Wednesday, May 28, 2008
5 Day Weekend
I just got back from a five day weekend and I'm tired as hell right now sitting here in first period Wednesday morning at good ol' 8 o'clock in the morning. Over the weekend I didn't do anything special, or, lets just say, "adventurous" like I know some people did. No I spent all my time for 15 hours a day volunteering at a local baseball tournament. The main thing that I like about it is that since I have been volunteering there for so many hours now I have a more important role than most parents who volunteer.I spend most of my time raking fields, running the snack bar, and watching games. On the good side I now have around 75 hours of community service which is far more than the 30 required to graduate (and if I ever felt like being in the National Honors Society than I would be able to), so if any of my classmates who need hours are willing to pay enough I will give some of my hours away, I'm thinking about $10 an hour. Anyway, the other thing that I did was to finally after over a month get my driver's permit which is good because now I can drive legally. I also spent a lot of time hanging out with friends who were working at the tournament or hanging out by the pool that is right next to the tournament fields. So, my weekend wasn't completely dull, it was definitely worth it and now I'm done with community service hours through college so now I have a lot more free time to add to all the free time I currently have now.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Final Project Outline
What is the question you are answering in your own words? (Essay Question #2- Favorite Text/ Themes Montana 1948)
How is corruption both political and otherwise affecting our society?
What is your thesis statement? This sets up the entire paper with your focus and direction.
Corruption is a theme that many scholars agree is a major theme in the book Montana 1948. The corruption of power plays a huge part in both the story and the society within the story. The message shown by the writer is the chain of events that can happen when a person abuses their power.
BODY PARAGRAPH 1
What is the topic/idea of this paragraph?
Scholar’s opinions on the theme of corruption in the book
What quote(s) ideas from research will you use to help prove your points?
a. Sounds corrupt, this looking away by authorities sworn to prevent violent acts, or stop them, or punish the breakers of laws. To look or not to look; to act or not to act are dilemmas we face everyday, decisions complicated and various as our lives, always compelling. (Don’t Blame it on Montana)
b. For instance, if your war-hero brother, who is a doctor, molests Indian girls under the guise of treating them, and you are the sheriff, should you arrest him? If you are a 12-year-old boy, and you see something that implicates your uncle in a murder, should you tell your sheriff father? If your husband is holding his brother under house arrest in your basement and your father-in-law sends his ranch hands to break out his favorite son, should you shoot at them? Or should you give up and run away in order to protect your only son from the knowledge that will shatter his innocence? (Don’t Blame it on Montana)
What example(s) from the book(s) will you use to help prove your points?
a. Although Wesley was completely aware of what is brother Frank was doing to Indian girls he did nothing because his didn’t want to upset his father, or taint his family name.
b. David was told that his grandfather’s philosophy of law enforcement was to “know when to look and when to look away”
BODY PARAGRAPH 2
What is the topic/idea of this paragraph?
Corruption can be caused by those trying to cover up their crimes.
What quote(s) ideas from research will you use to help prove your points?
a. Under the deal, the archdiocese has agreed to provide internal files on accused abusers to a retired judge, who will then decide what can be released to the victims and the public. Yet, based on the archdiocese's past hardball tactics, some victims and their lawyers fear that Mahony won't allow the documents to be made public without a fight. Release of these documents -- which might show which church leaders covered up for pedophile priests -- is the kind of transparency that victims want and Mahony should promote. (More than Money)
b. “…five years ago with revelations that pedophile priests had preyed on children while higher-ups concealed the wrongdoing, often transferring the priests so they could repeat their crimes on other young, unwary victims.” (More than Money)
What example(s) from the book(s) will you use to help prove your points?
a. After Marie accused Frank of molesting Indian girls Frank later returned to see Marie and in an effort to hide this secret, murdered her.
b. Frank eventually realized that the situation got out of hand and committed suicide when he felt that he couldn’t come back from his crimes with the same reputation he had had before.
BODY PARAGRAPH 3
What is the topic/idea of this paragraph?
Sometimes people will go over the edge to prevent their crimes from becoming public.
What quote(s) ideas from research will you use to help prove your points?
a. What the victims, their families and other Catholics want, beyond financial compensation, is transparency, a conciliatory attitude from church leaders and the kind of hard-nosed reforms that would ensure that this kind of abuse won't happen again. (More than Money)
b. Grandpa Hayden dismisses Frank's attraction to "red-meat" with his characteristic laugh, "a deep, breathy cuh-cuh-cuh." The old man can't believe Wesley's torment about whether to look away or not. No real man would shame his brother, put him in jail for giving in to natural desires. (Don’t Blame it on Montana)
What example(s) from the book(s) will you use to help prove your points?
a. Grandpa Hayden pressured Wes from letting the crimes committed by Frank from going public, and even defended Frank so that Wes could try to see why Frank hadn’t done anything shameful.
b. Wesley, in an attempt to hide the crimes and Frank, he locked Frank in his basement as opposed to the county jail where Frank would have been scrutinized; later that night Frank would kill himself.
BODY PARAGRAPH 4
What is the topic/idea of this paragraph?
Any type of corruption or covered up crime will always come back to haunt those covering it up.
What quote(s) ideas from research will you use to help prove your points?
a. Because "Montana 1948" is so intense, so short, so straight-to-the-kill, it would be a disservice to discuss its denouement in sequence or in detail. Only know there will be murder. There will be suicide. There will be breaking of fruit jars in the basement. (Don’t Blame it on Montana)
b. The old, lame, sick with cancer lawyer and ex-sheriff Wesley Hayden (not such a far remove from John Wesley Hardin) slams his hand down on the table so hard the dinnerware jumps. (Don’t Blame it on Montana)
What example(s) from the book(s) will you use to help prove your points?
a. Frank commits suicide because he can no longer live with himself after these crimes that he has committed.
b. This crime continues to haunt the family for years afterward, and it is something that they cannot avoid.
CONCLUSION
What should we now understand after reading your paper? Where idea(s) does your paper led to?
a. Covering up crimes can cause too much trouble, so people be more honest and forthcoming if they were to make a crime because then even if they got into trouble, at least their consciences would be clear.
b. Crimes and corruption that causes them can be harmful to society and can cause a dramatic affect in all the people involved either in the crime lives as well as those around them.
Final Assessment/ Research Paper Outline
How is corruption both political and otherwise affecting our society?
What is your thesis statement? This sets up the entire paper with your focus and direction.
Corruption is a theme that many scholars agree is a major theme in the book Montana 1948. The corruption of power plays a huge part in both the story and the society within the story. The message shown by the writer is the chain of events that can happen when a person abuses their power.
BODY PARAGRAPH 1
What is the topic/idea of this paragraph?
Scholar’s opinions on the theme of corruption in the book
What quote(s) ideas from research will you use to help prove your points?
a. Sounds corrupt, this looking away by authorities sworn to prevent violent acts, or stop them, or punish the breakers of laws. To look or not to look; to act or not to act are dilemmas we face everyday, decisions complicated and various as our lives, always compelling. (Don’t Blame it on Montana)
b. For instance, if your war-hero brother, who is a doctor, molests Indian girls under the guise of treating them, and you are the sheriff, should you arrest him? If you are a 12-year-old boy, and you see something that implicates your uncle in a murder, should you tell your sheriff father? If your husband is holding his brother under house arrest in your basement and your father-in-law sends his ranch hands to break out his favorite son, should you shoot at them? Or should you give up and run away in order to protect your only son from the knowledge that will shatter his innocence? (Don’t Blame it on Montana)
What example(s) from the book(s) will you use to help prove your points?
a. Although Wesley was completely aware of what is brother Frank was doing to Indian girls he did nothing because his didn’t want to upset his father, or taint his family name.
b. David was told that his grandfather’s philosophy of law enforcement was to “know when to look and when to look away”
BODY PARAGRAPH 2
What is the topic/idea of this paragraph?
Corruption can be caused by those trying to cover up their crimes.
