TFIOS Title Explanation

TFIOS Title Explanation

     The title "The Fault in Our Stars" is a paraphrase of a quote from the Shakespearean play Julius Caesar. There, Caesar states "The fault, dear Brutus is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings." 

This quote holds a special significance to the plot in the story and the theme, what the author is trying to imply by the title.

The quote which the title is based off of was spoken by Cassius, a member of the group that assassinated Julius Caesar.  At the time he is trying to convince Brutus to join the conspiracy; however, a hesitant Brutus forces Cassius to respond by saying  "The fault, dear Brutus is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings."  In its original context, the quote is stating that fate is not responsible for for man's shortcomings; rather, it is man's fault for its own shortcomings.  Cassius is stating that it is possible to control fate, and by assassinating an oppressive ruler, the conspiracy could rise out of becoming underlings and become powerful rulers. 

 In the play Julius Caesar, Cassius believes fate is seen as something that can be changed from living under Caesar's rule to ruling the empire himself.  However, John Green would view fate as what ultimately happened, the assassination, and would argue that it was Cassius's fate to assassinate Caesar and Cassius did not change his fate by killing Caesar

Gus's cigarette shows fate ultimately wins.  Even by trying to deprive cancer of its power, Gus eventually succumbs to cancer 

Thanatopsis

Thanatopsis Questions

1)  The Greek words that were combined were thanatos, "death", and opsis, "sight."  These words contribute to the meaning of the poem because the author is looking at death and he gains sight on nature and its beauty. 

2) Shroud- a length of cloth or an enveloping garment in which a dead person is wrapped for burial.

    Pall- a cloth spread over a coffin, hearse, or tomb.

    Narrow house- the grave

    Sepulcher- a small room or monument, cut in rock or built of stone, in which a dead person is laid or     buried.

All of these words contribute to the theme of death in the poem.  They impact the meaning by adding the comforting nature of death to the poem and the idea that death is natural.

3)  This is a poem about death because the author states that all people will die just like past kings and princes; we should not fear death, for it is a natural process

4)  The tone in the first part of the poem is about nature's ability to comfort us and to make us feel better in our lives.  However, this tone changes at line 31.  The poem switches from a comforting view of nature to one which will ultimately kill you just like nature has always and always will do.

5)  An elegy is a mournful or sad poem that is usually about the dead. One of the typical conventions of an elegy is that one of the subjects is presented as a shepherd of some sort.  Another convention is that an elegy mourns the death of someone and talks of a graveyard of some sort.  In the poem, nature is presented as a shepherd and talks about earth being a grave.  Death of someone, an unknown person, is also talked about throughout the poem. 

6)  The elements of nature present in the poem are open sky (14), ocean (21), and the description of trees (33).  These elements create a landscape that is awe inspiring to the reader; it fills the reader with images of the great American continent.  This furthers the authors theme that nature is magnificent and also is a force that is their to comfort us despite its massive size.

7)  This piece is an example of a historical piece because it occurred during the time of the Transcendentalist period when the Hudson River School was popular.  This is a romantic poem because it talks about the beauty of nature and how humans have much we can learn from studying nature.  This is a Calvinist poem because it relates to the doctrines of John Calvin (his views on death). 

Poetry Webquest

Poetry Webquest

Questions:   

  Walt Whitman was an American poet during the transcendentalist movement.  This movement was founded on the idea that reflection and examination of one's self would ultimately lead to choosing the correct decisions in life and living a more harmonious life.  Also, the movement thought of political institutions, and other large groups, as corruptions to society; people were naturally good however large groups could blind them from living a good life.  

     This form of poetry broke from the traditional style of writing for the time.  In the past, writings were religious or stuck strictly to society's social attitudes.  However, transcendentalism broke from that tradition by portraying more liberal ideas about religion, i.e. they were oppressive, and that modern day society was corrupt.  This transcendentalist style of breaking societal traditions suggests that Whitman did not always agree with what society said.  Examples of this stem from the fact that Whitman was a religious skeptic and was a homosexual; two ideas that, at the time were not popular.  His personal beliefs helped Whitman develop a writing style that was free; it did not obey traditional rules from the timeperiod.  

