Blog Post 30: The Color of Friendship

What is "friendship"? Someone who talks to you everyday? Someone who gives you things? Or maybe even someone who buys you things? No. "Friendship" is when someone has been there for you since day one. The definition off the dictionary says friendship means, "The emotions or conducts of friends; the state being friends." What in the hell is that supposed to mean. I think friendship is when you have maybe two or three people that have your back no matter what, do not talk smack behind your back (they do it in your face), and are not fake. For example, I know this dude who claims to be "very close friends" with another person. They hang out almost every single day after school. But my point is that he claims that hey are good friends but he can talk mad shit about the other dude. He was saying how ugly and dusty his friend is which is funny to be because the other dude was also talking smack about him. Like what the hell. That is not even close to what real 'friendship' looks like. Irene talks about Clare in different ways, positive and negative things, like any other person would talk about their friend. But almost every time she talks about her, it deals with her physical beauty. But how did she forget where she had me Clare? "Perhaps before time, contact, or something had been at them, making them into a voice remotely suggestion England. Ah! Could it have been in Europe that they had met? 'Rene. No." (Larsen pg.17) Cool how someone remembers your laugh though, "I'd never in this world have known you if you hadn't laughed. You are changed you know. And yet, in a way, you're just the same." (Larsen pg.18) I just hate it when an old friend is not able to recognize me but I am able to recognize them. The concept of "passing" influences both Clare and Irene because they saw each other and Clare messed up her identity because she didn't recognize Irene and basically saw her as a different person. The central idea of part one to me is Identity because because it's all over the novel as you can see Clare saw Irene as a different person and they both fail to attempt an answer to what race is!

Blog Post 29: Those Who Weep, Weep For Corruption

I don't how Jay Gatsby was able to throw parties almost every week. But did he throw these party for the people to enjoy or to get to someone? The reason he threw all of these parties was to get Daisy's attention and to get back to how things were with her in the past. He just can't get over the girl. The only reason people came to his parties was because he was rich and people were fake. They only showed up because there was a party going on, they did not really care about Gatsby. They never did, but Jay did not care about that, he only cared about Daisy. In the novel, it seemed as if everyone's plan for the "American Dream" were going well except for Gatsby's. He is only focused on Daisy which is getting really annoying. The "corruption" of Gatsby's guests and "incorruptible dream" begin to pull all threads of the entire story together by showing that everyone is selfish and that they are all working for their own dreams and do not care about others. No one really notice's what is going around them or around others. Their goal is to be at the top, that is all they really care about. Gatsby has changed a lot since the beginning of the novel. "Paid a high price for living too long with a single dream." (Fitzgerald pg.161) Gatsby wasted his entire life trying to find the love he and Daisy once had. Nick on the other hand stayed the same low-key. Some of his ideas on things changed but that is pretty much it.

Blog Post 28: Take the Clothes off my BAAAAAACK

Out of all the characters from 'The Great Gatsby', Jay Gatsby seems to be one of the characters who cannot seem to understand the difference between reality and illusion. After he fell in love with Daisy, he can't seem to get her out of his head, he is basically blinded with love. He does not seem to realize that she will never leave her husband, Tom. She does not leave him just because she uses him for "fun". They are both just playing with each other (Daisy and Tom). In chapter eight, Dr. T.J. Eckleburg says that the billboard with the billboard with the eyes, symbolizes the eyes of God that watch what people do. "I spoke to her... I told her she might fool me but she couldn't fool God. I took her to the window... God knows what you've been doing, everything you've been doing. You may fool me, but you can't fool God!" (Fitzgerald pg.167) Fitzgerald is trying to show that the things we truly love with all of our hearts will blind us from what is reality and from the truth and will then lead to someone's ruin. Gatsby's biggest desire was Daisy. He wanted to have her in his arms again and wanted that love to be in between them like it once was but it would not be possible because that love was gone. The novel is like the quest of a knight for a grail because a knight would give anything even his life for the grail. Same way Gatsby would give up his life for the love to stay in between Daisy and himself. "But now he found that he had committed himself to the following of a grail. He knew that Daisy was extraordinary, but he didn't realize just how extraordinary a "nice" girl could be. She vanished into her rich house, into her rich, full life, leaving Gatsby - nothing. He felt married to her, that was all." (Fitzgerald pg.156)

Blog Post 26: Gatsby!

