Final Blog

There have been a few improvements on my writing.  The thing i got the best at is following the MLA guidelines for the most part.  I also go better at presenting an argument in a paper, or at least i try to.  The strategies that worked best for me were the out line work that i picked up on by the end of the semester.  None of the papers were very easy to complete, but if i had to choose one i would say the WE paper was easiest.  I think it was the easiest because WE was the one thing that i could tolerate reading.  The lesson that helped me the most was the one on commas because now i have a better understanding on how to use them. I do not feel more prepared to write a college level paper because all teachers expect different things, i will have to adapt to their style of paper just like i had to adapt you your style.

Class Discussion

I think that the class discussion we had yesterday was a very good one.  It not only cleared everything up for me in the Goblin poem. Because i didnt really see the whole sex thing when i read it by myself.  But it also presented new ideas and showed symbols that i didnt pick up on at first.  The one that i thought was pretty cool was the fruit and how it represented sin, which further hints that when the girl gives up he lock of hair, she isnt giving up hair at all but instead her v card.

The Flea

I dont understand how the flea could take life from anything.  I think that the flea might be a person that is cheating on the authors wife.  So i think that the whole poem is about adultery.  In the beginning i think that he his questioning whether or not his wife is actually doing what he is thinking.   Then in the middle of the poem when he talks with the three, he finds out that there are three people in the relationship and he becomes depressed in a way. then he talks about the purpled thy nail in blood of innocence he is saying, how is this fair to me? i didnt do anything.

Poetry

My experience for poetry was really not an experience.  I have read some poetry in high school but i really dont like it at all.  I mean it wasnt horrible but it was just really not fun at all.  The poetry that i have read was emily Dickinson, and Edger Allan Poe.  But other than that i havent really read much.  And outside of school i have never read much poetry.

Essay topic.

I think i am going to try to write about the effects of media on how effects what is important to us and how the lack of media effected what Faustus thought was important.  I Believe the points i would like to make is first say how the media effects the world today, then i would like to say something about how the only form of media back in the renaissance i believe would be the church.  If there was more then that there would be no convent way to distribute the news and or make it in a way beside just word to mouth. Then i would possibly take those two things and compare those two and see how these two differences make a difference in the social and ethical standards.

class discussion

The discussion that we had in class the other really got me thinking about the angles and how their part in the play influence Faustus and how they show what kind of man he really is.  It shows that even though he is a given the good choice, he always goes with what the bad angle wants him to do.  This just shows that he is power hungry and he doesnt really care about his soul if he has power on earth.

Something interesting

I thought it was interesting that when the clown, who seems like it should be the comic relief character, has such a dark part in the play.  When he enters the play the two devils are introduced.  Then in the next scene he has to describe them and I think that he gets threatened by one of the dark magic people.  I just thought it was very ironic how a happy character, or the person who is supposed to be funny back then brings such a dark humor to the play as opposed to lightening the mood.

I believe the the list of importance has changed since the 1600's for many reasons.  The main reason i think that this change has occurred is because of the media.  I believe this because ever since about the 1950's which is when the media started getting really popular our values were very proper, which you can see through the way that most grandparents act.  I believe that the media has such an strong influence because it shows super stars living their life crazily, with out regard for the personal safety. All looks like a lot of fun while you are on TV and safe but in real life it could be dangerous.  The values now days i believe would go in order like this: First, i would put religion, then doctors, then law, then phycology and finally i would have magic.  The reason magic would be last for me is because there really is no such thing as real magic, the magic that Fuaustus was referring to in the book is most likely medicine practices that all doctors study today.  Which gives the reason why magic is least important, because there is really no such thing as magic.

Review on the semester

So far this semester things have been going ok.  I think that the grammar lessons are pretty good.  I just feel like some of the things that we have to do with them are kind of stupid.  Like the paragraphs for instance. In my opinion they are the only bad part of the entire assignment.  They don't teach me anything they are just a giant inconvenience.  I believe that the other parts of the lessons have helped for the short term but honestly i think the SLC would be more constructive because it would be helping better our paper and basically doing the same thing.

