Lying.

Is lying ever justified? Or ever ethically correct? I guess this question will always come to mind and has throughout history. I do not believe that lying is ethically correct and one should always tell the truth. As to if it's ever justified, I believe there are some situations where one must choose to just not say everything and bite their tounge. Lying is a horrible thing and can ruin friendships, families, schools, companies... etc. Sometimes the honest truth is hard, but it seems that it's the only way to be true to yourself and others around you.

Have a great break everybody. Enjoy.

::Poetry --- YeaYea::

The poem I chose was: "I Taught Myself to Live Simply" by Anna Akhmatova

I taught myself to live simply and wisely,

to look at the sky and pray to God,

and to wander long before evening

to tire my superfluous worries.

When the burdocks rustle in the ravine

and the yellow-red rowanberry cluster droops

I compose happy verses

about life's decay, decay and beauty.

I come back. The fluffy cat

licks my palm, purrs so sweetly

and the fire flares bright

on the saw-mill turret by the lake.

Only the cry of a stork landing on the roof

occasionally breaks the silence.

If you knock on my door

I may not even hear.

Anna Akhmatova, I believe, composed a great poem portraying life with simplicity and reflection. I believe that Anna found a way to illustrate to the readers of her poem how much joy can come from the simple things in life. She also illustrates so wonderfully that reflection about life and the journey you have taken can lead to contentment with what you have.

I find this poem compelling because I really think that it can apply to anyone. I believe that in life, one has to find within themselves to just life live with what you've got and not try to over complicate things. It's easier said then done though. Life has so many stresses, so much that we put pressure on ourselves and we move further and further away from actually living life and not just going though the motions of life. I believe that one must learn to find happiness in the small things and reflect on what you have and what you can actually gain out of living in the simplest ways.

::Quater One Reflection::

During the first quarter I think that I did fairly well in the class. I actually did better then I thought I was going to do. I learned a lot more about how to write a good, solid, theme thesis statement. One of my academic skills that improved a little was not procrastinating. This is a very good thing. :D

I think that I am still struggling with sentence fluency and using good word choice. This can defiantly improve and I know that it will the more we work on our writing skills in the class. I think that the class environment is very good and open. I like that the classroom is welcoming and creates an environment where you know you can go for help. Also, the I think that our class does a really good job of being open when it comes to presenting new ideas because I know that my ideas won't be judged upon negatively.

I think I can further the learning environment by seeking out good proof reading and ideas from other classmates. During the second quarter, I think one of my goals is to be more open to criticism and allow for others to help give me good advice. If you guys could help me out with this, that would be great. Also, another goal of mine is to keep working at my bad procrastination skills. The first quarter really showed me that a long writing process is a wonderful way to help improve your paper and I hope I can put it more to use.

Snow Falling On Cedars ~ Post 4

Hello. Again. Whoopwhoop 4th post. I'm almost done with the book! Very exciting. The book has actually been better then I expected... but anyway...

In the past few chapters, the whole trail case had begun to untwist and reveal what actually happened the night of Carl Heine's death. Also, the author has slowly revealed more about each individual character's past and the events that happened right before Carl's death. As I've learned so far, many fingers throughout the book have been pointed at Kabuo for being guilty because evidence such as the blood found on Kabuo's gaff was type B positive and could possibly match Carl'sone of the mooring ropes found on Carl's boat didn't match his other ones but matched Kabuos, and Kabuo was trained in kendo which could be used to injure another man. I'm excited to still see Kabuo's side of the story which I havn't read yet. I think that these pieces of evidence will become clear one I hear his testimony.

Secondly, one character I haven't mentioned in my posts is Ishmael who is writting a story for his newspaper. We learn that when Ishmael and Hatsue (Kabuo's wife) were teenagers, they had a little romance. After Hatsue left Ismael, (because they went their separate ways after Ismael went to war and Hatsue entered Manzanar), he was still in love with her and has carried this pain with him up until the trial. Ishmael runs into Hatsue and she complains to him that he needs to defend Kabuo in his newspaper. Hatue states, "People don't have to be unfair, do they" (Guterson 258)? Hatsue wants people to see that her husband is innocent and justice needs to be found.