I actually do kinda understand Gatsby more now and how he is overall. Colors are in the novel because they represent symbols or moods. I agree on the yellow and how it represents weird or a iffy vibe cause to me yellow has something suspect about it, I dont know its just dusty to be honest. For green nah because a symbol for calm isn't the color green, I don't know what color calm could be but definitely not green. Green is like a fun color or something thats nasty like germs for example. But for red yeah definitely represents danger or death, always cause like its basically the color that represents Hell, red and a lot of fire. Gatsby is chill you know he minding his business and just relaxin like a real dude! Tom, for fuck sakes why is that bitch so arrogant like damn we understand your a MALE and you got money but dude calm down and he even cheating on his girl Daisy. Damn Daisy she's such a dumbs like whats going on in her small minded ass head like damnnnn!!! Shit fam like move one from that fucker and find yourself something better than that. I can see why you dislike her Mr.Vazquez. Oh yeah so explain how am I fuckboy? I dont recall me being that  at all. Thats bad Mr.Vazquez, really bad. But yeah Tom is a BITCHHH!!! Really you gotta hate him more than Daisy cause Daisy a dumb ass, she need help as soon as possible! The book is pretty interesting, I can't wait for the Gatsby trials and to go against Luis. You know thats gonna be funny as hell Mr.Vazquez! LMAO I can already imagine it! Well Im out, goodnight! I like all characters by the way, just not Tom he a bitch.

Blog Post 21: Thirsty? Here's Some LEMONADE

The video we watched in class today called "Lemonade" was interesting but it did not really catch my attention. I was into it for only a little portion of it. But what Beyoncé did with putting all of these parts of her album was very unique. I was not into it but it was still entertaining. I think it was a new kind of art in my view. I have never seen one of these kind of videos before and I give two thumbs up for the idea. Throughout the entire short film, all of the women including Beyoncé, were always lonely. There was only one part of the film where Beyoncé had a scene with Jay Z and another one with her dad. But all of the women seemed to have been broken hearted and were never surrounded by men. It explained that black women being left by black men has been passed down from generation to generation. This short film can relate with 'Song of Solomon', 'This Is How You Lose Her', but I can't really tell how it relates with 'The Crucible'. It can relate with 'Song of Solomon' because in the book, the black women in it, have no husband and are left alone with their family. It relates with 'This Is How You Lose Her' because men often cheat on their women and women have to deal with it. From what I understood, the meaning behind the film was that when Beyoncé was being cheated on, she was trying to recover and was trying to forget about him and wonder why he did that to her. Then she can't really handle it so she went back to him. In my opinion, Beyoncé was not weak for taking him back. I don't think she was weak because she actually loved him and because of that, she trusted him once again and gave him another chance to prove himself to her.

Blog Post 20: We've Come... to the End of the ROOOOAD

Out of all the three stories that we have read throughout this English course, I would have to go with 'This Is How You Lose Her' on being my favorite. This Yunior kid seems to be in his young ages. I like it because I can relate a lot with it. I am not saying that I would treat a girl like trash neither that I cheat on them but in the way that he thinks... most of the time. Like when Junior says, "You, Junior, have a girlfriend named Alma, who has a long tender horse neck and a big Dominican ass that seems to exist in a fourth dimension beyond jeans." (Junior pg. 47) That sounds like something I would have said if I had a girlfriend with a fat ass. Doesn't mean that I'm perverted, I am just being real. I can relate with this dude in so many ways. It seems as if we keep reading, we find out conflicts that a certain character faces. Common threads throughout the novel include machismo and men cheating on their women. The way the Junot Díaz explains these themes to the audience is by giving short stories and having a viewpoint from both, the man and the women's side. Overall I think all stories went very well even though they were not all in order, which really doesn't matter. I wish the short story 'The Sun, The Moon, The Stars' could have been a full length novel to see what actually led them to come to an end of their relationship. This is representative to the Latino culture because it shows that Latinos have a strong belief of machismo. Juno Díaz is telling the audience about how machismo is viewed in the eyes of Latino men and women & that it should not really interfere in a relationship.

Blog Post 19: The Anatomy of it all!

