Progress numero dos!

So I read this article (more like Wikipedia if that is even considered and article?) about how christiannity was banned from public high schools. The court case was Engel v. Vitale in 1962. The parents of some of the students at Herrick High School brought up the case because they felt that when the school prayer to Almighty God was offending them because contradicted thier religious beliefs. So Congress said that having this prayer was unconnstitutional because it violated the First Amendment. i just thought this was interesting because I had nev er known how the whole no prayer in schools began.

Progress numero uno

So, i finally decided my controversial topic. It's Christianity in the classroom and in schools period. i just got done writing my propposal and I think it's good. There are some definite questions that I want answered about like how did praying in schools become banned and whatnot. i also want to know whether praying in schools differs depending on the type of school (Public, Private, religiously Afaliated, or not). One of the hot topics of this subject is if Darwinism or Creationsm should be taught in sciennce courses. I would like to interview Mrs. Bradley and get her reason for why she chooses one over the other. The mini spinoff of talking about Christianity in the classoom, is whether other religions other than Christianity feel that their religons should be taught in the classroom and how are their children affected by being taught one thing at school and another at home?
So yes, this is the progress have made, I haven't really started on research, but I will soon.

Christianity in the Classroom

I’m not positive on the controversial issue that I want to write about, but I’m strongly thinking about doing religion in schools. My main focus would be on Christianity since there have constantly been issues with that in American schools. I’m interested inn this topic because elements of Christianity are a part of my religion and I want to understand why they are not always accepted in schools. I believe that all religions should be accepted in a school because that is one of the first steps in having total acceptance of diversity in an atmosphere filled with so many different types of people. Knowing the other side of the argument is just as important, and I don’t know that side as well and think it will be interesting to explore. I’m not sure if I will be able to write like 5 pages on it though, and that would be my only drawback. But if I get enough info then I should be aight.

T.I.P.

I thought the initial argument for hosts and hostesses to receive 1 percent of the servers tips to go towards themselves. But on a scale form 1-10 I thought the effectiveness of this proposal was only a 6 or 7. To point out the things that I thought were effective first, I thought the way she showed her exact calculations of the amount of money a host made and the comparison of it with that of a sever. This was effective because I knew she had thought it out and done her calculations, and the fact that she was a host at this particular restaurant made her proposal alot more credible and she could relate to the experiences she talked about in her proposal. But, what i didn't think was strong in her proposal was the fact that she kept repeating herself. She kept sayinng that a host does all these things, is so important to the servers and the customers. i don't know if she was just trying to stress the point that hosts are really important because thats where she wanted the focus to be, but I don't think that was effective because i pesonally was like "I got you the first 5 times".

KKK

In a way I think Ellis's story can offer a credible way of overcoming misunderstanding and hatred between races. Ellis finally realized after being in the Klan so long that the system of those in authority were really only using the blacks and whites. They didn't want to fix the problem in the schools, they wanted both the races to have hatred for one another in order for the problem never to be fixed. Having succesful integration within the schools would have helped people to stay in school longer, make a difference in this world, and they wouldn't have to be at the bottom of the social ladder. They would join the Klan and the same cycle would continue all for the love of money and power. Once Ellis realized this he knew the only way for a brighter future was if the schools were successfully integrated and both blacks and whites worked together. So it wasn't about hating each other, it was about fighting for the rights of the people who were actually the root of all the hatred. I think that is an important part in overcoming hatred between races because people need to stop blaming random people that they have biased against and really don't know much about, and start confronting the main source behind those who encourage their hatred in order to benefit from it. I think Ellis really knew what went on with the black community and how they actually struggled just as much as the low income whites that were joining the Klan. Blacks also didn't understand the Klan very well at all either. As a black individual i didn't know why a person would join that organization because i didn't know they wanted to satisfaction of being a part of something and being around people that cared, instead of working 24/7 and hvaing no one to comfort and be there for you besides you family. i don't think thatg justfy's the Klan at all, but i understood it more than i did before, so i could see how that part of his story couold offer a way to overcome misunderstanding.
I'm not sure if there is a solution to this problem on a large scale. There are so many powerful and corrupt people out there who will do anything for money and authority, and I don't believe they would let a solution happen.

