Journal #15

1. Write a sentence that summarizes the story’s overall message, and provide three direct quotes from the story that best illustrate this message.

The message of the passge is that living the life of Editha does, which is living in the ideal rather than in reality, can be a very dangerous and detrimental thing to your life.

“It isn’t this war alone; though this seems peculiarly wanton and needless; but it’s every war –so stupid; it makes me sick. Why shouldn’t this thing have been settled reasonably?”

"I shall always love you, and therefore I shall never
marry any one else. But the man I marry must love
his country first of all”

“He told me he had asked you to come if he got killed. You didn’t expect that, I suppose, when you sent him.”

“To take the part that her whole soul willed him to take, for the completion of her ideal of him

2. What tactics does Editha use to make George believe as she does about the war?

Edith makes it known that her opinion is correct as she attempts to argue with George, telling him that it is ordained by the providence and is a "holy war". George ultimately doubts himself when Edith sends him a letter with her engagement ring enclosed, and all the while was compelling and threatening him to go to war. She states that they must agree on everything to be together and that tere is no greater honor than serving in the army. George finally is persuaded to go to war and listens to her.

3. Is there ever a time in which Editha truly understands what she has done? Does she ever experience an epiphany?


I believe Editha does have an understanding of what a terrible thing she did when she found out that George had died. She truly mourns his loss and vistits the mother of George as he asked even though she was ultimately scorned and rebuked for sending him to war. At first she really does not understand her actions, but at the end she has an epiphany that brings her back to the ideal world. The person who Editha was talking too agreed that George's mother was wrong for saying those hurtful words to her. After that moment, Editha got out of self-pity and began her life again.

Journal #14

“Richard Cory“ (497)

In the town, the people view Richard as a perfect man. He is always looked up to by the people and is always admired. His wealth shows through his intensive schooling in everything a good gentleman should have. On the contrary, this is ironic because even though the people came to believe he had as perfect life, but he actually killed himself. Though everyone thinks it, it really isn't perfect because he kills himself and has problems that no one can see from the outside. A theme of this is that you cannot judge people from the outside and think that they are the same on the inside and that no amount of money will every make you truly "happy". His name sounds very similar to "rich core" which is totally opposite to his life, and is contrasting reality and his ideal life.

“Miniver Cheevy” (497)

He dreams of being born in a different era, is fond of knights and romantic stories and enjoys the days when people rode horses and used swords. He dreamed for an ideal life, but reality came for him and he became a drunk. He desired to have a life like a person in adventure novels, cursing his life in the process and destroying it as well. His name is similar to "minimal achiever", and his life is very empty as he lives in these "stories", not adding anything in his physical life.

“Mr. Flood’s Party” (498)

Mr. Flood is only having a party for himself, which is obviously not how a party is meant to be. He is very old, and since all of his friends are gone, he drinks alcohol so that he can have "friends" in himself. When drunk, Mr. Flood is able to have a party within himself with his "friends" and always lives in the past. Mr. Flood is attempting to live his ideal life by drinking and pretending to live in the past, but the reality is that he is just a very lonely drunk.

Journal #13

Journal #13 – Edgar Lee Masters Epitaphs (p. 502)

Read “George Gray” and “Lucinda Matlock” and answer the following questions.


1. What object symbolizes George Gray’s life? How is this object representative of him?

In the Epitaph, the object that truly repsents him is the bat waiting to go out and sail. This is s because George is too scared to attempt things in life. It can easily be compared to a boat that has been docked and will not go back out into the water. Like a boat that doesn't want to go out due to the possibility of bad weather, he refuses to take a chance in life that would possibly that something bad will happen to him. He stays in his home repeating the same thins he has done his entire life, which is why his life is easily compared to a boat that will never sail again. The sail of his boat was not opened and his boat left the harbor, describing the fact that he did not take the chances in life that he could have. When his ship did not set sail, he lost the chance to find love, and continue to chase his ambitions in life. If George opened his sail and took many uncertain chances in life, his life would, in the end, be more exciting and meaningful.

2. How was Lucinda Matlock’s life different than George Gray’s? How do you interepret the last line of the poem?

The life of Lucinda Matlock was different than George Gray's laife in many ways. Throughout Lucinda's life, she had many years of excitment through trying new things and taking chances, which caused her to feel fulfilled, rather than the life of George, whom refused to break away from what he knew and attempt new things.
Unlike George, who would never do anything new, Lucinda would try anything she could, because she knew life was short. Lucinda led a good life, rather than George who seemed not happy with the life he lived, wishing he did things that he did not do. To me, the last line of the poem is advice to all who read it. In your life, you must live it to its true potential, or you will not love the life you lived.


