The Fault in Our Stars: Title in Relation to Theme {Rough Draft}

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings."

    The above quote from the Shakespearean play entitled, 'Julius Caesar'. The play was written as, and intended for, a tragedy, as many Shakespearean works were. As a general overview of Brutus' character in the play, he was a character who's hamartia was his resounding honor and ability to separate public dealings from private ones, as well as his extreme nationalist beliefs. This was even though Brutus was a 'friend' of Caesar, he was one of the people who partook in the killing of Caesar because he felt that it would be good for his nation to not have a man, who was treated as a god, who would dictate in his rule over them.
    All this relates to the quote because when Cassius, a co-conspirator and friend of Brutus, says this to Brutus, it means that it isn't the fault of so-called destiny that Caesar was considered great while they were not, but it was theirs. Cassius was saying that they could create their own destiny; however, this would mean what would be the unfortunate death of Caesar.
    
    The reason that I believe John Green change the quote to simply, "the fault in our stars" because the main character, Hazel Grace Lancaster, is a 16 year old cancer patient with little hope for the future (by this I mean surviving the cancer.) Hazel is someone who seemed to drifted through life with her diagnosed stage IV thyroid cancer. 

Thanatopsis Poem Analysis Answers

1. Thanatos means death and opsis means sight. It contributes to the meaning of the poem by the literal interpretation of death and that whenever death saddens someone, their supposed to take a look outside and see that it will come, but hoping that nature will comfort them.

2. shroud-a cloth or sheet in which a corpse is wrapped for burial
   pall-a cloth, often of velvet, for spreading over a coffin, bier, or tomb
   narrow house-grave
   sepulcher-a tomb, grave, or burial place
   All of these words further increase the importance of the impact of death on the poem. They are words that signify death and everything about it. It shows that death is the main idea/theme, even though it's not supposed to seem like a bad thing in the poem.

3. The poem is highlighting the fact that we will all die someday, but is about life. This is because, even though the poem talks about death a lot, Bryant also mentions that nature would, essentially, soothe the worries of death. This puts life into focus and is basically telling people to enjoy life because one day everyone has to die.

4. The tone is bright in the first part of the poem. This is because Bryant is talking about nature and the hope that it brings. The tone shifts at about the time Bryant talks about the "Old Ocean" and waste. This changes the tone to a slightly sadder tone because, at that point, Bryant starts talking only about death; however, Bryant doesn't talk about death in a bad way, because he still talks about some form of hope.

5. Elegy-a mournful, melancholy, or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or lament for the dead
Conventions of an elegy mean that an elegy is supposed to move from saddness to consolation, but not necessarily happiness.
Thanatopsis: all about nature

6. Thanatopsis descrides elements of nature in vivid detail, making it seem visible to the reader. The poem paints the landscape of a valley with a river flowing through it.

7. This poem is a Romantic piece because of the way it uses abstract elements to convey human emotions. It is a Calvanist piece because of the way it describes religious aspects of nature. This poem is a historical piece because it reflects the beliefs during the Romantic era.

Poetry Webquest

Questions
    Walt Whitman was part of the transcendentalist movement and his all of his views, on anything, were on proud display. He believed in finding oneself through nature, but was scrutinized for his most famous work, "Blades of Grass." This work made him a controversial character because it showed that he may have been a homosexual. Besides this, Whitman felt that poems should be "real." By this, I mean that poems should be based on real events or express an individuals innermost feelings on the subject of which they are speaking. Also, he thought very highly of himself. 
             Back to the transcendentalist movement, by which some of Whitman's works were inspired. Whitman was an important individual in this movement that was about finding oneself, or the most perfect divinity, through nature. People that were part of this movement would drop everything, go out into nature, experience it, and write about it. As for America, and his sentiment towards it, it can best be summed up by this quote, "The United States themselves are essentially the greatest poem." So he loved America. Hooray for bald eagles and the red, white, and blue.
             I agree with Whitman completely as a Civil War veteran. The United States is the greatest poem because I have seen the beginning of the evolution of America as a nation. Having endured the Civil War, I can say that a poem about the Civil War, could write itself. This is because the United States has a rich history, admirable patriots, and one of the most beautiful landscapes you ever did see. The tragedy that I have seen does not matter because in the end, everything will be alright.
            Poetry can help someone through a tough time because it's all about expression. Whether it be expression of emotions, what's going on, or even dreams. This is also how your typical high school student would use poetry. Many high school students have intense emotions that they would like to express, and for some the way to do that is through poetry.  

