The First Three Chapters of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

     The first three chapters (15 pages) of Charles Dickens' novel A Tale of Two Cities serve as an introduction not only to the story, but also into the mind of Dickens himself. The first chapter gives information on the setting of the novel. The story is based in England and France in 1775. This time of chaos in the two countries is representative of the difficult times Dickens was living in when he wrote the novel. Chapter two starts with the dangerous journey of three passengers to Dover and the arrival of a messenger with an instructional message for one of the passengers, Mr. Lorry. Lorry's response, "Recalled to life", is mysterious but leads into the next chapter, which is a depiction of Lorry's troubling dreams about his job and his life. These troubling dreams represent the thoughts that Dickens himself had been having through his dark years in the 1860's, at the end of which he wrote this novel.

Trends Study Introduction

Trends Intro

Title Explanation: A Tale of Two Cities

The title of Charles Dicken’s book A Tale of Two Cities, explains that the novel is based in two cities: London and Paris. It’s a story of what happened to Lucie Manette, Dr. Manette, Charles Darnay, Mr. Lorry, and Sydney Carton in both cities and how each city treated them. For example, Charles Darnay was considered a traitor to both countries, yet Lucie was noted for her loyalty.

Literature Analysis: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

1.   1.  This book starts off with four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March sitting around their home, discussing their current financial hardships and the fact that they won’t be receiving Christmas presents but they still want them. They decide to buy their mother a Christmas present and receive a letter from their father who is serving for the Union in the Civil War. On Christmas morning, all the girls receive books, and help a poor family. Their generosity was returned when their neighbor sends them a Christmas feast. Meg and Jo go to a New Years Eve party but have some trouble with their appearance, which troubles Meg who very much cares what other people think. Jo meets the neighbor boy, Laurie Laurence, at the party and they hit it off. When the girls go back to their usual jobs, they are not too happy. Marmee, their mother, lectures them about being grateful for what they have and not complaining. Jo finds out that Laurie is sick and goes to keep him company and help him feel better. She becomes friends with Mr. Laurence. The girls begin spending much of their time at the Laurence’s home, and Beth bonds with Mr. Laurence because she reminds him of his granddaughter that passed away. Amy gets into trouble at school and gets struck on the hand by her teacher, something her mother is not okay with. Amy begins to be home-schooled with Beth. Amy and Jo become angry with each other, because Jo wouldn’t let Amy spend time with her and Laurie, so Amy burnt Jo’s manuscript. When Amy falls through thin ice, Laurie has to come to the rescue because Jo was scared and couldn’t move. Later, when talking to Marmee about it, she discovered that Marmee also has anger issues. When Meg visits a wealthy friend, she is reminded of her economic status. Her friends dress her in frivolous clothes for a party and Laurie sees her. He was disappointed in her for not being herself. When Meg gets home, Marmee reminds the girls that appearances are not everything; they are shallow. The girls form a club with Laurie. When the girls take a break, Marmee teaches them about responsibility. When the girls and Laurie discuss their dreams, Jo tells Laurie to run away from his grandfather, who does not want Laurie to pursue his dream of becoming a famous musician. Jo pursues her dream of becoming a famous writer by submitting two stories to the local newspaper. She then finds out from Laurie that Mr. Brookes is in love with Meg. When Mr. March becomes sick, Marmee has to go to Washington, D.C. to help him. Jo contributes money to the trip by selling her “one beauty”, her hair. Beth contracts scarlet fever from the Hummel’s baby, who died from it. Amy is sent to live with her aunt so she will not become ill.  As she recovers, Marmee returns home from Washington. While at her aunt’s, Amy took up religion from the servant, and constructed a will. Marmee approves of Amy’s actions and reveals to Jo that Mr. Brookes has admitted to being interested in Meg. It is discovered that Laurie was the one who wrote the love letter supposedly from Mr. Brookes. Mr. March comes home for Christmas. Meg tries to appease her parents by telling Mr. Brookes she is too young to be married, but will marry him in a few years.

The second section of the book starts with Meg about to get married and Mr. March home from war. Meg gets married. Amy and Jo continue to pursue their passions. Jo becomes a pretty successful writer and is able to support herself and her family. Meg and Mr. Brookes have twins. Amy is very socially conscience. Amy goes to Europe with her Aunt Carrol, and runs into Laurie’s British friend Fred who wants to court her. Jo goes to New York in order for Laurie to not love her anymore, so that he can fall in love with Beth. She meets a German professor. She begins writing meaningless stories that make her a lot of money. She breaks Laurie’s heart by rejecting his marriage proposal, and he goes to Europe. Beth tells Jo that she is going to die soon. Laurie and Amy meet up in France and begin to like each other. Meg and Mr. Brookes fix their marital problems. Amy gets Laurie out of his depression and back to pursuing his passion. Beth passes away. Laurie and Amy fall in love and he proposes. They get married. They return home and decide to help people with their money. Jo and the German professor Bhaer decide to get married. The story ends at a party in which the girls and their mother discuss all they are thankful for and that they try to make the best of everything.