What quote(s) ideas from research will you use to help prove your points?
a. Under the deal, the archdiocese has agreed to provide internal files on accused abusers to a retired judge, who will then decide what can be released to the victims and the public. Yet, based on the archdiocese's past hardball tactics, some victims and their lawyers fear that Mahony won't allow the documents to be made public without a fight. Release of these documents -- which might show which church leaders covered up for pedophile priests -- is the kind of transparency that victims want and Mahony should promote. (More than Money)
b. “…five years ago with revelations that pedophile priests had preyed on children while higher-ups concealed the wrongdoing, often transferring the priests so they could repeat their crimes on other young, unwary victims.” (More than Money)
What example(s) from the book(s) will you use to help prove your points?
a. After Marie accused Frank of molesting Indian girls Frank later returned to see Marie and in an effort to hide this secret, murdered her.
b. Frank eventually realized that the situation got out of hand and committed suicide when he felt that he couldn’t come back from his crimes with the same reputation he had had before.
BODY PARAGRAPH 3
What is the topic/idea of this paragraph?
Sometimes people will go over the edge to prevent their crimes from becoming public.
What quote(s) ideas from research will you use to help prove your points?
a. What the victims, their families and other Catholics want, beyond financial compensation, is transparency, a conciliatory attitude from church leaders and the kind of hard-nosed reforms that would ensure that this kind of abuse won't happen again. (More than Money)
b. Grandpa Hayden dismisses Frank's attraction to "red-meat" with his characteristic laugh, "a deep, breathy cuh-cuh-cuh." The old man can't believe Wesley's torment about whether to look away or not. No real man would shame his brother, put him in jail for giving in to natural desires. (Don’t Blame it on Montana)
What example(s) from the book(s) will you use to help prove your points?
a. Grandpa Hayden pressured Wes from letting the crimes committed by Frank from going public, and even defended Frank so that Wes could try to see why Frank hadn’t done anything shameful.
b. Wesley, in an attempt to hide the crimes and Frank, he locked Frank in his basement as opposed to the county jail where Frank would have been scrutinized; later that night Frank would kill himself.
BODY PARAGRAPH 4
What is the topic/idea of this paragraph?
Any type of corruption or covered up crime will always come back to haunt those covering it up.
What quote(s) ideas from research will you use to help prove your points?
a. Because "Montana 1948" is so intense, so short, so straight-to-the-kill, it would be a disservice to discuss its denouement in sequence or in detail. Only know there will be murder. There will be suicide. There will be breaking of fruit jars in the basement. (Don’t Blame it on Montana)
b. The old, lame, sick with cancer lawyer and ex-sheriff Wesley Hayden (not such a far remove from John Wesley Hardin) slams his hand down on the table so hard the dinnerware jumps. (Don’t Blame it on Montana)
What example(s) from the book(s) will you use to help prove your points?
a. Frank commits suicide because he can no longer live with himself after these crimes that he has committed.
b. This crime continues to haunt the family for years afterward, and it is something that they cannot avoid.
CONCLUSION
What should we now understand after reading your paper? Where idea(s) does your paper led to?
a. Covering up crimes can cause too much trouble, so people be more honest and forthcoming if they were to make a crime because then even if they got into trouble, at least their consciences would be clear.
b. Crimes and corruption that causes them can be harmful to society and can cause a dramatic affect in all the people involved either in the crime lives as well as those around them.
Final Assessment/ Research Paper Outline
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
CORNELL NOTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cornell Notes for Sources
SOURCE 1
TITLE: A CULTURE OF CONSPIRACY
AUTHOR: JAMES PIERESON
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2007
Main Idea #1: Conspiracy has always been a part of American culture and it will always be for years to come.
Summary: The author of this article was presenting his case about how conspiracy, like that shown in the book Montana 1948 has been exhibited many times in American history. Some of these events include the infamous events of 9/11 and the Kennedy Assassination, which were both to be considered as cover-ups by the US government. Whether or not this claims of conspiracy are true remains to be seen, however these events continue to have a profound affect on many people’s lives even today. Some claims that have been stated suggest that the US government either knew about these attacks before hand, or played some role in these attacks. Much like the Hayden family covered up both the rape scandal and the suicide of Uncle Frank.
Quote: “Opinion polls routinely show that more than two-thirds of Americans believe Kennedy was cut down by a conspiracy engineered by organized crime, the CIA or FBI, or right-wing groups upset by Kennedy's liberal policies. Most believe the Warren Commission covered up the truth by concluding Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin. Such suspicions encouraged the conviction that the national government is corrupt and untrustworthy -- and also that the nation itself was in some way responsible for Kennedy's death.”
Question: Why do people feel the need to cover up stories?
Main Idea #2: Certain times when a certain person takes too much power or does something wrong, they are often “taken out” so they cannot do anything else to harm anyone.
Summary: Often times the reason that things are covered-up is to prevent someone from doing something that that is controversial. One specific example is the Kennedy Assassination. At that time many people in the government (as well as Lee Harvey Oswalt, Kennedy’s alleged murderer) thought that Kennedy’s reign as president may have lead the United States in the wrong direction. This led many people to resent him, including many in the US government. Then when he was assassinated his autopsy revealed that he had multiple bullet wounds that a single assassin couldn’t have made, leading to conspiracy theories.
Quote: “Such suspicions encouraged the conviction that the national government is corrupt and untrustworthy -- and also that the nation itself was in some way responsible for Kennedy's death.”
Question: Are the common citizens unable to hear the truth about what really happens in these situations? Do we really need to hear a downplayed version of a story?
Main Idea #3: Sometimes when someone finds has an opinion about an incident that threatens their cover they will go to even greater lengths to get the story further covered.
Summary: In many cases such as the Kennedy assassination there have been many loose ends to the stories told to the people by those in power. Often times these “loose ends” provide what gives the conspirators their fuel for their conspiracy case. Sometimes great lengths are taken to insure that their secret remains safe. People can get framed, the stories could change, or become ignored, all of these things often prevent the truth from getting out and for it to continue to be hidden like those who want it to be think it should be.
Quote: “Opinion polls routinely show that more than two-thirds of Americans believe Kennedy was cut down by a conspiracy engineered by organized crime, the CIA or FBI, or right-wing groups upset by Kennedy's liberal policies. Most believe the Warren Commission covered up the truth by concluding Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin.”
Question: How far are people willing to go to cover up a situation?
How will this source help you write your paper?
This source gives a good idea how conspiracy and covered up crimes can play a role in all American life, in comparison to the story in Montana 1948.
SOURCE 2
TITLE: MORE THAN MONEY
AUTHOR: USA TODAY
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2007
Main Idea #1: People can often lose sight of what they are supposed to be doing with their jobs, and take advantage of those that they are supposed to be helping.
Summary: In California, Roman Catholic Priests have been getting involved with sex scandals in which they rape unsuspecting children. These cases are then covered up by the higher ups in the church and as a result of that many priests got away with having their way with young children. Like Uncle Frank they used their occupation to prey on unsuspecting people, and like it was in Uncle Frank’s case, it was highly disgraceful. Like in the instance of Uncle Frank these priests are supposed to be helping people, in this case spiritually, not taking advantage of them because they know that they can’t do anything about it. Then with all the cover-ups that occur, it winds up taking a long time to get these people removed from their roles in the religious community.
Quote: “In Chicago this month, a priest pleaded guilty to molesting five boys. The case revealed that Chicago Cardinal Francis George failed to remove the priest for months after an allegation of abuse came to George's attention.”
Question: What compels people to do acts like this? Is it mental illness, desperation, or something else entirely?
Main Idea #2: People who are taken advantage of usually cannot help it because based on their age, race, or gender they don’t have a say in how things such as this get settled.
Summary: Most of the people who were preyed on were between the ages of being a toddler and an adolescent, at this age these children cannot stand up for themselves and they cannot fight back. People who they were taught were supposed to be good and spiritually aiding are just taking them advantage of. These children now have to deal with these acts of wrongdoing for the rest of their lives and the families of these children will remain scarred as well. Sometimes even years latter just want justice.
Quote: “Some of what victims seek might be impossible to achieve. Alexa MacPherson, 32, who was abused at ages 3 to 9 by a priest and shared in an $85 million Boston settlement, told USA TODAY's Cathy Grossman, "I would give back every cent if the person who raped and molested me were put in jail."
