Civil Disobedience

Today we discussed Civil Disobedience. We discussed two major topics today- the first was whether civil disobedience typically is a successful form of protest and the second topic was whether the constitution should protect the burning of the American Flag. I agree that burning the American Flag in protest should not be punished. Even though, seeing the flag burned would upset me, I think that it would be hypocritical to not allow a person to burn the flag.

If the Flag is a symbol for America, then I think that by banning flag burning we would be banning one of the fundamental rights that we have and may be symbolized in the flag itself. It is freedom of speech (this would fall under symbolic speech.) What do you think about this? Should burning the American Flag be illegal? Could flag burning be considered civil disobedience?

Kelsey

6/10/09

Today in class we discussed Ralph Waldo Emerson's Self-Reliance. We talked about the quote, "To be great is to be misunderstood." However, Emerson's definition of great could be very different from some one else's definition. So we ask the question, what defines being great? Emerson gives examples of people who were misunderstood during their time but he defines them as great. He only gives a few examples and leaves out people who were considered great and understood. Another thing that we pointed out was that a theme of the Romantic writers was that they weren't appreciated or understood until after they died. So did Emerson just have this belief because he was a Romantic writer?
We also talked about the quote, "Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist." It is hard to define being a nonconformist because can anyone really be original? Everyone always seems to follow what some one else that they have seen before is doing. So why would being different make you a man? And also what is Emerson's definition of a man? These are questions the reader has to decide for themselves.

-Callie

minutes june 9th

Continuing on with trancendentalism, we started dicussing " Self Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson was rejected by the clergy because of his radical ideas, and was proclaimed as a heretic. He was influenced greatly by Buddishm and Hinduism. Emerson adovcated the idea of the oversoul, in which everything even the trees and rocks has God in them. So, we are all apart of the oversoul. Although his beliefs were not widely accepted in his time, after his death his views became more popular.
His rationale for the oversoul was that God created man, by making him in his image and giving him a soul. If we are created by God in his image, then how are we different from God. Assuming that God didnt create man as an inferior beign, then a part of God is in all of us. Also that there is no absolute truth, you find your own path to God.

Note: If I left anything out feel free to comment. Thanks Ashley.

Justice and The Law

One segment of Billy Bud that the class seemed to find particularly interesting was the deliberation scene. After completing the movie, we began discussion about that trial and its significance. Two main points of interest that were considered were Danskurt's quote and the difference between justice and the law. We reflected on how everyone on the ship felt guilty, in one way or another, for the death of Billy. However, although we agreed that justice and the law should go hand in hand, it seemed that this movie did not represent this point. Are there any instances today where this still applies? Or has the law evolved to more fairly handle criminals?

Mike B.

Billy Bud, Day 1

Hello all, just wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts in relation to the first part of the movie? It'd prob be good to discuss it fairly well on the blog seeing as we'll be tested on in afterward. I'll just give a brief plot synopsis for the first half an hour or so -

Billy Bud is a ship's mate on the English merchant ship, the rights of man. He seems to be very adept at the skills of a sailor. His captain soon sees a warship on the horizon, and immediately knows it will be impressing his men soon. He avoids their advances as long as he can, until an officer from the man of war boards his ship and inspects his men. He sees Billy Bud, and takes him aboard. We soon find out that Billy does not know how old he is or where he was born. He was found in a basket, seemingly dropped off by parents who could not care for him. This indicates a possible wanderer lifestyle that brought him to the merchant ship in the first place.
It becomes apparent that Billy has adapted well to his duties on the new ship. However, he is horrified to see a sailor whipped in public for no reason. He simply cannot understand the logic of whipping an innocent man, and becomes disturbed. He recognizes the power and no-nonsense attitude of the man who ordered the whipping (Captain John Claggart). In the mess hall, Billy meets several other ship mates, including an old Danish man who has the task of showing him the ropes. Billy reveals that he stutters profoundly in certain occasions, a behavior he rationalizes by saying it only occurs when he cannot find the words for an emotion. Another sailor named Jenkins picks a fight with him for this, though Billy makes quick work of him. The two compromise, though right after it ends Claggart investigates the feud and emphasizes his authority. He is angered by Jenkins for the fight, and proves this further when he knocks over Billy Bud's and several other food bowls during mealtime and makes him clean it up even though he is very sick.

That's all I have for today's viewing. Feel free to comment on any emerging themes/motifs, plot characteristics, etc.

-Colin

May 27 Minutes

Today we continued talking about Ethan Brand:

We started off with a continuation of our discussion on what the unpardonable sin was that Ethan Brand was searching for. It was decided that it was intellect taking precedence over morality as well as a preson's decision to expel himslf from the rest of humanity. When Ethan returned to the kiln, he no longer cared about others and is basically no longer human. This is symbolized by his heart turning to marble. 

We also discussed the part in the story in which Ethan sacrafices himself into the fire and becomes high-grade lime. With this, Hawthorne is saying that even though he is dead, he is putting his atoms back to work. Ethan Brand is more useful dead than alive. The concept of death being a return to nature is very romantic.

We talked about why Ethan even bothered to return to the kiln. Brand returns as a sort of closure to his journey. He began his search for unpardonable sin after talking to the devil he saw in the flames of the kiln and he ended his journey in the same place. The fire in the kiln represents a contained version of hell, in which Brand willingly throws himself into. 

We ended our discussion with a debate over whether a person is innately caring or caring is learned through experience.

Feel free to elaborate on the above topics. 

-Julie S

May 19 minutes

After Mr. Laz being absent for a few days we got right back on track with 'The Minister's Black Veil' -- we talked about how the veil not only alters others perceptions of Mr. Hooper, but also taints everything he sees as well. Here are some more bullet points from today's discussion:
-he does a church service, funeral and wedding all in one day (elements of life, daily ritual, beginning and end)
-corpse doesn't actually shudder, everyone wants to look for a reason for wearing the black veil-- however Mr. Hooper never looses his reputation
-this is an indictment of Hawthorn's ancestors -- the Puritans
-people act as if they have no sin -- holding it inside their hearts
-gothic image = Mr. Hooper being buried wearing the black veil
-would it have been honorable to reveal the sin (take away the veil)? -- Possibly, however would not prove Hawthorne's point -- God is the only one who knows
-"earth, too, had on her black veil" -- Romantic perception ~ earth and humanity go hand in hand

HW: Refresh on 'The Birthmark'

-Sammi

Philosophy of Composition contd.

