4-18-11

I think that my writing has dramatically improved since I've taken this course. The main thing that I improved on is my thesis statement. To me, that is the most important part of you're paper because one sentence explains what you are trying to prove. At the beginning I thought it was okay to have just a observation, simple thesis topic. But now I know that you have to think academically and you must think outside of the box. One of the exercises that helped me figure out the best thesis statement is the "Who, What, Where, How, Why?" questions.. If I could answer these questions thoroughly then I was heading in a good direction. I think the paper that was easiest for me to write was the Dr. Faustus paper, just because I understood it and it was easy for me to complete my thoughts on paper. In all the lessons we did I personally think the discussions we did on We, because the book was so confusing for me that the discussions really helped me figured out what was going on in the story. Overall I do feel more prepared to write a college level paper... The last paper we wrote, I feel like it was a test to see if we could actually do it.

4-1-11

I think that the poems show the way that women and men are different. In Beyonce's If I were a Boy" it shows how its okay for boys to do it but yet again if a girl it it, it would be completely wrong for them to do it. A double standard. In "Sold" it shows how a guy can fall in love at the first time. In "Sexism" it shows how a girl can be mistreated but yet again take them back. In the nursery rhyme it compared how the boys and girls are different in "Boys go to Mars..." type of situation.

3-30-11

I think that "The Flea" is represented as marriage. Even though they are not connected by blood when they get married, once they conceive a child they will be. The two are a forbidden love, but they fell in Love anyways like romeo and Juliet, and once they are connected by blood that feud will end.

3-28-11

I don't really remember having a poetry unit in high school other than my sophomore year. I thought it was fun because we wrote out own poems under a certain topic. It was fun ti see how each person took that topic differently. When its the older poems I don't really enjoy them, I'm more of "Where the Sidewalk Ends" type of girl. I really like the idea of reading song lyrics.

My definition of poetry is stating a story with feeling and emotions but using rhyme and repetition to try and get the message across.

3-25-11

I think that the dicussion last class went really well! I know how hard it is being whoopi, asking questions. But no offense today we did it basically without whooopi.

I think I'm going to talk about the decline of intellagence in my paper.

My thesis will be :

The gain of knowledge and magic Faustus received in Christopher Marlow’s “Dr. Faustus” lead to the proceed of degradation to damnation.

Would this be okay?!

3-22-11

One thing that really bugs me is how Faustus talks in third person when he is speaking. When I raise my hand in class I do not say "Oh Kayla has a question!" I don't really know why it bugs me so much, it just does.

3-21-10

In class there was a discussion whether or not Mephistophilis was a "good" or "bad" devil. And I'm still trying to figure this out. I relate it to that saying that Jersey Shore made so famous "I'm the sweetest bitch you'll ever meet." Even though a girl may be nice to you and even benefit you from that, shes still a bitch. Much like Mephistophilis, even though he may be nice, he is still considered a devil. Would the saying still be the same if it was "I'm the sweetest devil you'll ever meet"

3-18-11

My list included :
1. Family- They will always be there for you just in case the other things on the list fall through
2. Health (medicine)- You your health to survive.
3. Technology- Out society has developed the way it has is because of technology.
4. Scholar- Now these days you need an education to get anywhere in life

People's morals and values have changed over the years, religion was high up on Faustus's list, because back in those days religion was a major part and aspect on how people lived that the way that people viewed them. I didn't put religion up there because its not a major aspect in my life, but if I lived in the century that Dr. Faustus is taking place, I'm sure that religion would be higher ranked.

2-28-11

So far I am enjoying into to lit, but its a lot more work than I expected, but its not hard word I dont think.. It's just more of you have to actually get the modivation to do it. So far I have enjoyed all of the reading so far except for We, it just wasnt my cut of tea. but with the class discussions if really really helped me understand it more and I was able to write my paper about it. I also really enjoy doing the gist, they help me understand and comprehend what I just read.

2-25-11

Story: "Drown" by Junot Diaz

Setting: The setting of "Drown" is set in a rural area (from little hints I think its somewhere in New York area because all of the different minorities said in the story). And to but it nicely, its set in the Ghetto. It takes place in the summer time because the pools are filled with water.

Point of view: The story is in limited omniscient narrator. You only hear the story through the narrator.The author also uses stream-of0consciousness technique.

