Being a nonconformist is encouraged by certain people. Although being an individual may sound like a good idea there are consequences that come with it just like anything else. The movie Dead Poets Society shows the many consequences that nonconformists are faced with. One consequence is that the nonconformist would be thought of as different and not accepted by others. An example of this was in the beginning of the movie how Mr.Keating was first thought of by his students. Since he appeared to be different and more lively than the other teachers the boys didn't know what to make of him or think. It was easy to tell by their body language that they didn't accept Mr.Keating from the beginning. It took time for them to learn to like him and understand his teaching method.
In addition to being thought of as differently another consequence of being a nonconformist is that issues could occur with family members or friends because of different beliefs or interests. Dead Poets Society expressed this issue as well. Neil Perry and his father Mr.Perry often got into arguments because Neil wanted to do something different than what Mr.Perry wanted for him. By Neil doing this he was being an individual. He decided to take the lead role in a play even though his father forbid it. By Neil doing that an argument between him and his father broke out. Another consequence to nonconformity is being reprimanded for not doing things the traditional way. Mr.Keating was often judged by the headmaster of the school. He would imply that Mr.Keating should teach his class differently in a more traditional way like other English teachers. Throughout the movie he would tell Mr.Keating that he shouldn't tell the boys to be their own person because it wouldn't lead to anything good. The way he ran the school was almost opposite to the way Mr.Keating ran his classroom. Mr.Keating was even fired from the school by the end of the movie. Nonconformity has many consequences and the Dead Poets Society displays a great amount of them.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Modern Day Transcendentalist
Oprah Winfrey could be considered a modern day transcendentalist. A simplified definition of a transcendentalist would be a person who is an individual who doesn't feel the need to take part in conformity and does what they want despite what others may think of them. Oprah Winfrey could be considered one of these people.
This picture is a photo of Oprah and it shows how successful she has became throughout her life. She has her own talk show, magazine, and now television network. Oprah hasnt done this becasue others had influenced her but becasue she herself wants to do it. She had the ability to accomplish all these things because she is a strong individual. Someone who was a conformist would probably would never be able to reach success of such high amounts as Oprah. The reason she is so popular today is because she has an individual personality, thinks in different inventive ways, and wants to help people. Besides Lady Gaga Oprah is a good example of a modern day transcendentalist she has delt with so much, acheived such high success, remained to be an individual, and has resisted influence form others.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Walden Post
To many people, living in solitude for a complete two years would seem like a waste of time. Henry David Thoreau did exactly this but his time was very well spent. He accomplished all that he wished to do. The main reason some thought of it as a waste of time was because he was misunderstood. Many people like Henry for example still did great things even if they were misunderstood. After hearing Henry Thoreau’s story many would still think that living on Walden pond for two years was a waste of time, but it was not he completed his three main goals and had a good reason for living there in the first place.
Henry Thoreau moved away from society to a little remote cabin on Walden pond and lived there for a total of two years, two months, and two days. Most wouldn’t consider the amount of what he accomplished to be of value. No one understood his purpose for being there either. "I did not wish to live what was not life,living is so dear"(Henry Thoreau, 383); Henry thought that if you were not enjoying your life then you were not truly living it. For his own personal interest and to fulfill his needs he decided to live at Walden Pond. He was content with his life and enjoyed living there so it shouldn’t be thought of as a waste of time. His family and friends thought that what he was doing was pointless but really it was just misunderstood. Generally, for most people when they have a hard time understanding something or are having trouble it is more common to give up and dismiss it as being unimportant rather than try to understand and think about it deeper. That was the case in Henry Thoreau’s situation. No one really understood the meaning behind him moving and living in isolation. They just thought of him as being odd instead of taking the time to think of the situation from his point of view. He lived there for a purpose, he was overwhelmed by the hectic city life and all the progress that was taking place around him. He just wanted a simple life again. Everyone just thought he was doing absolutely nothing but in reality he was getting to know him self and nature.
Henry had three main goals of living on Walden Pond. They were to escape the chaos of his home town, get to know himself better, and get acquainted with nature. He felt that the factories, roads, and homes were ruining the forests. To him everything about the city was chaotic and the progress being made was actually not as beneficial as most others thought. His way of escaping it and appreciating the beauty of nature was to live on Walden Pond. This way he got to live in peace and take in all the nature exposed to him. “Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life”(Henry Thoreau, 384)? This quote helps explain his feelings towards nature and life and how he thought that his time was much better spent enjoying life in nature instead of in a city where he didn’t want to be living. Living all on his own meant that he would be left alone with only his thoughts to keep him company. This allowed him to really get to know him self much better. He could work on writing in his journals and think deeply on matters he would not be able to if he lived in the city. By living on Walden Pond he accomplished all the things he went there to do. Since all his goals were accomplished and he had done exactly what he had set out to do there is no way his time living there could have been a waste.
