« September 2005 | Main | November 2005 »
October 31, 2005
Huckleberry Finn 24-finish
Throughout Huckleberry Finn I have been noticing the references to religion. Huck seems to be developing his religious beliefs. At the begining Huck was practically completly unlearned of religion. Throughout the book he has come into more and more contact with Christianity. There have been many people that have influenced him, starting with Miss Watson. He is coming to a much better understanding of this Christianity.
In the chapter, "You Can't Pray a Lie" Huck makes his biggest progress so far that I have read. He is having troubling praying and he says, "I felt good and all washed clean of sin for the first time I had ever felt so in my life, and I knowed I could pray now." I am very interested to see what happens until the end of the novel and I will blog my later thoughts when I finish.
I would also like to thank all you people out there that have been putting some effort into their blogs. You gave me a deeper insight into this book. I was having a lot of difficulty getting anything out of it. So, THANK YOU!
Posted by MichelleKoss at 03:39 PM | Comments (7)
October 26, 2005
I am a poet for a day!
I chose two Emily Dickinson's poems that deal with nature. I have a natural inclination to be drawn to nature, so these two poems fit me well. I am not a tree hugger Meredith! hahahh. I can't be because I fish and I am practicing shooting a bow to hunt. I guess I like to think of myself as someone who is one with the woods.....I take and give. hahaha. Anyway here are the poems that I chose.
II. MAY-FLOWER.
Pink, small, and punctual,
Aromatic, low,
Covert in April,
Candid in May,
Dear to the moss,
Known by the knoll,
Next to the robin
In every human soul.
Bold little beauty,
Bedecked with thee,
Nature forswears
Antiquity.
Here are some words that I looked up:
Antiquity - being ancient or old
Punctual - arriving at the time appointed;prompt
Aromatic - sweet smelling
Candid - not posed or rehearsed
(latin) candididus - glowing, white, pure
Knoll - small rounded hill or mound
Bedecked - to adorn or ornament in a showy fashion
Forswears - swear fasely
My interpertation:
The beautiful, loved flower springs up out of nowhere in May. It is loved by all humans and nature and it only lasts for a short amount of time.
IX. THE GRASS.
The grass so little has to do, --
A sphere of simple green,
With only butterflies to brood,
And bees to entertain,
And stir all day to pretty tunes
The breezes fetch along,
And hold the sunshine in its lap
And bow to everything;
And thread the dews all night, like pearls,
And make itself so fine, --
A duchess were too common
For such a noticing.
And even when it dies, to pass
In odors so divine,
As lowly spices gone to sleep,
Or amulets of pine.
And then to dwell in sovereign barns,
And dream the days away, --
The grass so little has to do,
I wish I were the hay!
Words I looked up:
Brood - to protect by or as if covering with the wing
Duchess - noblewoman
Divine - Sacred
Amulets - Object worn against evil
Lowly - humble or meek, plain
Sovereign - rank or power
My interpretation:
She has great envy towards the grass. It does nothing all day, relaxes, no worries and it also does many jobs. It holds lots of insects, animals, feeds animals, and gives a pleasant smell.
My presentation:
I think I did fairly well at pausing and giving emphasis where the poems needed. Everyone in the class seemed to like the idea of my theme of nature. I could have got a little more emotional, but that is kinda hard for me to do...I am little quiet. I also should have digested the poems longer and picked it apart. What does each line mean ect ect. Overall it was a good break from the usual class.
Posted by MichelleKoss at 02:16 PM | Comments (0)
October 25, 2005
Huckleberry Finn 1-24
The language that Mark Twain uses in this book cracks me up. The language used is just like someone that has not been educated. It sounds pretty hick...trust me I know....I am from a rural area haha. In chapter 5 it says, "Yo' ole father doan' know yit what he's a-gwyne to do." What kind of correct english is that. I think his choice to write just like a person in his position would have really talked brings this story to life. Although sometimes I get kinda annoyed reading it....I just want to be able to read it fast, but I have to concentrate. Another thing about the language is the treatment of the slaves. This also brings the story to a harsh reality that once was.
This really isn't the type of book that I would like to read. It's almost kinda boring. I know it is full of adventure, but it just doesn't seem like there is much depth. I guess I am more of a Scarlet Letter person. Although it is interesting to me to see how people lived back then. For example, the clothes they wore, the town-life, and how people were in such class brackets. I just hope this story gives me some kind of a moral at the end.
Posted by MichelleKoss at 09:05 PM | Comments (2)
October 09, 2005
Dickinson Selected poems
Dickinson has a great sense of life and happiness in her poems. She seems to be an optomistic person. Someone I would love to be around.
I her poem, "In a Library" I love the way she describes the history of thoughts. It is amazing to track the ideas of people throughout history. We can see how ideas have changed from the begining of writing. The poem starts off, "A precious, mouldering pleasure 't is To meet an antique book, In just the dress his century wore; A privilege, I think." Dickinson gives us a good description of the awesome feeling we get when we think about something from the past. We can read the exact words someone thought of thousands of years ago and that is truley amazing. The process of the thinking of human beings is being written down as we progress though time.
