Lying's Intentions

When we think of lying thoughts of deceit, manipulation, and trickery usually creep into our minds. This is because as in most cases lying is wrong. Such is pointed out when Don Pedro concocts his plan to match Benedick and Beatrice by spreading lies never said by either of them about their supposed deep affection to each other. Don Pedro knowingly poses a rehearsed question concerning Beatrice's affection as the innocent bystander Benedick listens on as he says, "It were good that Benedick knew of it by some other / if she will not discover it" (II.3.7-8). Don Pedro has no right to say anything of the sort as he is being careless and putting the well being of two innocent people at stake while standing aside uninvolved in the actual outcome. Similar actions of lying are bad as well. Lying on your tax return to save money is the same as stealing from the government. Many unethical choices are usually woven into each other and can lead one to make more and more of them.

Lying exists in an appropriate form as well. At the masquerade Antonio playfully lies to Ursula as he denies to be himself when he answers her question by saying, "To tell you true, I counterfeit him" (II.1.93). This lie is only employed to enhance the general mood and does not risk harming anyone. Lying is also acceptable when it is deemed appropriate by the situation at hand. In poker, deceit and manipulation are part of the game and lying becomes a common practice in which everyone partakes. Although lying is generally wrong because it can disrupt fragile circumstances, there are some solid situations where it can even be encouraged!

Poem and Analysis

1 Some men never think of it.

2 You did. You'd come along

3 And say you'd nearly brought me flowers

4 But something had gone wrong.

5 The shop was closed. Or you had doubts -

6 The sort that minds like ours

7 Dream up incessantly. You thought

8 I might not want your flowers.

9 It made me smile and hug you then.

10 Now I can only smile.

11 But, Look, the flowers you nearly bought

12 Have lasted all this while.

- Wendy Cope

The poem "Flowers" by Wendy Cope uses the central metaphor to compare flowers with the abstract idea of thoughtfulness. The character that she is recounting of in the poem has not brought her any flowers but was indeed thinking about it as the third line says "And say you'd nearly brought me flowers." This thought, however not carried out, has affected the author as much as if the flowers were truly there as she says, "It made me smile and hug you then" (9). In the last two lines the author describes how the mere thought of bringing hers flowers had an even greater effect than flowers could themselves as she says, "But, Look, the flowers you nearly brought,/ Have lasted all this while" (11-12). This poem also contains end rhyme between the second and fourth lines of each stanza.

This poem has a compelling message. It reminds me that material objects don't mean nearly as much as the thought and care of others around. The people in our lives are what truly matter, and too often we divert attention away from that and place value on objects. These objects have no feelings and cannot support and stand by as can the important people in our lives. As the saying goes, "It's the thought that counts."

Quarter 1 Reflection

Looking back on quarter one I see that I have made many improvements and I now have more to look forward to as the school year continues. The work required for enriched English 10 seemed overwhelming at the beginning of the year but by now I'm beginning to appreciate the results that it pays. At this time I see myself as a better writer and in general a more prepared high school student.

My edline report tells the story of my English experience. One hundred percent scores reflect times when I have studied or prepared for a quiz or assignment. Low scores represent when I have not been prepared. This fact has taught me that I need to work hard to get good grades. I am fully capable of getting an A on each and every assignment, it is all a matter of effort. Looking at my percentage for the quarter, 92.6%, I have become determined to break that barrier that I am so close to and get past 93% for an A.

One area that I believe I am not totally capable of getting 100% in is essays. Although I can make a good essay that may get an A I am still in the process of learning how to write great essays. I look forward to the end of the year when I will be able to work efficiently and effectively at making a well crafted essay. At this point in time however I do not have enough practice and still have a lot to learn. This is where the effort can really pay off. Thus far I am a better english student than I was at the beginning, but the work will continue and further improvements will be made.

OR post #5

How is this novel similar to other pieces of literature (poems, novels, films) that we have studied in class?