Ishmael, in the book, is now trying to decide whether or not to bring a new piece of evidence to court concerning the night of Carl's death. Since Ishmael is still dealing with his grief over Hatsue and memories of World War II, he is struggling as to whether or not he should turn the trial around. Ishmael is a very interesting character that I believe does know that injustice is wrong, but stuggles to apply that to his own life because he is carrying his past with him. I think that Ishmael will show this new evidence that a huge freighter could have possibly made large enough waves to push Carl out of his boat.

Well, now I'm very excited to see if Kabuo will be sentenced guilty or innocent... and I think it all lays to in Ishmael's hands....

Snow Falling On Cedars ~ Post 3

In these last few chapters that I have read, Kabuo reflects on how much he has missed since he has been in jail. He misses the seasonal change of autumn and wishes he wasn't stuck in his cell. He remembers how he fell in love with Hatsue, his wife, and remembers his argument with her about him leaving to fight in World War II. He realizes how much the war effected him as a person when he begins to look into his cell mirror. The Narrator states that, "He [Kabuo] face had been molded by his experiences as a soldier, and he appeared to the world seized up inside precisely because this was how he felt" (Guterson 154). This feeling of being seized up is paralleled to how Kabuo thinks that he has no chance in winning the court case. Kabuo wants to demonstrate his innocence to the jurors and when in his cell, the narrator states that Kabuo, "Sat upright in the hope that his desperate composure might reflect the shape of his soul" (Guterson 154).

In the past few chapters, this has really just stuck out to me because I was thinking about what it would be like to be in Kabuo's place. Kabuo is stuck in a world of suffering, racism and hate. Yet, through it all, Kabuo seems to manage to grasp clarity on the divine reasonings of life and how interconnected everything is. Time can only lead to his liberation. (I've included a quote down below...) Kabuo sees through the black and white world around him and finds the color of justice and equality. When it comes down to it, we're all human. Kabuo is a very interesting character because even though he seems to determine that yes, he probably will be sentenced as guilty, he contradicts himself in thinking that he will be liberated. This also often leads me into thinking that if I was in his spot, well, I don't know what I would do... But I'd defiantly not be thinking about how life was all worked out for a specific purpose.

This book so far has actually been quite interesting, and I'm still looking forward to what's next!!

Oh, I also thought I would throw in this interesting quote from the book...

"What a mystery life was! ... Impermanence, cause and effect, suffering, desire, the precious nature of life... time and clarity about suffering only to embark on the upward path of liberation" (Guterson 169).

PHOTOGRAPHHHH!

Snow Falling On Cedars ~ Post 2

::Snow Falling On Cedars - Post 2::

Judge Lew Fielding's courtroom, where the trial is taking place, illustrates the racial divide between the Japanese and the islanders. The Japanese people sit in the rear of the court room because, "San Piedro required it of them without calling it a law" (Guterson, 75). This illustrates how much racial tension is on the island which helps show what Kabuo (the accused man) is up against. This point really stuck out to me because it created a sense, for me at least, that a majority of the people living on the island are automatically assuming that Kabuo Miyamoto is guilty just because of his race. It shows how the Japanese were automatically considered second-class citizens. This major conflict has always been present in his life and many hardships have been created because of it.

In the last chapters that I have read, I learned more about Hatsue, Kabuo's wife. Hatsue, during a break in the trial wishes to speak to her husband alone, but she isn't able to. Hatsue had grown up on the island and is a character full of grace and beauty. We learn that she now feels older and needs to wear makeup. Hatsue is very caring for her husband Kabuo and very devout. They were married in an internment camp. Also, the author strongly demonstrates that all American citizens came from immmigrant families illustrating that racism in unnecessiary because we are all equal on that level. This is illustrated when Carl's (the guy who was supposedly murdered) mother, Etta Heine takes the stand and tells about how her husband sold 7 acres of land to Kabuo and she was against it. This shows how she was taught to hate Japanese people just because they were different from her. This is also shown through Hatsue because she was taught at a young age to distrust anyone who was different from her. Racism is now brought into a new light; there's racism comming from both sides.

Snow Falling on Cedars overall relates to the rebellion theme because it is illustrated through the general hardships of the Japanese on the island. Many of them have faced racism and have felt unequal just because of their race. Kabuo, as an accused Japanese man faces the trial with the hard knowledge that there are many people who hate him not only because of what happened, but also because of his race. There is a sense of rebellion that surrounds the trial as people of the island start to stand up for Kabuo by going against the "social norm."

