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I think what has improved about my writing is really understanding my argument.  It was difficult for me to figure out how to argue my thesis statement, and this semester I feel it has been very easy for me to figure out my argument.  The easiest paper for me to complete would have to be "The Little Mermaid".  The reason I think is because it was the paper I was particularly most interested in.  I found it very weird how different Christen's version was compared to Disney's.  The most beneficial lesson I thought we did was when we did an outline of our paper and had people edit our outline and also put input on what we could also argue in our paper.  I think it is easier for people to edit papers when they just see the facts because what is most important to your paper is if you are providing information that is a beneficial to the argument of  your paper.  I definately think I am prepared to write college-level papers.  I think it has gotten much easier for me to write papers, and I don't dread it as much as I used to!

"Goblin Market"

 In class today I didn't understand why the men were Goblin's, and when we talked about the description it made sense.  After looking at the description, it describes the men perfectly clear by the way they treated the sisters.  I didn't pick up on how the sister could have been rapped and I felt like that was a valid conclusion.  Later when she gets back it says she is all torn up and has bruises everywhere, this to me says that she was fighting against something she didn't want to do.  I also think it is interesting how fruit is always trying to tempt people.  I feel like many poems tie back into Adam and Eve's story.

"The Flea"

I felt "The Flea" was about a couple who couldn't be together because their families were enemies.  The woman refused to marry this man for that reason.  "The Flea" resembles her pregnancy.  The woman doesn't know what to do because she knows her family won't accept the man or the baby, so she decides to kill herself, which causes the baby to also die.  The man states this as "three sins in killing three". It sounds like at the end when the man states "[T]his flea's death took life from thee", the man is blaming the baby for killing the love of his life.  This poem reminded me of Romeo and Juliet, taking the fact they couldn't be together because of their families.

Poetry

I have never read really any poetry before.  I think the last time I read poetry in my English class was in 7th grade.  So I don't really mind what kind of poetry we read because I don't really have much experience with poetry.  The only author I can think of that I have read is Shel Silverstein. 

The Ending of Dr. Faustus

I was surprised when Faustus blamed his parents for him giving his soul to the devil.  He still didn't take responsibility for his actions.  At first I thought he did, until he cursed the devil at the very end.  I was a little mad that Marlowe didn't give any exposition about Faustus's parents.  It would have been interesting to know where Faustus came from and why he was so immature and weird.  But, I will admit I was a little shocked with the ending.  I thought Faustus was going to repent and God was going to forgive him so he wouldn't have to go to hell.

Faustus

I think a message Marlowe is trying to present is when people have the power to accomplish anything they take that power in a negative way.  Faustus likes to torture people.  For instance, when the knight tells Faustus he can't bring Alexander the Great and his paramour back to the emperor he puts horns on his head.  He enjoys playing mean tricks on people.  Faustus doesn't realize that he can have power in a good way.  I think Faustus now enjoys giving his soul to the devil because of what he can do now.  I think he will soon find out it has its disadvantages that come along with it.

Scene V.

I so far think the play is very interesting.  I think many of the things that happen in this play you can relate to society today.  Everywhere you go there are bad things happening.  So when Mephistophilis tells him hell has no specific location I agree with his statement.  I also think the good and bad angel everyone can also relate to.  When your doing something you know is wrong and someone tells you not to do but there is always this peer pressure to do it.  Faustus went with the peer pressure.  Right when he decided to give his soul away and he saw the words "Oh man fly", that definately was a symbol that he chose the wrong decision.  I think throughout the play he will like all the power but then he will want to repent because he finds it isn't what he thought it would be like.

Hierarchy

My hierarchy was a little bit the same as Faustus.  My list  from important to least important is: religion,medicine,law, and then philosophy.  I removed magic because I don't believe in magic.  But, I do think it would be sweet to live in the land of Hogwarts.  I was actually surprised that money wasn't on Faustus list.  It seems like he is really obssesed with power and I think money has a lot to do with power.  Today, I feel like people who are wealthy are always looked upon as wonderful people.  I have met people who are very caring that are wealthy, but I have met many who don't care about anyone but themselves.  When comparing the list, I didn't think there was much of a difference, besides magic.  But I think that Faustus is a little weird.  He wants to become better than Aristotle, not many people say that.  So I think someone else in the 1600s would have a similar hierarchy to mine.