The theme of going against society that is prevalent in On The Waterfront is found in the novel Until the Streetcars Come Back by Stanley Gordon West. In the novel, Cal is faced with a difficult situation with a friend who has an abusive father. He can't tell anyone because they would tell the police and that may get Gretchen killed. Gretchen made Cal promise to keep his mouth shut as she says "You need to promise!" (West 157). The policeman that Cal calls only wants to know her name so he can send someone to investigate but there lies the same problem. Cal can't tell anyone about Gretchen's situation because of the possibility of making it worse. Because of this Cal takes a big risk by framing her father. This risk is similar to the risks that Terry in On the Waterfront takes when he testifies against Johnny Friendly and puts himself in serious danger. Both characters decided to do what they thought was morally correct and took the consequences but could say that they did the right thing.

An abusive parent lies within the plot of both Until the Streetcars Come Back and The 400 Blows. In the novel, Gretchen's father abuses her and therefore creates a disdain for her father in Gretchen. She fears him and knows that he does not care about her. In fact he abuses her, getting her pregnant and killing the baby in front of her (West 202). This unhealthy relationship leads to Gretchen leading a strange and isolated life in society, lacking a father. In the film The 400 Blows, Antoine, the main character, has an uncaring and apathetic mother. In the Antoine is aware of the fact that she does not care for him as he talks to the psychologist at the Observation Center. One of the reasons he is at the Observation is because of the poor decisions he made which may have been preventable with the support of a caring mother. As we see, in both the novel and the film, the lack of proper parenting renders the children strange and troublesome.

OR post #4

How do the characters face the conflicts and how does going through these conflicts help the characters to learn more about themselves?

As stated in the previous post, Cal the main character faces his conflict with Gretchen, the daughter of an abusive father. One step he takes to face this conflict is to do whatever he can to get her father out of her life and stop him from abusing her. To do this Cal has the idea of framing her father for stealing a bunch of liquor and smashing his car in the front window of the liquor store. he followed through with the plan and eventually her father was sent to prison for all the heinous crimes he committed (West 264). Cal chose to go to such lengths because he is not able to go straight to the police for fear that an investigation would warn Gretchen's father and that because Gretchen said so, he would probably kill her if he sensed trouble. In the process of framing him however, Cal got in trouble with the law for stealing liquor to act as her father's and was not able to watch his classmates graduate at the end of the year (West 272). Cal is able to learn that he is a soft person and can care for people by going to such great measures to save a girl's life. His sacrifices do not go to waste as Gretchen, her mother and two sisters live free as her father sits in jail. Cal stats that he regrets nothing as he says, "I was glad I did what I did!" (West 273). Cal does a good deed and learns that he is a good man.

Gretchen Lutterman has a very grave conflict with her abusive father. After killing her baby, that he conceived, he tells Gretchen that if she tells anyone about what he did he will claim that she was the one who killed the baby. Because of this and the threatening demeanor of her father throughout her life Gretchen leads a life in fear. It took guts for her to seek help from Cal and risk her life. We see a glimpse of her anxiety when Cal takes her to Minneapolis during school and Gretchen throws a fit worrying that her father who was at work in St. Paul would find her. Gretchen shows new colors as she goes against her father and ask Cal to put him away. This behavior teaches her that inside of her timid self there was some courage after all. When her father is sent to prison and Gretchen can lead a more normal lifestyle she starts to have fun and be more like everybody else. Going to a school dance taught her that she could be free and that her life did not have to be isolated (West 260). After a life in fear, Gretchen discovers courage and happiness through a dangerous ordeal.

OR post #3

What are the major struggles and conflicts that your characters encounter?

In the novel, a major struggle for the main character, Cal, is his relationship with Gretchen, the seemingly crazy girl who wears strange clothes. At the beginning of the book Cal did his best to avoid her by ducking into nearby rooms when they crossed paths at school because he feared that she was trouble. Now however, Cal has strong feelings toward her because he wants her to be safe after he found out about her abusive father. Cal realizes he has to risk everything he has to save her from her cruel father when he draws inspiration from his father who risked his job to save a dog. Cal has this realization when he says, "and what my dad did, risking his job and all, convinced me that I had to do the same for Gretchen, no matter what, that I couldn't let her suffer anymore" (West 118). Upon Gretchen's request, Cal begins to spy on her at her house and see what her dad does. Another way Cal helps Gretchen alleviate her suffering from an abusive father and from her contained lifestyle is to take her out to a mall. Risking detention, Cal uses fake passes to take Gretchen out of school and have a fun time at the mall. Gretchen has a great time as it becomes apparent to Cal that Gretchen rarely, if ever does anything fun. It was her first time at the mall and when Cal hears her laugh for the first time his emotions are revealed as he states, "Gretchen laughed and I felt like grabbing her and twirling her around the whole cafeteria" (West 134). By committing part of his personal time to help someone in need, Cal is able to feel the joy that comes from charity.

