"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." 

Scarlet Letter

     The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, has several examples from the Romantic Era. For instance, " The rust on the ponderous iron-work of its oaken door looked more antique than any thing else in the new world. Like all that pertains to crime, it seemed never to have known a youthful era" (Hawthorne 41).  The prison door is grayish black, has spikes, and is described as old and ugly. It is expected that such a door would portray the same characteristics as the person behind the prison doors.
      "The penalty thereof is death. But, in their great mercy and tenderness of heart, they have doomed Mistress Prynne to stand only a space of three hours on the platform of the pillory, and ten and thereafter, for the remainder of her natural life, to wear a mark of shame upon her bosom" (Hawthorne 54). Hester had been punished for her sin and was forced to stand on the platform for several hours in front of an audience. She also had to wear a Gothic scarlet letter "A" on her bosom. This portrays the Romantic Era and its darkness due to the punishment of having to be stared at.

News Article #5

     The disturbing news I came across can be found on CNN. It is usually the "beginning" of a woman's life when she finally gives birth to a child after all those months of pain and misery. In this news article however, it is shown how inhumane a person can be towards a newborn. The article, written by the CNN Wire Staff, provides an explanation of the horrific event that took place. A 25 year old woman named Lindsey Brooke Lowe secretly gave birth to male twins in her own bathroom. Her family was not aware of her pregnancy. She claims that she was trying to "calm the babies down" by putting her hand on both of their mouths. After the death of the two babies, she had placed them in a laundry basket next to her bed, with a blanket covering their dead bodies.
    Lowe's father had called the police stating that there was a dead infant in their daughter's bedroom. They had later discovered that there was another dead infant, which was the twin. It is assumed that Lowe has confessed what she has done. She is now put under suicide watch due to the chronic depression she is in. Lowe is sentenced for lifetime jail and she can only be freed with a $250,000 fee. 

"Letter from Birmingham City Jail"

     Martin Luther King has written the "Letter from Birmingham City Jail" on April 16, 1963, when he was arrested in Birmingham Jail. King had been arrested for speaking his thoughts aloud. He believed in civil rights, freedom, and equality. The letter, he had most probably thought of being discovered, was originally handwritten by King himself. Since he had no other paper with him in jail, he had used the margins of the newspaper to write down his thoughts, his response to the newspaper article. The letter was a way for King to vent and express his feelings and emotions toward the writers of the newspaper article.
     In the letter, King had expressed his words with encouragement and emotion. His intention of this letter was to inform, persuade and explain about the situations in Birmingham, including other towns. He had presented the immortality of most towns such as Birmingham. There was vast amount of police brutatlity and segregation that was not acceptable in his and majority of the people's nature. King will always be remembered as a man who had fought for his right without intention of a fight.

News Article #4

     The following information can be found on CNN. It is not news to hear about people hiding drugs such as cocaine. Those who are not caught are probably experts, while others are just not fit for the crime. An eighteen year old woman named Ayesha Niles, has been caught hiding cocaine in cake mix boxes. There had been twenty-four cake mix boxes found inside her luggage. A man named Ed Griffith had found it very unusual for a woman to carry such a large amount of boxes in her luggage. The boxes were discovered during the time she was getting a luggage check at the airport in order to go to London.
     Niles had claimed that she was not aware of the boxes in her luggage, but clearly she was lying. The boxes in total were full of 29.30 pounds of powder cocaine. In London, the total amount of cocaine in her luggage was about $650,000. Niles has been arrested for the trafficking of cocaine and transporting substances that are not allowed.

Speech Project

     The past few weeks we have been doing presentations based on famous speeches. Overall our class did a great job on elaborating these speeches. They all seemed interesting to me, but I will specifically talk about the speech about women's rights. This speech has a slight relation with my human rights speech, which is why I am choosing to talk about it. Gareen and Patil did a great job explaining and giving out their opinions during their presentation.
     Till this day, there are strong feminists who are very serious about defending women's rights. If Hilarie Clinton had not given her speech, and if we did not have a female as brave as her to state her opinions about women's rights, women today would be considered low class while men would be known for being in a higher state. Equality is very important whether it is for sex, race, color, and so on. Nowadays the condition of equal rights is better than it was before.