Semester So Far

I like a lot of the activities we have done in class.  I like when we get into smaller groups and discuss because I think more people feel more comfortable talking in a smaller groups than rather an entire class.  I'm used to last semester in English when people talked much more so it makes me more quiet lol. I definately like the grammar guides better than sentence level corrections.  Sentence level corrections were dumb.  I really like how we have a free choice to read certain stories.  I was really excited to read "The Little Mermaid"! I think a lot of people will choose to write their next paper on the free choice short story because we had a chance to read about what we were interested in.  I also really liked when we got into groups who had written on the same topic and sat down and discussed our paper.  One thing to improve on is something you can't really fix lol. I wish people were more critical when peer reviewing.  Some people see it as mean thing to do, but I like it because criticism is what helps improve your paper.

Setting and Point of View in: "The Little Mermaid"

Setting: The setting takes places at first in the ocean and around her father's castle.  Then when she turns into a human it is at the prince's castle.  Another part of the setting is at the witch's house where she makes the potion for the little mermaid to turn into a human.

Point of View: The point of view is in third person limited ominiscient.  The narrator really only lets us in on the thoughts of the little mermaid.  We know certain characiteristics about the grandmother,prince, father, sisters, etc. But, we don't know what those characteristcs are thinking.  The reader only knows the little mermaid's feelings.

"Bartleby, the Scrivener" and "The Birthmark"

I thought both short stories had many similarities.  Both stories were in chronological structure.  This makes sense because in Bartleby you learn why he isn't doing any of the tasks the lawyer asks him to.  In "The Birthmark", it wouldn't make sense to start out with the scientist's wife dying, there would be no point to the story since the climax of the story was already given.  In contrast, everything in "The Birthmark" was pretty black and white.  Once the story ended, there wasn't any questions as to why something happened.  But in "Bartleby, the Scrivener", it doesn't flat out state whether Bartleby died or not.  What I learned from both of the stories is that they both ended dramatically.  Bartleby ends up in jail because he won't leave the workplace even though he doesn't even work there anymore.  In "The Birthmark", the wife ends up dying because her husband trys to make her perfect.  Bartleby never really had a great life in the first place, but once he got to the Tomb there wasn't any hope for him.  So I think both short stories had a dark ending.

In Class Talk

I thought the racism talk was really important today.  I do think it is very pathetic how there is no diversity at South Dakota but, at the same time who would want to go to school in South Dakota anyways :) I think if my dad wouldn't have moved to Atlanta I would not have understood such different culture structures that I see in Atlanta compared to Omaha.  But I do think that every race is racist because I have met many black people that were racist towards white people. I do not blame them though since how cruel some people are towards them.  But, whites have way more dominance over the world and whites have not experienced not even half of the torture other races have experienced.  I also think that people are very rude towards mentally challenged people.  It is very sad to call someone dumb when they physically were born that way and have no way of changing it.  I think that could almost be compared as another part of racism.  Obviously they were born that way for a reason, and to judge someone for that is horrible.  I just think the world just keeps getting worse.  People just care about themselves and money, rather than caring for one another.

Students Not Learning in College Extra Credit

I think some students don't learn and others do.  People who don't apply themselves aren't going to learn and it is their responsibility to do the work.  But I don't think it is necessary to raise the graduation credits. I do hate taking gen. ed's. I think it is really a waste of time because I don't find many of the classes interesting at all and it makes me feel like I'm still in high school sometimes.  I think the biggest problem is for some people it takes a while for them to realize they are there to learn and find what they're going to do the rest of their life, rather than party all of the time.  People just need to learn to balance their social life with their school life.  I think that is the biggest reason why students aren't learning.  Another reason why I don't think students aren't learning is because a lot of people don't know what they want to do, and when people don't know what they want to do they have no motivation to do well in certain classes.

