The Tell-Tale Heart

Let me just start off by saying that this story is very odd. It's sick and twisted, but at the same time I felt sympathetic towards the narrator and did not see him as necessarily a bad person. I came to the conclusion that he was definitely insane, like most people have. The fact that he tells us continuously that he is not crazy conveys the feeling that he is not just trying to convince the reader, but himself as well. Also, what kind of person kills another human being without any sort of motive? In fact he straight forwardly says he admires the old man he murdered and had nothing against him. Only a crazy person would do this. So can we, as readers, trust the narrator? I don't think so. His perception of things most likely is skewed. For all we know he could be making this whole story up. But for the sake of further analysis, let's assume he is telling the truth. Next is the "Evil Eye". The narrator makes it seem like the eye which the old man possesses is not a part of him. Therefore he does not feel remorse for killing the man because he is only trying to get rid of the eye. That is why he can calmly state his love for the old man while going forth and murdering him.

Untitled Rough Draft

"Jillian, hurry up they're outside!" Margo whispered loudly, with a frantic undertone in her voice. Jillian quickly shoved a third and final pillow underneath her duvet cover, took a step back to evaluate her creation, and cracked a sly grin, satisfied with her work. She turned towards the mirror and twirled her dark ringlets while puckering her lips, like she always did before leaving the house. 

Margo and Lauren jumped up from the couch and the three girls put on their sandals and fleece jackets. "I hate the weather in Chicago…it’s practically 100 degrees during the day and below freezing at night? There's something seriously wron--" Lauren began to rant.

"Shh!" Jillian and Margo simultaneously warned. Lauren often went off on passionate tangents, progressively raising the volume of her voice. She was never offended when her friends shushed her because she understood her rants did not often occur in appropriate situations.

Margo went to the front of the pack and unlatched the creaky, white door. She carefully opened it to a 60 degree angle, knowing from multiple experiences that it would not make any noise. Her swift hands indicated it was safe for the other girls to go through the door. After everyone slipped out, Margo took her time to close the door and turn the knob to ensure the process was silent. 

Everyone held their breath as they crept around the side of the house. It felt like ages before they finally arrived at the front steps. The three girls took a few cautious steps forward to the sidewalk and released their breath.

"Where exactly did they say they were going to be?" Jillian asked her friends, panning the block and trying to make out any figures in the darkness. As if to answer her question, three bodies popped up from the steps of the neighbor's house across the street, startling the girls.

Lauren intertwined her fingers with the girls on opposite sides of her and checked both sides of the road. She whispered something to them and they cupped their hands over their mouths, releasing muffled giggles. Quietly, they trotted across the street. 

The girls released their grip and greeted their friends with a gentle embrace. "It sure took you guys long enough," AJ teased, "What, where you waiting for everyone in the city to fall asleep?” He gave Jillian a small nudge and shot her his irresistible smile.

"Yeah really. We've been sitting out here for almost forty minutes." Wesley complained, and Josh nodded in agreement.

"Oh, can it." Margo told Wesley, playfully punching him in the stomach.

The six teens had been best friends since the age of five when they formed their neighborhood clan, naming themselves the Sensational Six. They all lived within a two block radius of each other. Now that they were in high school, they didn't make plans as frequently. Lauren, Margo, and Josh went to the same school, but the rest attended different ones. They spent every minute of their summers together and were practically inseparable.

The group walked to 711 a few blocks away and purchased a few liters of soda and some snacks. They opened a bag of Lays barbeque chips and a bottle of Coca Cola as they left.

“You know what we haven’t done in a while?” Josh asked the group, a sudden excitement coming over him. Everyone handed their attention to Josh. “We haven’t gone to our old tree house! Remember the one we spent summer of ’05 building?”

“How could I forget!” Lauren shouted with a mouthful of chips, spitting some crumbs into her straight blonde hair. She hopped in place and bombarded Josh with a huge hug. The kids were overrun with a newfound exhilaration.

"To the treehouse?" Wesley asked, confident that he already knew the answer.

