Does anyone ever read the blog anymore?

I miss blogging!

The End of a Great Era (anonymous feedback)

Junior Year, as we know it, has come to an exciting close, but so has another era: that of the first AP 3's, the first and last of a great group.
I know Mr. Laz asked for some feedback...
Honestly, at first, I did not see the light at the end of the tunnel. I thought the course was definitely a challenge, except the vocab quizzes, which basically kept my grades up.
Hayakawa was AWESOME. It totally opened my eyes to the world, and it hasn't made me more cynical, just more aware.
I think my least favorite part, as with the majority, was NOT the term paper, but the individual tests on each era. I always seemed to run out of time... But they couldn't be avoided, because they did effectively test our knowledge of each era and our utilization of rhetorical analysis.
The term paper steps were organized, and I felt really confident just because everything had a reason and flowed smoothly. Of course, I hate the idea of a term paper (who doesn't), but as far as they go, this was almost enjoyable, to see that each of us could really produce a knock-out essay.
As I reflect back on the course as a whole, I would have to say I loved it. Every moment was intellectually stimulating, whether I was awake for it or not. Thanks LAZ! Thanks for a great year everyone!

Romanticism and Neoclassicim

Hey, it's Erin.
Ah, my last post of the year...
Well, as I've been studying hectically for finals, I was reviewing Romanticism and Neoclassicism. I know that they are very opposite in many ways (form v. content, individual v. group, emotion v. logic), but I feel that they have some similarities as well. An important idea is Romanticism is that of the individual instinct, that people can find their own way because their instincts/emotions will guide them the right way. Even though neoclassicism emphasizes logic as the path to truth, evil is defined as that which destroys happiness; that which promotes happiness is good. In a way, neoclassics relied on their emotions (happiness v. unhappiness) to determine truth. Also, just as the individual is important in Romanticism (the individual must find their own way/truth), the individual is important in Neoclassicism, although in a different way. Religious liberty was emphasized: everyone needed to find their own religious truth; it was an individual matter. What other people had to say about religion was no longer important; Neoclassics felt that they should try to find out using actual religious texts, sort of making their own interpretation. Romanticism simply extended the Neoclassic idea of religion as a matter of the individual to greater extent.
I just thought that it was interesting how two things that are so different in so many ways had similarities.
Good luck on finals everyone!!!!!

My Class Review! -Cristy

Hey it's Cristy, I was looking over the blog for old time's sake. (even though I still can't believe it's over!) and I realized I never got to hand in my class critique that I wrote...so I will blog what I remember of it now. First of all, thanks to Mr. Lazarow for an exciting and interesting class that really woke me up in the morning and left me questioning reality for the rest of the day. I agree that I did not feel that I got too much use out of the Toulmin Sentence and that maybe if we started it earlier in the year I would have gotten a chance to be more comfortable working with it. I really did enjoy the literature we read, and analyzing it afterwards in class. I loved the witch hunt game and I thought the day where we acted as a different personality type was amazing! I think it would be great to incorporate those games into the class next year and maybe add another one!
Hayakawa was amazing and I know that we have all come to love and revere his name. :) It helps so much with rhetorical analysis, and I don't know how I went so long without focusing more on it. I guess the only things I think could be different are #1 I didn't feel like I really knew were I stood grade wise and #2 that I don't think 1 week was really enough time to finish the term paper. Because 5 of the days are school days with lots of other work,(which can slow the whole process down) and then it might take a bit of time to get it checked etc.
But I really did enjoy the class. The random tangents, the heated arguments, the quote game! hahaha. Okay well thank you Mr. Laz and all of my fellow pupils for a great year! Enjoy the summer!

Class Review

Hey, it's Erin.

Well, the last day of class is over, so I guess now would be a good time to review the year. First off, I think that everyone really grew over the year and we should all be proud (we not only survived, we dominated!). I think that the blog should definitely be considered part of the participation grade (because it helps out all the quiet people like me who feel that if they say something they'll sound like idiots and would just rather write stuff down). Hayakawa was definitely one of my favorite parts of the year; he pretty much helped with everything from the beginning of the year on. I also felt pretty prepared for the AP test. We'd done so much rhetorical analysis we could all do it in our sleep and the same with writing essays (although maybe not me in that regard). But in that case, I already knew that writing essays was my weak point rather than my strong point but I feel like I learned a lot along the way (although sometimes the hard way). Also, I really liked learning about the different movements (neoclassicism, romanticism).
As to the term paper unit, I agree with what Ian said that the Toulmin model should be brought up earlier; it would be really helpful on essays. I also agree with what Ashley said that eliminating books, and then supporting material, was really hard. I'm sure it helped us in the long run - focussing our argument more and finding the absolutely necessary information - but it was so hard at times. Finally, I felt that I needed WAY more time before the term paper due date. Suddenly, it was like, "okay, I have a term paper due in a week - help!" Of course, that could just be me but I felt that a bit more time would have been wonderful.
Best memories of this class: Ben acting like he was going to accuse Steph (like a lot of other people) but then accusing Deirdre (so funny), that experiment where we acted completely different for a day, winning the quote game (we rock!)... I would think of more but I'm so tired.
In conclusion, we will always be Mr. Lazarow's BEST AP 3 class ever :)

!!!!!!!

I still can't believe English is over...Or that we beat Mr. Laz in the quote game!

I don't know what I'm going to do without the PACKETS. I have Post-Packet Stress Disorder..........................

Does anyone still read the blog!?

Reality

Well, I've been meaning to write this post for sometime now, and seeing how its the last day, I'm guessing now would be a good time. So basically, we began this year discussing Hayakawa, and how no two of us perceive anything the same way - because we are inherently different in our experiences, our background, etc., in short whatever makes us uniquely us. The question that arises is - is there some form of "truth", as in is there one "actual" reality that we take parts of? In all likelihood, the very nature of using language limits the expression of this truth. The Spanish philospher, Jose Ortega y Gasset, seemingly resolved this problem by stating that we all view part of the "actuality", and the sum total of all our views was this "truth", and that "truth" was what we call God. To me, this seems somewhat of an easy way out, by attributing something we're not sure exists - "truth", to something else that we may not be sure of - God. An interesting road to take here is to consider the notion that truth doesn't actually exist - and is only another figment of our psyches that we strive for. This raises a whole new set of problems. Our entire action is based on the idea that there is some definite reality that we all experience, with common time and space, etc. and that everything has a cause and effect, a principle called determinism. If we throw the notion of an absolute reality out, our existences become very complicated. Even on a scientific level, absolute reality doesn't exist - particles can travel through supposedly solid walls, observing something changes its existence, and it is impossible to know where an object is and how fast it is moving. Technically, when you bounce a tennis ball on the wall, there is a probability that it will go through the wall without damaging it at all. I wonder now how we all function if we really are experiencing different realities - and also if we all disreguard the notion of alternate realities for pure convenience. Is our entire existence based off the false assumption that we perceive an absolute reality that is unchanging for all on some level, and is it even possible to move past this false assumption? Is the notion of false itself flawed? Whether one is a Romantic and loves the individual reality, or one is a neoclassic and loves the reality of the group, the very reality of absolute reality is a problem that must be addressed by all.

June 12 Class

Hey, it's Erin.

We continued learning about the heroic archetype today. We started out by finishing the journey. The journey or quest is filled with dangers, loneliness, and temptation, because the journey is meant to represent life. The hero is in an alien country, because the journey leads them far from home (taking away their feelings of comfort), so they have to face new situations. The responsibility for the quest is on one person - the hero - who is constantly tempted to abandon their quest.
The hero is usually accompanied by companions, who are meant to support the hero and reduce their loneliness. However, sometimes they have the opposite effect and make the hero more lonely. The key point is that all of the hero's companions will fall away before the final battle, which is more of an internal battle.
There are also guides to help the hero. A guide is revealed after the hero in some way reveals themselves. The guide is a revered but unlikely person. Help or advice from the guide will be offered ambiguously and not all of the dangers will be spelled out - otherwise the hero and their companions wouldn't need to use their own common sense. Also, the guide usually has some connection to the opposite side that they are unwilling to reveal. The guide always possesses great power, but never enough to defeat the evil because then the hero wouldn't be needed. Finally, guides usually were heroes in the past.
During the final conflict there is a "descent into darkness." It can be literal, figurative, or both, but that moment plays on the fears of the hero. The descent is the hero's lowest moment, and they are always alone. Once the hero achieves victory, they return to the light. Before the descent into darkness, the hero receives a physical wound; however, it's usually not important to them at that point. In the end, it is not a contest of strength (because of the hero's injury). The hero might even die achieving their goal. There is a difference in the hero after the descent: new maturity and wisdom. They can't make their companions understand their new knowledge. The original goal of the hero is only a symbol. Also, good never really defeats evil; evil defeats itself.
Finally, the hero brings their knowledge back to their community and tries to teach them. If the hero dies, then the companions bring the knowledge back with them.

My Enjoyment of All Movies Has Officially Been Ruined...

Hey guys, it's Allison.

After today's discussion of archetypes, I knew that I'd see movies and stories differently, but I didn't actually think that my experiences with them would be ruined. Today, when I was babysitting, the kids and I were watching Shrek 3. About a month or so ago, this was one of my all-time favorite cartoons. I loved the witty humor and how all the characters always lived happily ever after. However, all of that changed after today's discussion. The movie began with Shrek (who acted as the threshold character) going to a school far from Fiona's kingdom to retrieve a boy who had been outcast by his peers. Shrek proceeded to bring him back to Far-Far Away to be king. I couldn't believe that even children's movies were chock-full of archetypes. It was at this point that I had to stop watching the movie and go color; I couldn't make myself watch and see what other archetypes were thrown into the movie as well.

