Realism.....as real as it gets!

1. Mrs. Mallard is afflicted with a heart condition, something all the other involved characters are aware of. I believe her physical ailments were the result of a life lived under the conditions of both a husband, a nosy sister, and most likely a large assortment of friends, who wanted to know her business all her life...business that was none of hers. Most likely, so many people caring enough to have the "Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with heart trouble, great care was taken to break her as gently as possible, the news of her husband’s death!" This "Knowing" itself, and her knowing of that knowing-- well all of this causes stress. Stress kills.

2. "She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment" because she was saddened. Her husband’s wants in life was also hers, but not the desires or dreaming. She wept also because she new she was free for the first time in a long time to be herself, the way she saw herself. She noticed things from her window that it seemed she was seeing for the first time. She noted " The tops of the trees were all aquiver with new spring life. The delicious breath of the rain was in the air." It must have been shocking for her, so stressed and dutiful for so long , "And, countless sparrouls were twittering in the eaves."

3. It seems to me if there were one real issue addressed, it was the livelihood and expected behavior of women during that period and what intelligence, real thinking, and dreaming that must have cost us as a nation in general. Many of these women may have thought they were happy and some of them were. But there were those, and I'm willing to wager I might have seen it in their eyes, who were resentful of what they were expected to do-- to mother, to cook, to clean, and to not ask questions. They also did what they were not expected to do-- to think, to imagine, to want to be, It was here and in many other places all over the world where the seed of the women’s equality movements were sewn. They have taken root, thankfully. The seeds are still being sewn.

Edgar Alllen Poe

Edgar Allen Poe is considered the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He was born Edgar Poe in Boston, Massachusetts. After his birth parents passed he was taken in by John and Frances Allan, of Richmond, Virginia but was never formally adopted by them. After spending a short period at the University of Virginia and briefly attempting a military career, Poe and the Allan’s parted ways. Now, on to how this great poet passed away. On October 3, 1849, Poe was found on the streets of Baltimore delirious, "in great distress, and... in need of immediate assistance", according to the man who found him, Joseph W. Walker. He was taken to the Washington College Hospital, where he died on Sunday, October 7, 1849, at 5:00 in the morning. Poe was never coherent long enough to explain how he came to be in his dire condition, and, oddly, was wearing clothes that were not his own. Poe is said to have repeatedly called out the name "Reynolds" on the night before his death, though it is unclear to whom he was referring. Some sources say Poe's final words were "Lord help my poor soul." After all these events happening, throug his wives passing, his parents passing, an him being hooked to opium and alchol. How does a man stay sane, he had every reason to wright like he did.

The Raven

Wow, their were many lines that stuck out and kind of scared me. I see the Raven as a bad omen or a transporter of death. "Prophet" said, "Thing of evil"-prophet still, if bird or devil' by that heaven that bends above us- by that god we both adore" This line seems scary and very freaky at the same time. I believe he kind of see's the devil as evil and he knows what that raven brings with him, and it being death.

"And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, 'Lenore!' This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, 'Lenore!' How much scary does it get. The man's second wife is dying in the next room and he is hearing from outside echoes of the same name he whispered. Then the poor guy runs into a raven, that only say nevermore. It seems to me he has the worst of luck and some pretty scary moments in life.

This poem is about as anti transcendentalist as one can possibly get. for example, "What this grim, ungainly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore, meant in croaking 'Nevermore" A transcendentalist would never question themselves, they go on their intuition. Which is given to and through them by god, god speaks through them. "And his eyes have all the seeming of a demons that is dreaming" A transcendentalist would never speak of demons or anything remotely scary. They were all about the environment and admiring and loving it. The Transcendentalist definitely never spoke of any horror but the good things in life.

"The Black Cat"

What a wild and crazy story. I mean the man starts out in anger then he goes deeper into rage. Its not hard to point out his anger problem when he starts kicking his animals around. Then, like any dark romantic striving to get away form the whole transenddentalist thought, he kills his wife and his favorite cat pluto, which really disappointed me about old pluto. He showed through this wild story that people are not pure and some are really crazy in fact.

"But may God shield and deliver me from the fangs of the Arch-Fiend ! No sooner had the reverberation of my blows sunk into silence, than I was answered by a voice from within the tomb! -- by a cry, at first muffled and broken, like the sobbing of a child, and then quickly swelling into one long, loud, and continuous scream, utterly anomalous and inhuman -- a howl -- a wailing shriek, half of horror and half of triumph, such as might have arisen only out of hell, conjointly from the throats of the dammed in their agony and of the demons that exult in the damnation." I feel like he is almost making fun of it all in a way. Being one with god and being un pure very very unpure.