And so the Sensational Six were on their way. The air was heavy and humid; it hung over them as they walked down the middle of the black road. On their way they reminisced of the days when they worked from sunrise to sunset building the treehouse. They laughed at AJ when he brought up the memory of him falling off of the treehouse ladder and fracturing his wrist. 

As they reached the corn field where their treehouse was located they created a human chain in a single file line behind Josh. They ventured further back behind the brush until they reached the familiar wooden ladder. One by one they climbed up into the safe haven they built from the world.

The place looked just as they had left it: beanbag chairs in a circle, a mini table with a kite on it, and even a pack of dusty Uno cards laid out. Everyone leaped onto the squishy seats, and Jillian and AJ shared a chair.

AJ was in love with Jillian. For as long as he could remember he always liked her as more than a friend. She never reciprocated his feelings until this summer. They flirted with each other but did nothing more than that. With the encouragement of his friends, AJ finally built up enough courage and decided he was going to ask her out. Tonight. 

“Does anyone want anything to eat? We have a lot of food here.” Margo offered, standing up. 

“PB&J for me please,” smiled Josh. 

AJ was feeling nervous. “Yeah can I have a....uhh...just a jelly sandwich? You know ‘cause of my allergies.” Margo nodded, more than happy to prepare an easy snack for her friends.

Everyone began talking again, and Josh shot AJ a look, indicating it was a good time to talk privately. “So Jill..” Aj breathed, fidgeting with his keys. “This summer so far has been amazing. I’ve had a blast spending so much time with you.” He looked up and met her eyes, focusing his gaze on her. She had a sweet, sincere smile across her face.

“So have I,”

He rested his hand on top of hers. “I think what would make this summer even more awesome, though, would be if you wanted to be my girlfriend...?” He asked, coming out in between a statement and a question.

Before she had the chance to answer, Margo interrupted their conversation. “Does anyone have another knife? There’s only one in here,” she asked. No one seemed to have one, so Margo shrugged and went back to where she was making the food. 

“So, what do you think?” AJ  proposed.

The grin evaporated from her face as she took a moment to gather her words. “That’s really sweet AJ. And I truly am flattered,” a look of confusion came over his face. “But don’t you think that would be a little weird? I don’t mean for the two of us. I mean for the group. I’ve had so much fun hanging out with everyone, and I think we would drift from the group if a relationship between us did work out.”

Dissapointment was written across AJ’s face, but he quickly masked it with his famous charming smile. “Yeah that makes sense. Thinking about it now, maybe a relationship wouldn’t be best right now.” Jillian gripped his slightly clammy hand. At the same time Margo walked over and handed him his sandwich wrapped in a white paper towel. He thanked her and took a bite, giving her a thumbs up.

“I really don’t want you to take it personally though.” Jillian said, obviously feeling guilty. “So is it ok if we just leave things the way they are for now, and at the end of the summer have this talk again? Assuming nothing really changes between now and then.”

AJ had a hard time getting his words out. “I would like that,” he said with difficulty. He tried to clear his throat but found that it was becoming increasingly more challenging to breathe. His arms flailed nervously and he began gasping for air. 

“AJ?...What’s going on?” Jillian panicked. The other four friends rushed over. By this time AJ was on the floor pounding the ground and tossing violently in different directions.

“He’s having an allergic reaction!” Josh shouted. “Did he have any peanuts? What happened?”

Then it hit them. The sandwich. “There was still peanut butter on the knife when I made his sandwich.” Margo began crying. “This is all my fault, he’s deathly allergic...we have to fix this!” AJ’s face was turning a sickly shade of blue and he looked miserable. Wesley searched AJ’s pockets for his epee pen but couldn’t find it.

Jillian grabbed his hand and sobbed. “Call for help. Now.” She said through her tears. “We can’t waste any time.”

The other four friends took out their phones but none had any service. Josh climbed down the ladder quickly in pursuit of gaining service to get help.

In the meantime they helped AJ sit up, though he was hunched over. His body began to slow down and his eyes were glassing over. He took Jillian’s hand and put it over his heart, which was beating much slower than it should have been. He locked eyes with her and mouthed three simple words: I love you. He set his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes. In the treehouse, where AJ came as a child to escape the world, he tragically escaped the world one final time.

