Thanksgiving

Over Thanksgiving break I drove up to my house in the freezing rain. I had to stop once to scrape my windsheild of ice. I spent some time with the family and time with my old friends. it was fun. I went to two parties that were pretty fun. I also went pheasant hunting with my dad, my senior projet mentor, and a friend of my dad's. We went west river of South Dakota where there's alot of farm land. there were birds flying by the hundreds in the "honey hole." My dad's friend shot a jack rabbit, which are hated out there and at USD haha. But, I'm glad to be back at school with my friends that I missed.

Outline

I really liked the outline. It helped me out a lot. I wish I had an outline for every paper; it made it so much easier. I wrote down all my ideas and notes and then wrote it down on my paper... Then my paper was done! I enjoy outlines!

Revised Thesis

Ursula Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" shows the theme of Yin and Yang within the town.

Thesis for "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas"

Ursula Le Guin's story, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” tells a intrguing story of Yin and Yang. The town of Omelas is is so full of happiness, seeming like nothing is wrong, but hidden in a basement is the town's balance. The town's balance is a small child that must take the burden of suffereing so that the entire town may be happy. This piece shows that no matter how perfect something may look, there is always a little despair in all the happiness.

Reading Critically

I don't think I've ever read this way before. It was different for me. The first time I read these stories and passages I read them straight forward. Reading critically has shown me that there is so much more if read between the lines. I was actually amazed at how "The White Heron" was not straight forward at all. "The Yellow Wall-Paper" was also eye-opening, I do not think that the woman is insane but instead trapped, without many freedoms like the women in the 1900's.

A White Heron and The Yellow Wall-Paper

"A White Heron" was a story of a girl name Sylvia and a little about her life. I looked for symbols, but I don't exactly know what the symbols are in this story. I did underline several sentences on page 60, thinking that they were symbols. I thought that when the sportsman gave Sylvia a jack-knife it symbolized a connection. I also thought it was ironic that Sylvia at one point "grieved because the longed-for white heron was elusive..." yet, in the end when she had found the secret behind the heron, she did not speak a word. I believe that symbolized a love for nature more than the sportsman.

"The Yellow Wall-Paper" is a story that did not interest me. It is a story of a sick woman who cannot do anything until she is better. From the very beginning I didn't believe that the woman was ailed with a "nervous condition." I believed that she might have been insane. Near the end of the story I thought more and more about how it made sense for the woman to be insane: she was not allowed to do much of anything, she spent a lot of time in that room, and the windows were barred. I believe the barred windows were to keep her from jumping out. I think the yellow wall-paper that she seemed to hate so much was symbolizing her sickness. At first she was sick and hated the wall-paper, but when she started to enjoy the wall-paper she felt better. I believe that she saw the wall-paper as being her sickness because of the quote, "I've got out at last, in spite of you and Jane! And I've pulled off most of the paper, so you can't put me back!"

Women in early 1900's

Women in the early 1900's did not have as much respect as men. They were considered the weaker sex and were not allowed to perform muscular work. Women came second to men, even in education. Wives were basically owned by the husband. Women  didn't have very many freedoms, they had to fight for women's right. Although they began to work out of the homes more like in textile mills. Women in the early 1900's had it tough but they managed and became strong.