Question: How painful must it be for both the families of the victims, as well as the victims themselves, to deal with an incident as profound as this one and regain a normal life?
Main Idea #3: These Priest do not realize that they must stop doing what they’re doing. They definitely contain the ability, but they for some reason refuse to change their ways in any way at all.
Summary: Scandals like this have been going on for a long time, and as far as anyone can tell they will continue to occur because in all honesty it doesn’t seem likely that any of these men are willing to change their ways, at least not any time soon.
Quote: “But the church, if it desires, can go a long way toward giving the truth to victims and ensuring that there are far fewer of them in the future. Sadly, that still seems a very big ‘if.’”
Question: Why do people not realize the repercussions of their actions before they do them?
How will this source help you write your paper?
This source helps relate to the story because a similar type of scandal was happening to the one in the book Montana 1948. This type of thing shows direct similarity to the scandal that Uncle Frank has gotten himself involved in.
SOURCE 3
TITLE: CHANGING LIVES THROUGH LITERATURE
AUTHOR: TRUDY SCHRANDT
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2003
Main Idea #1: When someone’s secrets are revealed, they will go to great lengths to make sure that that secret doesn’t spread and lead to their downfall; however, usually the lengths that they go to cause their downfall anyway.
Summary: When Marie Little Soldier first reveals that Uncle Frank molests Indians Uncle Frank begins to take certain precautions to make sure that his secret never gets out to the public, because being a doctor he needs people to trust that he is doing the right thing while he is performing test and examinations on them. As a doctor he needs the people’s trust, and if Marie’s secret gets out his practice will be ruined because nobody will be able to trust him.
Quote: “His use of his power has allowed him to sexually molest many of the young women on the reservation. In her weakened state and in fear of her life, Marie Little Soldier tells the Hayden family about Uncle Frank's crimes.”
Question: Was Uncle Frank mentally unstable?
Main Idea #2: Sometimes ones actions can come back to haunt them. When they cause trouble or do something they shouldn’t it always hurts them in the end.
Summary: Uncle Frank attempts to end the spreading of this rape issue by murdering Marie. Unfortunately for him, his nephew David sees the murder and reveals this to his father who is the town sheriff. Then in an effort to hide this fact Wesley (David's father, the town sheriff) locks Frank in a basement in order to keep the incident from going public. In the end Frank winds up killing himself to avoid any further embarrassment.
Quote: “This could have been the end, but Frank murders Marie Little Soldier. It could have been a perfect murder, but David has seen Frank leave their home at the time of the murder and knows that his uncle is guilty. His conscience forces him to tell his father, who then must deal with the reality of his own brother's actions.”
Question: Why didn’t Frank just avoid starting any trouble in the first place?
Main Idea #3: Sometimes based on ones reputation, even when they do something morally wrong people will still stand up for them, and even violently defend them.
Summary: When Wesley locks up Frank in his basement their father goes to Wes’s house and violently tries to liberate Frank. He attempts to force Wes to let him go, but it ends up in failure and later that night Frank kills himself.
Quote: “Turning his home into a jail brings on the wrath of the grandfather, first in person and then by proxy, sending hired hands to free him. With the knowledge that his best intentions are not going to work, Wesley makes arrangements to take Frank away from Bentrock and surrender him to another jurisdiction. With his future clear, Frank commits suicide.”
Question: Should Wesley have gone public with this crime, or should he have covered it up like he did?
How will this source help you write your paper?
This source goes into greater detail about the story Montana 1948 and better explains the situation that is occurring throughout the entire story.
SOURCE 1
TITLE: A CULTURE OF CONSPIRACY
AUTHOR: JAMES PIERESON
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2007
Main Idea #1: Conspiracy has always been a part of American culture and it will always be for years to come.
Summary: The author of this article was presenting his case about how conspiracy, like that shown in the book Montana 1948 has been exhibited many times in American history. Some of these events include the infamous events of 9/11 and the Kennedy Assassination, which were both to be considered as cover-ups by the US government. Whether or not this claims of conspiracy are true remains to be seen, however these events continue to have a profound affect on many people’s lives even today. Some claims that have been stated suggest that the US government either knew about these attacks before hand, or played some role in these attacks. Much like the Hayden family covered up both the rape scandal and the suicide of Uncle Frank.
Quote: “Opinion polls routinely show that more than two-thirds of Americans believe Kennedy was cut down by a conspiracy engineered by organized crime, the CIA or FBI, or right-wing groups upset by Kennedy's liberal policies. Most believe the Warren Commission covered up the truth by concluding Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin. Such suspicions encouraged the conviction that the national government is corrupt and untrustworthy -- and also that the nation itself was in some way responsible for Kennedy's death.”
Question: Why do people feel the need to cover up stories?
Main Idea #2: Certain times when a certain person takes too much power or does something wrong, they are often “taken out” so they cannot do anything else to harm anyone.
Summary: Often times the reason that things are covered-up is to prevent someone from doing something that that is controversial. One specific example is the Kennedy Assassination. At that time many people in the government (as well as Lee Harvey Oswalt, Kennedy’s alleged murderer) thought that Kennedy’s reign as president may have lead the United States in the wrong direction. This led many people to resent him, including many in the US government. Then when he was assassinated his autopsy revealed that he had multiple bullet wounds that a single assassin couldn’t have made, leading to conspiracy theories.
Quote: “Such suspicions encouraged the conviction that the national government is corrupt and untrustworthy -- and also that the nation itself was in some way responsible for Kennedy's death.”
Question: Are the common citizens unable to hear the truth about what really happens in these situations? Do we really need to hear a downplayed version of a story?
Main Idea #3: Sometimes when someone finds has an opinion about an incident that threatens their cover they will go to even greater lengths to get the story further covered.
Summary: In many cases such as the Kennedy assassination there have been many loose ends to the stories told to the people by those in power. Often times these “loose ends” provide what gives the conspirators their fuel for their conspiracy case. Sometimes great lengths are taken to insure that their secret remains safe. People can get framed, the stories could change, or become ignored, all of these things often prevent the truth from getting out and for it to continue to be hidden like those who want it to be think it should be.
Quote: “Opinion polls routinely show that more than two-thirds of Americans believe Kennedy was cut down by a conspiracy engineered by organized crime, the CIA or FBI, or right-wing groups upset by Kennedy's liberal policies. Most believe the Warren Commission covered up the truth by concluding Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin.”
Question: How far are people willing to go to cover up a situation?
How will this source help you write your paper?
This source gives a good idea how conspiracy and covered up crimes can play a role in all American life, in comparison to the story in Montana 1948.
SOURCE 2
TITLE: MORE THAN MONEY
AUTHOR: USA TODAY
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2007
Main Idea #1: People can often lose sight of what they are supposed to be doing with their jobs, and take advantage of those that they are supposed to be helping.
Summary: In California, Roman Catholic Priests have been getting involved with sex scandals in which they rape unsuspecting children. These cases are then covered up by the higher ups in the church and as a result of that many priests got away with having their way with young children. Like Uncle Frank they used their occupation to prey on unsuspecting people, and like it was in Uncle Frank’s case, it was highly disgraceful. Like in the instance of Uncle Frank these priests are supposed to be helping people, in this case spiritually, not taking advantage of them because they know that they can’t do anything about it. Then with all the cover-ups that occur, it winds up taking a long time to get these people removed from their roles in the religious community.
Quote: “In Chicago this month, a priest pleaded guilty to molesting five boys. The case revealed that Chicago Cardinal Francis George failed to remove the priest for months after an allegation of abuse came to George's attention.”
Question: What compels people to do acts like this? Is it mental illness, desperation, or something else entirely?
Main Idea #2: People who are taken advantage of usually cannot help it because based on their age, race, or gender they don’t have a say in how things such as this get settled.
Summary: Most of the people who were preyed on were between the ages of being a toddler and an adolescent, at this age these children cannot stand up for themselves and they cannot fight back. People who they were taught were supposed to be good and spiritually aiding are just taking them advantage of. These children now have to deal with these acts of wrongdoing for the rest of their lives and the families of these children will remain scarred as well. Sometimes even years latter just want justice.