Skinny Love - Bon Iver

(I am aware that this is one of the most popular indie songs, but I have to say it is filled with rich content and I quite enjoy it.)

come on skinny love just last the year
pour a little salt we were never here
my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer

In the first line the narrator uses the phrase skinny love, which could literally be taken as a thin person the narrator is in love with, but I believe it is referring to a relationship that is lasting for only a short period of time. When the narrator says come on, it shows he is trying to encourage his partner to make the relationship last longer. The use of pouring salt is similar to what one would do to heal a wound, so the narrator is trying to make things better between the two of them. The narrator indicates there was a struggle or some sort of fight because of the "sink of blood and crushed veneer."

i tell my love to wreck it all
cut out all the ropes and let me fall
my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
right in the moment this order's tall

I think that the narrator is daring his lover to break his heart and ruin everything between them. The narrator uses the words ropes and fall, which seems like she is a puppeteer who can control his every move, and he would fall without her. He shows his seriousness to his order of cutting off their relationship by saying it is tall and implies that there is a lot riding on her actions.

i told you to be patient
i told you to be fine
i told you to be balanced
i told you to be kind
in the morning i'll be with you
but it will be a different "kind"
i'll be holding all the tickets
and you'll be owning all the fines

The first four lines seem to be referring to previous conversations the narrator and his lover have had. When he says he will be with his lover in the morning, he is saying that no matter how many times he is hurt by her he will always be there for her. However, this time is different, and he shows that by saying it will be a different "kind". The quotations indicate that kind is not taken literally, and almost has a cynical tone to it.

come on skinny love what happened here
suckle on the hope in lite brazziere
my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
sullen load is full; so slow on the split

The narrator is trying to mend the relationship with his encouraging use of come on. When he says suckle on the hope, he means for her to hold onto hope so they can work through their problems. Sullen load is full refers to the fact that he has been brooding a lot and their inevitable split is long and painful.

i told you to be patient
i told you to be fine
i told you to be balanced
i told you to be kind
now all your love is wasted?
then who the hell was I?
now i'm breaking at the britches
and at the end of all your lines

It is interesting that the narrator put a question mark after the line now all your love is wasted. Throughout the poem he has given the impression that he is positive he has his lover all figured out, but the question mark shows he is hesitant to feel the same way in this situation. He questions his position in the whole scenario in the line after that using a question mark once again. When he says he is breaking at the britches he is expressing the fact that he is falling apart.

who will love you?
who will fight?
who will fall far behind?

He ends the song with three questions, in hopes that his lover will realize that he has always been there and truly cares about her. The last question however, is more of a foreshadowing on his lovers part that she will "fall behind" without him, and quite possibly that he will do the same without her.

On an Indian Reservation

          When the subject of Native Americans is brought up, I have to say my knowledge is very limited. The only time I have really learned about them is in history class when we've studied Europeans traveling to America and encountering the Native Americans. In general they were known for being friendly and welcoming, and the Europeans took advantage of that. When I think of what happened between the whites and them, I remember them teaching the Europeans how to hunt on their lands and farm crops such as corn; basic survival skills that they weren't used to. I also remember how the Europeans tried to civilize them by trading weapons. The one thing, however, that I remember most is the Europeans giving them blankets. This seemingly harmless notion actually led to the decline of many Native American tribes. That is because these blankets were covered with diseases that the Native Americans were not immune to. These horrible things that the Europeans did is pretty much all I know about them. I know that later on they were put on reservations and many still stick there to this day. Reading the book Montana 1948 has taught me a bit about their culture, but I still can't say that I'm particularly familiar with their heritage. 

