List of Themes

1. "Sonnet 130" - William Shakespeare
Though beauty is wanted, in the end, love is a feeling not a look.

2. "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" - Christopher Marlowe
When one puts in effort, love with concur and become prosperous.

3. "Death Be Not Proud" - John Donne
Death itself is inevitable, but one can get past the thought of death.

4. "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" - Robert Herrick
Being young is prime, take advantage of all the time before it's gone.

5. "The Author of Her Book" - Anne Bradstreet
If one doesn't want to change, no change will be made.

6. "To His Coy Mistress" - Andrew Marvell
A relationship of lust is one of the most impactful. Also the most dangerous.

7. "Sound and Sense" - Alexander Pope
Real power is natural.

8. "The World Is Too Much Much With Us" - William Wordsworth
Some may lose the world we live in because they aren't looking at its true beauty.

9. "She Walks in Beauty" - George Gordon, Lord Byron
A woman so pure walks with beauty installed in her presence.

10. "Ozymandias" - Percy Bysshe Shelley
Confidence in the artist is key to understanding the artistry.

11. "When I have Fears that I may Cease to Be" - John Keats
Life can end quickly, think of all the things one can do before time runs out.

12. "The Children's Hour" - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Children are creativity.

13. "Annabel Lee" - Edgar Allen Poe
When hard times arrive, real love lasts.

15. "O Captain, My Captain" - Walt Whitman
Death for a good cause is only the beginning.

16. "I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died" - Emily Dickinson
The good times will be that much greater after the bad.

17. "Dover Beach" - Matthew Arnold
All the sounds of the ocean mean that something deeper is out there.

18. "Dulce et Decorum Est" - Wilfred Owen
Not everything that should be glamourus, is.

19. "MENDING WALL" - Robert Frost
Walls built from a lack of trust are hard to tear down.

20. "Mirror" - Sylvia Plath
A mirror means more than a face and a reflection.

Does Apple Own Your Soul?

Does Apple Own Your Soul? 

I have changed up my idea, I thought of something a little more serious. This is my question, and when I began my research I found that it was an easy question to answer. Trying to convince an Apple user that their phone may have competition is like asking the president to step down to the vice president half way through the term.  Apple's iPhone took over the teenage world this Christmas, and I will admit that I have two Apple products. However, I have found something better. I decided that my question would go to all of those Apple users, so I began with the employees at AT&T. I ventured into AT&T to check out the new Nokia Lumia 900 with Windows 7.7, and I found out that every sales person in the whole store had to use the phone themselves as their personal and work phone. Now, I'm not scared of the crazy Apple fans so talking to them about their experience was a pretty easy task. "Does Apple Own Your Soul?" was the basis of all my questions. Well, to some in that store, it does, and to others, they've moved on. The new Nokia Lumia 900 has won Best of Show 2012 at the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) awards. Nokia and Microsoft became friends recently and they came up with a phone that will change the way we look at Apple. Microsoft has just released Windows 8, a metro style, tile based interface (picture showing). The Nokia is only using Windows 7.7 because Microsoft hasn't released the full Windows 8, yet, only BETA is available to any person with a Windows computer. There will be an update late this summer for those who have the phone. Nokia has taken on Windows and rocked the smartphone world. I got the chance to talk to a few salesmen in AT&T. Mark, salesman of the year for New York State, Luke, general manager and total Apple fan, and an Employee (whose name I cannot remember), Apple's ex-boyfriend and Windows new fiancé. Mark was skeptical of his new phone because, after I later found out, he didn't really know how to work it. The iPhone does everything for you. You have your basic settings, background color and your app re-arrangements and that's about it. Windows requires your attention and love, in the end she's worth it because she's good to you and she keeps you interested. The employees would agree with my next statement...after a few years Apple doesn't keep your interest, you look for something else. An employee at AT&T worked with Apple products for 7 years and just recently got into the Nokia because of his work duties, and he ended up saying that he loves it. He was getting sick of Apple. Luke, the general manager, however, was not able to let go of his iPhone, so he kept both. Two phones, double the browsing, one in each pocket, half the fun. Luke was set on Apple because he was comfortable there and he claimed that Nokia didn't have a Twitter app. This is a false statement though. How do I know this? Well, because I ended up buying the phone. Yes, I bought it. I am the proud owner of a Nokia Lumia 900, and I have to say, I do not regret it. 

Apple owns Luke's soul. He wanted it his way and he got to have it. Though many people who have reviewed the phone have said things like "I'd say it's easier to use than the iPhone." and "It's also exciting because it marks the first clear and strong collaboration between manufacturer, carrier, and Microsoft." 

