Lying, Lying is no fun. Lying,Lying, hurts someone

But really. Lying is not always the wrong decision, in fact it can be the only good option in a situation. For example if someone in your life, say a friend, asks you if s/he looks fat when trying on a pair of jeans. What do you say? If you are a jerk then you might say yes, however, when one wants to keep their friends they will comment on the dazzling beauty that radiates from said friend. Anyways that kind of lying can be a great idea, but lying for other purposes can be great danger.

Lying as to be lazy for instance. We all know the person that will, when they grow up, call in sick to work every other day when they are not really sick. I know what you're thinking, probably "shame shame shame." And with good reason too, because liars like that are not cool. Another "real life example" of unethical liars are the people housing illegal immigrants. Come on folks, seriously don't help the illegal immigrants begin a life in America. For starters they take all the jobs and they make us Americans look bad at our own jobs, resulting in even more unenployment, and subsequently encourage more immigrants. As you can see this is a major problem that arises simply from lying.

Aside from my very excellent points on lying in the "real world" I know will consider the lying that is going on left and right in MAAN. For instance the harmless lying seems to come all in good fun and is not intended to hurt anyone. This is shown between Benedick and Beatrice many times when they are expressing false hate, and just plain flirting. Another example of the lying that is OK is from Don Pedro, Claudio, Leonato, and Hero. They are just trying to "hook up" their friends with someone they know will be great. With all this good lying going on I bet the idea of "Oh great since Leonato gets to lie now I can too!" NOT TRUE. There are bad kinds of lying too you know. This is shown by the lying that Don John uses to try to convince Claudio of Hero's disloyalty. And you know what? No one really likes Don John anyway. He is the creep who just sulks in the corner and when he does speak he seems to strike a dischord in the hearts of the viewer/reader. So hopefully you will take my words with great heed and think hard about the play, because it has many themes that seem to lurk beneath the surface.

Stereo(not the kind you're thinking of...)Types

In everyday life one usually finds themselves making stereotypes, and in shakespeare it's no different. And seemingly these "stereotypes" come back to hurt the ones who made them in time. So, it just goes to show.... you cant judge a book by it's cover.
In MAAN there is the stereotype of Dogberry, who is not the sharpest tool in the shed, if you know what I mean. However, when he did have information that was vital to keeping the innocence of Hero intact the higher class men simply ignored him as a lowly, stupid serf. Shakespeare develops Dogberry to be a somewhat "slow" character and has the educated, and wealthy class laugh down on him. This stereotype of lower class men seemed to create a picture of foolish, rowdy, and unreliable to the wealthy. This seems to come back and bite them in the butt later when Leonato decides to just blow him off and the vital information of the framation of Hero. In this way Shakespeare seems to condemn stereotypes, for he shows the repercussions of negative ones.

Shakespeare Sonnet 12

When I do count the clock that tells the time,
And see the brave day sunk in hideous night;
When I behold the violet past prime,
And sable curls, all silver'd o'er with white;
When lofty trees I see barren of leaves,
Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,
And summer's green all girded up in sheaves,
Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard;
Then of thy beauty do I question make,
That thou among the wastes of time must go,
Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake,
And die as fast as they see others grow;
And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence
Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.

Sonnet #12 by William Shakespeare is a peom in which a hard realization is made. It is the realization of human mortality. "And see the brave day sunk in hideous night" This quote seemingly tells the reader that with time everything will eventually end, just as day turns to night (2). It tells of the very natural presence of decay by comparing it with humans and the environment. "And Sable curls all silvered o'er with white... Then of thy beauty do I question make" (4-9). This passage refers to the fragility of man and how, as time ravages our bodies we can never stay beautiful forever. The ending lines seem to effectivly synthesize the poem for the reader, "And nothing 'gainst Time's scyth can make defence...Save breed to brave him when he takes thee hence" (13-14). The meaning seems to be that time cannot be stopped, but one's legacy can be carried on through the creation of children.

The sonnet seems to have a bit of a bittersweet aura about it. On one hand Shakespeare is elaborating on the mortality of man as well as his beauty and is saying that nothing can stay forever. But on the other hand he is telling the truth and wishes that people embrace death and create a future. In my opinion Shakespears ultimate message was very frank, and he wanted that message to be looked on frankly.

