The Reservation

My neighborhood is much different from the reservation that Junior lives on, but still there are some similarities.  On the reservation, everyone knows each other and knows where they live and knows what they do.  But most people in my neighborhood are strangers to me.  Of course, I have people that I know really well and I have acquaintances, but most people that I see on the street or in nearby stores, are strangers.  Another thing that is different, is that on the reservation that Junior lived on, he mentioned many times that everyone there was poor.  I would not say the same for my neighborhood.  But something that is similar between the reservation and my neighborhood is that they both hold community gatherings.  On the reservation, they all go to pow-wow's to meet up and dance and eat.  And in my neighborhood, they hold festivals with food and music.

Native Son

While Bigger is on trial, his lawyer, Max, tries to persuade the court to give him life in jail rather than the death penalty.  I think that Max takes Bigger's case not only because he himself has been treated horribly because he is a communist, but also because Max thinks that society shaped the way Bigger acted.  He said that Bigger being looked down upon and treated unfairly by whites was the reason that Bigger had felt the need to act the way he had that night.  Because there was no other option for Bigger in that moment of fear.  Max defends Bigger by saying that all blacks are treated this way by whites and that they even cornered black people to certain places that they wanted them to live in, rather than letting people live wherever they wanted.  Realtors would not sell black people houses/apartments except in the neighborhoods where other black people lived.  Despite the effort that Max made for Bigger to be put in jail for life, he was still found guilty and given the death penalty. 

Green Lights, Yellow Cars, and Church Steeples

These three terms all represent a major representation of something important in the story of The Great Gatsby.  Gatsby used to go out on his dock and watch the green light coming from the other side of the bay, from the end of Daisy's dock.  I think this represents the love that Gatsby has for Daisy and a sort of greed that Daisy has inside of her.  The yellow car is also another symbolic representation of money.  Money was something very necessary for this specific story and the people that lived there.  There was old money, which Daisy, Tom, and Nick all were born into.  And there was new money, which Gatsby had obtained by being a bootlegger.  The yellow car is a representation of new money because it is flashy, while the car that Tom owns is classy.  The church steeple is mentioned in the story while Nick was contemplating a decision that would later effect the outcome of peoples lives.  This is because a German philosopher named Immanuel Kant created some theories on morality while he was looking at a church steeple.

Janie

In the book Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie is a woman whose husband died and is now planning to marry a much younger man whose name is Tea Cake.  Everyone in the town of Eatonville thinks that Janie is foolish and that Tea Cake only wants to marry her because she has a lot of money.  Janie said she is willing to take that chance because she is in love with him.  I do no think that Janie is foolish on taking a chance with Tea Cake because if nobody ever takes risks, you most likely will not achieve what you are striving for in life.  I think that love is something worth taking risks for and if Janie is willing to put all of her money on Tea Cake then she has every right to and it is none of the towns business what she does with her personal life.

Someone I am Thankful For

I am thankful for so many people that have just recently come into my life and those that have been in my life for a long time now.  I appreciate everyone in my classes that have helped me understand the material we cover, it is very helpful.  In English class, the people that I am especially thankful for is Morgan, Sloane, and Camryn.  They're some of the first faces I see in the mornings, and I am so glad they help me wake up and get me in a good mood to start my day.  Even the littlest of things can mean a lot to a person and I just want them to know that I am very thankful for them!

A Principle We Should Keep

A principle that I would always like to keep is the principle of honesty.  When you are honest with everyone around you, life seems to go on much smoother and without conflict.  From personal experience I know that if you tell a simple lie, that lie spirals into much bigger lies and makes the situation worse.  If the principle of honesty was followed all the time, people would live happier lives without holding the guilt of a lie inside of them.  Many people tell small lies to protect someone's feelings or to make things easier for themselves, but if you truly want to live a satisfying life without regret or guilt, I think that honesty is a principle you should follow.

Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway is known as one of America's greatest writers.  His short stories have marveled many peoples minds from the time that they were written, not long ago.  Ernest had not had the easiest time growing up, from what others tell.  His father was cruel yet sentimental towards his children and his mother dressed him up in girls clothes.  Hemingway had found his talent to write through the school newspaper when he was in high school. 
Ernest Hemingway did not cooperate when he was given orders.  When told he could not fight in the war, Hemingway joined the red-cross in order to see the battle.  Throughout his writings and through his personality you can see that masculinity is one of the main focus's of his life.  He was good at hunting, fishing, and almost any sport he played.  He also had numerous love interests during his time.  He was married four times and had many affairs during these marriages.  Although he loved his wives, he did not respect them in a way that husbands should.
People close to Hemingway remember him as a lively, witty man that may have had a drinking problem.  Some say it was his second favorite thing to do, besides write.  Many people do not deny this, but in fact say that Hemingway separated his writing time from all other activities that he might have done.  It is believed that he never would have let drinking interfere with his writing.
Hemingway wrote story after story that had critics speechless, but one story in particular had them writing harsh reviews stating that he was a drunken writer.  When he wrote, "The Old Man and the Sea", which is said to be his best novel of all time, he regained his place in the literary world.  By the time he was pretty old, he had received the Nobel Prize, every writers dream.