"Declaration of Independence" - Faulty Logic Reflection

Thomas Jefferson was a man of great knowledge. Unlike most people, Jefferson was gifted at many things. He did not settle for one single profession, but rather obtained several different jobs including an architect, lawyer, musician, etc; and overall he became the president of the Untied States. Jefferson also for the most part, wrote the Declaration of Independence. There were other people who helped revise and edit it, but for the most part, it was Thomas Jefferson who wrote it. In the Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson makes some very good points, however, much of what he writes falls under propaganda and faulty logic. We can tell this by picking out the writing techniques that he uses in his writing. For example, Jefferson often uses words that have little to no meaning behind them. These words are called "Glittery Generalities." People often use these words when they do not have enough support to back up their views. "for the public good" is an example of "Glittery Generality because it does not state what is good for the public, it just simply says "good" (Jefferson 122). Even though Jefferson does not flat out call the king names, I feel like he also uses the fault of "Name Calling". Throughout the whole Declaration Jefferson talks all about what the king has done and not done, all being bad things. For example, the statements "He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without the consent of our legislature, " and "He has obstructed the administration of justice" (Jefferson 123). Now maybe that is true, however, Jefferson never explains why those things could be bad. I feel like Jefferson almost made a list of some sort so that it would look as if the king was obviously terrible and that we as the people should side with Jefferson himself. Another thing that he used is a technique called the "Band Wagon" technique. What this technique is saying is basically the whole "everyone else is doing it" technique. By using this he is almost pressuring people into believing the same things that he believes so that you do not appear as an outcast. It is important to observe and recognize the things that you are reading because it may affect how you feel about something. Because Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration to be very persuasive, it persuaded people to agree with him.If he had written it a different way, maybe it would have been less persuasive and the people would not have agreed as strongly. Using faulty logic and propaganda is a technique that people often use when they are trying to get their point across and want people to agree with them. Propaganda often makes things sound better or worse than they really are. Before this, I had never thought about propaganda techniques and how that can affect the way people see things. Propaganda played a big role during World War II and I guess it also affected what people thought during Thomas Jefferson's time as well.


Jefferson, Thomas."Declaration of Independence." American Literature. Columbus: Mc-Graw Hill, 2009. 120-124. Print.


"Recognizing Propaganda--Guide to Critical Thinking--Academic Support." 6 Mar. 2011. Web. 26 Sept. 2011. .

Journal #9 - Rational response

I'm sure that there have been many times when I have freaked out emotionally. The problem is that we do not always handle those emotional situations in the best way. There was a time when I had to solve a problem rationally even though I was panicking like crazy. This happened recently actually, like basically yesterday. So, the thing is, I have never been good at math. Ever. Math has always been super confusing to me and honestly I struggle to keep up. Our class has been taking quizzes and I have gotten all the right answers but I'm doing the work wrong. Every time I think I am getting a little better, I just end up doing something else wrong and failing. I hate admitting that I am not understanding what everyone else is getting so I waited in the hopes that I would eventually catch on. Unfortunately, I never caught on like I had planned and now I have a bad grade in the class, which is not okay. I am freaking out because I'm afraid that when she enters all of the grades, I will be ineligible. So, after I was done panicking and freaking out I decided that I would do something about it. I asked my friend Izzy if she could tutor me in math and she said that we would plan to get together at least once a week so she can help me. So, I turned an emotional situation around by being rational. I really should not have waited that long to get help, but I am glad I have help now.

Patrick Henry - Reflection Blog

Patrick Henry's speech has more to do with rationalism than with anything else we have learned about so far, such as the Puritan writing style. Unlike the Puritan writing style, I think Henry's speech is more logical and reasonable. The Puritan writing style that we looked into before was more dramatic and unreasonable. Also, most of the writing had something or other to do with religion because that is what their colonies were based off of. Rationalism however, is different. Right now in history we are learning about an idea that was going around in the 1700s called Enlightenment. Enlightenment was a pretty big deal back then because it changed the way people started to think about certain thing such as God, nature and society in general. Rationalism I think is kind of the same thing as Enlightenment a little bit. Instead of some of the other passages we read about God and how he is holding us over the pit of Hell, Rationalism is well, more rational. Henry talks about his stuff in a more reasonable tone and also I think looks at it from a more logical stand point than a religious one. On the other hand, Patrick Henry does refer to God still a couple of times in his speech. So I think that even though it was the start of rationalism. The Puritan era did not just disappear out of the blue or right away. Maybe this was just kind of the transition period. I think that Patrick Henry backs up his speech very well. For example, Patrick Henry states, "Shall acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?" (Henry 118) Patrick Henry is pretty much saying that if we do not take immediate action and fight, then we will eventually be taken over by our enemies. One of Patrick Henry's famous quotes was "I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!" (Henry 118) Patrick Henry was totally against slavery. He wanted really badly for them to fight in the war against slavery. Originally, they were not going to fight. Patrick Henry talks about how they were called weak , but then he refers back to God saying that we have a just God who is fair and will provide for them, good friends that shall help them fight in the battle. This is what makes me think about Henry's speech not being totally rational. However, you can still tell that compared to other speeches and stories that we have read, there is a great deal more rationalism in there as well. For example, when Henry says, "Our brethren are already in the field, why stand here idle?" (Henry, 118) This I believe is a rational statement. He is asking them why we would not help our brothers that are already out there fighting? Those are some of the things that make Patrick Henry's speech more rational then some of the others we have read.