To the F to the R to the double EE to the D to the O to the M

Linda Brent obtained her freedom by Mrs. Bruce. Emily flint got married and went to New York in search of Linda. The Flint's were broke so they really needed to capture Linda for her high value. When Linda heard Emily Flint was in New York she ran away to one of the Bruce's friends. Mrs. Bruce finally went to the Flints and asked to buy Linda so that she could set her free. The Flint's didn't agree at first, but the Mrs. Bruce assured them that as long as they kept serching for Linda the more she would continute to hide and they would protect her. So the Flint's finally agreed to take the money that Mrs. Bruce offered them for Linda, and then Mrs. Bruce gave Linda her freedom. Linda has mixed feeling about her freedom at the end of the book because in one aspect she is grateful that she is no longer owned, but she is also upset because she hates the fact that her life had been boughten when her life was never actually anyone's else's to take or belong to.

Incidents 2

"He told me I was his property; that I must be subject to his will in all things. MY soul revolted against the mean tyranny. But where could I turn for protection? No matter the slave girl be as black as ebony or as fair as her mistress. In either case, there is no shadow of law to protect her from insult, from violence, or even from death; all these are inflicted by fiends who bear the shape of men. The mistress, who ought to protect the helpless victim, has no other feelings twoards her but those of jealousy".
This passage makes me emotional because it makes me put myself in a young slave girl's position and feel how she did. You are not only a slave, but you are a sexual object that is being unjustly claimed without your consent. There is this panic of having no one to turn to, and the people who you would think would find this disgusting and may have sympathy for you actually are just jealous. It's not your fault that a woman's husband wants to form a sexual relationship with you can't help that. The wife knows your a slave and that you have to obey your master.

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl 1

In my opinion I think that it's important for this book to be truth rather than fiction because if it were fiction then some of the content in the book might only be partially true. Usually after I get done reading a good fiction book I walk away from it like "wow, that was a really good book. I can only imagine if that were actually true". I know that whatever happened in that book is going to have ideas from someone's imagination, not from personal events. But when a book is nonfiction I know that what took place in the story actually happened to a real person; not just some madeup character. I also feel that when nonfiction is written, since it is a personal account of someone's life, the emotions and reactions that are felt are best expressed because they are coming directly from the mouth source. When the author shows that personal connection with the story I feel it too.
It is very important that the editor didn't change the content or language in the book. This is the author's firsthand account of what she went through as a slave. The views and angles of this book are hers being expressed to the public. They way she ihas wrtten it is the way it happened. If the editor tried to change content then the story wouldn't have had as much meaning because it wasn't what the author intended the story to be. if the language was changed then they wouldn't be keeping it real. If al the slaves in the book talked proper then the book wouldn't be as believable because everyone knows that most slaves weren't given the right to be educated and shown the correct way to speak.

Fredrick boiiiiiii!

In his speech, Frederick Douglass is saying that the Fourth of July was not independence for slaves. All the talk of liberty, independence, and prosperity didn't apply to slaves because they weren't free. Douglass felt mocked because blacks weren't considered men therefore the Declaration of Independence wasn't referring to blacks. Then Douglass begins to name off allt hese things that blacks can do that are equal to whites. With all of the qualifications that says blacks aren't men, Douglass turns the tabe on that reasoning and says he doesn't really have to prove that blacks are actual men too because they ahve alreayd done it. this is when he uses the appeal to logos by turning the tables on to them. i felt this was a very powerful pieve within the whole speech. if I was one of the people attacking Douglass and the black race saying that they aren't qualified, after hearing that I would feel really stupid. He uses the appeal to logos in order to turn the tables against them and by the tone he is using along with first hand experience as a slave and knowing what it's like not to have your freedom and to be considered somthing less than a man. In a sense he also appeals to ethos from his first hand experience; what he's saying is credible because he has lived it.

Parillo- Causes of Prejudices

According to Parillo, the socialization process is how one shapes his or her beliefs, morals, attitudes, and vantage point of subcultures or own culture, based on the individuals parents, and what their parent's beliefs were. Kids usually conform to what their parents believe or do not believe in. Children usually accept what thier parents believe without asking questions to whether it's right or wrong; this in turn becomes a part, and shapes their belief system. As stated in this passage, this socialization process isn't the only factor that creates prejudice, but I do believe that this is one of the main reasons why people do have them. Without even dealing with the issue of prejudices, really anything that parents belief then their children will also believe it most likely because kids don't really question their parents about certain things they believe in. Kids trust their parents's judgement on what is right and what is wrong, so they grow up thinking that what they have been taught and believed in all these years is acceptable.