Quote: “Some of what victims seek might be impossible to achieve. Alexa MacPherson, 32, who was abused at ages 3 to 9 by a priest and shared in an $85 million Boston settlement, told USA TODAY's Cathy Grossman, "I would give back every cent if the person who raped and molested me were put in jail."
Question: How painful must it be for both the families of the victims, as well as the victims themselves, to deal with an incident as profound as this one and regain a normal life?
Main Idea #3: These Priest do not realize that they must stop doing what they’re doing. They definitely contain the ability, but they for some reason refuse to change their ways in any way at all.
Summary: Scandals like this have been going on for a long time, and as far as anyone can tell they will continue to occur because in all honesty it doesn’t seem likely that any of these men are willing to change their ways, at least not any time soon.
Quote: “But the church, if it desires, can go a long way toward giving the truth to victims and ensuring that there are far fewer of them in the future. Sadly, that still seems a very big ‘if.’”
Question: Why do people not realize the repercussions of their actions before they do them?
How will this source help you write your paper?
This source helps relate to the story because a similar type of scandal was happening to the one in the book Montana 1948. This type of thing shows direct similarity to the scandal that Uncle Frank has gotten himself involved in.
SOURCE 3
TITLE: CHANGING LIVES THROUGH LITERATURE
AUTHOR: TRUDY SCHRANDT
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2003
Main Idea #1: When someone’s secrets are revealed, they will go to great lengths to make sure that that secret doesn’t spread and lead to their downfall; however, usually the lengths that they go to cause their downfall anyway.
Summary: When Marie Little Soldier first reveals that Uncle Frank molests Indians Uncle Frank begins to take certain precautions to make sure that his secret never gets out to the public, because being a doctor he needs people to trust that he is doing the right thing while he is performing test and examinations on them. As a doctor he needs the people’s trust, and if Marie’s secret gets out his practice will be ruined because nobody will be able to trust him.
Quote: “His use of his power has allowed him to sexually molest many of the young women on the reservation. In her weakened state and in fear of her life, Marie Little Soldier tells the Hayden family about Uncle Frank's crimes.”
Question: Was Uncle Frank mentally unstable?
Main Idea #2: Sometimes ones actions can come back to haunt them. When they cause trouble or do something they shouldn’t it always hurts them in the end.
Summary: Uncle Frank attempts to end the spreading of this rape issue by murdering Marie. Unfortunately for him, his nephew David sees the murder and reveals this to his father who is the town sheriff. Then in an effort to hide this fact Wesley (David's father, the town sheriff) locks Frank in a basement in order to keep the incident from going public. In the end Frank winds up killing himself to avoid any further embarrassment.
Quote: “This could have been the end, but Frank murders Marie Little Soldier. It could have been a perfect murder, but David has seen Frank leave their home at the time of the murder and knows that his uncle is guilty. His conscience forces him to tell his father, who then must deal with the reality of his own brother's actions.”
Question: Why didn’t Frank just avoid starting any trouble in the first place?
Main Idea #3: Sometimes based on ones reputation, even when they do something morally wrong people will still stand up for them, and even violently defend them.
Summary: When Wesley locks up Frank in his basement their father goes to Wes’s house and violently tries to liberate Frank. He attempts to force Wes to let him go, but it ends up in failure and later that night Frank kills himself.
Quote: “Turning his home into a jail brings on the wrath of the grandfather, first in person and then by proxy, sending hired hands to free him. With the knowledge that his best intentions are not going to work, Wesley makes arrangements to take Frank away from Bentrock and surrender him to another jurisdiction. With his future clear, Frank commits suicide.”
Question: Should Wesley have gone public with this crime, or should he have covered it up like he did?
How will this source help you write your paper?
This source goes into greater detail about the story Montana 1948 and better explains the situation that is occurring throughout the entire story.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Research References for the Final Project
1.Smith, Annick. "Don't Blame It on Montana, Montana 1948 by Larry Watson." The Las Angeles Times 10 Oct. 1993, Home ed.: 2. ProQuest. ProQuest. Pascack Hills High School Library, Montvale, NJ. 6 May 2008. http://proquest .umi .com/pqdweb ?did=60401619 &sid=2 &Fmt=3 &clientId=33870 &RQT=309 &VName=PQD
This link is a book review on the book Montana 1948. It shows the LA Times' book reviewer's opinions on the book, which is an insightful opinion that can help a reader understand the book better (Warning: this link gives away the ending of the book so if you want to be surprised don't look at this link until after you read the book)
2.Samuel. "Montana 1948- Larry Watson." Samuel's Reading Chair. 19 Feb. 2008. Blogspot.Com. 7 May 2008 http://samuelsreadingchair.blogspot.com/2008/02/montana-1948-larry-watson.html.
This sight is a blog of a man named Samuel who was writing a review of the book. He made some good theme comparisons that were smart and made sense. His most interesting point was how similar some themes were to the book To Kill A Mockingbird.
3.Schrandt, Trudy. "Montana 1948." Changing Lives Through Literature. 2003. Dept. of Lit, UMass Dartmouth. 7 May 2008 http://cltl.umassd.edu/resourcesinstruct3kk.cfm.
This is a literary review from the UMass Dartmouth literature department. It gives a lot of themes and comparisons to other literature in an effective, understandable way.
4.Bonadonna, Angelo. "Montana 1948- Isolation, Adolescence....." Angelo Bonadonna's Blog. 25 July 2005. 8 May 2008 http://english.sxu.edu/sites/wordpress/bonadonna/?p=42.
The link above is a blog of an english professor's book reviews and explanations. It shows his opinions on the themes of the book, I think that it gave an accurate opinion of the book and had similar views to myself.
5.McLean. "More Than Money." USA Today 17 July 2007, Final ed., sec. A: 10. ProQuest. ProQuest. Pascack Hills High School Library, Montvale, NJ. 9 May 2008. http://proquest .umi .com/pqdweb ?did=1305801141 &sid=5 &Fmt=3 &clientId=33870 &RQT=309 &VName=PQD
6.Piereson, James. "The Culture of Conspiracy." The Wall Street Journal 24 Nov. 2007, Eastern ed., sec. A: 11. ProQuest. ProQuest. Pascack Hills High School Library, Montvale, NJ. 10 May 2008. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=1&did=1387630991&SrchMode=1&sid=6&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1210682310&clientId=33870
This article is about covering up crimes, which is the theme that I would like to focus on while writing this paper. Covering up crimes is a big part of the book Montana 1948. This is about a scandal in the Catholic churches that was covered up and eventually let go after a huge sum was payed to the victims of the scandal. This type of scandal wound up destroying many people's reputations, like it did for the Hayden family in Montana 1948
This link is a book review on the book Montana 1948. It shows the LA Times' book reviewer's opinions on the book, which is an insightful opinion that can help a reader understand the book better (Warning: this link gives away the ending of the book so if you want to be surprised don't look at this link until after you read the book)
2.Samuel. "Montana 1948- Larry Watson." Samuel's Reading Chair. 19 Feb. 2008. Blogspot.Com. 7 May 2008 http://samuelsreadingchair.blogspot.com/2008/02/montana-1948-larry-watson.html.
This sight is a blog of a man named Samuel who was writing a review of the book. He made some good theme comparisons that were smart and made sense. His most interesting point was how similar some themes were to the book To Kill A Mockingbird.
3.Schrandt, Trudy. "Montana 1948." Changing Lives Through Literature. 2003. Dept. of Lit, UMass Dartmouth. 7 May 2008 http://cltl.umassd.edu/resourcesinstruct3kk.cfm.
This is a literary review from the UMass Dartmouth literature department. It gives a lot of themes and comparisons to other literature in an effective, understandable way.
4.Bonadonna, Angelo. "Montana 1948- Isolation, Adolescence....." Angelo Bonadonna's Blog. 25 July 2005. 8 May 2008 http://english.sxu.edu/sites/wordpress/bonadonna/?p=42.
The link above is a blog of an english professor's book reviews and explanations. It shows his opinions on the themes of the book, I think that it gave an accurate opinion of the book and had similar views to myself.