Propaganda 2011

Propaganda. I have always learned about ways dictators in history have utilized it to try and brainwash people to help carry out some sort of negative plot. When I really think about it, though, propaganda is still alive today and can be found in our everyday lives. Though propaganda certainly is used in a variety of ways, I would like to focus on how it is used when it comes to advertising. Ads in magazines and commercials on television in a way use propaganda. They try to convince someone to buy something by using different tactics, however, they always fail to mention the negative things that can come from their products. I think the perfect example of this is McDonalds. It's well known that McDonalds is extremely unhealthy, but if you ever watch their commercials, they don't speak from a health aspect. Rather, they show children having fun and enjoying their food while playing with little toys that come with their meal saying "I'm lovin' it". Though this advertisement does not lie about anything, it is misleading. I know that when I was a child, before I understood how unhealthy the restaurant chain is, after watching a McDonalds commercial, I wanted to go to McDonalds to get cool toys and have fun like the children in the ad I had seen. I think that feeling that these advertisements sends to people is the modern-day propaganda that exists everywhere, yet is not often recognized.

Black Boy

I think this story is beautifully written. Although the content Wright is writing about, the way he portrays it does not make life seem nearly as horrible as I'm sure it was. I like and dislike the novel because of this. On one hand, many of the books that I have read that were written about a black person in this time period are generally about the injustices they face in life. I'm not saying most books are written like this, I'm just saying of the books I have read. In a way it's interesting to get a sense of the other things going on in Richards life besides being treated poorly--certainly his struggle with his mother when she becomes ill is intriguing. It bothers me to some degree that Richard doesn't focus very much on what is going on around him: blacks treated inferior to whites. In the town where Richard grew up, Natchez, we learned that it was one of the worst places in the country at the time with racism. Even though Richard was young at the time, he did not really tell any stories of black mistreatment other than hearing a few stories about a white man beating a black man. All in all, I really do enjoy this novel, and I hope that as the story progresses and Richard begins to develop a better grasp of what is happening around him he will further explore the issue of racism during his life.

Letter From a Birmingham Jail

        Of the recent stories I have had to read for American Lit class, I think that Letter From a Birmingham Jail really spoke to me the most. Martin Luther King Jr. was such an intelligent man. In this letter that he wrote, although the piece was long, he made all of his points clear, and showcased his knowledge with his comparisons of justice and injustice. Reading through this, I couldn't help but wonder how a racist caucasian interpreted it, because that is who it was really meant for. There were literally no holes in the whole piece where I could see someone criticize colored people. If anything, I would probably put my prejudices aside and seriously consider what this man was saying and the logic behind it which seems so ridiculous today. But back then some people were so ignorant and unwilling to even think about these things, and I think to some degree most people realized how stupid segregation was, but felt bound to stick with their original opinions on it being necessary. 
        I found one point in particular very interesting: Martin Luther King Jr.'s expectation that when he had his peaceful marches in the south that fellow white Christians from local churches would march with him and support his cause. I don't know if King sincerely believed that would ever happen. Sure, there were definitely some white people who came and joined in the marches, but why would he expect that? I'm not trying to say he was wrong for thinking that a white man would try to help the colored people, I'm just saying that he was well aware of the prejudices people had, especially in the south. I don't believe that King really saw what they shared, their religion, as something that would bring them together. Rather I think he believed religion was something that should bring them together. Same God, same morals. I completely understand that. I believe King said this to try and enforce his main point of everyone being equal and to try and end segregation.

King Still King?

Martin Luther King Jr. A name that everyone knows. A name that represents leadership, freedom, bravery. We don't see too many people like him nowadays. Sure, times are much different now; African Americans were barely treated as human beings when King was alive. But there are still problems all over the world just as bad, if not worse, than what fueled the Civil Rights Movement. The world needs a modern day King to stand up and fight for the rights of those who are oppressed. King acted as a king truly is supposed to. He represented his people and did as much as he could to try and make life better for them. We still recognize his actions and pay respect to him on a national holiday dedicated to remember him.

Children of the Sea

Of the short stories we have had to read in class, I think that Children of the Sea by Edwidge Danticat was the most interesting to me. Since the story is written as a series of letters with the authors expressing themselves through their writing, it felt very personal, and I felt as though I was being trusted with the information. I could almost feel some of their pain, and I felt really bad for them. It made me feel very appreciative that I live in such a safe environment and helped me recognize all of the privileges I take for granted.
It's amazing how strong the characters love for one another is. The male character is stuck on a boat escaping Haiti, while the female character is enduring life in Haiti. They write to each other for as long as they can, and their love for each other is ultimately the reason they choose to live. The characters in this story were so unbelievably strong, I could hardly believe they were about the same age as me! It was really upsetting hearing the girls story, and I still don't understand how she could accept the way her life was at home. 
This story was truly fantastic and eye-opening. While reading I was anxious to learn of the fate of the characters, and was quite disappointed when there was no concrete ending. Honestly, the horrible things that probably ended up happening I probably would not have wanted to read about, and even though the ending the author created didn't exactly explain what happened, I think it was appropriate.

