Raiders of the Lost Ark & Titanic

Modernism Project

Plante, Michael. "Modernism." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2011. Web. 11 May 2011.

Journal 44: Post Modernism Movie

I watched Titanic the other night, and yes, it is my favorite movie, and even though it is based on true events, the story of Jack and Rose is all fictional but has post modernism characteristics throughout. For example, Rose starts out the movie by being engaged to Cal, even though it is clearly obvious that she does not want to be married to him. She then proceeds to go against tradition and fall in love with a guy in third class, Jack. Throughout the course of the days the ship is still afloat, she meets up with him and goes against her mother's wishes. Although the technology of today is a lot more advanced than it was back in those times, the opening as well as closing scenes show the scientific advancements as compared to that time period because it shows submarines going down into the ocean to look at the Titanic, as well as the boats look a little bit more modern and scientific, which is another characteristic. Although the movie is a love story, there is a lot of science involved with the first couple of minutes into the movie along with the end. That could be another part of James Cameron's movie style as well, but it is also a given characteristic of post modernism. The authority in the movie is also corrupt because once again, in the beginning, Rose follows the directions of her mother, but smokes at the dinner table against her mother's wishes and runs away from her fiance's friend who is following them. So, Rose is quite free spirited and carefree when she wants to be, which shows the post modernism in the movie.

As I said before, the movie is based on the sinking of Titanic which did occur right around when modernism was becoming post modernism, but as I said before, the characteristics are still there of post modernism in the actual love story between Rose and Jack.

Journal 43: Jazz Baby

Being a saxophone player, I am a big fan of jazz. Plus, I am one of the few people in this school that I know of that actually listen to jazz music voluntarily. Like most songs, this one tells a story. Being the awesome music analyst I am, I tried to figure out what was going on in the story at a particular part of the song. What I got from it was that this particular jazz song told a pretty typical story. Girl meets boy but boy does not know girl exists, so the girl keeps trying to get the boy's attention until finally he realizes that this girl is the one for him and they live happily ever after, after a brief run in with the boy's ex girlfriend. That is just my interpretation from this song and what I thought while listening to it. Ms. McGovern, our band director, makes us analyze songs as well to figure out the story behind the song. Most songwriters at that time did not write a song just to write it. They usually had a reason for writing the song. Maybe the composer of this song was feeling lovesick, so he or she wrote the song to tell a story of love that actually works out. A lot of relationships do not exactly work out like that, but the song gives the listener somewhere to escape to. Because I was able to escape into this song when I listened to it. It helped that it was ten minutes long, too. I could take time to relax and analyze, which is something I find you cannot really do with the music today. That is one of the reasons I like jazz so much. It allows me to relax, and yeah, it makes me think, but in a good way I think. Most music today has the same reoccurring themes of money and fame while back then it was just about whatever. The music was extremely care free in my opinion, which I like a lot.

Modernism vs. Realism

The two writing styles are quite similar, yet different at the same time. Because they are so close together, it makes sense that the writing styles as well as the authors' viewpoints would be similar. Both styles inform the reader about the events of that time, but Modernism seems to be more straightforward as opposed to realism. Modernism seems to go into a lot more graphic detail. World War I is just starting to happen when Modernism emerges. The Modernism writing style might have even been sparked by the start of World War I. The authors wanted the readers to know what exactly was happening. But, the mental aspect of the writing is intriguing as well. Readers had to actually stop and think about what they were reading. The Grapes of Wrath is a great example. That entire novel is about the hardships the Joad family faces throughout the novel. There really is not a happy part to that story. It makes the reader sad as well as thankful for how fortunate they really are. Or, it can also work the other way and inform the reader of the many hardships that helped us get to the modern society of today. John Steinbeck created a modernism novel that not many people will ever forget. Heck, it is my mom's favorite book for whatever her reasons are for liking it. I thought it was an extremely graphic novel that went into great detail about the conditions upon which people had to live in during the Great Depression. Plus, the advantage we have in reading the story is that we do not have to actually live in the Great Depression in order to relive the experience. We just read the book with its Modernism writing style and we are transported there. And that is just with the one book. The Old Man and the Sea was another depressing story we read. Which, that was a common theme I noticed in the novels we read. However, The Old Man and the Sea did not have a happy ending to its story either. Part of the reason I think is because a characteristic of Modernism is that there are not always happily ever afters. Most stories do not have those if they are more of the reality type novels or shorter stories like The Old Man and the Sea is. I think Walt Disney came along a couple years into the Modernism period and introduced the happily ever afters because he got tired of the depressing novels being written and none of the Modernism type writings were for kids. Because no kid wants to read about hard labor and everything. They would rather read about Peter Pan and Cinderella. They needed an escape from the world around them that was so depressing. Maybe I am a couple years off with that theory, but that is just an idea I had while writing this. I know I would rather read about the Little Mermaid than working in a vineyard struggling for survival. Some of that is ok, but there comes a point and age limit when that Modernism writing style really isn't appropriate.

Job Shadowing Experience

I went to Springfield High School for my jobshadowing, and I actually had a fun time. I got there around 8:10, which was 20 minutes early, and I am just going to say that that school is soooooo much bigger than our school here. Mr. Lightfoot, the teacher I was job shadowing, has two classrooms, and an even more weird schedule than most teachers there. For his first hour, I basically just sat there and watched him organize a trivia night that he is helping organize for next Monday, so I got to see that he does a lot more than just teach. Then his second hour was a sort of study hall, where I watched him grade some online tests. His third hour was an AP History class and for that I sat and observed him as he taught mainly juniors about the Cold War. After lunch he had another AP US History class where his student teacher taught the lesson, and then Mr. Lightfoot elaborated. His last class of the day was the lowest class of history, which had many of the kids that were struggling in history, and they were talking about concentration camps. After that class was over I was able to leave, because he had a collaboration hour followed by another prep, so I was able to leave around 1:30.

What I liked best about this was I got to watch a different teacher in a different school setting and watch his different teaching styles. I noticed that he was much more relaxed and laid back with his AP kids, but with the lowest level he had to be more strict and a lot more formal, and it gave me insight as to what it would be like for me if I decide to be a teacher at a bigger city school. All in all, it was a very good and fun day.

Journal 42: Dickinson or Whitman?

I think that if I had lived in the time of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, I would have chosen to read the poems of Emily Dickinson, because I liked her writing style a lot better. Because, in her poems, there is a certain rhythm to her poems and I found it a lot easier to understand and easier to decipher. Walt Whitman was just weird and wrote about a lot of disturbing type things that just kind of weirded me out when I was reading it. I mean, the way he wrote is something I do not think I would be reading that in that time period. But, if that was the only thing left for me to read, then maybe I would end up reading Walt Whitman eventually because I am the type of person to read pretty much anything, even if I do not like it.

I think the thing I did like about Emily Dickinson is that she wrote about feelings that I could actually understand, and I think that might be partially because she is a woman, so she had a better idea of feelings unlike Walt Whitman did. I mean, apparantly Walt Whitman was gay, so his ideas of feelings and emotions were slightly different, because for one he is a guy, but then I don't know, he just had a different writing style that I did not really care for. His poems were more difficult to analyze and try to decipher the meaning from and I did not really care for it at all. That, however, is just my opinion and the fact that I did not care for Walt Whitman and his writing style. I prefered Emily Dickinson and her more emotional way of writing and getting to the audience, instead of Whitman which was just disturbing in my opinion.