I noticed something that I think relates to then novel we are reading. The employees, the SALESMAN OF THE YEAR, and general manager didn't know anything about the phones they were selling. I had to go home and run through the manual and spend hours digging through the phone to see how it worked to it's fullest. They couldn't find an app that I found in the first 20 minutes of working with the phone. It does have a twitter app, he was too lazy to look for it. I think that relates to those who work for the bank and those who destroyed the homes of those living during the depression. They don't know why they have to do it, but they do it anyways. Why would you ask questions? They didn't get to the bottom of the problem, they just knew what they needed to know in order to work and get paid. The same goes for the AT&T salesmen. They only know the basics, and they can sound smart to those who don't know anything about the phone. A lot of people don't know anything about the phone they are looking for, but when I roll up to the store knowing exactly what I want and exactly how the phone works, they become powerless because I know more than them. If someone like Tom Joad knew more than those working for the bank, he could have gotten something done, but no one knows the answers because fear gets in the way of them asking the questions. Which is why there is such a competition between Apple and Windows. People buy what they know and follow what they know, they don't ask the hard questions like what works, or what makes this phone better than the others. They ask what people are buying or they buy whatever the sales people have themselves. It happens everyday and I feel like, we as humans take shortcuts around the hard questions because we are afraid of the answers. Tough love, the only way that progress is made is to ask the hard questions. If someone in the Grapes of Wrath asked a question and died because of it, they must have been close to an answer. If I ask an iPhone user to bring up their Music app on their phone, and I compare it to mine and they ask for their phone back as soon as they make the comparison, I know that I almost got an answer. I didn’t call the president or make contact with the Lay's representatives but I did ask a question that led to this comparison. Does Apple Own Your Soul? I met three people who all had Apple products and one loved Apple because he was lazy, the other loved Apple because he was comfortable there, he knew everything about it and didn't want to learn anything new, and the other one left Apple for the alternative. Apple had a pretty tight hold on Luke's soul, but with that Windows phone in his other pocket, it won't be much longer until Apple is just an ex-girlfriend.

Essay Response - Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe's essay is full of valid points, obvious research, and well thought out ideas.  I find myself agreeing with him on things like Conrad's description of the African man. I think that any African would have the right to be upset or offended by that type of description. I don't know how Conrad felt, truly, about the Africans so it is difficult for me to say that what Conrad wrote was entirely racist. Looking at the time Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness I have to wonder if his view on Africans came from his society's view on African Americans. The world was a lot different in that time and I can't really speak on their behalf because I have not lived their life. While I agree fully that any type of intended racism is wrong, I have to keep an open mind in the sense of literature. Often, I find that sometimes what one novel might describe "The Other" in the way that one would describe a unfamiliar territory.  That, of course, would come off as racist and unethical to the actual "Other" reading it.  I think it is rather difficult to write a novel or story about a culture and not placing an "Other" in the plot. The idea of one being racist against a culture, person, or religion, it a very slick slope. Achebe, being African, has the right to question Conrad's diction and description of his culture.  I, however, can only state what I believe, and what I believe is that Conrad may have overlooked the feelings of an African and instead expanded greatly his idea of the Africans. Achebe's essay gave me a look at the other side of the spectrum and I now understand that it will be difficult to avoid conflict when dealing with an "Other".  A villain is necessary to have a hero. I find that one culture has to be superior in the mind of a human being. Overall I liked the essay, and I enjoyed reading, in the words of Achebe, his side of the story. 

The Awakening Essay Response

"When Edna Pontellier stamped impetuously on her wedding ring and proceeded to turn her back on her husband, her home, and her children, she--and her creator--elicited outrage from the American literary establishment of 1899." Virginia Ross made a lot of wonderful points during this article. She never failed to impress me with her research and emphasis behind all of her points. Ross believed that Robert Lebrun's devotion to Edna at Grand Isle begins her desire for love and one of her first points is that Edna awakens as a sensual and sexual person. At first it was hard for me to grasp that but as I read on she proves it and captured me. Edna's artistic side reveals the sensual aspects of her identity but she got so caught up in wanting freedom from Leonce or anyone else who controlled her that you begin to see her satisfying her needs by sleeping frequently and eating more than usual, something I never noticed while reading. After awhile I started to connect the symbolism. The relationship between Edna and the Gulf of Mexico could mean much more than what meets the eye. Ross provided information regarding the ocean and it's symbolism. Chopin uses sentences like "sensuous, enfolding the body in it's soft, close embrace." to describe Edna's feelings about the ocean. The ocean "serves as a touchstone to the nature of her longings" according to Ross. When Edna is yelled at by Leonce for not taking care of her kids the way she should Edna listens to the water "like a mournful lullaby on the night". In Ross' research she finds out that Kate Chopin knew Walt Whitman's Poetry which could have led her readers to make a connection between Edna's feelings towards the ocean and Whitman's "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking." In this the sea carries a maternal voice "Like some old crone rocking the cradle, swathed in sweet garments, bending aside, / The sea whisper'd me." She moves on then to talk more about the sea and the psychological meaning of it. Her point being that water images in literature associate with the mother because water is a 'nourishing, receiving, comforting presence."

