Whitman

In the poem the Ploughman Ploughing Whitman's relates to both christianity and the everyman even though there is only four lines.The poem can relate to Christianity because when the poem describes the harvest growing and then being cut down it can represent Jesus. Just like a harvest that gets cut down and then sent out to people all over the world to help and feed them. Jesus was sacrificed for people all over the world. Just like harvests come back every year to keep providing people with food Jesus too, came back to help the people around the world with their sins and to save them. The way this poem relates to the every man concept as well. The everyman concept is a concept where the ideas in the poem can relate to anyone anywhere. The ideas are a universal concept that is apply able to anyone. But anyway the everyman idea is pretty applicable to this poem because, everyone dies. At some point every ones life must end. Whether your big or weak, smart or dumb everyone dies in the end. So when Whitman talks about dying and how there is a circle of life with the grain being cut down or killed when it is old and mature then a new seedling pops up and the process of life starts all over again. It was a representation how people grow form a little seedling and then into an old stalk that gets cut down. Such a universal concept like death is definitely a everyman concept. Many of Whitman's poem can be interpreted in many ways. In my own opinion this poem is over analyzed. I dont think it has anything to do with God and is meant to be interpreted as the cycle of life and how just like agriculture people will keep growing. It is over analyzed when you try to relate it to the divine because it has nothing to do with it.

Whitman

Walt Whitman was an American poet who lived around the civil war time period. Whitman was a doctor during the civil war and saw first hand some of the brutal carnage it the civil war. (Ferry). After serving in the Civil War Whitman went back to writing poetry. A lot of Whitman's poetry after the Civil War was much darker and more focused on death.

“As I Watch'd the Ploughman Ploughing” was one of Whitman's death poems. Or a poem where focused on death. The poem says that a man ploughing represents life. The man plants a seed to grow on. But when he harvests the plant that represents death because the seed has grown up and is chopped down like a person would be. (Whitman) Another poem of his that represents death is When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom’d this poem is about Lilacs. Lilacs are the most commonly used funeral flowers. Whitman talks about how Lilacs are everywhere we go and are always in bloom. It sorta represented the fact that death is always there and can happen at any time whether the world is good or bad it can still happen in the blink of an eye.

Another pretty big focus of Whitman's poems was God. In his poem Excelsior the poem is saying that the writer of it is as good as or better than everyone in everything. This could be seen as Whitman being arrogant but when the poem says “For I would be the boldest and truest being of the

universe; “ (Whitman) The line says that the main character of the poem has been there forever. Just like God has been there forever. Whitman probably turned to God more during the Civil War when he saw so much bloodshed to men then before the war. Another reason he most likely focused on God was as he got older he begin to think not just about death more. But also he began to think about his own impending death.

Of Whitman's three main focuses in his writing Self was the most important. In his poems Whitman often used self to represent how we perceive ourself. In the poem The Singer in the Prison Whitman writes:

“It was not I that sinn’d the sin,

The ruthless Body dragg’d me in;

Though long I strove courageously,

The Body was too much for me. “

This quote exemplifies self. Whitman is analyzing his own personality. Realizing his shortcomings. When he says the body was too much for me it means that he could not handle the pressure and responsibility that comes with being a human being. That reason is why he is in prison now because he could not handle him self out of it.

Whitman was a very amazing writer who explored areas that were” previously taboo to most writers. He was one of the first writers to talk about his homosexuality, albeit in a veiled way. Whitman will likely never be replaced as one of the greatest poets of his time and he will surely be relevant a hundred years from now and most likely probably even longer than that.

Ferry, Crossing Brooklyn. "About Walt Whitman." Welcome to English « Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois. Web. 24 Feb. 2011. <://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/s_z/whitman/bio.htm>.

Whitman, Walt. "Excelsior." Casscom. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. .

Whitman, Walt. "Excelsior." As I Watch’d the Ploughman Ploughing. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. .

Whitman, Walt. "Excelsior." When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom’d. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. .

Favorite Meal

My favorite meal is definitely Mexican egg rolls. Mexican egg rolls is a meal my mother invented when her and my father were first starting out in their marriage. The meal is a cheap and easy one to create. Although it does take some a while to make the meal it is pretty simple and cheap. what are mexican egg rolls? Mexican egg rolls are normal egg rolls deep fried in vegetable oil and becomes delicious. Next is a cheese and meat mixed in together sorta thing. Think they cheesey super bowl chip dip sort of thing. The one where EVERYONE makes it`and uses it on super bowl day. So the eggroll has the cheese meat dip inside of it and is deep fried. It smells like heaven and looks a little funny. It looks like a deep fried ball of stuff but smells really good. Whenever my mom makes them I usually eat three or four so they are obviously pretty good. Usually my parents make a ton and we have friends come over and eat them too. One of the bad parts about mexican egg rolls is the fact that if you do not eat them fast enough they lose ther crunch pretty quick and they are gross when you reheat them because they get all soft and cheewy which is pretty nasty compared to the crunch of a fresh mexican egg rolls fresh out of the fryer. Mexican egg rolls are the best and msot amazing meal anyone can ever imagine. I love tthem and even though i would probabaly get sick if I ate them every day for lunch and dinner though it woould probably worth it because they taste so good.