Just another post on MEMOIRS

Why do people write memoirs?
What power is there in telling our own stories?


People write memoirs because they want to protray their emotions towards situations in their life. People write memoirs to reflect on their life and help teach what they have learned to others. I believe that people write memoirs also for enjoyment purposes and for the love of writing. I think people write memoirs because they are easy to write because it's from their past experiences and a reflection of their life.

The power in telling our own stories is that it reveals more about yourself and gives a person a chance to reflect on their life. In doing so, good messages can be produced and life lessons taught. Memoirs have personal believes which you might not get from other types of writing.

YEAH MEMOIRS!

::Snow Falling on Cedars::

Outside Reading Book First Post --- Quarter 1

My outside reading book is titled "Snow Falling on Cedars" and is was written by David Gutterson.

In the book "Snow Falling On Cedars", an accused man by the name of Kabuo faces his trial as a Japanese man in the midst of racial tensions on the San Piedro Island in 1954. Kabuo was accused for the murder of a local fisherman named Carl Heine. Carl Heine's boat, the Susan Marie was found stranded with all of its lights on. The county sheriff, Art Morgan was called on the morning of Carl's death (September 16, 1954) with his deputy Abel. On the Susan Marie, Carl could not be found, so Art and Abel put the fish net into the water and found Carl dead hanging on the fish net by his rain gear buckles. When he was out of the water, the sheriff noticed that Carl had been crushed about his left ear.

After Art Morgan testified, Nels Gudmundsson (the attorney who had been appointed to defend Kabuo Miyamoto) cross examines Art of the possibility that Carl's head could have been banged after his death in the process of bringing him out of the water due to his weight.

Shorty after this in the book we learn about Ishmael Chambers who is a writer for the San Piedro Review and is going to be writing an article about the trial.

Then, Horace Whaley, the town coronor is brought to the stand and testify's that Carl was breathing when he hit the water meaning he wasn't dead before he went overboard. This gives the jury more to think about because it means that maybe Carl's head injury was caused when the sheriff was bringing him out of the water, not previously. This could mean he just simply drowned.

Snow Falling on Cedars" as of so far is an excellent book, and I can't wait to see what happens next. I really enjoy how the author slowly brings in more of the story without first offering what actually happened, leaving you to figure it out.

Black Boy post NUMBER 2!

What types of things does Richard "hunger" for
and what are the effects (positive and negative) of hunger?

Richard hungers for not only physical food, but also for fatherly affection and for societal knowledge. Richard, towards the beginning of the book associates his hunger with the absence of his father. Richard wants, or "hungers" for fatherly affection and for a father figure in his life. The effect of this hunger is that Richard is negatively angered at his father, or upset with himself for wanting his affection after he left him. Richard craves fatherly affection because his mother doesn't "satisfy" his hunger for affection.

Secondly, Richard hungers for food. Since his in malnurished, he seeks ways to get his hands on as much food as he can. As he realizes his hunger is always with him, he also notices the negative affects to his lack of food when he states, "But this new hunger baffeled me, scared me, made me angry and insisten" (Wright 14).

Lastly, Richard hungers for societal knowledge. The main example that stands out is his "hunger" to understand the racial divide between blacks and whites. At first he is naive and doesn't thinks that there possibly could be good white people, but then he begins to question their motives and to understand what the difference between blacks and whites actually is.

~Question Numero Uno~

Is Richard a "bad" boy? When should behavior be blamed on the person and when should it be blamed on the environment?

In my opinion, Richard is not a "bad" boy. Yes, he does do many things that are inappropriate such as kill a cat, wander to saloons, get drunk, run away from an orphanage, and yell obscenities and write naughty words on windows. That could be enough evidence to point and say, yes, Richard is a "bad" boy, but in my opinion, he just didn't know any better. His actions were based on his surrounding environment.

Behavior should be blamed on the person when that person has grown up in an environment where there have been strict lines distinguishing between right and wrong. On the other hand, behavior should be blamed on environment when children are deprived of time with their parents and no one has told them the difference between what is socially acceptable and what isn't. Their behavior comes from only seeing and doing what they are told because they are naive and ignorant of how their actions effect others because no one has told them differently.

::This is Natalie's Literary Blog::

Hi,

my name is Natalie.

How are you doing??

Welcome to my literary blog!! Whoo. :]]]

Alrighty.

Well, my blog is set up and ready to go.

Peace.