BLOG #10

I feel that this class significantly helped me improve as a writer. In high school I was a good writer, but I never really put too much effort into my papers. Now that I am in college, I really want to succeed, especially since my parents pay so much and expect me to do well. When I wrote my papers for this class, I used the techniques we were taught in class to make each paper the best it could possibly be.

I will not be continuing this blog. It was a creative way to display our writing, but I feel like I do not have time to keep up a blog. The pros to having a blog is being able to express yourself in a unique way and being able to read other classmates point of views. The cons are that it is time consuming, and keeping up with the deadlines is challenging.  

BLOG #9 FARM IMPLEMENTS AND RUTABAGAS IN A LANDSCAPE

I found this poem very challenging to read. I do not really know anything about Popeye except that he is a very muscular sailor. I feel that Ashbery mixes technical form with cartoon characters because sestinas are usually more serious poems. He wanted this poem to be humorous and entertaining for his readers. Popeye was very popular back in the day, so people may have been more interested in reading this poem if they knew it was about someone they liked.  My favorite line from the poem was-

She grabbed Swee'pea. "I'm taking the brat to the country.”

"But you can't do that--he hasn't even finished his spinach,"

The reason I liked this line most is because I thought it was funny. This line is ironic because Popeye is a muscular man, and he has to finish his spinach before he does anything. I guess the reason he is so fit is because he eats spinach! 

BLOG #8 SONNET

What is the reason for having sisters?

To piss you off and get under your skin,

Or bother you like a cut or blister.

They make your tolerance level so thin.

Even though you sometimes may have trouble,

At the end of the day the love is there.

Your sisters will be there on the double,

Because they are the ones who truly care.

Through thick and thin and all that comes your way,

All the obstacles life may bring to you

When you need help most, sisters always stay.

Friends will leave and change, but sisters stay true.

As life flies by us, sisters stay in touch,

Always by your side, they love you so much!

BLOG #7

The Vietnam War occurred from 1959- 1975. When I think of the Vietnam War, I picture hippies, since that is what people were and acted like during that time period. The main slogans were Make Peace Not War and Make Love Not War. The similarity between the Vietnam War and the war in Iraq and Afghanistan is that not everyone was for the wars. For both wars, we thought our soldiers should be sent home from war a long time ago. I asked my Grandma Mary who is 91 how she felt about both wars, since she lived through them. She explained that the Vietnam War felt like it was never going to end, and so does the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also people argue that the United States should never have gotten into these wars in the first place. Our soldiers should be brought home to their families!

Blog #6

•             In today’s society we are able to break free from our cultural heritage. The reason we are able to do this is because everyone has the freedom to live life the way they want! Everyone has to follow laws, but for the most part you can do what you want to do. If you want to spend your life traveling the world, do it, no one is stopping you from living your dreams. If you want to be a homeless bum, that is your choice. Society tries to keep us in line by having laws that everyone must follow. If you break a law, there will be consequences, like prison. The reason we have laws is to keep everyone in order. If we did not have laws, people could just run around killing others, and the world would be chaotic.  

BLOG #5

I was completely shocked by the outcome of “The Love of My Life.” In the beginning Jeremy and China were both so in love with each other and seemed extremely happy together. Then China got pregnant and they did not want to deal with the situation they were in. They decided to ignore it by not telling anyone, and China refused to see any doctors. I could not believe how irresponsible they both acted and how they did not even care about their baby. I would never even think about throwing my baby in a dumpster to die! China and Jeremy are both equally to blame for their daughter’s death.

Situations like this happen everyday. We cannot believe that people are capable of doing such terrible things, especially to a newborn. I feel that events like this happen because people are careless and in situations like this, they panic. Jeremy and China did not realize at the time how serious the consequences would be if they were caught. Because of them an innocent baby was killed before it even got the chance to live.