Henry, Patrick. "Speech to the Second Virginia Convention." Glencoe Literature. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2009. 114-119. Print.

Journal #8 - Autumn

Autumn is absolutely my favorite time of the year. The only thing that could possibly make fall time any better is if the Christmas holiday was thrown in there. That is why winter is a close second for me. Now don't get me wrong, I love every season for what it is, but I would favor cold weather rather than hot weather any day. There are many more reasons that I love Autumn though!! First of all, the weather is absolutely perfect! Some days are warmer and some days are colder, but most are colder, which I love. The leaves all start to change from a rich green to vibrant reds, orange and yellows, and the air is fresh and crisp. I love walking outside, seeing your breath in the air and hearing the leaves crunch under your shoes. Another thing that I absolutely love about fall, is the food! Nothing can beat warm apple cider and pumpkin bread on a cold fall day. Of course there are more foods like caramel apples, pumpkin pie, chili, and all the rest of that great stuff. Autumn is also the season that leads up to many things. Both Halloween and Thanksgiving fall in the Autumn time, but the fall season also leads up to the Christmas holiday!! So all in all, fall and winter are basically the best.

The Crucible Act 4 - Reflection Blog

Its kind of weird actually because we are talking about the exact same thing in AP history as we are in this class. It has helped me a lot though because we have talked about the Salem witch trials in history as well as in The Crucible. The Crucible reflects the exact same tone as the passage of Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. Basically, what the passage is saying is that confessing to your sins will save you, and that you should always confess otherwise there would be consequences such as hanging. The church back then really did intimidate people. The church in a way kind of ruled people by fear. All the people ever heard is that they were being " held over the pit of Hell by God and could be dropped at any moment" (Edwards 98) . That is exactly what was going on in The Crucible. Towards the end of the book, everyone tells John Proctor that he must confess to partaking in witchcraft. If he did not confess, the consequences were high. John had the decision to either be hanged, or confess. John decides at the end that he will not confess to a sin that he did not commit. John was hung for nothing. So there are many similarities between the passage and The Crucible, and obviously, you did not always get a fair trial. John Proctor was innocent and did not once partake in witchcraft, but because rumors and stories spread quickly, John was accused anyway. I never understood how people could just accuse someone of doing something without any logical backup. It is very strange to think that these kind of things were very common and happened just about every day back in this time. Even though I still do not understand how people thought back then entirely, I guess I can try and imagine how situations like these happened. The communities were a lot different then they are today. Most of them were religiously based and often religion was really the only thing that they were taught about basically on a daily basis. Another thing is that unlike us today, they did not have the technology or just the knowledge in general that we have today. For example, they had absolutely no idea how to explain what happened to Betty in the beginning of the story (Miller 5). Therefore, they decided that Betty had had to be calling upon the devil. So, in their defense, they had no other explanation to turn to. The tone that exists in both The Crucible and Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, is very cold and harsh. Both of them are basically saying that if you sin, you must take the consequences even if they seem unfair. The problem with this is that innocent people were often times accused of something that they really did not do, resulting in their death. This is what happened to John Proctor and both passages or stories portray this same tone.

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.

Edwards, Jonathan. "From Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 97-99. Print.

