Dover Beach

WOW!! I dont know what it is about poems, but i can not stand them! I mean I enjoy reading them if they sound good and rhyme, but other than that I have the hardest time trying to understand what they mean. Even when I was back in middle school and we would have to analyze a poem and figure out what it meant, I could never get it by myself. I always needed help to understand. I don't know if its the way poems are layed out on paper, or if its how the works all go together, but it is so hard to me to understand what the poem means, or is trying to say to the reader.
Dover beach was confusing to me. I mean I could read all the words but couldn't understand how to analyze it. When I read the Dover "Bitch" I was terribly confused and didn't understand how Anthony Hecht could get all that information out of that one poem. All i really got out of that poem was that the sea use to be calm and peacefull and leter in the peom it brings in sadness.

Olive Garden

Today my family and I went out to eat. This is like a special thing because we, as a family, never go out to eat. We are usually never always home at the same time. One of us are either at school, sports, out shopping, out with friends, or to busy to go out to eat. Today we went to Olive Garden and it was actually really nice! When we got there my family and I were having fun joking around and making fun of eachother (which is usually how we have fun). We only had to wait about 25 minutes to be seated, which I think is good because usually I have always waited around 45 minutes to be sat at Olive Garden. When we finaly got seated, our waiter was on the ball with out waters, salads, and breadsticks. Having a good waiter or waitress usually makes your dinner so much better. Everything extra that we needed, he brought within a minute of us asking for it.
When it was time for us to order, he took our order and even brought out more salad and breadsticks. He was very friendly and funny. I really think he enjoyed his job and serving us. We got our food in a reasonable time but of course were half stuffed already from the all you can eat salad and breadsticks. All of our meals were wonderful! We ended up taking a lot of our food home. This, I thought was surprising, when we asked for boxes, he took each of our plates and put our food in a box for us. We didn't have to do one thing.
I just thought that this was a very good experience. A lot of times you can get stuck with a really nasty waiter or waitress that just doesn't give two craps about who they are serving. I really think this waiter did a fine job and helped my family and I enjoy our dinner.

The Sieve and the Sand

I really enjoyed reading this section of the book. I liked reading about Montag meeting Faber and talking to him about books and seeking help. I also enjoyed when Faber gave Montag the piece to put in his ear so they could talk to each other. Faber could hear everything that happened at Montags house when he was talking to Millie and her two friends. My favorite part of the whole book was when Faber was listening in on the talk that Montag and Beatty were having.
I think Beatty knows almost everything about Montag, how he feels, what he has been up to, and that he doesn't want to be a fire man anymore. When Beatty and Montag were talking Faber kept reminding Montag not to fall for what Beatty was saying. I think Faber was right in his assumption that beatty knew how Montag felt and was trying to get to him.
During their talk Beatty was explaining to Montag how books were bad and the reasons for not reading and being a fireman. Beatty said, on page 107, "Knowledge is power!" This relates back to everything we talked about in the past two classes. The more an individual knows, the more powerful that individual can be. I think what Beatty means is that books include information and knowledge in them. The more books a person reads, the more knowledgable they get and the more powerful they get. Beatty and the other firemen do not want anyone to be powerful or even knowledgable.

First amendment and Fahrenheit

After reading The first section of Fahrenheit, I can see why we discussed the first amendment in class. Throughout the first section I probably thought about the first amentmant about 5 times while I was reading. The big part of the first amendment was about having freedome but you must maintain peace. Peace is the key word. Throughout this reading I thought that the fire men and everyone else who is considered "normal" in the book cared too much about maintaining peace throughout their community.
For example, on page 59 Beatty explained, "You must understand that our civilization is so vast that we can't have our minorities uspet and stirred... People want to be happy..Don't we keep them moving dont we give them fun?" Then he later explains how by saying, "Colored people don't like little black sambo. Burn it. Someone's written a book on tobacco and cancer of the lungs? The ciggarette people are weeping? Burn the book. Serenity, Montag. Peace, Montag. Funerals are unhappy and pagan? Eliminate them, too."
I think Beatty is using the first amendment as an excuse to say that everyone wants peace and the only way to maintain peace throughout everyone is to make sure everyone is the same and all the "bad" things are eliminated.
Beatty thinks everything that makes anyone unhappy or sad should be destroyed. He believes life would be so much easier and so much better. I don't think this is what the first amendment is saying should be done at all! I just think that the book is using the first amendment as an excuse for the sick characters that want to take the easy way out and make everyone almost the same and somewhat happy.
I'm pretty sure that Guy realizes now (and that clarisse had already figured out a long time ago) that making everyone the same is a horrible idea. That people need to be challenged every day because it helps them learn, it helps them become an individual. Peace can still be maintained even if everyone isn't the same and even if some people disagree on certain things.

