story

Paul’s ankles were getting cold from the wind that he created as he ran. His pant legs rose and fell near his feet with every stride he took. It was a nice day but Paul’s jacket made a great deal of resistance, slowing him down with wind. The bus was about half a block away from him, still boarding passengers and releasing them. The backlights of the bus had a bright red glow that wasn’t so bright under the sun. Soon the red lights disappeared and the bus took off leaving a smoggy air in Paul’s face. Paul ran his fingers through his short straight hair and let out a stressful sigh. It was not Paul’s day today, it just wasn’t a good day. Paul pulled out his phone to check for the next bus arrival time. He was hot and his cotton collared shirt was sticking to his chest. The next arrival time for the bus that would get him to work was nineteen minutes. Paul knew he couldn’t take that bus, he could get there faster than that if he took a cab. Paul spent some minutes calling a cab from the busy street. Once a cab finally pulled in front of him he stepped into the backseat and slammed the yellow door. He told the cab driver his job’s address and the cab pulled off. Paul whipped his phone out of his pocket and called his wife but she didn’t answer. Paul figured that maybe she was away from her cell phone so he called the house phone. She didn’t answer, it went straight to voicemail. One of the phones had to be off the hook Paul thought. Paul ended the call and continued into his apps. He looked at his schedule for the day and for tomorrow. It didn’t seem as busy as he thought. Paul pulled his phone away from his face as he began to look out the car door window. He saw a big crowd of people filling the streets and sidewalks. All the people moved slowly but with strength. The people looked angry with him. Paul looked away from the window and back into the car. Paul looked straight ahead. The car wasn’t moving anymore.

The driver turned his head back just enough to make eye contact with Paul. Paul stared at the driver, then  the meter, he eventually looked out the window surprised to see the entrance to his work place. Men just like him walked up the small stairs and through the glass doors with their hot cups and skinny ties. Paul pulled out his leather wallet from the breast pocket of his suit. He paid for his fare and gave the cab driver a  tip that wasn’t exactly generous. Paul opened the door, untucked his head and stepped out the back of the taxi onto the curb. Paul swung his eyes down to his wrist to see if he would  be able to punch in on time. His round wristwatch read six minutes to nine. Paul tightened his face and squeezed the handle of the bag that held all of his papers. He was angry with the day and he had felt this way all morning. He felt his chest heat up while the rest of his muscles tensed and soon his body language began to reflect the way he felt.

He picked up his speed a bit as he shuffled up the three flat steps to his office building. With his sweaty palms Paul tugged on the silver handle that was embedded in the tall glass door. Running to the time clock did cross Paul's mind but he didn’t want to run in front of everyone, he didn’t like the thought of everyone staring at him. He walked just fast enough to keep a good pace while looking as if he wasn’t rushing. Paul had made it to the elevator and once he had arrived to the third floor he headed straight for the time clock not caring to look in any other direction. He had his eyes locked in on each step he took and even a few steps ahead until he inevitably crashed into someone in heels. At his feet he saw his bag with his papers spread across his shoes. As his eyes scanned forward  a few feet he saw his co-worker Ava on the floor covered and surrounded by all of her own papers. Paul clinched his fists as he kneeled down to pick up his things. He didn’t know why Ava wanted to make him any later than he already was but he sure as hell wouldn’t let her get away with it. Pushing Ava’s things aside Paul tried to organize his papers quickly and stuff them back into his bag. Ava fixed her eyes at Paul in awe of how unbelievably rude he was being. She didn’t think that the same guy that held the door for her in the morning and bought her lunches from the sub shop up the street could be so rude. After waiting a few more second for an apology or any kind of recognition from Paul, Ava picked herself up from the floor and started to collect her own papers. By the time she was able to gather half of her things, Paul had already gotten up and walked pass her. Ava crinkled her brow and made a face that matched the face that Paul had walked away with. Once Paul finally did reach the clock to punch in, it was a minute pass nine. Paul fished his work i.d. out of his bag and swiped it. Upset with everything, Paul found his way to his office and settled into his cushioned seat.