A Book Like This

When asked to do a music review for class, I tried to think of the most offbeat and interesting artist I owned music by. Animal Collective was the first thing that popped into my mind. As I started to look into more of their music, I decided I wanted to review something more personal that maybe not so many people knew of that I would like to share. Angus & Julia Stone are an Australian brother and sister duo. I stumbled upon them in the summer of 09 with a friend and immediately fell in love. They have released two albums, Down the Way, and A Book Like This, as well as a handful of singles and EPs. I chose to review their first album, A Book Like This, because it is my favorite of the two (if I absolutely had to choose). So without further adieu, I present Angus & Julia Stone!

The album opens with the song "Mango Tree", reminding us of the simplicity of life, with it's soothing folky guitar riffs and Angus's relaxing tone. On the second song (my absolute favorite!) "Wasted" it features Julia's voice. (The duo only back each other up on songs, they don't sing them as a duet.)Julia has the most unique voice; it sounds very child-like and dreamy. Something really interesting about Angus & Julia Stone is that they record separate tracks of the exact same song, with a completely different tune. Angus's version of "Wasted" is also on the album, under the track name "All the Colours", which does not posses nearly the same amount of beauty and musicality as "Wasted". They do the same thing for Angus's "Just a Boy" to make Julia's "Lonely Hands", as well as for Julia's "Hollywood" twin "Johnny and June". I'm curious to know which versions were written first and how they came to creating the second ones.


I especially love their lyrics. They usually seem to be referring to an experience they've had with a greater story behind it. The words they use add to the fresh sound used in their music and make the content of it much more enjoyable. This is a verse from the song "Choking".

"Fine words from a sailor's son
Who's always running away
I don't want your sympathy
Don't quote me another phrase
I understand all your philosophies
But it hurts me just the same"

All of their songs on this album feature quick and light guitar riffs and soft percussion behind it, with the occasional harmonica solo. If you're in the mood to kick back and relax, playing Angus & Julia Stone on a reel always puts me in the best mood. Look on the right side at the top of my blog and click on any of those links to be redirected to whichever song you choose.


Pssst, I also posted "Babylon" and "The Devil's Tears" from Angus & Julia Stone's other album "Down the Way". They're my favorite songs, along with "Wasted", be sure to check it out. I promise it's worth your time!

The Great Gatsby's Jay and Nick

The relationship between Nick and Jay came very randomly, and developed very quickly. So quickly, that their relationship doesn't seem very sincere. It seems like from the get-go Jay is trying to win over Nick. He first invited him over to one of his extravagant parties, where they barely meet. He knows that people spread all sorts of rumors about his past, and tells Nick about his background so that he doesn't get the wrong idea about him. Jay Gatsby is in desperate need of a friend, and maybe he likes Nick because he's more of an "outsider" from this whole partying crowd.

At first I thought they were both benefiting from this. They both seemed to be in need of a friend. When Gatsby's past with Daisy began to unravel, my opinion really changed of the whole situation. In my opinion Gatsby was definitely using Nick to get to his cousin, Daisy. I'm sure that he enjoyed the company of having a friend like Nick, but I'm not convinced in the slightest that he intended to become great friends with Nick, or even stay friends with him after he got what he wanted.

Winter Poem

When winter comes I bid adieu
The time that tells us our fun is through

I count the days till Spring comes back
In my fuzzy socks and knitted hat

November to March my nose is red
It looks as though I should go back to bed

With sniffles as desperate as a puppy dog
And a throat so sore I sound like a frog

Winter break comes soon enough
The perfect time to prepare for take off

Miami, LA, maybe Cabo
Anywhere to take me away from the snow

But school is back and so am I
In the dead of winter I'll do anything to survive

Before I know it February rolls around
The death of winter soon to be found

Reunited once more with my dearest friend Spring
Excitement in the air, you can feel the energy ring

The temperature rises and my sleeves dissapear
100 degrees, the hottest time of the year!

