Crucible Post One

               At the start of the novel the power in Salem rests with the minister, Parris.  In puritan times the Church was the supreme power.  the church also was adept at the wielding the great weapon of the fear of man. The Church had the supreme authority to grant and or deny one salvation - quite a power indeed.  Back to the matter at hand, the town of Salem.  Parris minister of Salem,  wields power of the people of Salem,  they look to him for advice and prayer,which may not resemble our idea of power but in this time period, people coming to you and standing behind you is quite important.  people look to him, we see this in action when Tom Putnam asks a favour of Parris, "They're thirsting for your word, Mister! Surely you'll pray with them."  In this excerpt we see the comfort the people of Salem drive from their minister.  Another person who wields power in this town is John Proctor.  A natural leader people flock to John Proctor for he is one that secretes security and leadership, he walks around, appearing to the village as one with a self assured air.  For those who are not sure of much in their lives, they cling to him, this man who seems to know what is right and what is what in this troublesome time.  This gives John Proctor power of the people of Salem as well.  Alas as the act comes to a close it is neither man who holds the power in Salem.  In this small town power is people standing behind you, spreading your word, as one of my classmates said, 'Abigail is the puppet master of  these girls' In Salem power is that he who holds the power is the one whose long fingers manipulate the strings.  At the end of Act one the power rests with the girls.  It is the girls whom all eyes are trained on,  their ears soaking up the tales that spill forth effortlessly from there lips like parched sponges.  In haste to be at the center to create a name for themselves, to in turn wield the power (for it is my belief to these men 'do good' is truly at the bottom of the list) the men drink up their lies as one would a summer punch.  Now to whom do the men turn to for answers?  Who are they begging, relying on for information? The women of Salem.  These girls, the ones pointing the fingers and calling names are the ones twitching the strings in Salem.  Wether the men are aware of it or not, the power has indeed shifted.  The women are calling the shots, in this strict male dominated society the women find they are not so powerless anymore.  It is remarkable what a few haste words and pointed fingers can do to a town that is broiling in sin, and looking for someone to blame.  The women of Salem are powerful indeed.

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God Follow Up Post

Today's world differs greatly from the days of the seventeen hundreds when Jonathan Edwards gave his earth shattering sermon.  The world is a home to many different religions, not all of them believing in hell.  I still believe this speech would have the power to start a world wide controversy if it had been given for the first time today.  I imagine many would think it preposterous nothing but slander and empty words while another vast majority would find it standing room only come next Sunday.  This sermon has the power to shake the world and still would today,  this sermon spooked me and i am far from a highly religious puritan.  After all who wouldn't be spooked by someone telling you point blank that god is waiting to kill you he detests you and might kill you at any moment and send you to hell, sorry but that's the way it is.   I, personally would be pretty freaked out.  After all one cant help think maybe hes right, maybe i am going to hell.  No matter your religious affiliation this sermon is powerful enough to make one think, if not place that small seed of doubt and fear in your mind.

"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" Post

       In the mid Seventeen hundreds Jonathan Edwards struck the fear of god into New England.  Nothing scares a good  puritan more than the threat of stripping them of their salvation.  Ignorance is bliss, and to Jonathan Edwards ignorance  is the belief that denying eternal salvation is Gods last resort.  Edward argues that God would not 'loose any sleep at night' over casting thou into hell.  if someone were to ask you for a dollar (the dollar in this scenario representing eternal salvation) you would weigh your decision on how close you are to this person, do they deserve this dollar or have they simply not expressed dire will to please you and work for the dollar.  Either way the decision is not one that you will ponder for weeks after.  Edwards proposes that this is the same for how God feels regarding the hurtling of sinners into eternal damnation.


       Italy read open mouthed as the terrors of hell, spelled out like never before, poured from Dante Aleghiri’s  Inferno in the fourteenth centenary.  I imagine their terror was akin to that felt by the colonists when Jonathon Edward’s warned New England of the wrath of an angry God.  Dante tells us of rivers of boiling blood, those who were not baptized in life now wander aimlessly through Limbo in death.  Those who partook in lust in life are forever joined with another,  and those who threw away ‘
God’s gift of life’ reside as harpies in the forest of suicides.  I presume that Jonathon’s speech run parallel to the words of Dante. I believe what had the colonist scrambling for salvation was Jonathans’ descriptions of hell.
        

Descripitive Post

The only constant in the ocean is blackness, in depths such as these.  Water so frigid you can feel it seeping into your pores covering your bones in a layer of fine frost. if you were to walk these wooden halls broken down and weathered by the water they would surely tell you a fine story.  The blackness would be infinite your hands in front of your face lost in the inky depths.  Numb fingers grasp the solid tube of a flash light illuminating a single path in the water.  The water seems to be in a competition with northern Russia for the coldest temperature.   The cold takes away your breath the knives of winter embedding in your appendages.  Your pulse fills you, a back beat of life, you feel in in the tips of your slow moving fingers spurned by the water pressure. the flash light illuminates the murky water, leaving shadows spilling forth from the darkness threatening to swallow you.  The silt swirls in the water as your hands grasp the handle of an old mirror, its cold surface slick with algae.  The algae clings to the mirror soft and slimy reminding one of days spent in the community lake that was warmed only by the summer sun.  Theres no sound this far down, you can however hear the silence louder, than any scream, as you frozenly move through the wreaked ship.  the wood is caked with algea coral growing around its edges adding  splash of colour to the desolate ship when your flashlight happens apon it.  Your roaming fingers lock around a small cold object buried beneath the fine silt.  Your fingers slide over the slick surface,the slime of the algae coating your pulsing finger tips your hindered eyes making out a weak discription before the flash light flickers and dies the frigid darkness blanketing you once more.