When lunch rolled around Paul decided to leave the building to buy a polish and a pop from the vendor on the corner. After returning to his office Paul tried calling his wife before eating his lunch. The phone rang in his ear several times before reaching her voicemail. Paul hung up the phone and wondered. Maybe she’s mad at me, maybe she knows Paul thought. Paul’s train of thought was interrupted by his phone chirping and vibrating on his desk. His phone displayed a daily reminder he set for himself. Paul closed the reminder and leaned over his chair to open the bottom drawer of his desk. As he opened it a small container with his name printed on it rolled around untouched and bumped into some of his other personal things. Paul looked at the plastic container for a few seconds until someone knocked on his office door. Paul closed his desk drawer. He already knew who it was.

“Come in”  he smirked.

                  "Old Money" vs. "New Money"

The story The Great Gatsby takes place mainly in two areas of New York during the 1920's. Early in the story the narrator Nick establishes separate ideas about the two areas and the people in them. Nick lives in West Egg but deems East Egg as wealthier, classier and at a higher social status. West Egg contains plenty of wealthy people such as Gatsby but the people in West Egg are a different type of rich than the people in East Egg. People in East Egg are said to have "old money" and the people in West Egg are described as having "new money". Old money is described as wealth that has been in a family for several years whereas new money is money recently obtained by someone. A family of old money is likely to come from royalty and have men who have went to ivy league colleges and have received degrees. A person from new money may have lucked up on their money from a new business. People with new money are seen as lesser because they apparently dont deserve the same riches as people from old money.
 I think that wealth is wealth and it shouldnt really matter how it was acquired because in the end, your still rich. Gatsby has all this money and all of these glamorous things and he throws the biggest parties ever yet he is still living in West Egg. Tom lives in East Egg but in my opinion it makes him no better than Gatsby. Gatsby actually seems to have a better character than Tom. Tom is that great of a person when it comes to character and I think he is that way because of the fact that he comes from old money. People from old money are supposed to be better than everbody which is exactly why Tom thinks he's better than everyone. Old money tends to make people snobby and concieted while people from new money are likely be a little more humble just because they can remember a time where they didnt have money.

Who Are You Thankful For (in 6th per. English)? 

There are a lot of things and people to be thankful for. In my sixth period english class the person i am thankful for is Natea. I have sat next to Nayea since the first day of the school year and she has always helped me when I needed it. Natea happens to have the same birthday as me and we also take to same train home so we have quite a few things in common. Natea and I also have another class together but we dont sit near each other. If it wasnt for our sixth period english class I probably wouldnt even know her that well.Out of everybody in our english class I see and talk to Natea the most outside of class. I dont think i know anyone else in my english class as well as i know Natea. That is why I am thankful for fellow student Natea who is in my sixth period english class

I Celebrate Myself

                           I Celebrate Myself

   I celebrate myself sometimes but mostly on special occasions. I celebrate myself once every year on my birthday, I might also celebrate myself if I obtained some sort of achievement or were to win a contest. Wedding days, birthdays, parties are all things people use to celebrate themselves. I don't win contest 24/7 and everyday is not my birthday, these celebrations only happen once or twice a year. Am i celebrating myself enough? Do I reach the transcendental standard for self honor? I don't think I could ever reach such high expectations of self glorifying.

   Transcendentalists believe in dropping all duties of society in order to pursue happiness. This pursuit of happiness is a celebration to yourself because you overcome the corruptions of society to be rewarded this happiness. I don't think i could ever celebrate myself to this extent. I couldn't give up everything i worked for for the chance that I might be happy. I could just except the celebrations society provides for me rather than looking for honor on the outskirts of nowhere. Why venture into the wilderness when I could throw a party. To me, transcendental  celebration is a bit extreme and not always needed. Many of people have discovered what makes them happy while still remaining within the confinements of society.

   I celebrate myself often but not to the extent that would please a transcendentalist. I don't think I need to spiritually connect with nature to be happy or to reward myself. Society can be just as rewarding as nature.

