Rockin' in the USA

Genre: Musical Theater

Musical theater combines dialogue, music and dance on the stage, and more recently, on the screen. This combination dates back to the ancient Greeks in the 5th century B.C. The art form gained more popularity during the Renaissance and opera was born around 1600. Operas, however, are performed exclusively in song and it wasn't until the 1800's that operettas, smaller comedic operas that included dialogue, became popular. Musicals were not born until the 20th century, however, in America. Many of the earlier musicals were very similar to operas. Oklahoma! (1943), written by Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein II, is considered the first musical play. Some other famous musicals written in the 20th century are Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady, Singin' in the Rain, The Sound of Music, West Side Story, The Wizard of Oz, The Fantasticks, Les Miserables, and Rent.

Cover song: Think of Me from The Phantom of the Opera

I chose this song because, one, I am already familiar with it and love it, but it is also a solo song that would be great for me (cello) and Jill (voice) to perform! The song is sung by Christine, a chorus girl, during her first opera performance as a main character on the stage. This song is significant because that character in the opera in the musical was going to be sung by a famous singer, but the Phantom of the opera house makes sure that Christine, whom he has fallen in love with, gets the part instead. The words "Think of me, think of me fondly when we've said good-bye. Remember me, once in a while, please promise me you'll try" are actually what the Phantom wants to say to Christine (he is the one that worte that opera).

Original Composition: A Dark Side

The musical I thought up to back up my song is a variation of the story of Beauty and the Beast. The main character is a girl who meets a young man in her town. At the point this song is sung, they have only spoken a few times, but she already likes him. The twist is that she just discovered that he is a demon creature who spends most of his time in human form. In A Dark Side, she is reflecting on the discovery as well as addressing her own dark past and the way people judge others by their faults.

Honors Book Report

Funke, Cornelia. Inkspell. Scholastic, Inc. New York, NY. 2005.

I chose to read Inkspell for three reasons. First, I have read Inkheart, to which Inkspell is the sequel, and it is coming out as a movie! Also, one of my friends, who is a really big bookworm said I should read it. It is a 635 page fantasy book that revolves around the ability of the main character, Meggie, a few others in the story to read characters off the pages of books and into being. The story takes place in two worlds, ours and the Inkworld, but it is not clear where in our world, or what the time period is. (I would guess that it is current.)

Where as Inkheart takes place in our world, the characters in Inkspell dive into the Inkworld, inside the pages of Inkheart, a book written by talented author, Fenoglio. When Meggie's mother, Resa, was rescued from Inkworld in Inkheart, Meggie began asking her everything about the world inside Inkheart. Her obsession became so great that when Farid, a boy out of Tales of the Arabian Nights, asks her to read him into Inkworld to follow Dustfinger, a fire-eater from Inkworld and a hero in Inkheart, she agrees to read herself there too, something no one had accomplished before. What they find, however, is a world on the verge of being taken over by the villan of the story.

What Happened to Ethics?

To read the original article, click here: http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/Departments/eLearning/Default.aspx?article=WhatHappenedEthics&GT1=27001

Everyone has the ability to be ethical and truthful. Whether it is something we are born with, or something we are taught to recognize, I am not sure. Either way, I think the reason that people behave unethically is partly because they have not been shown the necessity of ethics, and therefore do not understand the difference. However, I do think that everyone has a conscience. By that, I mean that everyone recognizes, even if only subconsciously, that they are doing something wrong. Therefore, I do believe that ethics should be taught in school, but really, school is only one means of instilling the understanding of the importance of doing the right thing. Everyone is teaching everyone else about what is acceptable and how important or not important it is to do the right thing everyday by our actions. This is especially true for adults' actions around youth.

Ultimately, it necessary to be truthful for two main reasons. First, people operate based on what they are told and what they perceive. If you show people something that is false, then you not be treated as you wish to be treated, as who you really are. Second, the truth seems to always come out anyway. When someone discovers information that is conflicting, they are likely to speak up, to try o understand. This is particularly apparent in the national news. What goes around, comes around.

What Do You Hear?

Distant noises, then foot steps.
Hey, someone is talking in Spanish!
More foot steps doors shutting.
I think that last one was the Men's bathroom door.
"Aooooo...," someone yelled.
"Aachuu!" Oops, I sneezed!
Ow, there is a loud screetching and thud of the door next to me.
Now it's the Women's bathroom door opening.
And a very different sound:
The squeaking of someone's shoes as they head for the stairs.
Bang! A door in the distance, followed by loud talking.
Now this musical piece turns to the accompaniment, and away from the melody.
Now I hear all of the sounds of the school at work.
It is alive, and changing. But even that fades, and there is a moment of relative silence.
Some soft footsteps come near me, but i was enough to break the moment.
Doors begin banging again,
Providing the percussion.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak,"
A high piteched noise about the rest.
"Click, click, click, click,"
The rhythmic click of heels, off set but the shuffling of sneakers.
"Bang, ca-ching, cough, blah-balh."
"Bang, bang, step, step, step."

