Literal Meaning:
The narrator is reading a book around midnight when, before he is about to fall asleep, someone taps at the door. The narrator tells himself that it is only a visitor and nothing else.
It was a December night, and his fire was burning in the fireplace. The narrator wished it was the next day; he was reading because he could not stop thinking about his lost love Lenore.
Every movement scared the narrator, so he kept telling himself it was only a visitor at the door and nothing else.
The narrator finally got a burst of courage and opened the door, but no one was there. The narrator became very scared and started thinking about the worst things he could when he said "Lenore" and then something whispered "Lenore" back.
The narrator went back into his room then hurt the tapping again, but it was louder this time. He then thinks that the sound is coming from his window. The narrator opened the window, and a raven flew in. The raven flew right in and landed on top of a statue of Pallas above the narrators door.
The raven makes the narrator laugh because he looks so serious. He asks the raven his name and he says "Nevermore". The narrator was surprised and a little excited that the raven spoke so clearly to him.
The raven did not say anything else until the narrator said that all his friends have left him, so the raven will leave him too in the morning, but the raven said "Nevermore".
The narrator says to himself that "Nevermore" is the only word the raven could speak. That someone taught only that word to him. The narrator then pulled up a chair and sat beside the raven, and he thought about what he meant by saying "Nevermore".
The narrator sat and pondered and wondered about Lenore.
All of a sudden the air grew denser, and a scent filled the room. The narrator says, "Please give me things to help me forget Lenore!" and the raven says "Nevermore".
The narrator asks if there is any relief for his suffering, and the raven says, "Nevermore".
The narrator asks if Lenore is in heaven, and the raven says, "Nevermore". The narrator then becomes mad and tells the raven to leave. The raven says, "Nevermore".
The raven still stays completely still on top of the statue, and the narrator stays there with his soul never being lifted again.
Poetic Devices:
symbolism: I think the raven symbolizes death, because he comes when the narrator is thinking about death, and at the end of the poem, I think the last line kind of means that the raven and the narrator become one, which means that the narrator dies.
Personification: This is used when the raven speaks and says "Nevermore". I know some birds can actually talk, but I do not think ravens can speak.
Imagery: A great example of imagery from the poem is "Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor." This is good imagery because I feel like I can see the the incense floating around in the room, and I can almost smell because I know what incense smells like.
Figurative Meaning:
I think the figurative meaning of this poem is that the narrator is thinking and feeling sad about his lost love Lenore. A raven, whom I believe symbolizes death, knocks on his window because it is his time to go. The raven says "Nevermore" to all of the narrators questions because he is about to die too. At the end, the raven and the narrators soul kind of become one, which means that the narrator dies because I think the raven symbolizes death.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Emerson and the works of Melancholia
Ralph Waldo Emerson was considered a Romantic poet. Romantic poets write a lot about nature, love, patriotism, God, religion, and feelings. Later in his life time though, he was considered a Transcendentalist. Transcendentalists usually thought things through with their intuition, and it took them a long time to evaluate and examine things. Emerson moved over to becoming a Transcendentalists through his life experiences. All people change, and for Emerson, he changed from a Romanticist to a Transcendentalist. His changes (obviously) showed up in his writings.
Emerson started to become very melancholy in his works. He starts out with "Self-Reliance" by saying that all men should think on their own and not follow in other mens' footsteps. He says men should have a mind of their own and work well independently. Soon, Emerson starts to hide a bit of grief in his works:
"The objection to conforming to usages that have become dead to you is, that it scatters your force. It loses your time and blurs the impression of your character. If you maintain a dead church, contribute to a dead Bible society … I have difficulty to detect the precise man you are. And, of course, so much force is withdrawn from your proper life. Why drag about this corpse of your memory, lest you contradict somewhat [sic] you have stated in this or that public place?" (Emerson).
Emerson's grief is obvious because he is talking about death and dead things. He asks why a man should be concerned with things that are dead (or just not of use) and drag them on along side them when they do not need them.