While we stopped talking about Poe's philosophy of composition in class, I felt there might be some potential for further discussion online. One of the things we discussed was how the technique of the writer sets them apart from is. The fact that "nevermore" came to Poe naturally is what separates him from the average writer. I would have to agree. However, I think that it is irrelevant how an artist got to the point of creation. All that matters is what the artist created and how much of his emotions, his person, his soul, if you will, was expressed in the work. I mentioned William S. Burroughs as an example of this. William S. Burroughs' writing, especially his masterpiece "Naked Lunch" is incoherent, disjointed, and generally disregards most rules of the structure of the English language or fiction writing. However, despite its technical faults it is a masterpiece. In fact, the technical faults are largely irrelevant in my opinion. I'd say that the technical faults would even aid the book. What most importantly matters is that the book is an earnest expression of emotion. Even Anthony Burgess, who was well-trained on the so-called "classics" of English literature and was a fan of "Naked Lunch" as well. I would say that an immensely well-trained person, who knows all the tricks of the trade in writing, who can rhyme extraordinary melodically, but writes of nothing emotionally heartfelt or powerful is inferior to one who lacks said training, writes in grammatically incorrect sentences, writes in barely readable scratches, but puts his soul into his writing. (Excerpt of "Naked Lunch")
I've found that emotional expression overrides technical finesse is a belief more common in music criticism. Many musicians have lacked technical finesse, yet created immensely well-respected works. Perhaps the best example of this would be the band "My Bloody Valentine" and their album "Loveless." "Loveless" routinely makes the rounds of best albums of all time list and is considered an unrivaled masterpiece in the shoegaze genre, despite having been made with a low budget and certain technical complications. For instance The guitarist and composer, Kevin Shields, wasn't skilled at guitar playing in the traditional sense and therefore relied on using a few key chords and the whammy bar. As is apparent, however, if one listens to the album, is that it's practically bursting at the seams with emotion. (Song from album)
Film also has similar works. The French New Wave produced very cheaply made films that were immensely emotional. The film "400 Blows" is perhaps the greatest example of this. (Trailer)
So that's my opinion. What's yours? What importance do you feel technique holds on how competent (for lack of a better word) a work of art is.

-Alexander

The Raven and Other Things

This is probably one of the busiest times in our high school academic careers right now, but I thought it'd be prudent to resuscitate the blog for the time being. We've been going over the Poe packet in class the past week or so, and so far we've read the Cask of Amontillado, The Masque of the Red Death, the Fall of the House of Usher, and the Raven. We have discussed that the first three short stories rely heavily on Gothic themes and the human psychological condition. The Raven continues these themes, in a narrative poem format.

In class today, we discussed several aspects of the poem. One, it explores the effect of grief and how people may try to relieve themselves of this. The narrator of the poem finds solace in books of forgotten lore, trying to use rationality and logic to fix an emotional problem. Two, there are two prominent symbols in the poem - the Raven, and the bust of Athena. The Raven sits atop the bust at one point in the poem, showing its dominance over wisdom. Three, we explored the repeating "Nevermore." This one word, quothed by the Raven throughout the poem, is the only thing it can say. The author is aware of this, but nonetheless he continues to ask it questions that can only be answered with "Nevermore." We came to the conclusion that the narrator did this to convince himself of Lenore's fate, since he was in a state of denial.

We will continue to discuss this poem tomorrow. Feel free to discuss anything Raven related here as well.

-Colin

April 27, 2009

Today in class we began our discussion about "A Psalm of Life" by Henry Longfellow. The class agreed that the poem is progress oriented, but also that the poem is about living in the present and abandoning worries of what is to come in the future. This is interesting because progress is based on the understanding of what is needed or could be needed and how to accomplish this for the future. Without looking into the future and what may be required, projects that lead to progress would be more dificult to imagine and progress would take a much longer period of time. Another point that we discussed was that the reason why people don't live in the present is because they are too busy worring about what progress they are going to make as individuals. Without planning ahead, people become more uneasy and therefore worry about the future rather than living in the moment. This means that, in today's society, progress and the present go hand in hand. This makes for an interesting paradox within the poem.
-Jen

April 21 minutes

William Cullen Bryant's Thanatopsis (a meditation upon death):
-Transcendental-- nature, very lush language
-about death and dying, positive aspects
-won't die alone, everyone dies, even if you are alone in life there will be company in death -- earth as a gigantic tomb
-calmness and comforting
-meditation clears out the badness (of souls)
-death is the great equalizer
-very Romantic, use of nature and imagery

To a Waterfowl:
-nature, duck is beautiful, has its place in the world
-the duck is a metaphor
-derives lesson to humans -- especially shown in last stanza
-the duck is wandering, everyone gets lost and eventually find our way
-fourth stanza: "Power".. could be God, fate, over soul, natural instinct, or yourself -- it is up to the reader to decide what the ultimate power is
-This is very transcendental; the value of "I" (the individual)
-power of natural instinct -- ducks fly south, people over think things (logic and reason)
-Romantics say logic and reason are unnecessary when you have natural instinct and emotion-- there are some things we are meant to do
-through studying things that only act on instinct you understand yourself

HW: Review readings from Longfellow

-Sammi

RVW - Diverging Themes

One of the major themes we covered in class recently was Rip's 20 year sleep and what it may show or symbolize. We agreed it showed that rip was in his own little world ignorant to the changes around him and caring very little. In the story he sees that all he once knew has changed and adapts to his new surroundings, content. I believe this may either be influenced by or a different take on events near the Romantic literary era.

The Romantic era was preceded the revolutionary war and the politic ridden neoclassical era. Events at the time, specifically the war, could be easily related to in the Romantic era. To the ordinary person either in Europe or in the United States the idea of someone disappearing for years at a time was probably all too familiar. In addition to this the idea of coming home to an entirely different place than one remembers may not have been too foreign to people either. The story told in Rip’s case seems to parallel this in many aspects but puts it into an entirely different context.

When one thinks of a war veteran they usually see someone courageously fighting for a cause or what they believe in. Rip’s character conflicts with the typical idea of a soldier in many ways. First of all he lacks a productive discipline and pursues his own desires rather than the groups. While a soldier is thought to believe in what he is fighting for and the political changes in the world, Rip tends to stay ignorant to the world around him. While a soldier loses his time to war, Rip lost his time to spirits (pardon the pun).

Despite the huge differences in character Rip is put into a situation similar to that or a returning soldier. To both coming home was like visiting a new place filled with old familiar faces.

Do you believe that the story of Rip was at all influenced by the historical context of the Romantic era or even a new theme diverging from it all together? Is the story free from this influence?

Rip Van Winkle

Some of the characteristics of Romanticism that are present in Rip Van Winkle are the common man, nature, and a focus on the individual. Irving attempts to make a story of the mythology of America (about a man who meets the ghost of Hudson and then sleeps for 20 years.)