     As a Civil War veteran, I may disagree with Whitman's notion that people are naturally good.  By seeing men killing each other on a battlefield over the issue of slavery of other humans, it is hard for me to agree that people are good.  However, I may agree with Whitman's ideaology that groups of people corrupt the populous.  Without plantations or southern forms of government, slavery might not have lasted and war wouldn't have been possible.  In this way, I could understand Whitman's thinking that institutions of power corrupt society.  

     Despite seeing America at its worst, Whitman thought of America as a great land full of potential.  He even wrote that "The United States themselves are essentially the greatest poem."  This quote symbolizes his belief that America was a great land of liberty and opportunity and, with more free-thinking, could expand into an even greater nation.  

     

Essential Question:

     Poetry can help us in our lives by giving us a voice for our concerns and problems.  Instead of keeping feelings bottled up, we can either express them through our own composition of poetry or by reading styles of poetry that relate to our feelings at the time.  

Poem:

Teeming with life, these cities sprawl all around.

Jumping with life, immoral as it is, these cities fill with people who

carry on with their unfounded traditions; dogmas

If only they could see the true value of life:

Life is not for following social order;

life is about living!

Why cling to traditions that only entrap you like a bird in a cage?

Be free! 

Fly away into the great America that awaits you.

This land, this continent, is full of room to roam

full of space to come into your own thought.

No longer, I say, stay founded in your stict beliefs

Look into yourself, your heart

There lies the truth to life; a truth lost on so many today.

Life is about living!

     

     

Salem Witch Trials Webquest

Salem Witch Trials Web quest

1) As an accused Witch, my feelings progresses from one of despair, hope, than despair again.  While imprisoned, I felt betrayed.  Betrayed by my fellow citizens who made up stories of what my specter, not even me, did.  However, I felt hopeful of my future when my son came in with a petition with 40 signatures. The judge acquitted  me of being a witch; however, I was put back on trial after some witches in the crowd went crazy with the verdict.  That's when my feeling of despair began.  After being proved innocent, I was now going to die for something I didn't even know I did.

2)  The main difference between the two is that the Crucible contorts some truthful events into entertaining events for the audience.  The Crucible is not entirely a historic representation of what actually occurred in Salem and some creative license was used by Miller.  Miller took the most freedom by trying to make the witch craft trials an allegory.  By doing so, he ignored some of the facts such as that the clergy, Rev. Hale would not have signed death warrants; that job belonged to the judge.  

3) I think that Caporael's theory that the first "witches" in Salem had ergot poisoning could be a valid argument.  All of the facts that she provided seem to fit the conditions of Salem at that time.  I believe that the ergot poisoning may have affected the first two girls of the time period and mass hysteria ensued.  

4)  Both McCarthyism and the Salem Witch Trials centered around two main ideas: conviction without evidence and turning in fellow communists or witches.  My response to Miller's article is that I agree that there is a similarity between the two.  Both had an element of public hysteria where convictions were made based on no actual evidence or evidence that has been misconstrued.

5)  The Salem Witch Trials and the Red Scare were similar in many ways.  First, both arose out of public hysteria; one in the case of witchcraft, the other in the case of communism.  Both also resulted in the death or career death of innocent people who were convicted by little to no real evidence.  The two differed in that the Salem Witch trial resulted in deaths while the Red Scare mostly resulted in public shaming and career loss with only a few deaths.

6)  The Witch Craft Trials relate to the Holocaust, the internment of Japanese-Americans, and the Red Scare in the way that all of these events involved public hysteria.  Whether completely agreeing or not, the public's actions allowed for a minority to impose a rule that threatened the lives of innocent people.  There are differences between each of them, however.  The holocaust was a systematic killing of a people while internment camps were designed to house Japanese-Americans during the war in order to ease societies expectations of an attack or infiltration.  The article I read on Human Rights Watch only dealt with a group of people in Cambodia illegally living on private land and the police's response.  The police did not attack the people because of their race or political beliefs; they attacked them because they were committing a crime.