Jefferson

The image of Thomas Jefferson that I received from my history class and text book this year was that of a good man who helped advance exploration of the West in the United States. My history book didn't shy away from the fact that he also was a slaveowner. Though the book said this, I had already known this about Jefferson from my parents. My parents also told me that he had sex with alot of his black women slaves, so I wasn't really surprsied when I saw the photo of his decendants on page 82. By knowing that Jefferson had slaves, then of course I concluded that he had some form of prejudice against them. But, I didn't know how he really felt about black slaves. Jefferson seemed disgusted by black skin, like he didn't know how the color was formed on a human being, or where it derived from. He referred to the dark color possibly coming from bile or other secretions in the body. He also talks about how blacks smelled really bad because they sweat so much as a result of their black skin. As I read this, and then saw the picture, it made me mad that he would say all of this, yet he obviously was attracted to dark women, no matter how they smelled. Jefferson was against the "mixing" of both races, yet he obviously "mixed" with black women multiple times.

CORA GURL!

In my opinion, I thought Cora Tucker and Willy Loman were different from one another. Cora isn't rich at all and probably would like more materialistsic things, the things she can't have. Yet she doesn't complain about what she does have. She seems content with the way her life is. Willy on the other hand isn't satisfied with what he has, he wants things that he can't have. But instead of coping with it and living his life without basing it on that, he does just the opposite. Unlike Willy, Cora doesn't care what people think about her. She is very bold within her community and fightd for what she belives in no matter who it offends or makes upset. She's not scared to take a stand. As a result, many people respect her because even those who don't agree with her say that Cora is a very imformed person and knows whats going on in political issues that affect her community. Cora likes to take the initiative and doesn't realy on other people, while that's all Willy did. He relied on people to like him and so he didn't become successful.

Death of a Salesman 1

Willly Loman had this whole concept of being "well liked" in order to succeed in the business world. I'm not sure if my interpretation is right, but to me it seemed like Willy needed the approval of others to succeed. He let them define who he was instead of determining that himself. So if they perceived him as nothing but a salesman and nothing more, then that was how he would live. He could dream and hope for success, but he was only as successful as others made him to be. Willy thought that having an educatoin wasn't important in becoming sccessful and having individual opportunity. But he focused on the point that having connections with people that liked you was of greater importance. I don't know, I was kind of confused about this topic in the book. Further discussion in class will probably clear this up for me.

Seaker 2- Nick Martin

Nick's introduction with the survey was a creative idea and different from everyone else's. The ontroduction engaged me right form that start and made me want to hear more about what he had to say. As Nick spoke his voice wasn't monotone and boring and made me pay more attention. I liked how Nick told his own personal sory of how he was personally connected to the organization. He was emotional, not sappy, but emotionally tied to his big brother. It think it's cute that he can depend and share things with his big brother and just have that support system there for him when it feels like nobody else is around to be there for him.

Speaker 1- Maggie

I really enjoyed Maggie's presentation. She made great eye contact with the audience and was brave enough not to use the podium. She seemed really confident up there and when she spoke you could tell she really felt passionate about the Posse Foundation. I, who already feel strongly about anything dealing with minorities, felt even more impassioned. Maggie seemed very knowledgeable about her organization and spoke from her heart which made me see how connected she really felt toward the Posse Foundation. The foundaton itself was very interesting. I am i strong believer in education to help people get out of poverty because i think alot of educated people think that minorities are illiterate and aren't up on their level so they disregard them. But if more minorities are inspired to get a college education then they won't be looked down upon as much.

Self Reliance

I think what Emerson is saying about becoming successful is that an individual should trust their own present instincts, while forgetting about past impressions or the impressions of what others think. Emerson says that an individual has to rely on their ownselves to become successful, i disagree with his argument because no one can just rely on their selves to become successful. A part of becoming a successful person is having connections, an individual has to have connections in higher positions. A person also has to have friends and collegues to help him/her out because you can't always rely on yourself to know what to do in certain situations. A successful person can't make it on their own, they need the help of others to guide him in making the right decisions.

Persuasion

So, I'm doing my project on Third Phase, which is a women's shelter.