Reporting

If I was a reporter in the Iraq or Afghanistan war that would be exciting. I don't think I would be really scared because even though people do die in those wars they are not dying as fast or in as great of numbers and people did in like WORLD war or world war 1 or vietnam so it would not be nearly as scary as if I was a reporter in like vietname or world war 2. I think it would be pretty life changing too if I were a reporter in a war with the soldiers I would probably be really changed as a person due to the experience I would also have a different view on like soldiers and wars most likely. I have always wondered how and why people get spot traumatic stress syndrome so being a reporter would help me understand that and how it happens a lot better so that would becool. I would not want to be like a reproter in a really big and dangerouswar because that waould be scary and you would have a good chance to die which is never cool. i think overall that being a reporter would be aa really cool life experience and something that would change me as a person and my beliefs and thoughts because it would be such a momentous part of my life. I do not think tat everyone would be able to be a field reporter because some people would not be able to stomach seeing some of the things that they would probably see. Like people being shot or tortured to death. A lot ofr times the reporter might go in thinking they willl just report on guns and glroy and they do not think about the factt they will see people be killed. THere are some cool movies with war reporters in them. I remember one about a guy in vietnam who ended up picking up a gun and saving some people

To Build a Fire

Jack London is one of the all time greatest writers in American history. One of the biggest reasons his writing was so succesfful was because of how real it all seemed. Everything that London wrote about was so realistic because he wrote about what he knew. The Yukon, Jack london went to the Klondike gold rush to strike it rich. London did end up striking it rich but not nearly in the way he thought he was going to. The story To Build a Fire was a bout a guy who was on his way back to camp from a scouting trip. It is really cold outside, colder than he had ever been. Anyway, he is on his way with his dog when some of the ground become a little treacherous and he steps in some water. Not a big deal but it can be dangerous, and so he makes a fire to warm himself up. After some time he finally makes the fire when some falling snow quickly puts it out. At this point the many realizes that he might be in trouble. He quickly tries to start another fire but fails as his hand and feet become frostbitten. In the story it says" Suddenly he bared both hands, removing his mittens with his teeth, He caught the whole bunch between the heels of his hands. His arm muscles not being frozen enabled him to press the hand heels tightly against the matches" (London). Then in a panic the man begins to run trying to reach the camp as well as attempting to warm himself up. "This fear quickly became poignant as he realized that it was no longer a mere matter of losing his hands and feet, but that but was a matter of life and death with the chances against him. This three him into a panic and he turned and ran up the creek bed.." (London) The man finally stops running and decides that if he is going to die he would rather die honorably than like a chicken with its head cut off (London). When the man dies it represents a lot of things. Things like pride, arrogance, foolishness and stupidity. All those things helped make this story of of the most real realism stories I have ever read thanks to its marvelous scenery and descriptions. When I read this story I get a very clear image of what i think of when he describes the Yukon river covered by three feet of snow as well as three more feet of snow on top of the ice. I can just see the frozen river bed in my mind and imagine the tall birch trees the main character keeps using. This story was one of the best examples of Realism as well as a good example of Regionalism, he wrote about the region he knew best on. Stories like these will continue to survive the test of time.

London, Jack. "To Build a Fire." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 603-614. Print.

"Meet Jack London." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 601. Print.

Richard Cory" and "Miniver Cheevy

Edwin Arlington Roberts led a tragic life. By the time he was six he had already began to wonder why he had even been born (Meet). After having been accepted to Harvard he was only able to complete two years before his families financial issues forced him to forget about his education. Within just a few years of each other both his mother and father died, one brother became a drug addict and the other brother became an alcoholic. With such a terrible family life it is now wonder that all of his literature has a very ironic and satirical feel to it. In the poem Richard Cory Roberts relates the story of a man who is widely viewed as a very successful man, and someone everyone should try to emulate. The man is the perfect gentleman, never insulting anyone. Then one day he goes home and shoots himself in the head. The ending is very frank and surprising. During the poem Roberts relates how wonderful this mans life is and how everyone wishes they could be the man. When in the poem Roberts writes " And he was rich, yes, richer than a kind and admirable schooled in every grace: In fine, we thought that he was everything to make us wish we were in his place" (Roberts). Roberts uses this part of the poem to set up the ending to be more dramatic and ironic. This quote gets the reader to relax, and expect to read a nice calm poem. Then all of a sudden the next part reads " So on we worked, and waited for the light, and went without the meat, and cursed the bread; and Richard Cory, one calm summer night, Went home and put a bullet through his head." (Roberts). In the poem Miniver Cheevy the main character is going on about how he should have been born in a different age. How the idea of medieval suits of armor and swords appealed to him, and khaki outfits make him sick. Roberts writes " Miniver loved the days of old when swords were bright and steeds were prancing; the vision of a warrior bold would set him dancing" (Roberts). Many people have felt like they did not be long at some point in their life or that they should have been born somewhere else or in another time. Thats not the point of the poem though. The point of the has to do with the last line "Miniver coughed and called it fate, and kept on drinking" (Roberts) That last line shows those were idle thoughts of a drunken man. Like many of his works this poem ended with a bit of irony and something to make the reader think about whether them thinking about being born in another time is really such a good thought. Whats so bad about this time? Its the best period humanity has ever had, best life span, best everything. Oh well, back to drinking.

Robinson, Edgar Arlington "Richard Cory." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 575. Print.

