VoiceThread

If you are looking for my VoiceThread and/or adopted poet poem it is on the Adopted Poet: W.H. Auden page

Fallen

Author's Note: Here is post I decided to do based off of Coldplay's Viva La Vida. There are a lot references back to the song in this seeing as I was listening to it as I wrote this. I think the idea of eternal damnation and the way the person whom the song talks about is at peace with it is fascinating and I tried to get that at the end of this piece. 

Smooth road is stretched before me, its flawless perfection is something seemingly impossible but yet here it is. Golden glimmers catch the light of a bright sun above, the road seems to float among perfect white and fluffy clouds stark against the deep blue background. My hands stay in my pockets to shield myself from whatever might come, my back is hunched against an unknown force curling protectively around my body. Each step is a step towards the end of this road, each step brings back memories as I draw closer to the Gates.

I remember my younger days, when I ruled all, everything was at my beck and call. The sense of power and glory was gratifying whenever I heard my people yelling shouts of praise "Long live the King!" they used to cry. I was feared by all, going into battle I relished the feeling of the terror I could sense from my enemies. All Kings fall at one point, most of the time it is death, but for me it was not so. It was like a big mind game to be king, no one was honest and their words meant nothing their only purpose was to twist the thoughts running through my head, but this was when I ruled the world.

I remember the horrified looks I received after the Incident, none could believe what I had done, what I had become especially me. My world fell apart the one so strong castle I had crumbled into sand, I had just opened the door to Life when with one small action it was closed to me. Slowly I crawled my way from King to the lowest form of life possible, my hands worked and tended, took care of things I used to sweep past in all of my arrogance. Noticing not the people who did what I do know.

My sleeping place was right near the Cathedral, and that last cold night that seems far off but was not so long ago, I heard the music pouring out from the doors. Beautiful it was, bell rang amongst the choir as they sang, I can imagine I can hear it right now, on this golden road that gives the illusion of being steady but I can fell the faint swaying. The music that I thought was just in my head is growing louder with each step and look up from my hunched gait, the music that is flowing out of the gates is a thousand times more beautiful than anything that has ever met my ears. At the front of tall and elegant gates stands a man, he seems to be waiting for me, in fact I know he is. This is Saint Peter. I reach him in a state far from apprehension in fact it is more like peace. I know what my verdict will be I do not know how, but I know. Saint Peter looks upon me, nodding his head once to confirm that I was indeed right.

Truman Show Responses

Fear of Life

Author's Note: Here is my first response to The Truman Show. I found this kind of hard to respond to a movie, I had no trouble finding a topic, but the fact that I had to do it all on memory made it kind of difficult. Also when responding to a novel the book is right there and there is text evidence that you can use to support what you want to say, but you have none of that when responding to a movie. 

Truman is a man who lives in a television show, he does not know that his life is fake that is not really a life at all. Everything is controlled by the producers and all the people around him are actors put there for his benefit. It is not real, just a synthesizer of life that takes emotion away. In the scene where Truman is too scared to go on a boat ride on the ocean the ocean represents life and portrays how fear keeps people life.

The ocean can be rough and cruel, but also kind and gentle, just like life, when you are out in the ocean there can be a sense of being completely alone and that is what you basically are in life. Life is spending your time doing things that matter to you and making a difference to others, it is doing something that has real meaning, not going through the motions day after day like you are a mindless robot. In one scene Truman has to go on a boat, but chickens out because he is afraid of being on the ocean. This is Truman showing that he is scared of life, although it intrigues him it also scares him and his fear is part of what is keeping him from life.

A couple of scenes later is revealed that Truman is scared of the ocean because one day while boating with his father his father wanted to go back to shore, because he thought it looked like it was going to storm, but Truman begged and eventually convinced his dad to stay out longer. A storm ended up hitting just like his father had predicted, but his father ended up dying to Truman. As a boy when he wanted to stay out on the ocean, that is like Truman loved life, but after he lost his father in it he no longer liked it instead he feared it. His father being lost was mostly Truman's fault because he was the one who did not listen to his father, Truman feels guilty for his father's death. The guilt is not a huge factor in the fact that Truman is scared of life, but it plays a small part since it is his fault that the dad was lost the guilt could add to the fear because he might be like "what if I do this to someone else".

Truman is a man living a fake life and when offered the chance at  real one he is too scared to take up the offer.  He used to be someone who loved life, but the losses he suffered and the guilt all took their toll on him turning him into to someone who is afraid of life. Fear is something that can be good in small amounts, but when it keeps you from something such as life it is anything but good.

The Storm

Author's Note: Here is my second response to the Truman Show, it is like a follow up to the first one. That one was about Truman being afraid of life and this one is about what Truman encounters in life. I have no idea where the rebirth thing came from in the last sentence, I kind of read it over and was like "I didn't even realize I wrote that!", maybe I should delete, but I thought it sounded kind of cool even if it was random.

Troubles and sorrows swirled around him in one big over whelming wave, it surged upon him crashing against his skin and then ebbing away. Again it rose to attack him knocking his body against the hard edge of the lifeboat, the only thing that is keeping him from the torrent below.  A storm upon the water is what Truman experiences, the seemingly endless fight just for his life is his reality. In the second half of the Truman show, Truman takes a chance, leaping into life and experiencing the horrible storms and the quiet peace that comes after.