Rereading America 4

A way to get rid of Alger’s myths would be very hard to accomplish. You’d have to change the minds of those already made up and who have been thinking their own way for a long time. But, if something were to change, people would need to simply address the realization that our country’s era of everlasting potential is now over with. We are slowly diminishing our possibilities as a nation. As a nation we need to stop intentionally being ignorant or turning a blind eye to the notion that there is a problem here in our social classes. Even if it makes the wealthy feel uncomfortable, who cares? Would you rather keep feeling uncomfortable addressing these issues or help people take a step in the right direction so they can also have the opportunity to succeed in life. The only way that can occur is if the wealthy realize that people in poverty can’t just pick themselves up from their bootstraps. Alger’s myths make the wealthy believe that racism and poverty don’t exist, that people in poverty just need to try harder. Our working poor communities need to stop believing Alger’s myths that everyone can win. They need to stop fantasizing that if they keep working hard then they will move up in this society. They aren’t going anywhere with that mindset.

Rereading America 3

After reading the story of Dick the boot-shiner, I realized how pathetic this story is. It may make for a good children’s book or something, but it is anything but near reality. Alger does a great job of creating false hope for anyone living in poverty that reads his stories. Dick’s success at the end of the story may, in actual reality, happen to about one and five thousand people. Though it is a good idea to encourage people to make a better life for themselves, it’s easier said then done. It’s so difficult to get out of poverty.
In most cases, most people don’t have a “Dick success story”. They don’t just go out one day, save someone and the person they save actually has a rich daddy who wants to reward them and give them a great job and that pays extremely well. That’s unrealistic.
At the end of the tale, Dick’s friend Fosdick suddenly gets a raise on his job and so he and Dick want to go buy a new apartment. Yeah, that doesn’t happen. Asking for a raise at McDonald’s is like someone in hell asking for water. Even if a raise is granted to them, it’s not significant at all. In Nickel and Dimed, Barbara wasn’t able to make living with one, even two or three jobs. Finding a place to stay was one of the hardest things for her. The rent was so high, so that consumed most of her money each month, then she still had to worry about food and bills to pay for.
Horatio Alger gives Dick this attitude in the story that basically says “Oh as long as I work hard, everything will fall in place in the end. I will be wealthy as long as I continue to work like a little robot boot shining. Well that’s a big, fat lie. Any poverty stricken person can work as hard as they want, but most likely they won’t be gong anywhere. Our American society wasn’t set up for the working class to succeed. It is set up in a way to keep people in a life of servitude. I don’t know if our government is trying to brain wash the poor into thinking that there is actually an American Dream available for them, when in reality the working poor are being used for their man power. They are only there to serve others by our society’s standards. To be looked down upon and thought badly of. Society doesn’t want there to be hope for them because the only thing America is concerned about is the almighty dollar. And it doesn’t matter who it hurts in the process to get to that money. Yeah, then we want to go feed people in Africa and act like we care. In Cruz’s argument, he says that no matter how great of a worker he was, he wasn’t ever going to have a job as manager. For all the companies he worked for, they all did the same thing, they built him up with false hope of maybe one day becoming manager, but in reality they knew they could never have anyone of a different ethnicity put in a place of power. Gotta love America!

Rereading America 2

Stephen Cruz presents the idea that the American dream has many deceiving aspects to it. When he first began his career he was naïve about the American Dream. He thought that if a person worked hard that they would be able to accomplish the Dream of having a lot of money and a high position in management. But as he became more experienced and began to observe how people treated minorities in the places he worked, he noticed that the American Dream was complicated and only attainable to certain people. That the Dream wasn’t just about going to college, working hard, and showing dedication. But it was about power and the supremacy of one race having higher ranking and complete control over the whole American governmental system. Cruz also came to the conclusion that the American dream’s definition was based off of the notion of that a small elite group.
I agreed with almost everything Stephen Cruz was saying in his argument. Accomplishing the American Dream or any type of success in America is so hard for minorities. Even now, in this century, it’s hard. It’s so difficult to movie up in life because the dominant race in this country keeps minorities from obtaining high positions. It’s like they have their own inner circle and they are fearful that if they let minorities in to powerful positions, then they might actually help this country. It’s like these people want to keep us down. No wonder why minorities can’t become successful in life. It’s because high white officials aren’t trying to improve anything. They say they are but I swear they are too busy collecting pay checks for themselves then actually helping minorities in this country. How are we supposed to be one of the richest country’s and we can’t even raise our working poor’s wages? We’re too busy giving too much money to powerful people while other people suffer.
One thing I did not agree with in this argument was when Cruz was trying to get all the minorities to interact with one another, and the blacks and Orientals weren’t interested in participating. Well Cruz made a comment about how it doesn’t matter if a black person is called black or a Negro. Actually it does matter, especially when someone form another race says it even if they’re a minority. That’s a touchy subject.
The American Dream should not be limited to a certain race, it’s unconstitutional and goes against everything this country stands for. I don’t think it’s ever going to change though. If it were going to change it would have happened already. Someone is probably trying to initiate change, but the power hungry, one-minded individuals who run this country have much more power than they do.