In Response To "Classrooms Have Become Unnecessarily High Tech"

Link to orignial article: http://www.mercurynews.com/community/ci_9034769?nclick_check=1&forced=true

Yes, I very much agree with Matt Baxter!! It is completely unnecesary for elementary school students to be taught how to use computers. The school I attended from kindergarten through 8th grade does not allow the use of computers in school or, ideally, at home. As a result, I did not touch a computer until the summer after I graduated 8th grade. I do not have much knowledge about programs like Adobe PhotoShop, or Fireworks, but Iam proficient in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. In short, I don’t feel at all cheated, now that I’m in high school. I spent my childhood learning other valuable things.

Baxter also makes an excellnt point about the amount of money and effort we put into keeping schools up to date with technology. I can see where it is nice to use the new materials out there to help a teacher teach a concept, but teachers have been teaching the same subjects for hundreds of years without needing the help of technology. I would go as far as to say that many of the teachers teaching today are less knowledgeable about their topics because of new technologies. It is easy to let the internet and videos do the teaching.

The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming (honors book report)

Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee. The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming. Roaring Brookes Press. New Milford, Connecticut: 2005.

I found The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming on my book shelf and realized that I hadn't read it yet, even though it was a 16th birthday present. It is a fantasy story set in modern day India, though most of the events take place in magical settings that most people cannot enter.

Firstly, this is a sequel to The Conch Bearer, which I have not read. However, the important events that occurred in that book are explained in the sequel. That in mind, the book starts with the boy Anand, the main character, starting his training and classes at the Silver Valley, the magical place in India where children with magical talents are taught by Masters and Healer. Anand found out in the previous book that he was the conch bearer, a very special job, for the conch is a very powerful magical object.

As Anand begins his classes, he finds that he is unable to do the tasks given to the students. On a couple of occasions, however, he sees and hears things way beyond his level and he ends up bringing to the attention of the Masters the plea for help from a village healer miles away. Anand's friend from The Conch Bearer, Master Abhaydatta is sent to help the village, but Anand is not allowed to go. When Anand sees a vision of Abhaydatta in danger, he does not bother with telling the Masters, but goes straight to his young friend Nisha, a girl who joined his adventures in the previous book. He persuades her to go with him and together they steal the conch away from its guarded stand. The conch attempts to transport them to the village, but Anand lets go of Nisha and the conch in the process. When he lands, Anand is alone.

In the village, Anand finds out that a stranger, Kasim, has come to the village and is enlisting the help of the village men to find an elusive treasure in the forest. Although the men do get paid, they all come back insane. Each time Kasim returns with the latest workers, he chooses a new group, and Anand manages to slip in. He discovers that underneath the ruined palace that is the digging site, Kasim has been feeding the souls of the men to a jinn, an extremely powerful and evil spirit. Anand also finds the object that Kasim was looking for, a mirror into the past, hundreds of years into the past, when the palace was still in use. When Anand steps through the mirror, he discovers that Abhaydatta, Nisha and the conch are there as well, though Nisha has taken on the persona of the niece of the Nazib's advisor. (The Nazib is essentially a king.) The problem is that the jinn, with Kasim's help, is attempting to enter that world too and take over the land, and on top of that, all of their powers, including the conch's, are much less effective than in their own world.

With an exciting search for the conch, which is hidden, and making a new friend, Anand with Abhaydatta's and Nisha's help finds himself the only one who can defy the jinn, with the conch in his hand, of course. They all survive in the end, and Anand, Abhaydatta, Nisha and the conch all return to modern day India. There, Anand is highly honored for his courage, and he finally is able to continue his lessons.

The conch is an interesting character in the story. It is a shell, of course, but it possesses many powers. For one thing, it is an object of power, and therefore it tends to attract people to it. Anand, as its bearer, is particularly tied to it. Also because he is its bearer, the conch speaks to Anand in his mind. It is vertually all knowing, though it doesn't regard any knowledge unless it is relevent at the moment. It also cannot give humans the answers because they have to have a chance to grow. It may only help if there is no other way. Although the conch is not present for most of Anand's adventures in The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming, it plays a very important roll in the climax by disolving the jinn into oblivion.

I really enjoyed this book. It was the first book I've read in a while that I wanted to be reading in class and everywhere that I got a chance. Again, I wish I had read The Conch Bearer first, but maybe I'll read it in the future. I would recommend that people read the first book first, but this one was very good! It is essentially a fantasy book about helping others with the gifts that you are given.

I think it would be extremely exciting to travel back in time hundreds of years to a kingdom in India! I would probably be mostly like Nisha, who is straight forward, clear and sometimes demanding. I actually think the book ends well, and leaves room for a third book.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an award-winning, Indian-American author and poet who has written a wide selection of books, most of them either fiction or poetry. She has been published in over 50 magazines, and her writing has been included in over 50 anthologies. Her books have been translated into 16 languages, including Dutch, Hebrew, Russian and Japanese, and two of them have been made into movies. I am very glad I read The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming because it sparked my interest in fantasy again!