When the people running the show find Truman on the ocean and no way of getting to him they set storms upon him in hopes he will go back on his own or die. There is one man in particular, actually the creator of the show who is trying to make the storm big enough so that is kills Truman.  Just as the water represents life, the storm represents troubles within life, such as loss and betrayal. From each of those troubles or storms in life they will calm to a stronger you or a dead you, and there are those who cause the storms that would like to see the latter. The creator of he show is one of those people, constantly raining other's parades. He could also be compared to Satan who works against you constantly trying to stray you from the path of Life. If you can survive the storm though there is always a clear break at the end.

As Truman battles the last part of the storm, he falters and is plunged into the depths of the sea, he is believed to be dead but manages to hang and climb back into the boat. The creator finally gives the orders to stop assuming that Truman is dead, and when it is revealed he is alive the creator guy doesn't do anything. After the storm the cloud cover broke, and a beautiful blue sky was revealed which meant that Truman made it through that especially hard time in life and came out alive and stronger.  The calm sea that came after the storm is the quiet peace and relief after a particular hard time.

Once fearful of life Truman ended up jumping straight into it and surviving through a rough part to make it to the other side. The horrible storm took its toll, it took things from you, but you survived and it ultimately gave you strength. The light makes it over the horizon, rising to warm your weakened body. The morning comes after a rough night and you breath a sigh of relief, because you made, because you are reborn.

 

 

Response to Public Schools: Anti-Discrimination Against Religion or Anti-Religous

Author's Note: On Abby's blog there is a post titles "Anti-Discrimination Against Religion or Anti-Religious", and I was going to leave a comment on there, but the comment got to long so I am making it a response post. This piece was inspired by Abby, and I would suggest reading her post before reading this.

In Abby's post she talked about how school seems like it is turning anti-religious, instead of anti-discrimination. She talked about how different sites where blocked when she searched a certain religion on Google, and also about how we should learn about different religions. I almost completely agree, with her.

Starting with those sites being blocked, a lot of those sites where forums and school blocks them just because of that and not because of any religious reasons. I don't necessarily agree with them blocking off some forums, but that is not the point of this post. 

When Abby said that we should learn more about other religions, I agreed with her. We learned a little about this stuff in sixth grade, but it was all historical and didn't say anything about customs. Besides it was so boring I almost dropped dead. School should teach us more about different religions, but I don't really think that will ever happen.

So on to the third and last point, about school discriminating against different religions, I don't necessarily believe that is true. I believe that school wants us to believe in one thing that they decide on. I feel that school encourages us not to have a religion, or to believe in evolution as they teach evolution as a fact (biology class in high school). It seems to me that school and society does not want religion, because it might "offend" someone, but why should it offend someone? It is after all my beliefs not theirs.

Solitary

Author's Note: Well me and my sister just finished a National Geographic video on solitary confinement in this one prison in the U.S. What we saw in the video was pretty bad, they didn't even treat the prisoners as if they where people. Every moment they where out of their cell they where in chains, and the wardens made the prisoners strip down quite often, also when one of the people was freed, to drive him out they literally put him in a metal cage.The lady in charge of the facility was saying that they are trying to discipline the prisoners and that solitary confinement is like when parents put there kids in time out, to give them time to think, she seems to think that this is helping when in reality it is not. One prisoner said that after he was let out he was in a store and thought someone was following him so he attacked him, another guy said that he has this hate that he has never had before, this need to hurt things that wasn't there ten years ago. After this they had this study where four people wrote about a time they felt connected and 4 others wrote about a time they felt lonely, they then gave these people cookies, and the ones who where made to feel lonely couldn't control their impulses and ate more cookies. I honestly think that that lady needs to try solitary confinement, then tell me how effective it is. So in this post I kind of meshed everything that the different prisoners said about solitary confinement and what happens to them into one journal entryish, fiction piece.

White bed shoved against a white narrow wall, fluorescent lights sting my eyes as I walk. Back and forth, back and forth, across the worn cement where another has gone back and forth, back and forth.Alone. Sometimes it feels like the walls are closing in on me, tiny barriers between me and the world, keeping me locked inside, squeezing my soul so it has no place to go except where it is now. Where it is being pressed and squeezed until its shattered pieces liter the floor. I wish someone would come and beat me, it would be better than nothing, it would be like heaven just to feel again, to be in the presence of another human being. The tiny strip of a window in the corner of the room casts a ray of light on the floor, trying to trick me into believing that there is hope for a better life, but there isn't. There won't ever be, even if I get out of this place I know I will go crazy. I already am crazy, I have barely any memory. The wind on my face is but a ghost quickly fading into the past, sunlight on my back is but a phantom surging into the dark spaces of my brain. Loneliness overwhelms, but so does hate, an uncontrollable rage seethes beneath my surface waiting to unleash its self upon my wardens. All that is left in my world is nothing, everything is nothing. I lay down on the bed looking for some comfort, Squinting my eyes shut to the white bright, blackness overwhelms and soon I am sucked into a real unreality, people's faces float in front of me, their screams and hurt filled faces, a fire burns bright and loud bangs echo in my head. I wake with a start drenched in sweat and look down to see my filthy blood covered hands. I wish I could forgive myself, but how can I do that when I don't even know what to forgive?So I start screaming, like an animal in a cage, because after all that is all that I am.

