Janie

Janie had always been the center of attention wherever she went. As a young girl she would never appear in school better dressed than another girl. Girls were always envious of her second-hand clothing and long- braided hair. She knew this, and with that she thought of herself as better than her schoolmates, and later, better than any other girl. Beginning in Chapter 10, Janie portrays herself as the woman on top. She grew tired of Joe, Nanny, and other such people defining who she was.

Logan Killicks and Joe Starks were men who failed to respect her and recognize Janie's special qualities as a wife. All throughout the story thus far, Janie aspires to find a better life for herself. Within the outwardly attractive woman named Janie Starks, she's a simpler woman living her life as best she can. However, all she wants is to love and to be loved.

Zora Neale Hurston became one of the most successful and significant African American writer of the first half of the 20th century. She was born in Notasulga, Alabama but later moved to Eatonville, Florida. In her writings, she never wrote about Alabama. Eatonville had always been her home.

In Eatonville, Zora was always surrounded by black achievement. Her father, John Hurston governed Eatonville. Everywhere she went she was surrounded by black townspeople. She would look to the porch of the village and see the black men and woman having deep conversations of "colorful, engaging stories." For the most part, Zora had a happy childhood, but she kept recalling of her frequent clashes with her preacher father and how he kills her spirit. However, Zora's mother always urged Zora and her seven siblings to "jump at de sun." Zora's mother died when she was only 13 years old. Since then she was forced to live her fathers dream. Her father remarried and she highly disliked her. SHe described him as "bare and bony of comfort and love." When she was 26, she still needed to finish school. She needed to pass as a teenager to qualify for free public schooling. She gave her age as 16 and her birth in 1901. Ever since then, she presented herself as 10 years younger than she was and she had the looks to pull it off.

Zora used Janie as her model to help walk the reader through her life experiences. Janie described her father with Joe and her mother as Nanny in "Their Eyes Were Watching God." Zora was a very beautiful woman even in her old age and was well known throughout Eatonville and her career.  

Thankful for...

Thankgiving- n. the act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgment of benefits or favors

I'm thankful for having the best seat in Mr. McCarthy's class. I get to sit amongst the 3 brightest girls in the class. I'm especially grateful for Gloria Oladipo. Although she can be a distraction at times, she's very insightful and one of the smartest girls I know. She inspires me to want to become a better writer and critical thinker. Gloria always has something to debate about, whether it be Mr. McCarthy's humorous remarks or book we're reading in class. During every group work and pair work, she guides the group and mentions some important details about the book. Even though half the time, she doesn't read. (Sorry Gloria. I love you Gloria). I'm thankful to have a friend like her.

P.S. You're dead to me, Gloria.

Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway is a man who is truly considered one of the best if not the best American writers to have ever lived. His macho and aggressive attitude towards love, life and death substantially opened the eyes of people all around the world. He was a man consumed in literature since birth, a man who lived through many deaths, and a man that was born with a natural talent for writing. With that said, he was an honorary man who had been acknowledged for his legendary writing but he had a troubled life. 

Although today this would seem odd, Ernests' mother dressed him as a Victorian little girl as a young boy. The only time he had to dig into his masculinity was during camping trips he had with his father Ed Hemingway in Michigan. Unfortunately this affected his masculinity later in life and may be why there was some level of masculinity expressed in almost every one of his stories. His short story, " In Another Country" was inspired by his first encounter with war. In 1917, World War 1 called upon America's youth and Ernest was upon the first to enlist to fight the war in Europe. However he was rejected by the army for his defective vision so instead he chose to volunteer as a Red Cross ambulance driver in Italy. He later was injured while he was delivering chocolate to Italian soldiers on the frontline. He was taken to a hospital in Milan where he met his first love, Agnes. 

Throughout many events in Ernest's life he slowly discovered his true masculinity. One that stands out to many is his constant need to have a wife or mistresses in his back pocket. He had always been smitten by a women by her looks. He had a total of  4 wives but there were endless accounts of women he cared to be with. Also he had a constant attraction towards bullfighting in Pamplona. The first time he had travelled to Spain was with his wife Hadley. Despite her inability to watch the brutality of it all,  Ernest watched all the action in complete awe. The second time he travelled with a few of his colleagues. This obviously inspired his short story, "The Undefeated." His passion for big-game hunting on safari's in Africa, his devotion towards deep sea fishing in Cuba and Key West Florida and his alcoholism later in life also proved his masculinity. Although his alcoholism affected his mental and physical health. He drank a quart of whiskey per day and he had lost his ability to write a true paragraph. 

Ernest Hemingway inspired many writers and people all around the world by sharing his ideas and thoughts based on his experiences. But only his true influence led him to constant misery, loss, and depression. "A favorite expression of Hemingway's was to endure, one must last. Despite the controversy surrounding his attacks on his image Ernest Hemingway endures." He taught people "less is more." What was so extraordinary to me while watching the documentary was that he "found a way to incorporate enduring themes as a subject matter for his writing. Themes such as courage, grace under pressure and characters transformed by a challenge" are all unique themes that people will always cherish in Hemingway's writing.  