Poem 52: He Touched Me, So I Live to Know

He touched me, so I live to know
That such a day, permitted so,
I groped upon his breast --
It was a boundless place to me
And silenced, as the awful sea
Puts minor streams to rest.

And now, I'm different from before,
As if I breathed superior air --
Or brushed a Royal Gown --
My feet, too, that had wandered so --
My Gypsy face -- transfigured now --
To tenderer Renown --

Into this Port, if I might come,
Rebecca, to Jerusalem,
Would not so ravished turn --
Nor Persian, baffled at her shrine
Lift such a Crucifixial sign
To her imperial Sun.

This poem was somewhat similar to some of Walt Whitman's poems. I mean, yeah it was somewhat graphic and everything. However, I thought that maybe Emily Dickinson was talking about all of this in a Christian sense because there is a lot about Christianity and Jerusalem. So even though she was touched or whatever, I do not think she means physcially touched, but instead in a spiritual sense in that she was touched by the Holy Spirit or whatever. Although that does sound kind of weird, it is something that could happen and does happen as well, which would be why Emily Dickinson chose to write about it.

She was talking about her Crucifixial sign and her imperial sun, which I think is referring to Jesus and God, because she is not necessarily meaning the sun, like the big hot ball of gas, but instead the Son of God, so she just had a play on words, which is kind of cool But, maybe I am just analyzing this in a weird way or something, but that is what I think is going on. She is not talking about being in love and being touched by a man, but instead the holy spirit and the fact that he is filling her in every way possible and she is reveling in the feeling and all of that. Which, that was interesting of her to talk about, because she was talking about her feelings for religion instead of a specefic person like most people would in my opinion. Because if it was me, I would not be talking about my love for the church, instead I would be talking about a guy, however that is just me and my opinion.

Journal 41: "A Poor Torn Heart, A Tattered Heart"

A poor torn heart, a tattered heart,

That sat it down to rest,

Nor noticed that the ebbing day

Flowed silver to the west,

Nor noticed night did soft descend

Nor constellation burn,

Intent upon the vision

Of latitudes unknown.

The angles, happening that way,

This dusty heart espied;

Tenderly took it up from toil

And carried it to God.

There, -sandals for the barefoot;

There, -gathered from the gales,

Do the blue havens by the hand

Lead the wandering sails.

Emily Dickinson is talking about her love and the fact that she has lost her long lost love. At least, that is what I think. because, she is talking about heaven and God, and the fact that her heart is lost, for whatever reason.

I find it kind of ironic and coincidental that I picked this poem, because I just got out of a relationship, and it did feel like Emily is talking about at first. I mean, now I am mostly over it, so I do not have that sort of feeling anymore, which I think is a good thing. Emily is talking about the blue havens and the wandering sails, so I am thinking that she is talking spiritually and also about love, which were two of her more common themes in writing. However, even though her heart was broken, for whatever reason, it is treated gently and carefully and brought up to heaven. I guess the question I am wondering is who broke her heart exactly, and why is it going up to heaven. I mean, she should just get over it and move on eventually. Although that sounds harsh, I do not know who the person was, so I do not know their relationship and how intense it might have been that would cause her heart to break. So, I think that in order to totally figure out this poem, I would need to know who broke the woman's heart and why it was being sent up to heaven.

Journal 40: My Self

For my personal self, I think that I value my family and friends a lot, and definitely do not see myself going and writing about the fact that I have feelings for females, which would just be totally weird. But, that is what Whitman chose to write about, which I guess is whatever floats his boat. So now that I am actually trying to write this journal, I do not exactly remember what I am supposed to be writing about. I mean, yeah I do have values and stuff like that, but I do not know if they make up my self? I do not know what classifies it as self per se just because now I am having to think back to before spring break. Basically, though, I value my family the most. Just because they are who I spend most of my time with, and are always there no matter what. Like yesterday I was not in a good mood for whatever reason, but they just let me be, and it was all good. I keep coming back to this blog, because it is the only one I have yet to finish, but I guess I have just been too lazy to actually finish it. Anyways, track is a big part of who I am, and what makes me part of my "self." I started running back in sixth grade and have done fairly well ever since. I like having something in my life that I am somewhat good at, and that I can use to relieve stress or to do well at. I guess that is mainly why I like running so much. Just because I enjoy the thrill of running and succeeding. Just this past weekend I had a meet, and lost the 4x4 relay by .01. I was the anchor leg and the battle was for 2nd place, and we ended up getting second. But I felt good afterwards, which is weird to say, but like, I can't really explain it, but I just liked the feeling afterwards of not being able to feel my legs, even though I lost. Because, winning isn't everything as that cliched saying goes. Maybe it isn't cliched, but I don't know. So my self consists of my family, friends, and track, and I am finally wrapping up this blog after taking like two months to finish it. I blame Vaclav for not getting it done, as he has a tendency to distract me when I'm trying to finish these....

As I Lay With My Head In Your Lap Camerado

This poem was not as graphic as some of the other poems we have had to analyze in the past, because this one has to deal with the Civil War. I think that this is a dying man who is telling one of his fellow men what he did wrong and some of his previous regrets. He is also saying how regardless of his decisions, he thinks that he is correct and that will get him far in life.


Some of Whitman's Christianity beliefs do show in this poem as well because he is talking about heaven and hell and the fact that he does not care at the moment where he ends up, because he is dying and fought his hardest. Basically, in the end, the man says that he is leading his men on, even though he has no idea where he is going, and yet he wants his men to believe that he will lead them into the unknown. Walt Whitman says in the poem, "And the threat of what is call'd hell is little or nothing to me; And the lure of what is call'd heaven is little or nothing to me; ...Dear camerado! I confess I have urged you onward with me, and still urge you, without the least idea what is our destination, Or whether we shall be victorious, or utterly quell'd and defeated" (Whitman). That quote right there is what I am trying to prove in that this man does not have that good of an idea of what exactly he himself is doing, and yet he is still leading his men into the unknown. Although this poem was not as disturbing as some in the past, he is still laying in the lap of some guy, which is more appropriate to the time period, however, it is still a bit weird. I do not know what else to say about this poem because it does not really illustrate self throughout the poem although the man does confess to not knowing what he is doing, so it does illustrate his true character by the end of the poem.

"As I lay with my head in your lap, Camerado, the confession I made I resume-what I said to you in the to open air I resume: I know I am restless, and make others so; I know my words are weapons, full of danger, full of death; (Indeed I am myself the real soldier; It is not he, there, with his bayonet, and not the red-striped artilleryman;) For I confront peace, security, and all the settled laws, to unsettle them; I am more resolute because all have denied me, then I could have been had all accepted me; I heed not, and have never heeded, either experience, cautions, majorities, nor ridicule;... (Whitman).

The rest of the poem above is the rest of the man's confession and how he does regret some things, but he does not regret a lot of them, and wishes that he had had more authority over his men, and was not denied. That is what I was able to get from the poem.