3. How are “George Gray” and “Lucinda Matlock” examples of realism?

"George Gray" and "Lucinda Matlock" are perfect examples of realism since both of them deal with situations in everyday life. Both of these people described are normal, average people who face the same everyday situations as us normal people. They are two people who have opposite opinions on the way to live life, how to go about it, and what occured in their lives. Both of them are exact examples of realism because that’s what life is. They are both average people, telling how they lived their lives, and what occured because of it, which is very typical of the average person.

Journal #12

Journal #12 - “Young Goodman Brown”

1. “Young Goodman Brown” is an allegory (symbolic narrative). What do the following represent?

Young Goodman Brown – He represents an innocent person with pure intentions, hence the reiteration of “goodman” He represents a young person that is naïve, has the potential to make great mistakes and has not spiritually found himself yet. Human beings being tempted.


Faith- Faith in religion and society.


The Elderly Traveller/Fellow-Traveller – Temptation, The Devil


Goody Cloyse – People who may seem Godly, but have actually fallen into temptation. Hypocrisy, Double-sided people.


The Ceremony – Represents a person’s transition from innocence to the experience after the temptation. A Baptism.

The Pink Ribbon – Represents the purity of a Person(In the story, it is Goodman)


Young Goodman Brown’s Journey – It represents a person’s journey from innocence to being tempted and then the experience afterward and how it affects others. The human’s fall into temptation, while being lured by others.



2. Identify the following for “Young Goodman Brown”:

Theme/ Message of Theme/ Element Used to Establish

Sin Humanity is Innately sinful Plot conflict

In addition, provide three direct quotes from the story that address your theme.

“There is no good on earth and sin is but a name Come, devil; for to thee is this world given”
“Still rushing onward with the instinct that guides mortal man to evil”
“Evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be your only happiness”

Journal #11

“Where I Lived and What I Lived For” (232)

Humans are adancing, but he believes that they should stay simple. He chose to live in a very small home by a pond surrounded by nature and away from the advances of human technology. He believes progress takes over our lives and corrupts us. Technolongy results in disconnection and takes away from who you really are. He tells us why he actually went into the woods and where he stays. He feels that the average life of a human is too complicated. He chose to live in the woods because people consume more than what you need, and he only wanted to use what he needed. He wanted to have the essential facts of life becausethere is too much excess in the human world.

Quote:”we do not ride on the railroad, the railroad rides on us”
“Simplicity, Simplicity, Simplicity”

“Sounds” (234) - The narrator explains the natural sounds that are able to be heard at th pond, but also the manmade sounds of a train. It shows how he wants to stay and live a simple, natural life without all of the noise. This shows that he still wished to live the simple life with the sounds of the ponds, rather than the noisy life of the modern man. As he amires how the earth changes, he realizes that he is not wasting his time, because he is living in the moment. Because he wanted to live in the moment, he sat in the woods and would listen to all of the sounds that surrounded him. He entertained himself by watching and being in the place, listening to the birds and other noises

Quote: “…my life itself was become my amusement and never ceased to be novel”

“Brute Neighbors” (235)
It is like modern day war. The ants are two certain peoples fighting, and is saying that they’ll fight over anything. Because all things are unified, you can see people in all aspect of nature share the same trait as man, fighting over non-important things. He is saying this as a negative aspect towards his “ant” neighbors which are similar to a human neighbor. This passage satirizes war, and shows the brutality and pettiness of causes of war.

Quote: “and the results of this battlr will be as important and memorable to those whom it concerns as those of the battle of Bunker Hill.”

“The Pond in Winter” (237)

Nature in which creatures live and flourish and only gives the answer of pure beauty, and mother nature shows her true nature through the natural surroundings. Nature looks at rest/peace but even still life is thriving beneath the surface, ready to awaken the next season. This time of year seems dead, but is still full of life and beauty, you just ave to look under the surface to find the beauty of nature.

Quote: “heaven is under our feet as well as over our head”
“Spring” (238)

The narrator describes spring and compares it to the creation of the world. He talks about the weather, the plants, his surroundings, the feel etc. He is describing the changes from winter to spring and how so many things blossom out of something that seems like nothing. Winter is dark, dreary and everything is dead, but then spring comes aroung and everything blossoms into life, everything is brighter, lighter and full of life. The earth was nothing before it was created, and something that was so vast turned into something full of thriving life.

Quote: “The change from storm and winter to serene and mild weather, from dark and sluggish hours to bright and elastic ones, is a memorable crisis which all things proclaim. It is seemingly instantaneous atlast”

“The coming in of spring is like the creation of Cosmos out of Chaos and the realization of the Golden age.”