Journal #7 - Bullying

Bullying has been around since the beginning of time. I never really understood why bullying occurs so much and is such a problem, but it always has been. I always feel really bad for the victim especially at first just because it always seems to be the nice kids that get bullied (that's not always true though). Also I hate bullying so much because you never know how something can really affect a person. For example, if I got pushed into a locker or was called a bad name or something, I would like to think that even though it would hurt a little, I could bounce back pretty easy because I have good friends and family and know how to shake it off. So overall, it probably wouldn't bother me too much, but what if the victim could not just shake it off. What if the victim takes it very seriously and that affects he or she for the rest of his/her life? Knowing that the way you treat people, even just at school can change everything is hard to believe. That is why you have to watch the things you say and do and respect people for who they are. Also, bullying is not a win- win situation. Most of the time it is lose-lose. It is like this because nine times out of ten, the victim is hurt because of the bully, but the bully is probably not to happy either. Honestly, bullying is really one big vicious cycle. Most of the time, the reason that a bully is bullying is because he/she either feels insecure, angry, emotional. I do think that our school does a good job with bullying for the most part. I feel bad though for all of those kids who have to go to a school where they do not feel safe or secure. I think that it is very important for schools to make sure that everyone feels safe.

The Crucible Act 3 - Reflection Blog

Throughout the book The Crucible, it is very obvious that the author knows some things about human nature. The author reveals these things through the characters that are involved in the story. One of the things that I think the author understands most of all is the way humans defend themselves. For example, there are many times in the book, well really throughout the whole book, that the characters defend themselves by lying or even by betraying the ones that they care about. An example from the story is when Abigail tells everyone that Elizabeth Procter kept poppets in her house. The truth is that Elizabeth only had one poppet and one poppet only and the only reason she had it in the first place was because Mary Warren made it for her and had given it to her earlier in the story. The only reason Abigail would have said this is so that she herself would not be blamed for being involved in witchcraft. Abigail was probably afraid that if she could not make someone else look suspicious, then she would look suspicious to everyone. I thought the author understood this very well because he understands the way people think. Even though I would like to think that I would be a good person and do the right thing, my first reaction would probably be to defend myself, and by defending yourself often you find someone else to blame it on. In a way, this book is kind of dark. I feel like this book is really about all of the bad things that humans do. I also think that one of the worst things we can do is betray our fellow man and that is what the characters in The Crucible do all of the time. They also lie a lot, which goes along with betrayal. Not only do the characters not stand up for each other, but they blatantly lie about each other as well, especially Abigail. I actually really like this book so far though because I feel like it is pretty realistic and it is very interesting to read. I think that Arthur Miller did a very good job writing this book.

Journal #6 - Blaming

Its hard not to blame others when something goes wrong. I know I am guilty of blaming others when something does not go my way. I really do need to work on that. Now, I have never done something like accusing someone of being a witch or anything like that, but I do blame people for my having a bad day and stuff like that. For example, there has been many times, when I have blamed things on my teachers actually. Let me just say first though that I think everyone does this. So, if I have a lot of homework one night and I get home, then eat a snack, then watch a little T.V, then start my homework lets say around seven, I end up realizing that I had way more than I thought and a lot of it is due the next day. So naturally, it obviously is not my fault that I have so much homework, it is in fact the teachers fault. It is the teachers fault because they never give us a break and always pile on work, not understanding that we have like six or so other classes that we receive homework in. This is exactly what plays in my head every time I procrastinate. In reality, I know that it really is not the teacher's fault. I just say things like that because I do not want to admit that I have bad work ethic and waited until the last minute, so I just decide to blame it on the teachers. This is sort of like what happens in the book The Crucible. Because no one actually wants to own up to anything or be blamed, they just decide to blame someone else. However, in the end it just makes things way worse.

The Crucible "True Colors" - Reflection Blog

My true colors were blue, coming in first, and gold, being runner up. Being blue supposedly means a couple of different things. First, blues tend to be peacemakers. They do not like to cause trouble or be in the middle of trouble. Blues also tend to be very kind and emotional. I'm not sure how accurate these tests are but that is what blue means in a nutshell. Gold, on the other hand, means that you are very organized and always have a plan. I think golds, to me, come off as being a little OCD. Then of course there are the rest of the colors. Oranges are pretty active and have trouble staying still, and greens tend to be less emotional and are more techy. So, briefly, those were all of the colors in the True Colors test. Sometimes, you are able to pick out someones characteristics and possibly even give them a general color. There are characters in the book The Crucible that I think would fall into some of these color categories. For example, I would have to say that I think Mary Warrens is a blue. I think this because throughout the two chapters that I have read, I notice that for the most part she is pretty quiet and to herself. However, there are also times when she speaks out in defense and things of that sort, but overall she is just trying to keep the peace. (Miller, 55) Like I said before, blues tend to be on the more quiet and emotional side, so I think that Mary Warren would fall into the blue category. Now, I cannot back up this theory as well, but I also think that Elizabeth would be either a gold or possibly even a green. I think this because I think she comes off as being kind of uptight and strict. Compared to some of the other characters, Elizabeth always seemed way less emotional to me for some reason. Greens are less emotional than other colors. Abigail however, to me is the more emotional one. The relationship between Abigail and John Procter may be part of the reason that she is extremely emotional. Abigail also seems very passionate and when she talks she talks with great emotion. For example, you can tell this because of the way she talks to Mr. Procter (Miller, 22) and the way she talks to everyone else. So, I would say that Abigail is a mix between an Orange and a Blue, maybe even a little bit of green thrown in there. Now, I'm not really sure what to make of John Procter yet. I think that he is a little temperamental and that he loves Elizabeth, but on the other hand, he has a soft spot for Abigail and does care about her a little bit I think. I would have to say he is a blue just because of how emotional he is the whole time when he is talking to Elizabeth. (Miller, 54) Also, because blues tend to have mood swings and I think that John Procter may have some as well.