I Sing The Body Electric

This poem is also the title to a Ray Bradbury story that has a collection of his short stories. That is one of the reasons I picked this poem, because I do judge anything by its title or cover. However, Walt Whitman's poem was lengthy, and did have to do with a Biblical story, which would make sense because it is in the Children of Adam section. What I was able to interpret was that Whitman is talking about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and how they were created in the beginning of time by God. It is actually quite a thought provoking poem, and makes me think, which would make sense since I have to analyze the poem for this class. But, this series of poems goes on to analyze the story of Adam and Eve, telling of how pure they were to begin with. That is the main idea of this poem, however, in a much later poem, I think Whitman will go on to say that they are seduced by the devil and thus creating the world we live in today.

The man was of wonderful vigor, calmness, beauty of person;
The shape of his head, the pale yellow and white of his hair and beard, and the immeasurable meaning of his black eyes-the richness and breadth of his manners,
These I used to go and visit him to see-he was wise also;
He was six feet tall, he was over eighty years old-his sons were massive, clean, bearded, tan-faced, handsome;
They and his daughters loved him-all who saw him loved him;
They did not love him by allowance-they loved him with personal love;
He drank water only-the blood show'd like scarlet through the clear-brown skin of his face;
He was a frequent gunner and fisher-he sail'd his boat himself-he had a fine one presented to him by a ship-joiner-he had fowling-pieces, presented to him by men that loved him;
When he went with his five sons and many grandsons to hunt or fish, you would pick him out as the most beautiful and vigorous of the gang.

That stanza shows quite a lot about Christianity because it is talking about Jesus in symbolism. I think that Whitman is trying to symbolize that through this particular stanza. The blood is the wine throughout the biblical times, and Jesus himself was a fisherman, like the guy in this story. Although Jesus was not necessarily a gunner, I believe Whitman threw that into the poem to make it more interesting, despite the fact that he is talking about Jesus metaphorically. The sons could be symbolic to the apostles, who followed Jesus around throughout his life, and they all greeted Jesus like he was the most beautiful and holy person in the world, as stated in the poem. Overall, this was an easier poem to figure out because it related to a biblical story and concept that I could actually understand, as opposed to just a four line poem, that did not make barely any sense to me. This poem was longer and I was able to figure out more of the meanings of the symbols and how they relate to Christianity.

Journal 39: Bardic Symbols

This poem does illustrate Christianity throughout the poem because I was getting the impression that he was talking about God throughout a majority of the poem and there is a lot of symbolism throughout the entire poem. I liked how he was talking about getting the kiss of his father, not in the literal sense, but in the fact that it is the spiritual father and that he is receiving the kiss of the holy spirit and is having life breathed into him. That is not from the literal sense that I am analyzing this, however, because if I were taking this poem literally, that would be a little awkward, although it would make some sense since Walt was apparently a homosexual.

Fascinated, my eyes, reverting from the south, dropped, to follow those slender
windrows,
Chaff, straw, splinters of wood, weeds, and the sea-gluten,
Scum, scales from shining rocks, leaves of salt-lettuce, left by the tide.

That excerpt from the poem I also felt drawn too and able to relate to because I interpreted the symbolism in that the things left behind were what Jesus had left behind and the kind of impact he had left on his people, both good and bad. I got the impression, however, that Whitman was trying to relate to more of the tings that have been left behind, and are just going to be thrown aside.

Oh, baffled, lost,
Bent to the very earth, here preceding what follows,
Terrified with myself that I have dared to open my mouth,
Aware now, that, amid all the blab whose echoes recoil upon me, I have not
once had the least idea who or what I am,
But that before all my insolent poems the real me still stands untouched, untold,
altogether unreached,
Withdrawn far, mocking me with mock-congratulatory signs and bows,
With peals of distant ironical laughter at every word I have written or shall
write,
Striking me with insults, till I fall helpless upon the sand!

I thought this to symbolize the stations of the cross and when Jesus is carrying the cross and falls to the ground, as Whitman says being struck with insults, he falls to the sand. Because, Jesus is insulted a lot throughout walking to be crucified, hence the symbolism in this poem.

To A Stranger

I really liked the poem, "To a Stranger" by Walt Whitman just because I was able to analyze it just like the poems we did in class. What I was able to get from this poem was that no matter who you meet on the street or anywhere, you have more than likely met that person, whether you realize it or not. I find that very thought provoking because there are so many people out in the world, and even if I am just walking around the State Fair, I have met at least one or two of the people around, if not more. I had just not subconsciously realized it, until now. Plus, it is not just the people in our immediate area, either. While hiking the Grand Canyon in 2007, we came across some people that my dad ended up knowing. We were in the middle of a desert, and ended up finding people that my dad knew. That just goes to show how small a world it really is.

Walt Whitman goes on to talk about how even though he has ever met many of the people, if he was to just pass them by wherever, he would not necessarily acknowledge them, but he does remember them from some place, whether he realizes it subconsciously or not. That is something I have found happens with me. I was at band camp this past summer at Eastern University, and I swear I had seen some of those people before. However, I know I never actually got to know them exactly, but they either looked familiar, or something weird was going on in my brain making me think I actually had seen them before.

As I have said before, however, I am not entirely positive as to how or when I met these people, maybe it was in another life if you believe in such things, but it was kinda of weird. Whitman is talking about the subconscious it seems like, and getting his readers to think about the people we meet, even for a second, and the kind of impressions we will make on them, no matter how much time we are given. During track, I am in awe of so many of the runners, many of whom I will never see again. However, because of their amazing running capabilities, they make an impression on me, and I do not even know how they act as a person. They could be the world's biggest jerk, and I would have no idea. My opinion is based off of only what I see when I watch them run. According to Whitman, I might actually see those people again someday, but I will never know until it happens. That is pretty much why I liked reading this poem so much. I was able to relate to it for a variety of reasons, and it game me time to think about who exactly I might meet in this life, and the many different types of people. To quote Forrest Gump, "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know whatcha gonna get." Being both applied to life, and people, I find that saying appropriate. You never do know who you are going to meet, or when.

Journal 38: Ploughman Ploughing

AS I watch’d the ploughman ploughing,
Or the sower sowing in the fields—or the harvester harvesting,
I saw there too, O life and death, your analogies:
(Life, life is the tillage, and Death is the harvest according.)

It was kind of an interesting poem to read and try to analyze. I was able to compare it to my faith and belief because it could be with Jesus and how hard a life it was for him. Death is the consequence of working too hard, which basically means that everyone is going to end up dying, because everyone seems to work too hard at one time or another. We can take this the literal way too by saying that the ploughman in the fields is working extremely hard and is sowing in the fields, or harvesting, but he is seeing death whether he realizes it or not. Then he is using analogies to describe what is going on. Another explanation is that the sower, ploughman, and the harvester are God, and they sow the seeds of life, which is what the Bible is trying to say.

From the perspective of the common laborers, they are working their hardest to try and get their work done to do what is the best for themselves and get to heaven eventually. Self is also analyzed because of the life and death and how you give new life through the seeds that are sown, and thus giving new life to children.

