Tuesday, December 2, 2008
WA3 Draft 2
Like the dove is a bird
But behind it is so much more
It is like a saint
Without sin, without taint
And that is what makes the dove soar
It is a way of being
Without need of seeing
Whatever road you walk upon
But on this earth you can’t reach it
So there is no way to teach it
Until you are dead and gone
When your spirit drifts around
It will plant its feet on new ground
It needs no lessons of science or math
It will start walking
Listening, not talking
Because peace is the end of the path
WA 3 draft 1
Like the dove is a bird
But behind it is much, much more
It is like a saint
No sin, no taint
And that is what makes the dove soar
When your spirit flies around
It will plant its feet on new ground
It needs no lessons of science or math
It will start walking
Listening, not talking
Because peace is the end of the path
It is a way of being
Without need of seeing
Whatever road you walk on
But on this earth you can’t reach it
So there is no way to teach it
Until you are dead and gone
Thursday, October 23, 2008
WA2 Final Draft
WA2 Draft 2
Running. That was all he could think about. He had to get away. As he darted though the dense forest he could feel the mud squelch between his bare toes. The storm opened the heavens as he ran. Every part of his body was drenched. This was the first time he had ever felt so alive partly because of the mystery ahead of him but mostly because of the danger behind of him. The roar of thunder was a cannon instilling more terror in his heart than already present. Lighting ripped through the sky illuminating his face, stinging his eyes. His senses were hypersensitive because of the soft light, quiet voices and overall dullness of the “hospital”. They were so sensitive that almost everything he did hurt. Even thinking for the first time with his unused, underdeveloped, vegetable brain created a pulsing numbness driving him farther and faster. This seemed worse but somehow better than the icy metal chair he would now be sitting in back at the “hospital”. Re ran until suddenly he collided with a wall, twenty feet high and too long to run around. The concrete barrier was rough on his soft never used hands. His heart was now beating out of his chest. He waived his hands frantically in the air searching for away around under or over this monstrous thing. He hated it, hated it for much longer than two minutes. The hate flew into his head shrinking his brain inhibiting him from thinking. He picked up a small stone hurling it at the wall. Useless. Then suddenly a light came shining through the dense vegetation. “Why did you run away?” asked a voice from a mouth hidden by the blinding light. The running man did not need to see the face, he knew the voice all to well. It was “Doctors” voice. A calm soothing voice that made everything better like falling into a dream that you want never to return from. The man hated Doctor even more than the wall. Out of the light stepped a group of men with restraining belts and syringes. “Why did you run away?” repeated Doctor as the running man’s screams were muffled by the gag placed over his mouth. “I can give you everything you want, so there’s nothing to run from.” He could feel the needles entering his arms like fire piercing through his clammy veins. He would have screamed if he could. The fiery hotness spread throughout his entire body. Burning, scorching, blistering, blazing through his whole body until he felt warm and dazed and nothing as he blacked out. “I wonder what’s going through his head?” said Doctor Simon as he walked by the mans cell gazing into his window. “I don’t know” said a young attendant “But he sure was starting up a ruckus in there, something about a wall or something.” “Oh well” said Doctor Simon “Think about it to hard and you might end up in one of these sterile white boxes, I think that’s what would push me over the edge. Well say hi to Jenny and the kids for me will you. Have a good weekend.” “Sure thing” murmured the attendant lost in thought. He stood there for a while. Thinking. His mind racing. Running.
