MAAN Post 1

Though all of us have been told that lying is morally reprehensible, we are all guilty of it at some point or another. Though often we are wrong in our actions, there are some times when it may be ok to tell a lie. Sometimes the truth can be much more damaging than the consequences of a lie. When a lie is told only in order to help someone else, it can be ok. However, if the lie is told to benefit oneself or to harm oneself it is still considered unacceptable.

Dishonesty, while in itself is not admirable; it can be when done to help a friend or neighbor. Often lying can be good when the truth is unnecessary and would just hurt someone. For example, for Christmas this year I bought my little sister a hermit crab. The order actually came with two, but one was already dead when it came (yikes!). On Christmas morning my little sister asked if it only came with one crab. I said yes even though that wasn't the truth. Nothing good would have come from lying to her, and it only would have made her upset. When the truth only hurts someone, it is alright to omit it. Also, when it is possible to help a friend a lie might be ok. For example, the Prince helps Claudio when he pretends to be Claudio to get Hero to fall in love with him. He makes this clear when he states,” And tell fair Hero I am Claudio, and in her bosom I'll unclasp my heart" (II, 1, 260-261). Though the Prince did lie to Hero, it was only to help them both with their relationship. Only when it is to benefit someone else is lying ever acceptable.

Though there are exceptions, in almost all circumstances lying is morally reprehensible. Anytime that someone changes the truth to hurt someone else or for their own personal gain it is unacceptable. This has occurred in Much Ado about Nothing many times. Don John, who loathes Claudio lies to him by saying, "Sure my brother is amorous on Hero and hath withdrawn her father to break with him about it. The ladies follow her and but one visor remains (II, 1, 127-130). Don John lies to Claudio saying that the Prince is trying to take Hero for himself. He does this only to make Claudio upset. This sort of lying is unacceptable because it causes nothing but harm. This is often the case when gossip is started about someone. The rumor is only created to hurt someone and therefore is morally wrong. When a lie is told to harm another, it is ethically wrong.

Poetry

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost uses a central metaphor to compare making decisions in life to traveling on two different roads. He describes a traveler who is at a point where he must choose which path to travel in the wood. He decribes one road by stating, "And looked down one as far as I could/ To where it bent in the undergrowth;" (4-5). Though he does not go out and say it, clearly this road is less popular because it hasn't been cleared. He describes the second road by saying, "Because it was grassy and wanted wear" (8). This road is definitely more popular than the first. In the end Robert Frost suprises the reader by taking the less popular road. This is like the decisions in life because often one is forced to choose between what is popular and what isn't. Robert Frost uses this metaphor to convey that while its more difficult, sometimes we must go against what everyone else is doing.

This poem meant a lot to me when I began to read it. It tells the message of doing what is right even when it is hard. This means a lot to me because I think it is always very important to stick with what you think is right, even when everyone else is doing something completely different. This poem really describes what it is like to make a decisions. I often envision two different roads I must choose from. I think this poem is wonderfully written and has a great message.

Quarter 1 Reflection

All in all I think Quarter 1 went pretty well. I learned a lot about writing, expecially writing the memoir. Also the research presentations we did taught me a lot about citations. I think that the visual images unit was the most interesting and I really enjoyed analyzing the movies and pictures. I think that what was hard in this class at first was keeping up with the amount of work we had in it. I think by the end I learned how to manage my time pretty well. Some nights we would have like 30 pages to read plus and blog assignment and maybe something else. Ms. Froehlich's multitasking lecture really helped me become efficient in doing my assignments. I'm excited for Quarter 2 and to learn about new styles of writing.

Blog Post 5

There are many other characters in Sense and Sensibility besides Elinor and Marianne that not only shape the plot of the story, but the girl's lives as well. The relationships between these characters are often the cause of conflict throughout the book. John Dashwood is the half brother of Elinor and Marianne. He is married to Fanny Dashwood and both are very similar in nature. Both are conceited snobs who though sporadically reach out to others, are most of the time only concerned with themselves and their well being. Fanny can be very disagreeable and difficult to live with and John is often stubborn and inconsiderate. This is proven right at the beginning of the book when John must make the decision of what to give his half sisters after the death of his father. Fanny insists they give very little and her selfishness her proven through her logic which Austen explains by saying, "And what possible claim could the Dashwoods, who were related to him only by half blood, which she considered no relationship at all, have on his generosity to so large an amount? It was very well known, that no affection was ever supposed to exist between the children of any man by different marriages; and why was he to ruin himself, and their poor little Harry, by giving away all his money to his half sisters?" (7). Right from the beginning of the book, these two characters set off the conflict and tension in the relationships in the novel.