The American Civil War

The bloodiest five years in American history that freed all American slaves

1860, President Abraham Lincoln is elected president of the United States of America. 1861, the American Civil War begins as Jefferson Davis becomes the first and only President of the Confederate States of America to fight for the new Confederacy’s independence from the United States and to preserve a way of life. President Lincoln and the Union Army begin the fight to preserve their beloved Union and to end slavery, the disease they believe that plagues the country. The war would rage for five years and would end with a total of 970,000 American casualties, more than all other American wars combined. It is not the amount of blood spilt that makes this war unique, however. The American Civil War is one of the few wars in history that was not fought for land, money or freedom from a ruler, but rather for lofty concepts and ideals. These ideals meant everything to the soldiers that fought and died for them in the bloodiest war in American history.
The roots and causes of the war extend back into the early years of the 19th century. As the United States began acquiring new land and forming new states, it discovered a conflict. It had previously been decided during the ratification of the Constitution that certain states, all in the north, would be free and not allow slavery, while the southern states could legally have slaves. Because of this, a delicate balance had to be kept to make sure that there were an equal number of free states and slave states so as not to give one side a greater advantage in the government. However, with the new land acquired from the Mexican-American War, this became almost impossible. This separation translated into a fundamental difference of labor and work forces. The vast majority of the Southern land was made up of plantations and farms, and thus most of the work force was agriculturally based, and nearly all of the workers were black slaves. Therefore, most of the South’s exports were cash crops. The South’s main crop was cotton, which its economy relied heavily on. The North, however, had been investing the entire century in industrializing and industrial growth. Much of its economy was run by factories, mills, canals and railroads. Its work force consisted mostly of immigrants and the lower middle class. The South noticed the North’s growing population and feared that it would begin to lose seats in the House of Representatives, and thus an equal say in the government. This economic imbalance also led the North to take advantage of its power by imposing tariffs and taxes, which resulted in Southern distrust of the government. As South Carolina Senator John Townsend said, “‘our enemies are about to take possession of the Government, that they intend to rule us according to the caprices of their fanatical theories, and according to the declared purposes of abolishing slavery.’(Wikipedia)”
The North also hosted the body of the abolitionist movement in America that was crying out for human equality and equal rights. A moderate on this subject came onto the scene in the middle of the century. Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer and Senator of Illinois when he was chosen to be the candidate for the new Republican Party in 1860. Later that year, he was elected President of the United States of America with only forty percent of the votes. The Democratic Party, the Republicans’ main opposition, had split along the sectional line and was weaker on both sides. With the election of Lincoln and the Republican Party controlling the government, the South began to seriously fear that Lincoln would follow through on his promise to stop the expansion of slavery and even begin to end it.On December 20, 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union. Six other southern states—Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and later Texas—joined South Carolina in what is known now as secession winter. They formed the Confederate States of America on February 4, 1861 and elected Jefferson Davis as their president on February 9. The Confederacy took control of the land and establishments inside its border, and the southern senators and state representatives left the United States government. On March 11, seven days after Lincoln took office, the Confederacy adopted the Constitution of the Confederate States of America, which was very similar to the United States Constitution. The most notable change was that it protected the institution of slavery, though it still prohibited international slave trading. It also gave more power to the states, or took power away from the central government, and it invoked God’s support. After the opening battle at Fort Sumter, four more states—Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina—seceded and joined the Confederates States. However, President Lincoln worked hard to retain states in the Union, and succeeded in holding on to five slaves states—West Virginia (which seceded from Virginia), Maryland, Delaware, Missouri, and Kentucky—called border states. Not surprisingly, Lincoln declared secession illegal by the Constitution. That meant, however, that a war would be inevitable if the Union wished to punish the Southern states for their crime.
The war officially began on April 12, 1861 as Confederate soldiers began to bombard Fort Sumter, the only fort still in the Union’s possession in South Carolina. Lincoln declared a state of insurrection and called for 75,000 troops to join the army. Lincoln also sent a request to Robert E. Lee, a Virginian and graduate from West Point, to sign on as the General of the Union Army. He was a moderate who initially opposed the secession of Virginia, but when his home stated joined the Confederacy, so did he. Lee declined Lincoln’s request and instead accepted Jefferson Davis’ request for him to lead the Confederate Army. It was the beginning of the Union’s struggle to find an effective and lasting general, which led to a series of major losses for the Union troops in 1861.