Rip Van Winkle is described as a simple, good natured man and a kind neighbor. Rip acts as an example of the "common man." Throughout the story there are many depictions of nature- especially positive descriptions of the landscape. These depictions also include backwoods descriptions of the village, swamp, and woods. Rip also goes out into the woods to escape the tyranny of his wife (he goes seeking individual freedom.)

One additional thing I noted was a shift from the small village to a more urban environment when Rip came back from his sleep which seems to parallel the changes in America.

In the end of the story, Irving furthers the concept of American Mythology by having Rip tell his story to the neighbors establishing the idea that tale was one of oral tradition.

-Kelsey

4/2/09

Today in class we continued our background history of Romanticism. We began with talking about what was going in Europe at the time. Napoleon was trying to take over Europe and Ireland had a terrible potato famine. This created a large movement of immigrants to America. The majority of these European immigrants were Catholic and the majority of Americans were Protestant so as you can imagine this didn't work out very well. This created a nostalgia for the old days. People wanted it to go back to when there were no railroads, no Catholics, and people only spoke English. Americans not only treated the Catholics terribly but also the Native Americans. Ralph Waldo Emerson spoke up for them in his writing. Next we discussed the Mexican War and how it was too far away for anyone to care about it. However, slavery was close and many people cared about it. Mainly the American writers. Most of them hated slavery and showed that in their writing. Sadly, the Civil War brought an end to Romanticism. Many of the writers died but Walt Whitman was the voice for the war because he was there. Most writers couldn't write about the war because they didn't experience it but Whitman was a nurse and he saw things that most people can't even imagine. He was one of the last writers of Romanticism.
-Callie

Star Wars and Romanticsm

I'm not that knowledgeable about Star Wars but from what I have seen of it, I was able to recognize multiple parallels between the original trilogy and characteristics of American Romanticism. (corrections and elaborations are welcome!)

The American Romantics: the Jedis. 

Romanticism emphasizes the elevation of the humble and the common man: in Star Wars, Luke Skywalker came from humble beginnings and was raised as a moisture farmer on a desert planet. He went on to become a powerful jedi master.

Rejoicing of nature: A major theme in Star Wars is the superiority of nature over technology. The Jedi strive to live in harmony with nature. They use technology but they do not rely on it as much as the rely on senses and feelings. On the other hand, those on the dark-side are very technologically dependent. Darth Vader is very machinne like; he has robotic limbs and relies on built-in life support. In one Star Wars scene, the Ewoks defeat the technologically advanced imperial troopers with sticks, stones, arrows and spears.

The oversoul in transcendentalsim unites everyone and everything: the force in Star Wars. The Force in Star Wars is omnipresent and bindsthe universe and everything and everyone together. 

Do you see any more characteristics of the romantic period in Star Wars? or in any other movies?

- Julie S.

Class Notes 4/1

Today in class we went over more details about the outline that will be due for us. First of all, the outline is going to be a full sentence outline. That means each and every point has to be a full sentence. Also the important rules to remember are every A has a B and every 1 has a 2 for each point we make on the outline. The headings for the outline are as follows: I, A, 1, a, (1), (a), i. The roman numerals are multi paragraph ideas or could be just a single paragraph idea. The A is always the topic sentence for the paragraph. We went over three more important rules today in class.

1. Each point should be one sentence with the exception of quotes which can be up to 4 lines. If the quote is longer than 4 lines then it is a block quote and we would only write the first line and a ..."
2. Each of our quotes that we introduce need to be anchored by expressions such as as the author says and similar phrases.
3. The third point is that we need to put in a parathetical citation in for each of the quotes we put into our outline. You do this by putting (last name, pg #).

-Joe

Outline Notes

3/31
Today we started learning about the term paper outline. This outline is full sentence outline , which means that every point made in the outline must be a complete sentence. We learned about the basic structure of the Outline. (see diagram)
I. (multi-paragraph idea)
A. (topic sentence of a paragraph)
1.
a.
(1)
(a)
i.
(every line is indented further)
The roman numeral should demonstrate a multi-paragraph idea. The capital letter is a topic sentence of a paragraph. Every indent, indicates that the point beneath is a direct development of the previous point. so, the points build on each other. A rule that should be observed when completing the outline is : when there is an "A" there is ALWAYS a "B". This the same for numbers in which, when there is a 1 there is always a 2. Basically, a point should never be in isolation.
We also reviewed the Paragraph structure.
1. topic sentence
2. a sentence that developes the topic sentence
3. support-a quote, paraphrase, or summary that supports the topic sentence.
4. explanation-explains the support
5. conclusion/transition sentence
A rule concerning the paragraph is that you always MUST explain the support. A paragraph isn't necessarily 5 sentences, you could have multiple quotes, as long as they're explained.

Additional announcements
We also have homework concerning the term paper, the annotated bibliography. The purpose is to show the reader, a brief summary of each of your sources,(there was a handout showing examples, see Mr. Lazarow if you didn't get it). Each entry should start with the MLA citation of the work. Followed by a brief, 4-6 sentence, summary of the work and how you used it in your paper. The citations should be in alphabetical order. It should be typed using a 12-point font. Also like a MLA citation, the second line should indented, and then followed by the summary. Only 2 spaces should separate the citation and the summary. This is due next Tues.

Ashley Hill

Romanticism notes 3/30

We started discussing Trascendentalism today. During this period the press was dominated by Protestant critics. Transcendentalists would comment frequently on the Protestants because they believed they lacked a sense of joy and relationship with spiritual beings. Transcendentalism is a philosophy that is a revolution against Christian beliefs. It views God as a bully. God symbolizes that there is only one mode of religion and the people rebeled against that, thus Transcendentalism.
The Transcendentalist looks for an oversoul. He or she believes that all things have God in them and that somewhere there is an oversoul that unites all of us. Transcendentalists show no outward signs of religion. They don't go to ceremonies or say prayers. There is no need to go to a church or place of worship as a Transcendentalists because people are always in the presence of God. Each day is an endless sabath and church is everywhere. People made fun of the Transcendentalists and the movement lacked immediate effect. It was seen as a joke by the mainstream.

-Melissa

Neoclassicism Review

I thought that it might be a good idea to create an overview of some of the neoclassicism notes from class:

Neoclassicism was an urban movement that looked back at the classical world (Greeks/Romans). This "age of reason" marked a huge shift because the world became understandable. Characteristics of neoclassicism include simplicity, balance, moderation, clarity, order, logic, and wit. Deism was an intellectual movement of the time; the tenets of Deism were:

1. Presence of the universe itself proves the existence of God
2. Man is not perfect, but perfectible
3. Nature- value increases (human nature)
4. Truth/Virtue
5. Evil is that which destroys happiness
6. Duty to God
7. Education and Science are essential
8. Civil/Religious Liberty
9. No human authority

Many of the pieces that we read in class were propagandistic, emphasizing that revolution was the only available option. The four major audiences for this propaganda were nationals, allies, neutrals, and enemies.