I love poem XVII. It states, "I never spoke with God, Nor visited in heaven; Yet certain am I of the spot As if the chart were given." This line is of such great importance. As a christian I know sometimes it is hard to think that I could be forgiven for all that I have done and there are times that I wonder if I will get into heaven. Then I remember that Jesus died for me and I am saved. I know that I have a spot in heaven. I know that he already has a place made for to live. Just because I have not seen it with my own eyes doesn't meen that I don't believe it. I have never seen the bottom of the ocean, but it exists, right?
Posted by MichelleKoss at 04:59 PM | Comments (2)
Poe other poems
Poe has an elegant way of writing that just sweeps me off my feet. I can't stop reading his stuff after I start. The way he uses his words are so graceful and flowing. Anyway now that I said that...
"Epigram for Wall street" was a very cute and clever poem. It was short, but sweet. A line that stuck out to me was, "This wonderful plan, without danger or loss, Keeps your cash in your hands, where nothing can trouble it." We are in a country so concerned with wealth and being better than our neighbor it sickens me. We have to buy and accumulate "stuff." If we just relax and save our money, then we will have more for things we really need. It is a great way to become wealthy....SAVE! If anyone out there needs some help with money I have heard a lot about Dave Ramsey.
"The Haunted Palace" reminded me a lot of "The Masque of the Red Death." It kinda has the same plot. There is a palace of great glory, wealth, and happiness, but something happens and all is ruined and tossed into darkness. The end lines from "The Huanted Palace" say, "And Travellers, now, within that valley, Through the red-litten windows see Vast forms, that move fantastically To a discordant melody, While, like a ghastly rapid river, Through the pale door A hideous thring rush out forever And laugh - but smile no more." These lines give me an image that I saw when I thought about the palace after the red death came. Maybe Poe wrote this poem before he wrote "The Masque of the Red Death" and then ended up writing a short story about it.
Posted by MichelleKoss at 03:09 PM | Comments (3)
Poe, "The Raven"
I had never read this poem before, but I did see the Halloween speacial of The simpsons when homer, marge, and bart it act out in their own version. I remember getting a weiry feeling from the episode. At the begining of reading this poem I had a weiry feeling, but at the end I just had a feeling of sadness and lonliness.
This poem is about the lonliness that you get in life. He has lost his wife, Lenore, and is suffering greatly from it. Everything in his life reminds him of her and she will not disappear. The raven stood for this constant reminder of her. The line of the poem that clearly drew a picture in my mind of this reminder of her is, "But whose velvet violet lining with the lamplight gloating o'er, She shall press, ah, nevermore." I have often been in the moment when something so little as fabic can bring back such memories. Smell has often brought back strong memories for me. Whatever emotion that it brings up inside us it is as if it will never go away. It is always there. It is a constant reminder of the past.
So, maybe Poe could have used some advice from this website.
Posted by MichelleKoss at 02:52 PM | Comments (1)
October 05, 2005
Walden Ch 13 and Ch 18
This story not only says that we need to simplify our lives, but the author also shows us how to live this type of life. When he is building his chimney it states, "My bricks, being second-hand ones, required to be cleaned with a trowel, so that I learned more than usual of the qualities of bricks and trowels (par 5)." He is not wasting prefectly good bricks that he already has. Although it is going to take him some work to clean the bricks he is not being lazy and going to his local distributor and flashing money in front of them. It also states, "I filled the spaces between the bricks about the fireplace with stones from the pond shore, and also made my mortar with the white sand from the same place (par 5)." He not only is reusing his bricks, but he is also uses the resources around him to complete his task. I think we can all learn a very valuable lesson from his conservation.
I also was wondering throughout this story how much contact he had with people. I often thought how lonley I would be. So it was interesting to me that he almost becomes friends with the fire. In paragraph 17 he says, "It was I and the Fire that lived there." Also later after he gets rid of his fire he says, "The stove not only took up room and scented the house, but it soncealed the fire, and I felt as if I has lost a companion. You can always see a face in the fire (par 19)." This is why people sit and stare at a fire. It draws us in, we can't look away, we try to discover what is inside the glowing flames. This also reminds me of the movie, Cast Away, when Tom Hanks becomes friends with Wilson his volleyball. The search for human contact is so great that we have to imagine something as human.
Posted by MichelleKoss at 02:18 PM | Comments (3)
October 04, 2005
Walden Ch 2 and Ch 4
I knew this story was going to be right up my alley when I saw the picture on the first page and read the title of the chapter. This story is about really living. It is about simplicity and being involved in the world around us(nature). Why have we become so materialistic? Why do we place such great importance on things?
There are people in this world, mostly everyone, that get into a routine and it becomes their life. Everyday they wake up and do the same things as they did before. We all become one of the crowd. We also indulge in anything that gives us pleasure or joy. For example food. We stuff ourselves even though we are not hungry. We try to fulfill our needs by eating....it makes us feel somewhat whole. Walden states, "Instead of three meals a day, if it be neccessary eat but one; instead of a hundred dishes, five; and reduce other things in proportion (par 17)." There is a song that directly relates to this story that I keep thinking of. If anyone is interested check out the lyrics to Dave Matthews Band song, "Ants Marching."
Posted by MichelleKoss at 10:43 PM | Comments (0)