The First Battle of Bull Run (also known as the First Manassas) took place on July 21, 1861 in Virginia. The Confederate troops under General Jackson, later to be nicknamed Stonewall Jackson, and Beauregard routed the Union army under General McDowell. On the sea, General Winfield Scott devised and enacted his Anaconda Plan, a Union naval blockade along the entire southern Atlantic coast and up the Mississippi River. It prevented most trading between the South and Britain and caused a lot of the inflation the South incurred. However, losses at Wilson’s Creek and the Battle of Ball’s Bluff lead Lincoln to replace his general in-chief, General Winfield Scott with George B. McClellan. The Union finally received a major victory on February 6, 1862 when General Ulysses S. Grant captured Fort Henry on the Tennessee River and later took Fort Donelson near Nashville. Nashville surrendered to Union troops on February 25. However, Lincoln became tired of waiting for McClellan to take action, so he replaced him with General Henry Halleck and instead assigned him to the Army of the Potomac, which then began a campaign to take Richmond, the Confederacy’s capitol.At the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee, April 6-7, the Union troops under Grant were nearly defeated by General Albert Johnston’s forces, but reinforcements came at the last minutes, and Grant was able to drive the Confederate troops back. The 20,000 men lost on both sides those two days are more than the total losses from the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War combined. The Union continued to see success as Union Flag Officer David Farragut captured New Orleans and moved up the Mississippi river. Shortly before that, Jefferson Davis responded to the Confederate losses by signing the first draft in American history, yet the Confederacy continued to see losses until McClellan reached Richmond and was stopped first by Johnston and later Lee. The South’s hope was rekindled, however, when the Confederate Army won one of its most significant victories at the Second Battle of Bull Run (or Second Manassas) on August 30, 1862.
The tide turned the other way for the Confederate army once again when General Lee decided that an invasion of the North was necessary to win the war. He moved his army into Maryland where they met McClellan across the river Antietam on September 17. McClellan had come across Lee’s battle plan and knew that his army was split up. Despite his great numerical advantage over Lee, McClellan remained convinced that Lee had twice as many troops as he actually did and refused to take the opportunity to press the attack. However, the Confederate losses were substantial enough that Lee retreated to Virginia the next evening, leaving behind the bloodiest day of the Civil War. President Lincoln’s next action was to remove McClellan from command and replace him with Ambrose Burnside, which turned out to be a mistake because he did not know how to command an entire army. Thus, the Battle of Fredericksburg was won by Lee while suffering less then half of the casualties of the North.
1863 began on January 1 with Lincoln’s official issue of the Emancipation Proclamation, which stated that all slaves in the Confederacy were freed. It did not actually free any slaves, but it did change the official purpose of the war from preserving the Union to freeing slaves. This change lost the support of many Northerners who had previously supported the war. It was also a turning point for Britain and France, who no longer felt it would be beneficial to support the South. By January 26, blacks were being authorized to be recruited into the Union army. Eventually, there was a total of 185,000 black soldiers in the army and in the navy.In June of 1863, Lee made a second attempt to invade the North, this time into Pennsylvania. As he marched his troops across the Potomac, General Joseph Hooker, who had replaced Burnside in January, was replaced by General George Meade, began to prepare for confrontation with Lee’s army. By chance, the two armies collided at a small town called Gettysburg on July 1. The fighting lasted three days as both sides continued to pour in more troops. Lee’s goal was to fight through the Union forces and get closer to Washington D.C. Lee’s second in command, General James Longstreet, tried to convince him that the Confederate troops should pull back and move around to get between the Union army and Washington in a defensive position so that the Union troops would be forced to attack, but Lee refused to pull out. This allowed the Union troops to set up a defensive position where they could successfully repulse the attacks that lasted for three days. The fighting culminated in a final Confederate assault of 13,500 men known as Pickett’s Charge, which utterly failed. On July 4, Lee was forced to retreat to Virginia. The Battle of Gettysburg was a major turning point in the war for both sides. On the same day, the Confederates on the western front at Vicksburg, Mississippi made an unconditional surrender to Ulysses S. Grant.
On November 19, Lincoln delivers his very famous Gettysburg Address. It reminds those listening, and later the whole nation, why the war was raging. He reminds the Union that the United States was founded on the principle that “all men are created equal” in his iconic opening sentence, “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal(Wikipedia).” Although the speech was not written on the back of a letter, as popularly thought, it was composed bit by bit over a few days and was finished the morning of its presentation.In 1864, the final operations of the war were beginning to take place .On June 30, 1864, Grant began the Siege of Petersburg after a failed attempt to capture it in one attack. His objective was to the cut the supply lines that converged there and were the source of supplies for Richmond. An elaborate trench system was set up by each side, led by Grant and Lee, very much like the trenches that were dug 50 years later during World War I. For nine months, Grant successfully thinned and weakened Lee’s lines. On April 2, 1865, Grant finally made a full front attack on Lee’s forces that broke through the line in a few places. Lee sent a telegraph to Richmond saying that he could no longer defend Richmond and Petersburg.
Meanwhile, the Union General William Sherman began his siege on Atlanta, Georgia in mid-July, 1864. The four battles (Peachtree Creek, Atlanta, Ezra Church and Jonesborough) ensured Sherman’s capture of the city on September 2. He proceeded to set most of it on fire. This victory came just in time to essentially ensure President Lincoln’s reelection later that year. It also marked the beginning of Sherman’s March to the Sea. It ended when Sherman captured Savannah on the Atlantic coast, but he continued to march north through the Carolinas, the army fighting and burning cities that stood in the way. Several smaller battles were fought near the end of 1864 and into 1865, but the Confederate Army was never able to recover from Sherman’s victories.