The first work was London Correspondence 1757-1775 by Benjamin Franklin. The format of this piece was a numbered list (order) of rules to turn a great empire to a small one. Franklin understood his audience which was reflected in his cake analogy and his statement that he was a "modern simpleton." Franklin uses wit when describing how England treats the colonies. He wants this letter to be used to evoke political change- the two intended audiences were the neutrals and the enemies. Franklin uses logic to sway the neutrals and demoralizes the enemy by describing the ways in which Britain has failed to take care of the colonies, although this information is very slanted. It should also be noted that Ben Franklin was a deist and several tenets can also be found in this letter.

Next we read the speech "Give me Liberty or Give me Death." This speech was very emotional, however, it is disguised as logic. Henry uses rhetorical questions throughout the speech and improves clarity through the use of short bursts rather than long drags. One major argument that Patrick Henry makes is that we must follow the divine order which is a nonsense argument because it cannot be proven wither way. He creates an "either-or" situation involving too much absolutism to be a logical argument. We discussed in class today that the intended audience was the neutrals while the nationals and allies were more minor audiences.  

Characteristics of the Declaration of Independence (Thomas Jefferson) include: clarity, order, and logic. The declaration creates order with a bulleted list with repetition of length and form. The audience also leaves with the feeling that the result (revolution) will be inevitable. The audience in this case would be primarily the enemy which is demoralized by the list of complaints. It begins to raise the questions of whether they are responsible or not. The piece also has a nationalistic view.

In Thomas Paine's American Crisis there is a major focus on the allies and the enemies. He frowns upon the "summer soldier" and the "sunshine patriot" (consonance) who shrink from service to the country. He tries to convey to the allies that America will be the winning side come spring. In "The American Crisis," Paine is able to make a retreat sound glorious which demoralizes the enemy.  

Next, we discussed three poems by Phyllis Wheatley. "On being brought from Africa to America" says that she is glad that she was taken to America. A theme of the poem is the deistic tenet that man is not perfect but perfectible. "On Imagination" is a pre-romantic poem uses a progression of mood to finally build up to her sabotaging her poem in the end. (not perfect) 

Letters from an American Farmer by J. Hector St. John Crevecoeur is a nationalistic attempt to define the nature of America. America is seen as the "land of opportunities" because it does not have the same rigid class restrictions as do European countries.  

The final writer who's works we have read was Philip Freneau. As with the works of Phyllis Wheatley, Freneau's poems could be considered pre-romantic. He describes more of nature, written in response to beauty. The poem "The Republic Genius of Europe" reinforced the idea of the inheritance of the classic model. 

I think that this is a pretty good outline of what we have covered, but please comment if I missed anything.

-Kelsey

 

3/25 notes: Romanticism ctd.

-People go on longer than the movement and keep writing until the end of the century, for example Whitman (a transcendental) and Melville (a Gothic).
-Key Romanesque concept: no one understands you and appreciates you until after you're dead. Romantic poets lived a misunderstood live and then everyone laments the fact that they were not understood during their own lives
-These two authors are the beginning of great American literature , however, the educational system wasn't changing-- it is identical to the education of the Europeans
-Taylor Edwards and Ben Franklin are not published yet
-American's had access to European literature about a month after it was released in Europe

-The biggest issue was the gender difference in education. Both men and women got rudimentary educations, however past that it was unequal. It was not the reason of women belong in the household and don't need an education, it was more based on a censorship value. Men did not want women reading what they deemed inappropriate. The men found sexual references to be immoral for women to read. Higher class women had more of a chance to be educated. Another strong feeling was that women should not be allowed to read fiction. It is keeping the Puritan notion of fantasy and lies = evil. Since fiction is fantasy it had the power to inflame womens' passions, which were believed to be uncontrollable by women. Women were belived to be very vulnerable to these fantasies, which is why the father's main goal for his daughter is to find him a husband to take care of her. Women could not read novels as well.
-There were these same warnings for men, however it was believed men could control themselves
-This idea continues to the Civil War
-Poetry is the highest of civil virtues, it is amazing to most how poets can put great moments in time into literature
-America wanted a National Poem, but it turned out awful and was stopped by Walter Scott.
-Walter Scott was the prototype of American Prose. He was the single most popular writer in America. Scott put fiction in historical settings -- it gave people something they understood and something they didn't -- the first historical drama
-Walter Scott switched the focus of writing a National Poem to novels.
-James F. Cooper: wrote the "first" successful novel, although he took basically all the same ideas from Walter Scott's 'The Pirate' and wrote 'The Spy'
-This novel was so well recieved because it was about the frontier, which people in Europe knew nothing about. Cooper could virtually make everything up and the Europeans wouldn't know the difference.

-Neoclassism Test Friday!!!

-Sammi

Romanticism

Romanticism is the opposite of Neoclassicism. It is all about emotion over reason. It attacks the old order and suggests that the classics didn't work then, why would they work now? Romanticism was a search for identity and many of the early romantics tried to create a sense of American identity. There was also an emphasis on "I" or the individual, since neoclassicism had been about the group and it elevated the humble especially in the settings. It was all about the common man or the common place. This was the beginning of free verse because they abandoned the standardized form. Two key words that describe Romanticism are dissatisfaction and unrest. They wanted something new and the French Revolution was what started it all. A revolution is all about not following the rules and making your own. So the strict neoclassic rules were replaced by the free form of the romantics. In the past reason had gotten in the way so now it was time to follow instinct. Romanticism went on for almost 100 years and Neoclassicism for only 40 years.
There are 3 phases of Romanticism but they all overlap each other. The first is American Heritage with the early Romantics such as William Bryant, JF Copper, and Washington Irving. They tried to create a sense of American identity in their writing. The next phase was the Gothics who wrote about human nature (beginning of psychology). These were writers like Edgar Allen Poe, Nathanial Hawthorne, and Herman Melville. And the last group was the Transcendentals who wrote about nature, instinct, and intuition. The believed in oversoul or "we are God." These were people like RW Emerson and HD Thoreau.

