Hush An Irish Princess' Tale

       Donna Jo Napoli did a great job in writing this novel. An Irish Princess, Melkorka, was taken abroad in a slave ship by Vikings. She lives a life as a slave without saying one word. 

       I gained the moral of this story on the first couple of chapters. Melkorka looked at slaves different. She really didn't have no respect for them. Then, as she was escaping her arranged marriage, daddy's orders, a viking ship happened to sail by and return, surprisingly and captured her as a slave. However, them still not knowing she was a princess. As they say "what goes around, comes around." Karma hit Melkorka in this novel pretty hard, I mean yeah karma is everywhere, but I felt kind of bad knowing that at the end of the novel she still hasn't seen her family and remained a slave.

       As I read, I kept thinking: Melkorka really hasn't hard and karma isn't backing up yet.

       Then again, after months passed people do get used to their surroundings and things end better than they were when you were first held captive. I, literally, have no idea what it feels like to be captured, beaten, forced to do things I can never imagine, but mentally I have. 

       Things come and go and most of the time we all focus on the bad things that happen to us. I was going through an event in my life that I will never forget. I was held captive by depression against my own will. I remember it like it was just yesterday. Not only was I going through this but so was  my mother and my brother. As a family, its harder to see that when one person falls short, the head, then everyone else, as the body, collapses. It was like we had a storm coming in our lifes for months. Yes, there were times we went out and had our laughs, but it was for a few hours a week. It was like our body was immune to happiness and our flesh penetrated everything that would put a smile on our face.

       Months passed and we became used to the fact that changes happen everyday and just try to make the best of what we have. Maybe sooner or later things can go back, but as of right now, we just have to ride the wind and sail through the waves. Being in captive is not much more as a barrier than life. We just have to hope for the best and figure out the best solution to be rescued.

Assignment #7: Self-Value

Jealousy is simply and clearly the fear that you do not have value. Jealousy scans for evidence to prove the point - that others will be preferred and rewarded more than you. There is only one alternative - self-value. If you cannot love yourself, you will not believe that you are loved. You will always think it's a mistake or luck. Take your eyes off others and turn the scanner within. Find the seeds of your jealousy, clear the old voices and experiences. Put all the energy into building your personal and emotional security. Then you will be the one others envy, and you can remember the pain and reach out to them. (Jennifer James)

    

     The last person that will always love you is yourself. Without yourself you are nobody. Jennifer James summarizes the whole main idea. Value yourself and look inside your heart. Understand that there is no one else in this world that dresses like you, acts the way you do, shares the same thoughts as you do, finds interest in things that no one else does. You will find things humorous that no one else will think its funny. Jealousy is never the answer. You will never know what that person is going through. Yes, that girl may look skinny or have beautiful hair, but what if her mom is taking drugs or her father is an alcoholic and/or in jail. Would you be jealous then? Do not look for the things you do not have in others, but rather the things that person doesn't have that you do have. I think that is what Jennifer is trying to say when she says "Take your eyes off others and turn the scanner within."

I know there are a lot of people who become jealous real easily mainly because the person him or her may like does not like them but rather their best friend. People become envious and resent ever knowing them. I feel bad, but that is when you really start realizing who that person really is the cause of low self-esteem and self-value. When you value yourself, it gives way for more opportunities in life. Loving yourself opens doors to things you never actually dreamed of doing. There are going to be barriers coming across your path, step over them and continue on your way. How can one love someone, when you cannot love yourself?  

I was one of those jealous-type of girls. I did not understand why I was the way I was and the 6^th grade girl sitting next to me in class looked older, more beautiful, and happier than I did. I could not concentrate because my guy classmates would always pull up a chair and talk to her. I sat there and I felt like crying because I never got that attention not even from the nerds in the class. I felt outlawed and unwanted. I slowly began to not give a flip about life and just try to face the fact that we are two different people and I will never come close to becoming her. With that on my mind, I started to forget why I was mad, why I was envious and blinded by this girl. I started to realize that yes, I will never become close to becoming like her because I’m much more valuable and beautiful to be jealous over someone who used people. I started loving myself more when I realized I don’t have to be her to get attention. As a matter a fact, my eyes were opened when I found out that I don’t need attention to feel wonderful.

 Days passed and felt confident about myself. Then one day, the guy that every girl fell for, came up to me and gave me a note. This is what is said:

“Hey…um…I don’t know if you ever noticed me, but I want you to know I always keep an eye on you. I think you are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my life. Please give me a call.  J” 

Assignment #8 The Necklace

The Necklace is a short story by Guy de Maupassant’s short story, it includes three literary elements that are mainly dominant. Although the author uses all of the elements, he focuses on three of them. I like that he really focuses on using irony in his short story, there are so many examples of it. He actually uses irony in the first paragraph, he says “With no dowry, no prospects, no way of any kind of being met, understood, loved, and married by a man both prosperous and famous, she was finally married to a minor clerk in the Ministry of Education.” I know that when the author uses the words prosperous and famous, the reader would expect the husband to be much more then just a minor clerk.

