Phychoanalysis

I choose phychoanalysis because the inner workings of the human brain has been the culprit all along. From the idea of orignal sin to the more realistic views of realism. The entire american liturature project is based on the evolution of the human mind and the god and gods that it creates. The god fearing people evolved slowly, to them, there was only god- What a terrible way to live. To live only thinking of an afterlife that does not exist. To me this is the biggest waste of life, worse than abortion. For your meek little brain to be constantly wrapped around your death is a very sad existance. I would probably have been burned at the stake for my views back in the day. Yet, I am still seperated from most of the people around me for my beliefs.
I feel that I have a better understanding of psychology than most people my age do. My views are not as skewed as most. Well, maybe my views are skewed in a bitter, realistic way. But, I take life as I see it. It took me a long time to not believe in the god that so many do. I really debated it. When I came to my conclusion, I felt that it was true. Although believers feel true as well. Overtime I have realised that it is a constant debate, and not many people feel the way that I do about the world around me. I have accepted this as the mold and cobwebs that grow on an unused brain.

Unit Four

ELAALRL1 The student demonstrates comprehension by identifying evidence (i.e., examples of diction, imagery, point of view, figurative language, symbolism, plot events and main ideas) in a variety of texts representative of different genres (i.e., poetry, prose [short story, novel, essay, editorial, biography], and drama) and using this evidence as the basis for interpretation.
ELAALRL2 The student identifies, analyzes, and applies knowledge of theme in a work of American literature and provides evidence from the work to support understanding.
ELAALRL3 The student deepens understanding of literary works by relating them to their contemporary context or historical background, as well as to works from other time periods.
ELAALRL5 The student understands and acquires new vocabulary and uses it correctly in reading and writing.
ELAALRC2 The student participates in discussions related to curricular learning in all subject areas.
ELAALRC3 The student acquires new vocabulary in each content area and uses it correctly.

I honestly don't have a problem understanding or using any of the standards. I feel that I use them as the curriculum asks.

I didn't understand the Pallis symbolism in Poe's Raven. Then I was told it was Athena, the goddess of wisdom.

Realism Closing

ELAALRL1 The student demonstrates comprehension by identifying evidence (i.e., examples of diction, imagery, point of view, figurative language, symbolism, plot events and main ideas) in a variety of texts representative of different genres (i.e., poetry, prose [short story, novel, essay, editorial, biography], and drama) and using this evidence as the basis for interpretation.
ELAALRL2 The student identifies, analyzes, and applies knowledge of theme in a work of American literature and provides evidence from the work to support understanding.
ELAALRL3 The student deepens understanding of literary works by relating them to their contemporary context or historical background, as well as to works from other time periods.
ELAALRL4 The student employs a variety of writing genres to demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of significant ideas in selected literary works. The student composes essays, narratives, poems, or technical documents.

"Although space travel is not a large social issue, this was the best story I could think of. As I said before, I lack imagination. So I used the detailed description aspect of realism. The fact that the young girl accepted death without fear is one of the most "realistic" things I could imagine."

"One of my first thoughts of modern realism was a very dark movie and novel by the name of Angela's Ashes, This is an amazing story of a poor boy in Ireland. This is not a fictional novel, so the realism is adament."

"I have not read the novel, but I love the movie. It is so harsh yet, so real. The movie is constantly showing the nastiness of the time period. Scenes showing people throwing poop out of their window, and the young boy, Frank McCourt, dodging the turds. Scenes like these really depict the sorrows of a poor catholic Irish boy."

"The realism shows with the great descriptions of the harsh woods that the poor slave had to trek, it also shows with the gruesome descriptions of the injures that the slave had received from the first beating.The realism does not match up with the magical root. Maybe this was symbolizing how the slaves were uneducated(?)"