From his essay, "Compensation", Emerson says:
"Every soul is by … intrinsic necessity quitting its whole system of things, its friends, and home, and laws, and faith, as the shell-fish crawls out of its beautiful but stony case, because it no longer admits of its growth, and slowly forms a new house. In proportion to the vigor of the individual, these revolutions are frequent, until in some happier mind they are incessant…. And such should be the outward biography of man in time, a putting off of dead circumstances day by day…. But to us, in our lapsed estate, resting, not advancing, resisting, not cooperating with the divine expansion, this growth comes by shocks" (Emerson).
Here Emerson is saying that our mind wants to make its thoughts be like real things. Whether the real thing is church, nature, or anything else. Emerson says that to think these things are the absolute truth is where our chief sorrows lie.
As the reader can see, Emerson starts to reject the ideas of Romanticism. He becomes a lot more melancholy, and he asks questions about why men do things, or why they think things that make them feel sad or sorry. He becomes more like a Transcendentalist because he goes over these questions and ideas several times in several essays, and he tries to find the meaning behind it all.
"Emerson and the Work of Melancholia." Raritan (Spring 1987). Quoted as "Emerson and the Work of Melancholia" in Bloom, Harold, ed. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Updated Edition, Bloom's Modern Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= MCVRWE007&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 17, 2010).
Emerson started to become very melancholy in his works. He starts out with "Self-Reliance" by saying that all men should think on their own and not follow in other mens' footsteps. He says men should have a mind of their own and work well independently. Soon, Emerson starts to hide a bit of grief in his works:
"The objection to conforming to usages that have become dead to you is, that it scatters your force. It loses your time and blurs the impression of your character. If you maintain a dead church, contribute to a dead Bible society … I have difficulty to detect the precise man you are. And, of course, so much force is withdrawn from your proper life. Why drag about this corpse of your memory, lest you contradict somewhat [sic] you have stated in this or that public place?" (Emerson).
Emerson's grief is obvious because he is talking about death and dead things. He asks why a man should be concerned with things that are dead (or just not of use) and drag them on along side them when they do not need them.
From his essay, "Compensation", Emerson says:
"Every soul is by … intrinsic necessity quitting its whole system of things, its friends, and home, and laws, and faith, as the shell-fish crawls out of its beautiful but stony case, because it no longer admits of its growth, and slowly forms a new house. In proportion to the vigor of the individual, these revolutions are frequent, until in some happier mind they are incessant…. And such should be the outward biography of man in time, a putting off of dead circumstances day by day…. But to us, in our lapsed estate, resting, not advancing, resisting, not cooperating with the divine expansion, this growth comes by shocks" (Emerson).
Here Emerson is saying that our mind wants to make its thoughts be like real things. Whether the real thing is church, nature, or anything else. Emerson says that to think these things are the absolute truth is where our chief sorrows lie.
As the reader can see, Emerson starts to reject the ideas of Romanticism. He becomes a lot more melancholy, and he asks questions about why men do things, or why they think things that make them feel sad or sorry. He becomes more like a Transcendentalist because he goes over these questions and ideas several times in several essays, and he tries to find the meaning behind it all.
"Emerson and the Work of Melancholia." Raritan (Spring 1987). Quoted as "Emerson and the Work of Melancholia" in Bloom, Harold, ed. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Updated Edition, Bloom's Modern Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= MCVRWE007&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 17, 2010).
Journal # 24: I'm Scared!
During my childhood, there were a lot of times where my mind played tricks on me, and I became scared. As a child, I had a very active and crazy imagination. I remember one time in particular when I got really scared at night. I still lived in Florida, so I was seven or younger. There was not a bathroom near my room, so I had to walk over to my parents room to go to the bathroom. In order to get to their room I had to walk through our living room. Because we lived in Florida we had a lot of windows looking to our backyard (so we could see all the beautiful nature stuff outside). So when I was walking back from the bathroom, for some reason I imagined a wolf with red eyes looking at me, and I ran back to my bed as fast as I could. My mind was obviously playing a trick on me because I am pretty sure there was not a wolf with red eyes in my living room.