Poe

                               Poe
 Edgar Allan Poe was an american author and poet who's work is very famous today. Poe's poems are known for being dark and creepy or dealing with the supernatural. The pieces Poe wrote fit the ideas that were common during the romanticism period in United States. I would think that Poe's poems were not only influenced by the new ideas of his time but also the life he lived. I think what Edgar Poe has been through during his lifetime (along with his intelligence) enabled him to write his stories.
   Poe didnt live the easiest life but rather a life of hardship and loneliness. A lot of the events and circumstances that he endured in his life were reflected in his poems. For starters, his mother died before he was even 3 years old then he was adopted by a married couple. His new mother also eventually died while he was in his teens and his "father" didnt really like him. Poe had to deal with the absence of  a loving womanly figure on several occasion in his life and so did subjects in his poems. In The Raven the narrator is mourning the lost of his beloved Lenore and in Ligeia the main character loses his love interest twice. Isolation was another recurring factor in Edgar Poe's life. Poe lost two sets of parents and grew up with few friends so isolation was probably his closest companion. In The Raven the narrator seems to be isolated from society due to his mood and in The Fall of the House of Usher the narrators friend is very seclusive. Also in the Fall of the House of Usher the partaking of incest is suggested and Edgar Allan Poe married his 13 year old cousin (he was 27 at the time). Im not sure if that was normal at the time or not.
   I think Edgar's life really shaped the themes in his poems and it just so happened to accommodate the new ideas being developed by other artist of his time. Many of the things Edgar Allan Poe lived through can be seen in his poems.

         What It Means To Be American 
 Americans are known for many things around the world like being lazy and being rude. Americans are also known to be very close to their electronics. America has no set culture attached to it so it doesn't take much to be considered an American.
     America is supposedly the "melting pot" of the world because it has so many different types of people living in it. America has people of different races, religions, and cultures living in it so you could say it is pretty diverse. This same diversity makes it almost impossible to define what an american is. How do you create a definition or classification for millions of different people? The fact that America doesn't really have a culture only makes it that much harder to call someone an American based on a definition. Most people identify with the culture their family practices and uses that to define "what" they are even if they weren't born there. On technical terms, if you're born in America, you are American but where a person is born often doesn't define who they are as well as the traditions they practice. Since America doesn't really have any cultural traditions people don't usually deem themselves Americans as often as they use their ancestors to define who they are.  
      I would say that there is no real way to explain what it means to be American other than the literal meaning of being born in America. America is a younger country and lacks the distinctive cultural characteristics  that a lot of other countries have. America's mixture of races and cultures also makes it hard to specify what an American is. I think any U.S citizen who claims the title of an American is an American.

The Modern Puritan

                  
                      The Modern Puritan 
     The Puritans were a group of people who strictly followed their religious beliefs and rules set by their society. In the puritan society, anyone who broke the rules or was believed to have "danced with the devil" was punished or killed. Today there are many groups that have the same mentality as the puritan groups did. The gangs of today are a great example of a group that acts similar to the puritans.
   In the puritans eyes their main enemy was the devil. They resented the devil and anyone who had anything to do with him. If you were to worship the devil or try to conjure spirits you were betraying your religion. If you were caught, you would most likely be killed. When your in a gang your main enemies are other gangs and of course the police. To a gang one of the worst things you could be is a snitch and that applies even if your not part of the gang. To pay for their betrayal, snitches are often killed and their death is used to warn others not to snitch. Even if you arent killed for this betrayal you will be stuck with this label for the rest of your life and you will lose the respect of everyone around you (This is very similar to what happened to Hester with her scarlet letter). So basically any puritan who is a traitor to their religion or any gang member who is a traitor to their gang is ousted by their peers.
Another similarity between the members of the two groups is that they like to show respect for their groups beliefs. If your a puritan you show your respect by going to church every sunday and knowing biblical material. If your a member of a gang you show respect for your gang by wearing certain colors, using signs and dressing a certain way.
  These two groups are a lot alike because they both have strict policies that they abide by. Anyone who disobeys these policies are killed or rejected from the group. So if your a witch or a snitch you probably wouldn't last too long in these groups.