Meeting At Night By: Robert Browning

I

The grey sea and the long black land;

And the yellow half-moon large and low;

And the startled little waves that leap

In fiery ringlets from their sleep,

As I gain the cove with pushing prow,

And quench its speed i' the slushy sand.

II

Then a mile of warm sea-scented beach;

Three fields to cross till a farm appears;

A tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch

And blue spurt of a lighted match,

And a voice less loud, thro' its joys and fears,

Than the two hearts beating each to each!

Blog 17

Following the student-led discussions, I expect to talk a lot about our feelings of all the soldiers and what we think will happen next. All of the characters each have their own personalities and way of being which takes us to why they carry the things they do. I also expect to hear personal stories from each student and how they compare to the characters in this novel. From the teacher I also expect to hear personal stories and for Mr. Parsons to ask us questions on how we feel about what we have read. 

Memories are our Stories

By saying “stories are for those late hours in the night when you can’t remember how you got from where you were to where you are”, this means that stories are sometimes all people have. Without memories all you have are stories.. and memories are what make those stories. Sometimes our past, whether it is a good one or a bad one, has consequences. Your past is basically what makes who you are today and the things you must overcome. The soldiers in this war were all there for many different reasons and all have such different personalities. Each one of them has their own past and way of thinking. In fact throughout the novel you see that each person is carrying certain things for their own specific reasons. For example, as you first read, Lt. Jimmy Cross carries letters and eventually a pebble that Martha sends to him because he is so in love with her. You make your own stories with your own past, for Tim O’brien. I have many experiences, but what I tend to remember the most is the places I have lived and visited in my past. I used to live in Uruguay and go to school there as a little girl which always seems to come up when I am talking about myself to people. The ambiance and just about everything there was positive and loving.  Probably one of my biggest memories would have to be of me visiting India this past summer. Man what an experience! This has been my biggest culture shock yet. You notices that the people in India have almost nothing, some even have no shoes but as long as they have underwear and food they are perfectly fine. Some choose not to even wear shoes because they would rather not kill bugs with their shoes. That to me shows so much about the people that they are and how ungrateful and spoiled us Americans truly are.       

The Things I'd Carry

If I were going away and I could only take five things, I would take a very close friend, loads and loads of money, a lot of clothes, my straightener and my dogs :). These things say a lot about me because they are things that are pretty important to me. I chose a very close friends because I absolutely love having company all the time. Someone I can tell everything to and do things with. I also chose money because well... who wouldn't want to take money? It's pretty difficult to go on in life with no money. Clothes, without a doubt, is essential because it keeps you covered and protected. You also don't want to wear the same exact thing every single day. My straightener really isn't THAT important but I mean.. hair is important and you can't let it look a mess everyday! My dogs... I love them to death and I don't know what I would do without them. No one can make me smile more than they do! :)

"Patience"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9VQye6P8k0

I chose this song because it talks about how the world is now, and how screwed up it is. Even just the title “Patience” describes the way you have to be in life because of society. The way people make money just for themselves and not even realizing what really is happening all around us just as he says in his song “Evangelists making a living on the videos of ribs of the little kids”. Another part in the song that I feel is so real is “ Pay no mind to the youths, Cause it’s not like the future depends on it, But save the animals in the zoo, Cause the chimpanzee dem a make big money, This is how the media pillages, On the TV the picture is, Savages in villages” I chose this specific part of the song as well because it’s so true.. we waste money on stupid things when there are so many others in need of help.

Sea Fever

Sea Fever By John Masefield

I must go down to the seas again,

to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship

and a star to steer her by;

And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song

and the white sail’s shaking,

And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and

a grey dawn breaking,

                                                                                                                   

I must down to the seas again,

for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call

that may not be denied; And all I ask is a windy day

with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume,

and the sea-gulls crying.

I must down to the seas again,

to the vagrant gypsy life,

To the gull’s way and the whale’s way

where the wind’s like a whetted knife;

And all I ask is a merry yarn

from a laughing fellow-rover,

And quiet sleep and a sweet dream

when the long trick’s over.

This poem really caught my eye because of its connection with the ocean. The beach is basically my favorite place to be so I definitely liked the way they described it. The feeling of calmness and hearing all the noises around you is something I love about the beach as well as boating on the ocean. The way the beach is, is described as “the vagrant gypsy life” and that’s what I’m about.

-          I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky

I really like this line because as I said, the beach is such a calm place to be that it’s always nice to just go by yourself or withsome and lay out while u look at the beautiful sea and sky.

-          I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide

I liked this line because I surf and it’s always best when the tide’s are running, if everything is calm then you really can’t surf.

-          To the gull’s way and the whale’s way

This line kind of reminds me of myself and how I like things my way. At the beach you know you can just relax and not have to deal with what other people like, only what YOU like. 

Heroism

Many great stories of heroism are shared today. Whether they are money related or something such as saving a life. You mostly hear about people raising awareness about many different causes these days such as the earthquake in Haiti or making money to help feed people that have absolutely nothing. Today’s heroes I would say carry characteristics such as generosity, strength, courage, leadership and much more. Beowulf is very similarly described like that in the book because he is very generous, kind and unbelievably strong. In the book “Beowulf”, the main hero is Beowulf himself. Beowulf travels to the Danes to save them from Grendel and Grendel’s mother. Since Grendel and Grendel’s mother are the ‘monsters’ of course it is Beowulf’s duty to kill them and save the day. Grendel and his mother were killing people and made their way to Herot which is where the Danes live. When Beowulf arrives to the scene he ends up grabbing ahold of Grendel and ripping his arms off, allowing him to bleed to death.  He then stabs Grendel’s mother and chops her head off which is how she dies. These are my examples as to how Beowulf displays great Heroism.