Journal #11

If I was to make a list of virtues to live by, I would include: integrity, loyalty, charity, and respect.  In today's world, you see some of these virtues but many people do not live by these.  Integrity consists of being honest and knowing what is right and wrong.  The legit definition of integrity is "adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty" (Integrity). An example of integrity is there is a lost wallet and you do not know whose it is.  You have two choices, take the wallet and keep what is in it or find the person who owns it.  If you had integrity, you would know that the right thing to do would be to return the wallet to the rightful owner.  The next virtue is loyalty.  Loyalty would be described as someone who will never give up on you and never leave your side.  Your best friends should be loyal, I know mine are. (:  My best friends are there for me when I need help and do not give up on me.  Being loyal is very important for me because I want to know that I have someone who will stay by my side when the going gets tough.  After loyalty I have charity.  Charity is "generosity and helpfulness especially toward the needy or suffering; aid given to those in need" (List).  In my opinion, helping others is one of the best feelings in the world.  Being able to change someone's life from bad to good puts such an impact on me.  Our school helped out a food bank by having a food drive and we ended up filling our principals office.  I was in the office earlier and a man came in and told the secretaries to tell our principal thank you for all the food because now they can feed more families in need.  When I heard that, a smile formed on my face and just knowing that we helped out dozens of families.  The last but not the least virtue I chose is respect.  My definition of respect is being kind to people, especially authoritative figures.  Being respectful should be something every person in this world should live by.  I try my best to follow these above virtues. 

"Integrity." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. 

"List of the Virtues." List of the Virtues. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. 

Declaration of Independence

When a major step in politics or another big topic is taken, people try to manipulate people into thinking different things.  They will try to persuade you into believing something that may or may not be true.  People use propaganda techniques and faulty logic to get the response they want.  This right here can be seen in documents, like in the Declaration of Independence. 

First off, I would like to define propaganda for those who do not know what it means. Propaganda is "information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc" (Propaganda).  Now that everyone knows what propaganda is, I can go over what propaganda techniques are and some examples.  Propaganda techniques are approaches used to spread ideas and information to back up a political, religious, civil, or commercial cause.  Some examples of this technique are name calling, transfer, bandwagon, plain folks, card stacking, etc. ()  Along with propaganda techniques, there is also the occurrence of faulty logic.  When using faulty logic, people say things that are not necessarily true to get a wanted response from the person they are trying to persuade.  

The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson and contains some propaganda and faulty logic.  One example of a propaganda technique is name calling.  This technique is probably the most common of all techniques.  Name calling consists of attaching a negative label to someone or something to make them seem less qualified than you are.  "A prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a TYRANT is unfit to be ruler of free people" (Jefferson 124).  In this sentence, Jefferson is referring to the King as being a tyrant.  In my opinion, he is being a wee bit immature by calling the King names.  I don't actually know if the King was actually a tyrant, but from this document, people believe that he is. 

Another example of propaganda that I saw in the Declaration of Independence was the use of opinions as facts.  Those two words together is an oxymoron.  Opinions are what a person thinks in his or her own mind while facts can be proven.  "Such has been the patient suffering of the colonies" (Jefferson 122).  In this line, Jefferson is telling us about how the colonies suffered because of the King and soldiers.  While that piece of information is true, the colonists were mistreated, but the way he worded it made it an opinion.  "Patient suffering" is the part that makes it an opinion because I do not think that the British though the colonists were patient when the war started.  How could anyone be patient in a war?  

The last occurrence of a propaganda technique in the Declaration of Independence is called Glittering Generalities.  It is funny to think that using propaganda isn't always looked highly upon and they use "glittering generalities" as one of the names.  Glittering Generalities uses "glad words" like good, honest, fair, best, etc to make their argument seem more positive and look like the better choice.  An example I found in the excerpt is, "In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms" (Jefferson 124).  The "glad word" in this reference is humble.  This word makes the argument seem better for Thomas Jefferson than whoever his opponent is.  

All in all, even though Thomas Jefferson included propaganda techniques, the Declaration of Independence is essential to the way the United States works today.  We, as the people of the United States, are free because of this document. 

"Propaganda." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2012. 


