possible repercussions of blaming someone for something he/she didn't do

It is human nature to blame someone for something. Someone always has to take the blame in our society. Having someone to blame is like a way to take your anger away.

Blaming yourself, even when you are the one who deserves the blame, is a very hard thing. Instead of blaming themselves for their problems, a lot of people blame someone else. For example, if you are fat, a lot of people don't blame themselves for eating too much. They might blame their parents or their generation.

I once blamed my sister for something bad that I did. I ate the last cookie from the cookie jar that was supposed to be saved for my dad when he got home from work. Eating the cookie, I was not even worried about the punishment because I figured I could blame my younger sister. When my mom found out that there were not any cookies left, she questioned us. I immediately denied and told her that I saw my younger sister, Maddie, eat the cookie. Maddie, flabbergasted, denied. Eventually, my mom found out that I ate it. I got in even more trouble for lying. When you blame someone else, you get in even more trouble and have an even worse consequence for the bad thing you did if someone finds out the truth. If you blame someone else for something that you should take the blame for, like being fat, then you are just lying to yourself. Lying to yourself cannot be very good for your personal being, especially if you honestly believe that lie.

The previous examples are pretty much all minor blaming issues. There are also bigger blaming issues, such as ones that involve the government. For an example that is relevant to this time, when the twin towers were attacked, people blamed the terrorists. The terrorists were the one who should have been blamed for this act. Later on when people did "research," some people blamed our own government. That was putting the blame in the wrong place, which is not good.

Reflection - Discuss several main characters in terms of their True Colors personalities

All of the characters in this book are different in some way, just like in real life. For example, I could be a happy, go along with everything person, while one of my classmates would be a pessimistic trouble maker. Just like in real life, the characters in this novel all have different personalities.

Last class, we went over colors that represented different types of personalities. The colors we discussed were orange, blue, green, and gold (True colors). A pretty odd choice of colors if you ask me. Anyways, orange would have excitement and energy while blue would be a conservative romantic type of person. Each person in this book has a different amount of each color in them.

The first character I would like to discuss is John Hale. I think that John definitely has a green personality. He was a very smart man, even if he did use his intelligence for evil (Bloom 80). John's green personality stopped him from making stupid mistakes, but at the same time, he was too hard on others. That is definitely a trait of someone with a green personality. For example, he was too hard on Abigail and he thought he was doing the right thing.

Next, I would like to discuss Giles Corey. Giles seems to have a mixture of colors. I think he has a little orange in him because he is always enthused (True colors). He seems like a clown. Giles brought adventure with him everywhere he went, just like orange personality beings do. Orange people also take risks all the time, which is what he did when he was accused for being involved in wicthcraft (Bloom 66). I would definitely say that Giles Corey has an orange personality.

Thomas Putnam is the next character that I would like to discuss. I think Thomas Putnam has a mixture of colors, too. He might be a little blue because he seems harsh, but at the same time he seems like he has a soft side on the inside that he wants someone to bring out (Bloom 91). Putnam also has some orange in him because he likes challenges and things that keep him going. He is not gold because of his grudge that he holds against the nurse. Gold people usually help people. That also makes him less blue. I guess I would have to say he is a mixture of green and blue, with a little orange stripe inside of him (Bloom 75).

The last character I will discuss in this blog is Abigail has a lot of different colors in her too, it seems. She is smart, so she has some green in her (True colors). I think she is smart because of how she covered for herself in front of the adults. She has a quick mind. I also think she has some orange in her because she is quick to join any excitement or thrill. Being a good liar, I think she uses her orange and green personality for evil. I am sure she is very successful with it, but she could be using those personality skills for other things. Being a servant, I think she has a little gold in her. I think this because she likes to help others. Occasionally showing a passionate side, she even has some blue. Blue meaning sensitive, I think she is a rainbow of colors!

Bloom, Harold. Arthur Miller's The Crucible. New York: Bloom's Literary Criticism, 2008. Print.

Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 20 Sept. 2011. .