If Henry had never lived on Walden Pond he would not be known for his work today. His story is the reason his work got published and is part of our curriculum. Thousands of students across the U.S. now know Henry and are reading his works and using his quotes. He did all that he wanted to do at Walden Pond and it is the reason he is known today. His two years, two months, and two days spent on Walden Pond cannot be thought of as a waste of time.
http://shelterseeker.blogspot.com/2008/02/thoreaus-little-house-at-walden-pond.html
Henry Thoreau moved away from society to a little remote cabin on Walden pond and lived there for a total of two years, two months, and two days. Most wouldn’t consider the amount of what he accomplished to be of value. No one understood his purpose for being there either. "I did not wish to live what was not life,living is so dear"(Henry Thoreau, 383); Henry thought that if you were not enjoying your life then you were not truly living it. For his own personal interest and to fulfill his needs he decided to live at Walden Pond. He was content with his life and enjoyed living there so it shouldn’t be thought of as a waste of time. His family and friends thought that what he was doing was pointless but really it was just misunderstood. Generally, for most people when they have a hard time understanding something or are having trouble it is more common to give up and dismiss it as being unimportant rather than try to understand and think about it deeper. That was the case in Henry Thoreau’s situation. No one really understood the meaning behind him moving and living in isolation. They just thought of him as being odd instead of taking the time to think of the situation from his point of view. He lived there for a purpose, he was overwhelmed by the hectic city life and all the progress that was taking place around him. He just wanted a simple life again. Everyone just thought he was doing absolutely nothing but in reality he was getting to know him self and nature.
http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/OpenSpaces/Pages/ForestPreservation.aspx
Henry had three main goals of living on Walden Pond. They were to escape the chaos of his home town, get to know himself better, and get acquainted with nature. He felt that the factories, roads, and homes were ruining the forests. To him everything about the city was chaotic and the progress being made was actually not as beneficial as most others thought. His way of escaping it and appreciating the beauty of nature was to live on Walden Pond. This way he got to live in peace and take in all the nature exposed to him. “Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life”(Henry Thoreau, 384)? This quote helps explain his feelings towards nature and life and how he thought that his time was much better spent enjoying life in nature instead of in a city where he didn’t want to be living. Living all on his own meant that he would be left alone with only his thoughts to keep him company. This allowed him to really get to know him self much better. He could work on writing in his journals and think deeply on matters he would not be able to if he lived in the city. By living on Walden Pond he accomplished all the things he went there to do. Since all his goals were accomplished and he had done exactly what he had set out to do there is no way his time living there could have been a waste.
http://sayiamgreen.com/blog/2009/09/the-10-most-polluted-cities-in-the-world/
If Henry had never lived on Walden Pond he would not be known for his work today. His story is the reason his work got published and is part of our curriculum. Thousands of students across the U.S. now know Henry and are reading his works and using his quotes. He did all that he wanted to do at Walden Pond and it is the reason he is known today. His two years, two months, and two days spent on Walden Pond cannot be thought of as a waste of time.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Declaration
We the students of Grosse Pointe South High School believe that we have not been treated fairly and just. Our rights have been neglected and trampled over. Grosse Pointe South students all have specific rights and freedoms that are allowed. We are entitled to the best possible education, meaning that we have the freedom to get the extra help in school if needed. We are also responsible for our own learning. We have the right to learn when we want to, and not learn when we want to, but we will be responsible for our actions and own up to them. Every GPS student is entitled to be respected and treated fairly along with everyone else. The students also are responsible for their own actions. We are told to be responsible for the choices we make and the things we do. But we in turn would like the same from our school and faculty. We the people of this 2nd hour class in turn right down these complaints as an attempt to abolish the problems set forth in our mind.
10 Complaint
I. Staff should no longer lock the doors at 9 o’clock for school dances. People should be able to come and go as they please. If the students bought a ticket they should have the right to do what they want. Students spend a lot of time and money in preparation for dances if they get to the school after 9 o’clock then they should be allowed entrance. It is a silly rule and should be forgotten about.
