Regionalism

"Writers who write about real or made-up locales make use of the history or ideas associated with particular regions" (Anderson). We see regionalism a lot in stories, novels, and just writing inn general. Recently, in a book I read for AP UNited States History, it involved a lot of regionalism. It is called Centennial and it is written by James Michener. Centennial is all about this area of Colorado. Kasraie says it best with what classifies regionalism with, "the most common vehicle for local-color writing is the sketch or short story, with, generally speaking, the following characteristics: 1) characters are stereotypical or picturesque, staunch traditionalists, who speak the regional dialect and whose actions and personalities are indicative of the region; 2) the setting—typically rural, often inaccessible, and isolated from encroaching urbanization—plays an essential role in the story and may even be a character itself (stories usually orbit around the village or a similarly circumscribed locale and focus on the traditional practices of the community); 3) plotlines are sparse, especially in local-color stories by women writers; 4) often there is a framing device in which a narrator recounts a yarn or story about another region; 5) the narrator sometimes acts as the audience for the story; and/or 6) there is a narrator who is an educated, nonnative observer whose comments are meant to enlighten the urban audience" (Kasraie). "local color designates a particular kind of writing that flourished from 1865 to 1895, in which the primary focus of interest lies in the particular characteristics of a region and people at a particular time" (Kasraie). Centennial was a book that talks about this small area of Colorado and tells of the people who lived there and learned how to use the land. It is a farming community with maybe two hundred people in it. Then there are stories of the Zendt family who come from Pennsylvania and tells of their life their and their travels to Colorado. Michener was a very effective narrator who knew what he was talking about.



Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds."regionalism." Encyclopedia of American Literature: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, vol. 3, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Jan 31, 2011.


Kasraie, Mary Rose. "local color." In Barney, Brett, and Lisa Paddock, eds. Encyclopedia of American Literature: The Age of Romanticism and Realism, 1816–1895, vol. 2, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Jan 31, 2011.

Naturalism

American Naturalism is a movement that began in the late nineteenth century and continued on through the early twentieth century. This movement was head by authors such as Jack London, Frank Norris, Stephan Crane, and Theodore Dreiser. "In contrast to realism, which attempted to capture ordinary American life as it unfolded in cities and rural areas in the middle and late 19th century, naturalism employed harsher outdoor settings and placed characters in trying situations where they often confronted natural forces" (Werlock). So rationalism and realism are in a sense one in the same thing. Some differences would be in an outdoor setting, an author can choose what happens and what is in the novel. In realism, an author has just a city to work with. Naturalist characters were often faced with physical challenges and they would be more determined than the characters of realism and get themselves out of the situation. Naturalism is a genre which drew attention to forces of fate, determination, and environments that will shape an individual. Naturalism was a genre that also questioned moral and situational certainties. "The central concerns of naturalism are the forces that shape and move humanity and our inability to control them" (Werlock).

Naturalism has no real hero. The subject of naturalist stories are the ones who make it through the physical challenges of the harsher outdoor settings and natural forces. The one who comes out from these stories would be considered the hero. "....a central tenet of naturalism: Humanity.... is subject to the same natural laws as all animals. As such, humans are subject to the same limitations, and it is a painful realization that humankind holds no special place in the universe. As humans are governed by the same laws as all of nature, literary naturalism suggests that those who attempt to question, combat, or suppress nature will find only failure" (Werlock). The people who are the focus of naturalist stories come to this realization. They are the ones who question the wilderness and the things around them. They set themselves us for failure.




Werlock, Abby H. P. "naturalism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Jan 27, 2011.

Realism

"Realism is the attempt to depict life as it actually exists, not as the author wants it to be in the present or the future, or imagines it was in the past" (Werlock). This statement is exactly what the genre of Realism is. Realism is a different style than romanticism. Romanticism is kind of making everything seem more beautiful and lovely than it actually is. Realism is when nothing is cut out and it is exactly what happens. It does not try to make the story seem better or more beautiful. The American Dream is a large part of realism. Werlock says that realism and naturalism are very close in their genre. But realism is like a photograph and naturalism is like a painting. The photographer can not choose what things can be in the picture. A painter can choose whatever he wants to include within the painting he is creating. I would believe the American Dream at the end of the civil war to the late nineteenth century would have been farming on your own land, making your own living, making yourself your own man.

Such stories as Mark Twain's "Tom Sawyer" are a good example of this common American Dream. Another thing that the novel "Tom Sawyer shows is the hero of many realism stories, which would be the common working man. Tom Sawyer is just an average kid who wants to do nothing but have his own tales and stories, so he makes them and he ends up being a hero for it. Tom does not have any super powers and he is just a normal kid in a normal family. Realists looked at society as a place for potential growth. The world was full of potential and it was up to the people on it to make it as good as it can be. There was land for farming, land for cities, land for mining. The realists were a very optimistic group of people. "The change developed gradually in the 19th century; often, works such as Rebecca Harding Davis's "Life in the Iron-Mills" or local color fiction of Mark Twain, Kate Chopin, and others have elements of both.