A main character is Mathilde, from reading this story with my class I've learned that the author intends Mathilde to be cruel and demanding. The girl Mathilde was one of those pretty and charming young girls who sometimes are born, as if by a slip of fate, into a family of clerks. When they all receive the invitation to the dance, Mathilde wants everything to look wonderful even though they do not have the money. She even uses the money her husband has been saving for a long time to go hunting with his friends.

I'm not going to re-tell the story or give away what happens but I will continue to mention my favorite parts.
I personally really liked the way the author elaborated on the literary elements. I think that in this short story there was a little bit of karma as well and i know not too many people noticed it. He used irony in the perfect way to surprise the reader at just the right time and i know we brought that up in class.

The author also makes the reader think about their own life and if they are similar to Mathilde. That is why I enjoyed reading The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant so much and I wouldn't mind reading another short story from our books in class. This author is an older author and I like how he can make young people like us think and use or heads to figure out what he has written that is hidden.

Book report: Kiss by: Ted Dekker and Erin Healy

      

After Shauna McAllister, the senator's daughter, Landon, who is trying to make his way to the white house, was in a bizarre car accident, with her brother in the passenger's seat, she wakes up in coma.   There her father's best friend, whom she calls uncle, her stepmother, and her forgotten boyfriend stood in her presence waiting for her awakens. Six months after Shauna’s car accident she becomes aware that she suffers from memory loss.  She can not remember anything from those past 6 months, or remember anything that happened the day of the accident or even one month prior to the accident. Her stepmother blames Shauna for the accident, for her brother, who she found out he was severely brain damaged and for the bad reputation she is putting on her father. Her brother was her best friend and Landon’s prized possession.

Shauna returns to her childhood home, but stays at the guest house because her father, especially her stepmother, does not want Shauna near her brother. Her stepmother is a abusive toward Shauna and everytime Shauna tries to work things out with her father, the stepmother makes it worse. During all of this commotion between her family and herself, her forgotten, but loving boyfriend, Wayne Spade, stays by her side. Shauna tries to gain her memory back and figure out what happened the day of the accident. Little did she know that if she finds out, she would die.

Little by little, as Shauna starts investigating her accident, she also, tries to remember her boyfriend. When they spent one evening at a lake, Wayde and Shauna kissed. By just one kiss, Shauna blacked out and lived a memory of Wayne's. She, however, did not know she was stealing memories to replace hers and that the one person who she thought she could trust becomes her worst enemy. Shauna goes through a suspensful mission to find out what happened at the night of her accident and who is trying to kill her. A life and death threatening situations for the the memory she lost.

I just got to say that this has been by far my most favorite book that I read this year. I like mystery books, but I love it even more when the author becomes more descriptive with the action scenes of the book. There where so many different turning points that made you keep guessing what was going to happen next. I was proven wrong several times, but it really got me into the book. I felt like I was watching an HD movie right before my eyes. I recommend this book to anyone who likes action, romantic, and messed-up endings. This is more like a "solve-a-puzzle" kind of deal. Great book.  

Essay: Cultural Underpinnings of Literature

     

            Since I came to New Mexico, I recently started thinking about what was the foundation of this world. I have thought about a lot of other stuff and how it affects me, but never have I, literally, spent hours thinking about everything we have talked during English class. There’s so much to learn about the history of the earth, discover the undiscovered, explore the unexplored, uncover the truth of the of the questionable aspects of life; but do people open their eyes and see how amazing it will be to be the first to find something about the world that no one else seemed to care about? Obviously, we are lacking those curiosity minds that can make the human mind more intellectual.

            I, however, always thought about why things happened, but because of my lazy self, I don’t get up or stop what I’m doing to research about it. I’m glad that this English class talks about the things I want to learn about. Having these questions, these assignments as homework, actually gives me time to read about and research the topics.

            Now, what is the foundation of the earth? Never in my right mind did I suspect it to be religion. The start of it all in the western civilization was Judeo-Christianity. Jewish and Christianity is the mix of this religion, obviously, but it is, also, the start of the separation of beliefs. People started to realize and questioning themselves if that is what they believe too. It was the start of denominations, like Pentecostal, Jehovah-witnesses, Baptists, etc. People chose what they believed, so given these denominations, so were people divided. Whether people are African American, Caucasian, Mexicans or Natives, they are all divided into each religion.

            People, however, are discriminate towards people. Because people chose a different religion, a religion that they do not practice, they think their religion is wrong. They start hating and pushing them aside, even if their God tells them to love their neighbors. They become selfish and forget about the real reason of being a part of their religion. People have become blinded from their own judgment and by the way they think other people should live their life.