Another conflict that is part of the novel is the conflict between Gretchen and her abusive father. Since the beginning of the novel Gretchen tells Cal of how he abuses her by showing him marks that were made by her father. She wants desperately to be free of the binds of her current way of life and asks Cal to help her. Cal agrees to help and also promises to never tell anyone about her father for she fears he will do something terrible to her as was done to her sister when she disobeyed their father. Cal shows Gretchen friendliness by visiting her at work and bringing her things her father would never allow. This allows Gretchen to learn that she has been extremely isolated for her whole life. Once she dreamt about Cal killing her father but felt bad because she did not want to displease God with thoughts of murder (West 115). So we learn that Gretchen wants very badly to get her father out of her life and she learns about herself by experiencing something so different than she ever has when she is with Cal.

Jack-O-Lantern

OR Post #2

Things are getting more involved in the novel When the Streetcars Come Back by Stanley Gordon West. Cal Grant, the main character likes this girl Lola and at this point in the book Lola's boyfriend can no longer see her because of his father. Cal gets the opportunity to go to some dances with her but instead of going as a genuine date Cal is acting as fake date. By doing this Lola can meet up with Tom at the dances and his father won't find out that the two are still going steady. Albeit acting as a double, Cal becomes very excited. After several fake dates Cal and Lola become close and Cal's dream of kissing her comes true (West99).

On the contrary to Cal's fortune with Lola, Cal's situation with Gretchen Uttermam, the strange girl with an abusive father, gets more complex. Cal begins to visit her at her place of employment, the bakery, every Sunday at her lunch break. We begin to see how Cal becomes attached to her when he buys her a pair of loafers (West 66). His anger with her father grows in magnitude as Cal learns of Gretchen's new injuries. She tells him how her dad beat her as she says, "With a cane" (West 92).

Among all the intense drama, Cal and his high school friends still find time to have fun. For a thrill, Cal and his friend Scot decide to bring their unknowing friends to the doorstep of a crazy guy that chases kids. After they ring the doorbell, Cal's friends Jean and Susan are unpleasantly surprised to find an angry senior chasing them across the neighborhood (West 58). Cal's final year of high school is full of surprising and dramatic events.

The Value of a Memoir

A common desire in people is to share their life. To be heard among the millions and pass on something they have learned. A great way to do this is to write a memoir. Memoirs are a fantastic way to share stories because they are true accounts of the writer's life. Someones whole life, or just a passage from it can be shared through a memoir and be written to any degree of detail desired by the writer. An added benefit of writing a memoir is that it can be slightly dramatized or fictionalized to better convey the message. A writer may choose to write a memoir because they can not remember every detail but feel they have a story that needs to be heard. Memoirs are a perfect way to get a personal message to the outside world.

Unlike a piece of fiction, memoirs are real life accounts of what has happened in a person's life. A memoir focuses on the events and feelings of the writer, thus making a story as true to life as possible. This is important because memoirs may provide us with some of the most accurate accounts of someone's life and therefore bring the deepest meaning. Reading a memoir comes with the added benefit of knowing that it is a first-hand account from the writer, giving it the added aspect of reality. The reader know that the thoughts, dialogue, and descriptions are the true voice of the author. These types of stories provide more inspiration and draw more emotion from the reader compared to fictional, manufactured pieces of literary work. These aspects of a memoir set them apart, , making them one of the best literary techniques to get a message across.

Outside Reading post #1

Who are the main characters of your book? Describe their personality and what seems to motivate them.