II. All class rooms at South High School should be changed into green light classrooms. A green light room doesn’t mean you are texting or calling people the whole class period it just means students are allowed their phones for educational purposes. Phones today are equipped with so much technology that they are very helpful and give easy access to information one would not normally have in class. Most students have their phones in red light class rooms anyway they are just forced to be more sneaky about it witch actually causes them to pay even less attention. As long as they are not being disruptive or being distracting to other students there is no problem caused by having a phone in class.
III. Selling items should not be forbidden on school campus. As long as nothing illegal is being distributed or shared among the students there would be no issues. Selling things could actually make our school better. The students could hold bake sales to promote different clubs. School groups could sell whatever they wanted too. Or individuals could just hold sales. If everyone was allowed to then it wouldn’t become unfair it would just create healthy competition.
IV. The schools tardy policy should be eliminated. It states that each student is responsible for their own education. If that is true then students should be able to arrive when they want to for class. There should be no additional punishment after students have been late to class a certain number of times. Being late to class is already punishment enough because students miss part of the lesson and it is harder for them to catch up. No additional detention is necessary.
V. There should not be certain classes that are required for graduation. Some courses like English, mathematics, science, and history are reasonable classes to be required because those have basic information that one will need for college. Others like an art course and health should not be required. Not all students will go onto doing those things in college so they should be spending their time taking classes that will benefit them and help them in the long run. English, mathematics, science, and history are obvious classes that should be required but all other electives should be optional.
VI. Students are not allowed to eat in their cars at lunch or they can lose their parking rights. This rule is pointless and students should not have to follow it. If they are allowed to drive their cars at lunch and leave campus they should be able to eat in their cars too. It is stupid to not allow them to inside their cars and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. We declare that the rule should be abolished because it violates student rights.
VII. Most teachers will not accept work if it is turned in late and will give the student a zero for the assignment. A zero on even a small assignment can greatly hurt an overall grade. I do believe points should be taken off for not turning an assignment in on time but it should not result in a zero. If effort is put into the homework and it is not too late the student should still get credit for his/her work. Sometimes you forget or you are too overwhelmed with other classes to get it done on time and you should not be punished so severely for it.
VIII. Many students and staff at Grosse Pointe South are a legal age for smoking. It is not against the law and it should be allowed. Earlier generations actually had smoking lounges within the school. It should at least be accepted on the campus.
IX In Mr. Provensano’s class it is required for all students to post nearly all their assignments on the class blog. This is a hassle for a lot of students and it is a waste of time. Why is it necessary to post something online? It is much easier to just print the assignment out and turn it in like we have been doing in all of our past years at school. Also some kids may not want their work read by other classmates. They might be afraid of getting made fun of or something else but either way they should not have to do it in the first place.
X. When in the course of a school year you are bound to lose your id at some point. It does not happen as much anymore since we are not required to have them on us at all times but they are still missed placed. If you lose your id you cannot get into dances and you would have to pay to get into football games. It cost one dollar to buy a new id and another dollar for the lanyard. We are living in tough economic times and should not have to pay this fine.
If our independence is not granted, in the fullest extent the students will boycott all incoming assignments and classwork. We need these to be granted in order for Grosse Pointe South students to be as effective and productive as possible. If these demands are met all students will have a more affective education in order for us to succeed.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Elizabeths life after John
Elizabeth Proctor decided she could simply not live like this anymore. Traumatic events had continuously been happening to her. She could not fathom why God would be placing all these burdens on her shoulders. She was a good Christian woman that loved the Lord. She couldn’t understand of all the people on Earth why he chose her to suffer. First off her beloved husband had committed adultery which was very difficult for her to deal with. Several months after that occurred Abigail Warren had accused her of witchcraft. She had almost lost her life but thankfully did not. As soon as she got the relief that she was safe she found out that John was going to be hanged. It was horrible to live alone with the children and no husband. Life was much harder for her. She longed for him. The house always felt empty without John’s presence. The only thing that kept her going every day was that she knew she would soon be given a new healthy baby. She always believed that if one person went off of the earth then a new one would come in to take their place.