Ross then begins to talk about Edna's relationship with Adele and the constant reference of beauty and longing looks coming from Edna. Did Edna love Adele? Adele has a motherly aura to her and it shows in her relationship with her children and her husband. Edna's feelings for her show when Adele is having her baby when Edna leaves her lover for Adele's bedside. The trip to Grand Isle not only awakens her sensual feelings but also her intense need for a mother and Ross believes that those feelings come from Adele Ratignolle. Ross goes into great detail about her findings and she linked her point with a passage from the book that is all about Edna's feelings for Adele.

Ross wondered how much of Kate Chopin was in Edna because of her choice to make Edna a motherless character. Though Chopin had a mother and was very close to her the similarities didn't appear until after her husband died. Chopin a few years later was in a relationship with another man but then moved a way in the uncertainty of their relationship, as Edna did. Her mother died suddenly and left Chopin in complete sadness. This article completely changed my view on Edna. I loved her before and she is more of a friend to me now. I can see where she comes from and I can see where Virginia Ross got her points from and I am very impressed with all the information that was given to me through this article.

The Crazy Don't Know They're Crazy

The Yellow Wallpaper: narrator’s point of view and we see, in her eyes, the transformation she goes through. I am trying to process everything that happened in this story. The woman in the wall ended up being her, the “nervous” woman. Or at least that’s what I took from it. Her husband seemed to be a little out of touch with her; he was getting his information from the housekeeper which should not be the case, with him being a physician. It seemed to me like he just didn’t care to know how she truly was because if she was a priority to him she would be the case he worked on all through the night, not the ones in town. The females in this time period weren’t as important as the males and any female who is sick, is to be confined. It is her confinement that messed with her head. The only reason she went crazy was the confinement and lack of human interaction. Post-partum depression is one thing but her being separated from her husband and her baby is another. As I look back into the story I faced with many examples of John treating his wife, the narrator, like a child. She is “little girl” to him and she is a grown woman who just had a child. Her ability to express herself is left simply to a notebook and a pen and while I am very grateful to see inside her mind it also aggregates me because she believes that her husband truly loves her. It gave me the idea of what it’s like to go insane and I noticed that it’s when she thinks that she is improving that we know she isn’t. Her husband abandoning her did not help her growth, especially with her thinking that she was getting the right advice because he is a physician. Was his advice out of a pure heart or was it to sabotage her into insanity? He seemed like he was okay with getting rid of her and keeping her a secret.  

Ethan Frome

Carol J. Singley stated that "Readers seldom associate Edith Wharton either with Calvinism or modernism, but both figure prominently in her 1911 novel Ethan Frome." as her thesis in an essay about the true basis of Ethan Frome. After facing a tragic and depressing situation as a child she immersed herself in evangelistic sermons. Singley uses Whartons interest in Calvinism to prove the use of these ideas in Ethan Frome. Her use of light and dark imagery in Ethan Frome proves that she is not only using aspects of Calvinism but she is using the negative aspects rather than using the positive. This proves her spiritual distrust. It was hard for her to believe that the God of Calvinism was also a loving and forgiving God. Edith Wharton experienced guilt and emptiness and she faced her own redemption after having a midlife affair. In research it is proven that Puritanism included a stern life and "hostility toward self-expression." In Ethan Frome, Wharton used Calvinistic material that provided a sense of alienation on every character. Singley suggests that Ethan Frome is used to prove that Christian faith is no longer reasonable in the early twentieth-century. Which is why the characters in Ethan Frome demonstrated the lack of communication and muteness. She refutes "hallmarks of senitmental culture" that provides a sense of home and rewards self-sacrifice and forgiveness. Edith also uses modernistic techniques in Ethan Frome. The narrator in the beginning and the end is an example. The narrator acts as a distance between the story itself and the telling of it, he asks the reader to fill in the blanks as the story closes. Elizabeth Shepley Sergeant stated that "it was just Mrs. Wharton's own sense of the blankness and emptiness" and lead to a long and dark epilogue. The fact that Wharton decided to end the novel with the three characters suffering and in pain without anything having been resolved "conveys her modernist sense of uncertainty and indeterminacy." Nathaniel Hawthorn also provided a Calvanist point of view but he took the romantic route rather than the dark and serious proving that there is more of Edith Wharton's feelings in Ethan Frome than what meets the eye. I am in agreement with the points made in this article. Singley provides many strong points and convinces her readers of her research through intelligent facts and many examples.

Sonnet 129 - Reflection

The Dark Lady. The ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG rule in this poem, I believe, says a lot about this poem. If you look at the last word in every line they tell a story.

Shame - Blame

Lust - Trust

Straight - Bait

Had - Mad

So -Woe

Extreme - Dream

Well- Hell

Shame and blame come after the lust and the lack of trust. The speaker had her and continued to be mad when it didn't work out. Their relationship is an extremely elaborate dream when in reality it comes close to a personal hell for the speaker. There is so many emotional ups and downs and crazy feelings for the dark lady. The speaker never rests in his actions and he doesn't seem to feel better about his decision. He loves how she makes him feel but hates how she doesn't feel the same. He's chasing her and she's only giving in because it pleases her to use him. The alternate tenses say a lot about his alternate feelings.