The two love interests throughout most of the book also add conflict by leaving Marianne and Elinor behind without remorse. Marianne falls quickly in love with a man named Willoughby who I find extremely inconsiderate. He abruptly leaves Marianne and the next time she sees him it is at a party where he completely ignores her. He only later writes to her to tell her that he is engaged to another woman! I believe that Willoughby is inconsiderate and afraid to take responsibility for his actions. He basically runs away from Marianne only to go marry another woman. Edward Ferrars is also similarly cowardly. He does not tell Elinor that he is engaged to Lucy. While their relationship was not quite as outward, it still leaves Elinor very upset. Much of the conflict involving Elinor and Edward revolves around his fiancé Lucy who Jane Austen describes as "Lucy was naturally clever; her remarks were often just and amusing; and as a companion for half an hour Elinor frequently found her agreeable; but her powers had received no aid from education: she was ignorant and illiterate; and her deficiency of all mental improvement, her want of information in the most common particulars, could not be concealed from Miss Dashwood, in spite of her constant Endeavour to appear to advantage"(113). Lucy from the start does not have a compatible personality with Elinor and is one of the catalysts for the conflict.

Blog Post 4

Once again as the book continues, we see the two main characters, Elinor and Marianne faced with similar challenges and once again we see both of them act in very different ways. Both girls have their heart broken by possible love interests and prospects for marriage. While each is equally devastating, the girls respond in entirely different ways

Marianne had convinced herself that she was in love with Willoughby and was love at first sight. Her sister had warned her about such rash actions but Marianne was determined. Disaster strikes when Marianne sees Willoughby walking out the door, not to be seen for an entire year. Marianne is hysterical and acts as though it is the end of the world. She shuts herself up in her room, hardly ever to return. Austen notes, "They saw nothing of Marianne till dinner time, when she entered the room and took her place at the table without saying a word. Her eyes were red and swollen; and it seemed as if her tears were even then restrained with difficulty. She avoided the looks of them all, could neither eat nor speak, and after some time, on her mother's silently pressing her hand with tender compassion, her small degree of fortitude was quite overcome, she burst into tears and left the room." (75).

Elinor also experiences heartbreak when she finds out devastating news. Edward had returned and seen Elinor a while earlier and though she denied it, Marianne insisted he was still in love with her, to the point where he was wearing a lock of her hair around his neck. Though Elinor dismisses her sister, I believe she thought it was so. However, horrible shock came later. She had been an acquaintance to Lucy Steele and was politely talking to her when she discovers that in fact Lucy had been the love interest of Edward and it was her hair he was wearing around her neck. Jane Austen describes Elinor's emotions as, "What felt Elinor at that moment? Astonishment, that would have been as painful as it was strong, had not an immediate disbelief of the assertion attended it. She turned towards Lucy in silent amazement, unable to divine the reason or object of such a declaration; and though her complexion varied, she stood firm in incredulity, and felt in no danger of an hysterical fit, or a swoon. "(115).

The difference in the reactions between the two sisters is astonishing. While Marianne was hysterical, Elinor remained composed. At first we think that Elinor is clearly better than her sister and more mature. While it is true that Elinor might have more self-control than her sister, it is not healthy for her to bottle up her emotions. The sisters are the extremes of the situation and need to find a happy middle where they can express their emotions calmly.

Outside Reading Post 3

The book Sense and Sensibility is both similar and different from books we've read in class. In many ways it is similar to Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close in that the characters are searching for self discovery. The girls in Sense and Sensibility finally find that family is their number one priority and they need each other despite their differences. Both girls end up having separate lives, but will always stay true to each other, holding on to their true identity. This is shown in the last paragraph of the novel. Austen writes, "Between Barton and Delaford, there was that constant communication which strong family affection would naturally dictate;—and among the merits and the happiness of Elinor and Marianne, let it not be ranked as the least considerable, that though sisters, and living almost within sight of each other, they could live without disagreement between themselves, or producing coolness between their husbands. "(336) Oskar is also searching for his values and identity in society and finds that family is an important value to him as well. In the end however, there are also different in many ways. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close deals with a major theme of overcoming tragedy which is also in Sense and Sensibility but not quite as much Also, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close uses visual images and multiple narrators which Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close does not.


