Thankful for a Classmate

   One person that I am thankful for in the class is Cali Leeds. It's funny looking back freshman year because Cali and I never got along. We didn't really know eachother very well, which is probably why we didnt lik eeachother. When we would walk by eachother in the hallways we wouldnt wave or even make eye contact. This all started to change at the beginning of my sophmore year. We had two classes together; World Studies and American Literature. And on top of that we had many of the same classes just different periods. As the year went on Cali and I became better friends. She is one of those students that you can talk to anytime anywhere if you have questions about an assignment. Shes a very hard worker and a cofidence booster. When ever we are about to take a test she assures we that Im going to do well, and that feels great. I am very fortunate to have two classes with her this year.
   I cant just leave Thee Aidan Lawson out of the picture though. He is one of those kids that everyone wants in their class. He puts a smile on everyones face. When he isnt int the classroom it is noticable. This makes we laugh everyday, and Im thankful for having a class with him.

Then he is dead

As we all now know, Macbeth finally got what what was coming to him. The "invisible" man who couldn't be killed by a man born of a women was killed by Macduff. After all that he has been through, he doesnt even get to enjoy what he work so hard for. But if anything him dying was doing him a favor. If he continued to live he would have no friends to share his power with. All his acts did was create enemies and eliminate friends. So if someone asked me if it is worth it to do a Macbeth like act, the answer is no. Under any circumstaces it is never worth it to do a Macbeth like act. He betrayed his friends and in the end could even live with himself. To me nothing in the world is worth being hated by my friends and myself.

From the Crown to the Toe, Top Full of Direct Cruelty

Without relating the quote to Macbeth, it its already obvious that it is talking about a king or queen beacause it mentions a crown. This quote focuses on the darker meaning of the position of a king. To be a king you can't be some pushover that listens to the people, you have to play unfair. You have to go against the people, be cruel.
According to Lady Macbeth the postition of a King isnt for a baby. It must be taken.
At this point in the story the three witches each call Macbeth by a different name. One calls him the Thane of Cawdor, another calls him Thane of Glamis, and the last one calls him a king. Macbeth knew of his currerent position as a thane, but he did not know that he was going to be promoted to king. Macbeth is excited with the news, but Lady Macbeth thinks that he isn't a good fit for king. Lady Macbeth is willing to do almost anything to make Macbeth king, even kill. However, he doesnt share the same cruel drive that she has. But her persistance gets in his head. After much conversation Lady Macbeth has Macbeth willing to do anything to be king, even if that means not playing by the rules.

No New Tale to Tell

   The story of The Pardoners Tell is nothing new. Chaucer isn't telling a story of murder and wealth. He is telling a story of greed, the conncetion between murder and wealth. The three men that were friends, were so hypnotized by wealth and its power that it drove them to kill each other. They became greedy. All of them were so blinded with greed they forgot about eachother and there original goal of defeating Death. In the end however, Death still won because greed killed them all.

   Killing for greed is nothing new. Expecially in a place like Chicago, the murder capital of America. Although in this day and age people may not conveniently find gold underneath a tree, it doesn't mean greed doesn't exsist. Greed takes place in a more indirect way, but the results are just as deadly. If you think about it, almost any kind of murder derives from greed. People have a constant to desire for more then what they already have. Those who take more than what they need are greedy. 

"Truth"

Up until this class I thought that truth was one sided. However, through quotes and readings I have learned the meaning of truth depends on the peoples view. As Blaire Pascal says, "There are truths on this side of the purenees, which are falsehoods on the other." Truths are all about point of view. What one may think is a true, can be thought of as false somewhere else.

   In the short story of Beowulf, Grendel is discribed as a ruthless monster that kills with no purpose. Accusing the humans of being the monsters seemed unheard of. But, after reading the book Grendel told by Grendel himself, the truth of the humans began to unfold. The humans acted like animals. They would drink and kill with no purpose. The fighting and murdering never stopped. With Hrothgar expansion of his kingdom a blind Sharper arises and sings of the Kings Halls greatness. The humans believe what the Shaper says is true. However, Grendel has seen the way humans act and knows their greatness isnt true.
   I think that the reason the book made the Sharper blind was because he cant see what is actually goin on and is blinded by the truth.

   

Modern Day Beowulf

I cant take full credit for thinking of today's modern day Beowulf, my brother helped me with this one. He suggested that Iron Man is the modern day Beowulf, and I couldn't agree with him more. Although Iron Man is also a fictional character, he acts as Beowulf would, just in a more contemporary manner. They are both driven by justice and the fight against evil. Beowulf fights for the Pietas- his God, Family, and Country. Iron Man also follows a silimar list. He fights to protect his wife and Counrty. Although Beowulf fights with a group of men, he still takes down Grendel and other monsters by himself. Iron Man many times fights with help from the army, but in the end is also the one that takes down the bad guy by himself. The main reason why I chose Iron Man over any other super hero is because of his large amount of confidence. Most of Beowulfs character is defined by his over flow of confidence. Both heros do not set any limits for themselves and believe that they can do anything. This ends up not helping either of the characters. Beowulf was left dead and Iron Man nearly excapse with his life in every movie/comic.

"Me"

The topic of this blog has confused me quite a bit. I have never been the kind of kid that was able to just pick up a pen and just start writing about anything. So writing about "me" is going to take me some time.

  To start off I will describe myself. I live with my family in Old Town, Chicago. I have two wonderful parents and an older brother that also attends Whitney M. Young Highschool. School and Sports take up a lot of my life. Two sports that I take part in our Football and Lacrosse. Football has been around for almost all my life, it is in my family's blood. I have multiple family members that have played in the NFL. The most commonly known player is Matt Hasselbeck. He is a probowl quarterback that has played for  the Greenbay Packers, Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans, and is currently with the Indianapolis Colts. I was fortunate enough to spend time with Matt Hasselbeck and his family at his lake house over the 2013 summer!

  I didn't discover Lacrosse until I was in 8th grade, but I dont know where I would be today without it.

In just one season lacrosse became my favorite sport, surpassing football by a mile. I worked hard to improve and was awarded Most Improved Player my 8th grade year. My mother saw the passion that I had for lacrosse, and knew I needed the sport at Whitney. After much work my mother was able to start lacrosse at Whitney, and in just the second year of the programs existence we became City Champions.

  After reading the last two paragraphs one would probably think that I'm one of those crazy kids whos life revolves around sports. However, there is a lot more to me than that. I like riding my bike, going to the beach, fishing, and hanging with my friends!