5.McLean. "More Than Money." USA Today 17 July 2007, Final ed., sec. A: 10. ProQuest. ProQuest. Pascack Hills High School Library, Montvale, NJ. 9 May 2008. http://proquest .umi .com/pqdweb ?did=1305801141 &sid=5 &Fmt=3 &clientId=33870 &RQT=309 &VName=PQD
6.Piereson, James. "The Culture of Conspiracy." The Wall Street Journal 24 Nov. 2007, Eastern ed., sec. A: 11. ProQuest. ProQuest. Pascack Hills High School Library, Montvale, NJ. 10 May 2008. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=1&did=1387630991&SrchMode=1&sid=6&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1210682310&clientId=33870
This article is about covering up crimes, which is the theme that I would like to focus on while writing this paper. Covering up crimes is a big part of the book Montana 1948. This is about a scandal in the Catholic churches that was covered up and eventually let go after a huge sum was payed to the victims of the scandal. This type of scandal wound up destroying many people's reputations, like it did for the Hayden family in Montana 1948
Monday, May 5, 2008
Another Socratic Seminar
Today, in class, we had a socratic seminar, and it was about as fun watching it as it sounds.
Anyway the topic was the first section in a book called Montana 1948, which is about a family in Mercer County, Montana during the post-WWII era. The book isn't exactly an action thriller, but at the same time it is far from boring. Just to give some back round on the book so whoever decides to read this will know what I'm talking about. Montana 1948 is told as a recollection from a boy named David Hayden, who's father Wesley was the town sheriff and uncle is a very respected war hero and currently a doctor. So, because of these positions and titles of respect the reader can conclude that both men are very important to the community. As many people said during the socratic seminar this book began slow as mostly an introduction to introduce the reader to all the characters, then after all these introductions were made the book's plot rapidly increased. This increase in pace features a very controversial people of that time period, Native Americans. Mercer County is not far from an indian reservation, which winds up playing a huge role as the book progresses, as stated by everyone in the seminar. First its only relevance was that the Hayden family housekeeper, Marie Little Soldier was from that reservation. However, as the book progressed it began to play a more important role, it was mentioned that Uncle Frank spent a lot of time on that reservation, not for helping the indians, but for a reason that was agreed to be extremely controversial by everyone for a very obvious reason, Uncle Frank was using his profession as a doctor to take advantage of the teenage indian girls on the reservation, or in other words he was raping them while he "examined" them. That was where the first section of the book ended, but although I read ahead I don't want to explain any more about it for the risk of giving something away that someone hasn't read. This book is definitely worth reading and although most people had similar views on the topic during the seminar, I have the feeling that as the book progresses our opinions will become more diverse because the book will become much more controversial than it already is, then it will make being in the next seminar a lot more eventful than attempting to watch it.
Anyway the topic was the first section in a book called Montana 1948, which is about a family in Mercer County, Montana during the post-WWII era. The book isn't exactly an action thriller, but at the same time it is far from boring. Just to give some back round on the book so whoever decides to read this will know what I'm talking about. Montana 1948 is told as a recollection from a boy named David Hayden, who's father Wesley was the town sheriff and uncle is a very respected war hero and currently a doctor. So, because of these positions and titles of respect the reader can conclude that both men are very important to the community. As many people said during the socratic seminar this book began slow as mostly an introduction to introduce the reader to all the characters, then after all these introductions were made the book's plot rapidly increased. This increase in pace features a very controversial people of that time period, Native Americans. Mercer County is not far from an indian reservation, which winds up playing a huge role as the book progresses, as stated by everyone in the seminar. First its only relevance was that the Hayden family housekeeper, Marie Little Soldier was from that reservation. However, as the book progressed it began to play a more important role, it was mentioned that Uncle Frank spent a lot of time on that reservation, not for helping the indians, but for a reason that was agreed to be extremely controversial by everyone for a very obvious reason, Uncle Frank was using his profession as a doctor to take advantage of the teenage indian girls on the reservation, or in other words he was raping them while he "examined" them. That was where the first section of the book ended, but although I read ahead I don't want to explain any more about it for the risk of giving something away that someone hasn't read. This book is definitely worth reading and although most people had similar views on the topic during the seminar, I have the feeling that as the book progresses our opinions will become more diverse because the book will become much more controversial than it already is, then it will make being in the next seminar a lot more eventful than attempting to watch it.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Paragraph Evaluation
Essay
Sibling rivalry is present in almost every family where there is more than one child. This type of rivalry is definitely present in the book Montana 1948; the rivalry is between David, the main character’s, father Wesley and David’s uncle Frank. Wesley, the town sheriff was really a typical person with nothing really special about him, at this point in his life he is an ex-law school grad who is currently working in the same profession as his father, the sheriff of Mercer County, Montana. This had been a position that Wes’s father had owned for many years before he turned the job over to Wes after he retired, this caused Wes to forgo a promising career in law to take this job. Frank, Wes’s brother has definitely had a more decorated life than Wes. Frank was a star athlete throughout high school and college, and then he would go on to be a war hero during the pacific battles in WWII as a battlefield doctor. He is currently a doctor living in the same area of Montana as Wes and his family. Both brothers never seem to exhibit any real feelings of a bitter rivalry for the most part, and for the most part seem to get along well; however the rivalry is definitely there as it is in most families, even though both men are adults. One tactic to stop sibling rivalries is to have both of them realize that both people have had different lives and both have accomplished much, but both have turned out okay, at a certain point two siblings they need to realize that not everything is a competition.
Research
Sibling rivalries are often present in families, they can sometimes play a major role in how the siblings live and deal with issues between one another. In the book Montana 1948 there is a big rivalry between the protagonist’s father Wes and uncle Frank. In a study published by Denise Henry of Scholastic Choices she says that, “family members will eventually grow out of a rivalry as they mature,” however, these two grown men have been rivals all their lives. Also, the same source goes on to say that, “As long as the two rivals remember that they are family they will be fine,” this is definitely displayed because even though Wes and Frank are rivals, they get along with each other very well. The reader can tell that Wes and Frank have a good relationship despite the rivalry because when on page 35 during a telephone conversation between the two about Wes’s families sick Native American Housekeeper both managed to take each other seriously during the call and have a professional conversation without any extra comments. It seems that even though they haven’t matured out of the rivalry completely yet, because there are still some instances where Wes is jealous of the recognition that Frank gets, like when Wes read some newspaper clippings about Franks heroism in WWII as a doctor he made a sarcastic remark which was, “I wonder if he was supposed to stay at the hospital.” (pg 36) However despite all of that they still manage to use tactics such as using the fact that they are family and should help each other rather than always compete to maintain at least a friendly relationship. This is definitely an example of how sibling rivalries can be controlled even though they are present.
Above are two paragraphs about sibling rivalry in the book Montana 1948 one is essay style and one is research. The difference is mostly that an essay style paragraph is usually a bunch of themes and quotes directly from a story. However a research essay contains research from something other than the book, usually a newspaper or online database of some kind, and contains more citations than an essay paragraph would. For me at least, I find writing a regular essay easier because it doesn't take as long to write since there is no extra research involved. However, research papers are more detailed and give more opinions and information about a topic, and that depth can make the point the writer is attempting to make clearer and easier to understand. So although I definitely like essays better due to their simplicity, a research paper is definitely the more professional of the two. For some more examples check out these two blogs of my friends Jamal, and Smith.
Sibling rivalry is present in almost every family where there is more than one child. This type of rivalry is definitely present in the book Montana 1948; the rivalry is between David, the main character’s, father Wesley and David’s uncle Frank. Wesley, the town sheriff was really a typical person with nothing really special about him, at this point in his life he is an ex-law school grad who is currently working in the same profession as his father, the sheriff of Mercer County, Montana. This had been a position that Wes’s father had owned for many years before he turned the job over to Wes after he retired, this caused Wes to forgo a promising career in law to take this job. Frank, Wes’s brother has definitely had a more decorated life than Wes. Frank was a star athlete throughout high school and college, and then he would go on to be a war hero during the pacific battles in WWII as a battlefield doctor. He is currently a doctor living in the same area of Montana as Wes and his family. Both brothers never seem to exhibit any real feelings of a bitter rivalry for the most part, and for the most part seem to get along well; however the rivalry is definitely there as it is in most families, even though both men are adults. One tactic to stop sibling rivalries is to have both of them realize that both people have had different lives and both have accomplished much, but both have turned out okay, at a certain point two siblings they need to realize that not everything is a competition.