The book Sense and Sensibility also has similarities and differences to the novel Black Boy. The novels are similar because they both deal with ideas of independence. In Sense and Sensibility the girls are gaining independence by growing up and finding their place in society and Richard gains independence by rebelling. Marianne’s independence is shown when Jane Austen says, "Marianne Dashwood was born to an extraordinary fate. She was born to discover the falsehood of her own opinions, and to counteract, by her conduct, her most favorite maxims. She was born to overcome an affection formed so late in life as at seventeen, and with no sentiment superior to strong esteem and lively friendship, voluntarily to give her hand to another!—and THAT other, a man who had suffered no less than herself under the event of a former attachment, whom, two years before, she had considered too old to be married,—and who still sought the constitutional safeguard of a flannel waistcoat! " (334). Marianne learns good sense throughout the novel as well as independence from what had consumed her life. The books are different because they also have different themes. Black Boy also deals with the issue of racism.

Picture

outside reading post 2

In the book Sense and Sensibility there are two main characters with contrasting personalities and outlooks on life. Elinor and Marianne are sisters living with their widowed mother and youngest sister Margaret. The novel illustrates the challenges of growing up and how each girl deals with them in very different ways. Elinor is older and much more reserved. She is extremely calm and has astonishing self control. Elinor views the world logically and practically. Marianne on the other hand is driven by passion and emotion. Her moods swing from the extremes, either completely ecstatic or hopelessly depressed. She is consumed by imagination filled with romances and fantasies and often overreacts to situations. The girls differences are magnified throughout the book as they are faced with the same challenges but react with them in completely opposing ways.


Though the girls had grown up at Norland, they were forced to leave by their mother, who could know longer live with her step-son and his wife. While Elinor not only had to leave Norland, but her love interest Edward, she showed no emotion. Reflecting on this, Marianne declared, "And Elinor in quitting Norland and Edward, cried not as I did. Even her self command is invariable. When is she dejected or melancholy?" (38). Elinor was extremely composed and seemingly unaffected by the thought of leaving Norland and Edward, proving her poised and calm disposition. Marianne, on the other hand, was hysterical to leave her home. She cried, " Dear, dear Norland, when shall I cease to regret you!- when learn to find a home elsewhere!- Oh, happy house, you know where I could suffer from viewing you from this spot!" (26). It is clear that Marianne expresses her emotions much more than Elinor and deals with her problems vocally.


Elinor on the other hand, bottles up her emotions and faces her problems much more calmly. Later, once in Barton, the girls find that a gentleman by the name of Willoughby who assisted Marianne when she sprained her ankle. Convinced that he is a potential love interest for Marianne, they bombard Sir John with questions. Marianne passionately asks, “But what are his manners upon more intimate acquaintances. What are his pursuits, talents and genius" (41). Elinor, on the other hand, inquires, "Where does he come from? Has he a house in Allenham" (42). This is another example of how Marianne is passionate and romantic while Elinor is level-headed and practical.

Outside Reading Post 1

Many times conflicts within relationships are caused due to a clashing of personalities. Form the very beginning of Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, we see conflict erupt from eccentric characters. Most of this conflict is caused because of the clashing of personalities of the characters. Mr. Henry Dashwood was a peculiar man who dies at the beginning of the book, acting as a catalyst for the conflict in the house. He left most of his estate to his son of a previous marriage and almost none for his wife and daughters. This illustrates a lack of thoughtfulness on the part of Mr. Dashwood. Mrs. Dashwood and characters are left dependent on the generosity of the son Mr. John Dashwood which is extremely unfortunate because he is very selfish and his wife is even more so. They decide to give next to nothing their stepmother and stepsisters next to nothing and make the environment at Norland very hostile. This leaves Mr. Dashwood and her daughters Eleanor, Marianne and Margaret very upset. The complete, exaggerated selfishness of John Dashwood and his wife is apparent at the begging of the book. We also see the stubbornness and independence of Mrs. Dashwood and her daughters when they decide they must move out of that house. Eleanor then has a new love interest that adds another eccentric personality to the mix. I predict more conflict will come from the relentless, unstoppable clash of personalities.