1/20/09

Today was the Inaugural Address and I cannot hide that I was a little frustrated. I don't understand why the whole school had to make a huge deal out of the event and why every student had to be exposed to it when not everyone agrees with the President's political views. I can remember years back when Bush was elected and we didn't hear anything about it at school either of the times he got elected. Okay, I know this election was ground breaking because it is the first black president of our U.S. history and I am so very proud of that. But I am not proud of the fact that we picked someone like Barack Obama. Now I don't want to sit here and bash our president because that would be disrespectful and nothing annoys me more when people bash our president. I just feel like Obama was not the most qualified nominee for the position. We weren't really given a good pool to pick from and no one is to really blame for that. And not to mention, our economic status isn't exactly pristine. I guess I was annoyed because everyone was turning the event into something bigger than it was. I don't mean to offend anyone but if the person I wanted to win, won I wouldn't have been so extreme about it.
Even though I do not agree with the things Obama stands for, I really wish him the best of luck and I put all my hope in him because after all he is our president and I believe that united we stand and divided we fall. Since our country is in such a downfall, we should all stand together as one country, no matter what color, religion, or gender. I hope Barack stays true to his words and can help get our country out of this mess. We shall soon see!

I'm getting really annoyed...

with all these rap songs that have absolutely no meaning! They are so stupid and the radio plays them sooo much! It's so annoying. First of all I don't understand the names of these people. Lil' Wayne? Ne-Yo? T-Pain? What the heckkk?? That seems so idiotic to me. At least stick with your real name so you can get at least some credit.
Then don't get me started with the lyrics. They are so degrading to women and most of the time they don't even make sense. For example, in the song 'Fergalicious' by Fergie, who's real name is Stacy (I'm not sure why someone would want to name themselves after a toy) they bluntly spell a common, easy word wrong:
'T, to the A, to S-T-E-Y, girl you tasty'
They obviously don't know how to spell. Other than that, it seems like these rappers are making words up like in the Lil' Wayne song 'Lollipop':
'told her to back it up like erp erp
and make that a$$ jump like shczerp shczerp'
first of all that is just degrading and I'm pretty sure erp and schzerp are not real words.

Well that was my outlet for the day and I'm sorry if I offended someone but it has just been annoying me!

The Grapes of Wrath So Far

So I've recently started The Grapes of Wrath because I know the due date will spring up on me and catch me by surprise. But not this time! I'm only on chapter 8 but I still have some ideas and questions so far.

I love how critical Steinbeck is. He uses some really cool similes and comparisons like referring to the banks as monsters and the people who work at the banks as slaves: "These last would take no responsibility for the banks or the companies because they were men and slaves, while the banks were machines and masters all at the same time" (Steinbeck 32). I can definitely see why Congress wanted to ban this book. Steinbeck makes it seem like the government/banks are taking over the world almost like a monster. I could relate to this, if I had lived on some land for a really long time and all of the sudden someone just kicked me off and there was no one for me to really blame. However, I can also see where the bank people are coming from. Without moving the people off the land, there would be no change and they would never make any profit. It's almost like a lose, lose situation. I can feel Steinbeck's frustration.

Steinbeck also, at one point, criticizes jails. When Joad, Willy, and Casy were cooking their meat, they asked Joad about his experience in jail. He replied with, "The thing that give me the mos' trouble was, it didn't make no sense... When a bunch of men take an' lock you up four years, it ought to have some meaning. Men is supposed to think things out. Here they put me in, an' keep me an' feed me four years. That ought to either make me so I won't do her again or else punish me so I'll be afraid to do her again. But if Herb or anybody else come for me, I'd do her again... That sort of senselessness kind a worries a man" (Steinbeck 55). It's almost as if Joad is basically saying that the jail system is worthless. Even though he has been there before, he thinks jails should be tuffer and make a person learn their lesson. I agree with him on that.

The part that I also thought was interesting was the chapter that specifically talked about selling cars. It was really hard to follow but it showed the transition from the people who farmed to people trying to buy cars to keep up with the generation. In the chapter, it seems like the car salesmen are having trouble selling the cars because not a lot of people have much money, so they are forced to sell the cars at incredibly low prices. This made me think of cars as a representation of movement. Since they are having trouble selling the cars, their is a lack of movement and that is what happening at this point in the story.

So far I really like the book. It's a little slow, but I can tell it has a lot of potential. I can't wait to find out what happens next and I hope Tom can find his family!

Friend or Foe?-- John Steinbeck

Like every novel we have read, I feel like I should know a little bit about the author to fully understand the novel. Even though I read Of Mice and Men in 10th grade, I am still clueless as to who the genius is behind all the print. Here is what I discovered about him.

• Born in California in 1902
• Went to Stanford University for literature, but never graduated
• Tried to become a free-lance writer in New York, but failed and returned to California.
• He first became known with a series of humorous stories called Tortilla Flat after many failed attempts at writing.
• Steinbeck's novels can all be classified as social novels dealing with the economic problems of rural labor.
• In 1937, he wrote Of Mice and Men, a story about a misunderstood giant.
• in 1939, he published what is known to be his best work, The Grapes Of Wrath
• Most of his novels are set in California
• He died of a heart attack in New York City in 1968.