In the novel Until They Bring the Streetcars Back, by Stanley Gordon West, the main character Cal Grant is a typical teenager living in the late 1940's. Attending high school in our very own Minneapolis/St. Paul area, Cal finds himself in detention for joining in on a prank against one of his teachers and talking in class, making him miss his football game (West 4). Because of this Cal becomes incredibly and irrationally outraged against the girl who he was talking with and declares that it was all her fault. He proceeds to avoid her at all costs by ducking into the most nearby rooms around school when she gets close, and one time almost entering a girls' bathroom (West 28). I believe that his adolescent mind and hatred for the girl is causing him to act so unreasonably. We do see a kind side to Cal as he nurtures a rabbit back to a healthy state in his closet after being tormented by some wild fifth graders (West 11). Although being occasionally unreasonable Cal is a kind person.

The other character is Gretchen Lutterman, the girl who spoke with Cal and got them both into trouble. We see that she is an odd ball when she starts muttering to herself, "My father will hurt me. He'll whip me r-e-a-l bad" (West 6) after being caught talking with Cal. We also see that she is a strange person when she does bizarre things like staring at Cal when his back is turned (West 30). Her motivation as a person has been driven by her strange life. Her father beats her, she wears strange clothes, and she has no friends. Gretchen is an odd character who is motivated by her odd surroundings.

2nd Post - What does Richard hunger for?

What types of things does Richard "hunger" for
and what are the effects (positive and negative) of hunger?

Throughout the novel, Richard develops a hunger for many things. An obvious hunger that Richard has is his physical hunger for food. Whenever Richard works, his money goes to feeding himself and his family because of their lack of food. A figurative hunger that Richard has is his need to be with people. As Richard states, "Nevertheless, I was so starved for association with people that I allowed myself to be seduced by it all, and for a few months I lived the life of an optimist" (Wright 151) he is telling how he longs to be with people. He is already ignored by everyone in his family except for his mother and wants to be accepted. One more hunger Richard has is his longing to get out of the house. He expresses his wish to go north when he states, "I dreamed of going north and writing books, novels" (Wright 168). A final hunger that Richard develops is his hunger for justice. The principal want Richard to recite a speech that Richard did not write and Richard refuses as he says, "Professor, I'm going to say my own speech that night" (Wright 175).
Most of the effects of his hunger are negative. By being hungry for food, Richard's hard earned money goes to his and his family's stomachs, not to his savings for leaving home. When Richard longs to be with people he becomes lost as to what his real aim is of going north. In the example of the speech, Richard loses all chances of becoming a teacher by refusing to recite the principal's work. Most of the effects of hunger are negative.

Is Richard a bad boy?

Richard is a downright trouble maker. By the tender age of four he can testify to committing arson and by age six to being alcoholic. Well, he wasn't really that bad but still, Richard has more to say for his problem-causing than the average pre-schooler. After burning down his house and drinking beer, Richard admits to having misstepped in his actions when he sais, "I had done something wrong, something I could not hide or deny" (Wright 5) and reveals how every morning he would return to the saloon regardless of the lesson he was being taught by the beating he received the night before (21). In addition to destroying houses and brain cells, Richard also kills kittens. As with the previous incidents, Richard is fully aware that what he is doing is wrong as he thinks, "I knew that he had not really meant for me to kill the kitten . . ." (11). Ignoring his better judgment Richard goes ahead and kills the kitten. Richard is fully capable of determining good actions from bad ones, and that is exactly why he is a bad boy when he consciously chooses to make the wrong moves.

If one can think clearly, then behavior is blamed on the person. An environment that provokes bad behavior does not make that behavior right. It may make poor behavior harder to control but if someone knows that what they are doing is wrong then it is always wrong. For example, Johnny owns pirated music. Although millions of people do it, Johnny still knows that it's wrong. Behavior is always blamed on the individual. The environment only gives the illusion that poor decisions seem less poor.

My Blog

My name is David G and this is my first blog! I will be making posts for EE10 and I can't wait to get started! I don't have any experience with blogs. I hope everything turns out well. I look forward to your feedback on my posts! Thank you