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.

Journal #5 - Modern Day Punishment

I think mainly the punishment really depends on the kid and also the parent, but this will just be in a general sense. I think that it is harder for parents these days to punishment their children then in previous years because of all of the technology. It used to be that back in the day, you would have to do more chores, or you could not go play with your friends or play outside. But now a days you do not have to be around your friends in order to talk to them. It is so easy to stay connected all of the time with things like facebook and cell phones. I believe that this makes things a little harder on parents when it comes to punishment. I know a lot of people these days are punishing their kids by taking away facebook and such, but this is tough because almost all phones have Internet on them as well. So if you say no facebook, it would almost have to be like saying no computer or phone. However, I believe that because kids use technology a whole bunch, I feel like taking away their phone or computer is an accurate punishment. I'm sure their are other possible punishments that would work as well, but the problem is, if they still have their phone or computer, then they will still be connected. By taking away a kids phone or computer, you are taking away their privilege to talk to friends and be in the loop on facebook. So, yes, I do believe that it would be appropriate as a punishment if a parent took away a kids phone or computer for awhile. I also think that it helps kids not rely on technology as much. Even though it is always good to know how to use technology, I think it is also important for kids to be able to do things without it as well. I think that taking away technology is a good modern day punishment.

The Crucible Act 1

So far, I think this book is really interesting. Sometimes I think it is a little confusing when you are reading it, but once you get into it, the book is actually pretty entertaining. So, the Puritans were part of a religious movement that took place in the 1600s and 1700s. Unlike Separatists, Puritans did not really want to leave the Church of England, but rather "purify" it. Puritans believed that too much power rested in the hands of ministers and priests, which were the highest officials in the church. In this book, you can definitely pick out certain qualities that represent the Puritan lifestyle. For one, the Puritans were all about religious community. (Miller, 28) Often, government and religion would overlap and things, at times, could get pretty intense. Also, because these settlements were not super big, everybody knew everybody, so if there was talk that you did something bad or were a sinner, then you would kinda be in trouble. Another, not so great things about the Puritans was that they had little toleration for other religions if any at all. The whole reason they left England in the first place, was so they could "purify" the church and practice whatever religion that they wanted to practice. However, they did not put up with other religions at all, so this is sorta ironic. Back to what I was saying earlier, about being a sinner, the Puritans were what you would call now a days crazy religious. They were taught to read their Bibles constantly, and pray even more. (Miller, 46) Even if you were not a sinner, they encouraged this big time, and if you were a sinner...well then you would've been reading all of the time. During the Salem witch trials, there was great suspicion throughout the village. Although, the Puritans were supposed to follow God's word, with all of the weird witch theories happening, the people started to question their neighbors and whether or not they were real followers of God. There was a lot of talk about the Devil and how it was somehow taking over their village. This, as you can guess, really made the Puritans uneasy since they have always been so strict and sure of their religion. (Miller, 30)For example, in the book Betty seems to be under some sort of weird spell or something. This automatically brings up the idea of witchcraft in Salem. So, Mr. Paris tells everyone that enters the room, to not let anyone know about what is happening with Betty. If talk did get around and people started to hear things, then they would probably, eventually came to the conclusion of Betty, or any of her friends and relations being a witch or being associated somehow with evil spirits. That is why things were kept very secret in Salem and also the reason why people started turning against their neighbors. An example of that from the book is when Abigail tells everyone that Tituba was the one speaking to the Devil. (Miller, 43) Now, maybe Tituba was, but in the book she denies it. This book represents Puritan qualities very well.

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.