The way short story, 'Miss Lora', is set up differently from how the other short stories in the past have been set up in. I do not understand why Junot Díaz decided to divide it up in smaller sections even though the story is already small enough. Each time a part is divided up into a chapter and enters into a new one, it changes up the way the story was going. In the beginning, the first chapter ended with saying, "You'd fuck anything, someone jeered. And he had given that someone the eye. You make that sound like it's a bad thing" (Yunior pg.153) Right after, the second chapter starts off with, "Your brother. Dead now a year and sometimes you still feel a fulgurating sadness over it even though he really was a super asshole at the end." (Yunior pg.153) The way it ends, compared to the way that it starts off to a new chapter, changes the way in how the reader was reading it. For me, it has a different tone. I believe there is a different tone because when I am done reading one chapter, I feel some type of way towards it. Then, when I start reading the next one, I feel differently about how the reading is given to me. A common thread amongst all the short stories would be the men always cheating on their women. Throughout the short stories, women are kept being cheated on which basically is presented as "machismo".

Blog Post 18: Haha

Life is just great to be honest. There are many of great reasons to be alive. I do not understand why people kill themselves. Maybe because they just cannot handle how good their lives are or maybe because they just hate their lives. Most people do not appreciate being able to live another day. Ungrateful ass motherfuckers. We have got to live life to the fullest. For some, living life to the fullest means to get drunk or high. For others, it simply means to hang with friends, listen to loud music, and just being themselves. The point is to just enjoy life. Class has been pretty chill this week. I would say that my favorite part of the whole week so far would be when Mr. Vazquez ended Luis's life. But I would agree the Luis had a pretty good comeback after all of those shots were fired at him.

Blog Post 17: Picture Perfect

In my opinion, the author of 'This Is How You Lose Her', gave the short story 'Flaca' a candid type tone, which means to be truthful or straightforward. He goes back and narrates the story of how he met Veronica Hardrada, who is also known as 'Flaca'. In this short story, he seems very calm. He doesn't seem to be immature about it in any way. She is the only one who he says that he loves in the story so far. "Your left eye used to drift when you were tired or upset." (Yunior pg.81) He shows that he remembers, that actually had something for her, and that he was happy with her. He has not said or shown that for the other girls that we have met already. I picked this picture and this quote because he is very honest with the audience that he loved her, and the picture shows that he has memories of being with her. As of now, my favorite short story has been 'Alma'. I liked this one because the girl, Alma, did not put up with him. Once she found out that he had been cheating on her, she acted quickly and broke up with him. I like it because it shows that no one should put up with someone else's bullshit. It showed that women also have character, "A cocksucker, a punk motherfucker, a fake-ass Dominican." (Alma pg.50)

Blog Post 16: Who Run the World...GIRLS!

In the novel 'This Is How You Lose Her', Magda, Nilda, Alma, and Yasmin all have something in common, they all let men treat them in a bad way. Men use them as if they were toys. These girls do not really get appreciated by their man. But what is different about all of these characters, is that they all handle their situations differently. They all have different ideas of what love is. A similarity also is that once they find out that their man did them dirty with another girl, that is when they all react. For example Magda and Alma. When Magda got cheated on by Yunior, she sorta started to manipulate him and basically had him on a leash. Alma on the other hand, when she found Yunior's journal, she patiently waited for him and then threw a whole lot of trash talk to him and then left him, "A cocksucker, a punk motherfucker, a fake-ass Dominican. She claims: You have a little penis, no penis, and worst of all that you like curried pussy." (Alma pg.50) But what was weird was Yunior's reaction to Alma, "Baby, you say, baby, this is all part of my novel. This is how you lose her" (Junior pg.50) LIKE WTF IS HIS PROBLEM!? His girl just left him and he's just chilling? The short story 'Otravida, Otravez', is narrated by Yasmin. The way she narrates her view of being with someone is way different from Junior. She sounds very mature about her relationship but Junior on the other hand is just playing with girls when he is narrating a story. Yasmin talks passionatley about sex while Yunior is dirty minded about it. Ramon most likely did't know what to do when she gave him the letter since he's already with someone else.

Blog Post 15: Where are the Stars and the Moon?

