Welcome to the 3rd Quarter!

So far, my freshman year has been amazing. English has been really great, too. I didn't really like "A Midsummer's Night Dream," but I love vocabulary. Also, I hope this semester is different than the last by learning more grammar and punctuation. I never learned much of it in middle school, and I feel like I need to learn more to improve my writing. Overall, I'm extremely excited for the 3rd quarter and I can't wait to start it!

Masque of the Red Death

Symbolic Writing for “The Masque of the Red Death”

            In the story, “The Masque of the Red Death,” Edgar Allan Poe uses several different colors to distinguish the different rooms in the mansion and also the many stages of man. One of the colors he used was orange, to symbolize power and growth. He also used orange to symbolize the ages of 18-40’s/50’s. Along with the other colors in the story, the color orange has a great deal to do with the “clock of life,” and it relates to me, in my everyday life.

            Orange plays a major role in the advancement of life and has much to do with the clock of life. The clock of life is the seven stages of man in a nutshell. The color orange is a huge part of the advancement in life because it covers an extraordinary amount of the human life. This span of life would be from the ages of 18-40/50. Much happens between this period in life, such as: college, career opportunities, marriages, families form, children are born, adulthood, new responsibilities, independence from home, and most of all, finally realizing life and its purpose for human beings. As for the clock of life, the ages that are associated with orange are the ages that are the core of most people’s lives. These years are the years when most people are still young, yet successful.

            Between my parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, even family friends, I have many people that are apart of the orange area. Many of these people are huge inspirations to me and I depend on them for numerous things. Without the people that belong to the orange age, my life would be extremely hard and I wouldn’t be able to survive. Most children and teens live off of the people of the orange stage in life. Without the people of the orange group, I would not have wants or needs, such as: money, food, transportation, family, friends, shelter, clothing, and the most extreme of them all, I might not even be alive.

            In, “The Masque of the Red Death,” the room and the color orange notify the people of the ball that this is the core of their life, the years of life that should be enjoyed and cherished most. In reality, the color also symbolizes independence and the power to make your own positive decisions. This stage in life is the middle stepping-stone, so to speak, down the path of life. Once you’ve reached the ages in orange, it’s time to appreciate life, because life on earth is half way over. It’s not a negative point in life because life is almost over, but it’s more of a time to sit back and relax, as you take all your effort and hard work in life and turn it into something you want it to be. As I said before, myself and many other children my age, older and younger, depend on the orange era to take care of them in life until they become a part of the orange stage themselves. Orange is a tremendously important part of the story “The Masque of the Red Death,” life advancement and the life clock, along with my life and many others. 

Advertisement Book of the Month

Learning Their Language

By: Marta Williams

Sodahead.com

     

      Have you ever heard someone say all animals have a personalities of their own? "Learning Their Language," by Marta Williams, truly teaches you how to communicate with animals, along with their special personalities. After reading the first 2 chapters of this book, I already feel as if I can relate to my pets extremely more than I could before. Before reading this book, I was a complete skeptic of being able to talk to animals intuitively, but now I'm an absolute believer of being able to tell what's wrong with your dog when it's not acting the same, or how the monkeys in the zoo feel about being caged all day, every day. I think this is a 5 star book for being able to make me have a closer relationship with my pets, and wildlife in general. 

O. Henry.

• His real name is William Sydney Porter and he was born and raised in North Carolina
• He was a licensed pharmacist 
• He lived on a sheep ranch in Texas
• He got his pen name, "O.Henry," from the Harrell family that he lived with in Austin, Texas for 3 years
• He then worked in 2 different banks for many years.
• After working for the banks, he started an unsuccessful comedy newspaper called the Rolling Stone.
• He then wrote a column for the Houston Daily Post.
• He was accused of embezzling funds from when he worked at banks, so he left his daughter and wife and fled to many different states and countries.
• When he returned to be there when his wife died, he was found guilty of the charges and spent 5 years in prison.
• He wrote hundreds of short stories while in prison, and when he was free from prison he kept his identity of O.Henry and wrote many more short stories in New York City until he died in 1910.

http://www.lsjunction.com/people/porter.htm

http://www.tspb.state.tx.us/cvc/historic/ohenry.htm

Edgar Allan Poe

Source

1, Birthday: January 19th, 1809, Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, Death date: October 7th, 1849

2. The childhood events that influenced Poe's writing were that his father left when he was a child, and a year later his mother died. He was then sent to live with a wealthy family that didn't care much for him, and he was sent to several boarding schools.

3. There are 13 theories on what caused Poe's death. List five of them. Beating, Epilpsy, Dipsomania, Diabetes, or Rabies. 

4. According to the Edgar Allan Poe Museum, what state did Poe call home? Virginia 

6. What famous military academy expelled Poe in 1831? US Military Academy, West Point

7.Who did Poe marry? How old was she? His cousin Virginia, 13 years old.

