Janie

I wish I could go into the story and shake Janie. I would just like to tell her that she does not have to follow what everyone else thinks is right and/or fulfill anyone else's dreams. Janie has had a hard life, it seems, but that does not mean she should settle. Zora Neale Hurston is a civil rights activist. This causes me to wonder why Janie did not fight harder for her own civil rights. Hopefully that is something we see later or Zora Neale Hurston later learns from her young life. Another thing I wonder about Janie: Why she revolves her life so much around love? She seems like a strong and independent woman. She does not want a husband who tells her what to do. Yet, she is capable of supporting herself. So why not be alone? At least for a little while. She may not have had much in her previous life but I think Janie should know what is worth sticking around for and what you are meant to leave behind. One reason I could think of to explain her yearning for a man is financial support. Even in Zora Neale Hurston's real life she struggled financially till her death. I feel that coming from a line of unmarried women, particularly unmarried raped women, would have some profound effect on Janie. That is not something that Zora Neale Hurston illustrates as being an issue. Janie has not strived to have a legitimate marriage, she has already achieved this. But the overarching goal for Janie seems to be to achieve true love.

Thankful

I appreciate Gloria for numerous reasons. Mainly because she never fails to crack me up. But also because she is so sweet, genuine and understanding. I look forward to English everyday but especially because I get to be surrounded by such great people that make my learning experience even better. Gloria is an instant pick-me-up type of person and she doesn't even have to try, that is just how she is. I'm lucky enough to run into Gloria in the halls and in debate as well. We have so many laughs and I adore her. I only hope Gloria feels the same appreciation for me. Furthermore, Gloria is so smart and doesn't even know it. But more importantly, she continues to amaze me everyday in her ability to say the stupidest and the smartest thing in the same sentence. Gloria is a balance of so many great things and I am so thankful to have such a great person along for the ride in Mr. McCarthy's english class.

Ernest Hemingway

After seeing the Ernest Hemingway documentary, I realize that Ernest Hemingway did not have the life I would have imagined for him. Being so successful and writing all about these worldly experiences, I believed he must have had a life full of adventure and excitement and love. I later realized that his great writing stemmed from his hardest life experiences. I have not read much Ernest Hemingway in my life but now I read his work with an air of compassion. I feel as if he writes about things in great detail, using styles such as Mark Twain along with his own, to get out feelings that cannot quite be expressed into simpler words. Although much of his stories are probably exaggerated, it seems like they all have some truth to them. I honestly wished Ernest Hemingway had written a story about being dressed as a girl and raised as if he was the twin sister to his older girl sibling. I think this would answer a lot of questions that people have about his comfortability with his masculinity and also his sense of self. Because I think if someone dressed me as a boy and made me the twin brother of my older male sibling, no matter what my culture, I would be uncomfortable and possibly permanently affected too. I never knew Ernest Hemingway had deep rooted problems with his masculinity till this documentary, so I would love to reread all the stories we've read now, keeping that in mind for deeper analysis.

Six Six Word Stories

Hitting rock bottom was a gift. You will always be a fool. Tired lids, tattered clothes, worn faces. Some people can find a balance. You'll tire of your own mischief. Don't try running from something unseen.

John Proctor - Hero or Stooge

John Proctor assumes the stooge role because he had no choice other than to confess to his wrongdoing, even though whahe confessed was fake. When he was said to be associated with the devil, the only way to avoid automatic hanging was to confess. He dug himself into a hole when he layered lie on top of lie and it all blows up in his face in the end. By the end of the story, he has nearly saved himself but decides to go against all his past decisions when he comes to the document. He is able to sign parts of the testimony but cannot bring himself to sign the rest. His good reputation in the town became irrelevant as soon as his affair with Abigail became exposed. The problem rose when he said his wife was an honest woman who would never lie. When he had to tell the court of the affair, his wife, thinking she was doing the right thing for her husband in lying, does not mention lechery to the judge. Automatically, John is believed to be the one lying. He continues to dig himself in a hole when lying about dealing with witchcraft but then not being able to sign the document mentioned earlier. To be called a hero, the situation would have to have been resolved by John Proctor, or at least made better. Neither happened. He can be described as a stooge with his many faults and the decisions he made. He had the chance to solve the problem by signing the document. When he lies again about his confession, there is no purpose in sacrificing himself anymore. He did not save himself or anyone else and therefore cannot be called a hero.

There Goes The Neighborhood

From the perspective of the native people, I would imagine that they were shocked by the arrival of the explorers and settlers. I do not think either of them expected to meet with any other types of people, other than their own. Luckily for the explorers and settles, they did not put a guard up when the settlers and explorers came. If anything they did the exact opposite and completely let them in. The native people were willing to share their land, trade, and interact with them. They were seemingly unaware of any ulterior motives the settlers and explorers may have had. Such as a search for bullion as well as forcing their religion onto the native people. The natives simply did not know enough about the value of the trade they were receiving as well as giving away. And did not see any bad intentions coming from the settlers and explorers because they were peaceful people who wanted to see the best in everyone. In modern communities when two or more groups come together it is civilized along with being developed and run equally. This is because we have learned and discovered overtime that the conquering of one community over another often results in rebel and violence. Although, some modern communities that are stronger than others may actually have the tools to completely take over another community by means of force. It may be easier for these groups to just take over by force, but that is not the correct way for two communities to join together. In some ways we are more civilized than we were in the time of the native americans and the settlers and explorers, when their plan was to force religion upon the native people through force and violence. In other ways, we are just the same. When a group feels superior over another it seems like a waste of time to try and ingratiate themselves along with the "lower" class group of people. We would like to think now that we have moved to a place of equality but there will always be superiority and people who do not believe in equalizing. The conflicts and struggles that come from clashing lifestyle, racial, cultural, and religious differences have led to riots, wars, bombings, attacks, protests, ralleys, and most all the violence in the world. It is already hard enough to have an individual community with its own conflicts and struggles about these issues but to attempt to join two communities together and not expect these issues is naive and there is too much history of this happening to not plan for it.

Hi! My name is Maggie Rivas. I am extremely interested in pursuing journalism as a career so I am excited about the amount of writing we are doing in this class, even just this first week. I am looking to go to college out in California where my dad lived for three years. I love to play volleyball and be active almost everyday. I play on the volleyball team here at Whitney and we have our first home game Tuesday! Another passion of mine is modeling. I have been signed with Ford Models since I was twelve. I am taking a break to focus on school but I am excited to get back into it over the summer. This year I am starting debate and graduating into National Honors Society at the end of the year after three years of being in National Junior Honors Society. I am very school-oriented so I have to find a balance between all my hobbies and budget my time for homework and studying. My favorite type of music is rap, which surprises many people. I like mainstream rap music but also enjoy underground rappers. I love meeting new people but take a while to completely get over my shyness. My summer mainly consisted of going to music festivals and vacationing with friends, two of my favorite things to do. I have found sophomore year to be a lot harder than freshmen year so far. I am Greek and Spanish and have visited Greece just once but I am dying to go back! I have never visited Spain but hope to go sometime in the near future. My favorite food is octopus. I like scary movies but love comedy. Something I am really excited about is a letter I got from the organization People to People, it is a group of “student ambassadors” who are invited to study abroad from anywhere to six weeks to two years. My interview is sometime in early October. My favorite holiday is Christmas and I am desperately hoping that at least one of my classes will do a secret Santa this year. I am a very impatient person but I am a strong believer in the phrase that good things come to those who wait. I am hoping for a great year and to become close to everyone in this class and further improve upon myself from last year.