Journal #10 Othello's Insight

At the end of the play, Othello’s insight describes his realization to the wrongs that he had done to others, and the doings of Iago. His first speech condemns himself and the horrific actions he had enacted upon the ones he loved, especially his wife, Desdemona and comes to the realization that he wrongfully killed an honest loved one. He finally begins to genuinely blame himself for the events that had occurred because of him, and is remorseful at what he did to his wife. His passions overwhelmed himself, and caused him to kill the one he loved. He is disgusted with himself, and shows remorse at realizing the truth of Desdemona’s innocence. His conscience and mind is in torment because of her death and the fact that he killed her. Othello’s attitude and state of thinking change drastically in many ways, differing from how he acted throughout the play. A very powerful, but smart man realizes that he does not know what to do with his power in this situation. Othello is not known for giving up, but to him, this is how a noble and true man should act when mistakenly murdering your wife. Even with this, it is still obvious that he still misunderstands the whole situation, as he continues to place responsibility on fate. Even though so many hardships befall on him due to his decisions, he never had one moment of recognition of his failures at reasoning. Othello truly believes that a Turk has taken over the good Venetian within him. He still does not see that his faults are exploited by Iago and used against him. In his last soliloquy, Othello addresses the reasons behind his downfall, and decides how he wants others to see him, in terms of the story and how he takes responsibility for it, focusing on fact rather than emotion. All in All, Othello's insight in the end shows his remose for the wrongful killing of his wife, the regret of his actions, and him wanted to be seen as the man he was previously known as.

Journal #9 Free Will vs. Determinism

Free Will - The power of making free choices that are unconstrained by external circumstances or by an agency such as fate or divine will.

Iago: “'tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our bodies are our
gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners” (1.3 361-3).

Determinism - The philosophical doctrine that every event, act, and decision is the inevitable consequence of antecedents, such as genetic and environmental influences, that are independent of the human will.

Othello: “Yet ‘tis the plague of great ones … ‘tis destiny unshunnable, like
death” (3.3 313-16).

Using the above definitions, write a paragraph that argues in support of each of the terms. In your paragraphs, use specific examples from Othello to support your ideas.

The act of Free Will, a power in which all choices are unconstrained and fate does not take a part is a viable and supportable point of view. All though many people still believe God controls many things in our lives, it is false, as God gave us free will to do as we choose, and so we do not act like “robots” in a sense. We are free to do what we please, but we have to suffer the consequences if we do wrong (depending on the choices made during a person’s life). A human being shapes their lives on where they were born, how they were raised, what choices they make in their lives. These choices can either lead to good or bad things, depending on the choice that was made. People cannot shape our lives, unless we agree with their opinion and make the decision ourselves. When we succumb to the lesser influences of delinquents per se, it is our choice to follow their bad habits, or simply decline and make better choices. Othello did not have to believe Iago’s lies, yet he made the choice to do so, which then caused him to choose to kill Desdemona. Roderigo did not have to listen to all of Iago's lies, but he chose to anyway. Iago may have been lying to the others to get his way, but people choose to believe him, not Iago. Humans have the choice to listen or not, which way they choose is their decision. Iago seems to understand Free will, when he says “'tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our bodies are our gardens, to which our wills are gardeners” (1.3 361-3). All in all, Othello greatly shows that Free Will is plausible and true, due to that fact that many people were decieved do to their own choice, which led to the whole tragedy. Free Will can bring a man happiness or madness, depending on the choices they make throughout their lives, and by their choices, not others, their lives are shapes according to their will and what they put into it. With this evidence, I have no hesitation in saying that Free will is a reality.

Determinism, the belief that every decision and event made in this world is independent of human will shows a preference to religion, and to God. Many religions believe that every single person is predestined to do or fulfill something during their lives and that everything in our lives is already planned and out of our personal control. In Othello, it can be shown that Determinism had an effect on the characters of the play. All of the circumstances of the play lead people to wonder just how it could happen so easily for Iago. Even Othello compares fate as just as unavoidable as death, saying “Yet ‘tis the plague of great ones … ‘tis destiny unshunnable, like death” (3.3 313-16). You are unable to change or dismiss your destiny, just like death, which will happen to everyone. Since everyone dies, than it can be greatly assumed that death is predetermined, due to the fact it is unavoidable like fate. How could almost all of the characters be stupid enough to fall for Iago's scheming plans, when one would think a person would have enough sense to tell something is up, unless someone else is controlling the strings. For things to play out so easily for Iago shows that something other than Iago's scheming was at work. All in all, Determinism is very plausibe, due to the fact that plans like Iago's do not work that well by themselves, as he was a lone man, so the fates of the others must have been already decided, making Iago's job easier. With this evidence, I can say that Determinism is the way that life is lived, and is shown greatly in the play of Othello.