My Traveling Experiences

I have not been many places, so I do not really have any great stories or anything to tell. This summer I went to Wisconsin Dells for vacation. We stayed at Mount Olympus Water and Theme Park and we did some site seeing as well. Wisconsin really in not that far away. It took us about six hours to get there. Normally, we go to Colorado for vacation because my cousins live up there so we go to visit them. I always have a great time because we always go to really cool hiking trails and go shopping at their outlet malls. I have also been to Missouri because my Grandparents live there. Also this summer though, I went to North Carolina with my church for camp. That was a lot of fun and I will probably go again next year. I have to admit though, I'm not sure if I really like traveling that much. Now don't get me wrong, I would absolutely love to visit Europe, or even other places in the U.S, but I do not like to travel unless I have family or friends to travel with. Even though, I had a wonderful time in North Carolina, I did miss my family and some of my other friends. So, I never like being away from home for too long. Also, I always here people talking about how they want to move away after school and live away from their parents, but I do not really have the desire to move far away. I like living near my family. I will probably do some more traveling throughout my life for sure, as long as I am experiencing new places with great people. I have a lot of places I would love to travel to. One of the places I would really like to visit is Austria. My grandma is from Austria and she has many pictures of her there. It looks like a really pretty place to visit. I also thought it would be cool if one day I could go visit Egypt or Jerusalem. They have many historical sites that would be very cool to see.

"Plymouth Plantation" Reflection Blog

I thought that it was very interesting that Of Plymouth Plantation was very different from the other two things that we read, Upon the Burning of Our House and the narrative about Mary Rowlandson. In the other two things that we read, I said that they both kind of reflected Puritan writing because they used words that were very elegant and beautiful sounding. However, in Of Plymouth Plantation, Bradford is very straight forward and uses a very plain writing style. (Bradford, 15) Also, like the other two pieces that we read, there are many references to God. Actually, the whole thing really is about God. Normally, I read the book by myself and I do not use the audio option. But this time I just decided that I was too tired to read myself, so I turned on the audio and the first thing I noticed was his tone of voice. Even though it was not the real William Bradford, I believe the book does its best to really speak how they would speak. So , I was very surprised because his tone of voice was very kind of mean and demanding. He spoke a lot about how we are all sinners and will face the wrath, unless we are a new creation. (Bradford, 63) The Puritans were very religious and strong in their faith, so if you were a sinner and were not a new creation, they would talk about hell and how you have not escaped the wrath. I also noticed how they, or at least William Bradford, views God. They do not view God always as a merciful loving God, but rather a harsh and judging God. Bradford often speaks about how God looks at us as almost as we look at Satan himself. (Bradford, 64) Another example is when Bradford talks about how God is just holding us over hell, and the only thing between hell and us is air. I thought this was very interesting because even though some people think of God this way as well, most of the time we have always been taught that God protects us and is very loving and merciful. The Puritans obviously had a different point of view, when it comes to who God is and what he thinks of us. The writing style is also like that. Unlike the last pieces we read that were elegant and pretty sounding, this piece is kind of harsh and commanding. William Bradford is speaking to you and basically telling you all of these things about God as a fact a not as an opinion. Now maybe that was just the way William Bradford was, and maybe not all Puritans were like this, but I feel like he was kind of bossy when it came to his religion. Then again, he was a leader wasn't he? Even though, I don't know if I agree with everything that William Bradford said, I actually really liked this piece, especially when audio read it to me. It was really cool because it kind of felt like you were actually listening to him speak.

Bradford, William. Of Plymouth Plantation. Glencoe. Print.

Journal #3 - Hostage

If I was ever held hostage, I would like to think that I would escape nice and easy with no problems in the escape plan. Now of course this all really depends on the situation that you are in. For example, if I was on a boat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. My escape plan would have to be very quick and complex. First, I would have to find a way to unlock the door to my little room that I am held captive in. My kidnappers obviously took the key with them, thinking that they have outsmarted me. I look around for something to use and at first I am at a loss. Then suddenly I realize that I have a bobby pin in my hair. I bend the bobby pin so that it fits in the key hole perfectly. I quietly open the door and peak around the corner. My kidnappers are nowhere to be found. Getting out of the room was the easy part, keep in mind that I still have to get off of the boat somehow. I slowly climb up the stairs up to the deck of the boat. I see them there playing cards on deck. I realize then, that they have my cell phone. I see it laying there on the table. So I decide to create a distraction. I throw the nearest thing I could find down the hall and hide behind a nearby wall. Score. I quickly grab my cell phone and call the only person I know will come to my rescue. Gabberzqueen. I call and she decides to come save me. Finally, I see her coming with her speedboat. I jump on and we ride back to shore. Unseen and unnoticed. Success.