2-22-11

The stories "The Birthmark" and "Bartelby" have simularities and differnences that could be found with the reader. Nippers, Turkey, Ginger Nut ("Bartelby") and Alymer from "The Birthmark" are flat characters because they do not change throughout the story; and they also had chacarcters that foiled one another. On the contrast "The Birthmark" did not have an antihero (the lawyer) like in "Bartelby." The stories both used their plot in chronogical order. Without this the stories would be confusing because you wouldn't know why and how Bartleby "got sick" or how and why the wife died. Both of the endings of these stories were extremely dark. By compairing the two stories readers can see the relationship between the characters and plot. Both stories try and control as much of aspects in other peoples lives, and trying to make them "perfect" in a unperfect world.

2-17-11

Once you said that you haven't seen anything for Black History Month, I really took that into consideration. I just I never really noticed that there hasn't been anything said or done about it. I've seen more posters about the "Jersey Shore Party" at the Eagles than I have for Black History month. Most of our black students come from out of state to play sports here, and I would think that they would want to endorse it more since a lot of them are from the south or other big cities that I would think that they would want to impact campus more. When I was little I remember having to memorize Martin Lurther King Jr's speech, and having to sing songs about being united no matter what color, and it's sad that once you get older it doesn't seem as important, even though it was and still is a major issue in America.

2-15-11 Extra Credit

I think that the students that they picked to be in the article did not represent the colleges and universities in America well. They seemed to pick bias students and also a student who has been in college for 6 years and cannot remember when the last time we wrote a three page paper.. (I wrote one just last week). Personally I some what in the middle on this article. In some of my classes it seems like I have 8+ hours of homework a week, while in other classes the teacher doesnt even take attendance let alone assign any homework. I do believe that social events do get in the way of studying and other academic situations. another point is like in your first semester I took a few easy classes to get me totally prepair for the college experience, because they are mostly all general classes that must be taken. During my junior and senior year I will take harder classes that pertain to my certain major.

2-15-11

I personally think that people should have consequences for their actions if they impostor someone on a social networking site. Last semester I did an report of the effects that cyberbullying can cause on someone because a family member had first hand experience with being bullied online. Imposturing someone, when you are not that person is called proxy, and it can be the most hurtful of all bullying. What happens is someone finds out the victims passwords and tries to set up an account under that person's name. Once this is done then they try to get everyone against that person, making them feel everything from anger and vulnerability, much like the fake Twitter accounts. Even though some people may think that it is funny, some things that people can say can leave an emotional scar on the victim. Especially now with techolongly being the main source of communication between people, they must know what is out there.

2-13-11

Well... Once I got the right topic to write about I thought that writing my paper was fairly easy. I think that my sources that I used were very legit. I'm not really sure if I liked the peer reviews, maybe it was because it was the first one so the people in my group didn't really know what to do. At times I think that some people were at a lost for words on how we could improve our papers, and also they are trying to be nice so that a persons feelings do not get hurt. I do really really enjoy the one on one conferences that we had with you, because I knew after it exactly what I had to do to improve my paper. I would really like you to keep the one on one conferences but maybe try something else for the peer reviews.

2-10-11

The first thing I thought about when I read Metamorphosis was now when he woke up in a bug form he didn't even freak out. Most girls (me included) will freak out if they wake up and have a zit on their face, let alone change into a whole other creature. All he cared about was his work schedule, and being late. Which for me would personally be the last thing on my mind. Another thing is that I felt horrible for Gergor since he had no family support, and with everything that he has done for his family, for them to kind of just "leave him hanging" is heart breaking. I'm so glad that I have family members what will always be there for me no matter what I have done (or turned into)... and believe me, I'm not angel.

2-1-11

Ross, Lindsey L, and Anne M. Bowen. "Sexual Decision Making for the 'Better than Average' College Student. Journal of American College Health 59.3 (2010): 211-16. Web. 30 January 2010

Wechsler, Henry and Toblen L. Nelson. "Will Increasing Alcohol Availabilty By Lowering the Minimum Legal Drinking Age Decrese and Related Consequences Among Youth?" American Journal for Public Health 100.6 (2010): 986-93. ProQuest. Web. 30 January 2011

Zamyatin, Yevgeny. We. Trans. Natasha Randall. New York: The Modern Family. 2006. Print


I hope I did this right.. and I remember that in normal cases the paragraphs will be hanging.

