2006/2007 Rewrite (political Identity Essay)

Political Identity Essay

There is one question in our society that has been debated for centuries and that is the question of whether or not human behavior is good or bad. In my opinion, I believe that essentially, human behavior is good. I agree with John Locke, who believed that “…humans lived in a state of equality and freedom rather than a state of war.” I strongly disagree with Thomas Hobbes, who believed that human life was “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.” The reason as to why I say this is because even though it seems as if we are all against each other, we can actually help each other out when we try. An example of good human nature is as follows: one day when I was on the bus on the way to school, this young mother and her three children came on the bus which was crowded and there was nowhere for them to sit. To my surprise, about four people gave up their seats so that this mother and her kids could sit down. As you can see from this example, sometimes a difficult situation can bring out the best in human nature.

There is another question that has also been debated and that is the question of whether or not we should put limits on the way people behave. In my opinion, we should impose limits because if we didn’t have any limitations on our behavior, then there wouldn’t be structure and/or order in our society. If we had no limits or laws then there would be even more crime in our city and people wouldn’t be held accountable for their actions. We need structure and order in our lives and for that we have laws. If we break the law, even by a small infraction, then we need to be held accountable for our actions and face the consequences. Laws and rules ensure everyone’s safety and well being.
The last issue I am going to talk about is whether or not government is necessary and what government’s role is in my life. My response to this is that I do believe that government is necessary. If we had no government, then there would be no political structure in this country and there would be no way to ensure our rights as citizens. There would be chaos and no order because everyone would do what he or she wanted to do with disregard to the laws of the land because there would be no one enforcing those laws. Without a government, democracy in this country will cease to exist and all of our rights and civil liberties under the Constitution would be null and void. Without the existence of the three branches of our government, with its built in system of checks and balances, there would be no protection of our rights as citizens. Additionally, without our government in place, we, as a country would be vulnerable to dictatorship and/or martial law. For the reasons outlined above, I strongly believe that the government plays a very important role in my life by protecting my rights and well being.

Although there are many bad events going on in our society today, that does not over power the good that most people have deep inside of them. We as a nation need to stop being so self involved and selfish and think of others. Even if it is just half as much it will still make our society stronger.

lessons plans for Typhoid fever

Day 1
Writing Objective Character conflict in Typhoid fever
Material English Lit Text book
Activity Look for the different conflicts the character faces throughout the story
Student outcome Decipher different conflicts throughout the story.
Reading Objective Multiple conflicts in Typhoid Fever.
Material English lit textbook.
Activity Assign roles for students to read.
Student outcome Students will be able to decipher and talk about different conflicts throughout the story.

Service learning Reflection (5/9/08

On May 9th fro service learning,we went over what we are going to be doing and what retirement homes we could go to. There really isn't much to reflect on since we are waiting to find a retirement home to go to so that we can do the second part of our service learning. We also talked about extending the service learning schedule and how we can still do stuff without the schudule being extended.Also, I amde a few phone calls to retirement homes and Mr. Todd showed us how the schedule might be for service learning and how it could possibly be extended. We also, talked about raising money and what to raise it for.

