In “The Road,” Principles play a huge part in shaping the
barren post-apocalyptic world that this story takes place in. As the book
progresses, many principles are thrown out the window, with the threat of
cannibals always present, and murder being second nature. While the overall goal
in “The Road” for the man and the boy is to survive together, is it possible to
do so without breaking a good amount of principles? While the two share some
moments of momentary relief, they find themselves in countless situations where
the person they encounter has lost a certain principle. This principle is humanity.
In times of crisis, like in “The Road,”
one has to figure out what principle should they stand by through thick and
thin. I think that keeping our humanity is the most important principle of all,
no matter what the situation. Humanity
is the ability to sympathize, to relate, to show compassion, to understand.
These traits make are what makes us human, and breaking the principle of
humanity makes you something much less. In “The Road” there is a group of cannibals
called blood-cults. While their goal might have been to survive through the
post-apocalyptic world, they broke the principle of humanity, eating their
fellow humans, making them something less than human. While the future for
society in “The Road” might be bleak and chaotic, as long as people keep their
humanity, there is something to live for.
ma blug
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Words of Thanks
Who am I thankful for in our English Class. Well I really can't pin it down on one person, so I'll give a few examples of who I'm thankful for. First and Foremost, I'd say I'm thankful for Jesse, Justin, and Jiawei, my go to group for basically every group work or activity we have to do. Our group is known as Rameez and the Triple J's (name pending).
I have a couple other shutouts to make. I'd like to thank all of those in our English class that constantly volunteer their opinions or answers in class (Keduse, Johnathon, Claire, etc) as its good to know that I won't be randomly called for a question I don't know the answer to. I've had classes where no one volunteers, and it is awful, so thank you for keeping this class interesting.
My final "Thank you" is to Bing, for lending me that pen a couple days ago. She insists that I haven't gave it back yet (but I did). Also anyone that voted that this blog was tubular, rad, or cool deserves thanks. HOWEVER, if I find out who said this blog was politically incorrect, or disgraceful, they're in for a world of pain. Just kidding by the way, I probably shouldn't have even made that an option.
Well if you're reading this, I'd like to thank YOU, for reading my blog post. Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
I have a couple other shutouts to make. I'd like to thank all of those in our English class that constantly volunteer their opinions or answers in class (Keduse, Johnathon, Claire, etc) as its good to know that I won't be randomly called for a question I don't know the answer to. I've had classes where no one volunteers, and it is awful, so thank you for keeping this class interesting.
My final "Thank you" is to Bing, for lending me that pen a couple days ago. She insists that I haven't gave it back yet (but I did). Also anyone that voted that this blog was tubular, rad, or cool deserves thanks. HOWEVER, if I find out who said this blog was politically incorrect, or disgraceful, they're in for a world of pain. Just kidding by the way, I probably shouldn't have even made that an option.
Well if you're reading this, I'd like to thank YOU, for reading my blog post. Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
Sunday, November 17, 2013
I Celebrate myself
Celebrating
yourself and who you are can be a very though thing to do at times. You really
need to realize who you are, and you have to accept it. The famous phrase “Be
Yourself” is a very simple way to celebrate yourself, as you are being you, and
not someone else. While I’d like to think that I’m always being myself, I’ve
acted in ways that I definitely consider not like me. I guess as the years go
by, I find my opinions on everything changing and changing. Something I found
funny years ago might now seem obnoxious or annoying, and sometimes vice versa.
I guess celebrating yourself is accepting everything about who you are. It’s
about realizing your strengths and your weaknesses, and accepting them. Social
norms are important, but it’s not a strict code for how every human should live
their life. Individuality is the most important thing to have for celebrating
yourself. For me, expressing myself through music is how I tend to celebrate
myself. The feeling of finally learning a tough song is extremely rewarding,
and I hope to leave a mark on the music industry someday.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Edgar Allan Poe
During
the Romanticism age, one man changed the very idea of literature as we know it,
writing in Gothic, mystery, and horror genres. He was considered to be a master
of suspense, and was also called “Father of the detective Story.” Edgar Allan
Poe became one of the most well-known writers in the world, but his path in
life was filled with obstacles since the beginning. By the age of 3, Poe’s
mother had died and his father had left him, leaving him to live with John and
Frances Allan. Poe attended the University of Virginia, but with monetary
issues, he had to leave. He came back to find out that his fiancée Elmira Royster
got engaged to someone else. Poe then left his parents, to truly start his
career as a writer.
Edgar
Allan Poe’s first book, Tamerlane and
Other Poems was published and 1827, around the time he joined the
army. After a few more years in the army,
he left to write full time. Another thing to note about Poe is that he married
his 13-year-old cousin, who died by the age of 20.