Fahrenheit 451

I just finished reading The Hearth and the Salamander and really enjoy this section of the book. This is the second time I am going to be reading this book. I read Fahrenheit in 11th grade. I enjoyed it when I read it in 11th grade but now, reading it for the second time, I am reading certain parts of the book that make more sence and connect the story together.
So far this book is about Guy Montag who is a fire fighter who burns books instead of putting out fires. I really like the character Guy. Throughout this section of the book you can see how he changes and comes to realize how crazy it is to burn books. He says that he doesn't feel happy anymore, he's always mad, he just feels horrible. I think the two things that really made him think about his life and if he is happy or not are Clarrise and when Guy and his crew burned the women with her books.
Clarisse was a very unique character and i really enjoyed reading parts of the book with her in it. She actually reminded me of the girl from Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix, Luna lovegood. She just seemed like she was out there and weird, but on the other hand she was very interesting and enjoyable. Even though she seemed weird compared to all the other characters in Fahrenheit, I think she seemed weird because she was actually the only normal character in the book, which made her seem weird. On page 9 she says " I sometimes think drivers don't know what grass is, or flowers, becasue they never see them slowly. If you showed a driver a green blur, oh yes! he'd say, that's grass!" I think by making Clarisse say things like this, the author makes her seem like she really appreciates things and thinks about everything and makes her seems intellegent.
When Guy and his crew burnt the women and her books I think Guy, like any other normal human being, saw her face and it just totally changed his mind and even his life. He understood that if a women would sacrifice her life for a book then why are they so bad that him and his crew must burn them? Or why would his crew want to burn books so bad that they would murder another human being? I think guy realized that he no longer wants to burn books or make a living by being a fire man.
At this point in the book I think Guy is still really confused. I think that he definitely knows he doesn't ever want to burn another book again, or even walk back into the fire house, but I don't think he has a clue about what he is actually going to do about his situation. He seems like he is stuck, scared, confused, hurt, and mad, but committed to finding a way out.


*Some questions i have about this section of the book are: Did Clarisse really die? I dont think it made it very clear if she is dead or not, well at least i couldn't tell. Did Mrs. Montag feel the book that Guy hid under his pillow? Has guy always felt this way about books (always interested in books and never really liked his job)?

Banned books

We have been talking alot about banning books and what books should and shouldn't be banned. I don't believe that books should be banned from libraries. I believe that any person who wants to extend their knowledge by reading a book should be able to choose any book they want to read. Weather it has harsh language, sexual content, or violence, the person reading the book is reading it to gain knowledge of whatever the book is about. There are so many good books that portray at least one of them three "bad" qualities that really are meaningfull books to read.
On the other hand, I think that if a teacher assigns a book to the class and a childs parent doesn't want them reading that book for a certain reason, the teacher should allow that student to read a different book instead. You cant blame parents for wanting to protect their childs innocents. I understand that kids are going to see, hear, and talk about things that no parent wants their child to see, hear, or talk about, but I believe that they do have the right to take a stand and decide whats write for their child.