Research
Sibling rivalries are often present in families, they can sometimes play a major role in how the siblings live and deal with issues between one another. In the book Montana 1948 there is a big rivalry between the protagonist’s father Wes and uncle Frank. In a study published by Denise Henry of Scholastic Choices she says that, “family members will eventually grow out of a rivalry as they mature,” however, these two grown men have been rivals all their lives. Also, the same source goes on to say that, “As long as the two rivals remember that they are family they will be fine,” this is definitely displayed because even though Wes and Frank are rivals, they get along with each other very well. The reader can tell that Wes and Frank have a good relationship despite the rivalry because when on page 35 during a telephone conversation between the two about Wes’s families sick Native American Housekeeper both managed to take each other seriously during the call and have a professional conversation without any extra comments. It seems that even though they haven’t matured out of the rivalry completely yet, because there are still some instances where Wes is jealous of the recognition that Frank gets, like when Wes read some newspaper clippings about Franks heroism in WWII as a doctor he made a sarcastic remark which was, “I wonder if he was supposed to stay at the hospital.” (pg 36) However despite all of that they still manage to use tactics such as using the fact that they are family and should help each other rather than always compete to maintain at least a friendly relationship. This is definitely an example of how sibling rivalries can be controlled even though they are present.
Above are two paragraphs about sibling rivalry in the book Montana 1948 one is essay style and one is research. The difference is mostly that an essay style paragraph is usually a bunch of themes and quotes directly from a story. However a research essay contains research from something other than the book, usually a newspaper or online database of some kind, and contains more citations than an essay paragraph would. For me at least, I find writing a regular essay easier because it doesn't take as long to write since there is no extra research involved. However, research papers are more detailed and give more opinions and information about a topic, and that depth can make the point the writer is attempting to make clearer and easier to understand. So although I definitely like essays better due to their simplicity, a research paper is definitely the more professional of the two. For some more examples check out these two blogs of my friends Jamal, and Smith.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Montana 1948 (annotation practice)
Johnson, Kirk. "Vine Deloria Jr., Champion of Indian Rights, Dies At 72." The New York Times 15 Nov. 2005, Late ed., sec. A: 25. ProQuest. ProQuest. Pascack Hills High School Library, Montvale. 28 Apr. 2008.
Native Americans have always have had a profound affect on the "white man's" society. From the times of Lewis and Clark's western expeditions through today Natives have always influenced how white people lived. Vine Deloria Jr. of the Pine Ridge Oglala Siou reservation in Montana made it his life's work to make this known. Even while the Indians were being kept on the reservations they still had a large affect on surrounding life. Deloria Jr. published many books that explained how Natives affected lives, like how they showed the original settlers how to survive off the land, and about the spiritual aspects of both the Native and Christian religions. He showed how the Natives were not all that different or in some ways better; themes like this earned him national spotlight and made his message known. When he died he had influenced many about his native culture and how it should be respected like any other
Native Americans have always have had a profound affect on the "white man's" society. From the times of Lewis and Clark's western expeditions through today Natives have always influenced how white people lived. Vine Deloria Jr. of the Pine Ridge Oglala Siou reservation in Montana made it his life's work to make this known. Even while the Indians were being kept on the reservations they still had a large affect on surrounding life. Deloria Jr. published many books that explained how Natives affected lives, like how they showed the original settlers how to survive off the land, and about the spiritual aspects of both the Native and Christian religions. He showed how the Natives were not all that different or in some ways better; themes like this earned him national spotlight and made his message known. When he died he had influenced many about his native culture and how it should be respected like any other
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Macbeth Extra
For the past month or so we have been reading the Shakespearean play Macbeth. During this time we have been reviewing many themes about this play, such as females who have power, greed, and corruption. All these themes definitely play a large role in the play Macbeth and all of them help add thought and depth to the play. One theme that is recurring throughout the play that we didn't really go into in class was betrayal. Betrayal is sort of linked to the other things that we talked about because power, greed, and corruption usually lead to betrayal of some sort, but since betrayal played such a huge role in the play it should be talked about separately.
In the beginning of the story Macbeth appeared to be a very normal person. He was the Thane of Glamis, which was a high ranking title, but not all that high. He was very loyal to King Duncan, his country, and Banquo, one of his friends. He was a typical guy that wasn't particularly special in any way. Then the Thane of Cawdor, who was the second most powerful man to the royal family, was accused of treason and sentenced to death (it is very ironic that both Thanes of Cawdor, that other guy and Macbeth both became disloyal to the king). Then King Duncan decided that he should appoint Macbeth, ironically at the time one of his most loyal followers, to the position of the Thane of Cawdor. Then before the news got to Macbeth he ran into three witches who told him that he would become the Thane of Cawdor and later the king of Scotland. Soon afterwards, after a conversation with his wife about this his personality goes under a great amount of change.
His first act of betrayal was obviously when he murdered Duncan, who had appointed Macbeth to his current ToC position due to his loyalty. Next, when Banquo began to get suspicious of Duncan's murder Macbeth hired three murderers to kill Banquo and his son, which they eventually did; now Macbeth had betrayed two of the people who had previously trusted him the most. Then Macbeth went on a killing spree, betraying and murdering anyone who he felt threatened his reign. Most significantly he murdered Macduff's family. He had betrayed all of his fellow thanes as well as all the people he ruled over by becoming a tyrant. All of this betrayal is eventually what lead to his demise when he was later murdered by Macduff, who was fighting for revenge over his murdered family. Then, his very short corrupt reign over his country was over. Which just shows how betraying an entire country could lead to everyone turn against him and eventually lead to his death.
While looking through the internet I found a "rational list" that showed Macbeth's betrayal and corruption, the link to it is here:
Macbeth "rational list"
In the beginning of the story Macbeth appeared to be a very normal person. He was the Thane of Glamis, which was a high ranking title, but not all that high. He was very loyal to King Duncan, his country, and Banquo, one of his friends. He was a typical guy that wasn't particularly special in any way. Then the Thane of Cawdor, who was the second most powerful man to the royal family, was accused of treason and sentenced to death (it is very ironic that both Thanes of Cawdor, that other guy and Macbeth both became disloyal to the king). Then King Duncan decided that he should appoint Macbeth, ironically at the time one of his most loyal followers, to the position of the Thane of Cawdor. Then before the news got to Macbeth he ran into three witches who told him that he would become the Thane of Cawdor and later the king of Scotland. Soon afterwards, after a conversation with his wife about this his personality goes under a great amount of change.
His first act of betrayal was obviously when he murdered Duncan, who had appointed Macbeth to his current ToC position due to his loyalty. Next, when Banquo began to get suspicious of Duncan's murder Macbeth hired three murderers to kill Banquo and his son, which they eventually did; now Macbeth had betrayed two of the people who had previously trusted him the most. Then Macbeth went on a killing spree, betraying and murdering anyone who he felt threatened his reign. Most significantly he murdered Macduff's family. He had betrayed all of his fellow thanes as well as all the people he ruled over by becoming a tyrant. All of this betrayal is eventually what lead to his demise when he was later murdered by Macduff, who was fighting for revenge over his murdered family. Then, his very short corrupt reign over his country was over. Which just shows how betraying an entire country could lead to everyone turn against him and eventually lead to his death.
While looking through the internet I found a "rational list" that showed Macbeth's betrayal and corruption, the link to it is here:
Macbeth "rational list"
Thursday, April 17, 2008
GUILT
Guilt can play a major role in someone's life; it can cause them to act differently than they normally would in certain situations. Guilt can make us regret decisions that we make even if we were sure that we wouldn't have feelings of remorse when we committed these actions. A real life example of this was when back in 1960 a young Dartmouth student stole a WWI cannon outside of a war veterans retirement home. The cannon would continue to be hidden up until 40 years later when an old man who claimed to be an old Dartmouth student decided that the prank had gotten old and told the location of the hidden cannon to the authorities. As it turned out the cannon was hidden under the Dartmouth football field's stands, and marked with a limber, or wheeled ammunition carriage, which had been in plain sight for forty years (many people had known it was there, but naturally since it wasn't bothering anyone nobody bothered to say anything about it. Now all these years after the cannon was stolen, its location was revealed because of an old man who felt too guilty to take the secret of the cannon's location to his grave.