Dark Romantiscism part #1

#1 In this case Mr. Hawthorne would disagree strongly, and he has good reason to. His grandfather hung 19 people and two dogs off of his own intuition. Now that is a very strong transcendentalist belief, to act on intuition as if god was speaking through you. Although, as in this case, this mans intuition of god or him was very wrong and ludicrous indeed, and i would have agree with Mr. Hawthorne on this one. This case really test the whole transcendentalist philosophy.

#2 What Herman Melville witnessed could and did in this case turn a mans whole perspective around on other people. Their is no way Melville would ever believe that everyone was pure inside nor should of he. I mean for god sakes he saw people eat each other, does that show purnist of the soul? Melville wrote Moby Dick to try to explain his theory and tail a story of course. In the story Captain Ahab was obsessed about killing a great white wall, he killed his ship, his crew, and his self. Does that seem pure to you? No, what a genius writer he was.

#3 Edgar Allen Poe is just lashing out as hard as he possibly can. He defines why this world is not perfect and how everyone is not pure. Through his writing he shows the evil side of life and the people in it. he contradicts the Transcendentalist thought so much, its a bit embarrassing at times. I feel that the transcendentalist were like a bunch of hippies. It would be great if the world was peaceful and everyone was pure inside, but that’s not life and that not the case.

I hate it but its true, their are some really messed up people out their. A month ago I agreed totally with the transcendentalist thought and loved the idea, but unfortunately I believe their wrong. Basing off these story's it really shows the nastiest parts of people. If everyone is pure, then how do explain these cases and many others as well. Maybe the majority is pure, but definitely not every soul on this planet.

Our Newest Dress Code and It's Flaws

Dress Code




When I walk into Classic City High School every day, I see each individual and what they’re wearing. My peers come in different sizes, sexes, and race, and all of them wearing their own style of clothing. Whether it be fashionable or unfashionable to spectator’s eyes is not their concern. Although I do agree with many of your dress code rules, I also think you are going a little overboard with the whole process. Now, we must remember we are working with individuals in the most confusing stage of their lives, so let’s not be judgmental.
I know the school board has the best intentions for the students and their futures. I also know the school board is doing this to improve the numbers of graduates each year, and to get Athens, Georgia back to the level of intelligence at which it needs to be. I personally feel this will cause more of a dilemma than a solution. It may help the classroom environment, but what about the attendance, one of the main problems in the Athens school system?
The reason I am so upset about this whole matter is because I am an artist. Every day I strive to be different or unique; from my clothes, hair, and shoes, to my personality. Once you start telling a person how to do something, especially on this kind of matter, they tend to react in the worse kinds of ways. I don’t want to see my peers drop out because they couldn’t wear what they wanted. You can’t forget about the teenage mind; every teenager is still trying to find or prove them selves. We must take every variable involved in this whole ordeal and examine it, or many will be left behind or drop out.
Must we be so strict on the whole matter; the school board is correct on many of the points they hit, but why must we go into all of the minute details? For instance, “Coats and sweaters are encouraged as appropriate for the weather,” or “Flip-flops, shower shoes, bedroom/house slippers, platform shoes, spiked and footwear with heel and/or toe taps are not permitted”. What’s wrong with a flip flop’s or wearing your jacket inside on a warm day? These new school board rules are not in educational interest but of their own desire to dictate taste.

Transcendentalism Part 3 The Finale

This man definitely showed all the symptoms of a transcendentalist, he went on his own free will to live in the woods, with only the essentials he needed to survive. I believe the reason he did this, is to try to become one with nature as much as he could, and what better place to do it at then Alaska. It’s very difficult to become one with nature when there is no nature around you. This world of ours is building up so quickly that we have forgotten where we came from. The actual root of are being. Nature. It’s where it all started, and that’s where it’s all going to end. I thoroughly agree with this whole theory at hand. "The rays that come from those heavenly worlds will separate between him and what he touches" By Ralph Waldo Emerson. Man, who is fascinated by his surroundings; goes through a supernatural experience, one could say almost forming with his surroundings. Feeling happy and giddy, amazed by what he see's and the sheer beauty in it. That’s life, that’s living. He is not on earth any more; he is not visible to the eye. He has transcended above all his surroundings to become part of and one with nature and god. He has transcended his reality, he feels and touches nothing. He has transcended to his place of paradise.