I think I will never enjoy a movie or fictional novel ever again.
Does anyone else have any other horror stories to tell?

No Name Hero?

Today Mr. Lazarow began talking about the "hero of one thousand faces"- the hero archetype. While we haven't finished notes, what we have learned seems to apply to Kingston's "White Tigers." On the other hand, it seems that an almost opposite effect is taking place in her more disturbing "No Name Woman," for the unnamed aunt haunts, instead of inspires, her descendants. The first condition used in the hero archetype is that the individual must come from outside of a community, or have a hidden difference within a community. Surprisingly, it seems that this step is fulfilled. The aunt is the only daughter in her family, and cares immensely about her looks, often harming herself to become more beautiful. The second condition, however, seems to be misused. Normally, the hero is neither a fool nor invincible, but possesses a great degree of common sense. The aunt seems quite foolish and lacking in "street knowledge." These characteristics not only lead to her unfortunate fate but also give an image of a person to be condemned, not lauded. Finally, it does not seem clear that the aunt has any path to follow. She is led almost entirely by tradition- a tradition that forcefully subdues her because of the subservient place of women in "Old China." The narrator recognizes the situation as tragic, but is also fearful that her aunt is haunting her. Clearly, as the author summarizes, "Goods are not evenly distributed among the dead."

June 11

Today Mr. Lazarow set out to ruin every single book, movie, television show, and graphic novel we have ever enjoyed with a little powerpoint on the Mythic Hero Archetype.

To begin, an archetype is a repeated experience in the lives of our ancestors. We inherit this experience through our collective unconscious. It is then exposed in myth, religion, dreams/fantasies, and literature. Each archetype comes from a universal, human existence. The archetype can manifest through a character type, a plot pattern, or a description. Archetypes provoke profound emotional responses because they resonate with images already existing in our minds.

This theory was created by Karl Jung. He believed that humans have urges and instincts in their subconscious which manifest themselves in fantasies and are present through symbolic motifs. They may appear as characters who help or hinder the "hero" on his.her path to enlightenment. They are seen as archetypal images such as a sequence of events, a certain kind of place, or a talismanic object.

The stories that provoke us deeply make use of these elements quite frequently.
Examples of the mythic heroic archetype include:
-journey/quest
-rite of passage
-loss of/search for Eden
-growth through conflict
-nature/life cycle
-religion (the search for God or a personal code)
-reconciliation of opposites (love/hate, heaven/hell, alienation/redemption, male/female)

As the story unfolds, we find these elements to help us make sense of our own lives.

The first quality of a mythic hero is that he/she must come from a obscure or mysterious background. The hero is either on the outside of a community or within a community but different. The "Threshold Guardian" allows a hero on the outside the freedom to act however they wish when their time of call comes. A hero on the inside, however, is forced to break all ties abruptly.

The second characteristic of a hero is that they are never a fool. They are not invincible, and may only be average in intellect, but they usually possess a great deal of common sense. Furthermore, each hero has his/her weakness. (Like kryptonite.)

The third quality of a mythic hero is that they have a path to follow. It may not be clear, but there is a goal at the end of this path. The hero is seeking something that is far form home. He/she may not know what to expect during the journey, but they know what the goal is.

Walden

Hey, it's Erin.

Well, I felt bad for ignoring Walden, so here it goes. The Romantic concept of the perfectability of man is very present in the conclusion. He says that "if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in the common hours... if you have built castles in air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." Like Romanticism itself, that statement is so idealistic. In reality, it would be extremely hard for anyone, though I suppose nothing is impossible, to achieve everything that they ever wanted to. When Thoreau brought up the anecdote about the artist in Kouroo, I expected a completely different ending. The man devoted his whole life to making the PERFECT staff. I guess that is another Romantic idea, that he pursued, and accomplished, his goal ("his material was pure, and his art was pure; how could the result be other than wonderful?"), even though his friends left him (focusing on the individual. But doesn't - I guess - stubborness like that have both its virtues as well as its faults? If we cannot make something perfect, should we abandon the rest of our lives to do so?

The Romantics seem to put a strong emphasis on honesty. Thoreau says that "no face which we can give to a matter will stead us so well at last as the truth. This alone wears well. For the most part, we are not where we are but in a false position... any truth is better than make-believe." Emerson exaults the honesty of children, in that they express what they feel. Even Whitman approves of honesty ("Listen! I will be honest with you..."). Yet at the same times it is honesty for the individual; Romanticism exaults individualism. The individual has to do what they feel is right for them. Thoreau says that "if a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer." This sort of connects to the discussion we had about protests and what if only one person protests. I think that the Romantics would say that the individual has do to what is right for them, even if they are by themselves (and lose all their friends by making a staff). When Whitman talks about the open road, he is asking others to join him. But there always has to be a first person in order to get something started, even if they never see the result themselves, just as Whitman never saw the end of the procession on the road. Maybe protesting as an individual isn't always effective, but like Emerson said, if something isn't true for you, how can it be true for everyone else? I'm not saying I agree with that, but I think that you can argue that movements are started by individuals working on their own, and then they are adopted by a group (or not). What do you think?

I thought that it was interesting that Thoreau said, "perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live, and could not spare any more time for that one." Why perhaps? It seems that he was almost skirting the issue. "Perhaps" makes it seem so ambiguous, and not like the actual truth.

Class of 6/10

Today in class, we discussed Walt Whitman, and his poem "Song of the Open Road". Mr. Lazarow told us that Whitman could be considered the ideal Romantic poet, the best of the best, as he so dramatically changed the structure of poetry. While poetry before Whitman was still restricted by rhyme scheme and meter, Whitman pioneered the free verse and paved the way for almost all modern poetry writers. Whitman is even greater than William Wordsworth, the great English poet. Afterwards, we began discussing the actual poem, "Song of the Open Road" itself. Various people mentioned the romantic aspects found in the poem, such as the individual journey and some of the nature imagery. Mr. Laz added here that Whitman's true strength was to discuss philosophically deep concepts in a simple manner. One can read Whitman for pleasure and still receive a symbolic meaning, as opposed to reading Emerson or Thoreau, where one will in all likelihood have to study the text. Mr. Laz also added that Whitman was not much of a nature poet, but rather one that reveled in city life, especially New York City. For Whitman, the cities was where the true nature, human nature could be found. We then discussed the idea of the individual journey. Nothing can be bad because everything is a learning experience. Furthermore, Whitman is inviting us to join him on this magnificent journey of his, but thats all he can do, as he (or anyone else), lacks the power to make us do what he wants. We continued this discussion about individualism and the focus of the individual - such as a contrast between the primarily outward capitalism and the inward romanticism. Finally, apparently many of the lines from the poem could be used as senior quotes. Warrior woman for tommorow.

The Woman Warrior

Hey guys, it's Allison.

As I've been reading The Woman Warrior, (that should be underlined, but I don't know how to do that on the blog) I was shocked by the way in which Kingston's aunt was treated after becoming pregnant by a man who was not her husband. It's so weird to think how different modern American cultural values are from those of the Chinese during the nameless aunt's lifetime. Today, if a woman gets pregnant before she's married, it's no big deal; however, in the aunt's case, the entire village came and ransacked her house. It's interesting to see how the values have changed. Maybe part of this change in values can be attributed to the fact that food is more readily available and cheaper than during the famine that had been taking place at the time. Due to this widespread availability of food today, it isn't a huge burden if a woman has a child that isn't "legitimized" by being the product of a recognized marriage.

I was also surprised that Kingston's mother did nothing to help her sister, even though she knew that she was pregnant. Her mother knew the values held by the community and must have known what was in store for her sister, but did nothing to stop it or get her away before the mob came. I guess that shows how these values were deeply rooted in Kingston's mother; she let her sister be subject to the village mob, even though she might have been hurt by them because she knew that what her sister had done was wrong.
What do you guys think?

Song of the Open Road

Hey, it's Amy.

I thought that lines 83-84 were interesting, they almost tie in with the section of lines 76-82, but the message is a little different.
"Now I re-examine philosophies and religions,
They may prove well in lecture-rooms, yet not prove at all under the spacious clouds
and along the landscape and flowing currents."
This goes along with the idea of the individual experience, that no two experiences are the same, and that wisdom cannot be shared, you have to understand the experience yourself. But I feel that it more talks about the unpredictablility of life, that nothing is certain and no two views are the same. It illustrates the idea that we want to gain knowledge from science and from technology, that we see ourselves as beings that can go against the path of nature and be above all other creation. The thirst for answers is a human drive that leads us to wanting explanations and not resting until we have those philosophies or rules for the universe. However, there always seem to be exceptions to every rule, for example, the platypus is an egg laying mammal. What's up with that? But it shows us that it is virtually impossible to define a rule that encompasses every situation, that these theories work well in the classroom, but in the world we don't have the ability to predict every occurence, to eliminate exceptions to rules. Even things or ideas that man creates has exceptions ( i before e except after c or that sound like a as in neighbor or weigh). If we can't even account for our exceptions, how can man possibly define a rule to stand strong against the unpredictability of life or the surprises of nature. The flowing currents mentioned in the quote above emphasize the idea that the world is always changing and that the universe cannot be defined by rules.

Whitman also discusses his desire to return to the open road and accept whatever comes his way. In lines 4-7 it appears to say that he wants to leave his earthly attachments and unneccessary desires behind him as he writes
"Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,
Strong and content I travel the open road."
This section is similar to one of the teachings of Buddha, that suffering is caused by our attachment to worldly desires. In order to be optimistic and accept whatever may come our way, to develop as a person we need to follow the open road and leave the past and our attachments behind us and embrace whatever comes our way in order to truly accept the future. Whitman sees life as good-fortune, as the prize itself as he writes,
"Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune."