The first chapter has a weird naming to it, "The Sun, the Moon, the Stars". I already read the whole chapter but I still do not really understand what the real meaning behind the title is. In chapter 1, Yunior and Magda's relationship is going downhill. He is basically whipped by Magda. In class we learned about "Machismo" which basically means that men have it their way. Well in chapter 1, Magda has total control of their relationship which is funny because she is the girl, not the man. "Our relationship wasn't the sun, the moon, and the stars, but it wasn't bullshit, either." (Yunior pg.19) I believe the meaning behind the title means that Yunior is the Sun, Magda is the Moon, and the people revolving around the are the Stars. They want something but the people keep getting in between them. They seemed to really like each other when they had first started their relationship, "Where are the stars? And she said, "They're a little lower, papi." (Yunior/Magda pg.21) In the beginning of the novel, Yunior starts off the whole story by saying, "I'm not a bad guy." (Yunior pg.1) Right away we sense that he is a bad guy in a way. He blames everything that happens on the people he surrounds himself with when really, it is his fault. The reason his and Magda's relationship is where it is at is only because of him. He cheated on her and now he is paying the consequences. He probably blames everyone else for actions because he is not mature enough total them himself. A major masculinity message that was put out there was the one about sex. When guys want sex, they get it when they want. But not for Yunior, he couldn't really get Magda for him to lay. She was stubborn about it. When Yunior asked Magda what her problem was, she responds to him by saying that she did not want to be there. Then Yunior feels insulted by Magda when she tells him this. It affects his identity because he is in his homeland and Magda makes him feel bad about it.

Blog Post 13: We Can Make [Hate] on TUEEEESDAY

In chapter 6 of 'Song of Solomon' we can see from the sounds of it that Guitar hates with all his heart, white people. "You? You're going to kill people?... Not people. White people." (Milkman/Guitar 155) For some reason, Guitar hates every single white person. He does not believe there is such thing as an innocent white person which he states in the book, "It doesn't matter who did it. Each and every one of them could do it... There are no innocent white people, because every one of them is a potential nigger-killer, if not an actual one." (Guitar 155) Guitar is just trying to get rid of them because they do not stop killing. ""You can't stop them from killing us, from trying to get rid of us." (Guitar 154) In a way, he is thinking good because white people abused of their power. But on the other hand, he is wrong. He is wrong because there are innocent white people among themselves. Not all of them are racist, not all of them have shot or killed an African American. He is only looking at the problem from one side of it. We also find out that Guitar in in this group called "Seven Days". It is a group that bases their ideas that are based off the idea of Hammurabi's Code. It was a group of African Americans that killed white people. They just killed them based off the color of their skin, which is wrong because there is no purpose behind it. Milkman points out that the people that are being killed by the "Seven Days" group are white but have not killed a Negro. Milkman says, " What about the nice ones? Some whites made sacrifices for Negroes. Real sacrifices." (Milkman 156) Guitar points out that if you were white, you could decide in any moment in time to just kill for the fun of it, "If Kennedy got drunk and bored and was just sitting around a potbellied stove in Mississippi, he might join a lynching party for the hell of it." (Guitar 156) After trying to change Guitar's view on this topic, he still is not able to change his mind.

Blog Post 11: Too Much in Chapter 4

Milkman was attracted by Hagar because of the love she showed towards him. He felt lonely but being with Hagar made him feel wanted. Same way we want to be loved and feel part of a family is the same way Milkman felt. He just needed someone to be with, "From the time he first saw her, when he was twelve and she was seventeen, he was deeply in love with her" (Morrison 92) But the fact that he was growing and that she was his cousin, made him come to his senses. Milkman describes how Hagar is by saying, "She was odd, funny, quirky company, spoiled, but artlessly so and therefore more refreshing than most of the girls his own age." (Morrison 98) This shows that Milkman in a way prefers older, mature girls rather than girls his own age. The book also states, "Everybody who knew him knew about Hagar, but she was considered his private honey pot, not a real or legitimate girl friend-not someone he might marry." (Morrison 91) He still likes her but does not want to get attached with her because then she will think he wants to marry her, "But nothing that would give her any ideas about marriage." (Morrison 91) After they had been together for a long time, he says that he does not have to even work for him to get something out of her, it is explained in a big paragraph in the beginning of chapter 4. "Now, after more than a dozen years, he was getting tired of her... He didn't even have to pay for it. It was so free, so abundant, it had lost its favor. There was no excitement, no galloping of blood in his neck or his heart at the thought of her." (Morrison 91) Him not having to work for being with her, makes him want to not be with her at all.

