Part One-Thinking and Writing
Creative Writing-For the creative writing essay, we had to write about an experience that we had whatever it may be. It could be an adventurous story or a sad story. I wrote about the experience I had leading up to the death of my grandfather. The main idea of the writing was to basically explain how I made it through this period of sadness in my life. I was learning in this piece of writing, how to use the "Brushstrokes" in my writing. "Brushstrokes" are tools used to help you write better using vivid adjectives and using action verbs that create a visual picture in your mind.
Comparison Essay-In this essay we had to compare a character in The Crucible. I compared Elizabeth Proctor to a pineapple. In this essay, I was trying to figure out how to compare and contrast different elements. The main idea of this piece of writing was to explain how Elizabeth and the pineapple related to one another. They are alike because they both are unattractive on the outside, but on the inside they are totally different.
Nature Essay-For this piece of writing, we had to compare our experience of nature with Emerson and Thoreau. I was trying to figure out how transcendentalism played into a human's everyday life. The main idea of the writing was to compare our nature experience with transcendentalism.I used quotes to describe Emerson and Thoreau's aspect of nature and transcendentalism. I explained how this played into my experience with nature and how it made me think better of God's creation.
Scarlet Letter Essay-In this essay, I explained how the letter "A" changed throughout The Scarlet Letter. I was trying to figure out how Hester changed, and because of her changing, how the "A" made a complete transformation. This was the main idea of my Scarlet Letter essay.
Connections Between Each Essay-There is really no connections for me when I am writing. Basically, when I am at the computer I just start typing from my mind. My words and phrases just come together when I am writing.
Part Two-Process of Revision
Scarlet Letter-In this essay I made many revisions. Most of my problem in this essay was coming up with a thesis statement. Then I had to learn how to relate my ideas to the thesis statement. Coming up with a conclusion paragraph was also difficult for me to do. I had to learn how to sum everything up in the last paragraph of my writing. Another comment that was made was that I had too much summary, and that I needed to have more descriptiveness and more details.
Nature Essay-In this piece of writing, I had a lot more revisions than my last essay. I was told that I needed to use more specific sensory details. I was also asked to use less of the being verbs such as: am, were, was be, being, been, is, and are. I needed more details about my nature experience and show how I felt not tell how I felt.
Part Three-Learning From Your Classmates
First Thing To Remember-Always use lots of sensory details to help your readers understand what you are trying to describe in your piece of writing.
Second Thing To Remember-Learn how to come up with a good thesis statement and relate your ideas to the statement that you have made.
Third Thing To Remember-Use less of the being verbs. It will make your piece of writing sound a whole lot better without all of the repetition of the verbs.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Nature
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." This quote is from Thoreau's book Life in the Woods. These very words were uttered from his lips to explain why he ventured out into the woods to get more in tune with himself. Writing this book helped to describe what he was exposed to during his time alone in the woods. Thoreau was trying to figure out what was necessary in life and what you could survive without. That exposure to nature gave him a new outlook on the world of outdoors.
My great nature encounter was when I went out into the woods one particular day during school. We were going to find ourselves and get spiritual insight on our lives. Going into the woods we were led by a long trail that brought us to a ropes course. The course kind of got us off track of what the original purpose of what our going there was for. The mustiness of the air made my breaths seem condensed. I began to make my way onto the ropes course. Looking out onto the treetops the bright rays of the sun shined through. The trees looked as if they were gazing into the heavens. Walking down the trails tree limbs pricked me at my side. Trash came out of every direction as I was walking down the pathway. Garbage lay there in the distance just wanting to be picked up and put into its correct place. This experience did not seem to have an extraordinary effect on me. Although this experience did not help me a lot, it really felt good to be outdoors and to encounter other parts of the world.
When Emerson and Thoreau had these encounters they found themselves and got spiritual insight from God. Emerson came up with the idea of Transcendentalism. He was a Transcendentalist who believed in being nonconformed to the ways of the world and was self-reliant because if he was trying to get something done, he would do just that. His ideas were also based on confidence, free thought, and the importance of nature. Ralph Waldo Emerson was born May 25, 1803. At the young age of eight, father died from tuberculosis. Emerson graduated from Harvard University. When he was twenty-five, he married seventeen year old Anne Tucker. She later died of tuberculosis. His second wife was Lydia Jackson. They had a son named Waldo, who at the age of five, died of tuberculosis. Through all of this hardship, he still made it through life. This is the way that he showed self-reliance because he relied on himself to make his life better. He was interested in the importance of nature and how it made life better for individuals. Emerson says, "To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature. Most persons do not see the sun. At least they have a very superficial seeing. The sun only illuminates the eye of the sun, but shines into the eye of the man and the heart of the child. The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy into the era of manhood." What Emerson is saying is that adults don't recognize nature as they should, but children are always in the eye of nature and recognize it more. He's saying that the lover of nature not only honors the outside world when they are a child, but also through their life of adulthood. Most people don't like being in the outdoors for long, but Thoreau was the man who recognized these ideas which Emerson had thought up and put them into play.
