***Analysis of "Young Goodman Brown"

In class on Tuesday we analysised the Nathaniel Hawthorne short story "Young Goodman Brown."  The story is set in the Puritan time period and in Salem Village.  The story is a romantic piece and focuses on the evil of nature and the supernatural.  "Young Goodman Brown" revolves around Goodman Brown's meeting with the devil in the forest and his realization of the evil around him.

There are many different symbols in the short story that should be anaylized.  First is the staff.  The staff is shaped like a serpent which comes from the biblical symbol of the snake as an evil figure.  The the bible, the serpent tempts Eve in the garden of Eden which in turns causes her to bite into the forbidden fruit.  The devil tells Goodman Brown to take the staff and tempts him just as the serpent tempted Eve.  The staff helps clear up the fact that the old man in the forest has an evil agenda, and is in fact the devil.

Another symbol is Faith's pink ribbons.  These ribbons represent innocence and purity.  The color itself is a symbol of innocence and the ribbons are supposed to represent a innocence and youth.  Hawthorne mentions the ribbons in the beginning of the story many times to make sure the reader ties them with Faith and lets the reader know Faith is meant to be nd innocent and pure character.  The ribbons are also present in the forest when Goodman Brown is thinking about the goodness of the people around him and if he can trust them.  When Faith reappears after the forest gathering, she is wearing the ribbons.  This in turn makes Goodman Brown quesion even more about the goodness and purity of the people in his village.

Also the forest is another symbol.  In the romantic period nature was considered evil and dark.  If a character wondered into the forest at night, the reader should be expecting something awful and evil to e happening.  When Goodman Brown wonders into the forest at night, the reader should atomatically assume something evil and dark is about to take place.  The forest also represents sin and the forest holds all of the sin in the story.  For one the devil lurks in the forest and Goodman Brown meets him there.  Also the meeting was held in the forest. 

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Reflection Over "A Rose for Emily"

In the story, "A Rose for Emily," by William Faulkner, Emily kills her friend Homer Baron.  She then sets him in a bed and lays next to his decaying body.  This story very much disturbs me.  I feel like Emily had other choices then to kill the Homer.  Although she may have been lonely, I do not think murder is ever the right choice.

Some people may argue that Emily kills Homer because she is lonely.  Others argue Emily kills Homer because he is gay and she does not ever want to let him go.  Maybe she thinks if she can not have Homer nobody can. I think Emily does kill Homer because she is lonely and she does not want to be alone.

Then there is the question of the butler Tobe.  Tobe is a mysterious character.  Not only does he know what is going on in Emily's household, but he stays there.  I believe Tobe helped Emily carry Homer up to the bed to kill him or after she killed him.  Tobe also runs away when the townspeople show up for Emily's funeral, so he has to know what Emily did is wrong. 

**The Most Dangerous Game

"The Most Dangerous Game" has two key characters.  Rainsford, the protagonist, and General Zaroff, the antagonist.  There are some similarities between the two characters, but there are many more differences.  First off, the two characters are similar because they are both hunters. Rainsford is the best there is and Zaroff has read Rainsford's book and saw he is the best there is.  Also Rainsford and Zaroff are similar because they are both competitive.  Rainsford wants to beat Zaroff at his game while Zaroff tries competing with every one who ends up on the island.  

Some differences are what Rainsford and Zaroff hunt.  Rainsford sticks to the traditional wild animals while Zaroff has become bored with that and now hunts humans.  Also Rainsford does not believe in hunting the human race while Zaroff does not see anything wrong with that.  He needs a challenge from boring wild animals to more skilled and interesting humans.

I think the reader has to be aware of the many mentions of darkness.  There is a constant shadow that surrounds Ship-Trap Island.  The author also mentions the water to be "velvety, moist and black" on a moonless night.  This means when Rainsford has to find his way to the island after falling off the boat he has to do it in the dark.    

**Favorite Book

My favorite book is the novel A Million Little Pieces by James Frey.  Although the book is surrounded by lots of controversy, I think Frey did a great job writing about the experience of being in a rehab center and what it is like to go through that process.  The detail he adds is incredible.  The seen when he has a root canal will forever be ingrained in my mind.

Although Frey fictionalized most of the book, he still does an excellent job telling the story and letting his imagination run.  I believe he gives an accurate description of a rehab center and how difficult it would be to go through that experience.  

whateva i wanna blog 'bout...

Well since I'm not really sure what I want to blog about I'm just going to ramble.  It's raining really nicely right now.  My room is actually at a decent temperature now that it is cool outside.  I hate how they turn on the heat so early.  I mean really it's not that cold out yet.  I heard its supposed to snow on Wednesday and I'm kind of excited.  I do really love snow and especially Christmas!! I'm trying to finish the last of the English paper that's due for tomorrow and it's not really going to well.  Long papers are not really my thing.

I love Halloween and fall.  I'm really glad it is that time of year again.  Although I do not like the cold all that much I do really like the snow and just the feeling of Christmas time. Christmas is quickly approaching and I'm wayyyyyy excited to decorate and such for that.

I hate going out into the freezing rain.  It's too cold and it just puts me in quite the "depressed" mood. I suck at writing papers.  I'm really excited were watching Buffy in class on Thursday.  That makes me really excited!! Buffy brings me back to like fourth grade I think.  Also I like the Halloween window stickers I have on my window right now.  They put me in a festive mood. I can not wait to decorate/carve pumpkins this week!!!! That is my favorite part of Halloween!!!

**Three Ideas :)

Okay to start out this lovely blog I am not really sure what I am really doing so I will just do my best!!

Topic #1: Animal Cruelty

Question #1: What areas of the nation is it the worst?

Question #2: What animals are treated the worst?

Question #2: What kind of "acts" are done to the animals?

Topic #2: Polygamy

Question #1: Where in the world is polygamy legal?

Question #2: How many people in the United States partake in polygamy?

Question #3: Can a polygamist be both genders?

Topic #3: Mandatory Organ Donation

Question #1: At what age can you donate organs?

Question #2: What organs are most frequently needed?

Question #3: At what age are you too old to donate?

:)

*ClAsS pErIoD rEfLeCtIoN*

The class period on Tuesday was quite interesting.  To start off, I did kind of like the students teaching the lessons. It was different and a different way to learn.  Although the "teachers" were kind of new to the teaching, it was an exciting experience. The handouts were pretty helpful too. I did not really like the answering of the questions on the handouts though. I thought the teaching was not perfect so the answering questions in class was not my favorite.

I did like the discussion we had towards the end of the class period.  I liked brainstorming ideas together as a class.  Also I liked how everyone had to say an idea because then we got to discuss the ideas. I also liked how opinionated some people got. I do not really like this paper brainstorming thing we have to do though. I think it's very hard to pick a topic and I'm still not sure what to write about. I've been thinking the whole night and still am having a difficult time thinking of something to write about!