Robinson, Edgar Arlington "Miniver Cheevy." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 576. Print.

"Meet Edgar Arlington Robinson." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 573. Print.

Douglass" and "We Wear the Mask

Paul Laurence Dunbar was an extraordinary man. As a high school student he was the only black person in his entire school, and he was one of the tops students. While he was in high school Dunbar was the president of his class. So not only was the colored boy in a white eprsons school he was also the president of the school. Something almost unbelievable. After high school Dunbar's amazing life continued when, unable to afford college he work for the Wright Brothers. Yes those Wright Brothers, the ones who invented aviation. He worked for them and then while at the Worlds Fair read poetry with Frederick Douglas. After his death Dunbar's home was the first African American state memorial. In his short poem Douglass Dunbar writes about how bad everything is now that Douglas is gone. Saying " Ah Douglass we have fall'n in evil days, Such days as not even thou didst know, When thee, the eyes of that harsh long ago." (Dunbar). Dunbar is saying that what the african american people are going through now is even harder than what Douglas went through. As the poem goes on Dunbar says it is so hard now because " Oh, for they voice high-sounding o'er the storm For they strong arm to guide the shivering bark, the blast defying power of thy form" (Dunbar). It is so hard for them now that Douglas isn't there to tell people what they should to and to guide them. In his other power We Wear the Mask Dunbar is talking about how each and everyone of us put on a mask every day. He says "We wear the mask that grins and lies, it hides our cheeks and shades our eyes" (Dunbar) He is talking about how everyone's smile and laughter is fake and only a show for other people. When Dunbar writes " We smile, but, O great Christ our cries To thee from tortured souls arise. We sing, but oh the clay is vile Beneath our feet, and long the mile; But let the world dream otherwise, We wear the mask!" (Dunbar) That quote is talk about how black people still cry to Christ to save them, because even no they are not slaves anymore black people are now in a country that despises them and they feel just as bad as they do when they were. When he says and long is mile Dunbar is referring how long it will take the country to finally accept black people in to society. Dunbar wrote several of his most famous poems in what was called black tongue. Which is how black people spoke, and he really hated that fact. Those poems did so well because many people wanted to try and understand black people better so they read about them. They read about a people trapped in a country where they were unwanted. How would you feel if you were stuck somewhere where everybody hated you and thought just because you had blond or red hair you were stupid and should be slaves to everyone who has black hair.

"Meet Paul Laurence Dunbar." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 568. Print.

Dunbar, Paul Laurence "Douglas." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 570. Print.

Dunbar, Paul Laurence "We Wear the Mask." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 571. Print.

I will Fight No More Forever

Chief Joseph was an Indian chieftain of the Nez Pearce in the ate 1800's. The Nez Pearce were the most powerful of tribes that spoke their language. When his father died Chief Joseph was voted by his people to succeed him (Meet). As Chief of the Nez Pearce he had to deal with some major decisions. When gold was discovered in the Nez Pearce land the ensuing gold rush threatened to destroy the tribe. Chief Joseph managed to hold off the government for several years by negotiating (Meet). But finally, the government told Chief Joseph that if his tribe did not leave the land they were on the government would remove them by force. While his tribe was leaving their home several of the men in his tribe got into a fight with some white poeple and killed them. Thus started Joseph's 1000 mile long journey with his tribe to ecape fromt he government. After three months of fighting off the US Army and marching Joseph's tribe was surrounded and forced to surrender (Meet). One can only imagine the emotions going through Joseph's mind at the time. One of the most powerful had to be relief. In his writing I Will Fight No More Forever Chief Joseph expresses his anguish at how his peopl have been getting along while he has been fighting the US Army. In his words he is worried about the fact that " The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away tot he hills and have no blankets, no food, no one know where they are -- perhaps freezing to death." (Joseph). Clearly these are the words of a down trodden man who is tired of running and tired of the uncertainty tomorrow may bring. This little speech to General Howard is the last straw. Joseph has decided that he is done trying to fight people. He no longer wants the blood shed and the pain and heartache that comes with it. Joseph simply wishes to save as many of his tribe as he can. As the tribe leader Chief Joseph feel responsible for all the deaths in his tribe, as he says " Our chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is dead. Too Hul Hul Suit is dead. The old men are all dead. it is the young men who say yes and no. He who led on the young men is dead." (Joseph). Chief Joseph was expressing his grief at how everything has happened and how so many people have died through his actions. The final line " I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever." (Joseph). Sums up Joseph's feelings, he is done fighting, done with the heartache and pain it has caused. From this point until I die I am done fighting. Chief Joseph was done, he never fought again and he died an old man like I am sure he wished.

"Meet Cheif Joseph." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 531. Print.

Cheif Joseph. "I Will Fight No More Forever." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 514. Print.