My Poem

Cities oh you cities

Corrupting my fellow human beings

Who like me

Were meant to be one without the pollution of the soul

Caused by the society in cities

Enjoy life

And the green grass

And the trees

And every wonderful thing

To nourish your soul as I do

When the world was set in motion

We were never meant to live miserable lives

And to hurt one another

But to enjoy the earth

Even this beautiful greenland earned by our forefathers

Enjoy life as you can

You are not one with the cities

But nature is one with man. 

  

Scavenger Hunt Answers

1. First reaction: what's going on? When accused as a witch, I was confused as to what was happening. I then realize, by the hint thrown not to deny accusation, that I had to accuse someone else to save myself. Had it been real, I'd have been scared and when accused and accusing someone else would have been heavy on my conscience, had I chosen to do so.
2. The main difference that I see between the witch trials and The Crucible is what happens to the Mr. Proctor and Mrs. Proctor as a result of the first trial. Since it is interactive, the National Geographic version of the Salem Witchcraft trials doesn't even mention the Proctors; whereas, in The Crucible, they are the main focus because Mr. Proctor was said to have an affair with one of the first accused witches. Eventually his connection with the "witch" got him sent to the gallows (for hanging), as was a common punishment for "witches". This is the major difference. The minor difference I read was that Tituba wasn't whipped to force an answer, and told freely of her deal with the devil.
3. Linnda Caporael's  theory as to why the Salem Witchcraft Trials took place, makes a viable argument and  could be true. There is a good point made by Caporael that could have some truth to it and the her evidence lines up correctly; however, there are many points in history prior to the Salem Witchcraft Trials where ergot poisoning was going on. Most of the time, when people got ergot poisoning, it did not result in an entire village of people going insane and hanging each other. Usually, some people would get sick and that would be the end of it.
4. The similarities in Miller's Description of McCarthyism and the Salem Witchcraft Trials are 'peer pressure' by the public and unjust accusation of others. In both Miller's Description and the Trials, those in the 'spotlight' are pressed hard by the public, whether it be village people or the media, to tell them what they (the public) want to hear. During the Trials, fellow villagers accuse one another to take the pressure off of themselves, and during the Red Scare (McCarthyism), people tried their hardest to ensure that they had no connection with communism and threw others "under the bus" for showing any sign (some had nothing to do with communism) of being a communist.    
5. The very same hysteria was created in the Salem Witchcraft Trials as during the Red Scare, in the sense that many people were afraid of something that they had no real idea of what it was, but accused people of it to assure themselves it was real. For the village in Salem, the 'something' that they were afraid of was witchcraft; nobody had any real evidence that it existed, but accused others for being a part of it anyway. For the Americans during the McCarthyism era, it was the fear of communism coming to America; at the time communism was a new concept to most Americans and represent Russia (USSR) to them, and they didn't want it.
6. During each event, there was a mass hysteria that had arisen from an issue in society. In the "Human Rights Watch" article, during the Salem Witchcraft Trials, and the Holocaust many people died as a result of many people being scared by something; but during the Red Scare and in Japanese internment camps (in America), many citizens of America were not killed, but deprived of their rights in an effort to protect all American citizens.
7. George Santayana's quote means that if we cannot learn from mistakes made during the Salem Witchcraft Trials, eventually we will have more Salem Witchcraft Trials, but maybe in a different form. Learning from history is knowing what happened, why it did, and how to prevent it from happening again. The Crucible is somewhat successful at educating its readers about history, in the fact that the main point, or main event, is portrayed accurately enough to give a good idea of the late 1600s chaos, known as the Salem Witchcraft Trials.
8. A well-known example of another "witch hunt" was the Holocaust. The Holocaust can be compared to a witch hunt because Germany, and Hitler (village girls), needed someone to blame and "point the finger" at for their financial crisis and depression: the Jews (accused witches).
9. There's not much that I learned from this activity that I did not in other classes. 

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God Answers: Marques Miles & Jonathan Midgett

1. Jonathan Edwards intends to persuade the congregation to repent.

2.People that believe in God, but will still sin. The Puritan congregation is the audience.

3.Abate would mean to relieve, according to the context.

4.He emphasizes his point that says that people are so close to Hell & damnation.

5.To elaborate and illustrate the “world of misery”. Other appositives are used in the sermon.

