04-09


=Margaret and Rachel's Wiki = = = = Jonathan Swift =

He reveals prejudices against both Catholics and beggars. He is a strict Protestant, and most of the rest of Ireland was Catholic. He called Catholics "Papists" which is a slur refering to how they worship the Pope. Swift also says that Catholic women are the ones who have large families with many children, and they are ultimately the ones contributing to the excess babies in Ireland. He says that the Catholic mothers have so many children that they can't even support their families, and they are the main reason for his 'Modest Proposal'. Swift also has a prejudice against beggars, and many of the beggars were Catholic, so his two prejudices tie in together. He dislikes beggars because they have large families that they cannot provide for. Swift states that the poor Catholic mothers are the ones who are at fault for the overpopulation and lack of food in Ireland. Although his prejudices toward Catholics are less overt than his prejudices toward beggars, you have to assume that Swift is associating Catholics with poverty. He says things about the Catholics being poor and unable to support themselves, so in my opinion, that ties them with his portrayal of beggars.

Modest Proposal to Censorship [[image:censored.jpg width="149" height="120" align="left"]]
=== If you think about it, almost everthing is offensive to someone, so how do we know what things need to be censored, and what things are appropriate for the public to see? Sex, drugs, violence, how do we know where to draw the line? Even evolution, abortion, movies, sexuality, and some literature is not considered approprite by some. ===

=== In my opinion, we should just eliminate everything remotely offensive to aviod the posibility of insulting the more conservative ones among us. If anyone thinks something is too explict for their innocent little childern, eliminate it. We don't want anyone to be scarred by the tough realities of the world. Because everyone knows, if we don't tell the youth of the world about it, they will never, ever figure it out. All of the political issues about same sex marriage, the right to bear arms, and stem cell research are much to horrible for children to look at in school, or anywhere else for that fact. //Harry Potter//, that promotes magic and witchcraft, so don't let them read it. //Twilight//, with all though vampires and violence, don't even let them see it! And we should just burn the textbooks that talk about the seemingly logical concept of evolution because no one should lay eyes on such horrible material. ===

=== The world we live in is full of violence and sex and drugs, and we cannot let anyone find out about it. If one would let children be exposed to even the little bit of reality, they will be scarred. If they are sheltered enough, then they will turn out perfectly and never have any problems in life. Keeping children and teens away from these things will automatically make them wonderful people. If the youth of America finds out about evolution, war, abortion, being gay, etc (because they don't already know anything about this), they will be permenantly damaged. ===

=== Also, everyone knows that cursing and violent video games are the cause of all of the crime in our country. Bad parenting, drug use, and societal influence have nothing to do with it. If children in our country are exposed to the horrors of profanity and vulgarity, they will become criminals and drug addicts. Everything that causes negative effects can be censored. Books about new and controversial topics should not even be published. We don't want the youth of America to think outside of the box, because we all know how dangerous that can be. ===

A great video about censorship in America- []
=== (Points made in this video are very interesting. It talks about cursing in our society, and about violence in media. One thing that was said that I found intriquing was about Hilter. It is said that he was one of the greatest murderers in the world, and he wasn't exposed to any of the thing we are so concerned about censoring today. Seriously, it's a great video, watch it!!!) ===