 Like for example, the KKK. Since the Civil War ended and the South lost, the black slaves were set free. The South were angered because, the black people, to them were like dogs or like pots and pans or tools; they were used to fix things and when they weren’t needed anymore they were sold or thrown away. Now that the white people have to see black people having the same rights as they do, they became vexed and that provoked them to start a clan; a religion that was propagated from governmental decisions, the Klu Klux Klan. Supposedly, this new religion is a Christian religion. The KKK’s main reason for creating this clan was to terrorize free black people for no reason, because they did not want to treat them as anything other than “white property.” When the slaves became free after the Civil war, it became “open season” for this clan. The KKK would lynch black people every weekend for their entertainment. They would call this a picnic. As crazy as it seems we think that picnics are just a family gathering held up for food and fun, but in reality, picnic means “pic a nigga.” They blame African Americans and illegal non-white immigrants for threatening white Americans.

            The United States of America has been described as the most religiously diverse country in the world because of “freedom of religion,” the first amendment. This is one of the reasons why everyone around the world comes to the United States, to express their religion, free from government interruptions.

            Another example is, since 9/11, the terrorist attack, white evangelical Christians and political conservatives hold more negative thoughts and views against Islamic people. The Muslim people, who hijacked the planes, believed that by obeying their God and killing the American citizens would be a way to get to heaven. This belief really shook the country. Now, an increasing number of Americans have come to a conclusion that Islam, as a religion, encourages violence.  

A lot of times it amazes me when something disastrous happens, everyone, including the government and religions, come together in order to help comfort people and find solutions to solve the situation; this is why people think that churches should express their political views in politics. Many people are not inadequate that presidents can summon their faith and rely on their religious belief to make political decisions. Like our fore fathers and other government officials based their decisions on biblical principles and prayers. Using religious beliefs the U.S constitution was born and it impacted and shaped politics of America.

The Enlightenment from the 17^th and 18^th century was a big turnaround for a lot of cultures. It brought the “new thinking about once unquestioned truths” and, eventually, new actions arose from the people. This movement is marked by the awakening of the human reasons, keen interest in science, religious tolerance, and the desire to construct governments that are free from tyrants. The Age of Enlightenment was also known as the age of reason, the turning point of the human curiosity mind. People started to establish the ways of living, how the planet works which is science. They wanted to develop a system of ethics, government and most importantly, religion. Because of the curiosity for the study of science, that brought a decline in the church. They questioned their religion. The Enlightenment had huge consequences waiting for the economy. The movement declined the church, increased the growth of secular humanism and political and economic deregulation.

Religion shapes our world. Religion is the base of this earth. The diversity of people in America makes this country a special place to be in. Appreciate how different everyone is because we can learn a lot about others and still see how much we have in common.

Race in America

“'Society' in America means all the honest, kindly-mannered, pleasant- voiced women, and all the good, brave, unassuming men, between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Each of these has a free pass in every city and village, 'good for this generation only,' and it depends on each to make use of this pass or not as it may happen to suit his or her fancy.”              

  -Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918), U.S. historian

            Henry Brooks Adams is a very wise man. He defined the meaning of America, figuratively, but clearly. America is a country with arms wide open to anyone who feels ostracized from their people.

America has the Statue of Liberty to symbolize what America stands for; to enlighten mankind the idea of freedom and equality that belongs to every single one of us. America’s promise “is the entrance into liberty and freedom from oppression.”

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

            This message is imprinted on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. This was presented to us by the people of France in honor of their friendship. Our country is a country of freedom. We give freedom to those who bore chains and were held captive against their own will or they were in confinement. Freedom is having political or national liberty, having the freedom to express yourself, your religion, and your opinions without government interference. This is made possible by the 1^st Amendment of the US Constitution.

            Now, think about it, what category does the Islamic faith fall into? Religion. We all have freedom, including the people who were not born here. They came here to express themselves, they came to practice their religion, and they came here to be free, to become an American. Shouldn’t we be honored to have people that want to live in a country that had the privilege to become the first free country? We are being looked-up to.

            There is no reason to be outraged against ALL Islamic people just for the faulty of a group of Islamic humans. They are not all the same. Understand that all people are different whether they come from the same religion or not. I am completely different from another Mexican girl or another Christian person. I absolutely hate bell peppers; does that mean the people who love them are going to hate me? No. What has our world come to?  Ask yourself, are you contributing? For one thing, it is right and wrong that the Islamic people decide to build a mosque at the site of Ground Zero.

            I made my point in saying that everyone has the right to express their religion in America, yet we put a barrier to those who hurt us. If, let’s say, a Christian church decides to build their building at Ground Zero, do you think that debates, protests, fiery comments, hate crimes, and all this controversy, given toward the Muslim’s decision, would be the same? I don’t. The foundation of America’s faith was built upon Christianity, so, because Christianity is a part of America, there is nothing wrong with having a church at OUR territory.

