Summer classes are almost over!

Only one day of summer classes is left. It seems like the summer has flown by, like it was just yesterday that summer classes even began. This summer has had its ups and downs. I have to say the homework was definitely a down but meeting new people has been one of the ups. I have really enjoyed getting to know the people in my english class some and I enjoyed the laid back atmosphere of the class. I am also glad to have gotten the two classes I took this summer out of the way because the fall is going to be crazy busy. I don't know if I will be taking summer classes again (I was slightly spoiled by not having to do school work in the summer before, so this summer has been an eye opener) but I am glad that I chose to do so this summer. I would just like to say thanks to everyone in my english class who has helped me out with a paper or something and I hope the rest of everyone's summer goes great and that everyone stays safe.

-Emily

Painting

It has been two years since Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast. My family was able to repair the damage to our house after the storm except for the new coat of paint that our walls needed to cover the spots where the walls had been repaired. After two years, we are finally getting our house painted. We are redoing the paint in all the rooms of my house and it is both exciting and nerve racking. My mom has been driving herself and the rest of us crazy trying to pick out the perfect colors for each room. I'm picking the new color for my room and I understand my mom's worry about choosing the perfect color, after all it hard to tell what the color on those little squares of paper will look like once you put it on the wall (and if you don't like the color once it's there thats just too bad). Also to paint a room you have to move everything away from the wall, which in a messy room is not easy. Two rooms got done today, though, and they look great. Tomorrow the painters come to paint my room so hopefully it turns out as good as the rooms that have already been done.

Not much happening here

Right now I am attempting to write my paper that is due tomorrow, so this is going to be a shot entry. I'm not having much luck with the paper and this is my attempt to get the writing juices following. I don'y really know where I am going with the paper and that is the problem. I don't really have anything interesting to say at the moment. My fourth of July was good and I enjoyed not having to go to english class. I hope everyone else had a good holday, too.

Next Paper and the Fourth of July

Well, I'm glad to have that first paper out of the way! Now it's on to the second one and I have no idea what I am going to write about. It's a good thing proposals aren't set in stone because I have a feeling my paper is going to be completely different from my proposal (again). Anyways, it is almost the 4th of July and I have to say I'm excited. I have always loved celebrating the 4th of July. Normally, my cousins from Ohio and sometimes the rest of my aunts, uncles and cousins come down here to celebrate with us. It's sort of like a big family reunion which, if can avoid fighting with each other, is pretty cool. We have a lot of fun when my cousins come down here. There is always swimming, a lot of eating and, of course, fireworks. I have to say that I like fireworks a lot better when they are the big kind viewed from a distance and not the kind that my brother, dad, uncle and younger male cousins shoot off in my backyard (my brother once scorched half the yard and some his hair off when he and a friend were shooting fireworks). This year, however, my cousins won't be here for the 4th of July but hopefully we can get together for some other holiday, be it down here on the coast or up there in Ohio.

Feeling Punchy

I recently started taking a boxing class at a gym near my home. I used to go to kick-boxing and self-defense classes regularly for several years with my sister partly to stay in shape and partly to learn to defend myself should I ever need to. After the hurricane I had a difficult time attending any classes because I was commuting back and forth from Hattiesburg for school. Fortunately, the same instructor that taught kick-boxing/self-defense has started a boxing academy and I joined up. I have never had so much fun working my butt off as I do in the boxing classes. There are two classes every week each lasting for two hours. There are both girls and guys in the class and we always have a great time. The first class I went to I thought I was going to die (and I wasn't really out of shape going into the class) but it is worth it to go ever week and learn to fight. Knowing how to fight and defend yourself is one of the most empowering feelings there is. Especially for a female it is a great feeling to know that you have some power over your situation should someone try to take advantage of you. By learning self-defense you know you now have greater conrol over your own life. I know it may sound "unladylike" or masculine to take boxing but I am a very firm believer that every female should have some training in how to defend themselves. It is a great confidence builder to know that you are strong and capable and that you have the knowledge to fight back and not become a victim. Not only is great for protecting yourself but I have yet to find a sport that gives you a better workout than boxing done properly. Another benefit of boxing is that you learn how to take a punch. My instructor told me that one of the things that severely lowers an attacked person chances in an assault is the surprise they feel when they get hit if they have never been punched before. I will admit that I hate getting hit in the face, my brains after all are my livelihood not my boxing skills. My instructor also understands this and takes every precaution that I don't damage brain cells or break my nose. So I recommend to everyone out there (especially females) to learn some sort of self defense, not so you become a bully but so that you don't become a victim. Learning how to box has been unbelievably fun and has the added benefits of keeping me in great shape and making me a stronger, more confident person.