It's Paige again

I just wanted to discuss some things about The Woman Warrior. As I read I feel more an more almost smothered by Kingston. As if the struggle of her and the various woman in the chapters is practically leaping out of the book. Her tone seem almost strained as if she was fighting to get the story across. I did some research on the book and I found some interesting things about her struggle with words. Fu Mu Lan the famous woman warrior that Kingston compares herself to seems goes along with this struggle of words. Mu Lan has the problems she is faced with tatooed on her back while Kingston cannot face the words of others such as her racist coeworkers. I felt that she was envious of Mu Lan who wasn't bound down by the hardships of womanhood that seem to be holding Kingston.
I felt that her struggle was also shown through "No Name Woman." She let a loop hole of information given to her by her mother turn into a feeding frenzy for her own imagination. I felt as though Kingston was craving some sort of way to explore unknowns in her life through her deceased aunt by allowing her thoughts to run wild rather than be bound by the pressures of her life.
Anyway these are just some thoughts I had while reading. What do you guys think about it so far?

Hey it's Paige.

Today we had a wonderful discussion about Thoreau and protest. We discussed the question of why people seem to dislike protestors. Ashley mentioned how it's viewed as being ungrateful to the country since we live so prosperiously, and we are lucky to have all that we do. Ian said that it seems to cause unwanted stress and commotion for people and no one wants unecessary drama.
Grace brought up an debate from earlier in the blog started by Ben. She reaffirmed her point that we as people have a right to protest because although there are a lot of great things in America we can still and should still improve. We can't just "let things slide."
Donna said that you have to know that if you protest you have to know it's going to provoke a reaction.
Laz mentioned that protesting works like advertising since it can get the neutral to shift towards what you want, but people are still going to remain dead set against what you are saying if they started out that way.
Erin said that protestors simply see a problem and try to fix it.
Jasmine discussed how it reminded her of the opposite of Billy Bud. In that circumstance the Captain's Oath to his country came first.
Laz then talked about how most protest is "ill-considered" and you have to look at what your motivation is. In Seattle environmental protestors blocked traffic for hours by linking arms with piping. This didn't cause change but rather provoke anger for the people who were inconvienced.
Reason needs to be distinct from the act and shouldn't require explanation.
Ben discussed how lately protest has become a medium of rebellion for teens rather than for actual purposes.
Allison added that violent protest seems to undermine protesting in general and creates negative connotations.
Jasmine was beginning to say something else when the bell rang. Alas! Until tomorrow.

Protests & Activism

Hey guys, it's Jasmine.

Today, at the end of class, I started to bring up a point about protesting. Ben had commented that in order for protests to work, the people watching have to be given something to do. I also think that it has to be easy to participate in the protest - otherwise, people won't be willing to put in time and energy.

Many large corporations nowadays are protesting, in a way, against practices that harm the environment. Although I agree that the environment is currently going down a bad path, I've never thought about doing anything to stop global warming, etc. I know it's something I should care about, but it just doesn't affect my everyday life enough for me to spring into action. People hear about global warming and the perks of recycling all the time, but how many people actually take action? The same goes for most other forms of activism/protests. There has to be an easy task for people to follow that somehow allows them to participate in the movement. For example, a couple of weeks ago, Target (which has become increasingly environmentally-friendly over the years) had an advertisement on the back of the cover of Newsweek. It was a creative idea: they included an envelope that you could easily cut out and tape together. They asked readers to send plastic Target bags to their company so that they could recycle them to make reusuable shopping totes. There was also an incentive: they promised free shopping totes to everybody who sent in bags. I figured that this was an easy way to get rid of a few plastic bags, plus - Target paid for the postage, so I sent them in. If Target hadn't reached out to me, I wouldn't have recycled them on my own.

Also, the International Affairs Club runs a week every year to promote awareness about an international issue (this year, it dealt with modern-day slavery). We know that if students aren't provided with any incentive, they won't participate in the week's events. Every year, we have to ask teachers to give their students extra credit points for going. If we didn't, I'm pretty sure that hardly anybody would show up. Basically, my point is that in order for us to actually care about the issue that protestors/activists are trying to promote, we have to be given an easy way to get involved.

This brings up another interesting question. Is it "right" to participate in a protest or activity just because you want the reward? A lot of people think that doing community service just for the sake of getting community service hours for your college application is wrong and immoral. What do you guys think?

P.S. Last point - I just watched something on msnvideo about 2 people in New York City who climbed the New York Times skyscraper - all without any ropes or nets. They were both taken into police custody - one of the police officers complained that they were "jeopardizing other people's lives" because they could fall and kill innocent bystanders. The first climber said he scaled the building to raise awareness about global warming, and the second one later claimed that he did it to promote awareness about malaria. If you believe them, do you think that their protests were efficient? I think that climbing a 50-story skyscraper has absolutely nothing to do with global warming or malaria, so the "symbol" doesn't quite connect to the "thing."

June 6th Class Summary

On Friday Mr. Laz told us that we will be wrapping up our Romanticism discussion and we should finish up by reading Song of the Open Road. He also gave us a new book called the Woman Warrior and we should finish the first two chapters by Wednesday or Thursday. Soon he's going to be giving us a lecture to make us depressed about literature for next year. And I know we are all looking forward to it.

Ashley started off our discussion with her thoughts on the line 'what's true for you is true for everyone', she felt that it was thoughts like these that caused wars and oppression. However Laz clarified that Emerson believes that we are all in touch with the Truth (with a capital T) but we never actually know what that Truth is. He also noted that this is part of the reason why Romanticism always fails, because it is ideological not practical.

Amy talked about how the youth is used because kids are more honest than adults. Laz also clarified that by justifying that kids don't necessarily speak the truth all the time, but they say exactly what they feel without filtering themselves or thinking about it too much.

A few people also brought up the use of 'is-of-identity' and his emphasis on being direct. Paige said she enjoyed his direct approach because it made it more powerful, but Ashley disagreed because she felt it left his argument full of flaws because it was without any qualifiers.

We ended our discussion when we talked about how much we rely on technology. Many people felt that we are too dependent on technology and that we need to become well rounded. I brought up how we seem to sell the human race short in terms of adaptability and if push came to shove we would be able to adapt to a new environment.

Ashley ended the discussion by comparing captive animals that are set free to humans with technology. I feel that the flaw here is that those are animals and we are human beings. The reason we have been able to survive is not because we have natural instincts that tell us how to hunt and where to hide, but we have learned these things over time and have developed the ability to adapt to them. Most people wouldn't think of the tools of prehistoric man as 'technology' but they are technology, even the simplest arrow head. Man was able to survive climate changes, changes in food sources, and eventually able to adapt from hunters and gatherers to an agricultural society. These are huge leaps and bounds that animals have failed to do. I truly believe that if something were to happen and we were to lose all modern luxury, the human race would certainly survive. Some people might not LIKE or WANT to live without their everyday comforts of modern society, but when push comes to shove I bet that they would to survive.

Class Summary for June 5th, 2008

Hello, fellow pupils. It's Ashley with your class update! Before we began our discussion of Ethan Brand (the last story in the Hawthorne packet) Laz talked with us about letters of recommendation for next year. He said that if we ask, we shall recieve, provided that
1) We give him plenty of notice
2) We provide him with a brief résumé / any anecdotes of class discussions for him to write about
3) We include the necessary college forms
He warned that he is unflinchingly honest in his letters, and he will not write anything other than the aboslute truth. If class discussion did not center on your contributions, he is not going to say so. He also said that it is his right to deny a letter, and no one is forcing him to write them. (I.e. if you are going to ask, ask nicely and be very grateful!)

Then we proceeded to discuss Ethan Brand. This was Hawthorne's ultimate allegory. It has all the elements of the other stories and multiple symbols to interpret. Jasmine brought up the end of the story, and suggested that Ethan jumps in the fire because he doesn't consider imself a part of earth anymore. He commits suicide, but doesn't seem to care. His death is his victory in his mind.
It is obvious that the kiln's hypnotic flames represent hell, but the unpardonable sin is a bit more difficult to decipher. Ian suggested that the sin was placing the quest for higher intellect above morality. Ethan's heart was marble because his pursuit of greater knowledge led to his loss of emotion. In Judeo-Christianity, the greatest sin is denying God and losing contact with human emotion. To Hawthorne, humanity was emotion. So Ethan's marble heart makes him inhuman.
I noted that Ethan rejected nature, but ultimatly became part of it against his will. Try as he did to escape nature, he could not. His bones became lime, a mineral used for agriculture. His remains would be scattered and stay a part of earth.
We then observed the image of the 'wandering Jew'. We decided that he is a prophet with the "hand of Destiny." He carries fear and sin inside his box. Ethan looks in the box at the same time as the boy and sees nothing but a blank canvas, because he himself is sin. This blank canvas is both bad and good- bad in that it is blank, but good in that it represents ultimate potential (especially because Ethan has no moral restrictions).
Paige tied it to the image of the dog chasing its tail. It was symbolic of things 'coming full circle'. (Like ashes to ashes, or in Ethan's case, lime to lime). We begin in nature, and we end as a part of nature again. But just as the dog is not supposed to catch his tail, we are perhaps not supposed to have as much science and technology. It's not natural. (A truly romantic sentiment)

Emotions v. Intellect

Hey, it's Erin.