"True Colors." True Colors International. Baytech Web Design. Web. 18 Oct. 2011.

a fair 21st Century punishment

Being a teenager who spends most of my time on the internet, I would personally hate having my internet usage taken away.
Technology has become a huge part in my life, as well as many other teenager's lives. Although some teens are addicted to Facebook, I am more interested in blogging and learning new things. I do not want to fall behind in the world of technology, I want to be ahead. That is why I spend my much spent time online participating in blogging and learning about new technology.
If I was being punished, the worst thing you could do to me would be to take away my internet access. Spending most of my day on the internet, I would be missing my blog and I would fall behind on my school work. I keep organized by the internet. I write papers in Google Docs. Taking away my internet would just make me lost.
Taking away my phone would not hurt me as much, though. If my phone was taken away, but not my internet, I would be fine because I could use the internet to communicate just as thoroughly. If you took away my internet, but not my phone, I could still communicate with friends, but I could not use the internet. On a lot of teenager's phones, internet is accessible. Although it would be harder to blog and such, it would still be possible.
The article that Mr. Langley read assumes that students are obsessed with Facebook. Claiming that taking away Facebook would be ending the world, it takes a dramatic turn that does not apply to everyone. For example, that does not apply to me. I do not need to be on Facebook at least once a day. My blogging site is different, though. I do not need Facebook to survive. I could delete it, and be okay. I rarely use it, really.

Reflection: How does The Crucible display the qualities of Puritans

The Crucible displays many qualities of Puritan writing. After reading the novel and not fully understanding the details, I read the summary on SparkNotes to get the full idea.

The similarity that stuck out the most to me was that the government in this novel was a theocracy. A theocracy is a government ruled by God (Miller 60). Obviously this fact is similar to the Puritan style because the Puritans were all about God.

During this time in Salem, God was a central aspect. Just like in the Puritan writing style, they tried to involve God with everything that their town was a part of. Even starting out in the play, a man is already praying. During this time, if anyone was sick and they could not deem a reason for it, they assumed it was witchcraft. After the possibly bewitched being goes to trial, the town determines if they are truly bewitched (Miller 65). Being involved in witchcraft was a horrible sin. No one should even dance, let alone communicate with the devil. In the other Puritan styled writing, nothing this evil and against God has been discussed (in my experience with the few readings we have done in class.) This reading has ventured further off from God and dealt more with sin. Even though it is still saying witchcraft is wrong, it is still the most evil reading that I have read so far. In my opinion, it is different than the other readings so far because of its level of evil.

In this novel, it was clear that if a member of the town was not a good Christian and did not follow the bible properly, it was the whole town's business (Miller 60). Everyone seemed to assume that the person accused of witchcraft definitely had something to do with it without even talking to the person. The town was spreading rumors faster than a wild fire spreads. I find this ironic because gossip is a sin, and that is what they were doing. They were gossiping about one of their town member's being bewitched. Everyone had their own little spin on it, too. Nothing was official and a lot of false things were being said. That in itself is a sin. Maybe the townsfolk should look at correcting themselves instead of so hardly, and falsely, judging others wrongdoing.

Another thing is that Betty's father seems to be more worried about his reputation than his daughter getting better (Miller 63). This writing seems to be like the Puritan writing style because God is the center of it, but the characters do not seem to be good bible followers because they judge others and let their own sins slide. It is rather ironic, really.

Believing in God is a strong belief of the Puritans. In the previous readings, the characters always turned to God for help when they were in a tough spot. They always believed that God would get them out of their mess. In this book, Betty's father did pray for her, but he did not seem to ask God for the right things or even thank him for the little things (Miller59). He just seemed unhappy and mad. That was not like the other Puritan writing examples at all.

Works Cited

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Web.

"SparkNotes: The Crucible: Act I: Opening Scene to the Entrance of John Proctor." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. Web. 07 Sept. 2011.

"True Colors." True Colors International. Baytech Web Design. Web. 18 Oct. 2011.

Experience of Traveling

My experiences of traveling have been favorable. I quite enjoy leaving the crappy town of Springfield to go explore a new area. My family and I do not get a long too well, so when I travel, I prefer to not go with them. This past weekend I got to drive to Milikin University with my friend, Kara. Even though it was only a forty minute drive, I still enjoyed it a lot. Driving makes me happy. I love being in new areas. I felt free and happy traveling out of Springfield into the unknown. I can not wait to travel further when I am older.

My experiences traveling with my family have not been horrid, though. I do not prefer to be locked in a car with them, but sometimes with music and books it is not too atrocious.

