Giving Thanks

This year and in particular in this class I know that I am very thankful for one of my classmates named Steven.  I did not know Steven at the beginning of the year, and I was fortunate enough to share lunch, gym and English with him.  In all the classes that I have with him, he is funny, making me relax if I am worried about a test or one of my classes.  He listens to not only me but also everybody else, and he is always willing to help me with homework.  But most of all he is a very good friend who puts others ahead of himself, even in the most inconvenient times.  In English class he is always willing to work with me, whether it is group work, or if we are editing one of our new writing pieces.  In addition he is willing to talk to anybody in our class or even in our school.  He knows how to make people feel appreciated and welcomed, as well as knowing when somebody needs a conversation to make them feel better.  I am very glad that I was given the opportunity to be in multiple classes with Steven.  Steven is also kind and nice to everybody, and seems to care for others ahead of himself.  He will help others when given the opportunity, and he will make sure that they are all right.  He is also very humble and does not bring much recognition to himself in school.  However there are many things that he should be recognized for, his intelligence, his work ethic, and his ability to help others.                                      

I Celebrate Myself

I think that everybody has something to celebrate something in his or her life.  They can celebrate their different achievements, if it would be on a sports field, or in the office.  People can celebrate themselves for how they act in certain situations.  I think it is part of human nature to admire what we have done.  I think that everybody has done this, at least once in his or her lifetime.  However one thing that I celebrate in my life is not about me, but about a saying or characteristic that was brought about from my family.  That characteristic is working hard.  I was brought up to believe that success in life comes from hard work, and the hours of dedication that you put in.  You do not all of a sudden become successful overnight; you have to work until you cannot anymore.  If you want to achieve success, you should only be worried about that one thing.  You have to be focused on it, and be working nonstop.  Hard work is how our world still exists.  Inventions and businesses did not just appear out of nowhere, they were created through hard work.  I can celebrate this characteristic that was brought to me, not by boasting but by continuing to work hard, and strive for success.  

Edgar Allen Poe

I think that Edgar Allen Poe’s writing is very interesting and mysterious.  It is different from other writers because I feel like to him there is nothing that is to over the edge.  I think that Poe would be willing to experiment with all different types of dark writings, in which he could scare others.  I think that he wrote these dark pieces because it was something that was different than what other people were writing.  No other people were willing or even wanted to write stories such as The Raven or the fall of the House of Usher.  However I think that Poe wrote these dark stories because of his background.  His mother and his wife both died in his lifetime.  He was not given the opportunity to live a long life with his wife.  His mother would also die in December, making Poe extremely sad.  I thin that is why he experiments with writing stories that are dark, and that deal with spirits or the after life.  I think he is fascinated by it, because all of the people that he loves are dead, and he wants to believe in some way that they are still alive or still around.  Poe is very lonely, and in the case of The Raven, I think he writes it to question the thought that there is actually no life after life on earth. He is very interested with what happens after our life on earth. 

What is an American?

I think that it is hard to define what it truly means to be an American.  After all, our country was made up of immigrants, and the majority of our citizens today are immigrants from other countries.  I think that when we define our selves or say where we are from, we are hesitant to say we are from America, because it is not truly were we originated.  We may feel obligated to say we are from a different portion of the world.  I think that it is very interesting to see how people will actually say they are from other regions of the world, or are a different nationality after they had lived in the U.S. all of their life.  I think people say they are a different nationality because that is the saying or term used to describe the U.S.  People call America a giant melting pot that contains all different types of races and nationalities.  To back that saying up, people describe themselves as some other nationality in order to support this important saying.  However I think that people should start to call themselves Americans, when asked who are they.  I think it is fair to give our country credit for what it has done.  America is its own nation, with a successful past, and people should respect that.  We have also been a nation for more than two hundred years now, so there have been many different generations of people to live in the United States of America.  

Modern Puritan

Throughout both the crucible and the Scarlet Letter, it is evident that the Puritan society can be very judgmental, and harsh to people who break the rules and sin.  In many ways it is very hard for these people to forgive one another.  In fact many times there are people in a Puritan society that can never forgive others for doing something wrong.  I think that this is wrong, and that people should be able to forgive others for what they have done.  I think that an example of a modern Puritan society would be that of the one that we live in today.  For example take a look at people who commit a felony, and are forced to go to jail for breaking the law.  They go to jail and they serve their time as a consequence for what they did wrong.  They are willing to admit that they did something wrong, and they take the public shaming from others.  However when they are released from jail, it seems that they are still imprisoned behind cold steel bars.  For instance many former felons find it hard to integrate back into their society after so many years of confinement.  They may also have a tough time reaching out to family or friends who cannot look past their past failures.  They are not willing to grant forgiveness, and they make the felon continue to live in his mistake for the rest of his life.  In addition former felons have a tough time finding employment after their prison years.  It seems that there should be no reason for this, especially after they had already served their sentence.  People deserve to receive a second chance in life, and I feel that former felons are not granted the same opportunities that regular citizens are granted.  

A Hero’s Life

By Sam Reichert

John Proctor’s life cannot be characterized in one moment, however I think that he became a hero towards the end of the play.  In the beginning of the play, Proctor is looked upon as a leader by many of the village people.  He is a hard worker, who is not afraid to voice his opinions.  However you get a sense that John Proctor feels ashamed of himself on the inside, and feels guilty for what he has done.  His major flaw in the Crucible is when he committed adultery with Abigail Williams, one of his maids.  It seemed that a good man had been turned sinful, with one rather large temptation.  He struggles to mend his ailing marriage with his wife Elizabeth.  Adultery was a major sin in the Puritan society, and it was rather difficult for the John and Elizabeth to move past.  Elizabeth was beginning to doubt John, and felt that she could no longer trust him.  Because of this secrets were kept between them, making them grow further and further apart.  John Proctor was no perfect man, in fact he had thought of himself as a failure to himself.  He was beginning to doubt his faith at points, because of events that were transpiring in the town, where faithful people began turning on people and lying just to save their precious life.  

            However I believe John Proctor was a hero because at the end of the play he showed a great sense of selflessness when he would not hand over his confession to witchcraft, to judge Danforth.  Proctor would not blacken his name and lie to have his life back.  He was finally able to atone his mistakes in his marriage, and his failures as a husband at this moment.  He was finally able to see some grain of goodness in himself.  John Proctor was not willing to sell out his friends, because he felt a moral obligation to them.  I believe that is a critical characteristic of heroes.  Proctor would not lie, and offer himself to lies just so that he could save his own skin.  He knew that he had done nothing wrong, and would not give into the pressure, even if it meant losing his life.  John Proctor did not want to ruin his name, for something that was false.  He showed true dedication to honesty and truthfulness at a time of chaos, where people’s morality was being questioned and abandoned, and for that he is a true hero.