Journal Week #9

     This year I decided to start playing tennis again and I love it! On Tuesday I had my third match against a girl from West Feliciana. After driving all the way to Baker, I walked into the facility where all the courts were and saw a girl playing and I thought she was really good. She did not have a uniform on so I did not think she was part of the team. When Coach Stevens told me that I was playing her, I got really scared. She was definitely the best person I had ever played with before. I kept up with her in points through out the match but I only won one game. Even though I lost pretty badly, it was still a fun match and I know i got better by playing with her.

Journal Week#8

     The week after Mardi Gras break is always long, tiring, and drawn out. This week was especially tiring because I had a lot of assignments to do. It also came to my attention that I have not started my research paper which is due next week for AP US History class. Ms. Tassin began explaining some of the requirements and things we need to have which made me extremely nervous. Luckily my dad loves history and he is able to help me along with my tutor, so hopefully the next week won't be too bad.

Tea Cake and The Tea Cake Analysis

     In southern culture, it used to be common to sit on one's porch with friends and neighbors and talk, tell stories, and often gossip about different events or people while eating a "Tea Cake". Today in class, we simulated these "porch talks" and ate tea cakes. The tea cake has a distinctive taste to it. It is most and spongy like a cake is, but has a taste of spices after the sweet. This tea cake can relate to the character of Tea Cake in "Their Eyes Were Watching God". The two can be connected because the sweetness that is first tasted relates he and Janie's relationship because she finally feels free and a sense of relief, which she greatly enjoys. The spice that is tasted symbolizes that he too, like the other men, were not perfect and relates to the bad ending of the relationship when he was murdered. Hurston strategically and metaphorically named him keeping the southern element in mind.

Wordly Wise: Lesson 7

1. "Robert Enke's life story should make us pause before we castigate." -The Sport Blog by Amy Lawrence 
It is a shame the way that people have castigated Robert Enke before hearing his side of the story. 


2. "Using colloquial speech should also be used depending on the audience that is reading a newspaper or magazine article." -WritingHood
Colloquial speech should not be used in formal circumstances such as in a formal speech or essay. 


3. What do you think those who survive you will write as your epitaph? -Christian Blessings, wdednh
The one time that I went to a grave yard, I thought it was interesting to see all of the epitaphs written by family members. 


4. "...The exodus took place 12 hours before the storm arrived." -theplacewithnoname.com
The exodus had an affect on Baton Rouge because our population was greatly increased as a result. 
5. "Unsure of the religion or naitonality of the deceased, the authorities decided to inter the body in a neutral burial." -wiki answers
Neutral interment sites are often used when burying victims of war over seas. 
6. Cuts and lacerations are common. -firstaid.webmd
Although lacerations are common, they can be painful. 
7. "Let's vote ourselves unlimited largesse!" -Cuba Journal 
it would not be smart of Cuba to freely hand out largesse because money would quickly run out. 
8. "The National Obituary Archive powered by Arrangeonline.com is the world's largest repository of obituaries and death notices." -arrangeonline.com
There are thousands of obituaries submitted every year, so it must be hard to keep a national record of them all. 
9. "...And suggest a possibly omnivorous diet." -Troodon, Wikipedia
The troodon is thought to be an omnivorous dinorsaur because of the shape of his teeth. 
10. "Attacks to the governor's new policy permeated the newspaper article." -wiki answers
The governor's policy permeated through the local news because the law was so controversial. 
11. "He will also eliminate the practice of extreme rendition where we out source our torture to other countries." -polifact.com 
Obama wants to stop the rendition of torture because he does not beleive in the death penalty. 
12. "Its initiators called it a Conservative Resurgence while its detractors have labeled it a Fundamentalist Takeover." -wikipedia, "The southern baptist convention conservative resurgence"
the southern baptists started a convention and those who were in favor of it, viewed it as a resurgence of the conservative baptists of the south. 
13. "Stereotypes also evolve out of fear of persons form minority groups." -remember.org
There are many stereotypes for different groups of people and some of them are can be hurtful. 
14. "The university of hawaii is still trying to get caught up on payments including stipends, scholarships..." -therepublic.com jennifer sinco kelleher
The university is struggling financially because they are having to catch up on simple dues and stipends which should be part of the budget. 
15. "Subservient people always agree to offers made to them and get into awkward situations." -extrememoo.blogspot.com 
Subservient people are often too giving of themselves which causes them to become unhappy sometimes. 

Their Eyes Were Watching God: Good Claim or Bad?

""Their Eyes Were Watching God" is written in such a style that it relates more to the period of William Faulkner than Modernism." TEWWG is a very modernistic piece because it involves many of the traits of Modernism within the novel such as the break down of society and a negative outlook such as the ones involved in her marriage.