"Rappacini's Daughter" and "Ethan Brand" contain a lot of different facets of Romantic thought. Obviously both are anti-science. Rappacini parallels Ethan Brand, because both seem to possess the "Unpardonable Sin" within them. Rappacini is a very cold, yet scientific person. He lacks emotion or a sense of reverence toward God or humanity. He basically sacrificed his own daughter for the sake of science and, like Ethan Brand, felt perfectly comfortable experimenting on people. I saw Rappacini almost as the devil. Over and over the garden is described as Eden, only one in reverse, capable of harm, essentially "unnatural." Rappacini tried to usurp God's power of creation, just as the devil tried to usurp God's power. Ethan Brand is possessed by this one idea (the unpardonable sin), and ends up dehumanizing himself and destroying other people. I wondered, why would you want to find the unpardonable sin? Why would you want something that only means evil? I guess that Hawthorne was making a statement about technology and where it can lead: destruction and dehumanization. Intellect without emotion, in both stories, is portrayed as leading to evil.

Throughout "Rappacini's Daughter," Giovanni's instincts or emotions would lead him to the truth, but he chooses to ignore those more "irrational" feelings in place of reason. The child in "Ethan Brand" is immediately afraid of Ethan. Emotion is shown as leading toward truth. Ethan Brand's laughter is described as expressing "the condition of his inward being." The boy is described as having an "intution" of Ethan Brand's loneliness. Finally, another very Romantic idea is expressed in "Ethan Brand," the idea that when we die we return to the earth, one that was brought up in "Thanatopsis" as a way of giving comfort to the idea of death. However, Ethan Brand wants exactly the opposite. Ethan almost seemed proud at the thought that nature would give him up. Yet in the end nature proves to strong for him.Nature is personified at the end of the story, sort of designated as the victor.

A Year in Review..

Hey guys, Allison again.
About a week ago, Mr. Lazarow mentioned how we should review the course and make some suggestions for next year. So here goes..

As far as the course goes, it's very different from all the other English classes I've taken at the high school. Unlike past courses, I was actually encouraged to share my opinion about the literature and how I interpreted it. Throughout the course of the year, I've personally seen a huge improvement in my writing. In my last TWO years of English classes, I have written a TOTAL of TWO essays. Pretty pathetic. So when I was told to write essays on an almost bi-weekly basis, I wasn't surprised to see improved writing skills. One thing I would probably change about the course would be to have the assigned blogging throughout the course of the year so that we always stay on top of the blog and so it never dies for days at a time.

As far as the term paper goes, when I first realized that it would have to be between 8 and 10 pages, I got extremely anxious. The longest paper that I had ever written was probably no longer than five pages, so I didn't see how i could possibly find enough things to say to fill a ten page paper. The process turned out to be extremely helpful and, in the end, I found myself having to cut information to make the paper fit on just ten pages. The only part of the process that I didn't find incredibly helpful was the annotated bibliography. Having the MLA formatting checked before we turned it in with the final draft was definitely beneficial, but I didn't find the annotations to be quite as helpful.

What did you guys think of English III?
P.S. We're still more special than AP IV :)

June 4th

Hey guys, it's Allison.

Today, Mr. Lazarow started off the class by telling us about the man in England who was not allowed to board a plane because his t-shirt had a picture of a transformer bearing a gun and the t-shirt was "threatening". Someone suggested that we mail a copy of Hayakawa to the security people..

Then we began our discussion of "Rappaccini's Daughter" and the question of "just because we can, should we?" Paige argued that we shouldn't do something just because we have the power to do it. She mentioned how we have the ability to destroy the planet but we obviously shouldn't do that. Donna said that it's hard to decide what's ethical and what's not. She brought up the fact that during the Holocaust, the Nazis performed horrible tests on the Jews that resulted in advancements that are still used today. Mr. Lazarow then told us about Perncopf. Perncopf was involved in the testing during the Holocaust and used live models to create an anatomy book that is more accurate than one created based on cadavers. This brought up the question of whether or not this book should be used. Some argue that Perncopf's text is more accurate and will therefore save lives, and that this will somehow "make up for" the lives sacrificed to create the text. Others use the "fruit from a poisoned tree is poisoned" argument and say that there is no justification for using the book. Erin argued against the use of the book saying that allowing its use would open the door to similar behavior in the future.

Hopefully that wasn't too depressing for a Wednesday!

“A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer.”-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Today's discussion was deep. I must say some of the things we brought up in class truly revealed the weakness within human morality. I am easily convinced by arguments that urge me to take the moral high ground, but aren't we all trying to hike out of an endless chasm? There are no answers to our questions, just more questions. Would you save the baby or the group of 10 adults? Was the slaughter of innocent Jews worth a priceless medical advancement? What makes his or her life worth more than mine? Do I really care about the faceless masses?

There were plenty of hypothetical questions put forth today, none of which had easy answers (or answers at all really). Talking about it made me feel cynical and pessimistic, because somehow I was always able to justify the 'wrong side' of the argument. But I feel that there was a part of the scenario that was missing.

Heroism.

There is something brilliant about that word, perhaps it is because I associate with great mythological stories or classic literature. Tales of valor and bravery have existed since the dawn of time on cave walls when the saber tooth tiger was the enemy. Many people in class today noted that they would not be able to make the decision about whose life is 'worth more'. Every time someone said that I thought of all the great heroes, real or fictional, that prevented people from making that decision.

Most people would agree that when faced with death human beings rely on instincts, rather than emotion or logic. When trapped without food for long periods of time people have often reverted to cannibalism in order to save themselves. However in some cases there are those that rise above and make the sacrifice for the greater good. Instead of forcing two people to die in order to save a million, we would rather ask for volunteers, because it would put our minds at ease.

I believe that a reason why we have such a problem with the book made by Eduard Pernkopf is that these people were not willing subjects. Free will was brought up a few times in our discussion, and I think that's because as human beings free will is literally what makes us, us. The inability to exercise our free will becomes a challenging concept to grasp. If Perknkopf had done his dissections on people that agreed to have it done, we would still think it's gross but would we think that it violates any moral grounds? Does that make it right?

It is okay for a hero to gallantly lay down his life to save others, but if we force someone to lay down their life it causes extreme guilt and bitterness. Humans are extremely indecisive creatures. This may be taking the discussion way off the radar but what about cultures that believe in human sacrifice? Religion tends to make any discussion really messy but, are the other cultures wrong for sacrificing one human life for the 'greater good'?

The Birthmark

Hey it's Amy, again.
With the Birthmark, the line that I found most interesting was, "...it was not unusual for the love of science to rival the love of woman in its depth and absorbing energy." In today's society we also have this major dependence on technology and science, and in some cases put it above emotions or the importance of others in our lives. When someone is asked to name three things that they would want to bring with them on a deserted island, I've never heard anyone say their family or friends, it's always their laptop or cellphone or TV, along with food and some movie star.

Even back when this story takes place, society is becoming dependent on technology to solve its problems, like the little birthmark on the wife's face. Not only is perfection a theme in this story that we can all relate to, but also the impact of science on our lives. It is technology that has created this strive for perfection, with the ability to change the way we look or even the ability to spread information on the web or through the media, so that we see these celebs that have a certain "look" that we all need to have. Technology is the leading cause behind the obsession with appearance and self-perception. With science we can have those plastic surgeries, those operations, we can almost play God in some senses. Man's love of technology out-weighs the importance of other humans, as we become more and more dependent on advancements in science. I hope this makes sense, I'm really tired and falling asleep as I write this.

Hawthorne vs. Poe

Hey, it's AMy.
Just going back somewhat to Young Goodman Brown, in the pre-information we were told that Hawthorne is similar to Poe in that he took a dark view of human nature and there are definitely similarities in the atmosphere and style of writing between both authors. However, I feel that they are distinct from one another in that Poe focusses more on the internal conflicts of his characters, such as the narrator of the Raven or in the House of Usher with the collapse of both the house and the family line. Hawthorne, on the other hand, uses experiences, from what I can tell, that involve the environment and outside influence more than Poe. He focusses on sin and human flaws rather than the spectrum of human emotion described by Poe. For example, in Young Goodman Brown, the main character experiences the change in attitude from seeing the good in everyone to seeing the worst in people due to an internal change resulting from what he perceives in the environment, that everyone around him is guilty of being tempted and therefore no one is truly who he thinks they've been. In the Birthmark, Aylmer's obsession with removing the imperfection from his wife's face is an issue of his environment. And according to the pre-info, The Blithedale Romance examines the flaws of a utopian New England Community, much less the innerworkings of the individual's self, rather the influences that the environment has upon an individual's attitude or perception.

Class Log June 3, 2008

Hey everyone, it's Steph...

"For we are always what our situations hand us - it's either sadness or euphoria."
--billy joel (the piano man)

Today in class we talked about Hawthorne's 'The Birthmark'. The three main characters are Aylmer, Aminadab, and Georgiana, whose names will be frequently mispelled throughout the remainder of this post.
Aylmer represents a secular being, a man of science for the sake of man-made aesthetic appeal. He kept a log book of his failures. Aylmer married Georgina mainly for prestige and egotistic love for status, rather than love itself.
Mr. Laz quoted 'If you tell someone they are ugly enough times, they will eventually believe it', and sure enough Aylmer hates the birthmark that Georgiana has. this birthmark has a bunch of symbolism associated with it:
-the birthmark is the grounding for the character of Georgiana, and makes her (in a sense) tied to the earth, rendered natural
*Alymer tries to eliminate this, tries to make her man-made, unnatural,
transcended
-it is a tiny red-hued hand , as if touched by a fairy
*This represents a force of nature, a blessing bestowed upon her skin,
and Alymer wants to remove this, to again de-naturalize her

This story is clearly Romantic. In a similar work, Frankenstein, Shelley advocates the point that humans should not try to play God and bring about life, because by man-made creation comes destruction. Well, here Aylmer seems to view himself as a divine power, as God, and thus decides that science eradicates the need for God ('if ya got a test tube you're all set...').
The only character I haven't really mentioned is aminadab, who represents the natural man, with his unkempt appearance and shaggy hair. He seems to really be in tune with the earth. He is but a peasant, a worker, a man-of-the-land, someone real, humanesque... He himself says that if Georgina were his wife, he would not bother with the birthmark.