My favorite part about traveling is the feeling I get. I feel free and like I have no worries. It makes you think that the people who do not go to college and travel instead may not be so insane. I am going to go to college, but I am going to travel after that. New areas just make me feel so alive! I also love being somewhere where no one knows who you are. You can just be yourself and do whatever you want. After I graduate from college, I hope to move to some hipsteresque culture and start a nice business. I want to start something fun and creative, like a frozen yogurt shop or a park. So obviously I want to go to a business school and suffer through all the math that is not my specialty. Maybe I'll find someone to take care of that part for me. Obviously I drifted off topic a little here, but I think this will still work. I like traveling and the feeling I get from being somewhere new. It's exciting.

Reflection Blog: How does the writing of Bradford reflect the qualities of Puritan writing?

"Plymouth Plantation" was written by William Bradford. Bradford, being thirty years old, was a very religious man. He was on the Mayflower in the year of 1620. A lot of people in his spot were also very religious.

The pilgrims had to migrate from the Netherlands, and since they did not enjoy it there, they went to America. They did not like the Netherlands because of the culture. With America being new, there were a lot disease that effected the pilgrims (Bradford 67). A lot of them died from the diseases. The winter time also killed off a lot of the pilgrims. Some areas of America can get extremely cold!

Bradford's writing are great examples of Puritan writing. For example, Bradford wrote about how we do not chose when we die. We live until God wants us to die. When someone died on the Mayflower, the other pilgrims knew that it was God's choice that he/she died. This is like the Puritan writing style because the Puritans also believed that God controlled when they lived and died. If God was ready for you to die, you would die (Bradford 67).

Even when people died, the pilgrims still thanked God for getting where they are in life. For example, when they were near Cape Cod, the pilgrims thanked the Providence of God. They were in the wrong place, too. They still thanked God for everything. They were very dedicated to their religion. They were thankful to be on land. In this day and age, if someone was on a plane and the plane landed in a different country, you would be mad. We would not be thanking God for letting us reach land; we would be mad about him putting us in the wrong place. But in this day and age, we do not stick to the Puritan way as strongly.

The quote "And yet the Lord so upheld these persons as in this general calamity they were not at all infected either with sickness or lameness..." (Bradford 66) shows how only God chooses who lives and dies. He keeps people alive until he decides that their time on Earth is up. People had no decision on whether they lived or died. I find it very interesting that all of these people were that dedicated to their religion. People these days usually have doubts or do not strictly follow their religion, but in the Puritan writing style it seems that there are no doubts and everyone follows the religion very strictly.

This writing also reflects the Puritan writing style because of helping. Helping other people was very important in the Puritan religion. Squanto helped the pilgrims with some of their problems. He teaches them things, too (Bradford 66). They say that he has been sent from God. When something bad happened, they were positive about the little things and thanked God for them. This writing is very dedicated to God, just like the Puritan writing style. Everything good that happened to them was because of their dedication to God (Bradford 66).

Bradford, William. "Of Plymouth Plantation." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 62-68. Print.

Hostage Situation!

I once read a book about how a girl was held hostage and then buried alive. It was definitely one of my favorite books. Ever since I read that back in middle school, I've always wondered what it would be like to be held hostage. In the book, someone saved her at the last minute, but I know that in real life, that doesn't always happen.
If I were held hostage, I know I would be very scared. I would probably cry and have a panic attack, to be honest. A lot of people would say that they would be brave and do whatever they could to get out. Some people may even think that, but when they get in that situation, they have no idea how the will react. You never know how being held hostage would effect you until you have actually been held hostage. For example, my classmate claims that she "could probably escape pretty swiftly." I am sure it would not be easy, at all, to escape from a fully grown man being a teenage girl.
If I were in a hostage situation, I think I would try my best to not upset the hostage-taker. Someone would find me soon, at least I would hope. I would try to just be quiet and hopefully the hostage-taker would not harm me in any way. If any harm was going to happen, I would try to convince him not to. The stories on the news where there's a burglar who enters a store to rob it, but ends up finding God with help from an employee working are very interesting but do not seem like it would be any easy task. I'm sure that is an incredibly rare occurrence, but anything is worth a try. I would hope someone would notice that I was gone very soon after I was taken hostage so the police could try and find me as soon as possible. Hopefully I would never have to endure such a thing.