By 1900 authors such as Ambrose Bierce, Stephen Crane, William Dean Howells, and Henry James had experimented with new Points of View, setting, and symbolism to provide their own view of the rapidly changing times in which they lived and wrote" (Werlock). This change was brought about by the new science world. At this time in history, they had just discovered electricity and they were making drastic changes to their world; especially in the world of science. These new discoveries led to a more rational way of thinking.

Quinn, Edward. "realism and naturalism in American literature." A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Jan 27, 2011.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "realism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Jan 25, 2011.

Journal 34 - ACT Essay

Hello everybody! Are you ready to learn how to writing a legitimate, excellent, and brilliant essay for your ACT?! First, you will want to have a clear understanding of your topic that you are given. For example: this class was given a topic of whether or not educators should use a traditional grading system or a pass / fail grading scale. Obviously, I would want to have a good understanding of what a traditional grading scale and a pass / fail grading scale are. If the topic was something I did not know anything about, like physics, I would just be kind of screwed. So the first thing you need to have is a just a general knowledge of a lot of things. So if you are planning on actually gong to college, I am sure that you will have this general understanding of whatever the topic is. Another thing you should do is make sure to include both sides of the argument also. The people who are grading the essay look at that and showing both sides of the argument is what separates the boys from the men, so to speak. This is a definite thing you need to show within your essay. Another thing one should do is have logical thoughts and organization throughout the essay. An example of poor thoughts and organization is this blog. It is terrible as far as organization and word choice are concerned. So I would definitely recommend not to read this blog ever. Another thing one should have is an excellent vocabulary and excellent grammar usage. Once again, I would recommend to not look at this blog for either grammar usage or a large vocabulary. I am terrible at both of the previous mentioned things. These things are all things that you, that's right, you! can do to get a good grade of six on your ACT essay! If you do these and are a good writer, then you will do well on your essay.

Journal 33 - Particularity

One thing that is believed to be particular and original to the central area of Illinois is: Fun Fact: The Drive thru window. That is right folks, thanks to this area of the United States, people are even lazier and do not have to even get out of their cars to get their fatty food they ordered. It is found in certain myths and legends that the Maid Rite in Springfield Illinois was the first restaurant to incorporate the drive thru window at the side of or in the rear end of said store/ gross and disgusting place that somehow has the license to sell food. I think this is one of the stupidest things to ever be made. Yes, it is very convenient, but it made lazy Americans even lazier and thanks to this, also thanks to fast food restaurants period, America is the fattest nation ever. Yeah, I said it, EVER. Woo! Go Springfield! Also, I have heard in other myths and legends that the fun and amazing game of cornhole is originated from this area of Illinois. From my very credible sources, Alexander, Kirk, Luke, and Wikipedia, some native American tribe started the game as a way to pass the extremely boring life after all of the Americans shot the buffalo. Disclaimer: that previous statement may not be one hundred percent accurate. But cornhole is a pretty sweet thing. I am also a champ at it, so that is why I enjoy it a little more than I should. And I take that previous statement back. I had the opportunity to be a champ but I made a rookie mistake and then I was no longer a champ. I choked on a large piece of nothing. I think that Pleasant Plains should make cornhole a general physical education game. That would be pretty legitimate. So Springfield has made America way more fat, and the Native Americans have given us the world's second greatest recreational game following only the Chinese sport of badminton.

Journal 32 - Memoir

Christmas break was a good time for me. Even though I was away from my home and the ones I love, I still had a very good time throughout the whole break. First, I went to Iowa for about a week. I went to Danbury, which is where I grew up, and I stayed at my Grandparent's house. Then I came home to Springfield and stayed here for a day. This is when my piano got tuned (which sounds absolutely amazing) and then I was off to Chicago and Wisconsin. I stayed in Chicago for a night with my brother who lives downtown. Then I headed up to Plymouth, Wisconsin to watch my father's college roommate be a Veterinarian. It was fun because he is one of the few mink experts in the world. But then I followed James, a large animal Veterinarian. I enjoyed this a lot because James was a really cool guy and I got to drive around with him. Then I watched him be a vet, which was pretty exciting. Then I also got to go sledding in Wisconsin hills, and the national forest. I can not tell you the name of it because I do not know the name of it. It might be the Kettle Moraine National Forest because everything around there is about the Kettle Moraine bla bla bla. So that could be it. But I would say that the one thing I learned from my whole winter break was that I do not want to be stuck in between walls like a doctor would be. I learned I want to be confined to nothing and work in the outdoor world, yet still do something with the practice of medicine. So I would be a large animal veterinarian because they work with cows and horses that can not be brought indoors. So that would mean I would work outdoors. This is what I want to do with my life and it is all thanks to my time up north following James.