The fall of the house of usher

From the beginning of the story the setting is telling you exactly what is going to happen.  I could tell from the description of the house, and even the letter the Rodrick wrote to the narrator that something dark and evil was going to happen by the end of the story.  It also sets up the feel of the story really well.  If the house was kept up perfectly and everything around it was alive, the story wouldnt have had the same effect that it did.  Instead by having everything dead it created a gloomy and almost spooky feel.  Another part of the setting is when the weird glow is outside the house.  This is just a way of poe showing that there are unnatural forces at work in the story. As i said before if this story didnt have the same setting, i believe it would be a completely different story, and would not have been a very exciting read.  The setting created suspense.

Activity in class

I really liked the activity that we did in class.  I felt like it was a really good way to get us to talk. and i also think that i learned more in that way because it was a more organized discussion.  It also shows me what you want us to take away from the story that we read as opposed to what we think,  which is important, but it is not always the same thing as you want us to know.

Extra Credit (Do we learn at college)

I am unsure how to answer this question.  I believe that in a way we do learn, but at the same time the things that we are taught are many times forgotten.  I know from experience that the things that i learn in classes are soon forgotten, kind of like the saying in one ear and out the other.  But for us to retain all of the information that we learned throughout college and high school it would be impossible.  The thing that i do think we do is that we learn different ways to think and we learn how to handle people a lot better.  Which are two very important things as we get older and start looking to enter the job force.  So to answer the question do we learn anything. I say yes and no.  We do learn the important things through our lives but we forget all the facts and numbers that don't matter in the future.

Discussion in class

I feel you are right. There is too much racism in the world.  But i think that you are very very wrong when you say it is bad in South Dakota.  I personal feel i am not racist at all.  If anything i judge people on how they present themselves.  I would not be any more afraid of a black guy who is dressed like a gangster then if a white guy was dressed as a gangster.  And yes vermillion has no diversity but there is large diversity in other cities, such as sioux falls, in the state. I know in my school at least 25 percent of the kids were other races then white.  I realize this is nothing compared to other places in the country but i do believe i have been in enough diversity to be able to say that i am not bothered by other races, and yes i have had people speaking other languages while i was walking with them and it honestly didnt bother me.  

Twitter article

It kind of worries me that people are able to make another one of you on the internet with out any consequence.  Although it doesnt really affect me because if someone wants to make an alternative me then they need to find something else to do with their lives.  But knowing that someone could use the internet as a tool to destroy my life if they really wanted to really makes me worried.  Because not only could future employers see what other people wrote, and blame me for doing it.

1st paper

I thought the first paper was pretty difficult.  Even after the meeting with you i am still a little unsure of exactly what you want.  I also think that the peer review that we did was kind of a waste of time.  I would have much rather have had someone actually read my paper and give me compliments or criticism on it instead of giving a group of people a general idea of what our paper is about and tell them to analyze it from the little information they have.  I thought one thing that was nice was getting to meet with you and have you look over our paper.  This answered some of my question about what you wanted.  But after turning this first paper and getting it returned i will have a better idea of what you are looking for.

The metamorphosis

I think that is crazy how Gregor can be changed into a bug and not even think about that once.  Instead of thinking about what has happened to him and his body, he worries about how his family will make enough money to keep the appartment and food on the table.  To me I dont understand how you can not think of yourself first especailly when you are a bug! He even thinks about his sister and how he wants her to succeed at violin even before he thinks about his current situation.  Another thing that I think is crazy is how little his family actually cares about him, right after he transforms they it doesnt even seem like they miss him very much.  Then after he dies they just move and their main concern is trying to find Grete a husband.

Works Cited

Anderson, Michael. “Dynasties and Dictators.” EbsoHost (2005): 141-9. Web. 30 Jan 2011.

Gregory, Paul. “The Ship of Philosophers: How the Early USSR Dealt with Dissident Intellectuals.” EbscoHost.  (2009): 485-92. Web. 30 Jan, 2011.

Topic

For my topic i choose to write about dictatorship and how it affect a nation.  The reason i am going to write about this is because i think it will be interesting to learn about and also because it is very relevant to the book.

Final Blog for WE?

Overall i liked this book a lot.  In the beginning it was hard to get into the book because i wasn't really sure what was going on, and in general i don't enjoy reading books that I am forced to read for a class.  But by about half way through the book I started to get into it.  I thought that the plot of the book was excellent.  It shows that no matter how powerful a society is it at some point will fail or faultier.  It also shows the struggles that a person who is different faces.  