"Recognizing Propaganda Techniquesand Errors of Faulty Logic." Recognizing Propaganda--Guide to Critical Thinking--Academic Support. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2012. 


Wilhelm, Jeffrey D., Douglas Fisher, Beverly Ann. Chin, and Jacqueline Jones. Royster. "The Declaration of Independence." Glencoe Literature. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2009. 120-24. Print.  

Journal #10

First off, I have never heard of Brach's Star Brite mints.  Okay, that is a lie because I just looked them up.  If Mr. Langley was to bring in those mints to our English 332 class, I believe that it would cause our class to get off subject.  This already happens daily, so you would not really want another distraction.  One of the distractions could be that someone could choke on the mint.  We would have to spend some time dislodging the mint from the throat of the student. Another distraction could be the stupid, crinkly wrappers.  Once someone takes the mint from the wrapper, they have the tendency (at least I do) to play with it.  As everyone already knows, the wrappers are made of plastic and when played with, it makes a very loud and annoying sound.  When I am in a classroom, I am there to learn and if someone takes away from my learning, I get frazzled and annoyed.  Sometimes I do slack off and take part in the horsing around part, but most of the time I try and spend my classroom time wisely.  Along with the distractions, there is a big possibly that all the wrappers would be left on the tables and desks.  Mr. Langley would not be very happy if he looked around the room and saw an abundance of Brach's Star Brite mint wrappers.  He would then have to take time out of his day to pick all the wrappers up even though they are not his.  After saying this, I would not really care if Mr. Langley brought in mints.  It is not really our decision as students to decide whether the teacher should bring in mints for the students.  We are not the ones buying the mints from the store.  All of the distractions I listed above should be taken into account before purchasing the mints and bringing them in.  

Journal #9

Autumn.  This one word brings such joy to some people's world. In my opinion, autumn is my favorite season because of the weather and all the colors.  When the season changes to autumn, the weather starts getting colder and you get to wear sweat pants and sweat shirts.  I am the person who would rather be cold than hot.  When you are hot, it takes forever for you to cool down but when you are cold, all you have to do is get a blanket or put on a sweat shirt.  The good thing about autumn is that you can open your windows at night and let a whole bunch of fresh air in.  During the summer you can't do that because the air conditioning is constantly running.  I have to be cold when I go to bed, otherwise I won't be able to fall asleep and I am not a fun person to be around when I haven't gotten enough sleep.  At this time, the football season is getting closer to being over and that means the games are awesome! I love football games because I love showing school spirit and having fun.  I am on the dance team so I get to get into the games for free and dance at halftime.  At these games, you have to wear sweatshirts and long pants.  These outfits are the comfiest! The main reason that I love autumn is because the changing of colors.  My favorite part is walking down the road and watching all the colorful leaves hanging on the branches.  Red, orange, yellow and brown are such calming colors.  Some days when it is really windy, you can see the colorful leaf tornadoes.  These are groups of leaves spiraling in the air because of the wind.  In the fall, my family and I collect leaves and laminate them so we hang them up as decorations in the house.  I LOVE AUTUMN!

Journal #8

One time my friends and I planned to hang out on a Saturday night to watch a scary movie.  That night though my parents planned to have a get together with some friends.  Our families all have kids and we usually get a long pretty well.  I was going to leave to go my friends house after dinner but dinner went late and the clock read 8:20 P.M.  I asked my mom if I could go to my friends house, who unfortunately lives twenty-five minutes away.  Of course she said NO.  At this point my mom was being irrational and I decided to argue with her.  When a parent answers no, the child's first response is to ask "why?" It was a bad idea on my part because I later got in trouble for back talking.  My mom's response was that it was too late and by the time I got to her house, it would be time to come home.  Whenever I want to drive somewhere, you have to throw in the possible factor of getting in a car accident.  This of course also affected her decision.  She did not want me driving at night to a place that is semi faraway.  She does not realize that if I left at that moment, I would have an hour to hang out with my friends before I should actually leave.  My mommy still said no even after I told her that.  She is one of the people who does not like to change her answer once she has stated it.  This made me mad and ended up making me emotional because I wanted to see my friends.  It had been a WHOLE day without seeing them and who knows what would happen if I did not see them.  Parents seem to be irrational in a lot of situations but I guess they do that for a reason.  They seem irrational to us but to them they are being rational.  They keep us from going to places to keep us safe because they love us.