Meditate on the events of quarter one. How did you do in this class? What did you learn? Which of your academic skills improved? Where are you still struggling? How is the class environment? What can you do to further strengthen the learning community in our classroom? What are your goals for Q2? Basically, how did things go for you and what can you do to improve or to make things more successful for yourself and others

As I meditate quarter one, many things spring to mind. It brings the overall performance in the enriched environment to mind, which by the way I was stellar at. It seemed to be that I learned many lessons of life throughout my first few months with ms. f. I learned how to keep drafting because one is never perfect, although one could say I am almost there. When I focus in on one particualr academic skill that improved it would have to be my writing, becasue we learned how to create an effective thesis. I believe I could be more responsible however. I think my forgetfullness could be the "achilles heel" of my highschool career. The class environment was grand, for i felt welcome and everyone was very nice and supportive. I think I can help the class by helping others. My overall goals for Q2 are simple: to come, to see, and to conquer.

OR Post 5: 1776

After the loss of New York, Washington and his men begin a retreat. The Battle of White Plains caused more nuisance than casualties, only resulting in about 300 on each side. The retreat begins westward for the colonists. Now as December begins he British were in full control over New York and with their control they raided Fort Washington in Manhatten and Fort Lee in New Jersey. Those attacks on the forts not only resulted in over 3000 casualties for the Americans, but also a great store of arms. Washington soon crosses the Delaware toward Pennsylvania. But since rumors of an attack on Philidelphia led the Congress to flee to Baltimore. As the Congress left they appointed Robert Morris to head the affairs in Philidelphia, by now an all but- abandoned city. (270) As Christmas Eve came so did the plan to attack Delaware, a city under British control. With an army of 4600 men Washington was to cross the delaware river at midnight on Christmas Day. This offensive and crossing of the Delaware is now immortalized in a famous painting showing Washington standing in his boat crossing the icy waters of the Delaware. The battle for Trenton was mostly brutal melee combat with bayonets in houses. The Hessian resistance was no match for the American element of surprise and was easily defeated.
At the end of 1776 the war was far from over but it gave the colonists hope of a day when they are no longer terrorized by the crown. Near the end of the story the author states, "Above all, Washington never forgot what was at stake and he never gave up" (293). Without the leadership and relentless pursuit of the goal by Washington the revolution would have almost certainly failed. The struggle for the Americans was oinly beginning after 1776 and no battle would prove unimportant in the ultimate victory. The struggle was for David to take down Goliath and in the end David prevailed.

OR Post 4: 1776

After the Colonists' victory at Dorchester Heights the British occupation began to grow exponentially. From April to August ships constantly were coming into hte New York harbor with British and Hessian troops. By the end of August the total number of troops under British command in America totaled 42,000. Compared to the poulation of New York which was only 30,000 (148). With these newfound British troops came no response from the colonists. Many enlistments had already expired and they had a right to tend to their family or farms. Later in August the British attacked New York as well as Long Island. The Rebel resistence was futile for the Briitsh out numbered them by three fold. Soon thereafter the colonists were backed into Brooklyn. The battle of Long Island and Brokklyn ended up being disasterous. However, some 9,000 american troops retreated without a life lost. After the fiasco, numbers of American losses were sent to England from general Howe and created a boost of morale for the Brits as well as their soldiers. On the opposite side of the spectrum the americans were reeling after their defeat, creating a wave of dampened spirits throughout the land. Soon to follow however was aminor victory at the Battle of Harlem Heights which Washington so humbly puts it "a petty sharp skirmish." However minimal the victory may have been it was a step in the right direction. It boosted confidence in the revolution once again.
As the year progesses the Americans are getting more and more of a taste of what is to come in the following years. They soon realize that not all battles will be won and they must persevere through the fight. The struggle is very evident in this section for the British reinforcements are piling in each day by the hundreds and thousands, while the americans are losing troops due to enlistment expirations. Constantly retreating the struggle for the Americans will be to be relentless in their pursuit for independence and remember what they are fighting for.

My Photo

As you can see this is a pic of a tree. I would greatly appreciate the input my peers have on my photo.