News Article #3

     The following information can be found on CNN. The information about the event was posted by Beth Karas. A boy who had killed his family at the age of fourteen, has now been released from jail. Cody Posey, had shot his family on a ranch in Mexico owned by a man named Sam Donaldson. Cody had killed his father Paul Posey, his stepmother Tyrone Posey, his stepsister Mairlea Schmid, and had buried their dead bodies all by himself. It was decided that once Cody turns 21, he will be released from juvenile jail. His uncle Carl Clees had said that there is no problem with Cody being released because he has a bright future ahead of him.
     When Cody was first arrested in the eight grade, he had claimed that his killing was due to psychological issues. He had proclaimed that the night before he had killed his family, his father and stepmother had locked him in a room, and had tried to force him to have intercourse with his stepmother. Since he had refused, his father had burned him. Afterwards his father had slapped him while he was doing his chores. Cody had felt bothered and disturbed, causing him to kill his whole family. He had said that everything would be better if that man, referring to his father, was gone for good.

Nobody's Perfect

     As we have read in Benjamin Franklin's autobiography, he had tried to schedule a list of virtues he wanted to complete. His intention was to reach moral perfection. The idea of following these virtues was to help him as a guidance to perfection. Though he was almost achieving all of his goals, he had difficulty multitasking. This can give the reader an idea that it is okay to not be perfect. We all have some kind of flaw that makes us what we call unique.
     My five virtues for this week might be difficult to follow, but with commitment, they can be accomplished. The five virtues are called, mattress appreciation, to astray from procrastination, anti-stress, and open mouth. Mattress appreciation is pretty easy to figure out. More sleep is needed in my schedule. I tend to procrastinate, so I am hoping to astray from doing so this week. Stress is one of the big issues. I am pretty laid-back, I just need to not procrastinate to eliminate this problem. The last virtue would be open mouth. This means I need to not be afraid to speak whats on my mind. Help.

"Straw into Gold"

     "Straw into Gold" is a partial autobiography written by Sandra Cisneros. Her autobiography introduces us to her life. Sandra's intention is to show the success she has reached to whoever chooses to read her autobiography. Sandra, likewise Benjamin Franklin, has traveled many places. Her travels have had a big influence towards her narratives. She is also very influenced by her family. From her dad, she has inherited her emotions and love of wandering. From her mom, she has inherited her love of books, and her intelligence.
     Sandra did not have a lot of money because she was on an education grant. As she states in her autobiography, she was asked to make corn tortillas, but she did not know how to, even though she was a Mexican. She had felt embarrassed for not knowing how, and was overthinking about making it perfect. Even though they did not turn out perfect, she was glad that she had at least made it all by herself. Sandra also compares this to an important exam she had to take. Even though she was stressing about it, thinking it was impossible, in the end, everything turned out alright.

"The Autobiography"

     "The Autobiography", which obviously is an autobiography, was written by Benjamin Franklin himself. The provided information introduces us of a seventeen-year-old Benjamin during 1723. Whoever has a chance to read his words will be informed about his life. Franklin's autobiography focuses on his duty to accomplish and reach moral perfection. Everyone has their own priorities and opinions of perfection. By reading this autobiography, one will get to understand Benjamin Franklin's ideas of moral perfection. He presents his thoughts in an informative, descriptive, and practical manner. 

     In his autobiography, he thoroughly explains each idea of moral perfection. Some examples would be silence, sincerity, frugality, cleanliness, tranquility, and so on. Silence is my favorite simply because of my enjoyment of anything that is quiet and peaceful. Sometimes it can be bothersome to hear nonsense that is useful for absolutely nothing. The quote "think before you speak", also fits perfectly in this category. Benjamin Franklin presents his daily schedule, in which helps him to be notified of his mistakes in order to become morally perfect. However, we learn that it can be a difficult task to accomplish due to his failure of multitasking. 