Journal #7

I hate bullying, which can be portrayed through physically hurting or emotionally hurting someone.  Bullying is never the right path to choose when your self esteem level is low.  When bullying occurs, the bully and the victim are both affected by it.  Most cases of bullying are because the bully needs to feel superior and the way that they fulfill that feeling, is to make someone else cry or hurt.  In class, there will be people who may have a question that may seem unreasonable and should already have an answer.  In other words, the question that the person formulated is stupid.  Yes, teachers say there is no such thing as a stupid question but believe me, there is.  If this happens in a classroom, the person who asked the question will most likely be made fun of.  The students will make comments that they think is funny but will ultimately hurt the student.  Everyone has been both a bully and a victim before in their lifetime.  It happens in your family, your group of friends at school, the classroom, at work, or even in places where you know no one.  It is sad to think that a person would bully someone that they do not even know, but it happens.  The effects of bullying on the victims can be very life changing.  There have been many cases where the victims have ended their lives because they do not feel like they could take it any longer.  For someone to take their own life is horrible and I cannot even believe how much guilt that the bully would feel.  Bullying can cause the victims to harm themselves to make themselves feel better.  For example, people cut themselves with a razor blade to make the pain go away.  Any and all of these effects of bullying should never have to be felt by anyone.  If only the world was a perfect place with unicorns and double rainbows all the time.  

The Crucible Act IV

"The parochial snobbery of these people was partly responsible for their failure to convert the Indians. Probably they also preferred to take land from heathens rather than from fellow Christians. At any rate, very few Indians were converted, and the Salem folk believed that the virgin forest was the Devil’s last preserve, his home base and the citadel of his final stand. To the best of their knowledge the American forest was the last place on earth that was not paying homage to God" (Miller 5).  “The Crucible” was written by Arthur Miller.  Miller is showing us a line that separates the goodness of God and the evilness of the Devil.  The town is the image of God and all the blessings he has given us.  Once you pass the forest line, you enter the Devil’s territory.  He states that the forest, Indians, and anything that lies in the forest is considered the Devil’s “home base.”  “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is a sermon that is preached by Jonathan Edwards.  Jonathan spends his sermon yelling at the congregation that their lives are all one big sin.  “Sin is the ruin and misery of the soul; it is destructive in its nature; and if God should leave it without restraint, there would need nothing else to make the soul perfectly miserable” (Select).   He reprimands them for not trying harder to live up to God’s expectations. 

“The Crucible” is a play about a town of Puritans who are trying to do the right thing.  What they believe is right is a lot different than the actual definition of right.  The definition of right is “in accordance with what is good, proper, or just” (Right).  The townspeople assume that there are witches that are taking over their minds and bodies.  They want the witchery to stop so they are going to try and act more on God’s word.  To try and stop the witchery meant that they would blame and lie to each other.  Even the reverends have turned to lying.  “I have sought a Christian way, for damnation’s doubled on a minister who counsels men to lie” (Miller 132).  Reverend Hale is the one who said this line.  People look up to him and religious figures, so when they lie, people think it is right for them to also.  This act is tearing apart families, almost everyone has turned to lying, and the worst of it is that many innocent lives have been taken.  "Life, woman, life is God's most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it (Miller 132).  Like Miller said, life is a gift from God and we shouldn’t take advantage of it.  Jesus died on the cross so we could live and be free of our sins.  In “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Edwards wants the people to see that they are living their lives incorrectly and that they should make changes so that they can fulfill God’s expectations.  If we do not make changes, we will have to deal with the fiery consequences of the Devil. 

Both of these works of art have similar qualities.  The main similarity I found was that they each drew a distinct line between God and the Devil.  The forest, Indians and witchcraft are results of the Devil, while the people of the town are God’s masterpieces.  On the other hand, Jonathan put the lives of everyone on under the Devil and the level of Jesus under God.  Both authors have different perspectives but I don’t believe that either one of them had the right idea.  People should try hard to make following God’s word a life goal.  Being on God’s side is where you want to be.

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print

"Right." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2012.

"Select Sermons." - Christian Classics Ethereal Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2012.