The Pit and the Pendulum

As the burning hot walls pressed against me, I screamed in agony as my skin peeled away and shirveled.  I have never felt a pain as extreme as this pain.  I looked in horror as I gradually approached the pit.  I realized there was no way out and said my prayers.  The eventual slip into nothingness was a blessing for me.  I no longer was tortured by the sick, cruel devices of my captors.  I did not have to bear the excruciating pain of my wounds.  Death was a blessing to me. 

Team Irving vs. Team Poe

I personally prefer to read Poe's work.  I enjoy it more because it has a psychological touch that makes it much more frightening than Irving's work.  It makes one think about actual dangers rather than scary events that would never happen like supernatural events.  I also enjoy his descriptive word usage that really helps to set the mood of his stories. 

The Skeleton in Armor

"The Skeleton in Armor" was a poem written by Henry Longfellow about a viking skeleton discovered in Massachusetts.  Longfellow wrote a fictitious poem about this viking in "The Skeleton in Armor."  I personally enjoyed reading this poem.  The ryhme scheme made the poem have an interesting beat that kept my interest throughout the poem.  The story behind the poem was also entertaining.  I enjoyed reading about the viking lifestyle portrayed by Longfellow.  It had an amusing yet serious note behind it. 

The Fall

Outside my home, I love to watch the leaves float gently down to Earth.  To me, it is one of the most memorable things to watch.  For this reason, Fall is my favorite season of the year.  I love the changing colors of the trees and the mild weather with little to no rain.  The Fall to me represents a slowing down of people and the events that occur.  The colder weather obviously has an effect on this.  In addition to watching the leaves fall, I love the holidays that are asscociated with Fall.  Thanksgiving and Halloween are extremely fun holidays for me. 

Joseph McCarthy

Joseph McCarthy was a senator of the United States who was responsible for the black listing of a communist individuals, also known as the McCarthy hearings.  McCarthy claimed to have a list of individuals that worked for the Soviet Union who were working in the government.  Instead of turning this information over to the authorities though, McCarthy chose to take the names to Congress in order to investigate these people himself.  This process made McCarthy famous to all who heard about it.  These people who were believed to be Communists were blacklisted, preventing them from getting jobs and sometimes forcing them to move out of the country.  I believe what McCarthy did was wrong.  In the United States, it is perfectly acceptable to have one's own beliefs about whatever one wants.  That is the great part about being an American, having free beliefs and ideas, and McCarthy took that from the people of the United States. 

The Crucible

Based on what I have read in Act One in The Crucible, the story is about the Salem Witch Trials.  At the beginning of the story, Betty Parris was sick and supposedly possessed by a witch.  The neighbors and fellow town members think that Betty is also possessed.  My thoughts on this is how can a whole town possibly think that a girl has been possessed by a witch.  When an entire town immediately assumes a girl is possessed because they can not think of a valid reason, there is reason for concern of the sanctity of mind of that town.  The parents of the children in The Crucible, obviously do not understand basic child personality.  When a child is in trouble, he or she will immediately point a finger to prevent from being in trouble.  Also with a child's imagination, the story can become wild and fanatical as evident in this story.

Puritan Daily Life

A day in the life of an average Puritan was one centered around religion.  They believed that everything they did was for the good of God.  The Puritan belief was based on the Anglican Church in England except the Puritans believed that the Anglican Church needed to go further in order to purify the Catholic Church.  This developed the Puritan faith as what is was.  Therefore one aspect of the Puritan religion was discipline.  Based on this religion, rules in Puritan society were very strict.  Discipline was harsh and severe to those that failed to obey the law.  There was hanging, whippings, and being locked in the stockades in the town square.  A stockade is a device that locks both the head and hands between two blocks of wood.  This humiliated the victim in front of the whole town.  A general guideline for the Puritans was just to follow God's law and everything would be fine. 

Squanto

Squanto played a very important role in the settlement of the colony of Plymouth.  Without Squanto, the entire colony could have died due to starvation and the elements. Squanto brought the colonists to fresh water and taught them how to capture and grow food in the New Land.  In addition to Squanto knowing how to survive in America, he could also speak English.  This fact allowed communication between him and the settlers.  Squanto also prevented other Native American neighboring tribes from attacking the small English settlement.  All of the work Squanto did helped protect the English settlement from certain death.  Without his help, the colonists would have died, and maybe our lives would be different.

John Smith and Pocahontas

The image that is portrayed in this picture is one of the captain John Smith of the Jamestown settlement and Pocahontas. With Pocahontas, is most likely her father, the chief of the Native American tribe. In the story The General History of Virginia, John Smith is taken to the chief who decides that he will kill John Smith.  Fortunately for him, Pocahontas steps in and pleads with her father not to kill the English settler.  For whatever reason, we do not know.  It was not for the reason that most people think it is, which was the love affair between Pocahontas and John Smith.  At the time of this event, it is believed that Pocahontas was around the age of twelve.  This disproves the belief of the love affair.

Native American Chant

In this video it is evident that the Native Americans' culture revolved around nature and the well being of nature.  The Native Americans revered the land they lived on and the animals that lived there as well.  Everything they did was for the good of nature.  There were ceremonies related to the land and animals.  These ceremonies the Native Americans believed would help appease the spirits of the land and the animals.  Every part of the ecosystem had a part to them.  They used everything in their resources including plants, animals, and natural occurences like rain and snow.  Nothing the Native Americans ever used was wasted.  They had a purpose for every part of nature they used.  They used every part of an animal and used plants for various tasks besides food including medicine. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9frmZcFUgdA