Another time I was scared at night was when I moved to Illinois and I got some American Girl Dolls. At night, those things are scary!! I have three American Girl Dolls, Molly, Kaya, and Kailey (I think that is her name). In other words, I have the one that was from WWI or II..not sure, the indian one, and a special edition surfer girl one. At night I would think that they turned their heads to stare at me sleeping, or that they would crawl up onto my bed to get me. I imagined them being like Chuckie Dolls. THAT is why you should not allow your children to watch things that they should not be watching.
Obviously, my dolls were not going to magically come alive to get me during the night. Most children have over-active imaginations, and they imagine that their toys come to life. Things like that can thank Toy Story and other children's movies/books for those false ideas. Don't get me wrong, I love Toy Story, but sometimes I was a little freaked out to be around my toys by myself...
Another time I was scared at night was when I moved to Illinois and I got some American Girl Dolls. At night, those things are scary!! I have three American Girl Dolls, Molly, Kaya, and Kailey (I think that is her name). In other words, I have the one that was from WWI or II..not sure, the indian one, and a special edition surfer girl one. At night I would think that they turned their heads to stare at me sleeping, or that they would crawl up onto my bed to get me. I imagined them being like Chuckie Dolls. THAT is why you should not allow your children to watch things that they should not be watching.
Obviously, my dolls were not going to magically come alive to get me during the night. Most children have over-active imaginations, and they imagine that their toys come to life. Things like that can thank Toy Story and other children's movies/books for those false ideas. Don't get me wrong, I love Toy Story, but sometimes I was a little freaked out to be around my toys by myself...
Monday, November 15, 2010
Journal #23 Unplugged
I think it would be pretty awesome to go camping without any appliances. Of course, it would take some getting used to, but it would be pretty fun. I do not use my phone very often, so that would not be an issue for me. I mean, if all my friends were there too then why would I need to text anyone? Eating food only from a fire is not that big of a deal either. I actually like to go camping, but my family does not do it very often.
So if I had to go on a camping trip without any technology, I would probably just go somewhere by a lake. I do not really know where. Just somewhere where it is not going to get too cold or too hot. I hate extreme weather. I would take a bunch of my friends and my parents...not my siblings because they would get really annoying.
To pass the time I would swim in the lake A LOT. I love swimming. I would go hiking and have fun little adventures. Yes, I just said I would have fun little adventures. I would go fishing and canoeing also. (Because I can canoe because you do not need electricity or anything to canoe..so ha.)At night everyone would gather around the campfire and sing songs, tell stories, and eat smores...the usual camping stuff. Ummm, I can not sleep just straight on the hard rocky ground...so before we would leave for the trip, I would blow up an air mattress for myself. I do not care if that is cheating, and I do not care if you say that it would inflate eventually or that it would not fit in my car....in my story, everything goes perfect.
So yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun. I also think it would be even more fun to go camping with just my friends, but like somewhere close to where our parents are so we do not die. It would be fun to just hang out all day with my friends. The only thing that is really gross and bad about this situation is that you can not take showers, or go to the bathroom in a real bathroom. That is just straight up nasty. I can not handle that.
So if I had to go on a camping trip without any technology, I would probably just go somewhere by a lake. I do not really know where. Just somewhere where it is not going to get too cold or too hot. I hate extreme weather. I would take a bunch of my friends and my parents...not my siblings because they would get really annoying.
To pass the time I would swim in the lake A LOT. I love swimming. I would go hiking and have fun little adventures. Yes, I just said I would have fun little adventures. I would go fishing and canoeing also. (Because I can canoe because you do not need electricity or anything to canoe..so ha.)At night everyone would gather around the campfire and sing songs, tell stories, and eat smores...the usual camping stuff. Ummm, I can not sleep just straight on the hard rocky ground...so before we would leave for the trip, I would blow up an air mattress for myself. I do not care if that is cheating, and I do not care if you say that it would inflate eventually or that it would not fit in my car....in my story, everything goes perfect.
So yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun. I also think it would be even more fun to go camping with just my friends, but like somewhere close to where our parents are so we do not die. It would be fun to just hang out all day with my friends. The only thing that is really gross and bad about this situation is that you can not take showers, or go to the bathroom in a real bathroom. That is just straight up nasty. I can not handle that.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Journal #22 Breaking the Law
Breaking the law is bad. It is bad to break the law. I do not break the law. Sometimes you have to break the law though. I have never had to break the law. Sometimes you have to break the law to save someones life..at least I guess you do. I do not really know. I am not an expert on breaking the law. I do not really care about it. I just want to go to sleep because I have had boring musical practice all week and I am so tired. I am about to fall asleep, and I am about to start crying because I am so tired. I have no idea what to write for this blog. Breaking the law is bad. Sometimes you have to break the law to save someone's life, or get rid of bad people. Like I said, I do not know anything about this at all. I do not go around and read newspaper or something about people breaking the law for the common good. I am pretty sure there is not a newspaper in town that would have a heading like that. Only superheros can break the law and get away with it. But superheroes are not real because that would be too cool. Instead we live in a boring world filled with boringness.
I do not even think I have seen a movie or anything where someone has had to break the law for good. So I have nothing to go on. Okay I guess you could say in those action packed movies with huge car chases. Car chases are against the law because they drive really super fast and they weave in and out of traffic which is bad and they run away from the police which is bad. That is against the law, but the person being chased by bad people is kind of doing something good because they are trying to safe someone I guess. I do not really know. This is a dumb blog and I am sorry that my writing on it is really bad, but I do not know what to say and I am so tired and I just want to go to bed and I am not in the mood for anything. I am not inspired to write anything so how am I supposed to write something that is actually worth writing?
I do not even think I have seen a movie or anything where someone has had to break the law for good. So I have nothing to go on. Okay I guess you could say in those action packed movies with huge car chases. Car chases are against the law because they drive really super fast and they weave in and out of traffic which is bad and they run away from the police which is bad. That is against the law, but the person being chased by bad people is kind of doing something good because they are trying to safe someone I guess. I do not really know. This is a dumb blog and I am sorry that my writing on it is really bad, but I do not know what to say and I am so tired and I just want to go to bed and I am not in the mood for anything. I am not inspired to write anything so how am I supposed to write something that is actually worth writing?
Friday, November 5, 2010
Journal #20 Self Reflection
It is important to be self reflexive and take time away from society. When you take time for yourself, you can reflect on many things.
I usually do not get a lot of time for myself because I do a lot of things. During the day I go to school (obviously)so I am not alone there, then I go to work, then after work I have been going to pit band practice, so I do not get home until 8:30ish. Once I get home I have to do homework. Usually if I am going to do any self reflecting, I do it on the weekends. During the school year I am really busy, so during the weekend I like to just hang out at home by myself, or go do something really laid back with my friends. During the weekend I work on bettering myself and catching up on my homework. I usually like to make plans for things I want to do later in life and what I can do now to make that happen. I practice my clarinet a lot on the weekends too.
When I actually do some self reflecting, I do it when I am alone. Usually I just kind of space it while I am doing something, like watching T.V. or doing homework, or even taking a shower. Yes I self reflect while taking a shower, and no, it is not nasty you sicko. It is nice and quiet in the shower because I am away from my family, and no one can disturb me while I am taking a SHOWER.
So yeah self reflection is really good because you can reflect on what you really do value in life. If you have been having a bad week, you can sit and reflect about it, and decide on what you will do next time that you are in the same kind of situation. I love doing some self reflection because it keeps me focused on the things that are really important to me in life. For example, sometimes I feel annoyed when I see couples walking around and stuff, but then I do some self reflecting, and I think to myself, I really do not need that right now because I need to focus on my grades and music to get into college. It is way more important for me to get into any college I want then to have a boyfriend. I have my whole life to have a boyfriend, but right now is the time for me to be preparing for college.
