The Trials of the Future

I remember being younger and thinking I was ready for the future, but I was terribly wrong. The future is not something one can simply prepare for because many obstacles can stand in his/her way. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne is forced to wear a scarlet A because she committed an act of adultery. I do not believe that Hester foresaw that she would end up being seduced by some other man outside of her marriage, but she simply accepts this fact and tries to make the best out of it. Hawthorne states, "Tomorrow would bring its own trial with it; so would the next day, and so would the next..." (75). I believe Hawthorne makes this statement to make Hester's trial seem more real to the reader. Hawthorne wants the reader to understand that Hester's trial will be a long, hard one and that she didn't know that this is what her future would hold. Hester is a victim of the Future. The Future has its hands wrapped around Hester's neck and won't let go until it has choked every good thing out of her life; but the Future will not win. In order to defeat this foe, one must make the best out of his/her situation just as Hester has. Do not succumb to the adverse challenges of the Future that will knock you down on your back; stand back up and face the future head on. As Dr. Amy Johnson said in the article Overcoming Obstacles, "become more Enlightened" and smile even though you're in a tough situation.

What is Stereotyping?

Since the beginning of time (or at least since Earth was formed), stereotyping as existed. Many different creatures probably figured that since one group of bees stung an elephant then all bees are mean bugs that like to sting elephants; but is that necessarily true? A stereotype is defined as "a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing" (OxfordDictionaries). I don't believe this is the right definition. To me, a stereotype is an idea that someone-who was too lazy to get to know the real person or thing-came up with in order to seem smarter; sadly, many people adopted this idea and so stereotyping was born. What really grinds my gears about stereotyping is that every single person on this planet is grouped into one category, when in reality we all belong to many different categories. In "Black Men and Public Space," Brent Staples said that he was "often being taken for a criminal" (207). Why is it that a tall, young black man is grouped into the same category as a criminal when in fact he isn't one? Does society not understand that being judged based off the actions of a few, does not define one person? Is it too hard for society to accept that everyone is like another person in some way, shape, or form? The ignorance of society really makes my blood boil! I wish everyone would learn to judge people based off of their personal experiences, and not something that their Aunt Sally, heard from her friend Gladys, after talking to Shelly from church. Gosh, open your eyes people!

What is True and what is Fiction?

There is a fine line between fiction and reality when it comes to writing. How can one truly tell the difference between fact and fiction when it's on paper? In The Things They Carried  (TTTC) Tim O'Brien uses verisimilitude throughout the entire book that challenges the reader's ability to tell the difference between truth and fiction. Verisimilitude is defined as the appearance of being true or real (Oxford Dictionaries); so, how is it that O'Brien is able to create a work of fiction that seems like an autobiography about his time in Vietnam? O'Brien answered this question himself, "You pin down certain truths. You make up others. You start sometimes with an incident that truly happened...and you carry it forward by inventing incidents that did not in fact occur but that nonetheless help to clarify and explain" (152). I never would have thought in a million years that fiction could seem like reality. Whenever I think of fiction I think of something like Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, not something like The Things They Carried. The fact that this book made me believe that every single thing that was stated in this book was true absolutely fascinates me! Who cares if the entire thing was a lie! This book pulled at my heart strings! It made me squeal with excitement, cry tears of joy and sadness, and made me feel things I've never felt before when reading fiction. TTTC is a masterpiece in itself and those that disagree don't see the brilliance of this book, and frankly, never will.



I've Never Done This Kind of Thing Before

So, I'm in this AP English class at my school and as a requirement I must have a blog; let me tell you, I've never blogged before. See, I have this problem of not knowing how to put my ideas into words really well so sometimes when I talk it sounds like gibberish or I keep rabbling on and on asking questions like, "You know what I mean?" when I know the person I'm talking to won't understand a word I just said. I also have this really bad problem where I make sound effects, like BANG or KERPLUNKAL, to get a point across if I can't find the words to put it in a phrase. I'm kind of nervous about this whole blogging thing, process, whatever you want to call it. I truly hope everything goes well because I've never done this kind of thing before.