Romantic Poem Reflection

     Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant is a poem emphasizing the nature aspect of Romanticism.  The beginning shows that nature reflects the way that we feel.  It has a morose and bleak tone and portrays that death is inevitable.  The middle of the poem assures us that we are not going into resting alone, but with everyone that has ever lived.  It sets a happier mood by showing that we will not be alone when we die. Near the end, Bryant tells us to "Carpe diem" which means seize the day.  It puts into perspective that life should be lived, rather that spending life fearing death.  Tuberculosis was an inspiration for Bryant writing this poem.  He was afraid that he might die of it, but then realized that he should live his life to the fullest.  Also, this poem represents the circle of life.  We are born, we live, we die, and go back into the earth.

Connection to Nature

     I looked outside this morning and saw the sun shining bright as can be.  However, not everyday is sunny.  The weather can relate to my mood.  Sometimes I am happy (like a sunny day), sometimes I am just fine (overcast), and sometimes I am sad and morose (like a rainy day).  There are also different variations of the weather that goes along with different moods I could be in. I believe that a sunny day brightens everyone's mood, but that doesn't mean people can't be happy on a cloudy day.  The weather can symbolize the many moods that I have and that humans in general have.

Alternate Ending of Pit and the Pendulum

I hear rushing air all around me, and realize I am falling. The seconds feel like centuries as I plummet to what must surely be death.  Surprisingly, I land on something mildly bouncy, and my fall is absorbed.  I look around and all I see is blackness.  I hear a humming noise off in the distance and decide to follow.  The noise gets louder and louder, and my eyeballs begin working again.  There is light at the end of the tunnel! I sprint with joy to the end of the tunnel and find myself outside, and free! Joy rushes through me, until I focus on my surroundings.
     The trees, grass, and sky...is just a painting on the wall. I am still trapped!  The wall closes where I come in and the lights go out.  I am so scared that a trickle of urine runs down my leg.  A spinning blade almost like a fan comes out of the ceiling with a faint red light.  It spans the whole room!  I frantically look for any way of escape, but can't find a way out!  I decide to take the easy way out, and bang my head against the wall, hoping to be knocked out.  Alas, I can't do it and the blade begins cutting my hair!
     Right at the epitome of my fear, the blade miraculously stops!  I am utterly confused.  The lights come on and three men come in laughing.  They tell me that this was all just for fun and that I was never in danger.  They tell me I am just a guinea pig in a game show called "Fear".  Thus is the story of the birth of the game show.
    

Joseph McCarthy

Joseph McCarthy was arguably the most (in)famous Senator the United States has had. He created some of the biggest political accusations ever in America when he claimed that over 200 people in the United States government were communists.  However, McCarthy failed to have any legitimate evidence against the people he accused. In 1953, McCarthy investigated the army, but failed to uncover anything. This prompted the famous Army-McCarthy hearings which permanently scarred McCarthy's reputation.  He abused his power as a Senator. In 1957, he died of alcohol abuse.

I think McCarthy was a coward and someone that really wanted fame. He made accusations of evidence he did not have, just like in the Crucible. He should have just admitted that he had no reliable evidence, but decided to keep his accusations going.  He was fame-hungry and was willing to rat out people that probably did nothing just for some popularity.  He was a weak person in my mind.

http://www.apl.org/history/mccarthy/biography.html

Puritan Life

Puritan lifestyle was based basically exclusively on serving God.  Therefore if someone was found not serving God in Puritan eyes, they were punished.  The Puritans were not shy about punishing their people. Public whippings were commonplace.  The stockade was an embarrassing punishment which forced the guilty to sit in the public square and be mocked. The Puritans believed in Old Testament methods, and that any earthly punishment was much better than God's alternative.  The Puritans were extreme God-fearing Christians who thought punishment was necessary so the guilty could learn from their wrongdoing and hopefully avoid going to hell.

Squanto

     Squanto played a big role for the Pilgrims.  Squanto, also known as Tisquantum, first helped the Pilgrims by teaching them the native method of maize cultivation. This was vital for the Pilgrims survival and gave the tools to make an abundance of food. The method required catching herring and using them to fertilize crops.  Squanto served as a translator and guide for settlers on a diplomatic mission to the Wampanoag sachem.  He brought the Pilgrim ambassadors to different Indian tribes, and translated to make trade relations.  Unfortunately, he tried to trick both the English and the Indians by claiming certain tribes were going to attack the English.  Regardless, Squanto served as a major asset for the Pilgrims' survival.

Discovery

     In "La Relacion" Cabeza de Vaca and his crew are starved, weak, and looking for land.  He tells the story of how he was at the mercy of the natives when he landed on Galveston Island.  The natives fortunately take him and his crew in and shelter them well.  Disease strikes the natives however and the men are forced to be healers.  De Vaca returns to Spain in the hopes of being regarded a hero.

     Throughout the story de Vaca embellishes himself with bias. Right from the get-go he states that all his men are starved and weak, and that he is the only one capable of navigating his crew. When they are approaches the island he writes that the ground is plowed, therefore Christians must be on the land because he thinks Christians are the only ones capable of taming animals. De Vaca exaggerates when he says that 100 natives with arrows were looking down on him in order to sound more heroic.  At the end of the story De Vaca tells that instead of doing the weird healing customs of the natives, he instead prays to God and shows the natives the power of Christ.  De Vaca used all of the bias so that he would look better for the king and could be labeled a hero back in Spain.

       
       

  

Modern American Indians

     The culture of modern American Indians is still very much alive.  Even though many are United States citizens, they still follow ancient cultural beliefs. The older the Native American, the more revered they are.  While eating it is common to be served in descending age.
     Modern Native Americans are still gift-givers, and they keep their gifts simple and nonmaterialistic.  Tobacco still reigns as a sacred plant in modern culture. Native Americans still wear regalia, or ethnic dress, to special events and powwows.  Today, many American Indians wear touches of their culture's accessories to show their heritage.
     There are many powwows (dances) that still go on today.  Non-Native Americans are allowed into the powwows, but must be careful to enter from the East.  The East is a sacred direction because that is where the sun rises from.  A two-step dance is a fun and not serious dance where a woman asks a man to dance.  If he declines, he must pay her five dollars.
     Naming ceremonies still occur for modern American Indians, usually including the name of an animal or element.  Also, weddings are still held outdoors in open nature and the couple in dressed in luxurious regalia.
     Even though our government has not been very kind to Native Americans, modern American Indians are very patriotic. Certain powwow dances honor the Natives that have served in the United States Army.
     Modern American Indians do not like being stereotyped as "Chief"and do not like it when their hair is touched. Modern American Indians can be sensitive to many things, including having their tribe coined as a sports team and being called "Indians". Most faux paxes can be made right with a simple apology.  Many aspects of Native American culture still lives on today.


http://paula-marie-deubel.suite101.com/american-indian-etiquette-a176488