Janie

When reading the book Their Eyes Were Watching God, and following Janie on her adventure through three marriages there is one underlying theme that sticks out to me. The underlying theme is Janie's exploration of what role she occupies in all of her relationships. In my opinion I believe in each relationship she experiences, in chronological order, she loses more control over her significant other than the previous. I think it's very interesting to study the effects of how the amount of control/power one has in a relationship can effect them, in this case Janie.
Towards the beginning of the story Janie gets married off to a man named Logan Killicks. It is made very apparent that Janie does not love Logan but she continues to be with him with the intentions of developing strong feelings for him. With Janie going into a marriage with a man she knows she doesn't love, she has nothing to loose except wealth, so really, she controls all power in the relationship. With this power she begins talking to a man named Joe Stark, and continually gets more and more frustrated with Logan. Eventually she leaves Logan in the dust for him not feeling bad at all.
Janie's marriage with Jody is an interesting case, because in my opinion I believe they both hold equal power in the relationship. Jody is very wealthy, bold, powerful, political figure that is extremely determined, and Janie is desired by everyone because of her beauty. This situation makes it hard for either of them to leave each other, shown by the fact that they stayed together until well... death did them part. One interesting thing to note about their relationship is, it was very apparent that they were unhappy with one another but regardless of this, I believe, due to the complete balance in power in the relationship, it naturally kept them together.
Finally, after the death of Joe Stark, Janie waited some months only to run off from Eatonville and marry a man named Vergible Woods. In this marriage, it is extremely apparent, at least to me, that Janie is completely head over heels for this man, putting all the power in his hands. What does this imbalance in power create? It creates fear, jealousy, depression, and occasional moments of pure bliss within Janie. She is so constantly worried that he is going to leave her that whenever he leaves she gets jealous of other girls, depressed that she can't see him, and fears the departure of him from her life forever. I think that this is very interesting and really reflects what power in a relationship can do to people.

Thankful For A Classmate

       This Thanksgiving I have many things to be thankful for, as well as much to appreciate and reflect on. One person I can thoroughly say I am thankful for, is my good friend Jonnathan Cuji. Cuji and I first met last year in Ms. Wolfe's english class, and so far this year, Mr. McCarthy's class has been a blast. Cuji has not only been a great person to work with, but is a highly intelligent individual with great insight on the books and stories we read. Whenever we are participating in group work, Cuji always seems to have something wise to say. On top of all, Cuji is always there to lend me a pencil when I need it. For all of this, I can't thank Cuji enough for being the friend, teacher, and great person he is. 

Hemingway

           If you ask me, Ernest Hemingway will to this day remain one of the most talented writers in the category of American literature, which is shown by his work still being extremely valued to this day. Although his work is incredible, not only in the eyes of the public, but in my eyes as well, there still remains a side to Hemingway that I can not find it in me to look past. I
           Most people often focus on the accomplishments of Ernest Hemingway, but don't realize the true person he is, and some of the great flaws in his personality. Although the flaws in his personality may not take away from his gift to write, they should still be noted, because his work is already well known by many. Hemingway's biggest flaws all seemed to string from his lack of masculinity as a child. This lack of masculinity may have lead to his over compensation of it in his later years, as well as creating many insecurities in him. 
            In his earlier years, Hemingway attempted to play football in high school, but he wasn't very athletic and gave it up quickly. Then, he was put in a situation where his parent wanted him to go to college, but instead he began working. As he continued growing up, and WWI began, he found a great desire to join the army. When the army rejected him due to his eyesight, he continued to pursue his passion to fight for his country, and joined the red-cross instead. In my opinion, the beginning of his life appeared to be a struggle for him to prove his masculinity when it wasn't the quality he was set out to have 
            Hemingway grew older, traveled, wrote, and met a lot of different women along the way. Staying with many of the women for long amounts of time, continuously having affairs, and ending up alone again, no woman seemed to be the right woman for him. Another noticeable quality with him was his desire to alway be better than his significant other, which can be connected back to his childhood, where his mother dominated his father in the marriage.  
            In the end, in my eyes, Hemingway was nothing more than a man that constantly battled his desires to be masculine. In my eyes, masculinity was never cut out for him, but it definitely played a huge role in his life and his writing. Without it, I honestly can't say that I think he would be the same famous figure he stands as today, even in his grave. 

