final blog

I feel like my writing has improved significantly since the beginning of the semester. I hav been getting graded harder on my papers, but getting the grades I want, most the time.  I really think that my being able to enter an academic discussion has improved, and writing a thesis statement.  I feel like when we group peer review it helps me more, but it doesn't seem to work for a lot of people. It worked better for me last semester because we had more time , and everyone had time to go.  I love the class discussions, and they were always key in helping me out.  I thought the second paper we did was the easiest because we had leeway in which story we wanted to choose.  I picked the Cuba story, and I feel like I liked that story, so it was easy for me to write about it.  I think the most beneficial lessons were anytime when we got into a class discussion because I seemed to take the most from talking about things.  I definitely feel more prepared to write college-level papers, and I am way more confident than I was last semester. 

poetry reading

I thought that the poetry packet was a good mix of different poems.  I knew both songs and like both of them.  If I were a boy is a great songs and has good lyrics because it shows what a girl would do different if she were in the position of the male.  I like sold also because it talks in an auctioneer style about how a guy would do anything to be with this beautiful girl he met at the auction.  The children's rhyme was very simplistic, and reminds me very much of grade school.  I thought the most interesting piece in the packet was the poem on sexism because everything in it seemed to be true.  That is how boys and girls act it seems after sex because in movies this is how it is portrayed and in real life that is how it goes. 

The Flea

I believe the enitre poem of the flee is talking about virginity an losing it.  In the poem it states," This flea is you  and I, and this [o]ur marriage bed and marriage temple is" (Donne 12-13)  This is showing that the flea is both two in one, and after losing your virginity essentially that is what you are supposed to be because you are supposed to lose your virginity after marriage.  When it states "Purpled thy nail in blood of innocence?"(Donne 20), I feel like it is trying to show the innocence that left the two who were making love.  I also saw it in a different way.  I perceived some parts as the Holy Trinity and Christ's Death because in some parts it said three in one, and the innocence quote would work for showing an example of God's death.  I am not sure if either of these are practicle, but I enjoyed the poem. 

poetry

I have read some poetry in high school.  We read some short poems, but I am not into things I cannot understand.  We read some Emily Dickensen, but I don't really understand that kind of stuff either.  I don't have a favorite poet really because I never really liked it enough to remember the names.  I did like when we did poetry over songs in highschool.  We each got to do a powerpoint and bring the song into class to listen to, and we had to explain different aspects of the poem and what the overall meaning was.  I think the definition of a poem is a piece of literature that is rather short that tells some type of story and has some meter or rhyme.  I think it would be really cool if we could do rap songs in class because I think some rap and even just plain old songs tell a great story. 

research question

I am contemplating over possible research questions.  I was thinking something maybe like Is Mephostophiles for or against Faustus selling his soul?  I was thinking this one because I think that is a huge issue in the play and in comes up in almost every scene.  Another question I was thinking was How is religion tied into the plot of Dr. Faustus?  This is a more broad question, but I was thinking Christianity and would explain where I think Faustus is against God and for what reason and is for God and for what reason.  I would really appreciate inpute, because I don't know which one to do. Thanks!!

faustus

I thought the discussion we had today in class was extremely interesting when we talked about the internal and the external conflict.  There are multiple parts in the story that show that Faustus is battling his own conflict with him mind.  A great part that shows this is when the good angel and the evil angel converse back and forth.  There is also the main conflict going on of whether Faustus should sell his soul or not.  Both conflicts overlap because Faustus is trying to figure out for himself what he should do, while he is also conversing with other characters who are trying to influence his decision. 

scene V

Scene V basically is where Faustus officially gives his soul to the devil, so that Mesostaphiles will be his servant and help him with black magic.  Meph warns Faustus that he will burn in hell in his afterlife, but Faustus doesn't believe him because Meph wasn't in hell, Meph was on earth helping Faustus.  The good angel and the evil angel also partake in this scene a little each trying to persuade Faustus to either doing the right thing or doing the wrong thing.  I think it is really interesting how the devil is almost trying to help Faustus by warning him of the dangers of hell. Meph says that Faustus should go to heaven because it is a lot more pleasent there.  As much as Meph warns Faustus, Faustus refuses to listen and chooses to stab his arm and bind the contract of selling the soul to the devil with his own blood.