Monday, October 13, 2008
WA 2 Draft 1
Sunday, September 28, 2008
WA 1 Final Draft
There was a point in my early childhood when my grandmother passed away. I didn’t know her well because my mother didn’t want us to see her. It wasn’t either of their faults. My grandmother was insane, legitimately insane; she did things like talk to the radio and play tennis on her couch. But she died and I didn’t know how to feel about it. I could tell my mother was sad obviously. I was sad but not really sad like you should be when you lose a relative. Its like trying to cry over someone you’ve never heard of dying. Plenty of people die everyday. I don’t cry for every one of them nobody does and nobody is even really sad about it. they might say that but really they aren’t. Anyway the funeral recession was at my mothers’ house. All these funeral peopled filed in started eating, talking. Now my grandmother lived in the mountains of Appalachia and so did the people who were currently in my house. They told each other stories about my grandmother and the room was filled with stimulating conversation and laughter. I decided not to take part in this laughter seeing as if I couldn’t be sad at this event it would be respectful not to laugh and have a cheerful time. I decided to sit on one of the folding chairs lining the walls. Coincidentally I was sitting one chair over from a man who had a blank expressionless face. He held a cane and wore sunglasses. I could tell he was blind. However what I did not know was that he was also the priest of the church that all these people attended. He said “Hello?” wondering about the sudden noise of me sitting in a chair. “Hi” I responded. He continued saying “I don’t recognize your voice.” I proceeded to tell him that I currently resided in this house and that this was my grandmothers’ funeral. He said “You don’t seem to sad for one who has just had such a loss.” I told him that I didn’t know my grandmother well enough to be sad at her death and I thought it would be respectful not to be to happy so here I was talking to him. “I see.” He said following this statement with a deep ponderous pause. “You know” he finally said, “Do you know why I don’t do funerals?” “Why” I said playing along expecting a typical answer, but to my surprise he returned with. “ Its because I’m never sad.” At a loss for words and my mouth slightly agape he continued, “Is death really that bad? Either you go to heaven as I know your grandmother would or nothing. Its just like sleeping now neither one of those is to bad is it.” Without waiting for me to answer he continued. “So I think you should go and listen to some stories.” Following his advice I got up with a new understanding of life and death. I listened to various stories about my grandmother and had an overall good time at the funeral. I went to bed thinking about this statement neither really was that bad was it? With that though in my mind I went to bed casting my mind off into a place that really wasn’t that bad.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
WA 1 Draft 2
There was a point in my early childhood when my grandmother passed away. I didn’t know her well because my mother didn’t want us to see her. It wasn’t either of their faults. My grandmother was insane, legitimately insane; she did things like talk to the radio and play tennis on her couch. But she died and I didn’t know how to feel about it. I could tell my mother was sad obviously. I was sad but not really sad like you should be when you lose a relative. Its like trying to cry over someone you’ve never heard of dying. Anyway the funeral recession was at my mothers’ house. All these funeral peopled filed in started eating, talking. Now my grandmother lived in the mountains of Appalachia and so did the people who were currently in my house. They told each other stories about my grandmother and the room was filled with stimulating conversation and laughter. I decided not to take part in this laughter seeing as if I couldn’t be sad at this event it would be respectful not to laugh and have a cheerful time. I decided to sit on one of the folding chairs lining the walls. Coincidentally I was sitting one chair over from a man who had a blank expressionless face. He held a cane and wore sunglasses. I could tell he was blind. However what I did not know was that he was also the priest of the church that all these people attended. He said “Hello?” wondering about the sudden noise of me sitting in a chair. “Hi” I responded. He continued saying “I don’t recognize your voice.” I proceeded to tell him that I currently resided in this house and that this was my grandmothers’ funeral. He said “You don’t seem to sad for one who has just had such a loss.” I told him that I didn’t know my grandmother well enough to be sad at her death and I thought it would be respectful not to be to happy so here I was talking to him. “I see.” He said following this statement with a deep ponderous pause. “You know” he finally said, “Do you know why I don’t do funerals?” “Why” I said playing along expecting a typical answer, but to my surprise he returned with. “ Its because I’m never sad.” At a loss for words and my mouth slightly agape he continued, “Is death really that bad? Either you go to heaven as I know your grandmother would or nothing. Its just like sleeping now neither one of those is to bad is it.” Without waiting for me to answer he continued. “So I think you should go and listen to some stories.” Following his advice I got up with a new understanding of life and death. I listened to various stories about my grandmother and had an overall good time at the funeral.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
WA 1 Draft 1