I usually do not get a lot of time for myself because I do a lot of things. During the day I go to school (obviously)so I am not alone there, then I go to work, then after work I have been going to pit band practice, so I do not get home until 8:30ish. Once I get home I have to do homework. Usually if I am going to do any self reflecting, I do it on the weekends. During the school year I am really busy, so during the weekend I like to just hang out at home by myself, or go do something really laid back with my friends. During the weekend I work on bettering myself and catching up on my homework. I usually like to make plans for things I want to do later in life and what I can do now to make that happen. I practice my clarinet a lot on the weekends too.
When I actually do some self reflecting, I do it when I am alone. Usually I just kind of space it while I am doing something, like watching T.V. or doing homework, or even taking a shower. Yes I self reflect while taking a shower, and no, it is not nasty you sicko. It is nice and quiet in the shower because I am away from my family, and no one can disturb me while I am taking a SHOWER.
So yeah self reflection is really good because you can reflect on what you really do value in life. If you have been having a bad week, you can sit and reflect about it, and decide on what you will do next time that you are in the same kind of situation. I love doing some self reflection because it keeps me focused on the things that are really important to me in life. For example, sometimes I feel annoyed when I see couples walking around and stuff, but then I do some self reflecting, and I think to myself, I really do not need that right now because I need to focus on my grades and music to get into college. It is way more important for me to get into any college I want then to have a boyfriend. I have my whole life to have a boyfriend, but right now is the time for me to be preparing for college.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Journal #19 The Ideal United States
In the ideal United States, everyone is actually created equal. There is not any racism or prejudices against religion, culture, or anything else. Everyone gets a long just fine. We will all speak english because it will be easier for people to understand each other. Yeah...I do not really know what else to say for this. This is kind of super hard subject. I will be more creative with this then...
So the ideal United States will have all the things that I said above, but it will also have the following. Free ice cream days in the summer every Wednesday. Um, holidays will be celebrated to the max. There will never be school or work on holidays, or the five days leading up to the holiday, and at least one day after the holiday. That way, if Halloween is on a Sunday, we can still stay up late and stuff and not have to go to school the next day. I think that is a great idea. People will look after each other very well. If someone has a terrible addiction or something, someone will always be there for them to get them help because addictions are really bad. In the ideal United States nobody should have an addiction.
The zoos will be decked out in every animal that is on this earth. Scientists will be really smart, so they can even bring back some of the nice extinct animals. The amusements parks will have a perfect ride for everyone, and there will always be an amusement park at least twenty minutes from your house. I love amusement parks.
If you do not live by the ocean, there will be a huge, cool indoor beach thing. It will be like a beach inside. It will have salt water, and there will even be nice marine life in the fake ocean so you can go scuba diving and stuff. I love to scuba dive.
So that is MY ideal United States. It sounds pretty awesome to me.
So the ideal United States will have all the things that I said above, but it will also have the following. Free ice cream days in the summer every Wednesday. Um, holidays will be celebrated to the max. There will never be school or work on holidays, or the five days leading up to the holiday, and at least one day after the holiday. That way, if Halloween is on a Sunday, we can still stay up late and stuff and not have to go to school the next day. I think that is a great idea. People will look after each other very well. If someone has a terrible addiction or something, someone will always be there for them to get them help because addictions are really bad. In the ideal United States nobody should have an addiction.
The zoos will be decked out in every animal that is on this earth. Scientists will be really smart, so they can even bring back some of the nice extinct animals. The amusements parks will have a perfect ride for everyone, and there will always be an amusement park at least twenty minutes from your house. I love amusement parks.
If you do not live by the ocean, there will be a huge, cool indoor beach thing. It will be like a beach inside. It will have salt water, and there will even be nice marine life in the fake ocean so you can go scuba diving and stuff. I love to scuba dive.
So that is MY ideal United States. It sounds pretty awesome to me.
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