On November 11, 1864, Lincoln was reelected as President and he was inaugurated on March 4, 1865 with Andrew Johnson as his Vice President. A month later on April 8, Lee finally surrendered his army after being surrounded at Appomattox Court House in Virginia by Grant’s army. Six days later while watching a play at Ford’s Theatre, Lincoln was shot by actor John Wilkes Booth. He died the next day, the first president to be assassinated. The same day, Vice President Andrew Johnson took the oath of office.Despite the tragedy of Lincoln’s death, the war ended triumphantly for the Union. Why was the North victorious over the South? According to historian David Kenneth in his book Don’t Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About American History But Never Learned, “The simplest answer is that the Confederacy was fighting history, not just the Union. In many respects, the Confederate states fielded an eighteenth-century army to fight a nineteenth-century war against a twentieth-century power. (p.240)” The Union Army at its peak had over 2 million men enlisted, out numbering the Confederacy by two to one. The North also had 4 million men of combat age while the South only had 3.5 million, 100,000 factories to the South’s 20,000 and 20,000 miles of railroad to the South’s 9,000. As Southern historian Shelby Foote put it in the Ken Burns’ documentary, The Civil War, “…the North fought that war with one hand behind its back.… If there had been more Southern victories, and a lot more, the North simply would have brought that other hand out from behind its back. I don't think the South ever had a chance to win that War. (Burns)” Although the North might have been well equipped for war, it still had to face the issue of what to do with the surrendered Confederate States.The period after the war, known as Reconstruction, actually began early in the war. It was what its name suggests, a reconstruction of the Union. There were two issues that had to be dealt with: the secession had to end by readmitting each Confederate state, and all forms of slavery in every state had to be eliminated. However, there was little agreement about the criteria needed to accomplish these two goals. In 1863, Lincoln formed a moderate plan for readmitting states. Southerners could become citizens again by taking a simple loyalty oath. When ten percent of a state had taken it, then it could set up its own government again. By ten percent, however, Lincoln only meant ten percent of the white men who were registered to vote, a very small percent of each state’s entire population. After Lincoln died, however, Radical Republicans pushed for stricter terms, but they had to answer to President Johnson, who favored Lincoln’s approach. The only difference was that each state, including the Union states, had to ratify its constitution to include the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery. In December, 1865, when two thirds of the states had added it, the required number to ratify the United Stats Constitution. Although the Southern Congressmen returned to Congress, they were not entirely cooperative with the Thirteenth Amendment and passed a series of “Black-Codes” that did not allow freedmen to vote, own land or have complete control of their employment. To counter this, Radical Republicans attempted to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1866. The Act was vetoed by Johnson, but the Republicans, for the first time in American history, had enough votes to override the veto.
Congress then formed the Freedmen’s Bureau, which was designed to take care of the four million freed slaves, doing everything from starting schools, to giving them food, to helping them find employment. The result for most freed blacks was what is called sharecropping, a system that allowed blacks to work for plantation owners in return for a place to live and food. However, many only fell into permanent debt. Congress’s next act was to pass a series of Reconstruction Acts. They divided the South into military regions, and changed the criteria for statehood. Each state had to ratify its constitution to allow blacks to vote and to add the Fourteenth Amendment, which extended citizenship to blacks. Reconstruction finished in each state at different times, but the period officially ended with the Compromise of 1877, which exchanged a Republican Presidency for the removal of federal troops from South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana.Three of the most famous successes of the war are the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendment. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in every state, finally ending the issue that had created conflict between the North and the South during the entire 19th century. The Fourteenth Amendment extended citizenship to include blacks. It also required that states give equal legal protection to all persons under their jurisdiction. It was ratified on July 9, 1868. The Fifteenth Amendment prevented states from denying the right to vote based on race, color, or previous servitude. Although it was ratified on February 3, 1870, it wasn’t until nearly a century later that that promise was completely fulfilled. Despite these giant steps toward equal civil rights, it did not stop extreme segregation in many states. The Jim Crow laws were enforced in the Southern and border states well into the 20th century. They required separate schools, public places, transportation, bathrooms and restaurants for blacks and whites. Services provided for blacks were nearly always much less than that for whites. It also resulted in hundreds of lynchings by groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, a cult dedicated to eradicating blacks.
Even so, the United States has come far in the last 150 years on the issue of human rights. It makes one wonder what might have happened if the Confederacy had been successful in separating itself for the Union. There were many points in the war when one command, a difference of two hours, or a difference of one mile might have changed the overall outcome. What if Lee had listened to General Longstreet when he had advised that Lee’s army pull out and take a defensive position at Gettysburg? Might the Confederate army have won the battle, moved successfully into the North, and therefore won the war? If that had happened, the Confederacy might have gotten the recognition from Britain that it had been seeking in the war and become an independent, slave-owning nation. At that point, the Union would most likely still abolish slavery in the Border States, presuming they did not secede and join the Confederacy. However, because of the South’s lack of industrialization and its currency inflation after the war, it is unlikely that it would have survived for long on its own without outside help. As it was, Lincoln and the Union managed to heal the broken nation and that ultimately helped it become stronger.

