"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer."

Most of this section made me realize what a liberal Thoreau was. He is basically saying to be your own person, do what you want and do it well. "It's like that can't eat, can't sleep, reach for the stars, over the fence, world series kinda stuff." He's saying that people get so caught up on material and worldy things, they forget to stop and think about what is going on in their own mind. And to Thoreau, that was the biggest gift of all. To be able to look inside yourself, and be the person that you were made to be. It's ok to have big dreams, and it's ok to try and accomplish them. I think it's better to strive for the biggest dream and fail, then never to try at all, because that definetly won't get you anywhere.

This entire chapter was about him building a chimney and a fire. Fire in general has to be the greatest accomplishment anyone living in the wilderness can achieve. Only, this fire, symbolized his life in the woods. Steady, and undying. Something that only a person that lived as he did could understand. The structure of his chimney,I think means that he has beaten the odds, he is surviving winter, and he's loving it. He loves the simple things in life. His entire house was one room. And to some, that doesn't mean much, but to him, it was better then any palace money could afford. When he burned different types of wood, he generalized which woods burned for length, which for heat, and which for both. The fire is really inside him, never burning out completely, and leaving him with hope and warmth that there are better days for mankind to come.

1)Discussion:
Interesting to say the least...

2)Timeliness:
Me? On time?

3)Interaction:
Read the one about Dimmsdale's Sermon in the middle of Jay's page, it was interactive all right haha.

4)Coverage:
I was pretty interested in Young Goodman Brown, so I tended to write a little more on that topic.

I also wrote a lot on a few chapters in The Scarlet Letter.

5) As for Xenoblogging, I could hardly figure out what I was doing half the time, let alone trying to help someone else. SORRY!

I for one know that this isn't the best blogging portfolio that Dr. Jerz has ever seen, however I gave it a shot. The only reason I fall behind on blogging is because it requires time that I don't always have. But, I can see how this would be helpful to any student that either missed a class, or has trouble asking questions infront of other people. On the whole, I seem to be able to post the first thing, then forget that I have to go back and check for comments, and by the time I do that, it's way to late to have any kind of conversation with anyone. However, this is something I plan on working on, so the next portfolio, I'm hoping, will turn out better. But by all means, enjoy!

I feel that this section, depicts perfectly what every parent wants for their children: for them to have a better life then they did themselves. All parents want to provide more for their kids, then their parents provided for them. Parents want to give their kids more then what they had in hopes that their children will do it for the next generation to come. Hester feels that through her mistake, Pearl could only gain the knowledge of what not to do, because of what she has seen her mother is going through. People say that the best way to learn is through experience, and if you experience the worst, it can only get better from there. I think Hester knew that, and she wanted to pass that on to her daughter, just like any parent would.