Perhaps one of the more interesting aspects of this story is that it correlates directly to today's society and is hence applicable. The overwhelming need for people to perfect their physical forms, to create something aesthetically pleasing and societally accpetable, is extremely prevalent in the modern world. Also, trying to look better externally may also influence an internal make-over. Are we more internally comfortable when we are externally satisfied?
We briefly touched on 'nature vs. nuture' and how both genetics AND environmental factors come into play when it comes to societal acceptance.
We discussed giving into physical alteration versus being content with yourself as you are and repressing the urge to change external appearances.
Ian's comments about key celeb plastic surgery jobs were quite excellent.


******************Assignment: Read rappaccini's daughter (hawthorne) and be ready for discussion.***********************************************************

Class Summary 6/2

Hey, It's Ben...

Today our class discussion focused on Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown. Although you could technically read this pleasent little story purely for its plot and ints entertainment purposes, it's really more of an allegory (every element in the literal story operates as a symbol for something else). Young Goodman Brown isn't just leaving his wife named Faith behind; he's leaving the actual idea of faith. He's "losing faith."
This story, like other Gothic works, is a deep investigation into the human mind. The names are even smybollic in the story..."goodman" is obviously "good man" which shows that even the best of us leave faith behind and do do the right thing oftentimes; it's human nature. Nothing can beat human nature. We also discussed the symbolism of the pink ribbon. Pink is chosen because the it's a color that you get by tainting white (the "pure" or "sinless" color) with a drop of red. Hawthorne is trying to show that all faith is tainted.
Puritan values are shown in the way that Hawthrone just OBSESSES over sin. In the end, you could go on and on analyzing every symbol in the story but it all comes down to the triumph of human nature overall all other forces. That's what causes people to stray from faith and from what they know is right. I beleive Mr. Lazarow mentioned the Ghandi quote in closing, "I like man, but not men."

Young Goodman Brown and Faith

Hey, it's Erin.

I thought what Mr. Lazarow said about faith not being true faith until it's tested was interesting. Goodman Brown's faith is tested in this story and ultimately fails, as he ends up believing in nothing and no one. However, Brown fully intended to come out of the temptation stronger in his faith. When he talks to himself after leaving Faith, he says "after this one night (his temptation) I'll cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven." I thought the fact that he would be clinging to her skirt was symbolic of a kind of mother-son relationship or a relationship of dependence, where his faith was carrying him. Of course, his faith failed because he allowed it to, making this a Gothic horror story. In a way, Brown fulfilled the devil's words by himself ("by the sympathy of your human hearts for sin, ye shall scent out all the places... where crime has been committed"). When we learned about Puritanism, one of the major features of their society was doubt (about whether they were one of the elect, etc.), which is also present in the story, in the lack of faith that Goodman Brown has at the end. It's also interesting that we can doubt whether what Brown saw was true or not; but for him it was enough to alienate himself from those that he loved and respected.

I also thought it was weird that Goodman Brown asks himself in fear as he's walking through the forest, "what if the devil himself should be at my very elbow!" If he realized that he was going to be tempted, wouldn't he associate that with the devil? Or did he not know he was going to be tempted. I know that Goodman Brown never refers to his companion as the devil, but I thought he was. On page 2 of the story Brown travelling companion is referenced as "he of the serpent," which refers to his staff, but also could refer to the devil (who took the form of a serpent when he tempted Eve in the garden of Eden). I guess though that in that case the man was only "of the serpent," not the serpent himself.

Young Goodman Brown Pre-Class Discussion

We didn't much of a chance to discuss "Young Goodman Brown" on Friday with the shortened schedules and the "Lost" fans discussing the latest episode (seriously, how can it be that good?), so why not talk about it on the blog? I know it's past eleven, but still...

Overall, I found it very interesting how Hawthorne relies so heavily on the Puritan heritage in America. It seems that everything else we've read was based in the 1800s or slightly before (Revolutionary War Era). The Puritan time period seems to counter the Romantic period in every way- feelings are repressed, and religion is followed strictly and by the book. While I haven't had a chance to read "The Scarlet Letter" (which I now know the ending to because of the intro...), I've heard that it is in part a criticism of Puritanism. Hawthorne, whose family had strongly Puritanical roots, definitely seems to be echoing that sentiment in this tale. The supposedly devout Christians are led to a Satanic ritual in the forest, and even Brown's mentor and wife, Faith (how appropriate), are led astray by the Devil. Most shockingly, Hawthorne even tells of how the town minister was making his way to the meeting- perhaps he was trying to point out that outward devoutness did not necessarily indicate true faith.

Another very important part is the outcome. "Young Goodman Brown" can hardly be said to end on a good note, as Brown is distrustful of everyone around him, including Faith, because of his inability to know whether his experience was a dream or a reality. I feel as though Hawthorne, like Poe, was making a statement about the human psyche, in that emotion and the irrational have a critical role in people's lives. What do you guys think? Can you draw any other connections between the two?

Thursday May 29 - Class..- Cristy

Hey guys, so just checking in to report on class today. Well just as we settled in to discuss The Raven, the fire bell rang and so we all had a pleasant outing into nature. Anyway, when we returned to class we got a start on analyzing the raven. Deirdre shared that Lenore, the name of the narrarator's lost love, means "light". The story told in The Raven takes place at midnight, signifying darkness. It seems that for the narrarator the "light of his life has gone out".
In our discussion the word "creepy" also came up regularly haha. While some believed the raven's eerie repetitive response was the main cause for "creepiness"? Mr. Lazarow shared his thoughts that what bothered him most was the narrarator torturing himself with his grief over his dead loved one. The narrarator seemed to be deranged by his grief. As Mr. Laz said, it seems that he was aware that the raven would always give the same response and so he molded his questions appropriately to ones that would twist his grief stricken heart.

The dark contrast of the black raven against the white pallid bust of Pallas a contrast similiar to that of emotion to reason. The bust and the library/study symbolize a tendency towards the neoclassic age of reason and logic while the Raven represents nature and emotion. The raven bursts in from the wild storm outside to intrude upon the narrarators thoughts. The scene is set up realistically as the narrarator is at first bemused by the chaotic entrance of the bird but then because he has failed to find solace in classical writings he decides instead to face his pain by having a conversation with the bird. His masochist tendencies make the focus of the story again on the psychological games a person is capable of playing.

At the end of the story the narrarator tries to rid himself of the Raven but he can never rid himself of the pain of losing his loved one. The spectre of his grief, the raven, will never leave him.

What are we discussing tomorrow in class?

Class Summary- The Fall of the House of Usher

So today we discussed Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher." While once again there was an awkward silence in the beginning before anyone began talking, attention was brought to the condition of the house as well as the lyrics to the "wild fantasia" of Roderick Usher. The house overall seems to be perfectly intact, but the individual parts (stones) are all decaying and crawling with a white mold. The windows are described as vacant and eye-like, while the mold is seen to be hanging from the roof. This description calls to mind a head- the head of Roderick Usher! Since he has a twin (Madeleine) her "head" appears reflected in the tarn above which the physical House of Usher is set. Going into the house, then, represents a psychological tour of Roderick's mind. A hypochondriac and a man terrified of anybody finding out about his mysteriously ill sister, Rodney is also extremely guilty for what he is doing to the single line of the house of Usher- he refuses to...er...partake in incest with his sister to continue the lineage. Thus, he locks her in a tomb choosing to believe that she is dead in the hope that everyone will forget about her.

Freud's "iceberg" philosophy also come up during discussion. While Freud theorized after this story was written, "TFOTHOS" nonetheless is parallel with his ideas. An iceberg only reveals its top section to the world- this is the "ego," represented by Roderick, since he is the dominant individual in the Usher lineage and his "head" stands above the water. The sister is the "id," or the basement of the brain, characterized by instincts and basic emotions. Not surprisingly, she is locked in the cellar and her "head" is in the water. The narrator represents the "superego," which retains the collective sense of what is acceptable by society's standards (based on the ego and id). The three are inseparable, and all exist at all times at varying degrees. It is important to note how the House of Usher falls apart in the end once Maddy "awakens" and kills Rodney, spreading its broken parts into the tarn.

Billy Bud

Hey, it's Amy.
So Billy Bud got us thinking about justice, and is it justice to obey the law, even when you're morals are leading in the opposite direction. One of the last lines of the movie was something like "The law will exist as long as the mind exists." The law is carried out by reason, but we cannot base our decisions on reason alone, or else we are nothing more than computers. There are two types of reasoning, logical and moral. Comparing the case to a case a couple years ago, a woman and her daughter were constantly abused by her husband, and after many years of marriage and this abuse, the daughter hit the father over the head with a pan and killed him. Although the mother and daughter rejoiced the girl still served jail time, just a lesser sentence. Was it right for Billy to receive the full punishment, even though everyone considered Clagat(?) an abuser?

However, I agree that this is not a normal case and that once in uniform, an officer relinquishes his own morals and adopts those of the king or country. It's no longer his decision, he is not an individual. Just like the army willingly accepts the loss of some rights when joining the military, the officers take an oath that they serve not themselves, but the ruler or country. When Billy killed an officer, it was an attack against the king, and he should be punished for the crime from an officer stand point, even though our moral compasses point in the opposite direction.

