Stephen Crane Poetry

If there is a witness to my little life,
To my tiny throes and struggles,
He sees a fool;
And it is not fine for gods to menace fools.

Even though this poem is very small, It has a good message. It sounds like this poem was written by someone who was sad about his life and it's struggles. The narrator of this poem, I think, sees his life as tiny and insignificant. I like how by mentioning that the witness of his life would be a god of some sort, because he is telling the god not to menace him. I love how such a short poem can emit such strong emotions of despair and sorrow.

Where I got the poem

Mark Twain's Wit

"A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read."-Mark Twain
I was very interested when I saw this quote because in my life i think that reading is very important. For me it's a way to relieve stress, and a great way to learn new things. I agree with Twain's statement that the power to read is an important tool and should not be wasted. If a person can read, but chooses not to, they are no smarter or useful than a person who cannot read all together. Nothing really separates the two. I like how Mark Twain's idea of reading was shown through this quote. I think the ability to read is one of the greatest things in life, and it's sad that too many kids my age do not take advantage of that.

Where I got my quote

Where I got the picture

The Quest for Civil Rights: Clarence B. Jones

Clarence B. Jones was the personel councel, advisor, draft speech writer and close friend of Martin Luther King Jr. In 1960 when King was on trial for tax fraud, Jones was there to defend him. Many people do not know this, but Jones had a major role in King's Birmingham Campaign. When King was arrested and put into Birmingham jail, Clarence B. Jones was the one who secretly brought King's hand-written response letter to the Birmingham clergymen that did not agree with MLK's protests. Jones had to send this letter secretely because if he got caught by the authorities he could also be arrested. Clarence B. Jones was also the one who took responsibility of gathering money to bail King out of Birmingham jail. Even though a lot of his work was behind the scenes, Clarence B. Jones brought a lot to the Civil Rights Movement as Martin Luther King, Jr.'s advisor.

Sources:
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=clarence+b.+jones&view=detail&id=7FFDEE39ABA9A91F430ACE495A6F0512B35CBBDA&first=1&FORM=IDFRIR&qpvt=clarence+b.+jones


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Benjamin_Jones

A Walk Through Harlem

When I went on my walk through Harlem, one of the things that interested me was West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue, where the famous poet James Weldon Johnson lived. What was interesting about Harlem to me was that so many different people with different careers lived so close together in the same city. The Delany sisters lived close to where Johnson lived. His poetry had a major impact on how people viewed Harlem. James and the Delany sisters both had the same opinoin about Harlem: They all loved it a lot and they couldn't imagine living anyplace else.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=james+weldon+johnson&view=detail&id=A8BA83AFBBFA973712371B9FBD895749651D4D56&first=1&FORM=IDFRIR

Expressions in Art

The Delaney talked about the civil rights protests in the Deep South and how African Americans were controlled. Even though neither of the sisters went to this particular protest, Bessie felt bad for the people shown in the picture about that were sprayed with a forceful fire hose. This is a very powerful picture for me because it shows how desperately the African Americans wanted equal rights for themselves and for future generations. Some were willing to give up anything to help the cause.

Having My Say

I saw a commercial for this movie about the American education system. I haven't been able to see it yet because it is not available yet on my Netflix, but it seems really interesting. Especially in Rockford, we have been hearing a lot about how bad the public school system is. Even though I am blessed to be able to get an amazing education, I cannot turn away from smart kids just like me that do not have the chance to get the right education. Something needs to be done. Every child deserves an education. It makes me so angry to see kids that are not able to reach their full academic potential because there is no money left in the economy. This is an expense that needs to be paid for. There has to be a better way to let every child get an education. This is the first generation where the children will have a worse education than the generation before them and it is so heartbreaking. I haven't done much research into the possible solutions to this problem, but somebody needs to think of one, and fast.

Walt Whitman's Connection to Children

I connect with this poem that Whitman wrote, and it made sense to me. When children are young, they do not have any worldly problems to worry about such as money, jobs, and raising a family. All they do is live life the way they see it. When I was a young kid, nothing really worried me. When I saw something I wanted to do, I did it with no hesitation. What I think Whitman is trying to say in this poem is that kids have a very simple mind, which makes them into whatever they see.

Emily Dickinson's Garden of Poetry

Death is like the insect
Menacing the tree,
Competent to kill it,
But decoyed may be.

Bait it with the balsam,
Seek it with the saw,
Baffle, if it cost you
Everything you are.

Then, if it have burrowed
Out of reach of skill—
Wring the tree and leave it,
'Tis the vermin's will.


Many poems that Dickinson wrote were about death because it was such a major part of her life. She saw a lot of death in her life and she was also unsure of what death would be like for her. This poem might be one opinion that she has about death. Because Dickinson has no faith, she does not believe that people die because it is God's will. She believes that it is just a part of nature. An insect will destroy a tree, not because the insect has anything against the tree, but because that is what the bug has to do to survive. Death will come like a bug comes to the tree, that is just the way it is.

Transcendentalist!

During class this semseter we have been learning about transcendental and antitranscendal writers in class. I prefer reading the things that make up transcendentalism. I like this type of writing better because it looks more on the positive side of life. I also like the apothegems used in transcendental writing and I like the nature descriptions. I also agree that the truth can always be found. I enjoy reading transcendental writing over antitranscendalist stories.

where I got the picture