Spoon River Anthology

Edgar Lee Masters was a poet as well as an attorney during the early of 1900's. As an attorney masters argued several cases before the supreme court and had a very successful law office (Meet). As a poet Masters was not so successful. Poetry overall seemed to ruin be a downer to him his whole life. Coming out of college Masters wanted to be a poet but his father wanted him to be a lawyer. masters endedd up doing both (Meet). After become a successful lawyer Masters decided one day he was tired of it. He left his whole family and moved to New York, marrying another woman. While in New York Masters released many poems but only had one that actually was successful, which was Spoon River Anthology. Spoon River Anthology is a story about a town of people who are now dead and their monologues from death. The excerpt I read in Spoon River Antholofy was about how one Elmer Karr was in an adultrous relation with Mrs. Merrit and killed Mr. Merrit. The first monologue read was Mr. Merrit you describes the small changes he first began to notice about his wife like "AT first I suspected something—She acted so calm and absent-minded. And one day I heard the back door shut As I entered the front, and I saw him slink Back of the smokehouse into the lot And run across the field." (Masters). The husbands account then just describe how he begged for his lfie before he died. Next in the small portion of the story was Mrs. Merrit's account. Her monologue talked mostly about her court case. In the story she says "What could I say to people who thought That a woman of thirty-five was at fault When her lover of nineteen killed her husband? Even though she had said to him over and over, “Go away, Elmer, go far away" (Masters). According to her monologue she knew that when she gave her body to Elmer it was a mistake and she did he best to make the whole thing go away. After her court case she spent the rest of her life in prison. Lastly Elmer Karr's monologue is the most unique. After being convicted and spending 14 years in prison Elmer is welcomed back as a born again Christian. A lot of Spoon River Anthology had some pretty ironic situations in it, I think the story was mostly written to cast different types of people in how they would view their life after they had lived it. The story was pretty cool with how all of the people in the ground seemed to relate to each other. Another cool part was how as I read about people I could not help but to compare them to people I know in my own life and seem to fit the same profile the character in the story does. That is probably why the story has done so well even after all of these years because people see some of themselves and some of their friend in characters.

Master, Edgar Lee. "Spoon Rover Antholoy." Penn State. Penn State. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. .

"Meet Edgar Lee Masters." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 514. Print.

Two Views of the River

Two views of the river is a story Mark Twain wrote as he was beginning to get tired of being a river boat captain. The story behind Two Views of the River is that the main character, a riverboat captain , used to be astounded by the river. The sun rising over water and casting beautiful shadows everywhere, the way a log floated down the river so smoothly and beautifully, and the way the moon reflected from the water like a perfect mirror. Now though, since the captain has been navigating the river for so long he does not see the beauty in it. As said in the story by the captain "This sun means that we are going to have wind tomorrow; that floating log means that the river is rising, small thanks to it; that slanting mark on the water refers to a bluff reef which is going to kill somebody’s steamboat one of these nights, if it keeps on stretching out like that; those tumbling ‘boils’ show a dissolving bar and a changing channel there; the lines and circles in the slick water over yonder are a warning that that troublesome place is shoaling up dangerously; that silver streak in the shadow of the forest is the ‘break’ from a new snag and he has located himself in the very best place he could have found to fish for steamboats; that tall dead tree, with a single living branch, is not going to last long, and then how is a body ever going to get through this blind place at night without the friendly old landmark?”(Twain). That quote is pretty obvious in what the man is saying. Rather than seeing the beauty in the river he see the practicality in it. In the story the captain compares his dilemma to one a doctor might face asking if " I have pitied doctors from my heart. What does the lovely flush in a beauty’s cheek mean to a doctor but a “break” that ripples above some deadly disease?" (Twain). This a pretty good comparison as what the captain is experiencing is normal with anything that we get exposed to for a long time. We get used to it and stop marveling at it. For example, take air planes, two hundred years ago people most likely could not even conceive the idea of being able to fly. Now on the other hand it is something most people see everyday of their life. Not many people stop to stare at the sky in awe at the magnificent stream the airliner makes behind it. People have gotten sued to the idea and live with it as even though it affects their life every single day they barely even notice. I know I for one have never been on a plane so the fact that they are so massive still baffles and amazes me at the same time. I hope that even if I become a frequent flyer that I still stop to smell the roses as some people say.

"Meet Mark Twain." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 496. Print.

Twain, Mark "Two Views of the River." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 504-505. Print.

The Celebrated Jumping Frogs of Calaveras County

MKark Twain was one of the greatest writers in American history. Twain had a unique life that helped him become such a good writer. As a young boy of only 11 Mark Twain's father died (Meet). Due to to the death of his father Twain was forced to become a printers apprentice. After several years of that Twain finally accomplished his life long dream of being a riverboat captain (Meet). Twain was a captain for many years but when the civil War began and the Mississippi was clsoed to commercial traffic Twain went to Nevada. In Nevada Twain began writing and wrote his first successful story that made him well known in America, The Celebrated Jumping Frogs of Calaveras County. This story is a bit of an odd one. The main character starts out by getting a message form his friend asking him to inquire about a man named Leonidas Smiley to an old man. Once the main character finds out who the old man is, a Sam Wheeler, he goes to the local tavern in order to meet with him. Upon asking Sam Wheeler if he knew anything at all about a Leonidas Smiley the old man, without even thinking, begins to tell the main character a story about a man named Jim Smiley. The old man says " There was a feller here once by the name of Jim Smiley in the winter of '49 or maybe it was the spring of '50, I don't recollect exactly though what makes me think it was one or the another was because the big flume wasn't finished yet; anyway..." (Twain). Just from that quick quote the reader understand several very important things about the story. Firstly, the old man is one of those old men. The kind who will talk for hours about something most people don't even remotely care about. Another important thing the reader can infer from this quote is that this is meant to be a funny story. The main character just asked for a simple yes or no answer from the old man, but you can just imagine Sam Wheeler taking a deep breath in preparation for his story. Proof of the fact that this story was meant to sort of poking fun at these types of people can be seen in the quote from the story of " Oh! hang Smiley and his afflicted cow! I muttered, good-naturedly, and bidding the gentleman good-day, I departed" (Twain). This quote shows that after Wheeler has finished he story about a man completely arbitrary to the main characters question, the main character has had enough of Wheeler's anecdote and must leave even though he did enjoy the joke his friend played on him. I thought this was a nice stroy to read as it was sort of all a practical joke by the main characters friend, and it made the story pretty funny. Knowing each time the old man started on another little detour with the story the man was getting more and more impatient, it is pretty funny to just imagine the man sinking in to his seat as the story goes on.