-Callie

March 20th notes + question for online discussion

On Friday we progressed to Philip Freneau. We were faced with the task of determining what neoclassic traits Freneau's work possesses. We saw that it contains a predictable style and nationalism, which brings neoclassicism. However, Freneau's work is very emotional, and it was agreed by the class that his work his pre-Romantic, like Phillis Wheatly. Yet Wheatly is more logical than the emotional Freneau. Freneau's Romantic leanings are best demonstrated in the poem "The Wild Honey-Suckle." Which both glorifies nature and contains less of a "practical" purpose. It is "art for the sake of art." That notion is a Romantic one. We were then told what Romanticism is. Essentially it is/was a movement in the arts in which artists, and the rest of society to an extent, glorified the artist. The artist was seen as someone different, a god almost, who can make things appear with the simple use of his creativity and imagination. Mr. Lazarow then told us that this belief usually dies after a period of war or other pervasive unpleasantness. That it is a lofty, impossible to attain ideal.

Do you agree with the Romantic notion? Do you think it is a good philosophy of life? I'll give a personal example of someone I know who embodies this way of life. One of my friends is an artist, a really good artist at that. He's an interesting person in many ways, one of the more notable aspects not being that, despite being one of the smartest and most creative people I've ever met, he failed high school on purpose because of, what he calls, his "morals." To describe him a bit more, he's more "cultured" than most teachers at this school, having read everything from "Also Sprach Zarathustra" and "The Magic Mountain" to obscure Japanese art comics. Creativity-wise his paintings are phenomenal. He had the acumen to get elected vice-president of the student association with a terrific video, yet he continually annoys the organizer of it by not showing up to any meetings and simply not caring. Despite his amazing character, he, as of the last month, goes to Burlington County Alternative. He has no solid plan for the future, once deciding to move to France right after graduation, then reconsidering and choosing either Japan or Sweden. After he realized that he disliked moving away to a country so simply, he wanted to become a sailor. This was all in one year, his senior year. To offer a contrast, his dad was a pretty major film artist in the 60's, working with Andy Warhol and Dali. However, his dad paid for therapy sessions for my friend, and is not exactly altogether pleased with his future plans, or rather, lack thereof. My friend, through all this, is confident in his set of beliefs.

It is my belief that the Romantic ideal is a necessary one. However, an attachment to a reality should also be present. It is ludicrous to straightforwardly believe in a perfect world such as one that a Romantic may argue for. But if this ideal were lost, good art, free from the constraints of solely profit, would be lost as well. Many of the artists we now consider the "greatest" were at their own time, starving or suffering from persecution. When an artist defies commonly accepted 'rules', he or she is nearly always met with resistance from critics. If there were no beliefs that argued for an asthete ideal, many of these artists would have little to fall back on as reassurance.

- Alexander Altaras

March 17 & 18 Minutes

On Tuesday we continued talking about Letters from an American Farmer and we said how Hector focuses on immigration and the feeling that Americans had that they were different was a mindset that ultimately led to revolution.
Other topics we discussed include:
-the idea of the "completion of the great circle" (this phrase is very characteristic of a neoclassic document and it was similar to what Wheatley said.)
-America as the melting pot
-the document's audience:
1. nationals
2. neutrals (because encoded within it is an instruction manual" as to how to be an American, giving it a logical edge. also, its written and not pushy)
3. enemies
- Hector's exaggeration of America
- there is a purpose for everyone in America and in America man has the chance to rise up and better himself (relates to: man is not perfect but perfectable)

We were asked to think about the reality of the American dream.

Today we discussed America's "tolerance" on other languages as well as what makes a person an American.

We talked about America's failures in becoming a mulitlingual country, like many in Europe, alluding to the controversy sparked by the Spanish translation of the national anthem.

-Julie S.

March 11 Minutes

Today we discussed 'On Imagination' by Phillis Wheatley. It is neoclassic in form, however it is very emotional. The thoughts are very long and are much more abstract than the other poems (imagination). There is a lot of personification, which connects the abstract to the concrete. There is a progression of mood from positive at the beginning and dark at the end. We discussed that "WINTER" is a powerful force, and "fancy" is a pretty, airy and light version of imagination ("flight of fancy"= thinking whimsically, daydreaming). Romantics believed that imagination had power, and that imagination is the gateway to reality. To Romantics, artists were godlike becaues they could create. However, Romanticism comes into conflict with reality.

Wheatley is neoclasic, however her writing in the poem has a pre-romantic nature. The winter is the force clamping down on imagination. Imagination is combating winter. The Romantics thought that by writing about Spring and warmth, it would turn into Spring by the power of imagination. However, when you let imagination become reality, nothing happens.

The last stanza shows Wheatley's intelect because the last line does not rhyme. This shows she is giving up (her imagination is giving up), it shows surrender and disruption. It shows the end of a perfect vision which fails, as well as the poem

-Sammi

March 10 Minutes

Yesterday in class we started discussing Phillis Wheatley's poem "To His Excellency General Washington." We continued that discussion today in class. We noted that this poem had a traditional structure as evident through the arrangement of the poem into couplets with rhyming at the ends of the lines. We also discussed Columbia, who was named multiple times throughout the poem. Columbia is America's goddess. The mention of her name is Phillis Wheatley's way of saying that we should model ourselves after the classics (Athens, etc...). These classics also had deities. The connection to classics helps to strengthen the idea that the nation needs to break away from the British. Wheatley says that we are special because we are the ultimate inheritors of the classics and only our nation can build a superior civilization modeled after the traditions of these classics. The British are inferior to us because they had the chance to make their civilization superior through the classics, but they failed. Finally, we discussed Phillis Wheatley's reference to epics. She invokes the Muses, who are generally invoked when someone is telling an epic. The Muses are supposed to give inspiration and help the narrator tell his story. Another similarity to epics comes in the form of similar subjects. Both this poem and epics talk of war and fighting and generally revolve around a single hero.

--Alexis

Class notes- March 9th

Today we talked about Phillis Wheatley's poem "On Being Brought From Africa to America." The first thing we established was how she was thankful for religion, and not directly for slavery. Then we analyzed the last two lines in which she talked about 'refining' her people. By this she means that she is exposing something already inside. Essentially this is the Neoclassic idea of "man is not perfect, but perfectible." This pagan essence of her people was defeated and replaced. Then we we discovered how this piece is a revolutionary poem, but not in the immediate sense that one would think of. It is not about political revolution, but rather theological revolution. There was a segregation that stretched even into theological territories back then. People believed that there was a seperate heaven for souls of other races. Phillis Wheatly however, defies this and writes, "join th' angelic train", meaning joining the same heaven.