This poem was weird because it was only like four lines, and we are supposed to get the meaning from the poem and write 325 words on it. That is something I found difficult because I for one could not get the meaning from the poem until we started discussing the meaning in class, and then I was able to actually figure it out, as I talked about it above. Therefore, this poem was difficult to decipher, as it was only four lines, and I didn't know how i was going to get a Christianity meaning from it.

Walt Whitman Reflection Blog

I really liked reading “Exelsior” because it showed self confidence throughout the entire poem, and did show modernism through its writing style and message. I found that Whitman was probably trying to get his readers’ attention by saying the regardless of what you are going through, if you keep trying, you’ll make it through and eventually succeed, if you just keep trying. I found that message quite interesting because I can apply that to my life and how I would like to live it, however, given the circumstances, I cannot exactly succeed in everything I do.

Trying to excel at everything is something I strive to do in track. Although I talk about track a lot, that is just because it is a major part of my life. Walt Whitman is talking about how he is the most just, gone the farthest, been the most cautious, most happiest, lavished all, firmest, proudest, bold and true, benevolent, projected beautiful words through the longest time, received the love of the most friends, possesses a perfect and enamored body, has the amplest thoughts, and who has made hymns fit for the whole earth. Those qualities right there show that this character, whether it be Walt Whitman or not, is extremely self confident as well as somewhat cocky, which can be seen as a good thing at times. The character just basically believes in himself and what he himself can do as an individual, and no one else matters. Although that does sound conceited, it is a true statement someone will live by, as showed here. Whitman knows exactly who he is, what he has accomplished, and he makes sure everyone knows it. I personally find that entertaining as well as refreshing that someone else has a similar mind and outlook to life and everything of that nature.

Self confidence is something I have struggled with throughout my high school career. I hope that by reading this poem and being able to take in its real message and all of that, I can try to work on my self confidence and be a better person, just by being confident. Although it will not be noticeable right away, I can use what Whitman has said to better myself and try to have a better attitude about life. Instead of a negative, I can’t do this attitude; I will instead have one that will make others around me more positive and wanting to change their outlook on things as well. However, that might not work either, but one can only hope.

I found that this poem was quite interesting to read, as well as thought provoking. I was able to think more about what Walt Whitman was trying to get across to his readers and how I in turn can apply that to my life and make myself have a more positive attitude. I liked Whitman’s writing style, and did find this an entertaining read. Plus, the message actually made sense to me and I was actually able to relate to what was going on and how the reader seems to be feeling. That is just my opinion on the poem, however, and thinks it would make a very inspirational song that if turned into a church hymn or something would be quite motivating. That just might have been Whitman’s goal all along by writing this poem: to get his readers motivated and inspired.

Journal 36: Favorite Food

Well, my favorite food in the entire world is chicken pot pie, homemade, no less. The only time I ever get homemade chicken pot pie is for my birthday, which my mom makes. The best part of the pie is when the dough is still partially gooey, and the vegetables are stuck in the dough. It is definitely delicious and even though it could be somewhat bad for you, I still enjoy it immensely. Because my mom makes it so well, I do not think her recipe can be replicated at all, just because the way she makes it is just delicious.


She starts out by making the dough underneath, which is just a simple dough with flour. Then, she puts the vegetables in and mixes everything all together with extra dough that she has. On top of the vegetables goes biscuits, that if cooked just right, are still slightly gooey, which is the best way to eat them. So, that is pretty much why chicken pot pie is my favorite meal to have in the entire world.


Along with chicken pot pie, I also like stuffed crust pizza. For whatever reason, that is the best pizza in the world and I could eat it every day of my life. The best part of course is the crust because it is cheese inside of doughy bread, tasting delicious. Also, meatlovers is the only kind of pizza I will actually enjoy when we have the option for pizza hut pizza. I do not really care for any other kind of pizza, just because it does not seem to have the same taste, well obviously because it is a different kind of pizza, but meatlovers is the only kind of pizza I do really enjoy. Pizza Hut is the only kind of pizza that our family buys just because no one else has good pizza in our opinion. Also, hand tossed pizza is also the only kind of crust we will get because thin crust just does not taste the same and the crust is just flat, like the name says.

Journal 35: To Be A Reporter

First off, I would just like to say that I would never be a reporter to begin with, just because I would not want to have to deal with any war whatsoever. However, if I had to be a reporter I think it would be quite an eye opening experience and I would most definitely be scared most of the time. Having to report on these men and the risks and sacrifices they are willing to do for their country would be interesting and dangerous to report. Being down in the trenches and right up with the action would give me a greater perspective as to what to write about. Many of the reporters are not actually down near the action and up and personal with the soldiers from what I understand of it. They are near safety and can get out of harms way whenever they see fit. Therefore, if I was down in the trenches with the other soldiers, I think it would be quite a challenging and interesting experience that I would not forget ever. Therefore, I would be able to write a very good article regarding what exactly I see and how I truly feel, which would be mostly scared.

I do admire those that go and fight for our country, and therefore would find it a challenge to actually try and interpret what the soldiers are going through and how exactly they themselves feel about fighting. I would hate to write on the topic of them fighting for the wrong reasons and have them mad at me for trying to interpret what exactly their means and reasons for fighting. I would try to get the reading audience to feel as if they were actually in the battlefield and were right up with the soldiers fighting. Therefore, I think it would be difficult to try and get the readers to feel exactly what the soldiers are feeling. But, I would try my hardest to get that feeling across.

Jack London — To Build a Fire

To Build a Fire was extremely long, and took quite a while to read and digest. However, I think that the story was most likely naturalism, as I mean, the guy is trying to survive in extreme temperatures while traveling along the Yukon, with temperatures near negative 75. That seems pretty extreme to me, and also insanity on the guy's part. Plus, he brings his dog with him, which could be a good idea, but if he had seen Empire Strikes Back when the taun taun dies, I think he would know better than to go out in those majorly extreme temperatures where his dog and himself could just drop dead at any time because of the cold. Which, the man almost does, and is ready to accept his death, after failing to make a fire, and thinking about killing his dog. Lucky for the dog, the man decides against killing his dog, and instead lays down in the snow, eventually drifting to sleep and dying in his sleep because of the cold. Naturalism is at work in this short (but not really) story, because the man is battling against the forces of nature, but also against himself and his dog; he is trying to decide whether he should just keep pushing on, or just lay down and pray for death, which is what ultimately happens. He tries using nature to help him survive, but he is just not prepared well enough to battle the forces of nature, and in the end, it gets the best of him, resulting in his death (London 603-614).



One thing I did like about this story was how London gave a great background to the story, all the way to the end of the man's life. We get an insight as to what exactly the man was going through, making it seem like we could have almost been there ourselves. However, I do not know if I would actually want to be placed in those conditions, because they seemed quite brutal. The realism in the story did help me to better understand it as well, since I knew what to be looking for, and how to analyze the story given the characteristics of the story. The hero is obviously the man, although it could be argued that nature could be the hero by the end of the story. Because, even though the man is trying to survive and be the "hero" against big bad nature, he does not end up succeeding, no matter how you look at it. I mean, sure, he died sleeping so he was at rest for some of it, but at the same time, I think that he could have prevented his death in the first place by not even going out when it was so cold, or even, being prepared when he went out. So, it is not surprising that the guy ended up dying, as he was unprepared for the harshness of nature, and everything that was about to happen to him, whether it was because of fate or not. Everything happens for a reason.