Another Poem Worth Loving...

Hard Work

We get up each morning,

and head off to work.

From construction to retail,

and a paper shuffling clerk.

Like the trees in our forests,

our jobs certainly vary.

A super busy schedule,

they commonly carry.

Our work is broken down,

as we focus on each task.

Bosses over our shoulders,

countless questions they ask.

Let’s not forget about,

all those extra long hours.

Evenings are filled,

with exhausted cold showers.

All this hard work,

is not hopeless or bleak.

A career of our choice,

waits at the peak.

We should combine hard work,

with skills that they need.

Throw in some passion,

and we’ll surely succeed.

It takes plenty of effort,

to do the job right.

The end result,

is a simple delight.

by anitapoems.com

I could not stop at just one poem. Although I am not a fan of poetry, I do admire something inspiring. This poem, that I found here (http://www.anitapoems.com/blog/poem-about-hard-work, a page titled "Poems for Breast Cancer Awareness"), inspired me. I was raised to work hard for what I want in life. I have worked to get good grades to get into college, so I can continue to work hard in college allowing me to get into vet school, so that I can continue to work hard in vet school and achieve my dream of becoming a large animal veterinarian. As I look down this road, it looks long and hard. Every now and then I get discouraged. That is why I love this poem. It shows that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. Hard work will eventually pay off. "The end result is a simple delight."

The Old Cowboy

The Old Cowboy
For every line on that cowboy's face
     There's a story to be told
And it's sad to think
     That you thought 
     He was just gettin' old.

Every crease was put there
     By a lesson he had to learn
And you were wrong to assume 
     That it was from 
     Worry or concern.

Those are not lines of old age
     But just squinting from the light
They're laugh lines 
     And smile lines
     A face praying in the night.  

You surely may have seen him
     Lying face down in the dirt
Why, believe me, 
     He's just resting
     He ain't really hurt.

Every line on that cowboy's face
     If you could crawl inside
Would lead you to a story
     Those are where
     A million tales do hide.

But, when you look into his eyes
     Those lines just fall bare

Look at him and honor 
     The wisdom
     He has to share.

I know a lot of people will not "love" this poem, but to me, it's worth loving. It represents the hard working people I spend a lot of my time with. These are the men who made this country what it is through hard work and common sense. This poem reminds me of some of the best people I know. People need to stop thinking true cowboys are something less than honorable and start seeing them for what they are: American Icons.

Now this Makes More Sense..

In a very smart refute, Allen S. Levine, Dean of the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences and Director of the Minnesota Obesity Center at the University of Minnesota, responds to the ridiculous blog post on Yahoo (http://education.yahoo.net/articles/most_useless_degrees.htm) that designated Agriculture, Horticulture, and Animal Science all as "useless" college majors. His response actually makes sense..

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/allen-s-levine/useless-college-majors_b_1217401.html

Black March Boycott

This would make such a huge impact. Please consider it!

Most Useless College Majors?! I think not!

Yahoo says these college majors are useless. It's trying to tell those applying for college not to go into these majors. But where would the world be without them?

http://education.yahoo.net/articles/most_useless_degrees.htm

What do you think?

"Trends" Abstract

            What are trends and where do they come from? In many areas, such as fashion, food, literature, and movies, trends decide what is popular among a population. They have been around for about as long as man itself. For example, in the days of the ancient Egyptians, the trend was to jewelry of assorted gems and minerals with various symbols and animals on them. However, in today’s fashion world, according to “Glamour” fashion magazine, one of the “Most-Wearable Trends” of 2012 is “super-bold prints”. Trends, however, have different sources, such as belief-based, like the ancient Egyptians, or just information provided by a “trusted fashion magazine”.

            Since trends have a tendency to shape our society, it is important for us to understand where trends come from and if they are, in fact, beneficial, harmful, or benign.  Some trends, such as “going green” will, theoretically, help the world, but other trends, such as the easy-to-get home loans seen just before 2008, harm, and in some cases completely destroy, parts of society. In order to see the effects of a possible trend, we must know where it originates.

            In this study, I will research common trends from the past, as well as those that affect us today. I will go online, look in Almanacs from past years and see how long different trends last and what their effects on society were. I will analyze multiple trends, finding out how they came to be, what they was, and how they affected society at the time. In doing so, I hope to discover patterns that could be beneficial in preventing future problems.