For myself personally guilt hasn't really affected me much. I'm not saying that I have never apologized when I have done something wrong, but usually that's only when I get caught doing something. Honestly, other than that I don't feel guilt that often. I try to live without regret, and if I ever begin to feel any I ignore it and move on.
Anyway, in Macbeth guilt affects one character in particular and leads to her apparent suicide. Lady Macbeth spends most of her time at the end of the play talking to herself about her regret of killing King Duncan. She continually remarks on how she felt regret for his murder because she apparently felt that she had pushed her husband into murdering the king. Eventually, right before the final battle between Macbeth and Macduff, she dies, most likely a case of suicide. This shows how powerful guilt can be and how it can lead people "over the edge." This is another example of how human emotion really can play a huge role in the way that people live out their lives.
Sources cited:
Abel, David. "Guilt May Have Cracked Cold Case; Man's Confession Could Bring Return of Cannon to Vt." The Boston Globe 10 Apr. 2008, Final ed., sec. B: 1. ProQuest. 16 Apr. 2008.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Feminism and Macbeth
Personally, I have a very one sided opinion when it comes to feminism, I think that it is a joke, at least in its modern form. 30-40 years ago when Rosa Parks was refusing to move from her seat on the bus, and all those women marching in Washington, really showed how women wanted to advance themselves; that was a very respectful form of women protesting for their rights and what they wanted. Today you get people like Paris Hilton and people like that who claim to be feminists, but all they really do is degrade women everywhere. Their version of acting out is to expose themselves in public, and to sexually exploit everyone that they come in contact with. Honestly, whoever idolizes that type of feminist deserves to be hit over the head and taken to the nearest therapist, because aside from the head trauma from getting hit in the head, they need to find a way to get over their obsession with bad role models. This image of a "strong" women nowadays is apparently a women who is willing to do stupid, regrettable actions that get them attention. The true idols for women should be strong humanitarians of both the present and the past, such as Rosa Parks, Susan B. Anthony (one of the only women on current US currency)
, Abigail Adams, Melinda Gates (wife of Bill Gates, who like Paris Hilton is also a billionaire, but she is truly as strong, positive influence for women). I think that are who young girls today should be looking up to, not; as to quote South Park, "Stupid, spoiled, *people*." (everyone who knows what I'm talking about knows what this quote really is, I just can't write it because this is a school blog) These women, such as Paris, Brittany, and whoever else girls stupidly idolize today, just make women seem to be a joke to the rest of the world, and they give the idea of women having equal rights a bad name. As politically incorrect as this seems, if the Paris Hilton idea of feminism became nationally recognized then all women should be locked up in cages in order to prevent them from doing things that will shame themselves and their families. If women want to be treated equal to men then they have to be able to learn that they must be able to be considered as responsible as the more respectful men in the world are; otherwise they should just admit that they (as said by Carlos Mencia, who I hate to be quoting but he is actually right this time), "don't want to be treated like men, they just want to be paid like men." All in all, I think that feminism has the potential to be a good thing, but only if the right views of feminism are followed.Feminism plays a large role in the Shakespearean play Macbeth. Lady Macbeth, the wife of Macbeth, is a huge example of a women having power. She is one of the most influential people in the entire play, and she was the reason that Macbeth was convinced to murder King Duncan, who had been an ally of Macbeth's. Lady Macbeth definitely shows the strong qualities that are exhibited in all real feminist leaders today.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Good People Doing Bad Things
The play Macbeth is a great example of people who are good doing things that are really bad. Macbeth was a goodhearted, trustworthy person until his wanting for the title of king and his wife's ambition took him over. A real life example of good people going bad was with Bill Clinton during his second presidential term.
President Clinton had previously been considered as one of the best presidents in American history; he created a national surplus out of a massive national debt, effectively minimized ethnic conflict in Africa, and created one of America's greatest economic situations in nearly 30 years. Then one day in 1998 towards the end of his second term the country would find out that Clinton had been involved in scandal. It was revealed to the country that Clinton had been having a private affair with an intern in his office named Monica Lewinsky, and then Clinton was charged with sexual misconduct by many people inside his administration (the most notable being Paula Jones) and brought to court.
In court he continually stated how he "never slept with that women," over and over again. Then as the case went on it was discovered that he had been lying the entire time; as a result of that he was charged with purgery, or lying under oath. This dramatically lower his public image with the American people and made some people begin to question him. This legal conflict nearly caused Clinton to lose his presidential status nearly 3 years before he was supposed to (which would have made him the first president to be actually impeached). However, he managed to get out of it because congress couldn't get enough votes to impeach him (this was probably because congress was heavily represented by democrats who wanted Clinton to remain in office). Clinton now had a scarred reputation and a loss of credibility in many ways, one such example was that he became the butt of many jokes on Saturday Night Live, and many other comedy shows. The rest of his term went by without much other conflict and he would leave office as scheduled in 2001, where he would be succeeded by George W. Bush, the son of Clinton's predecessor George H.W. Bush.
This type of thing was similar to Macbeth in the sense that both Clinton and Macbeth were both honest, hard working, trustworthy men who became victims to doing things that were morally wrong. Both made some bad decisions, tried to cover them up, and both got caught doing things wrong. Unfortunately for Macbeth, I don't think that he will get a congressional hearing and a fair trial for his actions, he will probably have to "learn" from his mistakes in a more severe, less humane way.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
The Socratic Seminar
Today in class we had a socratic seminar; a socratic seminar for all of you who don't know is when a lot of people put their desks in a circle and talk about a topic. In this one the topic was the first 6 scenes in the Shakespearian play Macbeth. These seminars are a way for students in our class to boost their grades because all you have to do is talk and you get points that wind up shooting ones grade up by two or three points (trust me that is a lot). I wasn't in this one, but I had the very important job of observing while half the class talked, and talked, and talked more. My job as on observer was to take notes on what other people said while trying as hard as I could not to dose off, cause trust me when you have a class at 8:00 in the morning it is hard to be fully awake and attentive cause most people are still tired. Anyway, as I listened to the seminar I learned others opinions about the book, some I agreed with, and some I didn't. One of the main ideas and thoughts that I agreed with was said by a classmate, Steve. Steve said that Macbeth, like most Shakespearean plays are difficult to understand unless you really know a lot about the way Shakespeare writes. Another student in class, Jen, agreed and said how Shakespeare's plays were all written similarly in terms of grammar and language. Both of these things are things that I agree with because I have the same feelings about Shakespeare, his plays all seem similar and I can't understand any of them the first time I read them.
Macbeth is the type of Shakespearean play known as a tragedy (as pointed out by a very opinionated classmate Sean), this means that it has a darker mood and the protagonist usually dies. Many others agreed with this statement and went on to say how there were many symbols that indicated this mood. One of these as pointed out by nearly half the class that was in the seminar was how betrayal played a major role. For an example of this, Macbeth, the protagonist, winds up murdering his friend King Duncan, in an effort to become king.
All in all, most comments said were very generic comments that I generally agreed on, I didn't really disagree on much, the only thing that I didn't like was how someone (I forgot to write down who) said that fate didn't play a huge role in the character's lives. Contrary to that, if fate didn't play a huge role, than Macbeth wouldn't have listened to the three witches when they said that he would be king. However, he did listen and now the previous king is dead.
One of the most important comments I heard in the seminar was about Macbeth's very controlling wife, known as Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is a very powerful women, who likes to be in control at all times of Macbeth. She is the one who really persuaded Macbeth to murder King Duncan. Their marriage is a typical example of a relationship where the women is in control. I think that this is a major theme in the book, it would appear that the women have all the power, for example the most powerful and significant characters in this part of the book are the witches, who are of course women. Also, the person who persuades Macbeth to do evil things, such as murder, is his wife. A very hillarious comment made by one of my classmates Jen was how Lady Macbeth fit the boy code, or the code that men typically follow during their everyday lives.