            Most Muslim people are from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and all those other Middle Eastern countries; we often assume that everyone who comes from the East are Muslim. That is not true, there are people from the Middle Eastern who maybe Christians, Buddhists or Jews, but they are, also, African Americans, Caucasians, Mexicans and Asians that practice the Islamic faith. However, no one thinks about that, until the black man becomes President, right?  So what if Obama is Muslim, he had nothing to do with the crashing of the plane in 9/11. He was just an AMERICAN CITIZEN living his life with his family in Chicago, Illinois just like the rest of us. He is our President. We need to respect those in higher authority, those who have our country at the palm of their hands; show respect to those who deserve it, show it to those who don’t and to those who are willing to sacrifice. That’s the best advice my mom has ever given me.   

            For example, Terry Jones, a Florida Christian pastor who decides that burning the Quran is the right thing to do the day of 9/11. Obviously, this pastor is moving by his own judgment, but who am I to judge? I just know that he should not claim that, that is what God will do; even those who are not all religious know that God would not do that. I do, however, respect his opinion. I respect him. Although, I do not agree what he believes is right, I, still, will listen to what he has to say. I will allow myself to be open-minded to those who believe in something different than I do. I will allow them the chance to change my mind, if I believe it is worth changing.  

            Like the topic of immigration. I strongly agree with the fact that, immigrants should be allowed to stay in America because they have more opportunities here and they want to better themselves for the good of their family. They made a decision that they want to change their lives around and take the jobs no one else will take just to keep their family and life together. However, I know I need to be open-minded and take in consideration the opinions that oppose the idea of immigration which are interesting rebuttals to my point of view. Immigrants’ coming to the United States means more opportunities for terrorists, drug dealers and other criminals to enter the country. We are trying to be a well-disciplined country. A country that knows how to behave and know what is right from wrong. Having more crimes present in America will not help our goal.

                                   Just know racism is not the answer.

http://www.lightomega.org/worldwatch/StatueofLiberty.html

Essay: I Dream A World



My fantasy world, just like Langston Hughes, is a world with no sorrow, no pain, no violence or fear. I fantasize of a planet that every single strain of grass is green; the birds are always flying and singing, people are laughing and playing and the world turns calmly and peacefully. I dream of a world were nothing matters to anyone, but the uniqueness of a person and how just them being here can change the world. Unique: existing as the only one; the embodiment of unique characters or the only specimen of a given kind; meaning no one is exactly alike. My fantasy world has no duplicates; everyone is themselves, no one tries to become someone else and "will share the bounties of the earth." The sun will shine and everyone has extravagant smiles on their faces "and joy, like a pearl,
attends the needs of all mankind."

Everyone participates in creating a world worth living...

As of right here, right now, I can't go through a day without stress, anger or any other emotion rather than happiness. This world is corrupt and outrageous. The human beings walking along the dirt paths and streets, makes the world become what it is today...wretched and ridiculous. Just by one bad decision one person makes, everyone else has to suffer and pay the same consequences. What is the most common fault I see in society? The most common fault is that there are people who have the nerve to judge others. Who are they that God has given them the permission to judge over all humans? He who has not sinned can cast the first stone. NO ONE IS PERFECT, so who will be the first to cast that first stone? Not you and definitely not me. Everyone has made mistakes more than 10 times. Everyone has sinned. So with that in mind, who is foolish enough to judge a human that he himself is guilty of the same act? It's never fair...

Everything that I knew was once wrong, it is now being known as the right thing, the okay thing today. I can't watch TV without hearing about a dirty, psychotic man raping a 4 year child that is innocent and has no say whether she has a choice or not or a 16 year old teenager died in a drive-by because he just happens to be there, even though he had nothing to do with it whatsoever. He had his whole life ahead of him. He was a straight "A" student and got a scholarship for his athletic ability. All of this chaos seems like it has become a daily routine. It's unacceptable. America is not a free country as she claims to be. It seems as if everyone has forgotten the true meaning of what it means to be an American.

Do you want to know an interesting fact that I learned awhile back? Another name for humans is Homo sapiens. Looking at this title for mankind, makes me laugh. It’s such a funny word, but it sounds ugly at the same time. I mean how would I like to be called a homo sapien? As I took Latin classes my freshman and sophomore year, I learned the true meaning of what Homo sapiens means. The word homo comes from the Latin language meaning man and the word sapiens, also, comes from the Latin language word meaning wise. In other words, Homo sapiens mean wise men. To me, that’s an honor. I mean, to be given a title of being wise is more than I could ask for. Now think about it, does all humankind deserve to be called wise men? Are you contributing in the faults of this world by your actions?