Blog Post 10: Little Limpy

In this time period, African American's had it hard. In 'Song of Solomon' chapter 3, there is a man name Railroad Tommy. He was giving Milkman and Guitar some sort of life lecture about things they would not have in life. "Who's teasing? I'm telling him the truth. He ain't going to have it" (Railroad Tommy pg.60) African Americans knew they had it hard. There is reference in chapter 3 that says, "He knew he as a Negro he wasn't going to get a big slice of pie" (Morrison pg.63) Milkman also had it hard growing up. Feather would not let him and Guitar into his bar just because he was Macon's son. "What his daddy do to you? Nothing yet. that's why I want him outta here. He ain't like his daddy. He aim'y got to be like him-from his is enough" ( Feather/Guitar pg.57) Toni Morrison makes Milkman as a limp character. "By the time Milkman was fourteen he had noticed that one of his legs was shorter than the other." (Morrison pg.62) The fact of Milkman being limp, symbolizes how hard life was for him growing up. After he gives himself a look in the mirror, he learns that what he knows about his family, is not even true. Family is a very important factor for us while growing up. They are the ones who help us grow into what we are today. After he finds out that his mom and dad had lied to him he begins to wonder and ask himself if what he knew was real or fake about his family.  Ruth and her dad have more than just a father-daughter relationship in chapter 3. "In the bed. That's where she was when I opened the door. Laying next to him. Naked as a yard dog, kissing him. Him dead and white and puffy and skinny, and she had his fingers in her mouth" (Morrison pg.73) Even Milkman starts to love Hagar more than just family, "Sleeping with Hagar had made him generous. Or so he thought. Wide-spirited. Or so he imagined." (Morrison pg.69) Milkman has some sort of thing for Hagar, more than just family love.

Blog Post 9: Pilate...like Pilot

Milkman is drawn over to Pilate's house because his father forbade him from being there and even from seeing her. As kids, when we are forbidden from doing things, we usually want to do it and see what is wrong with it. We want to break rules by nature. He had been warned by his dad for a long time but his interest of wanting to be there, lead him there. He was curious of how his aunt really was after hearing stories about her. "All those unbelievable but entirely possible stories about his father's sister-the woman his father had forbidden him to go near-had both of them spellbound. Neither wished to live one more day without finding out the truth, and they believed they were the legitimate and natural ones to do so. After all, Guitar already knew her, and Milkman was her nephew." (Morrison 36) Milkman and Guitar observed how Pilate was. "She was the one who was ugly, dirty, poor, and drunk." (Morrison 37) They described her appearance as "Bright orange she was peeling". When they got there, they seemed a bit nervous but as they kept the conversation going, they got a bit more trust with her. When Milkman is at home, he is quite, kind of shy because his dad is around. When he goes into Pilate's house, he starts to loosing up a bit and starts to be a bit more comfortable  around Pilate. Pilate is a kind of person who really does not care how she looks likes or in what conditions she lives in. Her house has no furniture inside of it other than the things already installed, the table, and chairs.

Blog Post 8: Be a MAN!

So far in the book 'Song of Solomon', Toni Morrison gives her characters names that are based off characters from the Bible. Each one of them have their own story. The way that they act, is in comparison of the character from the Bible. Pilate was named after Pilate who killed Jesus. It is stated in the text, "No. Not like a riverboat pilot. Like a Christ-killing Pilate" (Morrison pg.19). The names are a Biblical allusion that connects this book with the Bible. Pilates dad needed a name for her so he went through the Bible but he had no understanding of Biblical names or the Bible in general so he just went with whatever he found. In this time period, African Americans were not so well educated, others not at all. Chapter one is a bit complicated to get an understanding of it, but family is significant because it develops a character and helps the character form him/herself on how they will be when they grow. I have read the Bible and according to it, Pilate was some sort of governor in the town of Jerusalem. He was the one who in  a way made Jesus get killed on the Cross. Today in class, Dr. Lewis talked about geography. She asked us to think of a place, to describe who were there, what they were talking about, and what did our main character know. She then explained to us that what surrounds a character in book, is what they will use to develop themselves with.

