Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Witch Hunt Web Quest

 
  1. When I was experiencing the trial myself, I never felt safe. When they made me wait in the jail cell with the dangling chains around me, I got that feeling in the pit of my stomach that you can only get when you know that nothing good can happen. Going through this trial, I knew that the odds were not good for me. I felt like no matter what happened, whether it was in my favor or not, I would still perish.
  2. One of the differences between The Crucible and the real historical witch trials is that in the Crucible there was, of course, a love story. Even though this wasn't historically accurate, Miller was using using his creative mind and thought that as long as everyone knew this and did not think that it was real, it was okay. One difference they talked about that I did not think was as big of a deal then they took it to be, was that the "witches" were burned not hung. When it comes down to it they were killed, doesn't matter how, but the fact that they were.
  3. After reading the two articles, I do think that the theory of Ergot poisoning is the best theory. Caporael didn't come up with this idea over night, she obviously did a bunch of research and put in tons of time to develop this idea. All her research makes sense, the wet summer, the rye, the symptoms of Ergot. I also agree with her that not all the girls, excluding the first two, were ergot poisoned, that they were pulling a prank and it went terribly wrong. I do honestly believe that the first two girls, Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams, really did have ergot poisoning but the other girl were just playing around with the idea to get out of their boring lives.
  4. McCarthyism is the act of blaming someone else or blacklisting them. This was created and mostly used toward alleged communist that were in the US at the time of the Red Scare. During the Salem witch trials, the girls who were "bewitched" would accuse someone of being a witch which is like McCarthyism.
  5. During both the red scare and the Salem witch trials everyone went into a large panic and started to blame others like McCarthyism. They were both afraid that either the communist or the "witches" would hurt them or take them over.
  6. One similarity that all these events have with the Salem witch trials is that someone is getting blamed for what is going on. During the Holocaust, everyone blamed Hitler and the Nazis for the wrong doings at the concentration camps (although they were the cause). And During WW2 when we put the "Children in Camps" they blamed us Americans and we blamed Japan. During the Red Scare everyone blamed Russia and the Communist for the scare.
  7. If we did not learn how these disasters in history happened and why they were so bad, we may not ever be able to learn how to move around these problems if they were ever to reoccur and we make the same mistakes. One thing that could cause a repeat in history is if we don't study how a war breaks out then we might make that same mistake and it would happen all over again.
  8. The biggest Witch hunts were the Red Scare and the Salem trials, although there were several during the 15 and 16 century there are non hat are as well known as those two.
  9. The most interesting thing that I learned from this activity was that the Salem Witch Trials and the Red Scare were so similar. I also enjoyed learning how the girls from the Witch Trials got ill.

Sunday, February 16, 2014

"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"



  1. Edwards hopes were to inform the congregation on his beliefs with the Lord. This sermon was written in a time where the men and women were very conservative in their beliefs and how they acted.
  2. By natural men Edward's means people that believe in God yet still sinned.
  3. To abate is to fix or stop his anger.
  4. He uses this technique so his audience can grasp the contents and so they know the relation between all 3 clauses. 
  5. The purpose of the appositive clause is to elaborate on the subject of that passage. Another appositive in this sermon is, "The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present; they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is given; and the longer the stream is stopped, the more rapid and mighty is its course, when once it is let loose."
  6. The use of this repetition causes people to believe the several consequences and not ignore them.
  7. Edwards might of connected all of the independent clauses with semicolons so that the congregation would grasp the fact that all of these statements are connected with the thought that the world is not willing to do these basic daily procedures for you.
  8. Edward develops this simile after he talks about the great wrath God has holding over you. He talks about his wrath being like a ton of water being held back by him and at any moment he could let it go and all at once rush towards you. This image is very powerful, I have never had a ton of water rush towards me but i can suspect that it isn't pleasant. I think that he uses this image to scare his congregation into rethinking their choices so that they live a more Godly life. 
  9. The next 3 paragraphs consist of a lot of dark, frightening images. These images progress untill its to the point where he is calling you the sinner and telling you that there is no hope and god will show no mercy on you. 
  10. The author, Edwards, want the audience to feel grief and pain. His words help him show the congregation his thoughts and beliefs on how God feels and everything he is capable of.
  11. Edwards tone throughout this whole sermon is strong and almost scary. He talks a lot about Gods wrath being like a dark cloud or a ton of water that he can let go of a any moment. His tone does get stronger throughout this sermon. Especially when he starts talking about the black pit and bottomless gulf.
  12. In most of this sermon he has a great image of Gods wrath and that is something that is best expressed through the tone of your voice and emphasizing certain word that help create this image he wants the people to see. However, in other text reading it might help you grasp the thought of all the bad things you did to make God want to cast this wrath upon you. 
  13. I can argue that his sermon is both persuasive and effective when it comes to the congregation become more in touch with the lord and want to live a more reserved God-like life. He uses fear to scare the congregation into believing his idea and this technique would work well with anyone. 
  14. I believe that the part of the sermon stated in question six,"you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge into the bottomless gulf, and your healthy constitution, and your own care and prudence, and best contrivance, and all your righteousness, would have no more influence to uphold you and keep you out of hell...", best supports the statement that people  screamed and fainted during the sermon. That section of the sermon is saying that the people have no hope. 
  15. fThis picture illustrates God holding us above a lake of fire and brimstone.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

