1. At the beginning of this book, Bigger is pessimistic and doesn't want to die as a black murderer.
2. During the pretrial Bigger is convinced that the white world hates him and is out to get him.
3. The paper says that Bigger is an animal who deserves to be isolated from the world.
4. The preacher tells Bigger to hope, but he gets upset by that because he thinks his guilt destroyed his positive feelings.
5. Jan talks to Bigger about how much he loved Mary, and how he pretty much forgives Bigger for killing her - this kindness is something bigger isn't used to and begins to feel even guiltier for killing Mary.
6. Max questions Mr. Dalton's sincerity in the charity he provides for the African Americans, he thinks it's fake and calls him out on the ping pong tables, that don't do anything for the Blacks, but make him look better.
7. Mrs. Thomas gives up her integrity when pleading for Bigger. He wishes that his mom wouldnt have to lose her dignity to stand up for him, he would rather get a harsh punishment than make his mom embarrass herself and feel inferior to Bigger.
8. Bigger confesses to clear his conscience.
9. Bigger feels sorry for Jan and realizes that the communists and Blacks have discrimination in common, and Bigger connects to him on a different level.
10. Max calls Mr. Dalton on what his motives are and if he really cares about the Black community.

Native Son Blog 1

1. When Bigger kills the rat in the first scene it shows two things: that he is dangerous and violent, but also that he protects his family.
2. I think that Bigger doesn't understand how =much his family loves him and therefore he gets irritated by his mom's nagging - but she's only trying to help him and guide him in the right direction. His sister bothers him too because he thinks shes annoying - but what older brother doesn't think that his little sister's annoying?
3. Bigger and Gus are interested in the plane that they see because they know that only white people can fly the plane, and they know that they can't, which makes them want it more.
4. They then try to make fun of white people by imitating army generals in "white accents".
5. Bigger gets mad at Gus because he thinks that Gus gives into the white society and doesn't want to hurt them by Robbing them. Bigger accuses Gus of being scared.
6. In the movies, Bigger learns that the family that offered him a job is incredibly wealthy and he realizes that he really should take it because maybe he'll get lucky and have a part in their money.

King of the Bingo Game

When looking at these quotes, it is clear that the main character is controlled by a force greater than himself. By engaging himself in bingo, a luck of the draw and completely unpredictable game he gets to blame the outcome of his life on something he cannot control. When it says, "he felt vaguely that his whole life was determined by the bingo wheel,” i think that the author is just symbolizing life - to a gamble. No one can predict one's own life, and if there is such a thing as fate, the only being who knows what it is - is God. Therefore, when he says that the wheel is God, i believe that he is just saying that because it has a way of predicting his life, similarly to God. He gets trapped into the chase of the Jackpot and is devastated at the loss of the "love of his life" Laura and gives in to gambling to give him hope which can make him move on. I don't think that he wins the jackpot because he didn't take enough responsibility for the course of his life. Yes, maybe there is such a thing as fate - but one can steer one's life in any certain direction.

Macbeth is an Anti-hero

I believe that Macbeth is an anti-hero because he lives by his own flawed morality. He disregards common decency when he kills his good friend Banquo, innocent women and children (lady Macduff), and his own king Duncan. I believe that he is an anti-hero because he knows what he is doing that is wrong, for example the beginning of the play when he ponders whether or not to kill King Duncan. However as he continues to kill these people his mind starts to whither away and he becomes crazy. The stress of the dreadful deeds took this toll on him and he continues to kill. He disregards what his society believed to be courteous and was not a decent king, which he saw a good example of in King Duncan. When Macbeth listens to the prophecy he makes a decision to be indecent and kill all the people that he did, therefore he is an anti-hero.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt was definitely one of the most influential women of the 20th century. She conquered the challenge of her husband's illness with pride, and went on to take on many responsibilities that women of her time did not have to deal with. Politically, she oversaw many issues that her husband was too weak to deal with, as well as take care of her six children. When the great depression hit, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt tried very hard to rebound the country quickly, and to the best of their power, they did. Eleanor was stern, determined, and passionate about the causes she dealt with; all of these qualities made her an extraordinary leader.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eleanor/peopleevents/pande01.html
To others, I believe they would have thought of Eleanor as cold. Outside of her very close knit group of friends, other women would have thought of her as mean and nontraditional because of her modern role as a wife. The fact that she stood up to society and incredibly helped her husband and the condition of the country proves that she was a great leader.

Research Paper

After a week's worth of researching, my topic is regarding racism and classism (sp?) in rebuilding New Orleans. The essential question would be is racism and classism prevalent in rebuilding New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina? The paper will be organized by what happened/what has been done, what is happening right now, what do government officials suppose will happen. I chose this topic because I feel very badly for those whose homes were ripped apart and now they are watching them continue to stay down because of race related issues, also, there was a lot of info!

To Kill A Mockingbird

Harper Lee uses a mockingbird in the title because of its symbolism. A mockingbird is innocent and harmless and beautiful, so why kill something like that for pure joy? During the novel, the mocking bird continues to reappear as a sign of beauty and love. In a way, Tom Robinson represents a mockingbird and Bob Ewell represents something like a crow that should be shot at for fun if it stands for deception, hate, and ignorance. Tom Robinson was shot 17 times because he wanted freedom and a better life, Bob Ewell had a free life and took it for granted. I think that Atticus is trying to teach Scout and Jem that life is precious and that nothing should be taken for granted; also he wants them to know that not everything is how it appears. A mockingbird appears to be a bird that there is a lot of, however in reality it's a sign of beauty. Just as Boo Radley seemed to be scary and weird because he never left his house, he saved their lives even though he knew they made fun of him. Scout definetly learned this lesson by the end of the novel because she saw Boo's life from the perspective of his porch and realized that not everything is as it seemed. Also, both Scout and Jem learned their lessons when they felt the pain of Tom Robinson being found guilty and seeing the injustice there is in the world and that there is in fact different types of people, types that they have no control over and are labled at birth.