Twitter

The whole concept that people make false accounts of people would really bother me if it did happen.  But, that is something you have to deal with when you are a celebrity.  Also, can't people get sued for a false account if they are making false assumptions about someone? It is peoples responsibilities to get their information from a reliable source.  Being a celebrity, they should expect these things to happen because people go loco over celebrities.  As for just "oridnary"( I realize celebrities are people, but they don't get treated like the rest of us)people, I think people should definately get sued for false accounts because people will automatically assume it is true.  As for celebrities, you know half of the things you hear will be false and celebrities have more of a way to prove it is false than others do.

First Paper

I thought the first paper wasn't that difficult to write.  The most issues I have is my thesis statement because many times I write my paper and it doesn't go with my thesis statement.  I do like the peer review where we got together and talked about our idas for our paper, but I don't like the peer review when you read the papers and check for grammar and such.  I think that you can check for grammar on your own time.  I'd rather have criticism on my argument. 

The Metamorphosis

I thought this short story was weird and interesting.  If I were to write a paper I would compare it to mentally challenged children.  I think sometimes parents don't share enough love with challenged children and that is the one quality they are looking for, to feel accepted.  They also don't get enough attention.  I think this is exactly how Gregor feels and how he feels like he can't contribute to the family anymore, that is no different than a mentally challenged child.  In some cases, that child knows they are a nusiance to the family.  I enjoyed reading this shorty story but also found it creepy that he was a bug.  But, I think Kafka did that on purpose to prove how different Gregor was from his family.

Works Cited

Amey, Michael D. "Living Under the Bell Jar: Surveillance and Resistance in Yevgeny Zamyatin's We." 17.1 (2005):22-39. MLA International Biography.Web. 29 Jan. 2011

Dennis, Bretton J. "Zamyatin's We."58.4 (2000): 211-3. Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 Jan. 2011.

Zamyatin, Yevgeny. We. New York: The Modern Library, 2006. Print.

Topic for We

My topic for We I chose to do about dehumanizing at the One State.  I want to discuss how freedom is taken away and how it makes D-503 go insane.  People need freedom for their own individuality. That is why I wanted to pick this topic.  I think dehumanization is everywhere in the One State.  Everyone in the story symbolizes some part of dehumanization and how it effects them. 

We

I overall enjoyed the book.  I didn't really enjoy the beginning but once I got through the first fifty pages or so I started to become more interested in the story.  I also enjoyed this book because it kept me guessing.  The ending I was surprised by, I thought for sure he was going to commit suicide since he was so upset with I-330.  I didn't like how they kept puting I-330 in the Gas Bell Jar, it just sounded very painful.  But for being written in the 1920's I think Zamyatin did a great job writing this book.

State of the Union

I decided to youtube the State of the Union address and I really enjoyed the video.  I liked how Obama focused on not the negative but also the positive.  Even though the stock market and finding jobs has gone down, the U.S. is still the largest successful economy.  However, President Obama said China has the fastest computer and some type of solar technology.. I think.  But, global competition is good! It makes the U.S. work harder.  Also, the economy is getting better.  It takes time to improve an entire country and I think people are way too hard on the government and the President.  They focus way too much on them rather than what they themselves can do. I can't stand it when people complain about how poor they are and they still spend money on unnecessary things.  Sometimes you have to work your way to the top.  I know this will probably never happen but I don't like political parties.  I think of it as a sign of segregation.  Everyone's beliefs are important but you shouldn't have to make a party about it.  I feel it just puts people at a narrow mind set.  Most Republicans hate Democrats and vice versa.  But I thought everything Obama wants to succeed in is the right way to a better economy. 