Works Cited
“American Civil War.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
Burns, Ken. The Civil War. Film. PBS. Burbanks, CA. 1990.
David, Kenneth C. Don’t Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About American History But Never Learned. HarperCollins. New York, NY. 2003.
“Rickard, J (10 May 2006), American Civil War Timeline.

The Common Sense of Government Today

Published the same year the American Revolution started, 1776, Thomas Paine's Common Sense outlines the reasons why the American colonies should no be under English rule. It begins by describing the sin and folly of kingship and rulers.

Sophie's World-- honors book report

Gaarder, Jostein. Sophie's World. New York, New York. Berkley:1996.

I actually began reading this book in 9th grade. It was my graduation gift from my 8th grade teacher, who knew me very well. It is a fiction book on the history of philosophy. I really enjoyed it when I started it, but I did not finish it because I didn't have time to just sit down and read it until recently. The main body of the story takes place in Norway in the 1990s. However, the story line is not linear, and there are really two places in Norway it takes place.

The story begins with the main character, Sophie Amundsen, a 14 year old girl receiving strange letters about philosophy from someone she has never met. The man writing the letters, Alberto Knox, begins teaching Sophie the history of philosophy through these letters, and then later in person. They start with the Greek philosophers Plato, Aristotle and Socrates and by the end of the course, have reached the end of the 20th century after discussing Darwin, Freud and Marx. Throughout the course, however, Sophie continues receiving post cards addressed to Hilde Moller Knag from her father in Lebanon. Hilde also lives in Norway, but her father is in Lebanon as a soldier for the UN. In the process of trying to figure out why Sophie is receiving Hilde's mail, Alberto and Sophie discover that they are only characters in a book that Hilde's father, Albert Knag, is writing for Hilde's 15th birthday, which is the same day that Sophie turns 15. About 300 pages into the book, the reader meets Hilde as she receives the book on her birthday and starts reading it. She comes to the conclusion that she has to help Sophie and Alberto get back at her father for the tricks he played on them in the book. By the end of the story, Sophie and Alberto have escaped from the book, where they join the world of imaginary characters.

At the beginning of the book, Sophie Amundsen is a normal girl who does not discuss any philosophical questions, or even ever think about them. After meeting Alberto Knox, however, the world begins to open up to her. She starts asking questions and making realizations. However, by the end of the book, she not only understands the complicated nature of philosophy and its history, but also realizes that she herself is nothing more than character in some man's head.

I loved Sophie's World! It took me quite a while to finish it, but it taught be so much about our world and history. The philosophy lessons that Alberto gives Sophie were actually challenging to read and made me think. They taught me different views about morals, existence, God, and society. However, I don't think I'd recommend this book to most people. You would have to be an avid reader and be interested in philosophical questions to begin with. In a strange way, though, reading the book has the same effect on the reader that it does on Sophie. You learn about philosophy, and you end up wondering if maybe you are just a character in a book....

In some ways, I'd love to take Sophie's place. I do not want to find out that someone is writing me and my world from whatever comes up in their head, but getting philosophy lessons from Alberto sounds very cool. For the most part, I would handle the situation the same as Sophie, except that I probably wouldn't ask so many questions. I'm more of a thinking, rather than talking type. As for the ending, it was a bit odd. I just think that there are better ways of getting the point across about being a character in a book that needs to escape. I also wanted Sophie to meet Hilde in person and Albert Knag to get punished more for the tricks he played on Sophie and Alberto.

Jostein Gaarder wrote several other books apart from Sophie's World, including The Ringmaster's Daughter, The Orange Girl, The Solitaire Mystery, and Mya. Nearly all of his books focus around philosohpy, religion, or both, and all of them force the reader to ask questions as the author does the same. Gaarder caught my interest enough that I wouldn't be surprised if I read another one of his books, though it probably won't be for a while. I definitely want to pursue philosophy in college.

The Killer Angels

Shaara, Michael. The Killer Angels. New York. Ballantine Books: 1974.

The Killer Angels is the book I chose to read for my American Civil War Documentary project. It is a historical novel about real people in history and real events. The story takes place in the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 1863 during the Civil War. Gettysburg was the site of one of the most significant battles in the American Civil War, and this book describes the three day event in great deal.

Although this book is a novel about the Civil War, it is written through the eyes of the soldiers and generals on both sides, the North and the South. That is the factor that makes it so unique and engaging. It is not a textbook account of the battle, nor does it show the Union troops in a better light than the Confederate troops. Every viewpoint from the great General Lee, to a Union colonel, to a spy, to a British adversary is shown, among others.

The book opens with a spy for the Confederates discovering the Union Army of the Potomac marching straight towards the Lee's Confederate Army. Shortly after on July 1, 1863, a small part of Lee's army collides with Union cavalry at Gettysburg. Throughout that day, troops from both sides pour into the countryside around the town. At the end of the day, the Confederates had repulsed the Union army and taken the town, but failed to take Cemetery Ridge, the hill that the Union troops had settled on, and very good ground. Lee then must impatiently wait for Longstreet, his second in command, and Longstreet's army to arrive. Meanwhile, on his way to Gettysburg with more of the Union army, Union soldier Colonel Chamberlain, commander of the 20th Maine, receives the responsibility of dealing with the remaining soldiers in the 2nd Maine. Before the war, he was an English professor, and he manages to talk the 2nd Maine into serving under him.