When I was young I don’t know when my grandmother died. I didn’t know her well because my mother didn’t want us to see her. It wasn’t either of their faults my grandmother was insane, legitimately insane; she did things like talk to the radio and play tennis on her couch. But she died and I didn’t know how to feel about it. I could tell my mother was sad obviously. I was sad but really sad like you should be when you lose a relative. Its like trying to cry over someone you’ve never heard of dying. Anyway the funeral recession was at my mothers’ house. All these funeral peopled filed in started eating, talking. Now my grandmother lived in the mountains of Appalachia and so did the people who were currently in my house. They told each other stories about my grandmother and the room was filled with stimulating conversation and laughter. I decided not to take part in this laughter seeing as if I couldn’t be sad at this event it would be respectful not to laugh and have a cheerful time. I decided to sit on one of the folding chairs lining the walls. Coincidentally I was sitting one chair over from a man who had a blank expressionless face. He held a cane and wore sunglasses. I could tell he was blind. However what I did not know was that he was also the priest of the church that all these people attended. He said “Hello?” wondering about the sudden noise of me sitting in a chair. “Hi” I responded. He continued saying “I don’t recognize your voice.” I proceeded to tell him that I currently resided in this house and that this was my grandmothers funeral. He said “You don’t seem to sad for one who has just had such a loss.” I told him that I didn’t know my grandmother well enough to be sad at her death and I thought it would be respectful not to be to happy so here I was talking to him. “I see.” He said following this statement with a deep ponderous pause. “You know” he finally said “Do you know why I don’t do funerals?” “Why” I said playing along expecting a typical answer, but to my surprise he returned with “ Its because I’m never sad.” At a loss for words and my moth slightly agape he continued, “Is death really that bad? Either you go to heaven as I know your grandmother would or nothing. Its just like sleeping now neither one of those is to bad is it.” Without waiting for me to answer he continued. “So I think you should go and listen to some stories.” Following his advice I had a god time at the funeral.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Animal Farm Essay
Michael Santulli
9/12/08
English Essay
In the novel Animal Farm the government starts and ends in almost the exact same place. The government goes through many changes in the bulk of the story. These changes include dictatorship to communism, which is slowly twisted before the animals even realize or are two ignorant to become more and more corrupt. This corrupt communism soon reverts back to a dictatorship.
In the beginning of the novel Mr. Jones, the original owner of the farm, represents an irresponsible inconsistent and overall poor leader. Mr. Jones represents Czar Nicholas II. His rules is equivalent to a dictatorship specifically the deteriorating Russian dictatorship. The animals ban together to run Mr. Jones of the farm after being inspired by Old Major, a pig who dreams of an ideal society. Old Major represents Carl Marks the father of communism an author of The Communist Manifesto. This revolt represents the Russian Revolution and is led by two pigs Napoleon and Snowball, Stalin and Trotsky. These two pigs end the dictatorship rule of Mr. Jones creating a new communist society where all is equal and everything is shared.
As this new system of government continues to mature it is confronted with its first real challenges. Issues such as work, and rations predominantly when the pigs steal the milk and apples claiming they hate the taste but have to eat them as “brain food”. This is one of the first instances of corruption in the government. Already the reader can tell that the government is being slowly but surely twisted by corrupted leadership. Additionally when the puppies are stolen by Napoleon without question the vanity and ignorance of the animals, Russia’s people, really begins to show. There are good thing going on at this point for instance meetings and reciting of “The Beasts of England” the anthem of the farm. They also change the name from Manor Farm to Animal Farm, making a flag and writing the seven commandments on the side of the barn showing that they have completely abandoned the old government liberating themselves entirely. The event that really throws the government out of Communism is the expulsion of Snowball. The government is now lead by one, Napoleon, and he is free to twist it as he likes. This government is now a dictatorship but it does not admit to that.
The Government of Animal Farm becomes more and more corrupt. When boxer is killed it is liked a piece of every animal on the farm went with him. In addition the pigs separate themselves from the other animals by doing things such as moving into the house, drinking copious amounts of alcohol and changing the commandment from “All animals are equal” to “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.” The removal of meetings and making Sundays “optional” workdays shows that the revolution is dying even more and the old ways are returning. When the pigs change the name of the farm back to Manor farm it shows that they openly have given up in the communist system of brotherhood. Finally when the pigs are seen walking upright with the men it proves that the pigs have become in essence men, the exact thing that they have been fighting for two years. Now the Government has gone full circle back to dictatorship.
The Government of Animal farm started off on the right track but was destined never to get far off the ground. As long as there were pigs controlling the government it couldn’t resist corruption. Ultimately the government never went anywhere but a point was proven. It only takes a few corrupt leaders to destroy a political system from the inside out.