Writing Two

Does Parole Work?
Everyone knows that prisons in America are heavily overpopulated. How do you fix this problem? It seems that the apparent solution is to release the criminals who have been cooperative while in jail. This is called parole; parole officers are supposed to constantly check in with the freed criminals. As we have seen in the news lately; this system does not always work. Philip Garrido was sent to prison in 1976 for the violent rape of a minor, but of his 50 year sentence, he only served 11. He was released on good behavior.
The problem is that not all criminals have disrespect for authority. Most criminals are highly religious a fact, which in itself is placing authority over their minds. In turn, some sociopaths could be quite pleasant in jail, so pleasant that the parole board could forgive and forget the reason why they were dubbed a criminal. As many people believe, some criminals can never recover. Many psychotherapists will tell you that sexual offenders are incapable of recovery to lead normal lives with normal sexual fantasies.
Judges classify sex offenders into levels from one to three; three being the highest risk to the public. Because of our overpopulated prisons, we allow some of the cooperative inmates to be paroled. And so, Philip Garrido was free to roam and rape as he pleased. Of course he reoffended, but this went undetected until early September 2009. In 1991 he and his wife kidnapped a young girl named Jaycee Dugard. This poor child was kept in Garrido’s back yard for a total of 18 years. During this time Garrido was still on parole and was still being monitored on a regular basis.
Garrido’s neighbors knew he was a registered child molester because of the public registry online. In 2006 a worried neighbor called the police after she had seen children and tents all over Garrido’s back yard. The officer went to the residence and talked to Garrido about zoning ordinances. Supposedly all law personnel are connected to a main data base informing them of a persons “rap sheet.” The responding officer didn’t have this technology, so the officer left the premises thinking that he had resolved the problem.
How they caught Garrido was a complete fluke. Garrido actually brought Jaycee and her two children (fathered by him) to his parole meeting. Maybe he had a guilty conscience? We may never know. Either way, I see the fact that she was held hostage in his backyard for 18 years as a huge fault on our legal system. There are many ways that this could have been stopped. Our country is not the only with these horrendous problems. Yet other countries handle these problems differently.
Sweden’s government has pioneered rehabilitation rather than punishment. Their goal is to fix criminals. This all involves a long-term program dedicated to fixing the original mental problem of the patient AKA the criminal. I feel that putting non-violent criminals in a hard, ugly, environment forces them to react in a criminal fashion; making them even worse. If our prisons weren’t filled with non-violent criminals, maybe this problem would not exist. I feel the way we deal with our non-violent criminals makes them want to retaliate against the system. This goes from hurting officers to hurting other inmates.
For someone who did not commit a violent crime, prison life would completely ruin them. Putting these addicts and thieves in jail makes many people despise law enforcement. I know of many people who are literally terrified of police. If the judicial system really wants to fix their image, they need to start at the core of the problem. This indicates keeping non-violent criminals out of jail and in rehabilitation programs. Then our correctional facilities would have time and space to deal with the criminals like Garrido who really, truly, need to be there. If our legal system was the way that it should be, Garrido would have never been released (being a level 2 sex offender) to the public. He would have remained in serious therapy and hopefully have been chemically castrated. =D

Dark Romanticism Vs. Realism

Being the realist that I am, I would naturally prefer realism. I have a serious lacking of imagination so I am easily identified as a realist. I see the world around me, I see the evil and corruption. I see no god present though out the sadness that people deal with on a daily basis. I see prayer as a useless, weak minded thing. No one is listening; get over it.



Short Story-

Being the first teen to travel in a spaceship has always been Gazelle's dream. She entered the contest many, many times in hopes that NASA would pick her. Her antisipation rising as she heard the announcer give the results on the radio. She jumped and screamed when she heard her name. She was going to outerspace! She felt as if her life was complete. She couldn't wait to be propelled into orbit by the blast of a rocketship. As weeks went by, the danger started to arise. "What if something went wrong?" She thought. These meek thoughts were bypassed by her dream of orbiting around the planet.

