Scarlet Letter Journal (1)

The founders of a new colony have two immediate necessities for the new land-- a cemetery and a prison. Though the prison was already "gloomy", the "weather stains" and "rust" on the door's iron spikes "darkened" the structure even more; it was as if the prison had "never known a youthful era." Even the lot in front of the the prison was unpleasant-looking and "overgrown with...unsightly vegetation." One one side of the grotesque prison door lies an out-of-place, yet beautiful wild rose bush "covered...with delicate gems which might...offer their fragrance and fragile beauty" to the new prisoners and the prisoners off to execution. Obviously, the rose symbolizes a "moral blossom that...relieve[s] the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow." Therefore, this chapter alone tells tells the story of The Scarlet Letter.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Modern Library Classics, 2000.

"Nothing Gold Can Stay"

Although I do not disagree with her point of view, this is not quite S.E. Hinton's interpretation of "Nothing Gold Can Stay," and if you would care for her view on it, read The Outsiders if you have not already.

Robert Frost's "Nothing Gold Can Stay" only has eight simple lines to it, but happens to be one of my favorite poems of all time. He paints a clear image of a golden sunrise and nature blooming it's first green, but replaces that with a gray picture of Eden sinking to grief. Robert Frost rarely wrote about nature and only nature. This poem is a parallel to happiness.

Happiness is a beautiful emotion that I never take for granted. It gives me a warm fluttery feeling in my heart that spreads through my chest and builds a smile across my face-- a feeling that is "gold." Unfortunately, this feeling of sweet ecstasy never lasts. It is the"hardest hue to hold." Soon enough, my smile fades and the feeling in my heart coldly diminishes. "Dawn goes down to day."

"Letdowns" are everywhere in life. We all come across tons of them a day. Somehow, no matter how dark it gets, we hang in there. Perhaps it's the hope of a new-found happiness that helps us hold on a little longer. Maybe if we cling to that hope for a new dawn a little tighter, we can make that "gold" stay a little longer.

A Letter from Mr. Navarro

Dave Navarro, the guitarist for Jane's Addiction, wrote "An Open Letter To Gay, Bi & Transgender Teens" on his website. It, of course, addresses the gay teen suicide issue everyone seems to be debating over. Navarro, however, does not rant about what he considers right or wrong. Instead, he simply assures gay, bisexual, and transgender teens that a better life waits ahead of them as long as they hold on, which is the proper way to address this issue.

When October 20 came around, Americans, by wearing purple, showed their honor to gay teens who committed suicide (because of fear-based hate) and people went crazy over gay rights debates! These debaters completely missed the point! Whether we think homosexuality is wrong or not, we need to be aware that people are ridiculing others, people are hurting others, people are assaulting others because of who they are to the point of suicide. NO ONE deserves so much concentrated hatred to where they contemplate taking their own life away, because they cannot handle going on in life with so much hate.

Instead of arguing over gay rights, we must come together to end the issues we can all can agree should end-- bullying and sheer malevolence.

If you are the one hating, stop. You have no idea how much undeserved pain you are causing the people you taunt.

If you are the one being hated on, stay strong, because that very strength will give the world hope for a new way of thinking and acceptance in the future.

Possible Reads?

1. Neon Angel by Cherie Currie
2. Going Bovine by Libba Bray
3. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

Since reading Scar Tissue, I have an insatiable appetite for my favorite musicians' auto-biographies. I plan on reading Neon Angel by Cherie Currie, the former leading lady of the 1970s punk band, The Runaways. Currie's memoir should be a page-turner, because she was introduced to the wild world of rock and roll at the tender age of 15. Since the memoir's content is simply not appropriate for school, I won't make any bets that I will find Neon Angel in our library. Not to worry! Hastings will surely have a copy of it! Of course, I don't exactly have the cash to buy it, so I'll have to stay in the store and read it there, like I did with Scar Tissue, until a very gracious person let me borrow his copy.

A friend of mine, the same friend who recommended Scar Tissue to me, read Going Bovine and could not put it down. I figured that since he and I are not too big on reading and I liked the last book he recommended, we have have similar tastes in books. Luckily, Mrs. Huff has Going Bovine sitting on her bookshelf, so there is no conflict in getting it.

Many people consider watching the movie before reading the book a "no-no." Why? I would much rather be impressed with a movie, then be even MORE impressed with a book (since books are always better than the movie), rather than be impressed with the book, then upset with how inaccurate a movie is. I watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and fell in love. If the movie is that amazing, I can't even imagine how great the book is! I honestly haven't a clue whether the novel is in the library or any English teacher's bookshelf, but I do know that it lies within the classic novel section of Hastings. Perhaps I can find a cheap paperback?

Annotated Reading List

Kiedis, Anthony, and Larry Sloman. Scar Tissue. New York: Hyperion, 2004. Print.

Scar Tissue is the deliciously deranged and drug-infested memoir of Red Hot Chili Peppers front man, Anthony Kiedis. He tells his readers about what life was like growing up in Los Angeles with his drug-dealing father, how the Red Hot Chili Peppers (RHCP) formed, what happened during RHCP, tours how drug addiction haunted him throughout his life, and the people he met along the way. Kiedis mentioned how his English teachers through out grade school and college fancied his writing style and I can see why! His casual, yet descriptive, story-telling tone makes it seem almost as if he were telling me the story before my eyes. Though I have never been addicted to drugs myself, he very distinctively describes the feelings drug addiction brings to where I understand. (465 pages)

Lamb, Sharon, and Lyn Mikel Brown. Packaging Girlhood: Rescuing Our Daughters from Marketers' Schemes. New York: St. Martin's, 2006. Print.