Blog Pst 7: Flight

When I think or hear of the word "flight" I usually think of things that can fly like angels, planes, birds, insects, or maybe even superheroes. According to to the chapter of "Flights of Fancy" humans cannot fly. When we see someone in the air, it is either a superhero, fictional character, a ski jumper, an angel, etc. We all wish we could fly in some sort of way but due to the law of gravity, we cannot.  A Greek myth was that of Daedalus and Icarus, in which an ingenious father's attempt to save his son from a tyrant. He creates wings but his son gets too close to the sun, the wax of the wings melt and the son falls to his death. An Aztecan myth is the one of an important god to them, Quetzalcoatl, as a snake with feathered wings. A myth of the flying Africans. Also the myth of Satan tempting God to fly. For many, flight is considered freedom. In the Crucible, someone was said to be flying. Betty says she would fly to get her mother. "Her freedom, like her 'imprisonment' is paradoxical" (Foster 129). Paradoxical means to be seemingly absurd or self-contradictory. A famous example of paradox is one that says, "I can resist anything but temptation" by Oscar Wilde. There have been many examples of paradox in the text of the Crucible. The girls of the town go into the woods to do some sort of ritual. To the town they're "good"girls but secretly they have been doing "evil" things. It's someone "good" doing "evil".

Blog Post 6: Geography Matters

According to the chapter "Geography Matters" geography is typically about humans inhabiting spaces, and at the same time the spaces that inhabit humans. A question was brought up of "what is geography?" In the eyes of the reader, geography is nothing more than rivers, hills, valleys, buttes, steppes, glaciers, mountains, seas, islands, etc. when it should really be more than that. It states that in poetry and fiction, people are mostly the geography. Setting and location are both important because it develops a certain character in literature throughout the place it is being set on. A part in the chapter states that "Geography is setting, but it's also (or can be) psychology, attitude, finance, industry-anything that place can forge in the people who live there". In literature, geography defines and develops its characters to new things and places. In "Bean Trees" the character, Marietta, has no surroundings of a good geography. She has no options in that world. The geography is described as poor crops and hardly anyone makes much of a go of things, the horizon is short and is blocked by the mountains.  Geography is important in this story because it gives an image of the character, setting, and also how it looks geographically. This makes her want to leave. She decides to leave and changes her name to "Taylor Greer". She moves out and meets new people in the West. She states that there are "big horizons, clean air, brilliant sunshine, and open possibilities". It describes her life "from a closed to an open environment, and she seizes the opportunities for growth and development".  The geography that is described to where she had moved to, made her a better person mentally and physically. When she lived in Kentucky, the geographic features that were described, made her into a boring person. When she moved out West and saw all the better things out there, it changed her way of looking at life, she found new opportunities.

Crucible Portfolio Entry: Act 4

Allusion: Reference to well known, significant events.
"Mr. Hale, as God have not empowered me like Joshua to stop this sun from rising, so I cannot withhold from them the perfection of their punishment" (Danforth pg. 1325)
The author uses this as an allusion to a reference from the Bible. In the Bible, a man named Joshua prayed to God. He prayed to him asking God if he could stop the sun for them to have more hours in the day so that he and his people could win the war, once and for all. Proctor is set to be hung in the morning. Reverend Hale wanted more time for Proctor to confess. When he tries asking for more time, Danforth says he is not empowered like Joshua to stop the sun from rising.

Danforth: Mr. Hale, as God has not empowered me like Joshua to stop this sun from rising, so I cannot withhold from them the perfection of their punishment.
Hale, harder now: If you think God wills you to raise rebellion, Mr. Danforth, you are mistaken!
Danforth, instantly: You have heard rebellion spoken in the town?
Hale: Excellency, there are orphans wandering from house to house; abandoned cattle bellow on the highroads, the stink of rotting crops hangs everywhere, and no man knows when the harlots' cry will end his life- and you wonder yet if rebellion's spoke? Better you should marvel how they do not burn your province!
Danforth: Mr. Hale, have you preached in Andoverthis month?
Hale: Thank God they have no need for me in Andover.

Danforth
Description: Proud, judging, old
In the Crucible, Danforth is the judge with the highest power. He believes Salem has been taken over by the devil. He says that if someone is innocent, they should not be afraid of court. When the play is coming to an end, he realizes what wrong he had done for hanging innocent people. The right thing he should've done would be to apologize to the families who lost a loved one but he has too much pride to do such thing.

Crucible Portfolio Entry: Act III

Repetition: The action of repeating something that has already been said or written.
"Mr. Danforth! Mr. Danforth! Have you compacted with the Devil? Have you? Never, never! Never, never! Why can they only repeat you?" (Mary Warren, Girls, Mr. Danforth pg. 1312)
The author uses this scene to show that the girls are "seeing" evil spirits when they really aren't. The girls keep repeating whatever Mary Warren to make the judges believe that they have been taken over by the devil. Mary Warren keeps telling the judges the girls are lying and to stop the girls from pretending before she gets in trouble. The girls look up at the ceiling as if Mary Warren was flying when she was actually right beside them.