Amo l'Italia

     There are many places in this world which one considers spectacular. However, Italy should be recognized as the best location to visit. For starters, Italy is best known for its beauty, and of course, for its amazingly delicious foods. Who would not like to witness such beautiful sights? More importantly, who would reject such an experience to have the ability to consume foods that leave you impatient in wanting more after every bite? I have not visited Italy, but from the information and opinions I have received, the thought of the country makes me want to pack my bags and leave America as soon as possible.
     People who have lived in one specific area for several years tend to get tired of seeing the same faces and places with every sunrise. If those people do not already live in Italy, my suggestion would be to give Italy a chance, without having any doubts. A good way to catch attention to Italy would be by introducing their famous macarons. Macarons, in my context, are these outrageously delicious desserts that one simply cannot resist. The look of this dessert already puts a person in consideration of tasting the remarkable treat. So, having said that, Italy is simply amazing, Italy is simply perfection. Italy, as agreed with most, is one of the best countries to visit--the best country to visit.

"Speech in the Convention"

     A popular speech called "Speech in the Convention", was written and orally performed by Benjamin Franklin. His speech took place in the Constitutional Convention during the year of 1787. It is said that his performance was rather calm and reasonable. The reason why he gave this speech was to persuade his audience. His audience present during his speech were the colonial representatives. However, his audience can also be referred to as the reader. By giving a persuasive speech, one needs to grab the audience's attention, and Benjamin Franklin accomplished this factor well.

     In his speech, Benjamin Franklin presents his thoughts about the Constitution to his audience. From his experiences, the older a person grows, the more they start questioning people. He had mentioned how one needs to do things because it is right, and not let everything but money become a blur. Metaphorically, he compares the people to instruments, by telling us that we, "the instruments", have the ability to echo his information. In order to do so correctly, one must follow the laws. He also had the idea of unity, and believed that it would be a major factor which can pass the Constitution. By using rhetorical questions, he gained attention from the colonial representatives, and opened up doors for the audience to think of his spoken thoughts. 

My Favorite Ice Cream Flavor

     There are many reasons why ice cream can brighten up almost anyone's day. By just looking at such an awesome dessert, it is impossible to resist this wonderful treat. Yes, it may contain sugars and other unhealthy ingredients, but it will not affect one dramatically. Unless one tends to eat more than the usual, then there would be two paths to take. Either one can exercise to burn fat gained from what they have eaten, or one can simply continue enjoying their ice cream, like most of us do. If one is lucky to have a fast metabolism, and it is difficult for them to gain weight, then they are simply lucky to intake all the ice cream they wish, without having to worry much. Who would not wish to have such an ability? To be able to consume all the ice cream without gaining fat--without gaining fat, is simply a joyous dream that some can live through. 

     There are various flavors of ice cream which can be identified as my favorite. The most popular favorites overall are vanilla, chocolate, butter pecan, strawberry, and so on. They all sound great to my ears, and of course, taste even better. Personally, my favorite flavor of ice cream would be caramel. It is also fun pronouncing the name of this particular flavor with different accents. This is how this flavor makes it even more joyous. Who does not want a fulfillment of happiness while enjoying such a mouth-watering luxury? My mind says "I do!", and so should everyone else's. Another reason why this flavor is satisfying? Caramel ice cream can be advanced with a topping of Hershey's Syrup. How does that sound? According to my assumptions, we are on the same page. 

"Mission Update"

The short story that had made me even more interested about the galaxy was "Mission Update". The author of this story is Steven Squyers. It has been written during 2006, on Mars. Steven Squyers, an astronaut, thought of a fascinating way to interest and inform people throughout the web. He had landed on Mars with the crater Oppurtunity. Throughout the story, the reader can sense the excitement that Steven had experienced. By expressing one's feelings through writing, it can help others fit themselves in the author's shoes. This is also a way to astray the reader from boredom. 

Steven Squyres wrote all his information on a blog from space. This by itself can help catch the reader's attention. By doing the unusual, people become more curious about the topic one is talking about. His intention in this case, is to provide this information with the world, since it is displayed on the internet. By writing about personal experiences about Mars, readers may have the urge to do more research about Mars and the galaxy overall. His blog entry was written in chronological order, which makes one want to know what happens next. Throughout the blog entry, Squyers kept his tone exciting and amusing. Overall, this story made me want to do more research about the galaxy.