State of the Union address

I believe that almost all of the ideas that president Obama talked about were good ideas.  I just don't understand how when we are already trillions of dollars in debt how we can afford all of the things that he wants to do.  I hope that the things he was saying was true, when he was saying that he wanted all the Republicans and Democrats to work together and get things passed as one.  The only problem is neither side is willing to give anything up because they want things to be how they want it to be.  I do believe that he is saying a lot of this stuff just so that he is in a better light of the american people.  We do need to increase the exports from our countries and decrease the outsourcing of jobs.

3rd post

The thing that would upset the most in one state is how they take your baby away right after they are born. This would upset me for two reasons.  First, if i was going to have a baby then I would want to keep it as my own.  Secondly, if they didn't let you keep your baby then there would be no family's, and i use my family as a huge support system in my life.

2nd post

I believe that the Historical strategy was very important in writing this book.   It is so evident to me that Zamyatin used history as a reference because of everything that was going on in his home country at the time that this book was written.  The USSR was starting to take shape in Russia and the country was becoming a Communist country.   The book was written as to what Zamyatin thought that Russia would become if the communism regime would continue and succeed.

Style- The author has a very distinct style,  he uses his word choice very carefully so that you can tell what the character feels or how they will react by the words that describe that person or the things that the person themselves say.  One great example in this book is when D-503 is talking to I-330 showing how unhappy he is about being late, and after the sentence the author uses describes what the D-503 is thinking by saying that he had to make sure he used all the politeness he could.
Tone-The tone in the story is hard to explain.  This is because the beliefs of the narrator in the story are now being tested because of his encounter with I-330. Right before he is about to see I-330 his tone is very angry towards her.  But then every time he is with her it seems like he is willing to rebel and stop doing everything that One State is trying to make him do.  Then when he is not with her he is confused and it seems like he is in denial that he actually wants to rebel against everything that he has known.
Irony- An example of irony in WE is when D-503 meets I-330 on his walk.  It is ironic because I-330 seems like a high up government official but really it seems like she is rebelling against one state and trying to get D503 to do the same.
Plot- In the beginning of the story it sets you up in how the character is thinking then explains how he lives prior to meeting I-330, then he bumps into I-330 while on a walk and they talk about that thoughts that he was having in the start of the story.  She then invites him to her office later that week.  He goes to her office and she takes him to a house back like it was in the olden days.  This really challenges what D-503 believes and makes him start to question everything he had been taught in his life to this point.  Then he goes back and tell her that he is going to report her to the government, but he ends up going to the hospital instead. Then he goes back to see her again, and really wants to have sex with her.  After that he goes to talk with his old friend and then has an argument of some sort and then feels like he looses him as a friend.  After that it is the night his "girlfriend" O-90 was supposed to come over because the government was going to allow them to have sex.  But when he is about to do it he cant because he is discovering that he has feelings and is able to think for himself.
Characterization- The example in the story of characterization is D-503.  The author creates a relationship with the reader because you actually feel like you know him.  I believe this is because you are going though all of the problems that the character is and you know what he is thinking.  So in a way it feels like you are his friends and are just discussing the problems that he is having.
Point of View- The point of view that this story is told in is First- person narration.  It is in the major characters point of view as well.  I can tell this because it goes into the thoughts of D-503 and it doesn't let you know what other people are thinking. 
Symbol- The greatest symbol that I can think of for this book is the government.  I believe that the author is using the government to symbolize the communist government that was in Russia at the time this book was written.   I don't think that he is saying they were this bad at the time, but I think this is what he feared that they would create if they had the chance to. 
Theme- I would say a theme for WE is human individuality, or lack there of.  In the beginning of the story it says how everyone is known by numbers and they all have everything planned for them, and it shows how the main character of the story just accepts his role in society.  But after he discovers that he can be his own person he cant go back to how he was before. 
Setting- The book WE is set in about the year of 2800, and is in the fictional state or country refereed to as One State.  The social environment that frames the characters is a very controlled place where everything that they do through out their day, minus one hour of free time, is already planned out for them by the government.

About Me

My name is Nick Southwick.  I went to Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls South Dakota.  I enjoy playing sports and hanging out with friends.