When Longstreet arrives at Gettysburg, he tries to convince Lee to pull out and move around the Union's left flank to get between it and Washington, but Lee sees that as a retreat. The next day dawns with more fighting. Both armies spread out more, but neither gains much. In a stroke of brilliance and bravery, Chamberlain manages to hold the end of the line, the left flank, without letting the Confederate soldiers around him. The third day, Lee mounts a full on charge, known as Pickett's Charge. The maneuver was an utter failure. When Pickett reports back to Lee, Lee tells him, "General Pickett, I want you to reform your Division." Pickett, however, is forced to reply, "General Lee, I have no Division." The book ends with Chamberlain reuniting with his younger brother, Tom, a lieutenant. The Afterward gives descriptions of what happened to each commander after the battle. Some of them died from the wounds they received, others went on to run for offices. It makes you realize that each man was a real person in history, not just a figure in a story.

It is very hard for me to discuss only one character, because they are all so interesting and human. I find Chamberlain, Longstreet, Lee and Lo Armistead particularly interesting. Out of those four, though, Chamberlain is probably my favorite. Although by the time he fights at Gettysburg, he is not new to the war, the three day battle definitely changes him. Before the war, he was an English professor. He is hansom, and a husband. His brother, Thomas, is also in his regiment as a lieutenant. The extreme courage, ingenuity and decisiveness that he faced the second day of Gettysburg with made him very respected and famous. Michael Shaara spent a lot of time describe what was going through Chamberlain's head during the Battle of Little Round Top. In his attempt to stop the Rebels from flanking the Union line, Chamberlain plugged a hole in the line with his brother Tom without thought. He later could not forgive himself for becoming a soldier over a brother, deciding that he would have to make sure that Tom was removed from his regiment. Chamberlain became "one of the most remarkable American soldiers in history (The Killer Angels)." By the end of the war, he was wounded a total of six times, cited for bravery four times, promoted several times, and received metals of honor. He made a remarkable transformation from professor to soldier, and yet he still had his human side which he showed when he had the Union army salute the defeated South at Appomattox.

I enjoyed The Killer Angels very much. I was fairly sure I would before I started it, because I absolutely love the movie, Gettysburg, which is based so closely off the book that much of the dialogue is exactly the same. The book, however, gave something that the movie couldn't: the character's thoughts. I found out exactly what Longstreet thought of Lee's plans, why Lee ignored Longstreet's advice, and how hard it was for Chamberlain to hold the Union flank. On the movie screen, the story looks so heroic, and it is, but there was much more turmoil, uncertainty and confusion than I was previously aware of. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone, but especially to people who are interested in the America Civil War. It connects the reader to the soldier's life style at the time, and shows what a pivotal moment the Battle of Gettysburg was in American history.

The thought of putting myself in the battle is mind-boggling. I am not a soldier, nor do I think will I ever be, though I suppose that there are three places I could put myself. Although many civilians evacuated Gettysburg and the near by villages, some remained to watch and cheer on the soldiers. If I was a civilian, I think I would be utterly frightened and stay as far away from the battle as possible. What amazes me about the soldiers is how every one of them was completely devoted to the 'Cause'. As a Union soldier, I would be fighting to free the slaves (at that point, they were no longer fighting for the preservation fo the Union). As a Confederate soldier, I would be fighting for independence, and I most likely would have complete faith in Lee, like everyone else. Either way, I don't think I have the kind of courage, strength, and willingness to die for a cause needed to be that kind of soldier. The last possibility is that I could be a general. That would be even harder. As General Lee put it, "'To be a good soldier you must love the army. But to be a good officer you must be willing to order the death of the thing you love.'(The Killer Angels)"

Michael Shaara has written several books apart from The Killer Angels, including The Broken Place, The Herald, Soldier Boy, and For Love of the Game. The first is about an ex-soldier from the Korean War who becomes a boxer. The second is about a town the dies from an unknown source of radiation. The third is a collection of short stories that vary widely in topic, and the fourth is about a baseball legend's attempt to prove what he can do in the game he loves. It was Shaara's final book and it was also turned into a movie. For most of his life, Michael Shaara was a writer and English teacher, until he died of a heart attack at age 58.

I have only read two other war books, All Quiet on the Western Front, and The Things They Carried. They are similar to The Killer Angels in a few ways, but I actually think that the other two are more like each other than they are like this one. In many ways, The Killer Angels is much more romantically written. Or maybe it was just the times... All Quiet on the Western Front and The Things They Carried both give the reader a look into the main character's home life and past, while The Killer Angels does not stray from the battle except in the men's thoughts. Realistically, I am not sure that I will ever seek out another war book on my own. They are not my favorite type of books. I think the reason I liked The Killer Angels so much was because of its romantic quality, its chivalry and its heroism.

What Is Art?

ART Haiku


Arrangement of emotions
River of beauty
Touching deep into one's soul


What Is Art?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,
Many people agree with that.
What one might see
As pure beauty
Might to another not be fact.

But so is art in the eye of the beholder.
Has that ever crossed your mind?
A Mozart concerto,
Or a wacky blue hairdo
Are both art and each one of a kind.

Ken Burns' Civil War Documentary Reflection

The documentary was 5 discs ( 9 episodes) long, with each episode about an hour. Since we did not have 9 hours on our hands, we were not able the whole thing. We actually only watch half of it (4 hours).