Works Cited:

London, Jack. "To Build a Fire." American Literature Textbook. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 603-614. Print.

Edwin Arlington Robinson – Richard Cory and Miniver Cheevy

Well, I liked Richard Cory to begin with, as I thought it was a good poem. But then, in the last line I find out that Richard Cory has shot himself in the head, for whatever reason. What this poem raises is the continuously puzzling question any suicide causes, which is WHY? I mean, Richard Cory had it all, he was rich and adored by everyone. They all thought he was everything, but then for whatever reason he decided to end his own life. The writing style was somewhat difficult to interpret about whether it was realism, naturalism, or regionalism. However, because it was dealing with life in general and ultimately death, I think that it is probably more of realism and naturalism combined. However, that would make sense given that naturalism is a sub category of realism. But, I found the poem good until the guy shot himself, and then it just became depressing and got me to think. Because, I think that under no circumstance should a person feel that their life is so miserable that they have to end it to make it better. And the thing is, Cory had it all, and yet he chose for whatever reason to commit suicide. I did like the lines however that said, "And he was always quietly arrayed, and he was always human when he talked; but still he fluttered pulses when he said, "Good Morning!" and he glittered when he walked" (Robinson 575). That explanation right there shows that there should be no reason for Richard Cory to be miserable, however there must have been something going on that Robinson does not go into, which makes me think as the reader that there was something else going on in his life that the rest of society did not know. Because of the way he was in being in the upper class and so well thought of, he could not lead on that he was leading a bad life, cause who would believe him? He had it all, so there should not be anything in the world that would come hard to him (Robinson 575).

Miniver Cheevy was another somewhat depressing poem. Because, it is talking about how unhappy Cheevy is that he was not born in medieval times. Cheevy is going on and on about how he wishes that he had not been born in the time that he was, because he is totally miserable and wants to be in another time. Unfortunately, he has no control over when he was born, so it is not like he can really do anything about it. I think that regionalism was probably the writing style used in this poem because, Cheevy wants to be somewhere else instead of living in the now. He is not happy with what he has, and thinks that in order to be happy he needs to be living in medieval times (Robinson 576).

Both poems illustrate being unhappy and miserable, which would give the readers something to relate to, because most of them were unhappy with their lives because of the war. Therefore, by being able to relate to the poems, it gave them something to blame their troubles onto instead of just themselves.

Works Cited:

Robinson, Edwin Arlington. "Miniver Cheevy" American Literature Textbook. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 576. Print.

Robinson, Edwin Arlington. "Richard Cory" American Literature Textbook. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 575. Print.

Paul Laurence Dunbar – Douglass and We Wear the Mask

Douglass was an interesting poem to try and understand, because I found it challenging to try and interpret all of the meanings from the poem. Although it was a shorter poem, the meaning of the poem itself was confusing to me. However, what I was able to gather from it is that there used to be somewhat "evil" days, and now that they are into those days then the people are going to have to try and get through those times. The second stanza says,

"Now, when the waves of swift dissension swarm,
And Honour, the strong pilot, lieth stark,
Oh, for thy voice high-sounding o'er the storm,
For thy strong arm to guide the shivering bark,
The blast-defying power of thy form,
To give us comfort through the lonely dark" (Dunbar 570).

From that stanza I got the feeling of romanticism because it just seems to have that sort of feeling to it. I have noticed that is a common theme throughout these last few stories and poems. I could not really tell who exactly the hero was, but I gathered it was probably the characters and how they are trying to rise above the evil. However, because romanticism is not one of the topics we can discuss, I think that this poem shows naturalism above all, because the people are trying to fight against an evil.

Everyone, whether they realize it or not, wears a mask. Superheros such as Batman, Green Lantern, and Darth Vader even, all wear masks, but for completely different reasons. Dunbar says in his poem that, "We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes, -This debt we pay to human guile; With torn and bleeding hearts we smile, And mouth with myriad subtleties" (Dunbar 571).

Romanticism is still displayed through this poem as well. I believe that these two poems were written at the beginning of the realism period, so realism was still a fairly new concept. However, this poem has a naturalism feel to it because Dunbar is talking about people and how they are hiding behind a mask, regardless of what is going on. The character in the story is hiding behind the mask so that people will not see their tears, or the real them. They will just know the person who wears the mask, and not the person the character actually wants them to know. Therefore, it is like the character is crying for help, because they are tired of acting like someone else, and want poeple to know the real them, not the person behind the mask.

Both of those poems show realism, but also naturalism because they deal with natural instances and occurances in life. Everyone has to deal with evils in their life, like Dunbar is talking about in the first poem, and then nearly everyone also wears a mask regardless of who they are, like in the second poem. So, people are able to relate to these poems because Dunbar seems to be able to get to his audience, and help them understand the meaning of his poems.

Works Cited:

Dunbar, Paul Laurence. "Douglass" American Literature Textbook. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 570. Print.

Dunbar, Paul Laurence. "We Wear the Mask" American Literature Textbook. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 571. Print.

Chief Joseph – I Will Fight No More Forever

Well, just by the author and then after reading, I can tell that this was written by an Indian. I do not know what exactly the Indians were fighting about, however I can assume that it was probably about land or property, and not just the fact that some Indian cheated on another Indian's wife. I would have to say that of the three categories, this short speech falls under being realism, and that would have to be it. I might be able to get naturalism into there as well, however, I believe that it is more realism. Just because, Chief Joseph is telling everyone he is done fighting and he is done with everyone else, so he is basically just giving up, which is never cool. Although, since I do not know the exact circumstances of why they started fighting, or how long the battle has been going on, I do not know which would be the correct response to this speech. Because for one, he kind of did need to give up, but at the same time, he should wait and try to win the battle, if possible. Which, that would be kind of hard with limited men and a low morale in the group. However, since Chief Joseph titled his speech, "I Will Fight No More Forever," I can assume that the war was going on for some time, because if he was saying he does not want to fight forever, then he and his men must have been fighting for quite some time then, although that is just an assumption I have made from the title given to the story.

Despite the fact that this speech was quite short, I do not blame Chief Joseph for the short speech, because for one he was tired, and second he probably was not really in the mood to give some wam bam amazing speech. One line that the chief said was, "Tell General Howard I know is heart. What he told me before, I have in my heart. I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is dead. Too Hul Hul Suit is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes and no. He who led on the young men is dead. It is cold and we have no blankets (Joseph 533). That passage right there shows the disparity of the men and how helpless and hopeless they feel. After reading that, I kind of thought about just you know, giving up. Because if it was so easy for Chief Joseph to just say he is giving up, then why can't I. Then I got to thinking about it, and the chief actually had a reason to be giving up, which is what I think he ultimately was trying to get across to his men and then later after he passed on, to his reading audience of today.

One thing I did notice was that he made the hero sound like the enemy, which does not make too much sense, but he gave them the credit for running his men down, many to death. That is just an observation I made while reading this short speech.

Works Cited:

Joseph, Chief. "I Will Fight No More Forever." American Literature Textbook. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 533. Print.