The day of blastoff came so quickly. As she was buckled in to the launch seat, Gazelle started to sweat with a mild fear of leaving the Earth. "It's to late now." she thought to herself. And then she heard the ear shattering blast of the engine. As the layers of the atmosphere passed through the windows, she noticed the blue sky that she loved so much was thinning. A moment of shock and awe rattled her brain. She suddenly realized that she was very much out of place in this new, matter less environment. The fear spread throughout her frail human body with immense speed. A tiny thought went through her mind, "I wanted this" this thought was repeated like a broken record for some time. After the blast off engine was ejected from the ship, everything stopped. An eiry silence came over the cabin. Gazelle started to breath again, the sharp inhales felt like the first air that her lungs had ever received. She was calm. All of the sudden, many lights and high pitched beeping rung throughout her ears. "Whats happening?" she asked the pilot. He didn't answer, he was busy cursing and pressing buttons at lightning speed. The fear took over. Gazelle knew that something had gone terribly wrong. As she looked out the window, she was overcome by the vast beauty of the Earth, her home. The empty vacuum of space that surrounded her gave her a new unknown feeling; She was enlightened. The end was near, and she now felt that it was justified. She had achieved her ultimate goal. She died with no fear, remorse, or regret.

Discussion
Although space travel is not a large social issue, this was the best story I could think of. As I said before, I lack imagination. So I used the detailed description aspect of realism. The fact that the young girl accepted death without fear is one of the most "realistic" things I could imagine.

Modern Realism

One of my first thoughts of modern realism was a very dark movie and novel by the name of Angela's Ashes, This is an amazing story of a poor boy in Ireland. This is not a fictional novel, so the realism is adament.
When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I survived at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.. . . nothing can compare with the Irish version: the poverty; the shiftless loquacious alcoholic father; the pious defeated mother moaning by the fire; pompous priests; bullying schoolmasters; the English and the terrible things they did to us for eight hundred long years.

I have not read the novel, but I love the movie. It is so harsh yet, so real. The movie is constantly showing the nastiness of the time period. Scenes showing people throwing poop out of their window, and the young boy, Frank McCourt, dodging the turds. Scenes like these really depict the sorrows of a poor catholic Irish boy.

I’m on deck the dawn we sail into New York. I’m sure I’m in a film, that it will end and lights will come up in the Lyric Cinema. . . . Rich Americans in top hats white ties and tails must be going home to bed with the gorgeous women with white teeth. The rest are going to work in warm comfortable offices and no one has a care in the world.

In the end, Frank manages to save up money to move to America. He leaves his family behind. A happy ending to a forlorn story. Everyone loves that.

Realism- The Battle of Mr. Covey

The battle of Mr. Covey is a short realism story about a slave that fought back. He was beaten by his master for no reason and for this the slave ran away. He was forced to go back by his seller(?) Then another slave gave him a magical root that made it impossible for Mr. Covey to beat him. When Mr. Covey tried to hurt the slave, he resisted and overpowered him. And this made Mr. Covey almost respect the slave, he never laid a hand on him again.

The realism shows with the great descriptions of the harsh woods that the poor slave had to trek, it also shows with the gruesome descriptions of the injures that the slave had received from the first beating.
The realism does not match up with the magical root. Maybe this was symbolizing how the slaves were uneducated(?)
Yet, the realism is the strongest with the social issue of slavery. Of course slavery is wrong, and the passage tries to let the reader fully understand how terrible it is. People of my generation are very uneducated of the atrocities in which their ancestors lived through. The only learning of slavery that we receive is in school, and the facts that are taught to us are sometimes biased and incorrect. We were never told that Africans sold each other out until ninth grade. This was a huge shock to me. Sadly, slavery exists today, I feel that it will never be fully eradicated.

Realism-The Story of an Hour

In the Story of an Hour, A young woman learns that her husband has died in a terrible accident. At first she is distrought, as she should be, and then she really gathers her thoughts and realized that she was no longer his property. That she was free. This was a great feeling for her. After she gathered her emotions she went back downstairs to find that her husband is alive and well. Then the now un-widowed woman suddenly fell to the floor, dead with sorrow.

When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her.
There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.
She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves.
There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window.

This is one of the main "proofs" of the realism in this story, the author, Kate Choplin, wanted the reader to truely feel where the woman was; in spirit and in setting.

Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously. She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will--as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been.
When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!" The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.
She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial.
She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome.
There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination.