-Alexander Altaras

Standardized Testing

With the HSPAs fresh in our memory I thought I would begin a discussion on standardized testing. Standardized testing may have been originally implemented to create a level playing field for students anywhere and truly assess student's abilities. In different schools and different classes an "A" can mean entirely different things. However as we all have seen standardized testing has many weaknesses. To name some:
1) Some bright students simply do not perform well on tests due to nerves, poor habits, etc. and vice-versa some poor students for some reason or another perform well on tests.
2) Standardized testing often includes long hours of testing early in the morning when students are not mentally ready to be tested.
3) Students in upper-middle class families have certain advantages when it comes to studying/preparation (SAT tutoring/classes for example)
4) Standardized testing often tests subjects that are very general or basic and cannot accurately assess a student's ability to thrive in the classroom.
etc...

However, standardized testing is still crucial in college applications, high school proficiency, and in the workplace. As everyone has surely seen the HSPA may be one of the most pointless time consuming tests ever created and surely costs the state of NJ thousands (if not millions) of dollars to distribute.

What's your stance on standardized testing: Do you feel it is neccesarry and efficient in its current form? or possibly you think with some reforming standardized testing can become the proper method to lay a level playing field? or possibly you feel that standardized testing is at its core a bad idea and would feel the best option for it to be eliminated completely? If you fall into category number 3 perhaps you could propose an alternative method.

-Tyler Harris

February 27, 2009

After Laz answered some individual questions about MLA citation format, we discussed the work of Thomas Paine. The following list is comprised of the points that we covered in class about his writing technique and how it was meant to be perceived:

-This is propaganda.
-Written recruit men to fight in the coming spring against the British because the colonist side really needed help.
-The work is full of purr and snarl words.
-Paine made it sound like the colonist side was the stronger and smarter side even though the entire paper was about their retreat.
-Paine wrote about the retreat as if it was glorious, describing the mass exodus as a success.
-Paine followed the troops to Valley Forge in the winter so that he could write about what it was like to be there and what he expected to happen in the future.
-"These are the times that try men's souls" is an important quote. This quote serves as an example of how Paine made fighting sound to be more of a spiritual act than anything else, a battle between good and evil. The fact that he was talking about casualties was disguised with this technique.

-Jen

A Rarity: Watchmen creator Alan Moore interviewed!

Check out this link:

http://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/magazine/17-03/ff_moore_qa?currentPage=all

Alan Moore's interview with WIRED magazine on superheroes, Watchmen, comic book-film adaptations, etc. Some very interesting moments...


LAZ

February 23 Minutes

Today in class the final people who needed to get their topic for the research paper approved did so. Afterward, Mr. Lazarow made a few announcements:
1) Watchmen (the movie) will be debuting in theaters next Friday, March 6th. We have until the end of the 3rd marking period to read the book, see the movie and write a paper for extra credit. Mr. Lazarow will also be hosting a seminar on Watchmen after school at a date to be announced later.
2) HSPA testing will begin next week on Tuesday-Thursday. Don't stress about the testing about the testing it is simply a standardized test that is only needed to pass high school and then the scores are thrown away. Thus colleges will never see the scores. However be warned, don't take the test too lightly and screw around. Mr. Lazarow has had good students in the past mess around and perform poorly and suffer the embarassment of having to take HSPA remedial classes in their senior year for no credit.
3) Start making friends with the school and local librarians because they will become excellent resources as we search for research for our term papers. Librarians are very adept at finding information and are very helpful.

Finally for the last 20 minutes of class we discussed Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence. While many Americans simply take it as it is, the work is actually a great piece of propaganda. Some of the major points we discussed:
-All faults were blamed on King George even though he did not have much to do with the governing of the colonies.
-Some of the grievances were either blown way out of proportion or written so that it would be difficult to research the true facts.
-In those days it was much more difficult to research information and thus most of Jefferson's points were never contradicted.

-Tyler Harris

February 13 Minutes

Today in class we began discussing Patrick Henry's "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death." A few key points we discussed are:

1. The work was given in a speech. This allowed Patrick Henry to add extra emotion and to employ what speed of delivery and what emphasis he wanted.
2. It doesn't follow the Neoclassic form. It is not orderly or listed because that is too rational of a format and not emotional enough. It also doesn't have long sentences in order to keep information easy to understand so that he can get his points across quickly.
3. It uses the device of rhetorical questions to force his audience to give the answer Patrick Henry wants.
4. It alludes to God to show that God is on his side and against the enemy (British).
5. It gives the audience fear which is a top motive for people's actions.
6. It gives the audience no other choice than revolution or submission.
7. It didn't follow the tenets of Deism because Deism is only found among the upper class. Patrick Henry said that God was on his side to get his followers into his cause rather than using the clockmaker idea of Deism. It is more emotional and effective.

The audiences addressed by this work are the nationals and the allies. It tells the nationals that it is time to fight and gives them a call to arms. It tells the allies that their advantages for being on Patrick Henry's side are being on God's side, having freedom, and not being punished for not being with him.

This work contrasts with Benjamin Franklin's work in a few ways. Patrick Henry has already made the decision to revolt. There is no other option and nothing can be reconciled. On the other hand Benjamin Franklin wants to fix things with the British and believes things can still be solved.

--Alexis

february 12th minutes

Since no one is really doing minutes I figured I'd start again with Benjamin Franklin's London Correspondence. Yesterday we talked about Franklin having a sense of humor in this document, mocking England's government. He also has a certain satire (which we established was for proving a point and pointing out flaws in society). Franklin established common grounds with his audience by saying he is a "modern simpleton" -- which also relates to our study of propaganda (just plain folks) and also to Anne Bradstreet's poetry because she uses humilty, although in a very different way. Franklin makes it simple to understand by using an analogy to cake.
Here are a few main points from today's discussion:
1. Capitalization for emphasis (possibly influence of his German background)
2. Audience
a. Neutrals (logic, list of reason why they should revolt and join the nationals, hints that people should watch out for these things in the future -- establishes common grounds because maybe something has happened to them before that they can relate to)
b. Enemies (begin to question their own government, demoralization)
-not so much the nationals, but they will agree; Franklin says something will happen and then it does, they will be more inclined to believe him. Does not lead them or give them direction
3. Very Neoclassic literature -- numbered, ordered list, structure
4.Emotional value depends on who is reading it ( personal connection with the experiences)
5. Does not present opposing arguement (no rebuttal in Toulmin sense)
- propaganda: cardstacking, unfinished claim. People will not question the "facts"


-Sammi

Deism and Human Perfection

Today we continued to talk about neoclassicism and the deist philosophy. One of the recurring topics of discussion was the clock analogy. This described how god was the creator of the universe, which is like a intricate watch that runs just as god intended it to, and humans were the stewards of the watch. Deists also believed that humans were not perfect, but they were perfectable. I was wondering that since they believed in both the clock analogy and human perfectability, did deists think that humans would eventually perfect themselves (since they were the operators of the clock), could only god perfect them, or would they always strive to get closer to perfection without ever achieving it? If perfection would be achieved, then how long would it take?