But I did not want Billy to die and I'm really upset that he did.

CLASS REVIEW!

Alright, so the school year is almost over so it's time to review the class!

What I found most helpful about this class in terms of preparation for the AP test (after all, it IS an AP class) were the class discussions. Oftentimes (cough cough during the Puritan packet cough cough) I didn't really understand what the writers we had to read were saying, so it really helped me to gain perspective both through classmates' and Mr. Lazarow's input.

It seemed to me that we were very prepared for the AP test, especially for the rhetorical analysis essay (they posted the essays online by the way). By having timed essays throughout the year, I gained a sense of time so I knew how to start, develop, and wrap up my ideas for an essay. However, I didn't often find myself using the Toulmin model, even though I know that this strategy would have benefited me and that by avoiding it I hurt myself in various parts of the research paper construction. My one criticism, then, would probably be to introduce the Toulmin model earlier in the year. I felt that having semantics at the beginning was appropriate and necessary, but maybe having the Toulmin model follow would be more helpful in helping students to retain the structure Toulmin created. What do you guys think? Am I the only one who didn't use the TM as much as we were supposed to?

On a side note, I would suggest having lots of pictures in the literary packets for...umm...educational purposes?

Death on the Cross (or Mast?)

SAILutations!
Hey everyone - Stephanie here.
As I thought about the movie we just finished watching, Billy Budd, I noticed some underlying themes (or stuff I just thought was a theme but is actually a neat coincidence, you decide...).

I think Cristy mentioned that Billy was going to die for his crew, in a most Jesus-like way according to the Christian faiths. In fact, it almost seemed to me that Claggert was like the Devil, tempting an innocent Jesus-like Budd into evil and seeking to destroy him. Even when he is sentenced to death, he takes it calmly and dies for the sake of the whole crew, who were conspiring to kill Claggert and might have died in Billy's place. This may be taking it a little too far, but Captain Veer and the men at the trial seemed to me like Pontious Pilate and the rest of the citizens that stood by and let Jesus be crucified for the sake of duty and maintaining respect and honor, not for justice.

However, I do not believe Billy Budd to be a direct allegory to Christianity. If Budd were Christ-like, he would have surrendered himself for the people, and would not have struck Claggert down and killed him (whether intentionally or not). I believe Melville wanted a more human figure, so we could empathize with Budd, and perhaps create a more tangible redemption.

Just as a quick side note, the bible was probably the most frequent prop throughout the whole movie...

My friend, Billy Bud

Hey you guys! This is Cristy. I hope everyone had an awesome time at prom and is enjoying the long weekend. I just thought I'd jot down some notes I had on Billy Bud. Mr. Lazaro mentioned that the name of the ship, im guessing, "the rights of man" had been changed from in the book? So maybe this was done to make a theme more obvious to the viewers. Billy Bud is taken from "the rights of man" onto a ship where the rights of man are almost non-existent under the tyranny of Claggert. This fact becomes obvious almost as soon as Billy steps foot on the ship, when a man is flogged in front of the entire crew. No one knows why the man is being punished. The only answer Billy receives is - well, maybe it was just "his turn". One of the crew speculates that even the man who is being flogged probably doesnt even know what his crime was. This gives the impression of opression and injustice. (it also reminds me of 1984, when people would just dissapear at any time, for the slightest reasons.) Mr. Claggert is almost omniscent on the ship, always just a few steps away at any time. He is always lurking in the shadows, ready to step in and deliver discipline. Mr. Claggert's authority on the ship seems endless and he almost seems to take on a god-like role (or more like devil) on the ship, controlling the fates of the lower crew members. He ends up killing one of the main characters. Billy's character, on the other hand, seems to portray innocence, goodness, and generosity as he quickly becomes very popular with his shipmates. He seems very pure, like he has nothing to hide.

The question comes up as to wether Bud's goodness is a result of wisdom or of ignorance. Mr. Claggert cannot believe that Billy could be that kind to him unless it was in irony or in ignorance. It seems like an analysis of human nature. Myself, I also find it hard to believe that Billy can keep neutral feelings toward Mr. Claggert after he caused the death of his friend. The devil believes that man is innately evil and is always there to tempt man and bring out the worst in him. Mr. Claggert is always trying to find out the men in the middle of a mutiny. He even dares them to murder him. all in all, Mr Claggert seems mad. Then when Billy is tempted to join in as part of a mutiny, he refuses. Mr. Claggert hears of his loyalty and instead of being grateful for his loyalty, he frames Billy for a crime that would have the penalty of death.

As we more recently saw, Billy ends up killing Mr. Claggert (when emotion overcomes reason), a triumph of good over evil. But as the trial plays out, Billy might not be exalted as a hero who has vanquished the devil but instead end up receiving an unfair punishment. If he is found guilty i would believe that he would accept his punishment and become a jesus-like figure, sacrificing himself for the rest of the shipmates. But i can only guess, I guess we will see Tuesday! Let me know what your predictions are?! Okay see you guys later.

May 21st Class

Hey guys, it's Jasmine.

Today, we continued to watch Billy Bud. A couple of us were at guidance for the first couple minutes of class, but when we got back, we found out that Jenkins had fallen and died. When asked what happened, Billy contradicts Claggart. The captain then promotes Billy, although Claggart objects. Billy also tries to befriend Claggart one night, without much success. Later, Squeak wakes Billy up and asks him for help in a plot against Claggart, but Billy refuses.

That's all I can remember right now! Of course, the final draft of our term papers are due tomorrow! Good luck!

May 19th

Hey! It's Amy. Today we started to watch Billy Budd, based on a novella by Herman Melvile. Billy, a boy of about 19 years old, has been taken from his merchant vessle by the British navy, which is constantly forcing the best sailors from these ships into service in the military. Billy quickly makes friends on board after leaving the Rights of Man and is introduced to an entirely different life style. Mr. Laz's internet was not working over the weekend, but he will have all sent in term papers read by tomorrow, so if you have any questions see him tomorrow or wednesday, because the date of the term paper has been moved to Thursday. Last friday we had a sub and had a couple choices of how to spend the period. See you tomorrow!

P.S. Term paper heading is
Name
Teacher
Course
Date

The House of Usher

Hey you guys this is Cristy. So I thought I'd do a little preliminary analysis of The Fall of the House of Usher. From the moment that the narrarator encounters the Usher house a heavy darkness descends upon the setting of the story. The house becomes a character itself by the fantastical descriptions that Poe uses. "vacant and eye-like windows." He says that upon seeing the building he is overwelmed with a "sense of insufferable gloom" and he likens the feelings to the dissapointing return to harsh reality after the wonderous dreams brought on by opium use(gothic). The house seems to represent the family in its decay. The poem/song called "The Haunted Palace" referring to the Usher Mansion adds more superstition to the plot. The poem may describe the past prosperity of the family and mansion that then fell into decline. The cause for this decline in the song is only vaguely explained by the the arrival of "evil things, in robes of sorrow" who "assailed the monarch's high estate". Perhaps this was when the first Master Usher fell to the disease and died after suffering from the mental illness.
After the narrarator re-tells the poem he tells us how his friend persists that there is "sentience of all vegetable things". Sentience means consciousness or the capacity for sensation or feeling. So Usher believed inanimate objects to be conscious? He hints that he believes therefore that the Usher house is conscious. The house seems to mirror the state of its masters. The idea of a spirit being in everything seems to connect to the idea of romantics with nature and the omnipotent holy spirit.

On another topic, Poe mentions books that he and his friend read to pass away the days.I was interested why these particular books were chosen to be mentioned and looked up a few.Directorium Inquisitorum by the Dominican Eymeric de Gironne- was basically a manual on how to torture Catholic heretics.
Another book was "Belphegor of Machiavelli, Niccolo Machiavelli wrote Belphegor, a satire on marriage in which a demon comes to earth to prove that women damn men to hell."
Blue Distance of Tieck - Tieck was a romantic poet of the 18/19th century.
Chiromancy - is the art of palm reading (superstitious art connects to Gothic beliefs)
Also at the beggining of the story are a few lines in Latin? that I was unable to translate on my own. But I did find that De Beranger was a French poet.

Here's a site I found helpful and interesting in dissecting and understanding Poe's terminology.
http://www.poestories.com/wordlist.php

In this story the idea of being buried alive appears again. In this case,Roderick Usher's sister was buried alive by mistake. It seems that the words from a story the narrarator reads are actually bringing her back to life. The failure of reason and logic on the part of the doctors to diagnose and treat the Usher disease is contrasted with the supernatural power literature seems to have over the Usher sister. The Master of Usher claims he heard her alive in the coffin but was too scared to do anything about it and dreads her anger. Finally the woman reappears with blood on her gown, mysteriously having broken out of the screwed iron coffin which suggests some magical force working to achieve her return. Also I think the fact that they are twins and have a special connection adds to the mysticisim in the story. The superstition and mystical elements of this story fit perfectly with Gothic beliefs in the Romantic era.

Okay, those were just a few things I had on my mind and I look forward to discussing all the other details of the story with you in class.

A Day in the Life

Today, our class took the first step in the post-AP exam world. And although past events are no indication of future probabilities, the home stretch promises to be a wild and invigorating ride. First period opened today with the whimper of cautious peer to peer term paper advice and ended with the roar of gold coins jingling in the pockets of Disney executives and the innocent squeals of children as they are brainwashed by corporate America. Indeed, today may have been the first time in history that staying in school was more fun than going to a theme park. Yes, those theme parks. The same ones that millions of young American families flock to after the insidious themes and images of animated fairy tales are firmly instilled in their minds. Which brings us to the subject of today's discussion.