Author's Note: I would like to know what you guys think about solitary confinement, and if you know anything good about it I would really like you to post it on a comment, because the video was kind of one sided.

Wood Gatherer

 Authors Note: After being at the Art Museum I didn't really know what to write about, but then I remembered this painting called the Wood Gatherer. In it there is an old man carrying a pile of sticks he looks so sad. He is surrounded by trees and flowers and ahead of him is a carefree child.

Sore back and aching legs, each step feels like its own harsh journey. The weight on my back is unbearable, and the wood is a small part of the huge weight upon me. How I would do anything to be rid of this, this weight of sorrow, guilt, past. Ahead of me the child dances through wild flowers, laughing at their tickling sensation, the happiness across her face makes me wistful. I think to myself There was  time when I was like that, but I can't remember, this life has taken everything and anything happy. The girl, my granddaughter has such joy on her face, her carefree skip makes her look like she is floating above the unworthy ground. Her joyous face turns to me and I see her looking into my eyes, I try to smile back, but can't. My sad expression troubles her, but only for a moment, then she is off again racing a pair of butterflies. Her life so full and solid now will not be for long, life is like a rock on a seashore, constantly being washed over by waves, until finally its tiny pieces float through vicious waves. Her soul makes her fly above clouds in golden sunshine, my soul in the dark and cold barely drags itself across the dirt. Nothing can be felt, because while her's sings the songs of birds mine lies in the cold coffin dead.

The Issue WithTwilight

Author's Note: I wrote this when I was supposed to be doing a social studies project but got bored, so after reading a my life is average post about someone finding a website about "How Twilight is Destroying America and Harming our Nation's Youth"  I decided to check it out, and from there I decided to write a post about it. I tried not to go to an angry place, and I don't think I did, but if I did I'm sorry.

Many teens especially girls are obsessed with two things Justin Bieber and Twilight, but honestly just thinking about Justin Bieber gives me a headache. Twilight is another matter all together, it has won many awards, and has often been compared to the Harry Potter series. This saga has engulfed many readers dazzling them and leaving them thirsty for more. For me personally Twilight has no appeal, I have read the books but didn't really like them because of the way the author portrayed many things.

The first thing that caught my attention in this series is the characters, Bella in particular. She is a girl who claims to not be attractive, but yet when she goes to her new school the boys are falling over her. When she meets Edward she falls in love with him within days, she is not even creeped out about the fact that he STALKS her and watches her while she sleeps. When they are finally together she isolates her self from family and friends to please him. What's more is Bella has no character, by the end of the series I couldn't tell you what her favorite color was. The author really doesn't give her any character traits other than her obsession with Edward, she is not a happy or sad character, to me she seems kind of dead. Edward on the other hand is just creepy, in mythology vampires are portrayed as almost demon possessed and to make a romance story out of them is weird. Even the Devil has been used as a synonym for Vampire, also the fact that a vampire consumes blood is symbolism for holiness and life.

The second aspect of Twilight that creeps me out is the relationship between Bella and Edward. In the beginning of the first book the only reason Edward will have anything to do with Bella is the fact that he can't read her mind and he wants to drink her blood.  This particular relationship resembles an abusive relationship because Bella withdraws herself from family and friends in order to keep Edward's secret. She also holds back things, so that she will not upset him. “I worried that it would provoke the strange anger that flared whenever I slipped and revealed too clearly how obsessed I was.” Bella also tries to do impossible things so as not to upset Edward “my blood was racing and I wished I could slow it, sensing that this must make everything so much more difficult” Edward does half of the things on the domestic violence abuse signs list put out by the National Domestic Violence Hotline.  A major one is the fact that he in New Moon he leaves her in the middle of a forest that she doesn't know, in addition he leaves her heart broken and not exactly in her right mind. As I stated before Edward controls whom she does and doesn't see, especially when it comes to certain friends of hers.

The third part in the book that really bugs me is the way Bella portrays the female character. She is very weak, and doesn't really seem to think things through, when she thinks her mother is in danger she rushes off to save her without even considering the fact that it could be a trick.  Also Bella doesn't even try to get a hold of Phil to see if her mother really went home. Another thing that she does is she doesn't tell any of the vampires and goes to get her mother alone, even though the vampires are far more powerful and capable than her.  The fact that Bella so easily falls in love with Edward, and then so easily falls into depression after he is gone shows that it was never really love, but obsession. She cannot get over Edward and continues to obsess over him despite the fact that he is gone, and she will be better off without him.

To be honest I agree with Steven King who said this when comparing Harry Potter and Twilight "The real difference between J.K. Rowling and Meyer is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephanie Meyer can't write worth a darn. She's not very good" To me Twilight is disturbing, and while I can understand the appeal of forbidden romance to some people it has no appeal to me.