To blog or not to blog?????? That is the question!!!!

When we were first assigned blogs, I was a little hesitant about doing them since I have never done them before. In my English class in high school, all we ever did was right in a journal. Now since doing them, I like them so much more. Its a good way to express yourself and see what other people are thinking. Also, getting fast feedback from the teacher and other students in the class. I tried developing some of my ideas on my blog, but for some reason, I have to see my ideas written out on paper. I am a very visual person. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed writing a blog and staying connected with everyone. I would much rather blog then write in a journal any day.

Something Serious

Well, when I think of something serious, I think of Harry Potter's Sirius Black. This weekend I will be going to see the new movie and it is going to be legendary. Since this is the second to last film, I am hoping that it is going to be really good and follow the book closely. A couple of the last films have left out a lot of my favorite parts. I am going with some friends that I have seen the last two movies with. Originally when I thought of Harry Potter, I thought that it was something really stupid. I made a friend of mine read Twilight, so she made me read Harry Potter. As soon as I started reading, I couldn't stop. I read the whole series in one week and have been hooked ever since. This last summer, I went to Florida and to Universal Studios. While there, we went to the Wizzarding World of Harry Potter. It was one of the best experiences of my life. We went to Olivander's where I got a wand. Next, we went in to Honey Dukes where I got jelly beans and a chocolate frog. The best part was Hogwarts Castle and the ride inside. It was a 3D ride and brought you through scenes of the books. I hope one day to go back and visit the magical world once again.

The Outline

The outline really helped me to organize my thoughts and different sources that I had. It also helped me with the structure of my paper and set up everything that I need to do. This came in real handy and I wish that I would have had this on some of my other papers that I have written. It has a spot for the sources, quotes and ideas and that makes keeping things organized much easier.

Thesis Statement

I have two ideas and I really like both of them.

One is based of the idea of the jungle being a playground and if you don't know the rules, you will lose the game. The other is based of giving second chances like Zaroff gave Rainsford while hiding in the jungle.

Thesis Statement 1: By relating Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game" to a cultural aspect of life, one can see that being allowed to have a second chance changes a person's knowing prospective of life entirely by seeing their mistakes and knowing that they have the chance to fix them.

Thesis Statement 2: Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous" relates to real life situations of the battle of the fittest, where you have to know the rules, even in a jungle, or end up losing.

A New Discovery

Learning that there was a secret message behind the story The White Heron is really going to change how I read stories. A person really has to disect a story to get the messages and what the author wants you to get out of it. One thing that I am going to have trouble doing, is change my way of reading things. There are probably a lot of things that I have missed, do to not reading through things carefully. I honestly thought that the piece was about a girl and a boy and her not telling him where the damn bird was. Boy was I wrong.
Reading on my own wasn't that hard but having the class and someone to guide me where my thoughts were going helped a lot. At times, I wasn't sure if I was going in the right direction. I think that your idea on getting together in a group would really help, since there would be many ideas floating around.

Symbolism

The Yellow Wallpaper.
*The women in the wall - I think that the women in the wall is her. She is trapped and can't get out. At certain times she disappears and seems to hide things, just like she does from John.
*The child - She acts very childish and the child symbolizes her innocence.
* The yellow wallpaper - the story sees it at being old, torn, damaged and something that needs to be fixed. I think that it symbolizes her life. She needs to be renewed just like the wallpaper.
*The husband - The husband treats her like a child. He controls her life and even puts her in a room that should belong to a baby or child. By him treating her like that, he is reenforcing her behavior.
*The nailed down bed - signified how she felt stuck where she was and couldn't get out.

The White Heron
*The color white - symbolizes the girl's innocence. She is very naive and scared. She lives a very simple life and when the boy comes, she doesn't know how to interact. As soon as she learns that he is nice, she is his best friend.
*The cow - the cow is constantly running away and having someone go and get it. I think that the cow is an escape for the girl.
*The Heron - The heron, to the girl, represents freedom. She grew up working in a factory and never truly having anything to herself. This is her one chance to have something that means a lot to her, to herself.

Women in the early 1900s

Women were treated unfairly in the early 1900s. Women still worked primarily in the home (Shi, Tindall). The prevailing assumption was that women by nature were most suited to marriage, maternal duties, and househould managment(Shi, Tindall). During the early 1900s, industrial growth boomed and women were finally welcomed into the work force. (Kessler-Harris) Many women started to work in cloth factories. They were offered a place to live, steady pay, and a access to a library so that they may be educated. (Shi, Tindall) Overtime, the living and working conditions started to deteriorate and wages decreased from year to year. Young girls were especially used in the sewing room because if something went wrong with the machinery, they were small enough to get in there. (Kessler-Harris) Men were given the cushy jobs, while women worked long, tetious days in the factory.

Kessler-Harris, Alice. Where are the Organized Women Workers?. New York: Feminist Studies Inc. 1975. 93-110 Print.

Shi, David Emory. Tindall, George Brown. “America: A Narrative History.” Women’s Work. 8th ed. New York: Norton, 2010. 350. Print.

Shi, David Emory. Tindall, George Brown. “America: A Narrative History.” The Lowell System. 8th ed. New York: Norton, 2010. 332-335. Print.