6.Makes audience feel powerless because they can’t keep themselves out of hell with just their effort.

7. I think Edwards uses semicolons so he remembered to pause between each phrase when he spoke that part. He repeats “not willingly” to emphasise his point.

8. Jonathan Edwards develops the simile by repeating the conjunction “and”, adding more and more detail to the simile. The imagery in this sermon is used to employ fear in the audience by putting it into ways that they can understand, such as the bow and arrow reference.

9. He is making the point that God is angry with people for their sin and that inevitably they are going to hell for their sins.

10. Edwards appeals the foundation of Christianity: the Bible, which is considered to be a figure of authority as it was written by followers of God. This is evident from his reference to Genesis 19:17.

11. For the most part, Edwards has a tone that seems to try to show the anger that he says God feels towards humanity. The sentence “There are black clouds of God’s wrath now hanging directly over your heads… and were it not for the restraining hand of God, it would immediately burst forth upon you.” shows this.

12. Spoken texts like this address a person or group of people. “This is the case of every one of you that are out of Christ…”

Edwards is talking to a congregation whereas written texts don’t address a specific reader. They tell the story of the main character.

13. His sermon uses the fear of hell and the wrath of God to persuade the audience to convert their hearts. A persuasive text will normally explain why the author is trying to persuade you and then give you reasons as to why you should agree with them.

14. The 5th paragraph may have evoked such a response. The vivid comparison of the fury of God’s wrath to a bow and arrow would’ve certainly given the audience a clear picture of what His wrath is like.

15.

NOL Critical Reading Responses

1. Confused. This is the only word I can use, because to me, the tale makes NO sense in any way.
2. I cannot tell when the Chief of the Sky Spirit gets angry, so I cannot answer either part of this question.
3. The grizzlies die.
• I have no idea
4. 1st buckskin laid on ground, then both ears of corn, then the other buckskin laid on top, then eagle feathers placed behind the ears.
• Navajo people love nature.
5. To give life (breath). When the wind "ceases to blow" they die.
6. It seems to me that both tales have the same view on nature.
• I'm not sure which one I identify with because my view on nature is one of indifference. 

The Yellow Wallpaper: Symbolism

The subject that I have chosen is symbolism. Many things throughout the story have a symbolic meaning. One of which is a symbol revealed closer to the end of the story, but first on my list, and is really more a list of its own.

The 'joint-symbol' that I am talking about is the barred window, nailed down bed, the caretaker and limited, to no, freedom. All of these things, including an empty room, represent a mental institution. This can only be a symbol because the story clearly states that it is just a house in the countryside. The symbol of the mental institution is used because, on a literal level, the narrator is losing sanity with every moment that passes. Early on, hints are thrown to indicate that something is keeping the narrator from leaving her room, but until the end of the story there is no certainty. 

Another symbol used was the narrator's notebook. The notebook was symbolic because it represented the way the narrator thought. The way that the narrator guarded the notebook and protected it from "prying eyes" was symbolic of the way that women, at that time (1892), thought. By this I mean that women during the time period kept their thoughts to themselves, afraid that if they allowed someone else to know, that they would face "social persecution." This could mean anything from being looked down upon by her own spouse and children, to getting poorer treatment in public places. So when her notebook was taken away, she was a representation of how women of the time felt. Since she couldn't convey her thoughts of feelings to anyone else, she had to tuck them away, and this drove her to insanity.

Wait, wait, wait. I just remembered that the notebook wasn't the only thing that helped drive her to insanity. The other thing that caused it was the yellow wallpaper. The yellow wallpaper is the title of the story, the narrator's biggest problem, and a metaphor for the society that kept women a few steps (more like a stairwell) behind men. For these reasons, the yellow wallpaper is the most significant symbol of any symbol in the entire story. The yellow wallpaper is what has the narrator on edge from the moment that she finds her room in her rental home, the moment she "breaks free of the wallpaper" (this is in quotations because she eventually leads herself to believe that she is trapped inside the wallpaper.) The wallpaper, on a literary level, helps to illustrate how crazy the narrator is supposed to be, but on another level it helps to illustrate the fact that the narrator feels like the wallpaper is just like her husband, or society, and keeps her contained. The entire time the narrator feels that way, and the feeling does not go away, but only intensifies as the story progresses. Eventually the narrator has had enough of her oppressor, her husband or anti-women's rights society, and tears right through the wallpaper, signifying her liberation.