school

WOW! I really couldn't think of anything to write about today. I might just be having one of them days where my brain isn't working right and i can't come up with anything exciting to write about. The only thing I can think to write about is school. Before this semester started I was dreading comming to school. I really wasn't looking forward to attending HACC and i didn't even want to think about it. I hated high school as well. I didn't really enjoy learning or being stuck in school for 8 hours a day. I was really upset when it got down to the last week of summer and I knew school was right around the corner.
Surprisingly, I am actually excited about how much I enjoy most of my classes and comming to school 4 days a week. I am doing a lot better than i expected in all of my classes and I am also studying more than i thought I ever would. Even though I am studying my ass off, it really doesn't bother me that i spend so much time on school work. It seems like the nighs just fly by whenever i am studying or doing school work. I mean i still make time for a social life, which is very important for most people my age. I feel like i am juggling my school work and my social life in a really good manner though.
When people like my friends, my parents, my recent teachers, or my coworkers ask me how i like school, my response is usually a good one. I mean of course I don't like taking tests and quizes, but who does?

Fair Time

The fair just opened yesterday and i am not excited to go at all. I think this is the first year that there is not one part of me that even wants to go a little. The fair is the same thing over and over again every year. I think it just gets old after so many years. I went to West York my whole life and every september when the fair was open we would get out of school early to go to the fair on student day. Almost everyone from the middle school and high school would either drive or walk over to the fair because the fair was so close. When I was in middle school I would love getting on the rides, that was the only reason I would want to go. Well other than being with all my friends. The fair food is the best too! They have the most best, but fattening food around. It's always the same every year though, same food, same rides, same games, and the same of almost anything else you could think of. I honestly think if they would change some things around then more people would want to go. I understand how long the fair has been going on and its a lot of traditional things that get set up every year, but I still think they should change something about it.
Even though i don't think I'm going to go, if you have never been there you should definitely go! It's an awesome experience and could be a lot of fun.

Writing from the Darkness

I really enjoyed reading this passage. The author was great at explaining how she felt about writing and how she used writing to "escape" from everything else. She pretty much explained at one point in the passage that writing was her was her way out instead of suicide. I wish i had the talent, like the author does in this passage, to clearly explain and express her feelings about writing and how she deals with her problems.
I sometimes feel like I need a "way out" but i dont know how to get there. For example, in this passage she uses writing as her way out. Maybe writing every night in a journal would help me with "finding myself" or just getting away. I feel like my life isn't right, like the author of this passage somewhat explained, I feel like I dont fit in with my family and I'm never happy like I use to be. I always wish that there was something that i could do, that nobody else would know about, that would help me to just "get away."

CLASS DISCUSSION

Even though i didn't say much, i really enjoyed today's discussion in class. There were so many things that i did and didn't agree with. For example, I agree that teachers should be able to teach the way that they want to as long as they meet the criteria. I also agreed with the main subjects that had to be taught. Even though you wont need some of the knowledge your taught from them classes i think its good to be learning whatever you can up until high school. Kind of like training your brain before you would run off and go to college to learn what you then, actualy want to learn. I actualy can't decide what side I'm on about the whole language discussion. I keep thinking totaly different thoughts about language being a manditory class.

"What Should Colleges Teach?"

I totaly disagree with this article. I believe writing and reading are major subjects in a students life. You may never again use your math skills, science skills, or even history skills, but you will always, no matter what use your reading and writing skills. We, as human beings read sommething every day, weather its the news paper or a street sign. We also use our writing skills a lot, between our jobs, our schooling, or even chatting on the internet, writing will be a skill that we will never be able to forget. This is the reason why i think it is such a big deal to teach students the major objectives to writing a good paper. After the teacher has instructed them on ways to being a good writer he/she should then drill these techniques into their head over and over again.
When i was in high school my teachers barely cared what we wrote, as long as it was a certain length. I think I would be a lot farther in writing if my teachers would have pushed me to become a better writer instead of "taking it easy" on me.

What is good writing?

A good piece of writing should have a purpose and i topic that draws the reader in. When writing, you, as the writer should try to make the topic very intesting so you can grasp the attention of your audience. Creativeness, use of emotion, and critical thinking can all help make different kinds of writings interesting. The topic should flow through out the writing but the reader should never lose sight of it. Good writing also has focus which means it is focused on one topic. Lastly, a good piece of writing always has good use of grammar.