Mary Warren, to all the girls: I'm here, I'm here!
Girls: I'm here, I'm here!
Danforth, horrified: Marry Warren! Draw back your spirit out of them!
Mary Warren: Mr. Danforth!
Girls, cutting her off: Mr. Danforth!
Danforth: Have you compacted with the Devil? Have you?
Mary Warren: Never, never!
Girls: Never, never!
Danforth, growing hysterical: Why can they only repeat you?
Proctor: Give me whip - I'll stop it!
Mary Warren: They're sporting. They-!
Girls: They're sporting!
Mary Warren, turning to them hysterically and stamping her feet: Abby, stop it!
Girls, stamping their feet: Abby, stop it!
Mary Warren: Stop it!
Girls: Stop it!
Mary Warren, screaming it out at the top of her lungs, and raising her fists: Stop it!!
Girls, raising their fists: Stop it!!


Mary Warren
Description: Scared, Good girl, Weak
Mary Warren is John and Elizabeth Proctor's servant at their house. She made a poppet while she was at church and then gave it to Elizabeth. With Mary Warren giving Elizabeth the poppet, it puts Elizabeth in  a horrible situation. Mary Warren then confessed that all the evil things that they had seen was all a lie.

Crucible Portfolio Entry: Act II

Symbolism: The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.
"Oh Elizabeth, your justice would freeze beer!" (Proctor pg. 1271)
"Your justice would freeze beer!" is used as symbolism to represent how cold-hearted Elizabeth is acting towards Proctor. She keeps bringing up the time Proctor had an affair with Abigail. Even though they had already talked about it, Elizabeth doesn't trust him. When Proctor told Elizabeth about him being alone with Abigail, Elizabeth reacted in  a jealous type way. He implies to her as being able to "freeze beer" even though beer can't be frozen, thats how cold-hearted she was being to him.


Proctor: I'll plead my honesty no more, Elizabeth.
Elizabeth- now she would justify herself: John, I am only-
Proctor: No more! I should have roared you down when first you told me your suspicion. But I wilted, and, like a Christian, I confessed. Confessed! Some dream I had must have mistaken you for God that day. But you're not, you're not, and let you remember it! Let you look sometimes for the goodness in me, and judge me not.
Elizabeth: I do not judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you. I never thought you but a good man, John -with a smile- only somewhat bewildered.
Proctor, laughing bitterly: Oh, Elizabeth, your justice would freeze beer! He turns suddenly toward sound outside. He starts for the door as Marry Warren enters. As soon as he sees her, he goes directly to her and grabs her by the cloak, furious. How do you go to Salem when I forbid it? Do you mock me? Shaking her. I'll whip you if you dare leave this house again!


John Proctor
Description: Secretive, honest, proud
After his affair with Abigail, he feels his relationship with Elizabeth is not how it used to be. He's very secretive and won't forgive himself for what he did with Abigail. He seems to be lonely for the most part and doesn't seem to spend much time at home.

Blog Post 4: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

A puritan value that the "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" exhibited was that God has shown too much mercy up until today. It shows that even though we have committed too many sins in God's eyes, he still has not killed us. Even though God hasn't perished of the human race, doesn't mean he isn't angry with us all. The author wants us to understand that if we do not stop sinning, there is a hell waiting for us. It warns us to be careful on what we do. The first statement that the "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" states says, "We find it easy to tread on and crush a worm that we see crawling on the earth; so it is easy for us to cut or singe a slender thread that any thing hangs by; thus easy it is for God when he pleases to cast his enemies down to hell...". This makes the puritans understand that whatever they do to any small creature, God can easily do to them as well. Many people still commit sins today. Many think God does not exist because nothing has happened. The only similar thing in today's age is that people still keep doing what they used to. They have not changed at all. A difference would be that there aren't as many people to be warning or tell people to stop sinning before God's rage comes upon us. If it was me giving out the message, I would have probably been very angry with everyone else because of them being so stubborn on not changing the way they live.