As the leaves start to fall I begin to mourn
I know that soon I'll have to battle the white blustery storm.

Thankful for a Classmate

Honestly, I'm thankfully for having such a great group of classmates in my American Lit class. We have a really great balance of fun and work in that class. Everyone contributes something special and our class wouldn't be the same if we were missing some students. There are some students who I think help me in class when we work in partners, in particular Paulina Pei and Nina Posner. They always have an interesting perspective on whatever we're discussing and contribute a lot to our conversations. We work together efficiently and I'm really glad that I have had the opportunity to partner with them and get to know them better.

I am...a Plow?

When I think of a plow, I think of a farm. A plow plays an active role in agriculture along with a lot of other things,  similar to a team. So to answer the question, yes I am a team player. Sometimes, however, I take the role of the leader, similar to a farmer. When I was younger I used to be much bossier and more controlling, but I grew out of it. I realized helping out in something can be a lot more work than being the leader of a project, and it's not necessarily about the recognition you receive that defines how meaningful your work is. For example, when I volunteered at PAWS, I wasn't out on the go rescuing all the precious animals, but I worked behind the scenes cleaning them, feeding them, walking them, and just playing with them. At first I thought of myself as just one of the bunches of volunteers doing the same thing as me, but I realized that without my help, people wouldn't be able spend as much time individually focusing on each animal, and I really was ultimately contributing to the well-being of the animals and the organization. Being a plow is nice, but sometimes I like taking charge and being the farmer.

New Direction for American Lit?

Honestly, American Lit is one of my favorite classes of the day. I'm always so tired in the mornings and it's such a relief that my first class keeps me awake but doesn't stress me out. We really can openly express our opinions because people aren't judgmental. Also the atmosphere is so light, it's like a breath of fresh air.


The assignments we've been given have been appropriate and reasonable. It is a bit of a hassle, though, to take notes while reading, and sometimes I forget. We also haven't had to write any papers (which trust me I am not complaining about!) so I'm sort of just waiting to have a giant project laid on me.  I really enjoy the blog assignments. It's a new way of writing and it's pretty neat that we can do this with subjects that are school-related. 


So all in all, I love this class and I really don't have much to say on improving it, because it's great just the way it is!

The Moment I Knew I was an American..

I think the moment i knew I was an American was when I took a school trip to Paris in the middle of 8th grade. Nothing felt too different at first when I was with the 20 other Americans from my grade school. Sure, we saw all sorts of amazing pieces of art and interesting landmarks, but most of the people in those kinds of places are tourists, so we didn't feel all that out of place. 
However, we did stay with an actual French person our age there. Probably the minute I arrived in my exchange student's home I think I realized how different our lives really were. Everything there seemed so much smaller and neater. Almost classier you could say. It was really weird seeing what was in my exchange student, Elise's, closet. All of the clothes she had were darker and very sophisticated, where as literally everything in my suitcase was bright and fun. The French seemed to act much older at an age where in America we're still considered kids. Something about that helped me realize what I still see as more of an American lifestyle that I lived. Things there weren't so dramatically different that it seemed like I was on a whole other planet, thankfully. That would just be strange. I could still easily relate with all of the Parisians easily....well maybe not easily because of a bit of a language barrier. But overall I learned a lot from that experience and learned some of the qualities I possess that make me an American in my opinion.

