is just wrong to blame someone for something they did not do. It just makes it worse in the end.

271 words... Still got awhile to go. The only thing I can think of is not to lie. Its bad. It will hurt you in the end. Everyone has expereince with this. Most of us have been on both ends of the spectrum. Recently I have just been on the victim end and it sucks. The best thing for anyone to do would be not to do it and make the world a better place. Classic I know. The end.

True Colors

In class today we discussed personality in a system known as True Colors. In this test your personality is analyzed based on how you answer these certain amount of questions, you will be given a word. The word will be given to you displaying how much you were a certain word based on how you answered them. The word each have their own meaning that displays a type of personality. There are colors that go along with the words as well. I will be using the colors throughout the blog because it is easier to understand. There are four words and colors; thinker(green), helper (blue), planner (gold), and doer (orange). Green basically means you are very analytical and think things through very well and are very firm and consistent in all they do. Blue means that you are very much about emotions and loving, people who are blue tend to like things to stay very calm and conflict free. Gold people are sensible and practical; you will find they are very learning oriented and hard working. Orange means they have a lot of energy and strength; they will work very hard to win and accomplish their goals ("The Meaning Behind the Colors."). The colors generally show how people are, and do not mean that we cannot display more than one color at different times. My color was blue which meant I was mainly a helper. I do not think that is correct, this shows some default in the test.

In the book, The Crucible, the characters all display different colors. One example of a character displaying a “True Color” is John Proctor. He displays a prominent green color. This is because he thinks out things a lot before he does things aka a planner. This is why he doesn't just tell on Abigail Williams. He wanted to make a plan and not just tell out because he knew telling her secret a big deal (Miller 22-26). As for Abigail Williams, she is very much a blue. She wears her heart on her sleeve and is very emotional. She is also a little bit orange because she works towards what she wants and puts all her energy into it. For example, her wanting to be with John Proctor and for him to admit he loves her (Miller 23-24). Reverend Parris is what I would consider an orange. He is very power hungry and goal oriented. He will go through anything and anyone to get what he wants. Rebecca Nurse is a half and half of a gold and blue. Although she is very emotional, she does have a very smart and sensible whit to her. For example, when she is being accused of being a witch, she was emotional but used her brain to talk to everyone (Miller 27-31). Elizabeth Procter is quite the opposite of her husband; she is a blue in my opinion. She wears her heart on her sleeves and in her words. She is not like Abigail's blue though; she is a mean woman with her heart on her sleeve. She uses her emotions in rash and not very good situations such as going straight to firing and trying to ruin Abigail's life after finding out about the affair between her husband and Abigail (Miller 76). As I have demonstrated to you, the characters all have different colors, and those who are the same colors still can have opposite sides of the color, some of these being good and others not being so good. This causes many conflicts between the characters themselves which makes for a very interesting story line.

Miller, Aurthur. The Crucible. New York: Penguin Group, 1976. 22- 76 Print

"The Meaning Behind the Colors." True Colors. My True Colors Incorperated. Web. 11 Sept. 2001. .

21st Century Punishment

Twenty first century punishment is ridiculous. This video we just watched was the dumbest thing. I like this blog topic so I can go on and on about how stupid it is to overprotect your kids. I think 325 words will be very easy because punishment is so dumb.

I think a fair twenty-first century punishment would be taking the cell phone away. Parents were concerned about emergencies and practices. Do they not realize that everyone has a cell phone and they can uses someone elses? I understand  if they have a car that they would need a cell phone but if they did something so bad then they should not have there car. I think it is pointless to white list and only have parents call. I think that it is stupid because they still have their phone. Taking away facebook is stupid to because facebook is dead. If anything parents could enforce facebook because its so boring. In the video they said having a safety profile so you can check there friends. I get that if the child is ten but sixteen? absolutely not. You can not control your childs friends and that is just asking them to get beat up. I think that video was so stupid. You might as well put a chip in your kids head. I get parents want to protect there kids but you can do that by not buying them a computer or an iphone. Seriously? These people are dumb. Do not complain when there is something to do about it. They could also just be less strict. Understand your kid is going to have an attitude and get snappy sometimes. Here is a tip: Warn them. If they cuss at you then enforce a type of punishment like the phone. If they are struggling with homework say no computer until your done. If they lie about were they are going take away the car. If they have a little bit of an attitude don't do anything. It is so dumb. It will make your kids hate you more and want to make you mad so they can get even.

The next time someone makes a 21st century punishment they might want to ask the teen or remember they were once there too. The last thing you would want is a bad relationship with your kid because you were a not nice word and took something they love away without warning or reason.

Bam 413 words.

Crucible Act 1

A Puritan is someone who is fully invested in the church and in the lord. Puritans are known to be a little extreme when it comes to the Lord. They feel the need to be over the top and a bit ridiculous. They have a tendency to be very judgmental of those who are not in the same mind set as them. Which pretty much means to be completely involved in God and the church and there is no other way to think about it. They seem to not like or get along with those who believe differently. While reading the novel The Crucible we see this against witchcraft.

 The idea of being totally involved with someone to the point where you don't even question it anymore is scary to me. That is something that doesn't make sense to me. Like I have said in class before, reading about this religion makes me a bit uncomfortable. It seems like they want you to be just as involved with God as they are and that is not me. I think it would be hard to be so loyal to someone in every single thing you do. I am interested to see if the characters in the book show this loyalty throughout the book. If they do show it I think they do deserve credit because that is a really amazing achievement.