Henry David Thoreau was an American essayist, poet, and practical philosopher. He followed in the footsteps of Emerson. He not only followed the ideas of Emerson, but put those principles into action. Thoreau went into the woods for two long years to discover what nature was all about and to get spiritual insight from God. When I first went out into the woods with Markeshia and Danyetta, I was not very in tune with the outdoors, but once I laid ontop of the ropes course, I began to think about the beautiful creations that God had made. Why not love nature for what it is? Thoreau said, "Shall I not have intelligence with the earth? Am I not partly leaves and vegetable mould myself." Thoreau is trying to ask why shouldn't we get in tune with nature and love it for what brings to you. He's asking are you not part of the earth too. The thing about Thoreau was that he loved nature just because of what it showed. It showed the beautiful creations of God, and how he loved us so much that he gave us a beautiful world to live in.
Emerson and Thoreau were the two greatest Transcendentalists of the 1800s. They believed in being nonconformed, self-reliant, confident, having free thoughts about ideas, and they felt that nature should be important to the individuals of this earth. They loved nature and the great ideas that their brains thought up.
My great nature encounter was when I went out into the woods one particular day during school. We were going to find ourselves and get spiritual insight on our lives. Going into the woods we were led by a long trail that brought us to a ropes course. The course kind of got us off track of what the original purpose of what our going there was for. The mustiness of the air made my breaths seem condensed. I began to make my way onto the ropes course. Looking out onto the treetops the bright rays of the sun shined through. The trees looked as if they were gazing into the heavens. Walking down the trails tree limbs pricked me at my side. Trash came out of every direction as I was walking down the pathway. Garbage lay there in the distance just wanting to be picked up and put into its correct place. This experience did not seem to have an extraordinary effect on me. Although this experience did not help me a lot, it really felt good to be outdoors and to encounter other parts of the world.
When Emerson and Thoreau had these encounters they found themselves and got spiritual insight from God. Emerson came up with the idea of Transcendentalism. He was a Transcendentalist who believed in being nonconformed to the ways of the world and was self-reliant because if he was trying to get something done, he would do just that. His ideas were also based on confidence, free thought, and the importance of nature. Ralph Waldo Emerson was born May 25, 1803. At the young age of eight, father died from tuberculosis. Emerson graduated from Harvard University. When he was twenty-five, he married seventeen year old Anne Tucker. She later died of tuberculosis. His second wife was Lydia Jackson. They had a son named Waldo, who at the age of five, died of tuberculosis. Through all of this hardship, he still made it through life. This is the way that he showed self-reliance because he relied on himself to make his life better. He was interested in the importance of nature and how it made life better for individuals. Emerson says, "To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature. Most persons do not see the sun. At least they have a very superficial seeing. The sun only illuminates the eye of the sun, but shines into the eye of the man and the heart of the child. The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy into the era of manhood." What Emerson is saying is that adults don't recognize nature as they should, but children are always in the eye of nature and recognize it more. He's saying that the lover of nature not only honors the outside world when they are a child, but also through their life of adulthood. Most people don't like being in the outdoors for long, but Thoreau was the man who recognized these ideas which Emerson had thought up and put them into play.
Henry David Thoreau was an American essayist, poet, and practical philosopher. He followed in the footsteps of Emerson. He not only followed the ideas of Emerson, but put those principles into action. Thoreau went into the woods for two long years to discover what nature was all about and to get spiritual insight from God. When I first went out into the woods with Markeshia and Danyetta, I was not very in tune with the outdoors, but once I laid ontop of the ropes course, I began to think about the beautiful creations that God had made. Why not love nature for what it is? Thoreau said, "Shall I not have intelligence with the earth? Am I not partly leaves and vegetable mould myself." Thoreau is trying to ask why shouldn't we get in tune with nature and love it for what brings to you. He's asking are you not part of the earth too. The thing about Thoreau was that he loved nature just because of what it showed. It showed the beautiful creations of God, and how he loved us so much that he gave us a beautiful world to live in.