Edgar Lee Masters – Spoon River Anthology

While reading two of the poems in our book and then a couple online, I was struck at how similar the Canterbury Tales these poems seem to be. Although they are not identical to the Canterbury Tales, which is good otherwise that would be considered plagarism, they are still in a similar format to those stories and were actually fun to read. I had to read the first two in our book to get a better understanding as to what type of writing it was exactly, but eventually I was able to figure out that it was probably realism along with naturalism. The two I read, Lucinda Matlock and Fiddler Jones, were both actually fun to read. Lucinda Matlock was just telling the story of a woman and how she finds her husband, has twelve kids, loses eight of them, and then at the age of ninety-six, dies.

By showing the natural way of life in Lucinda Matlock, I was able to read a somewhat lightheartening poem about a woman and her life in a couple of stanzas. There was one line, however, that I found in that particular poem that I liked a lot. It was, "At ninety-six, I had lived enough, that is all, And passed to a sweet repose-What is this I hear of sorry and weariness, Anger discontent and drooping hopes? Degenerate sons and daughters, Life is too strong for you- It takes life to love Life" (Masters 516).

The last line was one of my favorites, because it was so thought provoking. She is saying that it takes your entire life to actually learn to love life for all that it is worth. Like right now, I cannot know exactly how to love life and what it takes for me to know everything there is to know about life. Life is too strong for us, like the poem states. This line goes on to contradict a couple of the other poems I have read which are talking about how life just does not seem to be worth it, so the characters end it, for whatever reason. Therefore, this poem was one that made me sit and think about its meaning for a while before writing in my blog.


Fiddler Jones was another lighthearted poem to read, as it seemed to have a good tone to it, along with its message. I was thinking of Little House on the Praire when I read this poem as well, and not just because it had to do with the fiddle playing. The people in the poem seemed to have almost no care in the world and just seem to take life as it comes at them, which is kind of cool in my opinion. I wish that I could be able to live life like that now. Unfortunatly, given the times, that is not exactly possible anymore. My favorite lines in this poem were, "And I never started to plow in my life That some one did not stop in the road And take me away to a dance or picnic. I ended up with forty acres; I ended up with a broken fiddle- And a broken laugh, and a thousand memories, And not a single regret" (Masters 517). I liked those lines so much just because even though they had work to do, the fiddlers would put their work aside for the pleasure of someone elses company, which I think is really cool, especially since they had no regrets about it later.


Works Cited:

Masters, Edgar Lee. "Lucinda Matlock." American Literature Textbook. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 516. Print.

Masters, Edgar Lee. "Fiddler Jones." American Literature Textbook. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 517. Print.

Mark Twain – Two Views of the River

Regionalism is what came to mind while reading this because Mark Twain is talking about the river and taking the reader away from their home and into the story about the river. Although everyone knows a lot about any river in general, Mark Twain goes on more about the river itself and how it seems to have a mind of its own, making it almost see like the river is the hero. Even though the river is not actually a living human being, Twain still writes as though it could possible have a mind of its own. Twain is quoted in the story saying, "Now when I had mastered the language of this water and had come to know every trifling feature that bordered the great river as familiarly as I knew the letters of the alphabet, I had made a valuable acquisition. But I had lost something, too. I had lost something which could never be restored to me while I lived. All the grace, the beauty, the poetry had gone out of the majestic river! I still keep in mind a certain wonderful sunset which I witnessed when steamboating was new to me" (Twain 504). Even though Twain has gained knowledge about the river, he also lost the natural feeling of it, which I find common after being around someone or something too long. I know that after a while, things seem to become routine, and not so fun anymore, as I have noticed with track. I have been running since sixth grade, and by now, the fun seems to be lost in the sport, because I do the same thing every single day. There is no variety to the workouts or the races or anything. Therefore, although I have gained more experience, I have lost what it feels like to try something new. But, do not get me wrong, each race is different, it is just that I know what to expect now, and therefore will not feel the thrill of starting something new. That is what I was able to gather from those couple of sentences by Mark Twain.

Another thing that Twain said that made me think just in general and furthered my point about nature eventually losing its charm what when he said, "I stood like one bewitched. I drank it in, in a speechless rapture. The world was new to me, and I had never seen anything like this at home. But as I have said, a day came when I began to cease from noting the glories and the charms which the moon and the sun and the twilight wrought upon the river's face; another day came when I ceased altogether to note them." "No, the romance and the beauty were all gone from the river. All the value any feature of it had for me now was the amount of usefulness it could furnish toward compassing the safe piloting of a steamboat" (Twain 505). Twain is feeling mixed emotions about the river, but still regards it as somewhat of an icon and idol, despite the fact that he is just now using it to get from point A to point B.

Works Cited:

Twain, Mark. "Two Views of the River" American Literature Textbook. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 504-505. Print.

Mark Twain – The Celebrated Jumping Frogs of Calaveras County

While reading this short story, I was not surprised to find that this writing style was quite similar to the way he wrote Huckleberry Finn. The dialect was somewhat difficult to understand, but gave a good tone to the story, as well as gave a good background for the reader to better understand what is going on. I found this short story fun to read as well, because Mark Twain is not talking about some kind of death or a morbid topic, because sometimes, people need to read something uplifting, like about frogs racing. Although somewhat peculiar, I found that it was interesting and fun to read, as opposed to reading Red Badge of Courage, and disliking it immensely.

Even though the topic of the short story was somewhat lighthearted, realism was still demonstrated throughout the story. Back in that time period, people were trying to make ends meet, and did not have many fancy things to help them be happy. Therefore, the characters in this story seemed to rely on frog racing for their form of enjoyment. Whatever floats their boat is how the saying goes. They had to make do with what they had, regardless of the disparity of their situation and conditions.

Having just come out from a war, many people had lost almost everything. Although this war was not as severe as World War II would eventually become, it was still a hard blow to the people of the United States. Mark Twain uses realism once again to take his readers away, therefore creating regionalism, and helping the readers to forget their own problems and become absorbed into someone else's problems or issues, regardless of how silly or unimportant it may seem (Twain).

One of the lines that I liked in this story was when Mark Twain says, " He ketched a frog one day, and took him home, and said he cal'klated to edercate him; and so he never done nothing for three months but set in his back yard and learn that frog to jump. And you bet you he did learn him, too. He'd give him a little punch behind, and the next minute you'd see that frog whirling in the air like a doughnut see him turn one summerset, or may be a couple, if he got a good start, and come down flat-footed and all right, like a cat. He got him up so in the matter of catching flies, and kept him in practice so constant, that he'd nail a fly every time as far as he could see him. Smiley said all a frog wanted was education, and he could do most any thing and I believe him" (Twain 500-501).

That short passage illustrates and gives a background about the initial frog racing and training, which is something most people do not need knowledge about, but gave the readers something unique to read. Therefore, Twain just used his resources and unique, but fascinating imagination, and created a story that is still being read today, like many of his stories.

Works Cited:

Twain, Mark. "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" American Literature Textbook. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 498-502. Print.