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is an excellent example of realism. "The difference between realism and naturalism is compared often to that between a painting as opposed to a photograph, assuming that the photographer also does not choose which details to include in the frame of the picture" (Werlock). So realists would be the ones who describe everything as it actually is. The story starts as Farquhar is standing on a bridge to be hanged. He is there because he was tricked by a Union soldier and was caught trying to burn that very bridge down. He hears a very loud noise, like someone banging an anvil next to him and soon he realizes it is his watch ticking his final seconds down. He waits for each tick and they come slower and slower. Soon he thinks he can escape by jumping into the stream, but he soon forgets about it and thinks of his wife and kids. This is telling things how they actually are. He tells of how the seconds feel like minutes and he is very descriptive with everything around him. The big part of realism is how he talks of how slow the ticks of his watch feel. The story then tells us that Farquhar is a pretty average guy. He is in his thirties and he has a wife and kids. He is a Planter, owns some slaves, and is also a pretty big Confederate supporter. This is when he is tricked into burning down the bridge, which is illegal. Any one who is caught interfering with the railroads is subject to be hung. So when we read this we are told of everything how he is supposed to be hung and why. It is very descriptive and leaves all the details. Such as if I described a beautiful summer day but still told about the mosquitos bothering me for most of the day. But this relates to realism because it is also very descriptive and tells us of how an enemy to Farquhar tricks him out of his own life. Bierce then tells us of how Farquhar is hung and the rope breaks and he falls down into the stream. He finds himself unknowingly getting his hands and neck untied from the bonds and noose. He returns to the surface and tells of how he can see individual blades of grass. Then a soldier begins shooting at him and so Farquhar swims away and makes it to dry land. He then walks thirty miles through the forest to his house, but on his way he hears strange noises and even believes he falls asleep while walking. He then reaches his house but feels a sharp pain in his neck and this whole flashback of falling into the stream ends and he is dead hanging from the bridge. D'Ammassa tells us how this happens and the reader is taken through all of these immense and intense details. It is hard to describe them the way Bierce does, because he is so descriptive with his words and he makes everything lifelike. It is a psychological adventure that happens in the matter of literally fractions of a second.


D'Ammassa, Don. "'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge'." Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Horror Fiction. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Jan 18, 2011.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "realism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Jan 18, 2011.

Journal 31 - Daydreaming

There once was a boy who was stuck in a sticky situation. He was in deep doo doo with his mother because he drove to school when it was all snowy outside and the mother thought that it was just too snowy outside to drive. The young gentleman just got a new 2004 Chevy Malibu that was way too nice for a young sixteen year old to be driving. This must have made the mother very scared indeed. She just bought her son this new car and she did not believe it was the time to learn how to drive a car - in the snow. She also drove a tiny Chevy Aveo that ways about as much as a wagon, so the poor mother's view was biased because that Aveo got thrown around like the pigskin on Thanksgiving. So the young and "foolish" (according to the boy's mother) decided that he would drive to school. So he did.The roads were not in the greatest conditions but he got to school without a scratch on his car. While he was at school he saw his lovely girlfriend who asked for a ride home. The boy being no fool gave his girlfriend a ride home. When he got to his girlfriends house he looked at his phone and the boy had received a text message from his mother that told him he should have called her and he was not going to be able to drive the car until he got back from his ski trip in Wisconsin. So the boy sat down and pondered. He began to day dreams the things that boys usually day dream about, which is how to get out of the situations they always put themselves in. So he came up with a great idea. He would tell his mother he did not get up early enough to take the bus (even though he did with plenty of time to spare) and he had no other option but to ride in his car. So the young boy drove the long, fifteen minute drive from the girlfriend's house to his; through the treacherous roads, and maybe even through the seven levels of the candy cane forest. He did not know for he could not see anything. But eventually the boy got home and told his mother the story. The mother bought the story and he got off with the simple warning of "tell me next time you have to drive." The boy got off scot free and with no harm done towards himself. And as every other good story ends - he got the girl.