Rereading America 1

No, I don’t think that the author’s argument is making the point that the wealthy are exploiting the poor. I think he’s just trying to disprove the myths of class in America. He’s also making the point that the way a person is brought up and the environment he/she lives in, the influences that surround them may affect the way they perceive their careers and what they to aspire to be. My position on this argument is that I believe the myths are definitely untrue. I believe the influences thrown at a person during their childhood and teens subsequently affect what they want to become. The examples on pages 314-317 are good because it shows how people with different backgrounds and influences in their lives have influenced what their aspirations and jobs were when they got older. But I don’t think it’s like that in every case. There are a lot of people who want to “get out of the ghetto” and they actually do accomplish this because they have determination.
But my overall view of this argument is that even in America people do talk about social class in public more than they notice it.. Even though appearance isn’t one of the ways to tell if a person is rich or not, so many people judge and assume someone else’s class by associating them with the general population of their race or culture.

Argument 5

I thought the argument presented in Minneapolis Pornography Ordinance was fair. I didn’t necessarily agree with it, but I thought it was a valid argument. At the beginning, the author grabs the audience emotionally by acknowledging the pool table gang rape. I think the author’s main audience is women because women would have stronger feelings toward the pool table gang rape story. Even though the men involved in the gang rape may not have read the Hustle magazine, but the viewing of explicit pornography may affect the way men view women. In these explicit videos the women are degrading themselves and giving men the impression that they like to be raped or mutilated, when in reality most women would never want this happen to them. I didn’t agree with the end of the argument. I think everyone should have freedom of speech because it is a part of our American Constitution, and censoring what someone puts in a magazine or the Internet may be taking the freedom away. But, at the same time, if this type of freedom is affecting our society in a negative way then wouldn’t we want to stop something so harmful whether or not it took the freedom of speech away or not?

Arguments Four

I encountered a pseudo-argument with a friend once over religion. My friend doesn't believe in God and I do, but we weren't trying to argue about it, we were just attempting to talk about the pros and cons of believing in God and not believing in God. We both agreed with some of the points that the other made about believing in God and not believing in Him, but as the discussion continued we both began to defend our own views on how our religion (or his lack of it) was better than the other. The argument turned into a heated discussion where neither of us let go of our own beliefs and were solely committed to our positions.

Arguments Three

The appeal of pathos is a powerful rhetorical device because it's basically the part of the rhetorical triangle that touches the author's audience emotionally. Pathos helps the audience connect to the author and understand the emotions the author is feeling and seeing; it engages them. The use of pathos in an argument also moves the audience toward thinking about the author's argument, forming a deeper appreciation for it. When an author is using pathos in his or her argument, the author is trying to figure out what is the best way to open his message up for the understanding of the reader. He's also trying to play off of the readers emotions by writing what appeals to the readers values and interests.

AP Exam

To be honest, I am scared for the AP English Language and Compositon Exam. What I am most nervous about is the thought that i might not be prepared to take it. I know that sounds weird, but with the AP U.S. History exam to study for as well, i don't know if I will be able to retain all of that information. I think the hardest part for me will be the essays. We're given such a short amount of time to complete them and i am a slow reader/writer. It takes me a while to get my thoughts gathered and actually form them into unfragmented sentences. In my opinion, i think the multiple choice will be the easiest thing on the test. I know they will be hard questions, but atleast you have choices and don't have to formulate your own answer. But overall, this test seems like it's going to be extremely challeneging, but what we looked at on-line about the exam was only a first glance at it. It's early on in the year, and by the time the exam rolls around we will definantly be more prepared.

A Case for Torture

Even though I agree with Michael Levin, I don't believe that the way he came about his argument was particularly agreeable. His argument is very eplicit and leaves the reader any room to explore a different view point in a positive way. Levin doesn't want the reader to accept a view other than his own, so he makes sarcastic remarks about the anti-torture terrorist view point. in a way, Leavin also makes anyone who opposes his argument, feel unamerican and have the least interest in keeping fellow citizens safe. This argument is poo because Michael Levin isn't even trying to come to a consensus agreement and attempt to understand why someone believes in anti-terrorist torture, but is too blinded by his beliefs that he cant take the time to reconsider other possiblities.