DISNEY! This evil conglomerate appears harmless and even trustworthy to the untrained eye, but a determined intellectual look allows us to see past the corporate mask and into the not so wonderful world of sexism, racism, and ruthless capitalism. If this formidable array of -isms overwhelms you, that is quite normal. This very morning, our class received a sort of "Disney enlightenment" that had a profound effect on everyone present. Some members of our class were resistant to change and offered counterexamples to the theory of Disney iniquitousness. Just like Beauty's initial attempts to change the Beast, however, they were rebuffed time after time right up until the bell sounded. The following is a sampling of Disney movies suggested as counterexamples and a brief explanation of their sin(s).



Peter Pan- Tinker Bell is a stereotypically vain woman, and Wendy is an idealized domestic mother figure. Sexist ideas which attempt to marginalize women and keep them in their places permeate the film.



Mulan- The movie whose poster hangs ominously from our classroom's ceiling modifies a Chinese legend and transforms it into a sexist tale in which the heroine is made weak and does not achieve final victory over the dragon.



Little Mermaid- The mermaid is the archetypal damsel in distress that has to be rescued by a heroic prince, and she has to give up everything to be with her lover. Just as Beauty and the Beast does, the film gives women misguided ideas about their relationships with men.



Aida Musical- While only produced by Disney, this musical presents racist stereotypes of the Middle East that are unsuitable for today's racially charged society. While the musical seems like an innocuous choice for our high school production, it leads to a slippery slope. Next year, for example, someone might use Islam and terrorism in the same sentence. The year after that, we're looking at the possibility of metal detectors. Just something to think about.



Hopefully, our in-depth discussion of animated films is just the tip of the iceberg. I hope that we can extend our topic area to include all corporations, with the notable exceptions of Apple and Whole Foods. Classmates of AP English III, unite! We have nothing to lose but our ignorance to the innate wickedness of corporations.

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE TAKING THE AP TEST TOMORROW!

May 7 Class

Hey, it's Erin.

Today we talked about "The Masque of the Red Death." First off, the "Red Death" is a historical reference to cholera (not the symptoms but the idea of a plague). We started off the discussion with the rooms, and what they represent. The rooms are set up in a straight line starting in the east and ending in the west, so it's like going from sunrise to sunset (with sunset in the black room, meaning death). However, the colors don't really work in the order of day. Since there were 7 rooms, we talked about associations with the number 7 - 7 days in a week, etc. Grace brought up the seven deadly sins (which I believe are lust, gluttony, greed, envy, pride, sloth and wrath). We then considered whether Prince Prospero was guilty of all seven sins, and decided he was. Another association with the number seven is creation - God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. However, this is the opposite of creation, because everyone is destroyed in the end.
Then we discussed whether justice was served at the end of the story (with Prospero and all of his guests dying) because even though his whole kingdom was dying, he locked himself and his friends away. We also discussed if the responsibility was simply Prospero's or if the guests were guilty too. Paige brought up that although everyone was afraid of the black room (death), they all ended up there in the end. Donna brought up that this was Poe's second use of a masquerade. Mr. Lazarow pointed out that since Poe was a Gothic, he was interested in human psychology, and a masquerade was essentially people wearing a deceptive exterior. Finally, we talked about the title, where "masque" is short for masquerade. In essence, the Red Death is the guest of honor, although Prospero has no idea.
Don't forget - rough drafts due Wednesday!

It's Paige

I just was thinking about Prospero in "The Masque of the Red Death" and his beliefs about wealth. He felt that if he could turn his back to poverty and the common man that he could somehow escape the inevitable. Death as an equaliser is a fasinating idea. It doesn't matter how much money you have or who you are it's inescapable. Everyone avoided the red and black room that represented from my research night and more specifically death. Prospero follows the red death into the final room and tries to conquer it head on despite it's power. Although Prospero had invited the specific guests and set up the room himself he really wasn't in control.
Death is completely uncontrollable, you don't know when or where it will happen and Prospero is a fool to think that he is too noble to suffer the same fate as peasants. Poe definately goes over death and it's psychological effects in many of his stories but I never really noticed before how he dissects the human mind to find our deepest faults. I'm reading a book called "Norwegian Wood" by Haruki Murakami and the main character says at one point, "Death exists not as the opposite but as a part of life...It was already here, within my being, it had always been there..." I definately had never thought about death as something that can survive so close to me and I think that psychologically we want to doubt death's capabilities.
What do you guys think?

May 9th

In class on Friday we did another set of AP questions. We also discussed our rough drafts, which are due on Wednesday. The AP test is also on Wednesday, so for those taking the test, you have to see Mr. Lazarow sometime during that day (such as before homeroom) to show him that you have it completed. Then you have to swap your paper with someone else so that you can revise them overnight.

At the very end of class we discussed a bit of Poe. Arka brought up the idea that the story related back to a real life situation, either the death of Poe's wife and mother of tuberculosis or an outbreak of cholera in Baltimore, and that the story is about trying to escape death.

It's Paige

Class today was very depressing. We talked about how the dance marathon might be cancelled and then Mr. Lazarow discussed our seemingly endless list of mistakes that we made on our outlines. Next we recieved our grades which for the majority was a huge disappointment. To wrap it all up Cristy talked about how Montresor seemed to be a puppet master according to his name. Then the bell rang and the discussion of Poe came to a sudden end. Here's hoping for less unpleasant classes in the future!!!

Class Notes for 5/6

Well, today in class we first did another set of questions for the AP test (which is, in case you haven't realized yet, next wednesday) about math proofs and their elegance. We then proceeded to do all of the questions and then went over them.
After having a few comments on whether or not this set of questions was easier or harder than the previous sets, we then recieved our annotated bibliographies, but not our outlines. Look for them tommorow. We then proceeded to continue our discussion of Poe's A Cask of Amontillado, picking up where we left off in talking about the Masons. Deirdre talked a little of how her uncle was a Catholic and is now a Mason. and how the Masons, an ancient fraternal order, are hated by the Catholic Church. Mr Lazarow explained that a possible reasoning for this hatred is the desire of the Catholic Church to not have any nonreligious based secret societies.
We then raised the question of whether Montresor bricked up Fortunato for personal revenge or for religious retribution. While it is never mentioned explicitly that Montresor is a Catholic, Jasmine brought up the point that Fortunato says "For the love of God, Montresor!" and Montresor replies "Yes, for the love of God," suggesting religious motivation. Some in the class felt that the religious motivation was simply an additional excuse to kill Fortunato, while other felt that it was the main motivator.
We then proceeded to discuss various other aspects of the story, including the fact that Fortunato's insult of Montresor is never included in the story. We then discussed whether this was an omission in narration or a deliberate action on Poe's part, with the general consensus being that this was a deliberate action, perhaps to explore human and criminal psyschology more (as this was Poe's goal). Throughout our discussion we brought up various aspects in the story, such as Montrsor's family's coat of arms (a snake biting a foot stepping on it - with the snake being the family), and the family motto, "Nemo me impune lacessit", meaning "No one strikes me with impunity." This perhaps suggests that Montresor is taking this insult too far.
In all, we had a productive discussion on Poe's work today, and will continue tommorow.

- Arka

Amontillado

Hey, it's Cristy.
Today, we talked about the conflicts between the Catholic church and the free masons and so I did a little research it seems that (according to my sources) the masonry sees itself as the only and true religion, relegating the church as a sect. of the religion The church opposes free masons mainly because they supposedly worship the "masonic idol" or man. The church sees this as direct opposition to the commandments. "I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not have strange gods before me"
"Masonry, on the other hand, is essentially a religion of "reason." With an insistence and a consistency matching Catholicism's self-definition, Masonry promises perfection in the natural order as its only destiny -- as indeed the highest destiny there is. And it provides for this perfectibility with its resources: the accumulated sum of purely human values, subsumed under the logo of "reason." "(http://www.medjugorjeusa.org/masonry.htm) o snap. This may be a stretch, but Romanticism was supposed to be a rebuttal of the enlightenment and the neoclassic age of reason. During the Neoclassic age God was seen as outside of the picture. Deism etc. "for the love of God" maybe Montressor wants is saying he wants God back IN the picture? Does montressor symbolize the enlightenment or neoclassicism? Does Montressor turn out the light on the enlightenment?

I also found that the root montre- in montresor means "puppeteer". This seems to fit too perfectly to have been a coincidence. Montresor understands human nature very well. He mentions that he had told his servants, that he wouldn't return until the morning and had given them "explicit orders not to stir from the house." Furthermore he understands that "These orders were sufficient...to insure their immediate disappearance, one and all, as soon as my back was turned." It is clear that Montressor is a true puppetter of people. He understands human nature and uses this knowledge to manipulate people into doing what he wants. He plays on Fortunado's pride to lure him into the vaults.
As for Fortunado's name he obviously is not very fortunate which makes him name completely ironic.

Donna had noted how Fortunado seemed unaware of the offense he had committed which leads us to believe it could not have been a very grievous offense to begin with. The snake in the coat of arms. is it biting an agressor or a foot that stepped on the snake accidentally? Ahhh so much symbolism I love it.
It seems that perhaps Montressor is sealing the ideas of the enlightenment and the free masonry behind walls to prevent them from seeping out into the minds of others. Looking forward to finding more symbolism in class tomorrow,
thats all for today, goodnight and goodluck.

Ah I forgot to hit the post button last night! Cinco De Mayo class notes

We may be getting our outlines back tomorrow…EXCITING!