So, now that I have learned a little bit more about the author, I predict that The Grapes Of Wrath is going to have something to do with labor and economic problems. I know it has to do with the Dust Bowl and that is reflected back to Steinbeck. Will the novel live up to its hype? When we are done will Steinbeck become one of our favorites, or will he remain in the darks of our brains for forever? Dun dun dun!

A Fresh New Beginning

Welcome to part two of the hardest class you will ever take... haha jk! Even though this class is a challenge, you must admit that some of the things are quite interesting! Those short stories? Yeah they were wierd, but they sure did strike up a conversation! Or what about Frankenstein? I think we had mixed opinions on it, but it still got the class involved!

So what is in store for this semester to be? All I know is that The Grapes of Wrath better be interesting! I'm looking forward to Hamlet and the films we will be watching. But most of all, I'm honestly looking forward to, ok maybe not 'looking forward to' but I'm need to start working on my essay skills. That AP exam seems so far away but I know it will start creeping up on us. I really hope I'll be able to write a decent essay by the end of the semester. I know what to do, so why can't I just do it?? So much pressure! At least I have this whole semester to start thinking about it... I'm ready for another intense 'nose to the grindstone', 'let's put this off till the last day', 'god, I'm so tired" semester! Are you?

Flannery O'Conner

So this Flannery girl seems pretty wierd to me. I sort of have this perception of her as this hick who grew up in the middle of no where, Georgia and raised chicken with her hick family. Her way to fame was teaching a chicken to walk backwards, other than that she would just sit around and make rediculous stories that have intense imagery and 'distorted christ figures'. Okay, other than being a goob, I must admit that her stories are really well thought out and are actually really interesting. However, I do get frusterated when we talk about them. Our discussion last week about "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" is what really confused me. Some people thought that the grandma was an evil figure and that she planned everything out but I'm just not covinced. It's so hard for me to imagine a grandmother trying to do that to her own kids and grandkids. Even letting go of my personal experiences, there is not enough evidence. To me, she seems like a lonely grandma who just wants to spend time with her grandkids. Even June Star said, "She wouldn't stay home for a million bucks. Afraid she'd miss something. She has to go everywhere we go". She's like any grandmother who just wants to spend time with her family and wouldn't want to miss anything. And even though she bugged her family to go to Tennessee, she later felt guilty was 'the first one in the car, ready to go'. She realized how selfish she had been and to make for less fuss, she gave in and did what her family wanted to do. It's not like she wanted to go to Florida in the first place, so how could she have planned out running into the Misfit? It just doesn't fit to me. My perception of the story is that she's almost like a christ figure and at the end she tries to save the Misfit by telling him that he's one of her children. When she reaches towards him it's like a moment of grace but the Misfit rejects it because he's not ready for it.
I thought these stories were really interesting and I liked that we had different views to the story. I can't wait for more short stories!

I found it!

A real live allusion in our modern day world! I was so excited I thought I would share it with you all!

Allusion to the Garden of Eden in “The Nightside of Eden” by HIM

“Divided we stand in the light of a frozen sun
Cursing the gods we have become
We steal the fire from a sacred heart
And bleed the wine unholy
We fall in love with the serpent's song
And fear nothing
In the nightside of Eden
We're born again dead
Forever we are
Forever we've been
Forever we'll be crucified to a dream
In the nightside of Eden
Deranged, we're tearing away the petals of desire
Learning the mathematics of evil by heart
We deceive ourselves to start a war
Within the realm of senses
And descend to the circle number four
Where we are nothing” (HIM).

History of the Garden of Eden:
When god was creating Earth, he created a man named Adam. In order for him to not be lonely, God created a woman named Eve. He created a garden in Eastward Eden and put his creations there. Both Adam and Eve were naked, however they were not ashamed. Then God planted trees and a Tree of Knowledge. He then told Adam that he could eat from any of the trees besides the Tree of Knowledge or else it would lead to his death. Then a serpent came and tempted Eve to take a bite of an apple from the Tree of Knowledge. She then convinced Adam to do the same. After this, Adam and Eve realized they were naked and thus, evil was created. It was also the separation of man from God.

The Garden of Eden in Relation to the Song:
The song clearly talks about the place where God sent Cain (East of Eden). It talks about the evil of the world and is basically describing the opposite of paradise, or hell. When the song talks about descending ‘to the circle number four’, meaning the fourth circle of hell, it means that there is constantly a war between good and evil and in the end, it really doesn’t mean anything. The title reveals the evil that came out of a good place. When you think of Eden, you usually think of a bright place, however, the ‘nightside’ of Eden makes you think of the sin and the temptation that happened in the garden. When the song says ‘we fall in love with the serpent’s song’, it is a direct reference to the serpent that tempted Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, thus creating evil on Earth. Overall, the song talks about the evil that came out of The Garden of Eden, or more appropriately said in the Nightside of Eden.