Meet Mark Twain." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 496. Print.

Twain, Mark "The Celebrated Jumping Frogs of Calaveras County." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 368. Print.

The Red Badge of courage

The Red Badge of courage is a story written by Stephen Crane. Stephen Crane was born several years after the end of the Civil War, so it is a bit odd he would choose to write about war and someones courage and fears. Crane must have either done a lot of research or even had some personal experience that no one ever knew about to write such a deep and toughing story. The Red badge of courage is a story about a man who wants to help his country. The man is headstrong and confident in his ability to march into war without fear or concern for his own well being. Once the battle starts and the man sees someone he knows die in front of him the man gets scared and starts to run the opposite direction. While he is running the wrong way someone in his army gets scared and thinks he is an enemy so he hit the main character in the head with the butt of a rifle (Crane). next the man is back home, everyone in his home town treats him like a hero because they think he was wounded in battle. He is given the Red Badge of courage, sort of like a purple heart, it is given to someone wounded while serving the military (Crane). The main character knows that he does not really deserve this award because he was hurt while he was being a coward and not saving people and being courageous like everyone thinks he was. The knowledge that he is a fake begins to eat at the man and he can no longer live with himself because of his guilt at being a coward and then being rewarded for it. So the man decides he is going to join the military again and he will be courageous this time so that he can become worthy of the medal he was given (Crane). Next the man is once again in a battle, this time though the man is to confident and to eager to prove his worth. So he does some very stupid things. First he sees that the flag, which represented the battle lines, was being pushed back. So the main character stupidly ran through the battlefield and attempted to move the flag forward but all he really did was mess it up even more by pulling the flag back more than it already was (Crane). Then the story got a little odd, with most stories like this you would expect for there to be a dramatic ending where the man either redeems himself by doing some courageous act or he would die in some foolish charge in order to prove his manhood, but in this story the main character just lives. He does not do anything spectacular, he just happened to live through the battle then it is the end of the story. Overall I thought the story was pretty good and kind of deep, I think it could have been a lot better than it was.

Crane, Stephan "The Red Bag of Courage." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 493. Print.

The Awakening and The story of an Hour

Kate Chopin was a female writer during the period of 1880-191o. Chopin had a tough life, born into a time where women were expected to be exactly like one another she had very little choice in how her life ended up. Chopin married someone and had several children. One day Chopin was told that her husband had died, and she was going to have to raise the children on her own (Chopin). A doctor suggested to Chopin, after he mother died just a year later, that she take up writing to help her with the grief she had (Chopin) In The Awakening the main character is over come by an instense bout of crying she can not control. The short excerpt is very powerful with the imagery used to describe the woman feelings. The excerpt says "Such experiences as the foregoing were not uncommon in her married life. They seemed never before to have weighed much agaisnt the abundance of her husband's kindness and a uniform devotion which dad come to be tacit and self-serving" (Chopin) This quote means that crying episodes like the one in the story happened a decent amount when she was married. She did not know why they would happen but they never really got to her because her husband as so kind and was he rock to help keep her happy. I think this story sort of symbolizes that she knew something was wrong with her life while she was married but because her husband was such a good man she was able to overlook it, but now that she is alone she can not help but to keep crying. In The story of an Hour a woman is told that her husband has been killed in a tragic train accident. Upon hering this news the woman is voercome and starts sobbing before she runs to her room. While in her room she realizes the reason she is crying "When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escape her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: Free! Free! Free!" (Chopin). This story is about a woman who upon learning her husband has died realizes that now she is free to live her life as she wishes and not as her husband wishes. This story was a controversial at the time she wrote it because women were not important i society at the time. I thought both fo the stories the chopin wrote were very interesting, even though the awakening was a massive failure during her liufe in reality the story ended up being a huge success that helped further the feminist movement in the 1960's. Chopin maty not have known it but even though it was not in her lfuie time she did end up helping the feminist movement in s very important way that no one could have guessed while she was alive. She wrote several very important stories about color issues as well though these did better while she was alive than her feminist ones were.

Chopin, Kate."from The Awakening" Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 491. Print.

"Meet Kate Chopin." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 551. Print.

Chopin, Kate "The Story of an Hour." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 554. Print.