8. What do you think about the marriage? I think that it's extremely weird and wrong to marry your cousin, especially when your 21 years apart.
10. When was "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Black Cat" written? The Tell-Tale Heart:1850, The Black Cat: 1845

11. When was "The Raven" published? 1845

17. Who is the Poe Toaster? The Poe Toaster is an unknown figure who visited Poe's grave from 1949 to 2009 on his birthday every year and left 3 roses and a partially-filled bottle of French cognac

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe

 http://www.poemuseum.org/index.php\

 http://poestories.com/

http://www.catalogs.com/info/books-music-dvd/the-life-of-edgar-allen-poe.html
http://www.nndb.com/people/469/000022403/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe_Toaster

2nd Quarter

Welcome to my English blog. :) This is the 2nd quarter and we're learning about Edgar Allan Poe! He's one of my favorite writers and I can't wait to read all his stories and learn about him!

Position Research Paper

Teenage Depression

            Teen Depression has spread majorly throughout the United States within the last few years. There are many different treatments for depression, but lately one in particular has been standing out the most. Research shows, that antidepressants, medication prescribed by a professional to treat depression, have been ineffective and show an increase in teen suicide for the teens who take them. Antidepressants are dangerous to teenagers, and they should not be distributed among teens unless they are proven to be completely effective to depression.

Many people believe that antidepressants aren’t fixing this huge problem with teens in America. People think that doctors are only using antidepressants to speed up the diagnoses and recovery process. Also, research and real-life observations show that antidepressants aren’t always effective on teens. "Right after starting an antidepressant, some kids do become more anxious or restless and a few may have an increase in suicidal thoughts"(Bostic). Health-care professionals believe that anti-depressants give a negative effect, because the brain of a teenager isn't fully developed yet. This can result in major depression increase and an increase in the rate of suicide.

Observations and research shows that antidepressants make depressed teens more depressed or even go to the extent of taking their own life. "According to FDA data, a young person suffering from depression is 15% more likely to commit suicide than peers not suffering from depression"(Docksai). Some doctors warn that antidepressants will not only affect your child now, but also give an effect later in life. The teen suicide rate has tripled since the 1960's, and many of those teens either had or were treated for depression. Since the huge increase in the teen suicide rate, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had to add a public warning label on all antidepressants, warning the public that these antidepressants might trigger or increase suicidal thoughts. This caused many parents and doctors to stop prescribing or giving their patients and children antidepressants, and as a result they had to resort to a new way of treating depression.

Some doctors, parents, and patients think that the only way to treat teen depression the best is to take antidepressants. But, a survey shows that counseling is the top treatment recommended for depressed children. Teens could be seen once a week for parental bonding, therapy, or anything else they need help coping with instead of taking a pill. Also, by getting the depressed teen involved into something they love, it will ease the teen's mind and help them with their depression. "The symptoms of childhood depression are often different than those of adults. As a result, childhood depression was- and continues to be- misdiagnosed” (Youth Depression). This statement proves that the doctors that are prescribing antidepressants to teens are treating them like they are a depressed ADULT, which says even if antidepressants work great for adults, it doesn’t mean it’s the best decision for depressed teens.

Even though antidepressants have many down sides, many people still support them. Some doctors and parents feel as if antidepressants have been a “life savior” for their patients and children (Youth Depression).  Antidepressants help families give their depressed children treatment if they aren’t financially stable enough to afford to see a therapist. But, Health care professionals are realizing that there is a huge spike in the amount of teenagers taking antidepressants that have not been approved for teenage use. Most antidepressants for teens have not been tested on people under the age of 16. Yet, some doctors still support them.

After the FDA established a warning label on depressants, doctors spoke publicly to patients and parents to inform them that antidepressants are completely harmless, if prescribed the right amount. Even after doctors went public, the FDA still went to the extent of "black-boxing," or stating all the warnings and symptoms, on the antidepressant labeling to show the public that the FDA is concerned about the people. Due to all the warning labels, parents finally refused to give their children antidepressants, but they also stopped getting them treated for their depression all together. “Approximately half of the teenagers with untreated depression may attempt suicide, which remains the third-leading cause of death in this age group” (Bostic). At this time, antidepressants made life harder for all the depressed teens in America, who weren’t receiving treatment at all, because of a label for a dangerous product.

As shown, antidepressants are extremely unhealthy for depressed teenagers. They don’t help teens with depression, and usually, they make teens more depressed. Other treatments are proven to be effective, and truly do help depressed teens with everyday life. Even though antidepressants are covered in warning labels and cautions, there are many people who still support them today. But, that doesn’t make them the right choice for these helpless teens. Why take a chance of harming depressed teen by giving them antidepressants? Get them REAL help, through therapy or getting them involved with an after- school activity. Teen Depression is still a major issue in America, but many professionals and parents are looking for new ways to help their children and patients, instead of using antidepressants.

Works Cited:

Bostic, Jeff Q., and Craig C.Miller. “When Should You Worry?” Periodicals. Newsweek. Web.

            28 Sept. 2010. <http://periodicals.grolier.com/php/ebsco/ebsco-go2.php?product=go2-

            passport&editfield1=teen AND depression&StartRecNo=6&NoRec=1>.

Docksai, Rick. "Youth Depression and Suicide." Futurist Vol. 43, No. 1. Jan/Feb 2009: 16-

17. SIRS Researcher. Web. 24 Sep 2010.

"Youth Depression." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On

File News Services, 28 Apr. 2000. Web. 23 Sept. 2010. <http://www.2facts.com/article/i0500920>.