The only thing that I want to know is who is the most powerful and influencial person in the book; I couldn't make this determination because the people in the seminar were split between the witches or "weird sisters" and Lady Macbeth (with one person saying the the most influential person was Macbeth because if he wasn't born than none of this would have happened; I found that comment funny).
The play Macbeth is definitely more interesting than I thought it would be and as we as a class get closer to the climax I feel that it will continue to get better still.
Finally a Shakespearean play that hasn't made me wanted to kill myself while I was reading it.
Macbeth is the type of Shakespearean play known as a tragedy (as pointed out by a very opinionated classmate Sean), this means that it has a darker mood and the protagonist usually dies. Many others agreed with this statement and went on to say how there were many symbols that indicated this mood. One of these as pointed out by nearly half the class that was in the seminar was how betrayal played a major role. For an example of this, Macbeth, the protagonist, winds up murdering his friend King Duncan, in an effort to become king.
All in all, most comments said were very generic comments that I generally agreed on, I didn't really disagree on much, the only thing that I didn't like was how someone (I forgot to write down who) said that fate didn't play a huge role in the character's lives. Contrary to that, if fate didn't play a huge role, than Macbeth wouldn't have listened to the three witches when they said that he would be king. However, he did listen and now the previous king is dead.
One of the most important comments I heard in the seminar was about Macbeth's very controlling wife, known as Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is a very powerful women, who likes to be in control at all times of Macbeth. She is the one who really persuaded Macbeth to murder King Duncan. Their marriage is a typical example of a relationship where the women is in control. I think that this is a major theme in the book, it would appear that the women have all the power, for example the most powerful and significant characters in this part of the book are the witches, who are of course women. Also, the person who persuades Macbeth to do evil things, such as murder, is his wife. A very hillarious comment made by one of my classmates Jen was how Lady Macbeth fit the boy code, or the code that men typically follow during their everyday lives.
The only thing that I want to know is who is the most powerful and influencial person in the book; I couldn't make this determination because the people in the seminar were split between the witches or "weird sisters" and Lady Macbeth (with one person saying the the most influential person was Macbeth because if he wasn't born than none of this would have happened; I found that comment funny).
The play Macbeth is definitely more interesting than I thought it would be and as we as a class get closer to the climax I feel that it will continue to get better still.
Finally a Shakespearean play that hasn't made me wanted to kill myself while I was reading it.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Movie and Book Intro's
The most crucial part of a movie or book is it's introduction. A movie or book can either become a hit or a disaster for the viewer or reader solely based on their introductions. The strength of an intro is what is supposed to hook the reader or viewer, in order to keep them interested and willing to keep reading. One example of this is in the movie I am Legend. I am Legend is about a man living in post-apocalyptic New York City named Dr. Robert Neville (Will Smith). Throughout the movie, Dr. Neville attempts to survive alone after a deadly virus wipes out nearly all of humanity, and turns almost every survivor into a flesh-eating, nocturnal, monster. The movie began with a video clip of a television interview between two reporters and a female scientist that says that she created a "miracle drug" that can cure cancer among other diseases. This is rather ironic because it leads the viewer to believe that something good may come out of this movie. Then the movie goes through an intense sequence of flashbacks where the plot unfolds. The first flashback has Dr. Neville running into his house yelling to his wife and daughter to pack their bags and come with him, because a deadly virus had just been released upon the city of New York. The next few scenes show Dr. Neville and his family attempting to maneuver through a panicking city full of people bleeding to death from a virus that had evolved from the "miracle drug" that had been mentioned in the interview. Then as Dr. Neville and his family reach the area that will lead him to safety you can see a missile being shot from a helicopter, and blowing up the G.W. Bridge so no infected people can get out of the city. This intensity surrounding the main characters in these intro scenes really helps build up later events and hook the viewer. These events definitely kept me excited throughout the intro and made me want to watch the rest of the movie. The book Macbeth definitely had a very interesting introduction; not quite as exciting as the beginning of I am Legend, but still it was very interesting and it kept me wanting to read more. Normally, I'm not really a fan of Shakespeare's plays but I get the feeling that this one will definitely keep my attention. After reading the first four scenes I can definitely expect certain things to continue to occur during the play. For one thing, I'm sure that Macbeth will take the thrown of his country even though it does mean murder, and two, the three "weird sisters" or witches will definitely play a large role as the play progresses. This leads me to believe that two recurring themes will be; death, and killing will play a large role in the events that will unfold, and the witches will have more of an influence as the story progresses, and in my opinion I feel that aside from Macbeth himself, these "weird sisters" will turn out to be the most important characters in Macbeth. This may actually turn out to be a very good play, and I hope it does too, so that way if I have to read something in class at 8 a.m., at least it will be something good.
Monday, March 24, 2008
10 things I hate about TV
I love television, and I think that its possibly the greatest invention of all time. Its a great way for people to be able to get info, be entertained, or even sometimes learn something. Unfortunately, because of all the corporations and rights to free enterprise in this country lead to there being some things on tv that we as viewers can really do without. There are about 1,000,000 things on tv that annoy me and I'm sure the rest of the country as well. Ten of these things are;
10. Reality tv (honestly, who needs to see people acting "real" tv, if you want to see drama and action, just look around your school or town, there is plenty of unnecessary drama going on there)
9. Exercise commercials (these are one of the more annoying things, where they sell products that really don't do anything, but they have a bunch of happy, thin, people using them; which brings me to my next thing I hate)
8. People on exercise commercials (the people on these commercials clearly don't actually use any of the things that they advertise, cause you don't get ripped using these rip off things, especially with "one weekly 30 second workout," and you can tell it's fake because otherwise everyone would have one)
7. Commercials w/ retired actors/athletes (these are actually kind of funny when you have someone trying to advertise for something that they clearly know nothing about)
6. Made-for-tv movies (honestly, if a movie was put straight on tv, than you can pretty much guarantee that it sucks, because who has ever seen a good made-for-tv movie)
5. Anything on Disney Channel (one of the most worthless channels on television, every single non-cartoon show has exactly the same plot line, its all about some kid or teen who gets into trouble by doing something, than gets out of it and learns something, I have no trouble with that idea of learning morals, but when its on show after show for 24 hours its gets frustrating and annoying)
4. Daytime Comedy Central (at night after 8 then comedy central becomes a comedy network, but before that its just old Mad TV episodes, made-for-tv movies, or politically correct shows)
3.Movies on tv with a one star rating (if a movie isn't a classic and has less than two stars it shouldn't be on tv, they're worse than made-for-tv movies)
2. Weight loss drug commercials (how fat is America that the tv networks have to provide weight loss drug commercials, its annoying how it is even legal for tv to advertise a commercial that sells a pill that causes its users to starve themselves)
And the #1 thing that I hate about tv is......
1. Censorship (everything that is on tv doesn't need to be censored, I absolutely hate the fact how whenever I try to watch any comedy movie I have to hear beeps or replaced words that don't go along with anything else. I completely disagree with this politically correct society that we live in. I'm not saying that I think we shouldn't act positively towards one another, but then again this idea that it is necessary to be ridiculously careful about offending people is not really that good or helpful to anything at all)
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Pilot Post
This is the first post for my blog. This blog currently doesn't have a permanent name so that may be subject to change depending on whether or not I feel like thinking of something better (I probably will, I'm usually a little more creative than "Random Info"). I'll be writing about whatever comes to my mind about anything I happen to find interesting throughout my day, and trust me there are many things throughout my day that are important. As of now my post is fairly empty, just a couple of polls and some random pictures and websites, but as time goes on that should get better, either that or I'll get bored and by the summer I won't write about anything anymore. Anyway, the shape on the side is a spiral, not just any spiral, but a special one. If you stare at this with pure undivided concentration for 5 straight minutes and then look at a white piece of paper, than you will be able to see, a cool picture (trust me it is worth it, this will be the coolest thing you have ever seen in your life). This is an optical illusion and it is something that is fun to do if you are more bored than you have ever been in your entire life (if you do it for any other reason, than you need to get out more because you clearly have no life).
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