7) The quote "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it" means that if we do not learn from our past mistakes, we will inevitably make those same mistakes in the future.  We can learn from history by understanding what happened, why it happened, and what can be done to prevent it from happening again in the future.

8)  Other examples of witch hunts would be the Spanish Inquisition, and other witch trials in early modern Europe such as the Fulda witch trials, Trier witch trials, and the Basque witch trials.  All of these trials involved mass hysteria and panic to convict people without any evidence.

9)  The most interesting thing I learned was that there are many similarities to the witch trials throughout history; and despite seeing these events unfold, we continue to pursue inquisitions without tangible evidence. We quickly jump to conclusions and put people on trial before we wait for the facts and evidence.  

Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God

"Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God"   Daniel Drum and Brittany Connor

1) Edwards wants his congregation to be born again in their faith and turn from their wicked ways. 

2) "Natural men" refers to all people and their naturally sinful ways. 

3) Using context clues, "abate" means to be less intense. 

4) Edwards uses this structure to provide a stronger visual image and lasting effect for his audience.  Also, he used this structure to connect all of his like ideas in one paragraph. 

5) The clause serves to provide the audience with a visual image. Yes, more appositives can be found in the sermon.

6) The rhetorical effect is that what he is saying sounds like an infinitely long list. 

7) He uses semicolons to connect the clauses because they are all one big, giant idea and he wants it to go together with the same ideas. He repeats "not willingly" for effect and for his congregation to remember that part of the sermon (will be in their heads more if it is repeated more than once). 

8) Edwards develops the simile in paragraph 5 by adding the visual element of an arrow being attached to a bow and launched at a person's heart.  Imagery is powerful because it allows the audience to imagine what is happening while Edwards is saying it.  Therefore, it is an effective tool in order to reach your audience.

9) The figurative language used in the next three paragraphs include language of great detail such as "wrath towards you burns like an angry fire" and "loathsome insect over the fire."  The progression of this language becomes more and more hateful to humans from God and the point Edwards is making is that God hates you much like you hate other things in your daily life.

10) Edwards employs pathos because he uses imagery and similes that appeal to the audience's emotions.

11) Edwards tone is one of condemnation towards his congregation.  Words such as abhor and abominable help create that tone.  Towards the end, however, Edwards lets up a bit and does not use as strong of language.

12) Texts meant to be heard normally include more stories, emotion, and imagery than texts meant to be read.  Written works tend to contain more facts and analysis.

13) Edwards' text is persuasive because it uses fear to encourage a change from his congregation.  It is effective.  A persuasive text is any text that uses language in order to change a person's opinion one way.  In this case, Edwards wants to persuade his congregation that they are still not doing enough to please their angry God.

14) I believe parts that may have evoked such responses are when Edwards gives images of hell.  These images such as fire and death scare the congregation because, despite all of their good works, they are being told they will still not enter the paradise of heaven.

15) (Bow and arrow going through heart)

Navajo Origin and Iroquois Constitution Answers

Navajo Origin

1) The words used in this passage are very descriptive and colorful.  For example, the story refers to the gods as Blue Body, Black Body, etc.  The impression these words made on me was that the Navajo used colorful words in everyday life.

4)  (a) In the Navajo creation ceremony, on the twelfth day, the people washed themselves.  Women dried themselves with yellow cornmeal while men dried themselves with white cornmeal.  Following that, a call to the gods is made four times.  Each time louder than the previous.
   
     (b) The ritual tells me that the Navajo conduct the ceremony in a way for all of the people to remember how they were created. They also use elements that were present at the creation to reinforce this idea of remembrance.

5)  (a) The wind has an important role during the ceremony.  The find provides life and without it no life could exist according to the Navajo.
 