Six Word Stories

Bright headlights at night; Approaching fast.

Teddy bear in bed: Children absent.

Oh, the mornings we spent together.

My foolish mistakes were my blessings.

Idea of balance, threw you off.

Dawn of day; Impression of sunset.

John Proctor: Hero or Stooge?

       In my eyes I believe John Proctor is a heroic man for the life he lived. In a community where so many important decisions were made strictly based on religion, John Proctor seemed to take his own path. In a very subtle way, it almost appeared as though John rebelled against the lifestyle of the men and women that lived in his community. For example, he skipped church in a couple different scenarios, allowed his child to go unbaptized, and broke one of the ten commandments ("Thou shalt not commit adultery") which, coincidentally, is the commandment he later forgets, as Elizabeth, his wife, must remind him.
       Despite his not-so-religious lifestyle, the community of Salem still respected him and treated him with the same integrity as any other man living there at the time. Unfortunately his death was ultimately due his strong personal virtue, and his determination to tell the truth of his affair regardless of the damage on his public name. His troublesome past with Abigail, and the inability for Elizabeth and him to tell the same truth had him hung. Proctor goes to the gallows convinced he will go to heaven for proclaiming the truth, he also feels his long sin has finally been redeemed. He goes down the way a true hero should, with nothing left behind.

There Goes the Neighborhood

       Considering this blog entry is about the perspective of the native people living in the Americas, I decided the best way to fully understand how they felt, is to put myself in their shoes, and really imagine what it was like to be one of them at the time. On top of this, using my knowledge from class on some events that happened involving them, as well as taking into account some of the stories we've read, should bring everything together.
       It is a regular, everyday scene amongst my fellow people. Clothes being made out of a variety of furs, little ones running around playing imaginary games that I remember just as well from being that young, and others cooking meals for later in the day. This is only a small representation of what goes on around me. Packs of people lead out early in the day to hunt and gather fruits, nuts, and berries, and return at sundown with their hands full, as well as their brains filled with new knowledge. They bring us news of very large boats, spotted over the horizon heading this way. As the day continues, the news spreads fast amongst the people and they become eager to face whats coming our way. When the sun begins to set over the horizon, our chief comes out to speak to us. He says in the days to come we will welcome whatever arrives on the large boats with kindness, and allow them shelter and food if needed. We all agree, and head back to our living quarters for the night
       The next morning I wake up in awe to a sight before me. Our home set on fire, by the very white men that came on those evil boats. Through talking to some people I came to realize they tried to change our people over to a religion referred to as "Christianity". We kindly turned them down, considering we were happy as we were, and did not quite understand their type of god. They were very stubborn people, and appeared to get quite angry with us for refusing their "offer". Within short time they attacked us, forced us to work for them, and verbally abused us. This all came very unexpectedly considering our kindness in offering them a variety of foods, as well as shelter. They tortured all of us to by converting us to their god against our will. Those of us they did not kill, or force to work, ran away to new land where they tried to rebuild what we lost. Fortunately enough I was one of those people. I remember so clearly, catching a glimpse of what was behind me as I ran, so much loss and cruelty, the only thought that popped in my head was, "There goes the neighborhood."

Me

My name is Eric Thompson. I am fifteen years old, and I turn sixteen in February. I go to Whitney M. Young high school, and I am currently a sophomore. My family consists of my older brother Jack, my younger sister Valerie, my mom Marnie, and my dad John. I am very close with my family, and my family members are close with each other. We eat dinner together almost every night, and usually spend our Sundays together. I love to play soccer and lacrosse, my parents usually comes to most of my games. I am currently playing for the Whitney Young mens varsity soccer team, which is a lot of fun. Besides sports, I love to draw. I'm currently enrolled in an advanced placement studio art class. I found a passion for drawing last year when I took a regular studio art class. The only prior history I have with drawing is cartooning quite a bit when I was a kid, specifically around fourth grade. My old school was Near North Montessori, it was located a block away from Ashland and Division. Being a montessori school, it was definitely a different form of education than most schools. It allowed us the freedom to choose our work and find our own passion for learning. Having that freedom to strive and be creative, I would definitely say it helped shape me into the person I am today. I left the school two years ago, after eighth grade, and that's when I started my education at whitney young.