What not to read

• Write a 125 word blog identifying what piece of lit you think should be left out and NEVER read again by anyone and why.

I  think everything we have read in this class and reviewed is something that everyone needs to experience. All of these stories have opened up my mind, and have changed my opinions on many different types of matters. I  could not just tell someone not to read anything from this class because they are all crucial in learning. Yeah some of the stories are boring, and you just cant enjoy them all. That is just something you have to push through because each story holds a lesson that is crucial into learning. I  loved every second of this class, and can not wait to enjoy American Lit 2!! Thank you so much Mrs. Vance !!!

My favorite piece of literature was anything written by Poe. He is such an interesting person who wrote interesting things. Dark and descriptive stories that can make anyone see what he or she is reading. I  love all of Poe’s stories and poems because it introduced me into a new way of writing and reading. His past affects his writings, and I think that is one of the coolest things about his writings. We have different ways to escape reality, his was showing his crazy side in writing. I  can not just pick one of the two writings we read, or his poems we read. I  think they are all great in their own ways. Poe is one of my favorite writers ever, and I  appreciate his craziness.

I  believe that since Douglass did not really blame a person or people to blame that he is still able to identify a clear enemy. The only enemy in his writing is hate. How hate is taught, and how it is received. How people can keep something as ugly as hate to keep going on and on for many years. He is able to sell this story because many people can understand why he did not blame anyone. It strengthens his argument because we all face our own different types of hate in day to day situations. Him not blaming just shows how much of a bigger person everyone can be in life. Even when he was at his lowest lows, he still did not hate.

Black Veil

Secret sin is something that has been around since Adam and Eve. It is something that you can try so hard to ignore and pretend that it is not there. We all have some sort of secret sin that affects our everyday lives that we try not to show. We are able to hid behind our own black veil. It is things we try to hide from ourselves, others, and even God. Readers will always be able to relate to this story because sin and secret sin is something that will always be around till the end of time. His black veil is represented as security blanket, one that we all have. We think to ourselves to push it into the darkest and farthest crack in our minds. We do this to not feel guilty. The story is still around and will always be around for as long as secret sin is.

Abraham Lincoln

When Lincoln expressed his disapproval with the Mexican War was something that surprised me. With his wish to end, slavery in the District of Columbia, brought terrible criticism from the people back in Illinois. They thought Lincoln was “not a patriot” and that he did not represent his state in congress too good.  Lincoln could not even control the support in his own district. His career in politics seemed to be coming to a close just as it was beginning. His only reward for service was an offer of the governorship of far-off Oregon, which he did not take. It did not really surprise me, or second guess his presidential term. We all have our own views whether or not everyone agrees with him, and thought he was doing right.

The Pit and the Pendulum

One of the grossest things in The Pit and the Pendulum is how he describes the smells of the decaying fungus. He was trying to figure out how big the room was that he was trapped in, and almost fell to his death. The smell that he told readers about was the smell of death. He smelled the people who had fell into the hole, and had died. The smell of how long they had been there, and how the rats had actually came and ate their bodies. I’m very sensitive to smells, and just having to imagine that smell and what it would actually look like down there just makes me feel sick. That is the feeling that Poe was trying to convey. Trying to get his readers to (not) appeal to the senses of smell. Helping the readers imagine the smell of death, and the smell of close death that the prisoner almost faced.

fear

Oh my gosh one fear factor of mine is either A) being trapped in a tight space and dying, or B) being found dead and naked in the shower. I   can not chose between the two because both haunt me almost every single day. Claustrophobia plays a huge part in my life. One time I  was in the pit for a Twenty One Pilots concert and there were wayyyy to many people near me, and I  almost passed out in fear of being trampled. So tight spaces are a huge no no for me. Now the shower situation is about the same for everyone. I  do not want to be found naked in my bathtub or shower. One, that means emergency personnel are going to see my pale and pudgy body. Two, the water will probably be freezing by the time they get there and I  will look like an actual prune.

 

Tell-Tale Heart

I  remember at some point in between 8th-12th grade we read the Tell-Tale Heart. I     enjoyed reading him and his stories so much. He had this dark, crazy, and never introduced to me through writing style that I  just immediately enjoyed. I  enjoyed the imagery and how I  was able to understand the story with such ease. I  love how i    could imagine the narrator and old man, a crazy looking man and just a old guy. How he would peak the light into the old man’s room. The eye, and the color of it. How you see the narrator going insane with the police being there. Hearing the heart ticking in his head, and how he ripped up the floor to show the remains. All of it made an interesting story that just stayed with me.

Poe – Boy

There are many traumatizing things that happened to Poe. One prominent thing that stands out in Poe’s life is death. One example of how it affected his  writing is “The Masque of the Red Death.” In this story, a country is haunted by a deadly plague called the Red Death. It sweeps across the nation quickly, much like the Black Plague did in Europe. If you were to catch it, you were quarantined and shut out from the others. The symptoms were horrible: cutting pain and dizziness was followed by blood seeping out from your pores. The disease is very similar to tuberculosis, which was a very important illness in Poe’s life. His mother, foster mother, and wife all died of tuberculosis. Three woman who were the only people he ever loved. Another theme that is shown from Poe is the death of a young woman. Innocent woman, full of life, dies in a strange and horrible way. The cause of death is generally unusual and different. The way women played a part in his life affected how Poe wrote.

odd bird

My best friend in the entire world, Addison Weaver, can sometimes be an odd ball. I    love her bunches for it, and it really balances out our friendship before. She brings out sides in me and vice versa. Addi has a hard time trying to be outgoing sometimes. She can get very anxious, and even have an anxiety attack. She will seem to be real quiet to someone, but when you really get to know her she is a very outgoing and outspoken individual. I  feel like in a way I  have helped bring out an important side to her. Someone who is not afraid to speak up and being unapologetically herself. I  love my best friend and would do anything for her to succeed in life.