6 Words, 6 Stories

Once a child, always a child 

Sorry Helen; there's no light switch

Lucy size 2; gown Size 10

"6 million dead; R.I.Pain"

Lipstick stains; so does cheating  

"Fear not" -unknown; Written: 9/11

John Proctor: Hero or Stooge???

Hero
noun: a person who is admired for their courageous deeds and imperial qualities. 
 John Proctor is a man of many faces. Like a hero, he has his weaknesses. He had an internal conflict with being honest and upfront with Elizabeth about the affair with Abigail because he could be tried for adultery if he confessed. Clearly, honesty wasn't his best policy in this case. 
When Danforth asked him to sign a written confession, he refused calling it "signing the Devil's book" because he didn't want to be put in that sudden position of being forced to become another follower of their theocracy per say.  Like a true hero I believe he stuck to his individual values of nobility and self-accountability even in life or death situations. It's fair to say that Proctor had a guilty conscience not confessing in the beginning when he had the chance to but he was indecisive between the choice of pleasing Elizabeth or pleasing Abigail. To be able confess to adultery for the greater good is a heroic act, one that could take Abigail down rather then the whole town. 
Considering that many people lied when confessing in order to live, this is an act of righteousness. In the end, he proves his heroic characteristics by possessing the courage to give a verbal confession while standing his ground. 

Early Arrivals; There Goes the Neighborhood 

I stand by the belief that humans are born with nurturing habits. For this reason, I tell this story...
Iv'e been sitting for hours upon hours at the shoreline as soft quick sand binds its way between my toes and small seashells beneath it. My old wooden stick I use as a weapon for catching fish is beside me. I concentrate on the sun descending upon the fiery horizon converging with the clear turquoise waters. Being the attentive and vigilant person that I am, I notice a small moving object nevertheless smaller than one to be of the ocean. I realized not long after, that this contrivance was a boat. Though,a prominent figure of great extravagance standing to what looks to be 100 feet tall and 100 feet wide. Looked to be a few boats of innumerable folk that could never compare to our small rafts used for hunting, gathering and trading. Suddenly, the subtle boat seemed no longer small. It headed straight for our land.    

I anxiously ran til' no energy remained down to my tiny village. I explained to the chief of the situation. He brought me along with his few men back down to shore. 

Once at shore, we noticed these people weren't of our kind. Where could they have come from and what is their purpose? They certainly weren't here to harm, showing not to be armed nor aggressive. They also were not inhabitants of neighboring islands. One particular man, possibly ruled as chief, came up to us and offered up some of their finest treasures such as red caps made from fine blue, red and white cotton, strings of beads and trifles. In return we offered up our strings of beads and hawk bells. It dawned on us, what kind folk they seemed to be!...

I'm going to stop here and save the few minor details. When Christopher Columbus comes to the Americas I can only assume that the Natives knew this was going to be a big change. The Natives knew they wanted nothing to do with the Europeans and for this reason weren't to be trusted.They destroyed or took hold of land, enslaved and manipulated. They took hold of anything they thought was easy to take.  

This relates to the present day society because many people apply this concept of "There Goes the Neighborhood" to their own complications of sorts. Some others are caused by the accusations and oppressions linked from few things like racism, gender, and sexuality. These are things we can easily fix if our communities come together and work as a team to accept trying new, and  unexplained things that typically no one would ever think of going near. 

It's either Cece or Cici, your choice

Hi, my full name is Cecilia Bedolla. I recently turned 16 BUT sadly not licensed to drive yet. I live in Bridgeport Village in Chicago. I have no choice but to be a sox fan because I live next to U.S. Cellular Field. I have an insane addiction to dance "rave" music, old Disney movies, and writing. If there's ever a song playing by famous DJ's such as Diplo and Calvin Harris you'll catch me dancing or singing. I live for volleyball and sewing is my favorite hobby. I've played volleyball as a setter for 5 years and I'm currently on the Varsity team. One thing I've kept in mind from playing all these years is "never let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game" because feeling like you're going to fail won't do you any good. I realize that this is with any sport but I know volleyball isn't just about knowing the basic mechanics you have to be mentally tough to take risks that can cost the game. Yes, I did get this quote from the movie "A Cinderella Story" but what can I say I love Disney movies. I've been designing and sewing for the past year and a half now. My family and friends mean everything to me because they're my life supporters and I owe as much of my time to them for that.
Aside from all these facts about me, I believe this quote in particular defines me: "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." This quote by Dr. Suess is completely cliché but it's a quote I've always lived by because I love Dr. Suess and his philosophies. Knowing this helps me through my day (currently I'm applying this to my summer of concerts and festivals).