-Mike Bass

Ben Franklin Reading

I thought the the Franklin reading was very interesting. I liked how Franklin used wit to illustrate the colonies' complaints of England. I wondered how accurate was his portrayal of the American colony-England relationship. Was England really doing all those things? I questioned his accuracy because, he was American. Also I wondered who his audience was. Was it written for Americans? Or the English? If it was written for an American audience than it was probably used to generate animosity for England. Because many American felt that England had wronged them, and the essay reaffirmed these beliefs. Or maybe the purpose of the essay was to approach English administrators in a different way, by using wit.
Also I didn't understand why he capitalize words wrong. He didn't just capitalize the words at the beginning of a sentence, and proper nouns, but other words also. Was it to add emphasis or was that just the writing style of the 1700's?
Overall I thought it was an interesting read. what are your views?
Ashley Hill

semantics review

speaking about the midterm ....can anyone who understand semantics really well help me out. i really didnt understand how to analyze a question on the semantics test. Here was the question:"I think i'm coming down with a cold." How would you analyze that?

ashley hill

1/26 Class Minutes

Today in class we basically just discussed the midterm and the format of the midterm. He first told us that the vocab portion of the midterm will be next Monday and it will be only the 100 base words. The actual midterm exam on Wednesday will first have a section on the Toulmin Model where we will have to answer questions about it and compose our own Toulmin sentence. The next portion of the midterm will be questions on semantics like our semantics test earlier in the year. Mr. Lazarow said that there would be about 10-12 of these types of questions. Next we will have a section on The Crucible which will have around 35 questions. The next section is all about Puritan literature. We will be provided quotes from the readins we discussed in class and we will have to identify the title and author, discuss major literary characteristics and do any semantic analysis on the quote that we feel necessary. Last but not least we will have an essay that ties everything we've done so far together. Tomorrow in class we're just going to be reviewing material for the midterm. So I wanted to wish good luck to everyone because I'm sure we're all going to need it.

-Joe

McCarthy Speech

The other day we discussed the McCarthy speech, and during class I wanted to bring up the repetition of words throughout it. In the beginning of the speech he reuses the word "peace," (speak of peace, anticipate a long peace, hope for peace...) as we discussed in class we discussed "immoralism" and if you look at that one paragraph he uses it three times- twice in one sentence. Finally, another distinct word that he used frequently in the end of his speech was "traitorous." I think that he uses these words in particular because they have strong meanings attached to them and he wants the people listening to come out with these, if not anything else. Of course, he is going to repeat ideas throughout the speech, but I thought it was interesting to see how frequently the same words appeared. 

-Kelsey

January 15

Today in class we finished going over vocab. Next we talked about Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards. This speech was given at Great Awakening meetings. The people going to these meetings already agreed with Edwards, but he was trying to get these people to go out and tell more people about Puritanism. We also discussed how we imagined this speech to be so dramatic and full of energy but actually Edwards was the exact opposite of that. Edwards was calm and told the people that they were sinners and God could just turn his hand over and drop them into hell. This scared the people because they were expecting emotion and entertainment but what they got was someone telling them exactly what was going to happen and in a very calm way.

Vocabulary test tomorrow and poetry reading on Monday 6:30-8:30

-Callie

jan 13

Today we starting talking about some extra credit opportunities. One is "Speak Up" tomorrow night and the assumed assignment would be a paper about it. Another opportunity is on Martin Luther King Day on Monday. Interact is holding this event and admission is five dollars. There will be a blood drive in the cafeteria and in the library there will be readings from students, teachers, and members of the community. Extra credit will be rewarded for just showing up and additional points will be given to those you read their own, or another writer's work. We were requested one simple thing: If we do go and chose to read something, do not read Shel Silverstein.

Today we talked about the question we had from act four of The Crucible. The question was: Why does Proctor bawk to signing a confession that will br made public? How does this resolve one of the major conflicts of the play? And how does that make us feel?

First we discussed that Proctor was going to sign the confession but then refused when he was told it was going to be made public. This can be explained by Proctor's concern for the legacy of his name and his public image. Then the question posed was: is it better to die for telling the truth or lying for your life? Proctor shows he has a great sense of pride in himself. Pride and the unwillingness to do something based on one's pride is the root of tragedy. Proctor revels in his pride and wants it to carry on through his name to his children. Pride is one of the seven deadly sins however and leads to the undoing of a tragic hero. This posed the question to whether Proctor suffers from his pride or is pride is a good thing and we should celebrate that he dies from his pride?
Our discussion then branched off to Proctor's reasoning behind choosing to die rather than lying. A point brought up was that, had he signed the confession, he would never be looked at the same and he would have to be punished anyway for committing adultery and he wouldn't want essentially two punishments. The witch trials also collapse with the death of Proctor and he could be seen as sacrificing himself for a greater good which makes us ask the question: is Proctor seen as a Christ figure? The temptation of signing the document could be related to the temptation of Satan. Also, could Proctor be considered an inverted Christ figure, or the exact opposite of a Christ figure?Proctor seemed to have many motivations for not signing the confession because of his multi dimensional character.
The point that Miller wants to make is that it is wrong to accuse people of something they're not. The question that was brought up was: Would you be willing to lie for a greater good? Under what circumstances? The answer to this question is based on personal priorities. Mr. Lazarow then told us a story about the rise in infidelity among spouses. How and when should one tell their spouse that they have been unfaithful? One man suggested to simply not tell her. (Assuming he had chosen to remain faithful from then on and break off whatever he was doing with the other woman) He referred to it as transferring the burden and I think there is some logic in it. Is it better to carry the guilt around to save your spouse from the hardship it would cause him/her? Or should one tell his/her spouse about being unfaithful to get it off your chest only to upset someone else? And this leads us to the question: Can we ever really trust anyone? Perhaps Proctor chose not to sign the document because he was sacrificing himself for a greater cause and thus chosing to not transfer the burden to anyone else.

-Melissa

Monday Thoughts

Today we discussed a variety of wholesome topics. We started out talking about the impact of graphic novels on the literary scene today, and how they are being noticed as a legitimate contribution to American literary history in general. There will be a comic con coming up for those interested as well. We were also told of an extra credit quest, one that consists of reading Watchmen and seeing the movie in March. Watchmen can be found at your local library or bookseller; alternatively the graphic novel is on sale at Amazon.com for the reduced price of 12.00 USD, shipping and handling fees not included.