Journal 30 - Uniform

I think that the students of the Pleasant Plains High School should not have school uniforms the students have to wear to school. That is a bit ridiculous. The way I feel about uniforms is that we go to a public school. This means anyone can go to this school if they want to and not have to pay tuition to go to it. So there should not be restrictions on what the student body has to wear. They should have their own right to express their individuality by what they wear and not be restricted to something that restricts themselves. There should be a dress code, like our school has. Our school's dress code is good because it does not allow the student body to see too much skin. Sure, this can be a good thing in some cases, but I do not believe you should be able to see that much of any given person. Outside of school you are free to do whatever. But if uniforms were forced about the student body, I do think it would go over well with the student body. They would complain, and I believe in some cases, students would start to resist the uniforms. Then there would be more disciplinary issues to address than average. This would mean more of the teacher's time would be spent disciplining students instead of teaching. This would not be a good solution for a learning environment. In some cases, families do not even have enough money aside to buy their children these extra set of clothes. True, Pleasant Plains does not have too many impoverished families, there still are always going to be those certain number of families that can not afford the clothes. Then the school would have to provide for these set of clothes. I think that if a public school forces uniforms upon their student, they should supply the uniforms for the students. With 450 students in the room, this can add up to quite a dent in the budget.

Journal 29 - The Resistance

Are you missing out on your classical music? What about your experimental rock? Well if you said yes to either of these two genres of excellent music, then you may fall under the category of people who should listen to the album The Resistance by the band Muse. Even if you do not fall under either of the categories, you would be missing out on the listening experience of a lifetime. Matt Bellamy does an excellent job at powering the songs. He is one of the greatest musicians of our generation. For the band, he sings lead vocals with a very powerful and harmonic voice. He has a very wide range of tone and often uses a falsetto voice. It is a very unique style of signing and it just works. Works I tell you. Bellamy also is the lead guitarist for the band. He is a very solid guitarist and is very creative with his riffs. Not only is Bellamy a double threat in the music world, but he is a triple threat. That is right; triple threat. Bellamy also plays piano/ keyboard. He is one of the greatest piano players ever known to the human race. If you look up the song Piano Thing by Muse, then you will see how good of a piano player he actually is. He composed the music and then played it for the recording. Back to The Resistance. The Resistance is led by Matt Bellamy. The bassist and backup vocalist is Christopher Wolstenholme. The drummer, who is quite underrated is known by his name, of Dominic Howard. These three long time friends combine in their musical talents that is one of the most unique sounds ever made. Many people say The Resistance is a poor album. As it is very different from their other albums, it is still an excellent album. The album is written after the book 1984, which is a very interesting way of writing music. GET THIS ALBUM!!

Journal 28 Convintion

Convintion is the act of convincing somebody into what you want them to do. That is a new word I just made up just now. That just happened. But people perform convintion many times throughout the course of their life. I myself have done this a couple of times throughout the sixteen years, eight months, eleven days, fourteen hours, and thirty six minutes that I have been alive. I do not recall any specific times that I have done this but I am sure, according to the natural nature of my human (yes I am indeed a human) nature, I am selfish and want things for my life and my own good. So I do not know any specific times, as I have just sad. Just to clarify, I do not know any specific times that I have done this. So I will make up a story. So my last journal featured Billy Bob the Calf/Bull so I guess I will use Billy Bob the Calf/Bull in this blog once again for this story. So all Billy Bob the Calf/Bull wanted to be when he was young was a bull with horns. So he was selfish and convinced his body to mature and age and soon enough he sure was a bull with horns. So Billy Bob the Calf/Bull convinced and argued and talked to his body over and over and over again and through all of this discussion and stressful argumentation, Billy Bob the Calf/Bull became the beautiful bull that he was always dreaming of being. I cannot believe that he convinced his body to do this. So the next time you try to convince someone to do something remember the principle rules of convintion. The first principle is to keep yourself first and to give no feelings or respect or sense of emotion towards the other person until you get what you want. That is the first thing you must learn. Maybe when you are older you will learn the other principles.

Journal 27 - Persistence

Persistence. What a word. Many people I know are very persistent. Madison made a very funny comment and said Mr. Scropos is very persistent with giving his AP United States history class homework. This was very true because he never fails to give us homework. But this is very true. According to dictionary.com, persistence is the act of persisting. What a great definition! Thank you dictionary.com! That is they never give up and do it often. It is a good life skill to be persistent. It means that you will stick it through to the very end no matter what happens. You could be going through your eighth year of medical school and it could seem like life just sucks. But if you are persistent and you stick it through you could be a cardiac doctor and make billions, well maybe not billions, but millions of dollars because of all of the things that you learned throughout those torturing years of medical school. This reminds me of a little character I know as Billy Bob the Calf. You see, Billy Bob the Calf was a goat in this world f Bulls. He was this small little calf that could not become a bull. He was very small and young, but maybe, just maybe, if he stuck it through to the end, and he was persistent, he would become a bull. So Billy Bob the Calf was just this young calf in this world of bulls and then he stuck it out and soon enough he was known as Billy Bob the Bull. You see, if Billy Bob the Bull was not persistent, sure, he more than likely would have become a bull, but he might not have stuck it through and could have had some sadness and never really matured and grew his horns to become the bull. But Billy Bob the Bull did stick it out to the end, was persistent and became a bull in the world of bulls.