I love the way Ken Burns produces his documentaries for KPBS. It was definitely too long for our purposes, but it was still very helpful and I really like the format. Because the American Civil War was the first really photographed war, he used many pictures of the soldiers, commanders and battles. These images were suplimented with video recordings of the battle fields as they look today, a few paintings and interviews, especially with a particular writer. For the most part, the information was narration, but there were also many quotes from Abraham Lincoln, to the wives of officers, to soldiers who had kept a diary. Burns also utilized music from the time as background. He played songs such as Batter Cy of Freedom, Dixie, Shanandoh, and Yankee Doodle.

In our documentary, I hope to use some of these styles. I'm pretty sure we're going to use the photogrphs from the war, and of the people. I would also like to play some of those songs. I think the narration should be similar (informational and engaging), and it probably will be, since I'm the writer.

How To Breathe Underwater

Orringer, Julie. How To Breathe Underwater. New York, 2003.

I began reading this book when I switched English classes in December, 2007 while I was still at Bishop's. I had nothing to do the first couple days of Ms. Rettaliata's class because they were finishing up a project, so she handed me this book and assigned me a few of the stories to read. It is a collection of fictional short stories, all of them about girls or young women. All of the stories are set in recent times, but each is in a different state in America, and one is in Greece.

Each of the stories is unique, but some of my favorites were The Isabel Fish, Note to Sixth-Grade Self, Stars of Motown Shining Bright and Stations of the Cross. The Isabel Fish is a story about a 14 year old girl named Maddy who attempts to conquer her fear of swimming after she almost drowns in a sinking car that her older brother's girlfriend had accidentally driven into a lake. Her brother's girlfriend, Isabel, is not so lucky. However, the fear of swimming, though ironically Maddy loves water, is not the only thing she struggles with in the story. Since the accident, her brother had been treating her like it was her fault, and she suffers from the loss of his friendship and love.

Note to Sixth-Grade Self was a fascinating story to read because it is entirely in 2nd person. The speaker speaks to the main character as though she is in her head, saying "Do this," or "Don't do that." The voice constantly reminds her of what she should do next and how she should behave and act. It reads very much as though she is talking to herself. Throughout the story, the girl attempts to gain the attention of the most popular boy in the dance class with her good dancing skills. It is a struggle, because she has to compete with the popular girls, who exercise their power to make fun of her. However, she prevails in the end when the boy stops by her house and they go ride bikes together.

Stars of Motown Shining Bright is one of the more mature stories. It is set in Michigan and the gist of the plot is that two girls who were friends meet up to go drive to a young man's house, who they both like. The main character, Lucy, had recently had sex with him, but before she gets a chance to brag about it to her friend Melissa, she finds out that Melissa and the boy, Jack, are engaged and planning to go live in California. They both spend the night at Jack's during which time Lucy sees that all he cares about is the sex, and she finally has to resort to dragging Melissa out with a gun in her hand to get them away.

Stations of the Cross is a story about a Jewish girl, Lila, who has moved to a small Catholic town. She luckily befriends one of the most popular and girls in the school, Carney, and therefore is saved from much of the descrimination and isolation she would have felt otherwise. The town members, including Carney, are still fairly racists. When Carney's half-black cousin Dale visits with her aunt for Carney's first Communion, she ends up tieing him to a constructed crucifix and beating him during a reenactment of the Stations of the Cross. Lila, who was part of the reenactment, then realizes how vulnerable she really is as a Jew.

The girls in each story have a unique realism to them in the way that they perceive and respond to the event in the story based on their background. One of the more vividly described characters is Carney from Stations of the Cross. She is Catholic and loves drama. The more heroic or dramatic, the better. She is not affraid to be in charge and frequently conducts 'games' or reenactment scenes and generally what she says goes. On a couple of occasions, Lila talks about how lucky she is be to friends with Carney, because otherwise her life would be so much harder. In some ways, Carney represents the antagonist, because she holds the values that both Lila and Dale have to fight against. Initially, the author describes her as a nice girl, and a friend of the main character, but by the end, it is clear that she lacks some compassion for people that are different from her, mostly blacks.

I enjoyed the book very much. Each of the stories holds a lesson about the challenges that young girls and women all over face. Not all of them end with the girl triumphing over the antagonist, but each girl does learn a valuable lesson from her experiences during the story. Campared to most of the main characters, my life has been very sheltered. The backgrounds and experiences of each girl vary so much and each responds to the events uniquely. Some of the stories even describe situations, thoughts and feelings that I am not at all aware of. I think that it is a great book for young women to read, but i would not necessarily recommend it to all boys.

Julie Orringer is the Helen Hertzog Zell Professor of Creative Writing at the university of Michigan. Other books she has written include Short Stories for Students and Silver Rose Anthology, both also collections of short stories. This is the first time I have read a collection of short stories like this. I would certainly consider reading her other books if I ever came aross them, but I probably will not go out and buy them.

Why We Fight

The Documentary Video, Why We Fight, covered much of America's military history and presented a wide range of views from previous presidents, to Iraqi civilians, to a father who lost his son in 9/11.