O Pioneer! and A Wagner Matinée

Willa Cathar was a women author in the 1800s. She wrote a lot about the west and prairie farmlands as she was born and grew up there. Willa adds a distinctively Midwest feel to her writing in the way she describes the setting. All of his scenery in her stories are exquisite and help provide the reader with a feel of being there with the main character. most of Cathar's work did have to do with Nebraska, where she grew up. This makes her a regionalist author. Regionalism is a type of writing where the author would focus on a specific area they knew the most about like Cathar and Nebraska, it is where she grew up so she knows the most about that area and how to ebst write about it. O Pioneer! is the story of a family of immigrants who become farmers. They work hard but they never really become truly wealthy or secure financially. But when the patriarch of the family dies he does something truly unheard of, he leaves the farm to his eldest daughter rather than her three brothers as most people of the time would have done. (Cathar) Under the daughters frugality and intelligence the farm begins to prosper. As the farm does better and better everyone else in the family gets married. Alexandra has been so busy with the farm that when she gets a chance at love she is leaping at the idea when suddenly tragedy strikes. Her youngest brother, the only one in the family to be raised while the farm was doing better, dies and it is a tragedy. (Cathar) In A Wagner Matinée Cathar is once again the author. A Wagner Matinée is about Cathar more personally as it has to do with her aunt and uncle moving to Nebraska when the Homestead act is passed. It details their hardships, successes, failures and life in general. This story really adds to the idea she was a regionalism writer. The story is definitely changed by the setting and how the setting changes everyone. For instance how hard it is to predict rainfall in the area the story is set. This affects the main character by providing cheap labor form men who had a bad crop year. (Cathar). I thought that Cathar's regionalism actually added tot he story, which can be a tricky thing to do. Some times authors who are regionalsits may write TOO area specific tot he point they casually reference ares or saying that are not as well known around the country as they are in that region. for example if I were to write about Springfield I could not just casually mention a horseshoe I would have to explain it because even though some people might know what im talking about not everyone would. Overall I thought that Cathar's writing style was very good and enjoyable to read even if it was a little on the mopey and sad side of things sometimes during the stories.

Cather, Willa. "O' Pioneers." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 489. Print.

Letter to my Son

Robert E. Lee was a confederate general, and in fact was probably the best confederate general there was. That is quite a statement considering that most of the military leaders went with the south because they stayed loyal to their states. Robert E. Lee for example did not own slaves but stayed true to his state and fought for the confederacy. Robert e. Lee was a man of extraordinary courage and intelligence, he trained the confederate army from a bunch of farmers and wealthy fat men into a hardened fighting force in just a few weeks (Meet). In his letter to his Lee expresses some of the things he wishes for his son to learn. This was the only way Lee could contact his family as he was always out on the road fighting in battles and leading troops. So this letter carried a lot of weight in this young boys life. One of the things that Lee tried to impart on his son was the responsibility of duty. In the letter lee relates the story of a legislature. The legislature was in session when a solar eclipse occurred. Something that would have seemed magical and godlike to the people. Most of the lawmakers were worried and claiming it to be the end of days. There was one lawmaker though, an old puritan who stood and said " If I am to die id rather die doing my duty so I move for candles to be brought inside." Lee said that this old puritans example was one we should all strive for. To do our absolute best in the face of a duty that we can because it was the honorable thing to do. Then Lee relates it to the young boys life by saying it is the child's duty to listen to his mother and that neither Lee or his wife should ever been stressed by the boys lack of doing his duty (Lee). In another part of the letter Lee talks about the morality he wishes to impart on his son. When he says "If you have any fault to find with any one, tell him, not others, of what you complain; there is no more dangerous experiment than that of undertaking to be one thing before a man's face and another behind his back." (Lee). This was something that even I could related to almost 150 years later. Everyone can elate and learn from this philosophy of not talk about people behind their back. This letter almost seemed like he wanted to leave something to his son like a guide of sorts on how to be a good man or person. it felt like Lee was worried he would not be there to see his son grow up and to pass on this knowledge by himself so he sent this letter just in case. Such a letter would have not just shown his son the type of man Lee wanted him to be but would have also shown the type of man Lee was. lee was obviously a man of great honor and a resounding sense of duty that led him to somewhere he may not have agreed with but continued with his duty.

Lee, Robert E. "Letter to His Son." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 385. Print.

"Meet Robert E. Lee." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 382. Print.

And Aint I a Woman!?

Sojourner Truth was remarkable person, a slave for nearly thirty long grueling years (Ashley). While in slavery most of the children Sojourner had were sold into slavery before her very eyes. Like being a slave to someone else wasn't enough she was tortured by watching he own seed being sold to the same type of people that had tormented her for almost thirty years. When she finally got to run North for freedom she faced an absolutely horrible decision of being forced to leave several of her own children behind because they were not old enough to be free under the Emancipation (Ashley). No one can really imagine the pain and heartbreak she felt in having to make a choice like that. Once she was in the North and a free person she began to attend womans right meetings under her now known name of Sojourner Truth. She was one of the first people to not only gfight for women's right, something though very little of. But also one of the first people to fight for black woman's rights, something that was almost unheard of at the time. Many people felt that these blacks should be happy they are free and no longer slaves they are asking for to much wanting their women to have rights that not even white women had yet. Sojourner bravely spoke on topics not many other women would have the courage to. In her Aint I a Woman speech she brings up the topic of her own mistreatment according to other women because of her color " That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman?" (Truth). This quote brings up her point of equality. She is speaking about a man who had the podium before her and was talking about how women need to be treated specially because they are so delicate and can be hurt easily. Sojourner bravely brings to attention the hypocrisy of the mans speech. Saying she is a woman and has never been helped like the man has said women should be. yet she is stronger for it, she boldly claims she could stand her own against any man because of the years of hardships she faced as a slave. The next subject she brings up is the mans treatment of women as of having lesser intellect than man does " Then they talk about this thing in the head; what's this they call it? [member of audience whispers, "intellect"] That's it, honey. What's that got to do with women's rights or negroes' rights? If my cup won't hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn't you be mean not to let me have my little half measure full?" (Truth). In this paragraph Sojourner didn't quite come out and say that women were just as smart as men are, but she said that if men are so much smarter than it would be cruel for them to not give aid to anyone who has a lesser intellect whether or not they were a man or women whether or not they were black or white.