But today we finished up talking about Longfellow. Ian felt that The Jewish Cemetery had been neglected the other day so he decided to open the floor with a discussion about it. After a few awkward moments of silence Ian noted that throughout the entire poem Longfellow seems to be 'looking backwards' at how things used to be in the past.

Arka believed that it wasn't in a harsh or derogatory way, but rather in an understanding tone, as if Longfellow knew what the people were going through. Laz confirmed this. He said that there is a sympathetic attitude, and even when there is 'abusive' language it is always balanced by words that imply steadfastness or strong faith. Longfellow seems to be trying to convince the people that the days of persecution have passed in a positive almost urgent tone.

Ian was surprised that Longfellow knew so much about Jewish history but not much of African culture. Laz and a few others in the class weren't surprised, since at that time very little was known about Africa but Jewish people had been known for a very long time in Europe.

After that brief closing of Longfellow we moved onward to Poe.

Ben asked why Gothics were considered Romantic. Laz explained that Gothics were more interested in human nature than 'leafy' nature. He told us that Hawthorn and Thoreau used to go ice skating together and talk about their ideas. He also expanded that by noting that Poe had a desire to investigate the inner workings of the human psyche. Poe is also considered the first writer of the American detective story.

The class felt that Poe wrote such strange stories because of his chaotic life. But Laz said that the artists liked to separate themselves as unique human beings who could 'create' completely new things. We talked about some of the Poe myths, and we talked about his rabies.

We then began to talk about the Cask of Amontillado, and we ended class with the realization that the audience in that piece is a Priest, and the story is actually a confession!

Class Summary for May 2nd, 2008

Hello all!

I'm sure you're all hard at work on your outlines, so I'll just give a brief recap of Friday's class and try not to take up to much of your time!

We finished our discussion of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's works, and consequently the entire Washington Irving Packet. We are expected to read Poe for a class discussion on Monday. After Poe will be Emerson, then Whitman, and lastly the supplemental packet of Gothic readings. (If you were not in class on Friday when we were given the new packet, see Laz for an extra copy.)

Discussion began with a review of The Jewish Cemetery at Newport. Ian mentioned that Newport had one of the oldest and largest Jewish populations in America. Though they were a majority, the Jewish people were still treated as outsiders and suffered prejudice in their own community. It seemed to Longfellow that little had changed since the first Jewish settlers - Alavares and Rivera - had first arrived in the New World in the 1650s. Throughout history, Jewish populations have suffered horrendous torture. It's natural to lament the innocent lives lost, and become furious that an entire group of people was treated so cruelly, but Longfellow warns not to get too caught up in emotions or to live life looking backwards. After all, "dead nations never rise again." Sure, we can look back to history to learn from our past and to try not to repeat the same mistakes, but dwelling on actions of the past is practically a waste of time and energy. Things can never be brought back to the way they once were.

Then, we moved on to The Slave's Dream. When reading it for the first time, we immediately recognized the romantic style. Longfellow's slave character elevates imaginative dreams over harsh reality. But after we read the poem through a second time with a more critical eye, we realized how stereotypical Longfellow was in his depiction of the slave. He assuredly had good intentions when he wrote the poem, but he comes off as being slightly racist. Granted, he was writing out oh his own time period, but he writes that the slave's dream was about his homeland in Africa. Longfellow describes visions of blood-red flamingos, roaring lions, and screaming hyenas, when he himself knew nothing about the continent! Longfellow had never personally traveled to Africa nor had he studied it. All he knew about Africa came from a basic description, from a book or perhaps from an account of another person who had traveled there. It's quite stereotypical to assume that a slave would dream about his homeland in Niger. In reality, the slave was probably born in America and had never seen Africa. He was probably quite used to the American lifestyle and would not want to endure the arduous journey back across the ocean to Africa. Abolitionists of Longfellow's era abhorred this poem, though it did agree with a separate abolitionist movement to return all of the former slaves to Africa instead of granting them full citizenship in America.

We ended with a short critique of A Psalm of Life. The bell rang before we got a chance to finish, but by then we were pretty much through with Longfellow.

See you in class on Monday, fellow pupils. Good luck to all who are taking the AP Euro final!
-Ashley

CLASS POST FOR APRIL 29, 20088

Hey everybody, it's Stephanie
Sorry this is late, but our track meet was sooo long I didn't really have a chance to blog last night. Thankfully, the information still applies, as we should be spending about an hour on the ole rough draft every night.

Anyway, Wednesday was AMAZING. We finally turned in the outline!!!!!! Then, we began to talk about the rough draft, the next step in the terrific term paper. Here's the gist of it:
~You should reformat the outline into paragraphs
~Use 1 inch margins all the way around (and other MLA formatting)
~In the upper right hand margin, put your last name and the page number of your rough draft, for example:

Jordan 1

Furthermore, the trees of the rainforest are becoming shockingly limited in number, as the funding for preservation...

~ For quotes 4 lines or more, use block quote formatting, or:

-after the anchor, hit the return key

- type the quote and still add the parenthetical citation

DON'T TAB IN AFTERWARD!!!!!! Big no-no, or else you lose points for a quote as a transition, lack of support, and no anchoring... yikes...

~SHUT OFF THE ORPHAN AND WIDOWED PARAGRAPH option. Word automatically has this checked, which we do NOT want.

The due date for the rough draft is dependent on when we receive our outlines from Mr. Laz, and when the due date arrives, we will be doing peer-editing in class, so treat every version of the draft as the final copy.

We began to talk about Longfellow with a record 2 minutes 36 seconds left in class.

The Goblet of Life

~popularly associated with Harry Potter

Assignments: Be working diligently on the rough draft and works cited page (if at all possible), and remember to keep up with the readings (aka Longfellow)

********************Term paper due date: day before prom

A Psalm of Life

I am in love with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow!

In the beginning of this poem Longfellow says, "Tell me not in mournful numbers, Life is but a dream! For the soul is dead that slumbers, and things are not what they seem." It sort of seems like he's trying to reject Neoclassicism and reason by arguing that life is not something you can just analyze or find the answer to, you just have to enjoy it.

This poem also reminded me of another quote from Longfellow:
"Heights by great men reached and kept were not obtained by sudden flight but, while their companions slept, they were toiling upward in the night." It is a lot like the lines "In the world's broad field of battle, in the bivouac of Life, be not like dumb driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife!" This is really inspiring and very Romantic (of course). I really like the message Longfellow is trying to get across is that you should take out of life whatever you can get and you should find your own path and way to change the world.

This poem is different form other poems we have read by Longfellow. Some of the other poems mainly focus on death, but this one is all about living in the present. Of course, Longfellow is a Romantic so he is naturally extremely optimistic, but I can't help liking the way he writes about life (and death). He makes everything feel so comforting. I know that it would probably never work, but it makes me wonder what life would be like if more people had this philosophy towards life. This is all so inspiring, but then you have to remember that the Romantic movement is dead.

However I am a little confused about the stanza about leaving "behind us footprints in the sands of time" to help "a forlorn and shipwrecked brother." Does anybody else find it peculiar that he chose "the sands of time?" Sand is so not permanent at all; it can be moved and erase our tracks so easily. So how why would he use sand when he's talking about leaving a lasting impact on society?

In case you missed it..

Hey guys, it's Allison.

Today, we did another set of timed practice AP questions which seemed to take a weight off of everyone's chests. The questions proved easier than we had expected for an AP exam, so we were pretty excited. However, Mr. Lazarow warned us that we shouldn't get too confident and go into the test thinking we have it in the bag.

After we went over the answers, we talked about the rough draft some more and Ian commented on how he felt quite prepared for the AP exam.

P.S.- congrats on finding your packet, Ian!

Hope everybody keeps preparing for the upcoming AP exams!

Okay, you can all stop worrying now!

To those of you I have not yet alerted, I FOUND MY PACKETS. I left them in Mr. O'Reilly's room (I have Excel after English) along with a jacket. It seems like my lack of sleep this year is finally affecting my memory...
I'm going to have to call off the school-wide search- I know you guys were looking everywhere for them.

So anyways, Longfellow is a pretty interesting poet. What I found particularly characteristic of his writing was that he made references to many minority populations in the United States that were not perceived as "true Americans" in the 1800s. Longfellow was an Early Romantic, and like many other people from this sub-category, he attempts to develop an American tradition and heritage. In "The Jewish Cemetary at Newport," for example, he juxtaposes the still cemetery with the wild ocean just a short distance away. However, his tone is almost sympathetic with the Jewish people, and he wonders why they have been persecuted in both Europe and America:

How came they here? What burst of Christian hate;
What persecution, merciless and blind,
Drove o'er the sea-- that desert desolate--

These Ishmaels and Hagars of mankind?

Besides being a wonderful opportunity to blockquote, this quotation makes reference to the Exodus of the Bible.

Longfellow was an open abolitionist, and his views on the topic of slavery are best expressed by "The Slave's Dream, " in which he describes a slave, so lowly in America, dreaming about the royal life he would be living if in Africa. In the end, Longfellow takes a surprising turn by revealing that the slave has died, but that his death has released him from his physical shackles and allowed him to roam into the paradise he has dreamed of. This optimistic perspective on death is comparable to Bryant's "Thanatopsis," in which Bryant describes how death is the just the next phase of life, in which one "wraps the drapery of his couch About/him, and lies down to pleasant dreams."

Longfellow also talks about America's oldest group, the Native Americans (of the Ojibway tribe), in "The Song of Hiawatha." Keep in mind that this in an epic poem, so if you plan to read it be sure to set aside a couple of hours/days. This seems like a reliable website, for all of you adventurous readers: http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/hiawatha.html