Emerson and Thoreau were the two greatest Transcendentalists of the 1800s. They believed in being nonconformed, self-reliant, confident, having free thoughts about ideas, and they felt that nature should be important to the individuals of this earth. They loved nature and the great ideas that their brains thought up.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter is a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne describing the life of Hester Prynne. Through the novel, Hester struggles with the judgemental society of the Puritans. To the Puritan community, she is represented as an example of what a woman should not be. Hester is tormented to wear a letter "A" for life. This letter is supposed to make her an outcast and make the people of the town turn against her. I think that Hawthorne has the letter "A" change throughout the novel ,in my opinion, so that Hester can change and become a better person.Even so, she changes what the letter means and what it is meant to stand for throughout the novel. Hester Prynne came into a new town that she wasn't very fond of. Her husband was captured by the Indians for a distinctively long period of time. Hester no longer thought her husband was going to be with her, so she began a new life without him. While there, she met a man and fell deeply in love with him. Soon after, Hester became pregnant and disgrace fell upon her life as the whole town was informed. She is taken into a prison with her baby Pearl, because of her adultery. She is told to tell who the father is, but she strongly refuses to do so. Due to her resentment, she is taken into the town's prison for at least 9 months and was then let out to be put upon the scaffold to let the ministers and towns people to discuss the sin she committed . But for the very last time they asked her again who was the father of the child. Hester then replied, "Never!". The aggravated crowd angrily decided upon what her sentence should come to. She is taken back to the prison is told to never take the Scarlet letter "A" off. Hester would have to live with the letter embroidered on her bosom without end. It was a symbol of her wrongdoing and how she didn't live by the way of life that the Puritans stressed for.
Even though the "A" stood for adultery, through the actions of the towns people, it also began to stand for "alone". It became the word "alone" because she was sentenced into a life of exile and is a outsider to the puritan people. Shortly after her harsh sentence, she was let out of her prison cell and started a new life. She was free to go anywhere in the world. Even with that being said, she settled on a small cottage. Hester was constantly by herself and couldn't be involved with any of the people of the town. Eventually, she and her daughter Pearl became very close friends. Still, Hester was not socialized with any part of the outside Puritan people. During this time she feels as if she is not part of the community and is frequently being abused by the brutal judgemental Puritan society. While being alone, she began creating a business in sewing clothes for the townspeople. She becomes very popular by this profession and creates some clothing for the women of the town. However, her first knitting's were for herself and Pearl. This is important to the story because it helps to show how she is changing throughout the novel.
In the course of this, her letter then starts to stand for "able". In the process of her seamstress workings, she still seemed to not have a social life with the Puritans. But as time passed, Hester changed her position in the public and is known for her bravely acts. She didn't let her shameful crime get into the way of the struggle she was to endure for the rest of her life. Instead, she completely changes her mind-set out of a negative viewpoint, and into a positive approach towards her and Pearl's being. Hester is no longer known for her sinful act, but her "able" spirit to tolerate the judgmental and ruthless Puritan society. Although it was not easy, she develops into a new person in the community of the people. The opinions of the Puritans changes entirely, furthermore, letting the people begin to recognize Hester as who she really is and not shameful unto the Puritan community. Hawthorne is showing that anyone can change no matter what you've done in your life.
In the beginning of this Novel, Hester Prynne's Scarlet letter of punishment stood for her ignominy of the wrongdoing she committed, whom the Puritans had acknowledged. The people inconsiderately labelled Hester with the Scarlet letter, without admiring her willpower to never reveal the name of the father of her only child, Pearl. Nevertheless,Hester proved to the society that you can never fully "brand" a person for any crime. You will not succeed in doing so because a person can change who they are.
Even though the "A" stood for adultery, through the actions of the towns people, it also began to stand for "alone". It became the word "alone" because she was sentenced into a life of exile and is a outsider to the puritan people. Shortly after her harsh sentence, she was let out of her prison cell and started a new life. She was free to go anywhere in the world. Even with that being said, she settled on a small cottage. Hester was constantly by herself and couldn't be involved with any of the people of the town. Eventually, she and her daughter Pearl became very close friends. Still, Hester was not socialized with any part of the outside Puritan people. During this time she feels as if she is not part of the community and is frequently being abused by the brutal judgemental Puritan society. While being alone, she began creating a business in sewing clothes for the townspeople. She becomes very popular by this profession and creates some clothing for the women of the town. However, her first knitting's were for herself and Pearl. This is important to the story because it helps to show how she is changing throughout the novel.
In the course of this, her letter then starts to stand for "able". In the process of her seamstress workings, she still seemed to not have a social life with the Puritans. But as time passed, Hester changed her position in the public and is known for her bravely acts. She didn't let her shameful crime get into the way of the struggle she was to endure for the rest of her life. Instead, she completely changes her mind-set out of a negative viewpoint, and into a positive approach towards her and Pearl's being. Hester is no longer known for her sinful act, but her "able" spirit to tolerate the judgmental and ruthless Puritan society. Although it was not easy, she develops into a new person in the community of the people. The opinions of the Puritans changes entirely, furthermore, letting the people begin to recognize Hester as who she really is and not shameful unto the Puritan community. Hawthorne is showing that anyone can change no matter what you've done in your life.
In the beginning of this Novel, Hester Prynne's Scarlet letter of punishment stood for her ignominy of the wrongdoing she committed, whom the Puritans had acknowledged. The people inconsiderately labelled Hester with the Scarlet letter, without admiring her willpower to never reveal the name of the father of her only child, Pearl. Nevertheless,Hester proved to the society that you can never fully "brand" a person for any crime. You will not succeed in doing so because a person can change who they are.
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