"Favorite Part of the Novel"

      My favorite part of the novel was in chapter twelve. This is the part when Mr.Dimmesdale goes to the spot where Hester had to stand in front of the public. Dimmesdale goes here late at night. The platform was very gloomy. It had been many years since Hester had been publicly ashamed. The platform was weather stained, and lost its color because of the many guilty people that had gone on it throughout the years. He went up and stood there silently. Nobody would have seen him because the entire town was asleep. He could have stood there all night but the only problem would have been that he would have been cold. However, it did not go as planned. Dimmesdale felt as though the entire world was collapsing on top of him. He yelled on top of his lungs! The governor's sister opened the light and looked outside but thought that it was just the witches. Dimmesdale felt as though the entire world is collapsing on him.
      I personally liked this part of the story, because it shows what Dimmesdale is going through during these hard times. The details used in this chapter are extremely descriptive, and no other chapter is described like this. I personally think that if Dimmesdale did not yell at the top of his lungs that night, things would have been much worse. Also, what amazes me is the towns people! They are so gullible, and they believe that those noises were the witches. What foolish people. Altogether, this was a very informative chapter, and definitely my favorite one. 

"NBA players, owners reach tentative agreement to end lockout"

       This article was founded in the LA Times. This article was written on November 26 by Mike Bresnahan. The NBA was inactive for 149 days. The owners did not agree with the players for quite some time but now the NBA is finally back for its sixty-sixth season. The agreement was held in a meeting at New York. The commissioner David Stern said that the season will officially start on Christmas Day. The plans for NBA are that there will be sixty six games this year and the regular season will end in April. The NBA finals will end sometime at the end of June. Now, all they are waiting for is the 450 players that need to agree with the terms. The season is finally back.
      Im so glad that the NBA season is back into action. It was a long four and a half months of no basketball. We could finally watch our teams back in their uniforms. However, as much as I love basketball, I do not believe that the players should be paid that much money. I am glad that the owners decided to not play this season in the beginning because the players did not deserve it. Now, everyone learned their lessons and this will be an example for the future of NBA. It is a clear statement that the players do not have authority over the owners. However, despite the player's faults, I am definitely excited for the new season to start.

Chillingworth vs. Dimmsdale

       Chillingworth and Dimmesdale ae both major sinners, in different ways. Dimmsedale, commited adultry but nobody knows that it was with Hester Prynne. Chillingworth on the other hand, was in a way trying to kill Dimmsdale. Therefore, I have to side with Dimmesdale. Although his actions are not correct at all, you could tell that he is sorry for his actions. He is not livng a normal life and that is because he is hiding the adultry secret from the entire society. What makes things even worse is that he is the minister of the community and if his secret is released, things will not go right for him. Chillingworth's actions are wrong because even though he is extremely angry, does not mean that he should try to kill someone. That makes him an even bigger sinner.
      And thus, whie standing on the scaffold, in this vain show of expiatio, Mr. Dimmesdale was overcome with a great horror or mind, as if the universe were gazing at the scarlet token on his naked breast, right over his heart(Hawthorne 123). This explains all of Mr. Dimmesdale's feelings. He is ashamed of his actions, and knows that what he did will haunt him for the rest of his life. However, I feel sympathy towards him because he understands his actions were not right. Admitting to your sinns and trying to fix them always makes you a better and more respected individual. At the end, I decided to side with Dimmsdale because he is trying to make things right, even though he cannot speak about his actions.

"Paterno Is Finished at Penn State, and President Is Out"

       This article was founded in the LA Times. It was written by Mark Viera. Joe Paterno, has been coaching over forty years, and has the most wins in college footbal history, as well as the most bowl wins. On Wednesday, he was fired by Penn State. Graham B. Spanier, was one of the longest serving and highest paid presidents of all time. They were fired because they had a failure to act in the sexual abuse scandal involving a prominent former assistant coach. The Board of Trustees was ashamed by the decision they had to make, but it had to be done. Paterno said that he wanted to retire at the end of the season, but he was released before the end of the season.
       This is a very embarrassing article, because a major issue like sexual assault on college coaches is very inappropriate. I feel disgusted about this topic because it is not right for a serious topic like this to be kept silent for so many years. As good of a coach Paterno was, he deserved to be fired. He had a great career, but after this his college years and reputation definitely went down the drain. All the hard work for nothing. If I was the president of the school, I would also feel disgusted for such an action. I hope an action like this never happens again, especially in the sports world. This is unacceptable, and Paterno is as guilty as the one who committed it because he knew about it and never opened his mouth.

The Scarlet Letter

       The Scarlet Letter was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. This book takes place during the romantic era. There are many examples that fit with the American Romantic era. The first example could be found in chapter three. "The penalty therefore is death. But in their great mercy and tenderness of heart, they have doomed Mistress Prynne to stand only at a space of three hours on the platform of pillory, and then and therefore, for the remainder of her natural life, to wear a mark of shame upon her blossom"( Hawthorne 57). This is when the author lets Hester know that she is forever shamed. She is branded and has to wear the letter A on her. This is a great example of puritan times during the American Romantic era. Hester is shunned from society forever, and will live a shameful life.
       The second example is when Hawthorne describes the prison door. "Like all that pertained to crime, it seemed never to have known a youthful era"(Hawthorne 43). This is a great example, because it describes how scary, gloomy, and dark. By doing this, Hawthorne opens the path for rest of the story with a great description. These examples show us the Gothic times during the romantic era.

Pride, One of the Seven Deadly Sins

       None of the deadly sins suit me except for pride. Having pride is very good because it shows that your are satisfied and confident of yourself. However, too much of something is never good. I could easily say that sometimes I have a lot of pride. Its not that i boast about it, I just want people to look at me and say that I have accomplished something good. I could say that even though I might have a little pride, my good points in life will cover that mistake. Lately however, I have noticed that my pride is not overwhelming. I have learned how to control myself. I have learned a lot from this. Now, as I get older, I realize that everything I do is for the good of myself and nobody else. I should keep that pride in myself and make myself proud, not other people.
       If I had to walk around with a P around me like Hester Prynne, I really would not mind it. I certainly do not believe that pride is one of the seven deadly sins.It is true that I would not like to be branded with letters on me because I am not a product. If you have a little of pride does not mean you are doing anything wrong. However, something like adultery is very bad, and makes you look like a really bad person. My conclusion is that whatever you do, be proud of it because your are the only person who will be facing those consequences later on.

"The Custom House"

       "The Custom House" is written by Nathaniel Hawthorne who is also the author of Scarlet Letter. This story takes place in a Custom House in the 1800s during colonial times. Nathaniel works at a Custom House in Salem Massachusetts. This was a major sea port during the 1600s but gradually the ships stopped coming. Nathaniel writes in a very descriptive way, and tells us how he loved to write. His parents got mad at him so they made him find a new job. He was related to the President, so he got a good job in the Custom House. However, his job was very boring so he usually wandered around. One day as he was doing this, he laid his eyes upon a manuscript that later became the Scarlet Letter. Sadly, he was laid off his job because his family member was no longer the President.
      "The Custom House" was a great start to the Scarlett Latter that we will be reading soon. You always want to know what meaning and where your piece of literature originated from. Nathaniel Hawthorne looks like a man that uses extreme amounts of detail in his works. I had an idea of what a Custom House was, but now that he described it for me, it made it much easier for me to understand. I have a feeling that Scarlet Letter will be a good book because I already like the type o literature that Hawthorne is presenting to us.