Everyone's heard if Nathaniel Hawthorne...right? The Scarlet Letter, House of the Seven Gables, the Blithedale Romance. What many people don't know about Mr. Hawthorne is that he was very good friends with Herman Melville, most famous for writing Moby Dick. They talk about their works in letters to each other and make interesting suggestions. It must have been really cool to have a friend (for both of them) that could really analyze your work.
Something that I found even more interesting, though, was about his ancestors. He was a descendant of John Hathorne, the famous judge from the Salem witch trials. Nathaniel decided to add a W to his last name so that he would not be associated with John. This shows that Nathaniel is independent and likes to be thought of as an individual, not judged based on who his relatives are. This reminded me of Nicholas Cage, who changed his name for a similar purpose: so that he could make a name for himself without the help of his famous family.
The Puritans had many uhh....interesting takes on things. One of their beliefs was that if there was a birth on Sunday of a child, that the child was cursed. Benjamin Franklin was called a devil child since he was born on a Sunday. In modern times, I would say we still have little specs of the same concept floating around. One of the biggest things we have nowadays is superstitions, which are a little less extreme versions of what Puritans said. Our superstitions deal more with sillier things like spilling salt or seeing a black cat. However big or small the connection is, there is always a small part of Purtitan roots in our society today.

Us vs Them..Us and Them

All conflicts since the beginning of time have included some kind of disagreements in them; whether it's the petty "he said, she said" scenario, or something a little more serious like clashing political views between candidates for office. Rolling with the political candidate idea...there are a zillion different issues that people feel strongly about, usually because of that party that they are associated with (republicans or democrats). Some of the main conflicts highly debated today are between those pro-life and pro-choice, for gay marriage or same sex marriage, in favor of up-ing the taxes for all (or just the wealthy) and those who would like to cut taxes. Both sides have legitimate arguments behind what they believe, and one cannot fairly say what is right or wrong. Whatever the most "popular" belief is among voters is reflected based on who is chosen for office. Although there are always those dissatisfied with the decisions made at the end of the day, it's important to remember whenever there's a conflict, there are usually people who aren't pleased.

John Proctor: Hero or Stooge?

I'm not going to lie, when first reading about John Proctor, he came off as a stooge. The fact that we were immediately presented with his affair with Abigail gave me the impression that he was an insincere fool. As I read on though, I developed some respect for him because he didn't just go along with the rest of the town in their beliefs of witchery. It seems as though many people in the town go along with the whole witchery ideas out of fear (I'm sure that's new to a Puritan society..) that they will be prosecuted if they don't agree.


I like that Mr. Proctor isn't afraid to express his feelings to Reverend Parris. Yes, I know that the Reverend is supposed to be preaching from God, but John is smart enough to realize their may be more going on with the girls than the town's idea of witchery. He is much more open-minded than the rest of the town. 


John, I think, is actually a good person. Like I said before, he wasn't presented as a good person initially, but based off of some of the things he does (and doesn't do) I think it's fair to say he's a hero. He testifies for Mary, which was very kind of him since she is so young. Even though he cheated on his wife one time with Abigail, he has continuously refused to do it again, as hard as Abigail tries to seduce him. Everyone makes mistakes, and as long as John has learned from his I don't see what would make him a bad person in any sort. John should be classified as a hero, and I think that his personality and ideas will have an impact on Salem.

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

Religion has played a great role in people's everyday lives for centuries, whether they are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, or a great variety of other religions. In a sermon delivered by Johnathan Edward, a Puritan preacher, "Sinners in the Hands of God", Edwards speaks of how God should be feared, and how terrible one will be treated by Him if they sin and how they will suffer in Hell. I believe that the Puritains only followed this religion out of fear that if they did not they would be damned to Hell. I mean, God is supposed to be this great being who inspires hope and helps those in need; not something anyone should be scared of! The Puritans tricked those of their own kind into being responsible and well-behaved in order to fulfill their destiny of reaching heaven when they die. In my opinion, using the fear tactic in order for people to do the right thing is manipulative and unjust. 


Edwards wants people to be afraid, but no one should be scared of life; if someone makes a mistake they should take it as a lesson and learn from their wrong-doings. Let's take the typical scenario of a big high school with a lot of gossip going around. If someone starts a rumor that gets out of control, God is supposed to forgive them for committing this sin instead of automatically thinking "Well, you blew it...have fun in Hell!", because let's face it, everyone gossips. But why would God punish someone so harshly for something no one will probably even remember in a few weeks?  I mean to be sent to Hell is a bit tough in my opinion. From what I believe in, I know that I should never be scared to live life, and God will always forgive me for whatever wrong-doings I perform as long as I can forgive myself first.