In the article, "What My Husband Thinks", the author, a 23 year old wife, describes her experience as a wife to her lazy husband. She is the bread winner of the family, while doing every household chore, including cooking every meal. Even when she proposed to split up the chores, her husband continued to sit back and relax while she worked. When he author confronted her husband about this issue, he said " 'I don't know, now that I'm married I don't ever want to do laundry again.' " Maybe the wife never wanted to do chores after she got... Continue reading

In chapter nine of The Seventh Son, Taleswapper needs a place to stay, and travels from home to home to see if he is welcome. At one house in particular, he encounters a strange family. The husband, Armor, is very cautious of Taleswapper, because he suspects that he superstitious hidden powers. What he doesn't know, is that his wife has these powers as well from what Taleswapper could see, but has been hiding hem from him. Armor stresses the fact that his home is a very strict Christian home, and they have no tolerance for hexes. "You spoke of having... Continue reading

In the article titled "Think Safety", the author explains the dangers of housing violet, mentally ill patients in the same vicinity as disabled and elderly people. These dangers include rape, and even murder. The point that the author mainly stresses is that in Illinois, the government is only making minor adjustments to the laws concerning this issue, and not really making an immediate change. Many other states are already on board with this issue, but Illinois lacks in understanding that they are creating extremely dangerous situations. The author uses exigence by stressing the fact that our state needs to do... Continue reading

On the cover of the most recent edition of Newsweek, Sarah Palin is featured, not in normal political campaign photo shoot attire, but in a running outfit, complete with short, black running shorts. This photo was originally taken for Runners World magazine, and without their permission, Newsweek used the image for their own cover. I find that this cover comes off as sexist, not only because of what she is wearing for a political magazine, but also because it has nothing to do with the article one bit. If the magazine were to publish something on a male politician, they... Continue reading

The Scarlet Letter is not only a famous piece of literature, but it is quoted in mainstream media today as well. Someone could use the comparison of someone of something being forbidden, or sinful, just like Hester's actions in the book. Taylor Swift's "Love Story" references two famous writings. One is obvious, Romeo and Juliet. There is a line in the song Love Story by Taylor Swift, where she says, "'Cause you were Romeo I was a scarlet letter and my daddy said stay away from Juliet, but you were everything of me I was begging you please don't go",... Continue reading

While reading stories such as The Crucible, that focus on the Salem witch trials, modern day readers tend to looks at civilians during that time as crazy. We think "who would ever accuse their neighbor of being a witch, so they would be hanged?". Thinking of something like this happening today seems unreal to us. But we can't be so sure that it has not. For example, during 9/11, a lot of Americans stereotyped Middle-Eastern people as terrorists, just because of one group's actions. In WWII, Japanese Americans were put into concetration camps, just because of their race. Americans feared... Continue reading

To me, a "true" war story is similar to reading a history book. Not just because they both have to do with the topic of world history, but because of the side of the story they tell. Reading an American History textbook on the topic of WWII would be completely different than the Japanese perspective on the war. In the telling of a story, point of view is everything. In the novel The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brian tries to make readers think about what makes a "true" war story. Throughout the book, O'Brian tells us various stories about his... Continue reading

"Mean Girls" is a movie that almost every teenager has seen, and probably related with in some way. The movie starts when a 15-year-old girl named Cady moves from Africa with her parents to Chicago. She had been home schooled her whole life, and is now about to start High School. She is overwhelmed at first, and befriends Janis and Damien, two "not so cool" kids, by the high school's standards. They show her the ropes of her new school, along with introducing her to the popular "mean girls", Regina, Gretchen, and Karen. The three new friends compose a plan... Continue reading

In the chapter, "On the Rainy River" in The Things They Carried, the author Tim O'Brian tells us of a very personal struggle. While along the road nearly losing his mind over weather or not to run for Canada, he made the ultimate decision to fight in the war. Even though he was always opposed to the idea of fighting and war, there was something inside of him telling him that it was his duty to go, and there had to be enough of that something pushing him all the way. "It was a kind of schizophrenia. A moral split.... Continue reading