     (b) The wind contrasts with other rituals in the ceremony because the wind  is the key to life while the other elements, like the buckskin are purely ceremonial.

Iroquois Constitution

1) If I was a chief, this would persuade me to join the Iroquois Confederation.  This is because, at the time, Native Americans were being attacked by colonists and by agreeing to join together with other tribes, it would make my odds of survival greater.

2) (a) The lords plant the tree of the great peace

    (b) The roots represent peace and strength

3) (a) The lords must open the meeting by expressing gratitude to their cousin lords

    (b) This decree suggests that the Iroquois are a polite people that are friendly to other tribes

4) (a) Dekanawidah uses the images of a tree, an eagle, and deer antlers

    (b) These references tell me that the Iroquois used nature as symbols for everyday ideas

5) (a) The qualities of conduct required from lords are qualities of respect resistance to anger, offensive actions, and criticism.  Also, a lord must be filled with peace and yearn for the goodwill of the people of the confederacy.  A lord must also be tender to his people and deliberate on his actions.

    (b) These qualities are what politicians run for office on today.  However, in reality, politicians rarely display these qualities and are generally more selfish than the leaders of the Iroquois Confederacy.

6) I agree with the ideas stated in the constitution because the constitution values the people of the confederacy and not just the leaders.  The constitution requires leaders to be humble and thoughtful rather than rash and oppressive.  These values are necessary for a peaceful and prosperous society.

Theme of "The Yellow Wallpaper"

Theme of "The Yellow Wallpaper"

The author of the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman, filled the story with multiple themes.  Gilman wrote the story in eighteen ninety two, an era where women were supposed to be fully obedient to their husbands.  If their husbands supported a candidate for office, they supported him too.  If their husbands wanted to make any family decisions, they supported their husbands and did not dare to voice their own opinion.  The two themes I will write about from this story are ones that highlight the inequality shown toward women in that time period.  Themes such as passive behavior in the household and the importance of women’s self expression convey this overall theme of women taking charge, and no longer being subordinate to men in life.    

The first message Gilman is trying to convey in “The Yellow Wallpaper” is that the then current domestic role of women in a marriage was imprisoning.  At the time, the status quo was that the husband was the “active” member of the family.  He went to work, made family decisions, etc.  The wife’s role in the marriage was “passive” i.e. follow the leadership of her husband because “he knew best.”  At the beginning of the story, the narrator is happy to take the passive role of the relationship.  She comments on how John is kind to her and takes such good care of her.  However, towards the middle of the story, she begins to change from the passive housewife to the active, independent woman we see at the end of the story.  This change culminates when, at the end of the story, she calls her husband, John, “little boy.”  The seemingly demeaning title she calls John is unheard of for the time period where husbands were treated with utmost respect by their wives.  Another example of her change to an independent woman is when she locks herself in her room and doesn’t open the door, despite the fact that John tells her to open it.  The author is trying to convey that women no longer must be submissive to their husbands.  They should be able to speak their mind and make their own decisions.  Whether that is calling your husband “little boy” or locking yourself in your room because you don’t want your husband to come in, it is now acceptable for a woman to make that decision.

The next idea conveyed by author is the importance of self expression in women.  The irony of the story is that John’s treatment for his wife, the “resting cure,” is supposed to help cure her of her illness by forcing her to keep her brain idle.  However, the fact is, the idleness from the resting cure is actually the cause of the narrator’s descent into insanity.  For example, at the beginning of the story, the narrator expresses herself using her journal.  During this time the narrator is the most cognitive.  However, after her journal is taken away and her thoughts suppressed, we begin to see her crazy behavior such as gnawing on the bed and imagining a woman in the wallpaper.  Gilman is trying to convey that being submissive, having your brain be idle because you allow your husband to make all of the decisions, causes women to become crazy.   Only when women, like the narrator, become outspoken do they become free.  Gilman is saying that women must begin thinking actively, thinking for themselves and not for their husbands, and not just idly submitting to whatever their husband commands.