""Their Eyes Were Watching God"is a novel centered around the life of Janie who struggles with finding happiness and what it truly means to love someone."Janie struggles throughout the novel because she is taught by Nanny to basically settle for a man if he has money and will support her. These values cause Janie to have a false sense of happiness and she does not truly understand what it is like to be happy until she finally has freedom from all of her abusive relationships and she is able to do as she wants and control her own life.

""Their Eyes Were Watching God" is an example of the feminist movement." This novel draws attention to the issues that women have because during the time of modernism women were just starting to be recognized. Abusive relationships take place all the time and often not enough attention is brought to them and women are not owed the respect or given the freedom that they deserve.

Journal Week #7

     I got to take a trip to New Orleans this weekend as well because the girls' soccer state championship was on Saturday. I was looking forward to this because one of my best friends and a few of my other friends are on the team. After my parents, Elizabeth, and I made the drive down we were a little late so I was anxious to see the girls play. Right as we walked up Sacred Heart, the opposing team, scored. That was a bummer in addition to the cold and windy weather. Unfortunately the girls did not win, but second place is still great. After the loss my family and another went and ate at the new Superior Seafood restaurant and it was some of the best food I have had in a while! Even though the girls did not win it was still a fun day.

Journal Week #6

     I have been waiting for Mardi Gras all year because it is always fun. This year was my first time to go to New Orleans. I went on Sunday, today, and met some of my friends there and we went to the parade Thoth. It was a cool parade and there were a lot of good floats. On every float the people riding it wore masks and elaborate costumes, which made each float interesting because they were all different but still similar. My favorite group that was in the parade was this group of men who wore eighty's work out clothes and all danced down the street while throwing dabloons and other items like that; they were funny to watch and they also interacted with the crowd too. I had fun because two of the french exchange students were with us and it was their first Mardi Gras ever, so it was fun seeing their reaction to it all. They did not know that Mardi Gras was such a big deal here in Louisiana. It was a long, but great day.

Journal Week #5

The week started off as an emotional one with the death of Ty's dad. Monday night was the visitation and Tuesday morning the funeral and burial was held in Denham Speings and Walker. Since I am friends with Ty I decided to show my support in his time of loss. The funeral was really sad and different from other funerals that I have been to because the pastor read letters that his kids wrote about him. They also played the song "Temporary Home" by Carrie Underwood which makes me cry because its lyrics are so strong. After the funeral, we drove a while to their property in walker where the burial took place. Because he was a Marine veteran from the Vietnam War, there were Marines there who conducted the ceremony and played "Taps". It was an emotional day because of the reality that sets in when you realize how fast life could possibly change.

Letter to Mrs. Gillman

Dear Mrs. Gillman

            In your piece entitled, “Why I Wrote The Yellow Wallpaper,” I see that you begin to explain your reasoning behind your thoughts presented in the short story.  A Boston physician stated that, “It was enough to drive anyone mad to read it.” I agree with his statement because I think that there are many details and components throughout the short story that are unnecessary. There is also a good amount of repetition; you state how much your husband cares about you too frequently and you clearly make your point about not liking the wallpaper and the patterns that inhabits it. However, I do think that you successfully can prevent some one from becoming insane the way that you did. I can see how your story could possibly guide one away from insanity through your actions. Your story shows that it is important for people living with your condition to see that it is important to have interaction and changes of scenery to prevent one from going mad.

Sincerely,

Grayson Mann

Prequel to "The Yellow Wallpaper"

     One day as I took my daily walk to enjoy the warm sunlight and fresh air, I began to become swept away with my own thoughts. As I pondered to myself, I realized that I could not have been happier about living the rest of my life with my dear John but things have been slightly different lately. We had just celebrated his graduation from medical school which was an exciting moment for the both of us because he is now free to open his own private practice, which he did. "Things could not get any better between us," I thought to myself as I walked. However, this thought of mine reversed and things between us began to go down hill for a short period of time. He was suffering from exhaustion because of his new job and I hated to see him this way. Things improved quickly and we were back to our normal, loving selves in no time. 

     A few weeks had gone by and everything was quite fine. John, being a physician, makes me nervous because he has such a big responsibility placed on him. I also do not like to be left alone for long periods of time; loneliness comes with being the wife of a physician I guess. When I would be left alone, I would attempt to find different activities of my fancy. I realized that I enjoyed to write because it allowed me to be freed of my thoughts when I had no one else to speak to. Another one of my new favorite activities was sitting outside among the flowers and sunlight. Because I was always alone, I began to rely only on myself and was left to get lost in my own head. When he was gone I would also be so worried about my loving husband that I would have minor "panic attacks" as John called them once he found out by the nanny he hired to help me with our baby while he was away. 

