Blog

At times I thought the blog was kind of frustrating, but usually it was really useful. Especially since you could look at the other students blogs. This was helpful when it came to the meanings of stories, or the opinions because that way you see different opinions. This helped me figure out what I thought of the stories because sometimes thinking about a story in different ways you get new ideas. It is kind of like the discussions in class because you get to hear everyone's opinions, so you get to combine different ideas. Since we have to have the blogs posted by class looking at each others blogs helps you prepare for class because you get an idea of what the discussion will be about.

Romeo

Well at college there's a bunch of things that people miss, friends, family, food, not doing your own laundry, and for me I really miss my dog Romeo. People always laugh at my dog being named Romeo, especially when I say he is a chihuahua, but he is a great dog and really always has been. He is a really spoiled little thing, because he has a bed in my room, that says princess on it, I know he's a boy but he's pretty much a girl in my head. I've had him since I was 14 and he's pretty much like my child, I love dressing him up and putting him in cute clothes but I think that he likes these clothes. I think he really likes them because my other dog just tears off the clothes when I put them on, so I don't think he minds too much.
I really can't wait to go home because I want to see my dog so badly, I love playing with him or watching tv with him on my lap. I really miss when he thinks there is something scary going on because he barks so much, even though he's so tiny and really couldn't do anything to harm someone. People always laugh about the things I do with my dog, but I really only do them with good intentions. I take care of him the same way I would want to be taken care of if I were a dog, and that's probably why he's such a spoiled dog.

Outline

I found using the outline really useful for writing my paper. Usually when I write my papers, figuring out what to put where, and how to structure my paper is the hardest thing to do. Since we had this outline, it was much easier for me to figure out how to organize my paper in order to make sure I have the support and things that I need to make it make sense. The outline, and using the notecards made it easy for me to remember and organize what quotes and ideas belong together because that usually takes me a pretty long time. Sometimes I'll think that a quote is really good and will support the main purpose of my paper but I won't be able to link it with something else because its hard to figure out what it belongs with. Using the notecards allowed me to look at different combinations of quotes and ideas to make my paper make the most sense. I think the outline takes kind of a long time to do, but it's definitely useful for writing the paper.

Silvia's protection of her innocence from the hunter in "The White Heron," Silvia Orne Jewett demonstrates her view that women are changing their value to society in the progressive era.

Thesis Statement

By having Silvia choose not to give her innocence to the hunter, Sarah Orne Jewett, is demonstrating how women have begun to view themselves as more than prize to men, because they have started to get more rights in the early nineteen-hundreds.

Reading Critically

Well, reading critically has been a really interesting experience, in high school we only really read fiction freshman year, and we did some critical reading then. Maybe it was because we were young, or maybe I just don't remember well, but it was nothing like what we did this week. I mean I definitely enjoyed it, but I was kind of confused at first because it meant something totally different than I thought. I knew it was about something bigger than a girl who won't show a hunter a heron, but I only thought of it as maybe she wouldn't give him her innocence. I know that sex is often linked to innocence anyway, but I never made that connection, or thought of it in that way. The story was definitely more enjoyable when you understand the underlying meaning because then its not just a story that you would tell a child or something. The other thing I realized is that the historical context is really important when reading something critically, because certain things might not be noticed if you don't understand the context in which literature is written.

Symbolism in The Yellow Wallpaper
the pattern of the wallpaper- The pattern is meant to represent the fact that she sees herself as this women who is trapped in the house. At first she doesn't realize that she is trapped, which is in the beginning when she doesn't recognize the pattern. She doesn't realize how trapped she is in the house until she has to spend so much time there, that she can't help to realize how she is trapped, without any stimulation. The fact that she is in a cage, shows how the house is like a cage to her. She touches this when she realizes because it is almost as if she is caged in on the opposite side of the women in the wallpaper, and neither know how to get out.
The color yellow-I'm less sure about this one than the pattern, but I'm pretty sure the yellow represents the sickness she feels, and how the she is losing the purity of her ignorance. She is beginning to see how trapped she is, so she is losing that purity, of being a good housewife.

Symbolism in The White Heron
The color white-in the same way that yellow represented the loss of purity, I think that the white in the story represented the purity of her heart. Not meaning she was ignorant to her oppression, but that she was so pure and good in her heart that she couldn't tell the hunter where the white heron was.