 =High School Dictionary=

= creeper (n)- a person who is creepy, and can be identified by excessive facebook stalking, following, and/or phone calls and texts. = = Origin- started as a way to use the word creepy as a noun  = = Example- "He sent me 43 texts last night, what a creeper!" = = **true (n)-** used to express extreme agreement, commonly pronounced with a long u (like truuuuuuuue) = = Origin- same origin as a word true, but used more like the word truth = = Example- "That english test was mad hard." "Truuuuue." = = = = = = sleepy haha's (n)- when one is so tired, that the sleepiness causes giggling. = = Origin- haha is slang for laughing, and by combining it with the word sleepy, it is used to describe laughing because you are so tired  = = Example- "Joe has been laughing at nothing this whole class, he must have the sleepy haha's" = = = = = = **ill (adj)-** sick, hip, cool. = = Origin- ill is a synonym for sick, so it is used to mean cool, just like sick is used to mean cool = = Example- "That party last night was SO ill!" = = = = = = **literally (adv)-** something said to emphasize a point or show how outrageous something is. = = Origin- the word literal, meaning something is real and not figurative = = Example- "He is literally the ugliest person I had ever seen." = = = = **ridic (n)-** shortened version of ridiculous = = Origin- the word ridiculous = = Example- "That AP Physics text was so ridic, I didn't even finish half." = = **lol (used as an entire sentence)-** standing for laughing out loud, and no longer used just online or via text, this phrase is used whenever something is remotely funny. = = Origin- it started online to mean laughing out loud, but is now used in normal conversation = = Example- "lol. That joke was so freaking hilarious." = = **friend (v)-** to request acknowledgement of friendship on Facebook = = Origin- You friend request someone on facebook, and friend request me is shortened and just said as friend me = = Example- "Its so nice to meet you! Friend me." = = **<3 (v)-** literally translated as less than three, but commonly considered a heart or love = = Origin- this also started online, and the <3 is similar to a sideways heart shape, so it is used to mean love = = Example- "I <3 english class so much" = = **fail (n)-** negative term for something that does not meet one's standards = = Origin- shortened version of failure, used to mean the same thing = = Example-"That cake was such a fail. It tasted like crap." = = = = =

=__Addison and Steele__= =__ On the Immortality of the Soul __= This article discusses whether a person's soul continues on after death. The main topic here is that the human body and mind has a great amount of potential and worth. To disappear after death, according to the Spectator, would be a waste of God's work. The job of the soul, after death of the body, is to work harder to reach perfection. Though the body ends, the soul still fulfills God's mission to achieve perfection. Though it may never reach it, the soul does not die. Though this article represents a belief less scientific than others during the Age of Reason, it still holds to the time period in some ways. Instead of blindly accepting immortality of the soul, this article gives thought out reasons and proof to back up the argument. This logical approach represents the Age of Reason. These concerns are very much like those of today, for the topic of religion and the afterlife is still a very heated debate yet to be resolved. Addison and Steele's views lie neatly between the extreme scientific or religious views of today.

=__ Party Patching __=  This article relates an instance in which the narrator observed the women of an opera house separating into two political parties, distinguished by patches on certain sides of their faces. The narrator expresses his opinion that this practice is ridiculous and recounts stories of women mistake for the wrong party due to this system. By the end of the article, he encourages women to stay out of political battles, for it is not worth ruining a woman's complexion. This represents Age of Reason beliefs by somewhat making fun of the party system and showing the idiocy of some of its rituals. Instead of accepting the norm, the narrator challenges it. This is a typical Age of Reason tactic. This particular issue of bipartisanship will be present for as long as there are political parties. People still split themselves and let hostilities grow. However, this article is not relevant in regards to women in politics. While the Spectator suggests that women should stay out of politics all together, that is not the case in today's society. We have the same bipartisan split, but both genders are equally deserving of opinions.

=__Alexander Pope__ = =  __The Rape of the Lock, Question 4__ The character which best portrays Pope's personal views of English society is Belinda. Pope's entire satire revolves around Belinda and her over-reaction to losing one of her curls. He uses this mock epic to convey the frivolity of English high society and its preoccupation with vanity. From the moment she awakes, Belinda is only worried about herself. Though she has just been warned about the dangers of man, the arrival of a love letter takes Belinda back to her own self-obsesseed world (Canto 1, line 118-120). Upon beginning "the sacred rites of Pride" (1, 128), Belinda goes over the top to make her appearance as attractive as possible. This vanity leads to the central point of Pope's "epic"-- the theft of Belinda's hair and the exaggerated reaction. Just because she loses one curl, Belinda spends all day in bed, where she "collects the force of female lungs, sighs, sobs, and passions, and the war of tongues" (4, 83-84). Pope goes on and on about Belinda's despair, and by doing so shows its ridiculousness. Here, Belinda represents the English's preoccupation with appearance and the like. By making fun of Belinda and her over the top reaction, Pope tells the English people that they should look at life for things other than appearance and pride. Clarissa, being the opposite of Belinda, expresses Pope's desires for society by asking "why are beauties praised and honored most" (5, 9). Since Clarissa is the antithesis of Belinda's views, Belinda represents the negative and vain attitude of England that Pope is trying to bring to attention. Basically, Pope tells England to get over themselves with this work, and enjoy life as it should be enjoyed. = = =