Stephen Crane – The Red Badge of Courage

The Red Badge of Courage was quite the descriptive excerpt. Crane was extremely forward and bold about his emotions and the way he felt about the war, even in a four paragraph passage. From those four paragraphs I gathered that Crane was angry, and not only at others, but at himself as well. I got the impression that this story was probably written more for the men of the generation, as opposed to the women like Kate Chopin wrote. Even from such a short little blurb, Crane definitely got his point across, and after I was done reading it, I had to stop and think about what Stephen really meant. Because, not only is Crane mad at the men he is fighting, but also at himself, which is what I was trying to figure out. Why? Then, I figured it out, or so I think. The character in the story is mad because he is having to fight the men, which is a given, but the character is being pushed and pulled every which way fighting his morals between which is right, and which is wrong. He does not know what the right thing to do is. For one, the men he is supposed to be shooting at are the "bad guys" and are trying to kill him. But at the same time, most people grow up learning that shooting and violence are not the answer, and will only cause pain, grief, and suffering. Crane says, "Buried in the smoke of many rifles his anger was directed not so much against the men whom he knew were rushing toward him as against the swirling battle phantoms which were choking him, stuffing their smoke robes down his parched throat" (Crane 493). That sentence can be taken two different ways, figuratively, or literally. The literal meaning is somewhat easy to understand. Because, here is this guy on the battlefield and is surrounded by death, and all the smoke from the fires and guns could be getting stuck in his throat and lungs. That is the literal meaning. Figuratively, the meaning is quite different. When reading that sentence, I thought of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings in a sort of mix matched deathly hallows and land of the dead from Lord of the Rings. The character is having to face death, and when Crane mentions the phantoms, I automatically thought of dead green ghosts in a graveyard with the dark mark up in the sky. The guy has killed so many people, that all of those phantoms are coming back to haunt him, and he cannot quite muster what exactly he has done, so he is mad at himself. Much like Voldemort's wand showing the images of who he killed with his wand. Although Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and all that came much later, that is what came to mind while reading this short four paragraph story. I thought of fictional instances, and used them to try and explain what exactly I was thinking. Now, whether it worked or not, I have no idea.

Works Cited:

Crane, Stephen. "from The Red Badge of Courage." American Literature Textbook. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 493. Print.

Kate Chopin — The Awakening and The Story of an Hour

While reading the excerpt from "The Awakening," I was struck at how similar the writing seemed to be to romanticism, instead of realism. I mean, I could tell the author was using some naturalism as well as realism, because the character was acting quite human. It was just that the excerpt had an Edgar Allan Poe feel to it, instead of a typical realism style. What I mean to provide for an example is when Kate Chopin says, "It was then past midnight. The cottages were all dark. A single faint light gleamed out from the hallway of the house. There was no sound abroad except the hooting of an old owl in the top of a water-oak, and the everlasting voice of the sea, that was not uplifted at that soft hour. It broke like a mournful lullaby upon the night" (Chopin 491). That short passage right there shows that although romanticism is no longer being used as a writing style, the way of writing occasionally pops up again every once in a while, as demonstrated above. Chopin is giving the reader insight through that very short passage, and helps set the tone for the rest of the short little story. I could tell after reading that that what I was about to read was not going to be all that pleasant, but instead sad and dreary. Come to find out, the lady is crying her heart out because of her marriage, and needs to cry by herself. I think that Chopin wrote this partially so that she would be able to get the females of the reading population, and get them to be able to sympathize with the woman, for whatever her reasons for crying might be.

I think Kate Chopin is an author of the realism time period that wanted the sympathy of the women, so she wrote about issues that woman at that time faced a lot, mainly death. In The Story of an Hour, the woman's husband has died, and she must face the grief and pain of not having a husband anymore. Although that displays realism, it more strongly demonstrates naturalism, because death is something natural in the world, same as crying. It is human nature to cry when we are feeling insecure, or upset, or just feel as if there is no other way to express our emotions. Although women tend to cry more often then men, I feel that Chopin was trying to get more of her women readers as opposed to the men. Especially because, many of the women Chopin was trying to get to read her stories had probably lost their husband, or someone close to them, in the war, therefore, they need someone or something to relate to. Here comes Chopin with her sad stories of crying and loss, and the women are happy because they finally have something to be able to relate to.

Although both of these two stories by Chopin were sad and somewhat depressing, they were still interesting to analyze to try and find out why the stories were written, and what message Kate Chopin was trying to get across.

Works Cited:

Chopin, Kate. "from The Awakening." American Literature Textbook. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 491. Print.

Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." American Literature Textbook. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 553-555. Print.

Willa Cather – O Pioneers! and A Wagner Matinée

I personally enjoyed reading the excerpt from O Pioneers! While reading the short little part, I was struck at how similar The Grapes of Wrath was to O Pioneers. The author talked of the hardships and what exactly the pioneers went through during that time. I got to thinking about how history just tends to repeat itself over and over again. The conditions upon which those pioneers lived under had not changed, even after several years of learning to adapt. The pioneers were still just getting by.

Realism was, of course, displayed in this excerpt, as well as regionalism. This excerpt takes the reader away from the comfort of their home and puts them instead into a situation that they would have most likely not have ever experienced through the course of their normal, everyday life. The reader is taken to a place where men and women are just barely getting by, the food supply is scarce, and the conditions upon which they live under are gross and dirty. One point I found interesting as well as kind of sad is when Cather says, "The settlers sat about on the wooden sidewalks in the little town and told each other that the country was never meant for men to live in; the thing to do was to get back to Iowa, to Illinois, to any place that had been proved habitable (Cather 489). That sentence right there shows the disparity with the men, and how they are truly feeling, providing the sense of realism, as well as regionalism.

A Wagner Matinée was another interesting story to read. It took me a while to read it, but I actually enjoyed this one as well. I especially like how Cather used the music references to tell of what music's effect had on each person, because that is almost exactly what I do. When I listen to music, usually from movies or classical, I tend to listen for the story that goes along with the music, which is what Aunt Georgiana seemed to be doing, which I thought was neat, as well as a good insight to what Aunt Georgiana was going through. She had not listened to music in quite some time, and yet she goes and listens to this orchestra, and seems to be left speechless. I personally thought that Cather did a good job with conveying the emotions and Aunt Georgiana's story through music and words.

Overall, both stories conveyed realism and regionalism, because the reader was taken away from the comfort of their own imagination and taken to a place far different than what they are used to. In the excerpt from O Pioneers, we were told about the different experiences that occur for actual pioneers, and how they try to survive. Then, in A Wagner Matinée, music was what took the reader away and got them to start thinking outside the box, as cliched as that statement may be. Both of the stories were interesting and definitely made the reader think afterwards.

Works Cited:

Cather, Willa. "from O Pioneers!" American Literature Textbook. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 489. Print.

Cather, Willa. "A Wagner Matinée." American Literature Textbook. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 521-526. Print.

Robert E. Lee – Letter to his Family

"How his spirit would be grieved could he see the wreck of his mighty labors! I will not, however, permit myself to believe, until all ground of hope is gone, that the fruit of his noble deeds will be destroyed, and that his precious advice and virtuous example will so soon be forgotten by his countrymen. As far as I can judge by the papers, we are between a state of anarchy and civil war. May God avert both of these evils from us! I fear that mankind will not for years be sufficiently Christianized to bear the absence of restraint and force. I see that four states have declared themselves out of the Union; four more will apparently follow their example. Then, if the border states are brought into the gulf of revolution, one half of the country will be arrayed against the other. I must try and be patient and await the end, for I can do nothing to hasten or retard it" (Lee).

