The Road Not Taken

This poem really struck me. Before I took this coarse I didn’t know of Robert Frost. I am glad that the teacher introduced Frost to us because his vivid words describe nature and the human being. It’s not hard to see why Robert Frost is seen as one the best poets in American history. The poem that I read was called “The Road not Taken”. This poem was about a road. These roads both end at the same place. The problem is that he could only take one. In my opinion this poem reflects the decisions Frost may have taken in his lifetime. In the poem he regrets some of the choices he has made. But in the end he says that “ I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference”. The poem was a little bleak but the overall message is to be careful of the decisions that you make.

The Tell-Tale Heart

I want to start off by saying that Edgar Allen Poe is one of the greatest poets in history. Being a Baltimore man, he writes about things that seem bizarre to us. Imagine how his poems were viewed back when he was alive. His poems reflect the dark side of the human being. The poem is about a man who wants an old mans eye. The eye is an obsession to the man. He wants it so bad that it is driving him insane. The man even hears his own heart beat faster and faster. What is so special about the eye? What makes it so valuable that the old man never lets it go? The eye brought the old man some kind of special powers and also brought him his death. The man kills the old man in order to get the eye. The man stabs the old man in the heart. Poe takes us inside the mind of the man before he kills the old man. It feels like I am actually about to commit a murder. It seems like the man has gotten away with murder, but a neighbor hears the old mans shrieks. The man hides the old mans body under the floor of the house. The police arrive and do not suspect him. But the man reveals that he murdered the old man. The eye drove the man insane because he committed murder and confessed to a murder that he committed. The eye has control of the man, and the old man who possessed it previously. I am left wondering what the eye was.

Harrison Bergeron

This story was very interesting. It was a little difficult to read, but interesting non the less. This story is about a world that is controlled. Every facet of life is controlled by the government because everybody is equal in the society. One example is, people who were naturally stronger got weights put on them while people who are more intelligent have noise making devices in their ears to disrupt their thinking. The people who are under control by the government have no idea they are being controlled. The government creates a false reality that everybody lives under. In the story Harrison was different from everyone else. People were surprised when they saw him and so was the government. In the end Harrison is murdered because he cannot be allowed to live. This shows that the government is scared of people who are different, people who are creative. Over all this story was great. It resembles stories like “1984” by George Orwell and “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley. The topics that are discussed in these books are interesting and should not be over looked.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, is a very interesting story. I found this story to be orientated towards older people. Love is something that everyone eventually goes through. In my opinion love is a beautiful feeling. It brings out the best in people. Love is the only thing that allows you to care more about somebody else other than yourself. The story is a conversation between two couples. Both couples love each other. But the love that each couple has is very different. Mel and Terri love each other and act like they have been in abusive relationships prior to meeting. Nick and Laura on the other hand show a more passionate type of love. Terri talks about her previous relationship. She was abused by a man. She tells everyone that his abuse was out of love. Her words were very surprising because I would never think about laying a hand on the person I love. Terri says that the form of live her ex shows is a very extreme form of love. I can understand what she is saying, but love shouldn't justify abuse (no matter what gender) . This story really makes you wonder and set your own definition of love. The author writes this story very very well. I feel like I am actually a part of the conversation. I almost feel like contributing to the conversation.

This song reminds me of the song "Love Song" by The Cure

True Love

One of the stories that I was really interested in was True Love by Sharon Olds. It was interesting how she used metaphors in her story. The story is about a woman in love and she describes her feelings for the man she is in love with deeply throughout the story. She uses some of the metaphors in the story to portray her feelings about love. For example " I know where you are with my eyes closed, we are bound to each other with huge invisible threads." This line shows how this woman felt about her lover. Another line that was interesting was the last line of the story. It says " I quietly call to you and you come and hold my hand and I say I cannot see beyond it, I cannot see beyond it". This quote confused me. What exactly is she saying? I believe that she cannot see past the moment she is in. The moment she holds her lovers hand she is immediately fixated and cannot think. She is saying that she cannot control the moment. For example, when a guy falls in love with a girl. When you are in the moment with a girl you like, you let things happen automatically. You can't control the situation. I think we can all relate one way or another to this poem.

Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night

This story really changed my view of death. Death is a natural occurrence that will happen to everybody who lives. This poem was about a son who was with his father's deathbed. The son (who is the narrator) urges his father to continue living. The flow and pace of the poem made me feel like I was in locker room before the Super Bowl. The son mentions three types of men. Men who lived out life and either regretted it or wanted to fight in order to do better things. The son mentions wise men. The wise man lived his life well and wants to live on because there are still people who need to be taught. The son also mentions men who lived life without doing anything special. The son says that these men need to fight on so that they can make an impact. Finally the son mentions men who are vein. He even urges them to fight on. It is not clear what the son thinks of his father. He puts out these examples so that he can decide for himself. So that the reader can decide. All of the examples had one thing in common, to fight. The overall message of this poem was great. It is inspiring and uplifting. I honestly recommend this poem to anybody.

The Use of Force

This story was about a Doctor who was examining a little girl. But the girl did not want the Doctor to examine her. The Doctor asks the little girl to open her mouth but she doesn't. Later the Doctor accomplishes goal. He finds out that the little girl had a sore throat. The funny thing about this story is that the girl fights the doctor and won't let him examine her. Perhaps the girl had a bad experience with a doctor. The author's message is clear in this story. People must be forced to do things, including simple tasks. I think the author is right on.

Eng 122 In-Class Blog Prompt

My research topic was about the benefits of therapeutic cloning and how it should be regulated. The research paper was very informative but it was difficult to write. This presented a great difficulty because I had to take a look at my own morals. The biggest issue with therapeutic cloning is the definition of life. What makes a pre-embryo human? Can or should we consider a pre-embryo human? When I searched the online databases for the different viewpoints I stumbled across many good arguments on both sides. When I gathered the necessary information I decided to choose to support therapeutic cloning. The most challenging part of writing my research paper was choosing a side. One thing I learned from the research paper was the process in which therapeutic cloning was conducted. Therapeutic cloning is a very complex biomedical treatment. The procedures involved in therapeutic cloning include electro shocks to the blastocyst, a form of a pre-embryo. I also learned of the advancements in therapeutic cloning research. One of the new advancements is that stem cells are being used on experimental rats to treat diseases like arthritis. Stem cells play an important role in therapeutic cloning research because stem cells can be molded into any kind of cell. One example is that stem cells could be turned into nerve cells and potentially full organs. The prospects of this new scientific discovery are great, but where do we obtain stem cells? These stem cells are found in pre-embryo’s that scientist can clone. The real issue is if you think a blastocyst (pre-embryo) is considered a human or not. I chose to say no because a blastocyst doesn’t speak or think. A plant is a living thing and plants are manipulated every day. Life is life, but not everything is human.