Family

The most upsetting thing I would miss in the One State is family.  Even though there are times when I want to kill my sibilings or parents, they have been a major impact in my life.  Family teaches you many lessons in life.  Even if some people don't like there family, it can teach you what not to do.  There are some things that drives me crazy that my parents do.  I can't stand it when my mom smacks her food or how she freaks out about the dumbest things.  I make sure not to do some bad habits that my family have. I'm also sure that I have plenty of my own bad habits!  Another reason why I would miss my family so much is because they're very supportive.  I also know they will always be honest with me, even when I don't want them to.  I would also miss my dad making the best chocalate chip pancakes I have ever had! Family is so important to have and I would be an unhappy person if I didn't have a one.

Feminist Critics

First off, I didn't read your email until a few minutes ago so I read to 155 so my information will be past page 122! I thought this was the most interesting because in We, I do think Zamyatin makes men and women seem equal for the most part.  When I-330 stands up and says "no" during the One Vote Day, it shocks me that he would write about a women this way because women in the 1920's weren't like that at all.  I think part of the reason Zamyatin makes I-330 this way because she is the "different" one.  The men and women at the One State generally do the same things.  Men are mostly male-dominated in the story, but it's not to the extent where it is too over powering because I-330 still outsmarts everyone.  I also just thought of this, nobody in We is married.  I know they have those triangle families and such but do they not get married?

Style,Tone,Irony, and More!

Style: When Yevgeny Zamyatin writes this story I feel like he makes D-503 very straight forward but then he explains himself so we don't think he is crazy. Like when he talks about wanting to have sex with I-330 he covers it up that he is sick.  D-503 opinions are very narrow minded but  I can tell he is becoming more open minded when I read farther into the story.

Tone: Anytime D-503 talks about the ancestors he describes them as dumb and crazy.  He thinks that we are dumb to have freedom.  So his tone is basically that he looks down upon us and is disappointed in our decisions.

Irony: P. 64 " I hate the fog. I am afraid of fog." "That means you love it. You're afraid of it-because it is stronger than you. You hate it-because you are afraid of it.  You love it-because you can't conquer it yourself.  You see, you can only love the unconquerable." D-503 then admits he likes the fog.  I also think the fog relates to I-330.  Even though D-503 really wants to hate I-330, he can't because he likes her.

Plot: In the book it talks about how plots can go back and forth between the past and present to provide information that leads up to the final startling moment.  I think that is how this book is arranged.  It is in the future but it keeps relating to his ancestors (which is in today's present) and I don't think we will really know what is going to happen until the very end.

Characterization: Old Lady: D-503 portrays her as an old wrinkly lady with a wrinkled kinda weird mouth.  He makes her seem mysterious at the Ancient House and hasn't quite figured her out yet.
Setting: The setting is mostly taken place in the One State. But, there are so many different settings. Like, when I-90 finds out that D-503 had sex with I-330, D-503 gets on the elevator and he says "down, down, down," (70).  That setting  in the elevator relates to his mood and how he was supposed to be having sex with his girlfriend and instead had I-90 tell him to leave her alone.

Point of View: We is in first person.  The narrator, D-503, is largely influenced in the story.

Symbol: Gas Bell Jar represents dehumanization.  The Gas Bell Jar is what makes them act and think the way they do for what they think is happiness.

Theme: So far I think the theme of the story is The One State definition of happiness is to have everyone do everything the same way.  Perfect with no mistakes.  I think this theme is actually accurate.  A lot of people, even myself, think that if everything perfect you will be happy.  That isn't necessarily true.  Celebrities are a great example.  They have all the money in the world with luxury cars and mansions with fashion clothing.  Everyone thinks there life is perfect but many celebrities I think are unhappy.  The same goes for robots I guess you could call them in We.  You can tell that D-503 is falling apart, so really there lifestyle isn't making everyone happy.

Intro

Hi! My name is Casey Kelly.  I am from Omaha, Nebraska.  I have lived in Nebraska my entire life.  I absolutely hate winter.  So, I really hope second semester goes by fast because I love summer. In high school I played soccer and was involved in show choir and musicals. I also love Lady Gaga.  I know a lot of people think she's a freak but I love her.  I'm going to her concert in March and I am so excited!! Well.. that's about it!