 In the book The Crucible is very Christian based and oriented to the point where it is basically a Christian book. "Let God blame me, not you, not you." (Miller 39) This is a quote that shows how much they believe God was the only judge of them. They need not worry about what other people think of them because God is the only judge that matters to them. The person that said that was Mrs. Putnam who is what I would consider an extreme Christian. (Miller 39) At the same time I do not think she is a puritan because she is not a very good christian at all. She goes around accusing people of wrong doings with her husband and daughter because she feels like she needs to seek revenge to those who have done her wrong.(Miller 12-20,37-38,47) The biggest problem with that family is that they feel like everyone is against them and they need to be against everyone. This is their biggest and worst fault which causes many problems with the people in the town. There is a lot of talk so far in the book about witches and witchcraft. Many young girls including the minsters daughter and niece are some of the people being accused of witchcraft. (Miller 9,13-20) There is a lot of speculating going around which is causing a very unchristian like atmosphere. The puritan life style includes no funny business such as witch craft. So ultimately that is the biggest conflict in the book. From here on out I feel that the witch vs. Christian will be a theme throughout.

Miller, Aurthur. The Crucible. New York: Penguin Group, 1976.3-31 Print

Journal 4

Journal 4 asks about traveling. I do not really know what to write because I am very tired and this is the last class of the day. Hopefully it makes sense. So here we go...

I love traveling. Over the years I have driven to Florida many times, Alabama. Virginia, and North Carolina. I have also flown to many places. I do not mind driving. Especially because we always have lots of electronics. My family has two portable dvd players. We watch a a ton of movies on our trips and we watch lots of tv shows. Along with watching television we talk and listen to music. We do not do this for very long though because we get annoyed easily. I also sleep a lot. Half of the road trip I probably spend sleeping. The best part of traveling is getting to eat on the road. Chick fila and Whataburger are my personal favorites! We also keep a bunch of food in the car like Goldfish and Oreos. We also have to have a ton of orange gatorade! I think having food on a trip makes it a lot more fun and easy. 

 Recently this summer (July 27 through August 7 to be exact) we drove to Florida. It was my parents, Mike and Carrie, and my sister Macy and also my best friend Mikayla. We drove 14 hours to Destin, Florida. We also had a big stop in Southern Illinois to look at the giant Superman statue. It was an easy drive. Mikayla and I read our wonderful English novels. We fell asleep every time we opened a book. When I wasnt boring myself to sleep with reading classic and great novels I watched the best show ever One Tree Hill. It was great. I got through  4 seasons. My sister was annoying but I dealt with it because she was on the opposite side of the car. Mikayla sat in the middle. Once we got to Florida it felt like forever because we were so close. But other than that it was an easy trip.

Reflection Blog: How does the writing of Bradford reflect the qualities of Puritan writing?

"Plymouth Plantation" was written by William Bradford. Bradford a thirty year old and was a very religious man. He was on the Mayflower in the year of 1620. He reflects the feelings and religious lifestyle of many pilgrims in this time period.

The pilgrims migrated to America from the Netherlands because the culture was changing. America seemed like a good opportunity to create their own lifestyle. With America being new, there was a lot disease that affected the pilgrims (Bradford 67). Therefore  a  lot of the people died from the diseases. The winter season also killed off a lot of the pilgrims.

Bradford's writing has many great examples of Puritan writing. For example, Bradford wrote about how we do not chose when we die. We live until God wants us to die. When someone died on the Mayflower, the other pilgrims knew that it was God's choice that he/she died. This is like the Puritan writing style because the Puritans also believed that God controlled when they lived and died. If God was ready for you to die, you would die (Bradford 67).

Another example of Puritan writing is how the pilgrims handled death. Even when people died, the pilgrims still thanked God for getting where they are in life. For example, when they were near Cape Cod, the pilgrims thanked the Providence of God. They were in the wrong place, too. They still thanked God for everything. They were very dedicated to their religion. They were thankful to be on land. In this day and age, if someone was on a plane and the plane landed in a different country, you would be mad. We would not be thanking God for letting us reach land; we would be mad about him putting us in the wrong place. But in this day and age, we do not stick to the Puritan way as strongly.

The quote "And yet the Lord so upheld these persons as in this general calamity they were not at all infected either with sickness or lameness..." (Bradford 66) shows the Puritan belief that only God chooses who lives and dies. He keeps people alive until he decides that their time on Earth is up. People had no decision on whether they lived or died. I find it very interesting that all of these people were that dedicated to their religion. People these days usually have doubts or do not strictly follow their religion, but in the Puritan writing style it seems that there are no doubts and everyone follows the religion very strictly.

The Puritan writing also shows the belief of helping people. Helping other people was very important in the Puritan religion. Squanto helped the pilgrims with some of their problems. He teaches them things, too (Bradford 66). They say that he has been sent from God. When something bad happened, they were positive about the little things and thanked God for them. This writing is very dedicated to God, just like the Puritan writing style. Everything good that happened to them was because of their dedication to God (Bradford 66).

I do not like the Puritan style of writing. However I did find it interesting to learn about a different culture.

 

Bradford, William. "Of Plymouth Plantation." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed.  Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 62-68. Print.