Truth, Sojourner. "And Ain't I a Woman." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 370. Print.

"Sojourners Years in New York." Sojourner Truth.org Home Page. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. .

Swing Low Sweet Chariot, Go Down Moses, and Keep your Hands on the Plow.

During the years where slavery was the most rampant in America the slaves were treated like animals. Animals were treated better most likely in some places. The enslaved African Americans were denied basic rights by some owners in hopes that they would become mindless and only perform the tasks their masters gave them. In one account a man is lashed thirty times on the back for being outside to late, and then the slave master, to prove a point, grabbed the mans feet and lashed those too so the man could not walk. Stories like those were prevalent all over the south. But the slaves did not always adhere to their masters wishes. Many slaves ran away from their plantation and went to the north where they were free. The vast majority of slaves though stayed in the plantation and performed was termed subtle sabotage. These actions were so called because of the way the slaves implemented the subterfuge. The owners may be able to make the slave work but who is to say that the slave would not jsut work slowly and ineptly? Many of the slaves outside would sing psalms or other songs to keep their spirits high. Sometimes though the songs had deeper meanings, like Go Down Moses for example it says:

The Lord, by Moses, to Pharaoh said: Oh! let my people go.

If not, I'll smite your first-born dead—Oh! let my people go.

Oh! go down, Moses,

Away down to Egypt's land,

And tell King Pharaoh

To let my people go. (Anonymous)

At first this song seems to be a simple religious tune, but upon further inspection it becomes pretty clear this song is encouragement to the slaves. The slaves are relating their own trials and tribulations the issues that Moses' people faced a thousand years before. They believed that soon someone would lead them to freedom and out of bondage. Also many times there would be secret messages inside the songs like in Swing Low, Sweet Chariot:

I looked over Jordan, and what did I see
Coming for to carry me home?
A band of angels coming after me,
Coming for to carry me home. (Anonymous)

This quote initially seems like any normal song lyric but when you begin thinking like a spy its changes from an innocent lyric to a secret message meaning someone soon will be coming to save the slaves and take them away from the plantation. Such a song could be sang during the civil war to signal that Union troops were on their way to save the slaves. Though the most important function of all songs was to entertain and to take their minds off of their horrid living conditions. Songs like Keep Your Hands on the Plow are meant to pass the time during the long workdays that the slaves had to endure while they were forced to do manual labor for the terrible men that called themselves owners. Truly fascinating

NetHymnal. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. .

"Go Down Moses." Welcome to Monmouth University. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. .

Unknown - Keep Your Hands On The Plow Lyrics." LYRICS. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. .

Second Inaugural Address and Gettysburg Address

Abraham Lincoln was one of the most important person in American History. Certainly a case could be made for him being the greatest president of all time. Lincoln came into the presidency in a volatile situation no other president had or has since, had equal, taken office. When Lincoln took over the presidency souther stats immediately began to secede from the Union at an alarming rate. He had not even passed a law yet and already he was dealing with things no other president has ever even had to worry about. Could this man declare war on his own country? Should he? Would the north or south win? After four long hard years the end was in sight as Lincoln took office for his second term as president. The inaugural address that Lincoln gave is of great importance because Lincoln was assassinated just a month after this speech. This speech left historians with the question of what if Lincoln had not been assassinated? Would he have done things different then the man who came after him? This address was also important as people had no idea what to do with this broken nation and Lincoln's address provided a small sort of blueprint as to what they should do. In his own words Lincoln wanted " With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations." (Lincoln). This short address laid out Lincoln's basic plan for reconstruction, the period immediately after the civil war. His plan would be essential for the coming months. The second speech this blog is about would be the Gettysburg Address, one of the great American speeches. The Gettysburg address was a speech given to soldiers and townspeople following the carnage of the battle of Gettysburg. This was one of the bloodiest battles of the civil war. What Lincoln said in his short speech restored courage and resolve to a wavering nation wondering if millions of dead sons and brothers and fathers was worth being a whole country. A nation in a time of need needs it's leader to provide words of encouragement such as "Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this." (Lincoln). This paragraph instills a great sense of the need to help. This speech helped believe that yes they could win the war, and it also really made the war not just about preserving the Union but also about slavery. Such a distinction was vitally important then and now. In his second inaugural address Lincoln said " One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the southern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the war." (Lincoln). This statement clearly proved that the civil war became something more than jut reserving the union it became a liberation.

"The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln." NetINS Showcase. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. .

"Abraham Lincoln: Second Inaugural Address. U.S. Inaugural Addresses. 1989." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and Hundreds More. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. .

