"Final Reflection in English 3"
"The Green Light" is literally an actual green light in the book "The Great Gatsby" by F.Scott Fitzgerald. This mesmerizing green light is shown throughout the book by Gatsby and narrated by Nick. The light is characterized as mesmerizing, and a beacon of hope for the future by Nick who is narrating the book. My green light would be my parents because I strive to be like them but also to make a life of my own. My parents have went through a lot of hardships in their lives to have a good life for me and my brothers. Along the way, they have made mistakes and have showed us that we shouldn't make the same mistakes they did. This is why my parents are my green light.

"MY Personal Growth"
We have talked about a plethora of topics this year from American Romanticism to the Harlem Renaissance.So I'm going to try to go back to the first thing we did (or that I remember anyway) which is the American Literary Timeline. This timeline shows the growth of American Literature from the 1700's with the Exploration period until now with post contemporary authors. I thought this was interesting to look at America's history of literature.

Now I remember the first thing we did in English 3. We looked at Native American explorers and authors. Authors such like Handsome Lake paved the way for literature at that time. However, the pieces of literature were not copyrighted due to the fact that it hadn't been invented. This opened up my mind to different genres of literature.

The second thing I remember doing is Transcendentalism. Transcendentalism is a genre of literature that is philosophical and social movement that started in the 1800's. Authors such as Thoreau, Emerson, and Margaret Fuller. We had to read "Walden" by Thoreau and talk about his life in an interactive way. I thought this activity was kind of cool because we got to know Thoreau's life and what led him to the point of writing novels.

We also discussed the Puritans and Pidlgrims and their pieces of literature. The story "Young Goodman Brown" had a huge impact on me. This story had a huge impact on me because it shows that you cannot trust everything you see and hear. The story is about a man named Goodman Brown with his wife, Faith.

And another thing we did was about the Great Gatsby. This story was about a man trying to lice the American Dream. This story taught me to follow my dreams and to dream big. My growth this year has been tremendous to me.

Recap of the Great Gatsby
OK so we finished the movie the Great Gatsby in class this week. The movie in my opinion is just like the book except for the physical character portrayed but nevertheless it was an exceptional movie. I liked that the music was modern and most of us knew the songs.

"The Great Gatsby"

The Great Gatsby is about a man named Gatsby who ultimately is in love with a woman named Daisy Buchanan. The story is told through the eyes of Nick Carraway who gives his own opinions on characters as well. Daisy also has a husband named Tom Buchanan who comes off as snooty yet ignorant. Daisy is a gentle, yet foolish who has stated that she wants her daughter to be a beautiful fool and that's the best thing she can be. Gatsby throws these lavish elaborate parties in which everyone in East and West Egg attend. In the end however it is a fatal love triangle with 3 people murdered. 

"The Great Gatsby"

The Great Gatsby is a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925. this novel follows a list of characters living in fictional West Egg on Long Island which is a wealthy neighborhood. The story is primarily about a young and mysterious millionaire named Jay Gatsby and his passion and obsession for the beautiful debutante Daisy Buchanan. Considered to be Fitzgerald's greatest work, The Great Gatsby explores themes of decadence, idealism, resistance to change, social upheaval, and excess, creating a portrait of the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties that has been described as a cautionary tale about the American Dream and chasing it. 



"Emancipation Proclamation"



PROMPT: Did President Lincoln issue the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 primarily for humanitarian reasons, military necessity, or to secure his legacy?



The Emancipation Proclamation is a executive order put into effect by the late President Abraham Lincoln. This proclamation was put into effect to free all of the enslaved people held in the South. This proclamation was adopted on January 1, 1863. This is also an effect of the Civil War. The Civil War is a main part that shapes America's history as a nation.

The Civil War happened between 1861-1865 for a total of four years. This war had begun because of uncompromising differences between the North and the South on slaves that were not free and free slaves that had rights. When Abraham Lincoln won election in 1860 as the first Republican president on a platform pledging to keep slavery out of the territories, seven slave states in the South seceded and formed a new nation, the Confederate States of America. The incoming Lincoln administration and most of the Northern people refused to recognize the South's secession from the North. They feared that it would discredit democracy and create a fatal precedent that would eventually fragment the no-longer United States into several small, squabbling countries.

President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1 for humanitarian reasons, and military necessity. He issued it for military necessity because if he had not, the country would have been in turmoil and chaos by fighting if all slaves in the South would be free. He also did it for humanitarian reasons because he did not want a war killing tons of men in battle and he wanted to keep peace between the two main parts of the country. He says that he wants the rebellion (the Confederates) to be suppressed and for there to be freedom and peace.