Blog Post 3: The Rhetorical Situation

I have always wanted to tryout for the school soccer team. For the past two I have been putting excuses on why I shouldn't go. I have been afraid about not being good enough and the things people would say about me, but all of that changed up until I heard a speech I am about to tell you about. It happened about a year or two ago when I went to a soccer game. I went to South America with my older brother, my younger brother, and my father. We went to Brazil where Argentina's and Brazil's national soccer team were going to have a friendly match but they weren't airing live on t.v. Everyone was excited because it was going to be a hyped game even though it was a friendly match. My favorite soccer player is Leo Messi. He is probably the one of the few players who inspire me to be better. Before the game started, he gave like a 30-40 seconds speech. What he said made me realize I should not really care about the rest. He talked about how we shouldn't give up on our dreams and whatever we do is for us only and not for the rest. He told us to put the world aside and focus on the one thing we have always wanted in life. After he was done, the whole crowd went wild. He had me thinking really hard about it. Then I told myself I was done putting excuses. This upcoming summer is my last opportunity to be able to tryout because I am going to be a Senior. I saw some of the concepts talked about in the Rhetorical Situation. It included an audience, an occasion, a subject, and a purpose. Out of all the SOAPS, I think the most important one to have is an audience. I think the audience is the most important because without and audience, there is no one to share with.

Blog Post 2: Well Baked Man/Creation

I have already heard about this creation myth. It was back in middle school and I also had an uncle that told me about it. A few words from the story were changed around but it still ends up with the same ending. I am pretty sure this is the only one I have ever actually heard about. There is this other one but I completely forgot how it went. Well there are many different types of creation myths. Many have different meanings inside of them. Some, you have to look very deeply to understand them. But a creation myth basically explains the beginning of something. Like when God first created the human being, but people make it a bit more entertaining. The Well Baked Man story always catches my attention, it entertains me in  a way. The story shows the point of view of the Pueblo Indians. In their view, they have the best skin tone. It gave me an insight into the Native American state of mind because according to them, they are the best out of the other races. The purpose of a creation myth is to give is a bit more of an understanding of how we something or someone was created. Another purpose is to show the generations that the ancestors background are the best out of all the ones out there. Creation myths could also be used as a way to entertain people. I believe Native Americans relied on creation myths and science due to the purpose that they believed in different types of gods. They worried about what type of punishments that could come upon them by their gods.

Blog Post 1: Creative Therapy

1: Last year when I went to Miami, I had a moment I will never forget. My family and I had a five day vacation there. On the third day, we decided to go to the beach. My parents left me in charge of my 9-year-old brother. While taking care of him, he was going farther and farther into the ocean. I told him to come back but he wouldn't listen up until the point where he was drowning. I had to go help him and in doing that, he started kicking his feet and climbing up on me. He's a pretty big boy so it was hard for my to breathe. I was underwater for at least 2-3 minutes yelling my lungs out. I was passed out by the time I got to shore and I can never remember what happened next other than waking up in my hotel room next to my mom.

2: That day, I lost the courage of going into open water. I'm not completely scared of water but I am at some points. When ever I have gone to the beach after that incident, I stay close to the shore because I get nervous of waves. I'm probably overreacting but I have my reasons. Whenever my parents tell me to take care of my brothers, I do it. But if in taking care of them, they get close to water, it's over. I'm not going to go through the same experience twice in one life time. Little things can change your thoughts on having fun.

3: My initial reaction to my situation was me drowning. I didn't know I was drowning, I was passed out. I can't really remember what was going through my mind at that moment. I was basically sleeping without me realizing it. After I woke up at the hotel, I felt a bit terrified. I spit out some water onto the bed but that's pretty much it. It may not be much of I went through but I was still shocked afterwards. My mom told me not to worry, that everything was going to be okay. But no, everything was not going to be "okay". I had just drowned and everything was going to be "okay" they said.

4: As time passed, I became more and more scared of being around big areas of open water. I go out into the the deep but not too deep. I enjoy being and swimming in the water, I just have precautions of my surroundings. If I see a huge wave coming at me, you better believe that I'm going to be the first one out of the water. Now that more time has passed, I'm a bit more loose on the things I do while swimming. I just like having fun but being careful as well.

5: From this experience, I learned that water is more dangerous than what it actually looks like. I learned not to carry people on my back while being inside a beach. I am now more careful on where I swim. I don't go running wild into the beach. I learned that I have to be careful when swimming and careful when I'm taking care of other people.