"The Fall of the House of Usher"

The author of "The Fall of the House of Usher", Edgar Allan Poe, is known for being a dark writer. He has many short stories and poems that introduce gothic material. For instance, in "The Fall of the House of Usher", the main character's description is faint and frightening. The house which he lives in is described similar to the main character. They are both dark, scary,  and mysterious.
    Edgar Allan Poe uses the two windows of the house, and describes it as the eyes of a human. The door along with its other features is imagined as a frown. It seems as though the main character is in such a tragic mood that the house is giving away his emotions. Whatever is happening on the inside of the house, is happening on the outside of the house as well. Edgar also inputs fear into his story, which makes the story gothic as well. The narrator and the main character both wake up in the middle of a night, knowing that there is a dead body several floors beneath them. The scariness of his writings is what makes him an interesting yet gothic writer.

News Article #7

     The following information can be found on CNN. The news article has been published by Todd Wasserman. Twitter, a social networking website, is nowadays very popular among the U.S. People have the ability to share what they are doing in text, with a limit of 140 characters. Some view twitter as a waist of time, while others view it as a useful source. However, others view it as a form of cyber-bullying. 
     There was a case involving a woman named Alyce Zeoli, a Buddhist leader from Maryland. She had reported that a man by the name of William Lawrence Cassidy had been tweeting offensive and threatening messages about Zeoli. Cassidy had been put to jail because of this. However, she has now won the case. By saying that her words are considered free speech, according to the First Amendment, she should not be put in jail. Cassidy is most likely going to be released soon. 
   

"The Raven"

     "The Raven", written by Edgar Allan Poe, is overall a very dark, scary and gothic poem. Edgar indirectly introduces the reader about his lost love Lenore, whom he is remembering throughout the poem.  Gothic writings are generally mysterious, frightening and unexpected. In "The Raven", we come across Edgar's paranoia when he claims that he is hearing a knocking on his door. This leaves the reader in suspense, and thinking about who the person behind his door could be. However, as soon as Edgar opens the door, there is no one there. 

     Edgar is later trying to make excuses that the sound is continuing from the window. He describes it as the wind hitting the window. When he opens the window, he notices a strange raven, who he thinks can talk. He begins speaking with the raven, and all the raven answers  is "nevermore". Edgar becomes confused and starts analyzing the word "nevermore". He even starts thinking Lenore's scent is in the room.

News Article #7

     The following information can be found on CNN. The author of this article is the CNN Wire Staff. When reading this article, one can be disturbed by the thought of a father killing his own children. Even if they are his adopted children, it still seems wrong to many. Jorge Barahona, a 53 year old man, had injured and had tried killing his four adopted kids. Jorge had said that his children were inside a pest control truck which he was driving. The car was found parked on the side of I-95 near West Palm Beach, Florida. His ten year old daughter's dead body was found in the truck, along with her twin sister. His daughter was found covered in a plastic bag, and his son was found next to an open gas can, soaked in chemicals. Jorge claims that he had wanted to commit suicide by burning himself at the gas station. He had also claimed that his sons head was on his lap, and that is the reason why he is burnt. When his son was taken to the hospital, it was discovered that the boy had been covered in such intense chemicals, that he had caused the staff who had taken care of him to become ill as well. 
    The reporters are finding it hard to believe that Jorge feels remorse for what he has done. The fact that he claims to have wanting to commit suicide due to his acts does not have a high chance of being considered as believable. Because of what he has done, Jorge is most likely to be sentenced and has to pay for what he has done. When the children had been given a chance to speak out, they had reported that they have been abused several times by their father. The act of locking them in the restroom for long periods of time and covering them with tape is proof that Jorge is not surprised and does not feel as bad for what he has now done. 

The Scarlet Letter (Favorite Part)

     The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorn, is a book filled with several enticing scenes which one can call their "favorite". My favorite part of the book would probably be whenever Dimsdale carves a letter "A" on his chest. To me, this is a very interesting scene, because the reader does not expect someone to be taken over by guilt as much as Dimsdale had. At this point, it is shown that Dimsdale cannot handle hiding his secret, and because of that, he is struggling from pressure. 

     Chillingworth is also the cause of Dimsdale's suffering. Dimsdale thinks that Chillingworth is helping him with his illness, but instead, Chillingworth is keeping him alive to torture him even more. This shows that in reality, Chillingworth is a worse sinner than Dimsdale. I also found it interesting when Chillingworth figured out who Dimsdale really was, and what was going on. The thought of him staring at Hester with a smirk lets the reader know that he is sending a message to Hester, and that he was aware of everything. 

News Article #6

     The following information can be found on CNN. The article was written by Masoud Popalzai. An Afghan woman with the last name of Gulnaz had the choice of either staying home or being sentenced to jail after she had been raped by a family relative. The rapist, or the attacker, was her cousin's husband. Because she had not reported her attack immediately, she has to face the consequence of being sentenced in jail for twelve years. I had found this article interesting because it is a form of adultery, which we are also familiar with in the book The Scarlet Letter.
     Gulnaz now has to face the struggle of raising her child in jail. Another similarity between Gulnaz and Hester from The Scarlet Letter is that they both are being "shunned" from society. They are both being looked down upon. Gulnaz can choose if she would like to marry the "father" of the child so she will not go to jail, but she refuses to do so. The president's spokesman said, "If Gulnaz tells the justice minister today that she would marry the man and wouldn't have any problem after release or if she presents any other way that she could live without any risk to her life and her daughter's, then the Justice Ministry will issue a statement today announcing her release."