     John finally returned home after his long hours of the day and saw me sitting on the chair that we both love, just staring at nothing. He asked me, "Honey, are you okay? You seem to be acting a little different lately and I am worried about you." He would not hear me when I said I was fine, so he took me to the doctor and when I was told for the second time that there was nothing wrong with me he stopped questioning me. My nervous state of mind only increased which caused my activities to be numbered and my thoughts endless. My nervousness was now bypassed by John because he was convinced nothing was technically wrong although he knew that I was different. He suggested that we go away for a few months  in order to clear our heads. I could not be happier about our new beginning there. 

Journal Entry Week 4

This weekend a number of events happened that caused it to be one of the strangest in a long time. To start off the weekend, Friday night, our friend's dad passed away after being sick in the hospital for a few months now. That was very difficult for me and my other friends. Two of my other friends and I had a conversation after school and we realized that we must appreciate what is truly important in our lives because everything could change in a minute. If that wasn't enough of a reality check, also on Friday evening, one of my old friends who is my age was shot twice and is now paralyzed from the waist down. This was the second shooting of people our age that has occurred in the last couple months. Lately it seems that things are getting worse and worse and bad news won't stop coming. Hopefully things around Baton Rouge and the community will improve soon.

Terrifying or Not?

Analysis of “Desert Places”: Terrifying or Not?

            “Desert Places” written by Robert Frost contains different analytical aspects that prove other critics of his to be true. Lionel Shilling once claimed that Frost was, “a terrifying poet.” The status of “terrifying” was placed upon Frost by Shilling’s own interpretation of his work. This status sets Frost apart from other modernistic poets of his time.

            The level of “terrifying” that is associated with Frost is similar to the meaning of “terrifying” that is associated with a frightening event. A terrifying event is one that instills a great amount of fear into oneself because of a particular set of actions. The event is classified as “terrifying” when one is so scared that it potentially scars emotionally. A terrifying person is one that reflects those feelings from the events. Also a person who is viewed as “terrifying,” has a level of intimidation about them that is portrayed possibly through their actions. A terrifying person not only harbors an air of intimidation to them but also has a power about them that can cause others to be terrified of what they do. Shilling said he was a “terrifying poet” because no one knew what Frost was going to produce or claim next in his writing. His modernistic ways after the Second World War kept his readers surprised by his shocking statements that are often chilling. The way in which he slyly refers to subjects such as death and other negative subjects instills curiosity into the reader, which causes a sense of fear to be portrayed through his words. In the first line of “Desert Places,” he writes, “Snow falling and night falling fast, oh fast,” which is a reference to death. This is derived as a result of the darkness and winter season that is symbolically indicated by the heavy falling snow at night. All of the references and literary devices that he uses in his writing help to portray the terror that Shilling suggests.

            “Desert Places” has many analytical elements to it that Frost gives to his readers. The various elements and meanings found throughout the poem are conveyed through diction, the tone of the speaker, and the themes presented. The diction is vital to this particular poem because it is what allows the reader to know what Frost is attempting to suggest; his foremost way of telling the reader about the implied theme is through his carefully chosen and placed diction. Again, in the first line of the poem Frost writes, “Snow falling and night falling fast, oh fast,” tells the reader that it is winter and in the dark of night. This automatically sets the tone for the rest of the poem and allows the reader to know about the setting, which takes place during winter. The first line also implies the theme of sadness and even death because during winter there is no life because of the snow and harsh conditions. It also can validate Shilling’s claim that he is a “terrifying poet” because of the instant way he is able to introduce a setting and theme, especially one of death. However, in the last line of the first stanza Frost suggests, “But a few weeds and stubble showing last,” which lets the reader know that there is a sign of life symbolizing hope in this case. In the final stanza Frost implies that he cannot be punished any longer because his life is his own “Desert Place”. He no longer has anything to lose and ultimately no more fear of what is to come.

            Through out “Desert Places,” Shilling’s declaration of Frost being a “terrifying poet” is validated in many ways. His powerful diction and themes that are presented reflect his thoughts. The way that he is able to so easily imply themes through out his writing sets him apart from other modernistic poets of his time. His simple style of writing, yet powerful hidden meanings allows Frost to rise and accomplish the status of a “terrifying poet”. 

Journal Entry Week #3

     Friday night, the time had finally come for the boys to rematch our rival, U-High, in soccer. I was excited about the game all week because I was hoping that they would be able to defeat them out of revenge from their loss a few weeks ago. Any sporting event against U-High was always looked forward to because the rivalry was so intense. 