Summer Classes

Okay, when I signed on for summer classes I had no idea I woud have such a difficult time motivating myself to get my work done. I have always been a procrastinator but I have taken to a whole new level this summer. I am taking two classes now and while I am enjoying them I keep struggling to get my work done. Tommorrow is my first test and to say the least I'm unprepared. So the last two days I have been cramming for my test and hopefully I'll manage to get everything done tonight. Also this blogging assignment, while fun, is hard to remember to do regularly. I have got to shape up or else(ahhhhhh)! I quess I sound like I'm whining now so I'm going to quit complaining. I will say, however, that summer classes have defintely been an eye opener!

Paper

Emily

ENG 102

Ryan Davidson

June 13, 2007

Shakespeare and “The Count of Monte Cristo”

Love and jealousy make the world go round. Okay, maybe not exactly but these two feelings play significant roles in the interaction between human beings. Love, perhaps, is the root feeling while jealousy often stems from love or a semblance of it. William Shakespeare’s poem “When, in Disgrace with Fortune and Men’s Eyes” and the movie, based on a book by Alexandre Dumas, “The Count of Monte Cristo” both offer insight into love, jealousy and their relationship with human interactions. Shakespeare’s poem portrays a person who down on his luck both materially and in the eyes of others. The person bemoans his fate and wishes for what others possess, whether it is their hope, their friends or their talents and skills. This person is not happy or content with what he has until he thinks of his love and then he would not trade places with a king. In “The Count of Monte Cristo” jealousy, or envy, is the basis for many of the characters actions towards each other. Yet at the end of the movie the main character, Edmund Dantes, cares only for the woman he loves and his son, whom he did not know he had until the end of the movie. The similarities in the movie and the poem speak volumes about the nature of human interactions because they portray the effects of jealousy and love on the actions of people towards their family, friends and acquaintances.

In the beginning of “The Count of Monte Cristo”, Edmund, the main character, is portrayed as a kind, good person. He has just received a promotion and can now marry the woman he loves. His achievements and material possessions may seem small in comparison to the wealth of his best friend, but he is happy and in love. His best friend, however, sees Edmund’s happiness and despite his wealth feels envious of what Edmund has. This leads the best friend to betray Edmund and have him arrested even though Edmund did nothing wrong. This betrayal resulted from jealousy. In both the movie and the poem one character feels jealous of what another person possesses be it material or otherwise. In the poem the character’s jealousy leads to unhappiness. This stanza from “When, in Disgrace with Fortune and Men’s Eyes” by William Shakespeare illustrates this,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,
Desiring this man’s art, and that man’s scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least,
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising.
In the movie, however, jealousy leads to much more negative actions like betrayal and murder. These examples show that jealousy has a way of corrupting any interactions between humans. Jealousy wears down the inhibitions that often keep people from crossing some unseen boundary into betrayal and worse. Without jealousy prodding Edmund’s friend, he had no reason to harm Edmund.

In the poem and the movie jealousy stems or is enhanced by a lack of something. One important case of this is a lack of love. The movie and the poem illustrate how a lack of love between two humans causes them to fill that space with something else such as jealously or general unhappiness. The tone of the poem conveys how, the character “when, in disgrace with Fortune and men’s eyes,” experiences loneliness and emptiness in the character’s life. Right after this the character goes on to covet what others have to fill the void but it is not until he remembers his love that he would not trade positions with a king.