The new baby would help Elizabeth fill the void of her husband. Since the thought of the new baby was so reassuring for her it made it even harder to hear from the doctor directly after she had given birth that it had passed away. The thought of her having a new beautiful baby in her arms kept her going ever day after Johns death. Elizabeth was so horrified with the news the doctor had given her she nearly fainted. She could not stay in town any longer. There were too many people in the town like Parris and Abigail she could just not deal with seeing anymore and the majority of her close friends had died in the Witch Trials. She felt in necessary to leave. Her and her younger sister had been keeping in touch through letters. She lived about 5 hours away from Elizabeth by buggy. Elizabeth had explained all the hardships that her and her children were going through. The two of them decided that it would be best if Elizabeth brought the children and moved in with Lillian. Lillian’s husband had a very good job so he could support them as well as Lillian and the two children of their own. Directly after the death of her baby she and the children packed up and left town. They hadn’t told anyone where they were going. Elizabeth knew they would never see these people again once they left so she didn’t think it was needed to let them know where she was going. Elizabeth and the children tied their two horses up to the buggy, brought all of their belongings and rode away from the town in the dead of night. It was a hard journey but she knew that a better life would be waiting for them with Lillian and her Family.
The trip was bitterly cold and seemed to go on forever. She knew it was worth it when they arrived to Lillian’s smug home at the break of dawn. As she unloaded all of their belongings from the buggy she just watched smoke puff up from the chimney and sensed the peacefulness of their new town. The sun was rising and she could tell that this would a new begging for them. From this point on she knew things would get better. She was determined to have a fresh start. She would leave all of her troubles and try to move on and be happy once again. She couldn’t remember the last time she had smiled. But at that moment when she was standing in front of her sister’s home with her children and taking in the serenity of the dawn breaking she couldn’t help but smile.
6 months later Elizabeth and her family were completely settled in. They had moved from Lillian’s home and gotten their very own. They had a wonderful time with them but Elizabeth felt she was back on her feet and could live alone again. They stayed in the town just a few houses away so that Lillian could help out Elizabeth with the children. Lillian’s husband Mathew gave Elizabeth a job on his farm. It was highly unusual to employee women but he made an exception since Elizabeth was his sister-in-law. The boys went to school and would go to their aunt Lillian’s to wait for their mom to come home every day. She could support her family all on her own and they attended church every Sunday. Elizabeth and the boys finally had a daily routine now and things were finally in order. She was finally to the point that she had been waiting for. She didn’t have to cry herself to sleep anymore or wonder when things would be better. Elizabeth no longer needed to put on a happy face for her children because she actually was. She was finally genuinely happy. It had been a long and hard journey to get to this point but they had finally made it. Elizabeth was a stronger woman because of all the things that had happened to her in the last two years. She had never given up and was ready for whatever else God had in store for her.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Crucible Essay
The Salem Witch Trials was a very tragic event displayed in The Crucible. Many innocent people were accused of being witches and died as a result. Many people influenced the Salem Witch Trials. The three people that had the greatest impact on them were Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Mary Warren.
Abigail Williams influenced the Salem Witch trials a great deal. She manipulated everyone in the town a great deal. If it weren't for her and the other girls dancing in the woods and conjuring spirits witch craft would have never even be mentioned in the town. Abigail took control very early on in the play. She made it very clear to all the girls that they were to say that they danced in the woods and nothing else. She felt it very necessary to lie since she did much more than dancing in the woods. "And mark this. Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word about the other things, and i will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy recognising that will shudder you" (20). She had control over the town through fear. She installed fear in the girls by threatening each of them with death. Not only did she intimidate only the girls but the town as well. They all feared she would accuse them of witchery and she would have their lives as a result. She would accuse innocent people in order to keep the blame away from herself. As soon as someone would doubt her she would take the focus away from her and project it onto someone else. An example of this was in Act 3 in the court room when Mary Warren confessed that the devil never came to her and nobody was ever seen with him. As soon as the judges asked Abigail if this was true she quickly made a scene and made it look like Mary Warrens spirit was coming after her. She would lie and make it seem like she was doing this for God but in reality she was doing this to save herself. Abigail Williams had the largest impact of every one in the entire play.
In addition to Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth played a big ole in the Salem Witch Trials. He had the power to stop Abigail and take control in order to make the town normal again. But he chose not to. "They're gulling you, Mister"( 117)! Proctor tried to show Danforth multiple times that the girls were lying. Danforth didn't stop for a moment to doubt the girls. He believed every single word that Abigail told him. By doing this so many innocent people were harmed. If he has only seen the truth in Abigail and the other girls lies the situation could have easily been resolved.
Lastly, the third person that had a large impact on the Salem Witch Trials was Mary Warren. Through out the entire play her actions showed that she was a follower. But if someone who was a follower like Mary Warren was in that situation you would think that they would stand up and take charge to save innocent lives. For a moment in the court house she held the power. She confessed to the judges that it had all been a lie and they had never seen the Devil. She felt threat end though and quickly ran back to Abigail's side. "You're the Devil's man"(118)! She accused proctor of threatening her and coming to her in the night with the Devil. If she had only stayed truthful and exposed the girls the outcome of the play would have been completely different.