Expectations in Honors American Literature

The expectation in Honors American Literature is that one puts forth ones best effort.

            In any class staying organized is crucial.  The same goes for Honors Am. Lit.  It would not do to always be losing ones papers.  Again, here the key to staying organized is having the will to be organized.  Organization, like everything else in life, takes effort, binders do not organize themselves.  This will ensure that assignments, homework, and projects are turned in on their respective due dates.  If one is unorganized and missing assignments and project they cannot hope to succeed in this class, or any other for that matter.  If one has the will to turn in papers and be organized then it is certainly an attainable goal.  It’s all about having the will to do it.

             Interaction with the world around oneself is key to not only survival but is also a key part in succeeding in honors American literature.  Engaging with your class and teacher is prudent to thrive in this class.  Put oneself out there and talk with the class if one puts all there effort into connecting with the teacher and class they will have an easier time understanding the subject criteria and the homework.  If there is something one does not understand in this class it would be prudent to put forth the time and effort into contacting the teacher and or a fellow classmate.  Excuses have no place in honors American literature.  They also should prove irrelevant for if you put forth a hundred percent in this class, for one will have no need for excuses.  Connection to your teacher and class are simple with a little effort on the part of oneself.

            Perhaps the most import use of ones effort in this class is the effort put into ones writing.   What oneself writes is going to define them, it’s a specific standard set to oneself that one must thrive to not only live up to, but improve.  The only way to improve ones writing is wanting to improve it.  After all one can only go forward from this point on.  This class is a chance to vastly improve ones skills in literature and reading.  Seize it.  If one wishes to be better one must make the effort.  In this class one is expected to put forth a hundred percent, to want to excel, and that is certainly achievable with some effort.  They say all someone can ask from oneself is their best effort.  This class deserves and expects nothing less.  If one puts forth the effort one can reach for the stars, or at least a fantastic paper in American literature. 

            

About ME

           How do u start a blog about oneself? its not a bad idea, a nice place to keep track of all my good qualities i suppose .  I suppose I'll start at the beginning.   My parents named me Mary because they have no imaginations clearly, my birthday is February 27 and I'm fifteen.  For family i have a mom and no siblings and a dad and a step mom.  i found out around age six that contrary to Cinderella not all step mothers are rich and evil. ( and I'm still suspicious of that whole fairy godmother one too..)   Who would've thought.  i may not have siblings but i have three fabulous cousins. Rachel is the oldest she is sweet and smart and goes to U of M. Sarah the nest oldest is a year above moi in school and is hilarious. and loud.  Haley the baby is a year behind me in school and five inches taller. she goes to ligget and is super smart. i love them all including their mom and dad, my aunt Katy and uncle Tim.

           As for me, I'm a sophomore which i am learning has three o's not two. Spelling never was my strong suit.  i love to read, mostly the fantasy genre although one of my all time favorite writers, Jodi Picoult is a fiction writer.  Handle with Care and Sing You Home are probably my two favorites so far.  i love hp and well most books i read.  I play flute in the school band and i love it playing its.. it's amazing i actually prefer playing sad songs were you can pour your emotion into the music. i truly love music in any form, preferably on my flute or ipod.  Those who know me know i almost constantly have headphones in one ear.  Music expresses that which we cannot say or when we don't know how odds are someone has in a song.  Music keeps me sane.  

              I love doing that which lets me be creative. Another thing i love to do is cook.  My dad and i have been making messes in the kitchen together ever since it was the two of us in our house on Maryland (great name that)  We would have P parties and everything we ate that night would start with the letter p.  Not surprisingly often it was homemade pizza. Once my father tossed it into a mini beach scene we had set up from his friends cottage we would visit-not our best pizza.  My dad and i quickly learned we can not toss pizza in the air and expect to catch it anymore than Paula dean is about to switch to margarine. Another thing about my dads side of the family: the forget nothing.  I'm not kidding you,  one year say twenty five years ago (and this is one of there really recent memories) they had a 'Christmas brunch faux pax' so to speak.  Every year we have a fabulous brunch (gotta love red eyed gravy)  but this particular year Christmas landed on a sunday so they figured no one would show.  Well everyone showed up hungry for a brunch and there were five boxes of krispy cremes from the corner store. my grandmother still shudders at the memory.  Expressing my self has always been important to me and cooking helps me do that.  

             Pens. I love pens. I almost always have a pen in my pocket and a doodle on  my hand.  I have recently started to write.  i find that writing short stories helps me sort out my thoughts the same way keeping a journal helps others.    I could never keep a journal, for a number of reasons.  First and foremost i would  reread it and think 'this sounded much more eloquent in my head.' or i look back and find my self thinking 'i want to read about your problems!' and then i realize i wrote them and perhaps i have some mental problems that should be addressed.  often i write sad stories which I'm sure makes it sound like I'm sad 24/7 when simply its the most soul searching material to write.  I enjoy drawing, thought i was fair then i met a girl named Malvina (the girl has some serious talent) and was blown away by her artwork, i put myself down a few categories but I'm more of a writer anyhow.  When you write you get to create a world it's amazing. (and then you get writers block and want to hurl your world down the stairs)

            I hope that gave you a little insight into me and hopefully you are not now terrified of me. I could get used to this blogging thing. good night people of the world <3