In Packaging Girlhood, authors Sharon Lamb and Lyn Mikel Brown inform mothers about the media selling an imaginary picture of women being girly, motherly, sexy, and powerless to their daughters. Images such as these are subliminally pounded into girls' skulls at young ages in disney movies clothing, then gradually segue into an image of a sex appeal. Lamb and Brown offer advice to their audience to help them keep their daughters from submitting to the sexist image the media portrays of women. Since I have seen a majority of what the authors mention in the book, I know what they are talking about. The problem with that is that I know more about the tv show, movie, etc. than the authors do and I can tell when the authors over-fabricate, which they clearly do an abundance of times. For example, when they discuss That's So Raven, they say Raven's mother is dead. Any girl from ages 10-20 can tell you that Raven's mother is living (actually in the later episodes, her mother goes to law school, which should be more empowering than not). (294 pages)

Reading Reflection

I have went out of my "norm" this nine weeks and read two non-fiction books- one of which was an autobiography and the other being an informative non-fiction book. Obviously, I had more fulfillment and entertainment reading the autobiography, because it was about a musician.

I haven't quite established a regular habit of reading yet, but I am in the process of getting to that point, if I have the right book. I can read more regularly if I ask my reader-friends what books they would recommend for me, since they know what interests me. Of course, the content of the book does not carry the only issue. I also need to set out a certain time to read. With marching band, friends, responsibilities at the house, ways to make money, attempts to exercise.

I am not really having a "balanced reading diet," since I have only read non-fiction articles and books this nine weeks (except for Brave New World, but that is not exactly independent). I should probably read some more fiction, but I still come across the difficulty of finding a book I can get into. I am not good at "inking my thinking." I get distracted with my thinking. Even though I am not an expert on the subject, "inking my thinking" does enrich my understanding

Next nine weeks, I will somehow find time to read. I suppose I will read once I get home, when I originally watch television. I can also set apart a time right before I go to bed to read, also replacing time I watch T.V. Since marching season will be over next nine weeks, I'll have some more time to read and have a clearer head to think.

I want to read more auto-biographies next nine weeks, like Cherie Curry's autobiography. I have been a fan of Laurie Halse Anderson's books, so I'll go for some of those fictional books. I also heard Going Bovine was amazingly confusing, yet a wonderful read for young adults.

Socratic Seminar

In our class's seminar, we discussed Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. In this group discussion, we encountered new ideas, had our own ideas challenged, learned interesting information related to the book. All of us had to come prepared for this discussion, in order to enrich our understanding of the book, so that means no thoughts from scratch. There were some aspects of my performance in the seminar I wish I could change, and some I feel I did well on. Because of the seminar, I have become a better listener and speaker.

Since other people had input, they introduced a few new ideas to me. Thomas brought up the fact that there was a difference in surviving and living, which I had never thought of before. Kelsey actually read about Henry Ford and learned that he was very racist and, ironically enough, supported Nazism. I always thought of Henry Ford as an all-American wholesome man, but I never really looked into it.

My ideas were never challenged; we all pretty much agreed on everything. If anything, I challenged my own thinking. I first thought that since Henry Ford was a big-shot during his time, Huxley praised him with giving him a religious title in the story, but I then proposed a new idea: Perhaps Huxley condemned Ford.

Preparing for this seminar with research enriched my knowledge and understanding. I went into the research naive of the rich background information and came out of research informed and, oddly enough, refreshed. I made connections to the text, making the text more clear.

As far as participation goes, I had a lot more to say in the first discussion I was in about Huxley giving Henry Ford the role of the society's god, because it's a more touchy subject to me and researching the topic was easier than the latter topic I participated in, so I felt a bit more fulfilled in the Henry Ford topic than the topic that involved Huxley's beliefs versus Orwell's beliefs on what will destroy us.

What was difficult on the latter was research, and because of that, I was less prepared for that discussion. The question asked for my thoughts, and I did not know what could really support my thoughts. I also had a load of difficulty putting the scattered thoughts in my brain in actual sentences, which I have always had trouble with. If I had to anything over, it would be better preparation for the latter topic. If I had done that, I would be far more satisfied with my role in the group's discussion.

On the flip side, I really enjoyed the first discussion I was in, because I get some strange kick out of discussing semi-religious topics in a small group. I liked the fact that I was able to express my thoughts and have others retaliate in a respectful manner, which was something much different than my experiences of discussing a deep subject with a group (my former experience was mainly debate). Along with Kelsey's thoughts on Fordism, I loved listening to Sam and Thomas's thoughts on whether love or hate will destroy us.

I learned that I am only a good communicator, having a clean ratio of speaking to listening, when I am very well prepared and have all of my thoughts in order. Otherwise, I listen much more than speak, thus giving me a very unbalanced "speak to listen ratio." That seems to be the case with everyone-- how can one thoroughly communicate something he or she does not quite understand him/herself? I might get overly excited about a subject and feel as if I should pour all my thoughts out at once. I recall getting the feeling that words were building up in my mouth, almost distracting me from truly listening.

I am a fan of the Socratic Seminar, though I do get slightly nervous. There is nothing wrong with the Socratic system, just me. These seminars will probably assist in helping me with public speaking. I hope we can do another seminar soon.