"A Union that can only be maintained by swords and bayonets, and in which strife and civil war are to take the place of brotherly love and kindness, has no charm for me. I shall mourn for my country and for the welfare and progress of mankind. If the Union is dissolved, and the government disrupted, I shall return to my native state and share the miseries of my people; and, save in defense, will draw my sword on none" (Lee).

Lee is writing to his son either during the Civil War and is talking of the Union and their upcoming victory, or so he hopes. Lee is telling his son of what is going on with him and in the first excerpt Lee tells his son that he enjoyed reading a book that his son had sent him and by using examples and instances in the novel, he is able to give me an insight and idea as to how he feels about specific occurrences that happened in the book and how he can relate them to his own life and what he is currently experiencing in the war. Which, although Lee is not giving a play by play on the events happening in the war, I am still getting an idea as to what is going on, as I should, and he tells the readers, and more specifically his son, about his feelings toward the North and South. That demonstrates realism I believe, as well as regionalism throughout this letter. Just because, Lee is trying to tell his son of what exactly he has going on with him where he is at, and possibly get his son to better understand how his old man is doing. That way his family, and more specifically his son feel more involved with the man of the house and how exactly the war is affecting not only Lee himself, but the others around him (Lee). That is just my opinion on it, however. Lee is using realism with a sub writing style of naturalism to tell his family of his difficult and interesting experiences.

Works Cited:

Lee, Robert E. "Letter to His Son." American Literature Textbook. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 384-385. Print.

Sojourner Truth – And Ain‘t I a Woman?

And ain't I a woman? Look at me, look at my arm! I have plowed and planted and gathered into barns and no man could head me. . . And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man--when I could get to it--and bear the lash as well and ain't I a woman? I have born 13 children and seen most all sold into slavery and when I cried out a mother's grief none but Jesus heard me. . .and ain't I a woman? (Truth).

This section of Sojourner Truth's speech was touching to me and also demonstrated realism. Truth is talking about how she can work just as hard as a man, and if not harder, but she is still continuing to be overlooked regardless. Truth is giving real life examples to prove her points and show the readers what exactly her life was like as a slave.

Given the time period, it is understandable as to why she would write about slavery. Truth grew up in slavery, so she would have plenty to write about. Also, I can understand that Sojourner would have a lot of emotions and feelings towards slavery because she has spent a long time being a slave, but then went on to help organize the Underground Railroad. By doing that, she was able to help harbor her emotions toward slavery and the cruelty that was bestowed on her and the rest of the slaves. She did not choose to be put into slavery, it was something she was basically born into, so she ended up retaliating by writing and organizing the Underground Railroad to help with her feelings.

She demonstrates realism through her writing so that the reader can get a better understanding as to what exactly Truth was going through and why life was so difficult for her. For starters, she is a woman, which they did not have life that good to begin with. Then, add on top of that that she is a slave, and things just are not looking up for her anytime soon.

The one thing I found interesting in her poem/speech is when she said that she was born into a family of thirteen kids. Life must have been difficult for her because she had to actually do something to make a name for herself, and then she went and got sold into slavery at the age of nine, so it is not like she was able to actually do anything before she was sold into slavery (Women in History). That just goes to further prove my hypothesis that she helped start the Underground Railroad to make a name for herself. Which, she did, as she is one of the most well known women in history.

In addition to being a big part of the Underground Railroad movement and helping to abolish slavery, she did write a very moving speech which has been adapted into a poem and read throughout the nation. I actually liked the speech, although I thought I would not. She wrote and conveyed her feelings very well and I was able to understand how angry she was.


Works Cited:

Truth, Sojourner. "Ain't I A Woman." Sojourner Truth. 14 July 1998. Web. 8 Feb. 2011. .

Women in History. Sojourner Truth biography. Feb. 8 11 . Lakewood Public Library. Date accessed 2/8/2011 . .

Anonymous – Swing Low Sweet Chariot, Go Down, Moses, & Keep Your Hand on the Plow

Swing low, sweet chariot,
Comin' for to carry me home!

I looked over Jordan and what did I see,
Comin' for to carry me home!
A band of angels comin' after me,
Comin' for to carry me home!

Swing low, sweet chariot,
Comin' for to carry me home!

If you get there before I do,
Comin' for to carry me home,
Jess tell my friends that I'm acomin' too,
Comin' for to carry me home.

Swing low, sweet chariot,
Comin' for to carry me home!

I'm sometimes up and sometimes down,
Comin' for to carry me home,
But still my soul feels heavenly bound
Comin' for to carry me home! (Sound).

That poem/song has become quite well known, and is one of my favorites. Swing low sweet chariot uses regionalism throughout because this was written during the time when the Underground Railroad was around. It is fitting with almost any time period, however, because the poem is telling of how someone just wants to get home, and they are going to be getting in the chariot to help get them home. I think that is part of the reason why this song was so popular, especially during the times where people were unhappy and just wanted to be home.


Verse 1
When Israel was in Egypt's land
Let my people go
Oppressed so hard they could not stand
Let my people go

Chorus
Go down (go down)
Moses (do down Moses)
Way down in Egypt's land
Tell old, Pharoh
Let my people go!

Verse 2
Thus saith the Lord, bold Moses said
Let my people go
If not, I'll smite your first born dead
Let my people go

(repeat chorus)

Verse 3
No more shall they in bondage toil
Let my people go
Let them come out with Egypt's spoil
Let my people go (Go Down Moses Lyrics).

This song also has to do with regionalism, because I can tell by the lyrics that this song was written by an African American. He or she was probably an escaped or free slave and was mad just like all the other slaves that they had not been set free yet. Therefore, he or she wrote a song regarding their feelings and that they should be free, just like everyone else. These two songs so far have illustrated the African Americans' feelings regarding slavery and that they are just like everyone else and want to just be at home.

Keep Your Hands On The Plow was an interesting song to read. The lyrics had to deal with slaves working out in the field, and despite everything that was going on, they had to stay working. The author of the song used biblical references throughout the story, however, I picked up on the fact that the author was actually talking about people he or she knew and his or her experiences of working as a slave (Keep Your Hands On The Plow Lyrics).

All three of these songs were quite interesting in the fact that they all had the common theme of slavery. However, that is quite common for that time period, I believe, because slavery was the big issue back then. So, people were writing songs about it and trying to get rid of it. They used the songs to make themselves feel better and get through the tough times, which makes sense.

Works Cited:

"Go Down Moses Lyrics." Music-Lyrics-Gospel. RecordFly LLC. Web. 6 Feb. 2011. http://www.music-lyrics-gospel.com/gospel_music_lyrics/go_down_moses_586.asp.

"Keep Your Hands On The Plow Lyrics." GospelSongLyrics.org. 2006. Web. 6 Feb. 2011. .

Sound, Owen. "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." Owen Sound's Black History. Web. 6 Feb. 2011. .