The Navajo Origin Legend & The Iroquois Constitution

The Navajo Origin Legend:
1.some words that, to me, describe the images in this tale would be colorful, because of the Gods and wind, and spiritual, because the Gods created a man and a woman with such little everyday things.
4a. First, they would wash themselves well and dry themselves with cornmeal. After that the approaching Gods would call four times then appear. All the gods would carry something different, one would have two ears of corn and the two others would carry a sacred buckskin. Then the Gods would put an eagle feather with each ear of corn. After that, the wind would blow from the east and the west, transforming the ears of corn and the feathers into a man and a woman.
4b. This ceremony tells me that the Navajo people were very spiritual and believed in many Gods and that they were they creators of everything.
5a. The winds role in the ceremony is to breathe life into the man and wife it is creating.

The Iroquois Conststution
1. Yes, this speech would persuade me because they make it sound like such and honor to be apart of the confederation and you would need to have special peace and patient skills to be apart of it.
2a. The lords plant the "Tree of the Great Peace" to commemorate their meetings.
2b. Each root symbolizes either the north and south or the east and west. They also symbolized peace and strength
3a. To open a meeting, the Onondaga lords must express their gratitude to their cousin lords and greet them. they also must make an address and offer thanks.
3b. This decree tells me that they are very thankful for all they have and have great respect for each other and all they things that surround them.
4a. Dekanawidah spoke of deer antlers, the firmness of a tree and a bird.
4b. These references tell me that the Iroquois were very in touch with their nature side and saw that nature was peaceful and that was one of their goals was to be peaceful.
5a.The council Lords hearts must be filled with "peace and good will." And your mind must be filled with "a yearning for the welfare of the people." You also must have endless patients to be a great council lord.
5b. These qualities are perfect for the modern world because now to be a great leader you must have endless patients with your fellow people and you must want welfare for your people.
6. Yes, these ideas that Iroquois have for their leaders are great traits for us to have in our own leaders. They see interest in their people and future generations to come. They don't believe in self-interest and that is something I support 100%.

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Symbolism in The Yellow Wallpaper.

                     There is a lot of symbolism throughout the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper.” To understand most of the symbolism in this short story you need to remember that this story was written in the 1890’s and many women wanted to establish and gain rights for themselves in society. First, the husband in “The Yellow Wallpaper”, John, symbolizes the average man and husband in the 1890’s. Like many of the men during this time period, John will not listen to his wife when she tries to communicate with him. She tries to tell him how she feels about the wallpaper and how much she dislikes but he just passes it off to her as her “nervous depression” and speaks nothing else of the situation. John always thinks he knows what is best for his wife, as most men though at this time. During this time in history women often weren't given a voice for making changes or decisions and therefore the men would make these decisions and in this case at the cost of his wife’s happiness and mental well-being. Another avenue of symbolism in this short story is how the wife represents a woman of this era who wants to be heard and not remain inferior. Throughout the story the author mentions how the wallpaper makes her feel trapped, this is why I believe the wallpaper symbolizes society or “The Man” keeping her enclosed. Society wanted to keep women in the position they were already in, the men always having the say and the upper-hand. That is why in this short story anytime the wife questioned the wallpaper, the husband would give her a medical response or relate it back to this “illness” she had. When you read this short story you notice that the wallpaper changes throughout the story. In the beginning she sees the paper as displeasing to the eye, it is ripped and spoiled in places and has this sickening yellow color, but as you read on she talks about this pattern that she can’t follow and she starts to see this women inside the pattern. This woman represents the other women who have been pushed into insanity by this wallpaper, or society. By the end of the short story the wife starts to refer herself as a woman in the paper after she rips it off the walls out of pure hate for the paper and everything it represented. This only helps my case when I say that the “women in the paper” are those other women who suffered from the same depression that the wife did. This wallpaper encloses her in the traditions that society had in the 1890’s when women want to be heard but men, or John, would not listen to them. In conclusion, the yellow wallpaper mainly symbolizes this era where women were going through a depression because they wanted a voice that society wouldn’t give them. They wanted women’s rights and freedom and independence rather than always having a man there to help them and look after them. As I explained earlier, the largest symbol in this story is that the wallpaper is society keeping the women enclosed and pushing them into insanity.