1-30-11

My topic is going to be about the cultural context of the novel We, compared to the life of a college student. When I talked to my teacher Lindsey about what I wanted to do about that she said that I should only pick two or three ideas so that I could totally get my ideas across... I decided to pick self expression, alcohol, and self expression. I figured my thesis would be somewhat like this:
"The cultural context in the novel We contradicts the average life of a college student, with alcohol, sex, and self expression."
Its a little rough right now, but this is the direction I am going.

1-27-11

I wanted to talk about my overall thoughts about We. I personally didnt think that it was a good book. If I was into science fiction, then I would have thought it was.. I'm more of a Nicholas Sparks, lovely dovey, tween sensation books, so it was hard for me to get into it. I think it was because there was not really any dialoge, or to tell you the truth I have no idea why, once thing that helped me was slowly down and also stopping and thinking about what I just read, and also re reading (even if it was three times). But I'm glad to be done with this book, and go on to writing the paper

11-25-10

I think the thing that would be upsetting for me is not being able to keep your child. When I grow up I want to have a lot of kids just because my cousins were always over at my house when I was little so it seemed like a had a lot of brothers and sisters. So when I grow I want to have a lot of kids so they will always have someone there like I did.

Obama's Speech

As I'm sitting here, listening to Obama's speech, I almost forgot how good his speeches really are. That was one of the things that I personally thought set him apart in the election. He talked about innovation of technologies, the economy, jobs, and the develop of research and develop. He wants to improve on energy production for renewable energy, which I believe is the best thing we can do to try and help the environment. He wants to eliminate the taxes we give to oil companies. He talked about how important education is, and it is true... You cannot go anywhere these days without a college degree, and he's right by saying it starts out at home. He said that schools are not meeting the goals, so they started "Race to the Top".. I really don't think my old high school of Rapid City Central High school will never make it to the top. (sadly). 100,000 new teachers will come into the job scene. Colleges and C.Cs are also changing. oh shit. here comes the immigration... Personally, I believe that if someone is making a better difference in America, than by all means stay, but if they are weakling America.. Send their ass back home. America's roads really do need to be worked on and I think that it'll be an awesome way for jobs to come... But traveling by train does not sound like fun. He wants to fix was broken and then keep on moving. The final way to help with the future is to finally get out of debt. WE have to cut back on expenses. Families cut back on many spending and so does the government. But I believe that maybe we could do it by something else because we need everything in what we cut. 12% of the budget. I believe that its true that we should talk taxes from the people who are well off, instead of people who are trying hard to get somewhere in life, like college students like me. I think its awesome that now we can see what our government is doing, and where our money is going. Finally maybe politics are changing. I don't really like the whole idea of nuclear. I think that USD really opens up to the army recruits. I'm glad that Plan B really worked out and all of the minors got out. God Bless America
On a side note: I really like Michelle's dress.

1-23-11

I think that We uses both the biographical and historical. It is biographical because the book is somewhat based off of the author Yevgeny Zamyatin's life. Zamyatin was an engineer, and so he can relate to D-503 since he is a mathematician. It is historical because it is based off of the events that happened in Russia, and then Communism that the Russians faced. I think that between these two strategies the most important one would be historical, because even though you can relate We to Zamyatin's life, the events that happened in Russia is what made this book even happen.

1-20-11

Style- The style is written like a diary from D-503, so its his own thoughts.
Tone- The tone of this book is very serious.. Everyone has their own way to act and if you act differently then what you are supposed to, then you are looked upon and there can be some serious conquences if you do not follow One State's rules.
Irony- I'm not sure about what the Irony is in this book. But maybe one situation that shows it is ever since D-503 met I-330, he started to have dreams, which he never had before. So maybe that is the start of the rebellion.
Plot- This story is about a man named D-503, he lives a normal life just like others in his town of One State. One day when he was walking with his girlfriend O-90, he meets a lady  named I-330, and his life was changed forever.
Characterization- D-503 just goes with the flow and follows the crowd. When something goes wrong, he's always thinking about the rules and conquences that might follow. As the book progresses I think that he will start to become against the ways under One State.
Setting- The setting of the story is in the future in a town called One State.
Point of view- The point of view in the story is first person narrative.
Symbol-A symbol would be the Benefactor he is somewhat their version of our God. Everything they do in One State is for the Benefactor.
Theme- Some of the themes for We is dehumanization and communism.

Information

Hello Yall,
My name is Kayla Rowen and I am a freshman here at USD. My major is Public Relations and I am apart of the Alpha Phi sorority. My roomate is named Courtney, and she has been my best friend since 6th grade. If I could have three words that could describe me it would be: Loud, Loving, and Fun.