News Article #2

"Father accused of throwing son overboard charged with child abuse" had caught my attention on the Los Angeles Times website. The creator of this article is Paloma Esquivel. A father who had gone on a trip with his son and his girlfriend was experiencing difficulties. It is said that he was having a big argument with his girlfriend on the harbor cruise. His seven year old son, had ran after his father, and was melodramatically cyring. His father had been drunk, therefore he was not thinking straight. His anger lead to threatening his seven year old son. If his son were to not shut up, he would throw him overboard.
Eventually, the father had slapped his son repeatedly, and had thrown him overboard. Thankfully, there was a boat moving towards the boy, who had saved him from drowning. The father had later jumped to sea to go after his son, but the boat had already saved him. The boat could have caused physical damage to the boy, if he were to be run over. Sloan Steven Briles, the 35 year old father from Irvine, has been arrested by the Orange County Sheriff's Department. He had been dragged from the cruise ship due to the refusal of getting off on his own. Later on, Briles explained that there was nothing serious about the situation that had taken place. In his words, Briles and his son were just "having fun". He also denied his physical abuse towards his son.

"A Journey Through Texas"

"A Journey Through Texas" is a short story written by Cabeza de Vaca, which takes place in Texas during 1528. The purpose of his creation was to earn money from the king by submitting this story, in order to have the ability to explore. The reader is informed about the narrator's thoughts and emotions, as this story is written in first point of view. Cabeza de Vaca has a change in his vibe throughout the story, as he experiences anger in the beginning, but is later delighted with his success. The detailed structure of this story also helps the reader understand the events taking place in chronological order.
In this journey, the Spaniards began to gain control by putting fear in the people of the tribes. This triggered the people's minds to be careful, and to astray the Spaniards from becoming angry. The narrator portrays the importance of God, which can help him earn more money from the king, in order to prepare for his exploration. The people of the tribes, according to the narrator, lived in permanent huts, and ate squash, beans, and maize. The mention of the Indians' everyday behavior can introduce the reader to their life style and customs. The Spaniards have a goal to be on a mission for seventeen days, and are warned about not having enough food on their way. They do so anyway and become successful in the end by finding permanent houses and harvested maize.

News Article

The following information can be found on CNN, written by Emanuella Grinberg. "Arkansas man found dead in tub 'easily influenced', family says" is an evidently interesting topic to be read. It is not surprising to hear about a death from an overdose intake of a certain toxicity. A naked dead body was found in a hot tub on a Monday morning at a man named Christopher Barbour's house in Little Rock, Arkansas. Barbour was in shock to find his friend, Dexter Paul Williams, dead, with what seemed to be a collar around his neck. Williams' was described as having a purple and blue face, with a chain around his neck. Sleeping next to Dexter's body was a 33 year old meteorologist named Brett Cummins.
The three men, Dexter Paul Williams, Christopher Barbour, and Brett Cummins had drank and had snorted illegal drugs on Sunday night. The drugs however, have not been identified. Around 10:00 P.M., Brett and Williams had sat in the hot tub, and were later joined by Barbour. They had all been continuously drinking, until Barbour had fallen asleep around 11:00 P.M. The discovery of Dexter's death occurred when Cummins had awoke to the snoring of Barbour. He had strongly reacted to this tragedy and had vomited near the couch in the living room. The men reported the coldness of Williams' face, and how his skin was discolored when he was found dead. The police had found a pill bottle next to a pair of shorts on a storage couch. This investigation is to be continued.

My Favorite Book

There are several books I would love to call "my favorite", but since I have a choice of one, 13 Reasons Why written by Jay Asher, would be the best out of the rest. The novel had captivated my mind in many ways. Each page could lead the reader anxious and impatient to figure out the outcome of the complications taking place in the story. By reading this book, it was very easy to put myself in the main character's shoes, due to the descriptive text the author had presented. The story begins with a boy named Clay, who receives an anonymous package filled with several cassette tapes. Being curious, he begins to slowly listen to the recordings, with voices running through his ears. A girl named Hannah, whom he had a crush on, had committed suicide two weeks before receiving the package. The recordings were the voice of Hannah, explaining thirteen reasons why she wanted to commit suicide. Knowing that Clay could be one of those reasons made him fall into deep thoughts, as he listened to the cassette tapes one by one. The story portrays how abuse, bullying, teasing, and misunderstanding had lead a teenage girl to commit suicide. When I reached the final page, it made me think about all the things in life I would like to achieve today, because tommorow could be too late. I would consider this my favorite also because it can have an impact towards the reader and get them to think more about their lives.