While in doing this, President Lincoln sealed/secured his legacy. I don't think that Lincoln knew he was doing so, but in the process he would go down in history as one of the most important presidents of this country. Even though not every slave was free (such as Irish, and Caribbean slaves) it was still a good thing that he passed this proclamation. He has freed the slaves from all of these states:Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, (except the Parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the City of New Orleans) Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia.

This document is an important and vital part of the United States history as a country. Where would we be without this proclamation? We would most likely have two countries in North America -- the United States and the Confederate States of America. People in the South would still be slaves and have to conform to the Confederates laws. I am happy that this document was passed so as an African American I will not be someone's property.

 

"Transcendentalism"

 

This week we learned about the literature genre named transcendentalism. transcendentalism is a genre of literature which mixes religious beliefs, philosophical beliefs, people, and nature. we also annotated a piece by Ralph Emerson called Self-Reliance which dealt with the concept of the narrator being self-reliant and religion.

"This week in English III"
This week in English we learned about how to create Annotated Bibliographies and how the format is supposed to look for the bibliographies.

"This Week in English 3"

 

This week we talked about short stories dealing with gothic romances. When we think of these stories, "Young Goodman Brown", "The Yellow Wall", and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" come to mind. Gothic romance stories are eerie, scary, and kind of horrifying. We are also talking about how to set up a MLA paper the RIGHT way.



So today is Monday and I am writing my blog. It is not due to laziness (this time) but I thought we did not have to complete one. Anyway, my spring break was okay except the whole time I was worrying about typing a paper that is due NEXT Monday. 

Spring Break

SPRING BREAK

So this week is Spring Break (for us anyway) and I couldn't be more happy. This week will be me doing the following things non-stop: sleeping, watching You tube videos, watching vines, and eating. Now May could just come along then my dreams would come true. 

• "Recently in English 3"
• OK so in English 3 we had a huge project which was on an American poet and we had to analyze 3 poems and recite one. The poet I had was Gertrude Stein who was very revolutionary for that time for women. She was the first female poet to come out that she was a lesbian in one of her stories.  

"English 3"

This week was cut short due to weather conditions (Hallelujah!) but we have a new project/assignment. Our project is on a author that was chosen for us and we have to create a power point, essay(s), and a recantation of our poem. The author I was given is Gertrude Stein. Gertrude Stein is an American poet who helped shape an artistic movement that demanded a novel form of expression and a conscious break with the past.    

Happiness and the Struggles to Achieve it

"Happiness"

Happiness. It's such a simple word but it is so hard to achieve. Why? Why is happiness and overall peace with one's self so hard to achieve and grasp? This is what I thought about this week. Is it that fate just naturally wants us to be unhappy? Is it others just can't fathom that we're doing good in life and that's where they want to be? Or is it all in God's plan?



Okay so I really don't know what to discuss on my blog this week. I suppose I can talk about my feelings I have towards someone. This week (particularly today) I realized I had feelings for someone  I know. The whole time I've been trying to hide these feelings from the person and from myself but today just put everything in perspective for me. I want to tell this person but I'm afraid of vulnerability and possible rejection (i.e. he has a girlfriend :( so I really don't know what to do at this point. Do I tell him or just keep my feelings to myself? 

This week in our English 3 class we discussed sermons and the sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God". "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" was written by Jonathan Edwards who was a preacher. Edwards was preaching to his congregation about their wicked ways, God's wrath, and the ways they could become converted men. Edwards compares God's wrath to a powerful, flowing river that doesn't stop which is like God's wrath when you've done wrong. I thought this piece was very interesting but also kind of brash because throughout the whole piece he is telling what YOU need to do to go to heaven. 

   "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"

The purpose of this sermon which was given by Johnathan Edwards, is to warn the congregation that if they continue on with their wicked ways, then they will get sent to hell. This point can be proven in point 2 of the sermon where Edwards states "They [unconverted men] deserve to be cast into hell; so that divine justice never stands in the way, it makes no objection against God's using his power at any moment to destroy them...". The people would respond to this very negatively because Edwards is attacking unconverted people in the congregation. This piece is translated into more modern language now and the language is more modern also. In 1741, it would have been received as pretty aggressive and harsh. The most striking parts of the sermon for me were: point 3 where it says "They are already under a sentence of condemnation to hell.... John 3:18 He that believeth not is condemned already... "Unconverted men walk over the pit of  hell on a rotten covering, and there are innumerable places in this covering so weak that they will not bear their weight, and these places are not seen. The last thing that sparked my attention was in point 10 where Edwards discusses God not having the obligation to promise any natural man out of hell one moment. 

"Trapped"

"Trapped"

I feel trapped. Trapped behind a painting being painted for me. Trapped behind my own thoughts, fears, dreams, and goals. Trapped by my peers, parents, and society. I feel trapped and I don't think anyone can save me.