This paragraph addresses the social issue of realism, The new found widow was raised as a woman in that time period usually was, her main goal in life was to become a man's property. She was to bear his children and never look for happiness anywhere else. The woman thought that the life of a widow, though depressing, was going to belong to her. Now she was the king of her own damn court. She could make her own decisions and furfill them to her content. I can identify with her hope for freedom.

Dark Standards

ELAALRL1 The student demonstrates comprehension by identifying evidence (i.e., examples of diction, imagery, point of view, figurative language, symbolism, plot events and main ideas) in a variety of texts representative of different genres (i.e., poetry, prose [short story, novel, essay, editorial, biography], and drama) and using this evidence as the basis for interpretation.
ELAALRL2 The student identifies, analyzes, and applies knowledge of theme in a work of American literature and provides evidence from the work to support understanding.
ELAALRL3 The student deepens understanding of literary works by relating them to their contemporary context or historical background, as well as to works from other time periods.

"The fact that the raven has perched on top of Athena's bust symbolises that his sense is wavered."

"This is very unlike the Transcendentalism idea of all thoughts are from god. Meaning that all thoughts are good. I feel that Poe knows that he is going crazy."

"I thought that this was a very good representation of good and evil. Hop Frog felt justified to incinerate the king in his court because the crippled dwarf had been ridiculed many a time."

"Even though I do not agree with original sin, I would consider myself to be more of a dark romantic. What is considered "evil" is embedded into all humans. It is called the will to survive."

The Raven

The Raven was a terribly sad poem, apparently written when Poe's second wife was dying or died of TB in the very next room. "Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December, And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor. Eagerly I wished the morrow;--vainly I had sought to borrow From my books surcease of sorrow--sorrow for the lost Lenore--For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore--Nameless here for evermore." In this poem he depicts arguing with death; (the raven) pleading to make him feel better about his loss. This is a very good example of Dark Romanticism, the entire setting in this poem is a figment of his imagination. The raven itself is his own dark and depressing thoughts. And the Pallid bust is the head of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and thought. He asks the raven questions like "Will I ever feel okay again?" and "Will I see her in heaven?" The raven always replies with a stern "No." The fact that the raven has perched on top of Athena's bust symbolises that his sense is wavered. This is very unlike the Transcendentalism idea of all thoughts are from god. Meaning that all thoughts are good. I feel that Poe knows that he is going crazy.
And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door; And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadows on the floor; And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor Shall be lifted--nevermore!

The Revenge of Hop-Frog

I thought that this was a very good representation of good and evil. Hop Frog felt justified to incinerate the king in his court because the crippled dwarf had been ridiculed many a time.
"His fool, or professional jester, was not only a fool, however. His value was trebled in the eyes of the king, by the fact of his being also a dwarf and a cripple. Dwarfs were as common at court, in those days, as fools; and many monarchs would have found it difficult to get through their days (days are rather longer at court than elsewhere) without both a jester to laugh with, and a dwarf to laugh at." This represents how the dark romantics differed from the transcendentalists. The transcendentalists believed that any strong feeling came from god himself; so no true feeling could be evil. In the end, I felt happy for the dwarf. Even though he had just committed a horrible deed. The end result was good for the dwarf and bad for the king. Most things happen that way though, If I was to get a very high paying job, someone who needed it more would not receive it. Good for me, bad for them. When the lion captures the gazelle, the lion's pride eats that day, but it is the gazelle's last. Good for the lion, bad for the gazelle. "It came from the fang-like teeth of the dwarf, who ground them and gnashed them as he foamed at the mouth, and glared, with an expression of maniacal rage, into the upturned countenances of the king and his seven companions."Ah, ha!" said at length the infuriated jester. "Ah, ha! I begin to see who these people are now!" Here, pretending to scrutinize the king more closely, he held the flambeau to the flaxen coat which enveloped him, and which instantly burst into a sheet of vivid flame."

Transcendentalists Vs. Dark Romantics

Which side of the divide do you fall? Are you closer to being a Transcendentalist or a Dark Romantic? Explain your answer with a short paragraph.

Even though I do not agree with original sin, I would consider myself to be more of a dark romantic. What is considered "evil" is embedded into all humans. It is called the will to survive. This is how our meek species has survived so long. If I was stranded on an island with no food; I would eat you. Whether I would kill you to eat you is a matter of circumstance. So if we are ever stranded together, do not get on my nerves.