     When I got to the game the stands were filled with fans. Every one was going crazy and yelling to support our players. Both teams were so closely matched that the game's score was 0-0. It then went into overtime for 15 minutes where the score still remained at 0-0. The game had so many goals that almost occurred, it was hard to watch because it was so intense. At the end of the second over time it was still 0-0. When it is still tied at the end of the second overtime, the game then goes into penalty kicks. U-High made their first two and missed the third. We missed the first two, but made the third. The score was now 2-1; U-High made their fourth penalty kick and we missed ours which ended the game. Although the game did not end the way in which I, and the rest of the Episcopal fans had hoped, it was still a great game to watch no matter what the final score was. 

Journal Week 2

     Today, January 21, 2012, is my friend's sixteenth birthday. Every one is always excited about their sixteenth birthday, but because the DMV was closed, he was not able to get his license. He was a little disappointed, so his parents tried to think of way that they could get him excited about his birthday.
     Last night, his mom sent an e-mail saying that there would be a surprise dinner for him at Plucker's! She knew that if she planned a party for him he would be surprised and excited about his birthday again. The plans were so last minute that there was no way for him to find about it. When my brother and I were on our way there, we saw Hannah going to pick him up. I was so nervous that we were going to be late and miss the surprise; I texted her to make sure that she would stall so everyone had time to get there.
     Luckily every one got there on time! The surprise party was a success and Brannon had no idea because every body was able to keep it a secret. After eating wings, the boys played Xbox on one of the big televisions in the room. Hopefully he had a great birthday and will get his license tomorrow.

ICA Character Analysis: Richard Cory

            The poem “Richard Cory,” by E.A. Robinson harbors in depth characterization of the main character, Richard Cory. Richard Cory is an exceptional man on the outside that every one in the town aspires to be because of the qualities that he possesses. However on the inside, he experiences emotional suffering, which is revealed in the final stanza. The traits that he has not only inspires others, but instills tinges of jealousy with in some people as well when ironically they have no reason to be jealous because of what he feels internally.

            Physically, Mr. Cory is a clean-cut man with a skinny physique that not everyone is able to have. He is a “gentlemen from sole to crown,” which gives him the ability to be approachable and liked by all. The people in Tilbury have given him this god-like status because of all the qualities that he shows to others, which is their perception of him when Robinson writes, “…and he glittered when he walked.” In reality, the people of Tilbury do not even know him because of his hidden emotions. In Tilbury Town, all people have the same status and no one is better than another. When this status of perfection was placed upon Mr. Cory, he felt alone and did not like the attention of being placed in a different league than the others. He wanted to be considered normal and when he was not, he buried his thoughts and ultimately decided to cope with his problems when he, “…put a bullet in his head.”

            In Tilbury, the people look at others and judge them based on one’s outward displays, which occurs everywhere. A theme that arises not only in the poem but also in life is that when one is marked with a certain reputation, it cannot be easily forgotten about. Mr. Cory has the reputation of being perfect and when he feels that he can no longer live up to what others think of him, he does what no person in Tilbury would have ever thought. Reputations can either be true or false and in this case it is false. He appears to have everything that anyone would want out of life, but on the inside he had nothing and no one to turn to. Mr. Cory is still a good man, however he was not able to exist under the pressure to be perfect or live under his emotional conditions any longer. 

character analysis

In Class Assignment: Character/Literary Analysis

            The poem “Richard Cory,” by E.A. Robinson harbors in depth characterization of the main character, Richard Cory. Richard Cory is an exceptional man on the outside that every one in the town aspires to be because of the qualities that he possesses. However on the inside, he experiences emotional suffering, which is revealed in the final stanza. The traits that he has not only inspires others, but instills tinges of jealousy with in some people as well when ironically they have no reason to be jealous because of what he feels internally.

            Physically, Mr. Cory is a clean-cut man with a skinny physique that not everyone is able to have. He is a “gentlemen from sole to crown,” which gives him the ability to be approachable and liked by all. The people in Tilbury have given him this god-like status because of all the qualities that he shows to others, when their perception of him is portrayed when Robinson writes, “…and he glittered when he walked.” In reality, the people of Tilbury do not even know him because of his hidden emotions. In Tilbury Town, all people have the same status and no one is better than another. When this status of perfection was placed upon Mr. Cory, he felt alone and did not like the attention of being placed in a different league than the others. He wanted to be considered normal and when he was not, he buried his thoughts and ultimately decided to cope with his problems when he, “…put a bullet in his head.”

            In Tilbury, the people look at others and judge them based on one’s outward displays, which occurs everywhere. A theme that arises not only in the poem but also in life, is that when one is marked with a certain reputation, it cannot be easily forgotten. Mr. Cory has the reputation of being perfect and when he feels that he can no longer live up to what others think of him, he does what no person in Tilbury would have ever thought. Reputations can either be true or false and in this case it is false. He appears to have everything that anyone would want out of life, but on the inside he had nothing and no one to turn to. Mr. Cory is still a good man, however he was not able to exist under the pressure to be perfect or live under his emotional conditions any longer.