Frederick Douglas - The meaning of July Fourth for the negro

Frederick Douglas was one of the most respected men of his time. Something that was quite amazing considering that in his life he had never had a formal education, was constantly ignored and belittled, but most of all he was the wrong color in his time for someone being so widely seen in public life. Douglas was born a slave, as a slave Douglas eventually bought his freedom from his master and went north. Once he was in the north Douglas begin demonstrating against slavery and giving speeches. Douglas one of the most important men in the country during this time, he was a key person in abolishing slavery and most importantly he helped to change peoples mind about black men. He helped them believe black men were not savage and were people like you or me. The speech Douglas gave about the Fourth of July was about how even though it is a day celebrated by Americans (white) some Americans (black) could only laugh at the irony of the day. As Douglas says "What to the slave is your Fourth of July? I answer, a day that reveals to him, more than all other days of the year, the gross injustice ad cruelty to which he is constant victim." (Douglas) Clearly this statement shows that Douglas believed that such a holiday celebrating America casting off the tyrannical Great Britain in a great war was the ultimate joke since America became a tyrant in its own right. Douglas, in his speech says much the same sentiment "To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to Him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy" (Douglas). Obviusly Douglas' strong language is meant to really drive home the point of how even such a wonderful day that stands for things every person can believe in and aspire for there are still the downtrodden who are almost insulted by the irony. In my own opinion this speech did a wonderful job of accomplishing what Douglas set out for it to do. The speech created a strong impression by taking a day day so many people consider to be about the suppressed rising above the suppressors and casting off the tyrants. Such a wonderfully idealistic holiday was a perfect target for Douglas' to prove even such a pure day is another terrible day for a slave. Douglas' speech really hit home with me even after all of these years. That is a testament to the message behind the speech as well as the man who wrote it. Thankfully people like Douglas will always be around some where to help the rest of us through the tough times in society and to keep the country on the straight and narrow path.



Douglas, Fredrick. "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 337. Print.

Africans in America/Part 4/Frederick Douglass Speech." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. .

Regionalism

Regionalism is a type realism. In being a type of realism, regionalism has a very concise and to the point style of writing. Some of the big characteristics of realism is how lifelike the authors try to make the story, describing people, places, and things with the utmost detail. A good definitiong of regionalism is "Some American writers are associated with certain regions of the country because their work provides detailed and dramatic portraits that draw on characteristic speech and manners." (Anderson) A few well known regionalism authors include Jack London, Mark Twain, and William Faulkner. A good example of a regionalism writer is Mark Twain. Twain wrote many stories about a specific region in Missouri. His most famous character is Tom Sawyer, a young boy from Missouri. The Tom Sawyer books were so popular because they were so believable in the way the characters spoke. All of Twain's characters spoke exactly like they would if they were in the region of the story. Many people who lived in the regions in and around the setting of the book felt they could connect with the story much better. Where as people who lived far away felt like they were taking a look in the life of another person in a far off land. Often times authors will further entice the reader when they use local history or beliefs (Anderson) Another great example of some of the regionalism mark Twain used was dialect. Dialect is a very important aspect to the overall feel of a story. If the dialect is much more life like then people will feel much more when they read the story. Regionalism is still around today. Whenever an author writes about a specific area, even if it is based off of another area or an area they by or around, they are still using regionalism methods. People often use accents and other type of speech differences to make the regional differences standout and provided more realism to the story. Regionalism was obviously a big deal and major literary idea to come out of realism. As far as subsets of realism go the could very well be argued to be the most important as it shaped todays literature much more than most others forms.

Naturalism

Naturalism started to become prevalent in the late 19thcentury, and is sometimes seen as the successor of Realism. According to Blooms Literary reference "naturalism was a literary movement based on the writings of the scientist Charles Darwin, author of Origin of Species (1859)." (Sommers) Charles Darwin wrote Origin of Species and it was the first book to ever even suggest the idea of humans being evolved animals and not some sort of natural gods. Saying" "merely higher-order animals," bereft of free will, whose mannerisms and behavior resulted primarily from their heredity and the influences of a capricious environment (Abrams, 261)." (Sommers) This was a revolutionary idea. Few thoughts can really spawn an entire literary movement. Naturalist writers often would "Naturalist authors also relied on journalistic techniques. They focused on an accurate, almost clinical, record of a character struggling to survive some form of displacement from his or her surroundings." (Sommers) The setting of a naturalist story is often of great importance. The setting allows the author to mkae the story seem even more real. According to Joseph Sommers "There are detailed accounts of environment, and the city is a favorite setting. (Sommers) The setting of the story can add another level of realism into the story depending on how accurate the setting is. If the reader can imagine the background of the story and where it is taking place then they feel more involved in the story. Nauralism has several stories that deal with the class issue in the world. "Most notably the story"The Capitalist," a story of "the money-spending, and probably … the money-getting, world." More often than not, characters who operate outside the dominant social conventions created in the story find a reader's empathy and interest, especially since they have little control over their eventual fate." (Sommers) Some forms of naturalism are still around to day and will probably be for a while.Naturalism changed the literary world immensely and for the better.

Sommers, Joseph Michael. "naturalism." In Maunder, Andrew.Facts On File Companion to the British Short Story. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CBSS450&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 10, 2011).