Motifs for Of Mice and Men

In the story Of Mice and Men, there were many motifs that stood out to me, but the one that stood out to me the most was the motif of honesty. Throughout the story there wasn’t that much honesty between the characters. So what was Steinbeck trying to tell us? Was he trying to say that nobody in this world is honest and that we all tell lies to get ahead of the person next to you, or was he trying to say that telling a lie hear and there won’t hurt you or nobody around you, or was he trying to tell us that we shouldn’t lie at all and that it will always backfire and something bad will always happen, or was he trying to go all the way back to the lessons we all learned about Lock and Hobb’s opinions on human nature and say that our human nature is naturally bad. Well truthfully I believe that he was trying to say that nobody in this world is ever completely honest and that we all tells lies hear and there, whether to help ourselves or to help the well being of others. In this book many people lie whether to help each other, to hurt each other or to protect each other, the persons behavior in this book is reflected in the lies they tell.
In the begging of the book the bus driver lies and tells Lennie and George that the farm was just a “stretch down the road” when it was actually a long way down the road. He did this not to help them but to help himself and also to hurt them. The bus driver didn’t drive them all the way to them farm because he was too lazy. But he actually helped them because if he would have never lied to them then Lennie would have never knew where to go and hide if something bad happened.
Also, crooks lies to Lennie in the middle of the book, bye telling him that George wasn’t coming back and that something bad happened to him. He did this to hurt Lennie and to feel better about himself. Instead of trying to befriend Lennie so that they both wouldn’t be lonely, he lies to make him unhappy, and so that he can take pleasure in his misery. If he would have never lied, they might have actually both been happy, but then again if the whole book had a happy beginning, middle and end who would want to read it?
In the end of the book, George lied to Lennie to help him, even though he ended up killing him, he wanted him to die with happy thoughts. He lied by telling him that they were going to get the farm and be happy, when in the end he ended up killing him, to protect him. So see George ended up lying to help and protect Lennie and even though what he did was wrong he was right by doing it.
So see there many people who lied in this story for numerous reasons, and I still believe that Steinbeck was trying to show that even though people lied in this story most of them lied for good reasons and for others happiness. I don’t believe that lying makes you a bad person, I think that why you lie is what makes you the bad person, because if you lie, just to lie and just for self interest then that shows who you really are.

Service learning (video reflection)

Themes for Of Mice And Men

There were many themes in the story Of Mice and Men, but the theme that stood out to me the most was the theme of the fraternity of brotherhood. In this book they portray this so called fraternity of brotherhood as a group of men who come together and help each other. For example, they come together to get their work done, to kill Lennie, and to protect each other, and also to kill candy’s dog. But truthfully I think that this so called fraternity of brotherhood only exists in books and in movies, because I do not think that men can always get along like that.
In the beginning of the book, after Lennie and George first got to the farm the men united to get their work done. This showed when the men were all working together to help each other to get the work done faster and done right so that they can all get their fifty dollars at the end of the month and all keep their job.
The men or so called “fraternity of brother hood” also united to help protect Lennie from Curly when Curly was hitting Lennie because Curly thought that Lennie was laughing at him. But the real reason was to prove himself since Lennie was so big and Curly was so short and little. But then “the fraternity of brother hood” turned around and then united to kill Lennie, for the revenge of Curly’s wife. Even though not to long ago they tried to help him.
The final example of this brother hood was when they united to kill Candy’s dog. This was an example because they all agreed with Carlson when he wanted to kill the dog. Also, the brother hood all came together once Slim didn’t say no to shooting the dog.
In conclusion, I believe that his was the theme that stood out to me the most in this book, since you can see that there are flaws in this theme, and it is also kind of hypocritical. I also still believe that there is no fraternity of brother hood and the only place that it actually exists is on pages in books and on the screen in movie th

Symbolism for Of Mice and Men (grade this essay)

In the story Of Mice and Men there were many symbols, but the symbol that stood out to me the most was the farm. This farm stood out to me since they kept talking about it, and also since it stood for a lot more than just a farm. It symbolized different things for different people, such as Lennie, George and Candy. It symbolized dreams, happiness, success, peace, and also just a small piece of heaven.
For George it symbolized his small piece of heaven, his dreams and also peace. It symbolized these things because George thought that after they got the farm he would finally be happy and at peace since he wouldn’t have to worry about Lennie getting into any trouble and them losing there jobs. Also, it would make his dreams that he shares with Lennie come true and he would finally have a home.
For Candy the farm symbolized him finally having happiness before he dies, so that he doesn’t have to die with out never achieving anything. Also it would give him his peace to know that he doesn’t have to get fired and not have anywhere to go. As well the farm symbolized the success he would achieve by moving onto this farm.
For Lennie the farm symbolized his happiness, his dreams and a small piece of heaven. It symbolized his dreams because he had a dream to tend rabbits and feed them alfalfa, and that was all he really wanted to do and also all that he could ever remember. Also, the only dream that Lennie ever really had was the dream to live on a farm with George. The farm symbolized a small piece of heaven since that was his last thought before he died.
In conclusion, I feel as though this was one of the more powerful symbols, since it was a symbol to more than one person. Also, the only person who ever really got what the farm was symbolized Lennie. And the only way that he got that was with. Death