The Witch Trials was an unnecessary event. It could have been avoided or at least the death tole could have been much lower. If certain people reacted differently then the outcome could have been altered. In conclusion, the three people who played the biggest role were Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Mary Warren.
Abigail Williams influenced the Salem Witch trials a great deal. She manipulated everyone in the town a great deal. If it weren't for her and the other girls dancing in the woods and conjuring spirits witch craft would have never even be mentioned in the town. Abigail took control very early on in the play. She made it very clear to all the girls that they were to say that they danced in the woods and nothing else. She felt it very necessary to lie since she did much more than dancing in the woods. "And mark this. Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word about the other things, and i will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy recognising that will shudder you" (20). She had control over the town through fear. She installed fear in the girls by threatening each of them with death. Not only did she intimidate only the girls but the town as well. They all feared she would accuse them of witchery and she would have their lives as a result. She would accuse innocent people in order to keep the blame away from herself. As soon as someone would doubt her she would take the focus away from her and project it onto someone else. An example of this was in Act 3 in the court room when Mary Warren confessed that the devil never came to her and nobody was ever seen with him. As soon as the judges asked Abigail if this was true she quickly made a scene and made it look like Mary Warrens spirit was coming after her. She would lie and make it seem like she was doing this for God but in reality she was doing this to save herself. Abigail Williams had the largest impact of every one in the entire play.
In addition to Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth played a big ole in the Salem Witch Trials. He had the power to stop Abigail and take control in order to make the town normal again. But he chose not to. "They're gulling you, Mister"( 117)! Proctor tried to show Danforth multiple times that the girls were lying. Danforth didn't stop for a moment to doubt the girls. He believed every single word that Abigail told him. By doing this so many innocent people were harmed. If he has only seen the truth in Abigail and the other girls lies the situation could have easily been resolved.
Lastly, the third person that had a large impact on the Salem Witch Trials was Mary Warren. Through out the entire play her actions showed that she was a follower. But if someone who was a follower like Mary Warren was in that situation you would think that they would stand up and take charge to save innocent lives. For a moment in the court house she held the power. She confessed to the judges that it had all been a lie and they had never seen the Devil. She felt threat end though and quickly ran back to Abigail's side. "You're the Devil's man"(118)! She accused proctor of threatening her and coming to her in the night with the Devil. If she had only stayed truthful and exposed the girls the outcome of the play would have been completely different.
The Witch Trials was an unnecessary event. It could have been avoided or at least the death tole could have been much lower. If certain people reacted differently then the outcome could have been altered. In conclusion, the three people who played the biggest role were Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Mary Warren.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Crucible Post 2
To be willing to deny what you believe in or lie to protect yourself is a hard decision. Ideally what you should do is stand up for your beliefs and not let what anyone else says phase you. But often that is not what people do. Many people in life are cruel. Your first instinct is usually to protect yourself. If you arn't the same or think something different then people can tease you or make you feel like an outsider. Those are not things that one wants for themselves so they would obviously try to avoid those consequences at all costs. Some people will say they would stand up for what they think no matter what but if they were put into that situation it is most likely that they would lie. If someone stands up to others to defend their beliefs they are very brave. Most people do not react the same way.
Personally, I would probably lie to protect myself. I wish that I could say I would stand up for what I thought no matter how other people reacted to it but in reality I would probably not. The fear of being an outsider or being made fun of is very large. If I had control over myself being accepted by others I would obviously choose to be accepted rather than an outsider. If it was something small that I would not be willing to put up a fight for I would lie about it then. If I felt very strongly about something or if I was asked about my religon I wouldnt lie becuase things like that are important to me. And just becasue others would judge me about it I would still say what I thought. For the most part I would do everything in my power to protect myslef unless it was something I really cared about then I would just hope people accept me for my opinion.
Personally, I would probably lie to protect myself. I wish that I could say I would stand up for what I thought no matter how other people reacted to it but in reality I would probably not. The fear of being an outsider or being made fun of is very large. If I had control over myself being accepted by others I would obviously choose to be accepted rather than an outsider. If it was something small that I would not be willing to put up a fight for I would lie about it then. If I felt very strongly about something or if I was asked about my religon I wouldnt lie becuase things like that are important to me. And just becasue others would judge me about it I would still say what I thought. For the most part I would do everything in my power to protect myslef unless it was something I really cared about then I would just hope people accept me for my opinion.
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