Connections

While reading the beginning of the novel, The Poisonwood Bible, to day in class, we were told to relate parts of the text to work we have read this year during class. While most were relating to novels such as Frankenstein because of her uncertainty of herself within society, and Alice in Wonderland, being that she is placed in a strange place, I more closely related it to a novel I read over sprint break, The Glass Castle. From the begging of the reading, I found similarities between the two. Like the relations from Frankenstein and Alice, I felt like the characters in Poisonwood and Glass Castle were looking for their place in society and unhappy with their life. I personally got the impression that the who characters wanted more in life than what they had and felt like they could achieve more if they wanted to. Within Poisonwood there were many biblical illusion used and through out The Glass Castle, the protagonist, Jeannette's, father is seemed to be representing sin of her world, her little sister innocence, and Jeannette herself as the good. If this novel is anything like the Glass Castle, I am excited for another great read!

- Amanda C.

Philosophy and Religion

These past weeks we have been exploring our own philosophical perspectives, and how religious views may fall into that. One thing that I would like to talk about, is what Mrs. Elliott and I talked about, how Mormonism was in Polytheism, which I did not see how that could ever fit, considering that Mormons are Christians. Looking at the beliefs with polytheism, There were some similarities, such as we believe that mankind is good, and that there are different levels of punishment after this life. However, one of the main beliefs of Polytheists is that there are multiple Gods that have created this Universe, and that govern it; but that is not true with our religion. We may believe that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are separate beings, But we believe that God is the supreme creator, and architect for our universe, and for our lives. He is the Supreme being that governs our daily lives. So with this being a major belief, I feel that Mormonism should have been grouped with Theists. But in fact, there were many things that stood out as differences and similarities in ALL of the groups that were displayed on the chart given to us in class, So it would be a mixture of many of them, which might be true for many of the religions that were on the list also, but I do not know the deep doctorines of them, so I cannot  say that I would know where to exactly put them. This is my rational for why the author of the chart put Mormonism where it is, he definantly does not know the true beliefs of Mormons, so was thus misled to where to place Mormonism on the chart.

- David Bell

The Invisible Man

Invisible Man deals with racism and finding one's place in society. An idea I find interesting is that the author doesn't name his main character. I think he does this to show that the Invisible Man could be anybody and that anyone can relate to him. It also shows the readers that the author is talking about the black race as a whole rather than one specific identity.
-Karissa C.

“Before God we are equally wise and equally foolish.”

Last month in our AP literature class we were able to choose between two books to read as an outside reading novel. I chose to read Jane Eyer. It discussed issues present during the 17th century like gender inequality and the importance of social class. Such values are still appart today; However, we have made great strides towards equality. I consider myself to be extremely lucky for the oportunities that I have.

In the novel Jane faces many barriers due to her social and economic situation. Jane significantly stuggles because of the ambiguity of her social standing. While she is well educated and mannered, she is an orphan with no wealth of her own. She begins working for Rochester as his inferior. As she begins to develop feelings for him she faces a great internal struggle as she understands her economic sitution and for such reasons doubts Rochester could ever be involved with her. Even after Rochester admitts his love to her, she is unable to accept his commitment until she is able to recieve her uncles inheritance in order to be on the the same economic and social level as he.

In the US today, more woman attend college than men, students are given equal opportunities, and our current president was once significantly economically disadvantaged. I feel blessed to live in a nation where I can be regarded for what I am capable of achieving and not limited to the situation I was born into. I only hope that we, as well as other nations, continue to work towards equality.

~Vanessa S

Intelligence vs. Education

In Jane Eyre, there is a theme of poverty vs. intelligence and education. Although Jane is naturally very smart and works hard to educate herself, she is in a lowly class because she doesn't have money. Because she can't pay for fancy schooling and has no one to rely on, her intelligence doesn't do her any good. this domonstrates one of the many boundaries in England regarding social classes. Today, education is required for everyone, even those without money which allows everyone a chance to succeed. This wasn't true at all in the time of Jane.
-Karissa C.

$$$$

Does money make the world go round? To the romantic, it would be the most repulsive idea, but realistically, it kind of does. As exemplified in Jane Eyre, and even in today's society, personal material wealth is part of what defines a person at first glance, no matter how much one denies it. A harsher reality met Jane during the Victorian period of her novel, where she, as both a woman and a low-class orphan, is oppressed and meets little equality from her peers. Her intellect and academic proficiency is overshadowed by the fact that she is penniless and without parents, and is scorned by her foster family. This carries on through her adulthood and even in her love life, where she must carefully seek a balance of financial and statutory  independence, and romantic love from her would-be husband. Going back to modern times, even though the stigma is somewhat removed, there is still an unspoken stereotype of rich vs. poor.
Personally, I don't think money is evil. It's good, just as the saying goes "Greed is good." It is how we choose to utilize money and greed that gives them their respective value judgments.

-Lian C.

End of the Semester

The end of the semester is approaching, and I just want to make a post about our team. It was been a blast doing stuff with them on tuesday, like bringing snacks, and getting off task - though we do get our assignments done. The Extrapolators is DEFINANTLY the best team in Mrs. Elliotts class, and has the best name! It has been real fun being in the team I am in!