Arguments Two

The author's for the picture on page 24 and page 1 both have the same genre of a visual argument. They use these so that one can see and feel the strong emotional appeal. The cartoon and the photograph's genre's influence their argument by narrowing their issues to a central, powerful focus of their perspective of genetically enhanced food. The picture on page 1 is stating that genetically altered foods are bad for you, but what about the people who are starving or can't afford healthier foods. And should we, who eat healthier, keep cheap and altered food away from those who need it the most? The photograph on page 24 is arguing that all people should know exactly what is going into their food because recent studies show that not all ingredients are being labeled on the ingredients section of our foods. Some of these ingredients are or could be harmful, so why would they hide it?

Arguments One

An explicit argument is straight to the point and obvious. It also has evidence to support the arguments claim. An implicit argument is more suttle and not as clearly stated. It usually takes the form of a poem or short story. Both implicit and explicit arguments attempt to pursuade its audience to a certain point of view. Owen's poem is an implicit arguement because he is arguing against war. But though it is still a more suttle form of argument, Owen is still trying to pursuade us to look at war with horror as he explains how a soldier dies because he drowns in his own fluid from a gas attack. Explaining these vivid details, Owen makes us believe that war doesn't deserve to be celebrated with medals of heroism, but that it should be thought as meaningless. The picture of Veterans Day is also implicit. It is not an anti- war picture, though it can be perceived that way. It makes the point to pursuade the audience of honoring the military services in our country and appreciating them for sacrificing their lives( or the dudes hand) so that others may be safe. Both the picture and the poem are not explicit, one has to interpret them, their arguments are not obviously stated.

Memories

I remember what it felt like to move to Indiana. My family and I were coming from South Carolina because my uncle had died and we went to his funeral. The car ride took forever because my mom was driving and I was ready to get out the car and stretch my legs from the cramped space I had in the backseat of the truck. I started thinking about my friends back home and how much I would miss them, but surprisingly I didn’t cry. I didn’t cry. That kind of shocked me because I hadn’t shed one tear. Not when I first heard the news of our moving, or when I said goodbye to my bestfriend. I just felt…the same. I missed everyone and everything about Memphis, for the most part, and had no desire to move to freezing cold Indiana, but I just didn’t feel anything. I never really understood why I felt that way, my behavior was almost too comfortable and too natural; to leave people and places that I grew up with and not have any remote sign of emotion showing. I always thought that was kind of scary.

Carlos Fuentes

The Carlos Fuentes essay used alot of personal stories and his own point of view to express his thoughts about the Latin american culture, language, and the influence of Latin American writers. He showed his readers what he thought about Mexico and how he wasn't raised in its culture, but knew about it only through movies and books; his imagination. But it wasn't until he lived there that he finally got an understanding of what it culture was all about. Through his persona he concludes that the emersion of several cultures, languages and traditions helped him become a writer because without this emersion traditoins would never be formed; therefore a culture could never exist.

I Could Tell You Stories

Affter reading the short story/essay and having today's discussion in class, i feel like i understand the text a lot better than i did before. What i got from it was that when individuals experience or witness something they have an urge, an inhuman urge that may go beyond the human nature, to tell someone of what has occured to them. They express what they have experienced by telling the story. But, the story may not always be able to fulfill the actual experience of the individual because sometimes one cannot truely convey what they are feeling through stories. The experience which the story is being told about, is always better understood by the person who is physically there to comprehend all the elements involved and see them in action. The first hand experience allows the witness to see whats actually happening, but when the event is retold the second hand experience is picturing the story in their mind. They can imagine what it was like, but they can never know because you can't make up the truth by comprehending it from your own interpretation. It's not about your interpretation, it's about what actually happened. Like the woman in the story who "could tell you stories", but couldn't because the story that needed telling was "too big, too much, too something, for her to place in the small shrine that the story is". (Patricia 20)

What I think about AP English

Over the past week what i have observed of this class that i particularly like, is the fact that our crititcal thinking discussions are awesome. They really make me think and analyze themes from the book that I would never have picked up before. It's also nice to hear how different people interpret the same passage in a different way. It's just cool to see how different minds think about certain things and the way they perceive them. Every time I walk out of that class room I feel like i actually learned something new that I enjoy. The short stories we have been asked to read are also well written pieces that aren't painfully boring to read.
Our whole class is funny and intellligent so i think we as a class have gotten off to a great start with congruency within the classroom.