Yet people do many "evil" things that is not dependent on their survival. Either way, I do see the "evil" in people, no one is truly good. Why did the priest touch the little boy? Because the priest felt that it was right. This does not mean that I feel that this is okay, that is just how the priest felt.

Unit Three

ELAALRL4 The student employs a variety of writing genres to demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of significant ideas in selected literary works. The student composes essays, narratives, poems, or technical documents.

Once again, this standard addresses me (the student) to understand the different types of writing, and to be able to point out the differences between them. This also wants me to write different types of lit.

Original Sin is the idea that all humans are born damned. We will all die and go to hell.
The Transcendentalists believed that this was incorrect.

Mini Lesson

First, let's review the Transcendentalist philosophy:
a. They believed that everyone was absolutely pure and that each individual is a part of God.
b. They believed that people's thoughts and intuition were the voice of God.
c. They did not believe in institutions like government because they thought the individual human mind was the strongest power in the universe.
What would your argument to this philosophy be? Are all people good? Is the voice inside people's heads the pure voice of God?

I do not believe that all people are "good." But what defines good? Going to church? Remaining faithful to your lover? All aspects of goodness relates to the religion it was inspired from. Muslims believe it is good to kill your enemy. Mormons believe it is good to have more than one wife. The Romans believed that the greatest love was between an old man and a young boy. I don't believe that theses things are good, but I was raised in a predominately christian country; and this means that my moral foundations spawn from Christianity.

And there are new scientific terms for hearing voices from god, it is called schizophrenia. =D

Thanantopsis/ William Cullen Bryant

This poem was a very different kind of romanticism. There was no plane Joe who succeeded in any unlikely event. This work was addressing the fact that no one can escape death. The writer seems to highly respect death since it is equally distributed to every human being. I could not find many examples of romantic imagination in this text. The writer gave nature an actual sense of being, feelings, and a voice. "To him who in the love of Nature holds Communion with her visible forms, she speaks A various language; for his gayer hours She has a voice of gladness, and a smile And eloquence of beauty, and she glides Into his darker musings, with a mild And healing sympathy, that steals away Their sharpness, ere he is aware." This poem really depicts accepting death with many aspects. It refers to returning in the earth in a positive way; "Earth, that nourish'd thee, shall claim Thy growth, to be resolved to earth again, And, lost each human trace, surrendering up Thine individual being, shalt thou go To mix for ever with the elements," I truly love this line. It speaks the truth in such a magical way. I see the decomposers as the true act of reincarnation. This poem also speaks the truth of how everyone decomposes the same way. "Thou shalt lie down With patriarchs of the infant world--with kings, The powerful of the earth--the wise, the good, Fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past," In other words, you will rot just as a king would in a great carcoughagus. William also addresses one of the most common fears of death. "So shalt thou rest: and what if thou withdraw In silence from the living, and no friend Take note of thy departure? All that breathe Will share thy destiny. The gay will laugh When thou art gone, the solemn brood of care Plod on, and each one as before will chase His favourite phantom;" No one wants to be forgotten. Let alone their death day be a joyous occasion. Either way, I really enjoyed this poem, It is one of my new favorites.

Unit Two Standards

ELAALRL1 The student demonstrates comprehension by identifying evidence (i.e., examples of diction, imagery, point of view, figurative language, symbolism, plot events and main ideas) in a variety of texts representative of different genres (i.e., poetry, prose [short story, novel, essay, editorial, biography], and drama) and using this evidence as the basis for interpretation.
ELAALRL2 The student identifies, analyzes, and applies knowledge of theme in a work of American literature and provides evidence from the work to support understanding.
ELAALRL3 The student deepens understanding of literary works by relating them to their contemporary context or historical background, as well as to works from other time periods.

All of these standards are easily summarized into the student really, truly, thinking about what they are reading. To relate the work of literature to current literature and life experiences the student has dealt with. The student should also define one work from another. And last but not least; the student needs to know WHY the works are different.