We also discussed the topic of witch hunts in the modern workplace, especially regarding accusations. The accusation, as proved in the Crucible or the McCarthy era, is often devastating enough to ruin lives even if it is not true. This injustice has to be accommodated; it is an evil that has to be avoided even by the most unlikely of targets. It is a fact of life and something we shake our fists at society for, yet all the same we must take every precaution possible against this witch hunt. We were not able to argue why someone would make false accusations that ruin lives, though undoubtedly that is a topic for another day.

In other news, the puritanism test was canceled and set to be included in the midterm. Yay extra study time.
-Colin

wow i didn't see the post below me i should have just commented on that sorry!
-sammi

acting vs being

I wanted to continue on the topic of being vs acting. Everyone made really good points and it was really hard to decide how I actually felt. I finally came up with this; the majority of people do not act to deceive, but they act on what they know will be accepted. If they see someone behaving a certain way they will be more likely to behave that way, especially if they are young. Little kids change their behaviors so frequently it's hard to keep up, and I hardly think these young innocent children are trying to be deceptive. I agree with Olivia that it is impossible to tell whether or not someone is acting or actually being (which brings up the question what is actually being?) -- because half the time the people you're talking to don't even know if they are being "real" or not. I feel that people "act" the most when they are meeting new people. They want to establish common grounds with that new person so they smile a lot and agree with basically everything the other is saying - then when they get to know each other things start to change and it leaves a question of who is this person really? And honestly I don't think anyone can ever really KNOW another person, because no matter how real they seem there is no way to distinguish a difference between who they appear to be and who they really are. And I also agree with Ashley that "being" is the thoughts that go on inside your head, because you are not consciously thinking about them, they just come to you. What you say is acting because you are consciously choosing which thoughts you make public because those are the ones that will be accepted and which thoughts you keep to yourself.
-Sammi

January 6 Minutes

Today in class we chose our topics for the paper on The Crucible, which is due on Jan. 21. The paper should be roughly three pages and should include proper heading, title (centered, no underline/italics), and MLA citation (parenthetical, no footnotes, etc). Some other requirements are: a strong thesis statement in the introduction, good topic sentences and transitions between paragraphs, supporting details, explanation for any external sources, and a conclusion that does not repeat previously mentioned ideas (should answer the question ‘So what?’ or ‘Why should I care?’). The order in which the paper is written is not confined, as long as it makes logical sense to the reader.

We then discussed the question (During the attempt to get Mary Warren to testify, Proctor says "They're all marvelous pretenders." Why, when asked to do so, is Mary Warren incapable of pretending to faint? She says that there is something lacking. What is lacking? What is the difference between acting and being?) from Act Three of the play. What Mary Warren was lacking that made her unable to pretend to be fainting when asked to do so during court was mainly public support. Because she was by herself and put on the spot, it was hard for her to react to the command. The fact that she was being watched also changes things. This is essentially the Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, the concept being that any occurrence observed is changed by being observed. Psychologically speaking, her behaviors can be explained by mob mentality, which refers to unique behavioral characteristics that emerge when people are in large groups. Basically, people are willing to go with the mob and do things that they normally would not/unable to do(i.e. pep rally, football games, etc).

We also talked about the emotional suppression in the Puritan society as a possible cause for the need of an outlet for the teenage girls (although technically there was no term defining the transition between childhood and adulthood). Since the girls were considered as children, they were essentially powerless when it comes to any matters. The process of implicating others renders the powerless the powers that they innately desired. This also gives them the chance to do things that are sanctioned and allows the release of their frustration.

As for the connection between acting and being, we said that sometimes if one does something frequently enough, one may very well be able to convince oneself to believe in it – whether it is consciously or subconsciously.

Julie W

The Shell or the Soul?

Today it was discussed how most Puritans have a seemingly righteous outward shell, while internally they are much more flawed. I cannot help but notice that many in today's world are just like this. The darker fundamental principles that guide the Puritans seem to have changed little in 300-400 years. Do you think that people in school are still governed by their shells and not themselves? Have we learned to accept people for their flaws? Often we consider ourselves to be so far beyond the Puritans due to our intellectualism and progressive tendencies, but while the environment in which our civilizations live are completely different, are we all that different as people? Certainly proper Puritan ideals conflict with how many of them actually were, making them seem hypocritical, but how often to we conflict with our own ideals?

Michael Q

January 5

Today we discussed the first two questions about The Crucible. The first question was: Why do Abigail and Tituba both confess when they both have claimed to be innocent? Why do they implicate others?

We determined that this can be answered in two parts. The first part of the answer is self-preservation and the second part of the answer is power. Initially, they confess to avoid the most severe punishments and then they implicate others to deflect the attention to others. If, after the first few implications, they had stopped it would have been mostly an act of self-preservation. However, they continue to implicate others even after it seems that they have been saved. This suggests that the two were motivated by the power that they had while they accused others. It was discussed that this power was treasured by Tituba and Abigail because of their positions in the Puritan Society. Finally, we explored why the initial accusations were accepted. We decided that it was due to names that were announced- they were the names that people wanted to hear and wanted to believe were witches.

The second question was: How honest is Proctor really? There were two sides to this question. It seemed that initially most people believed that John Proctor was honest despite the lies he had made in the past, however another view- that Proctor was actually dishonest to both himself and others- seemed to gain most support. John Proctor deliberately omits information, for example Proctor conveniently forgets to mention that he was alone with Abigail when talking with Elizabeth. He also does not come forward with information when he believes that people were being falsely accused. Even when he tells the truth it is only when it is the last possible option. This is why he only confesses to having an affair with Abigail when he was caught and admitted it to the town only when his wife was accused of witchcraft. Proctor only came forward with the truth when it was too late.

We also discussed the possibility that John Proctor was a tragic hero whose flaw was his dishonesty and which actually led to the witch hunt and that the only truthful character was Elizabeth.

Kelsey

January 2, 2009

Today in class next weeks vocabulary set was handed out, we discovered that there will be a test on the entire puritan unit either Friday of next week or Monday of the next week, and we answered four questions about The Crucible. The following questions are going to be the topics of discussion on Monday:

1. Act 1: Why does Abigail and then Tituba both confess to witchcraft when they first claimed their innocence? Why do they then implicate others?
2. Act 2: John Proctor "Because it speaks deceit, and I am honest." How honest is Proctor really?
3. Act 3: During the attempt to get Mary Warren to testify, Proctor says "They're all marvelous pretenders." Why, when asked to do so, is Mary Warren incapable of pretending to faint? She says that there is something lacking. What is lacking? Where can/should we draw the line between acting and being?
4. Act 4: Why does Proctor balk at signing his name to what he knows will be seen as a public confession? How does this action of not signing the paper conclude or dissolve one of the main dramas of the play?

These questions should be answered with references from the text and your own opinions.
- Jen