I feel
that all of these hardships throughout his life are really shown through his
work. The Raven and fall of the house of usher all show many
similarities to Poe’s life, with The
Raven showing themes such as “the loss of a loved one” Or The Fall of the House of Usher showing a man who has lost his nerve, at the edge of
a crumbling bloodline.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
What Is an American?!
What is an American? I've always found it strange as "American" is
usually shunted to the side when talking about nationalities and ethnicity.
This is probably due to the fact that the USA is a fairly young country, and so
it really is a culmination of a bunch of ethnic groups. The truth of the
matter is that America is an extremely diverse country, and saying you're
American could mean a ton of different things, so a lot of people think saying
you’re American isn’t enough to classify yourself. In truth, America doesn’t have too much
culture.
We have thanksgiving, black Friday, July
4th, and honestly I can’t think of anything else. Other cultures and
countries have roots going back to ancient civilizations, making them rich in
culture and traditions. America is more like a blank slate, as we are currently
creating traditions and ideas to really decide what an American is. One of my
favorite quotes is by Gerald Early, saying “There are only three things that
America will be remembered for 2000 years from now when they study this
civilization: The Constitution, Jazz music, and Baseball. These are the 3 most
beautiful things this culture's ever created.”
To
answer “What is an American?”, I would say that an American is someone with
virtues of freedom and justice. An
American is someone born in America (obviously) or someone that moved to America,
and melded with American society. In my book, anyone that believes in freedom
and justice for all is a true American.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Modern Puritans
Ahh, Puritans. Can’t live with em, can't live without
em. Or can we...? In our modern society, we haven't seen many groups that are
really up to speed for Puritan standards. A few groups come to mind, such as
the Amish, although their only similarity with the Puritans is how cut off from
society they are. The Puritans are pretty harsh and strict with their beliefs,
and anyone with a toe out of line will be called out for their sins, and
punished.
Sometimes
school feels like a Puritan society, with there being some unfair punishments
and strange rules. But for the most part, school rules are justified, and there
is a good amount of leniency. During my trip to Pakistan this summer, there
were a few things that could connect to Puritan society. Religion is a huge
part of people’s lives in Pakistan. It’s mandatory to celebrate certain holidays
(An example being a holiday where you cannot eat during the day. You could get
arrested if you didn’t follow their customs).
Puritan
ways have not fully died out; as we see sprinkles of their ways around out
world, but unless there is an underground Puritan group plotting their up-rise,
I have a feeling we won’t be seeing any modern puritan societies any time soon.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
John Proctor: Hero or Stooge? (Spoiler: Stooge)
"The Crucible" Shows a very interesting
explanation for the Salem Witch Trials. This event showed a lot about human
nature, and out of all of the characters in this story, the most intriguing one
was John Proctor. For Puritan standards, John wasn’t exactly a role model. He
cheated on his wife, and didn’t come to church too often. He even dared to plow
on Sunday! I guess you could call him different, as in the beginning his actions show neither heroism or stooge-ness . To decide whether or not John became a hero,
we really need to know what a hero truly is.
In my eyes, a hero is someone that fights for truth, justice, and someone that has morals and values cannot be easily broken. Of course, heroes have flaws, and Proctor had his fair share of those. Anyways, later in the story, John was defending the supposed witches, saying that Abigail was lying about these accusations. Try as he might, his words didn’t affect the outcome of those who were hanged. By the time John himself was up for being hanged, Hale and Danforth knew him to be innocent, but they wouldn’t free him and the others just like that, as it would cause doubt as to whether the other hangings were actually justified. If John just “confessed” that he was a witch, he would have lived. Was it because lying is sinful? I'm not so sure. he was the last person to die because of his devotion to god; he instead died to spite those that sentenced him to death, knowing full well that he was innocent.When John says "I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is a fraud. I am not that man. My honesty is broke, Elizabeth; I am no good man. Nothing’s spoiled by giving them this lie that were not rotten long before." he's basically saying that he can't pretend that he won't lie because lying is a sin, as he exclaims that his honesty is broke. His only benefit would be that those that accused him and the judge would know that he was innocent, but was still killed.
Does Dying make someone a Hero? While it does make for a flashy exit to this world, it’s not heroic. He’s not the first to deny performing witchcraft, and his reasoning behind it is definitely not heroic. While someone could make the argument that sacrificing yourself is heroic, John Proctor did not need to sacrifice himself for anything, he just added to the death toll. In short, John Proctor is a stooge, or at least closer to a stooge than to a hero. He makes rash decisions which don’t benefit himself or anyone for that matter. If I was put in a situation like his, I would without a doubt “confess” so that I may keep my life. Does that make me a stooge? No. It doesn’t make me a hero either. I’d just be a person trying to get by, and live to see another day.
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