There's a Certain Feeling of the Stage

The quiet murmurs between dancers backstage,
Listening patiently in restrained excitement for director's notes,
Behind the curtains, staff frantically calls countdowns till showtime,
Getting into position before the music screams in the audiences eardrums,
1, 2, 3, 4, go with the anticipation that a count will be forgotten,
The first move is made and an entirely different person fills my place,
Rhythmic fairy dust spins around the body that used to be mine,
Nothing runs through my mind but the music,
Spinning and twirling and leaping its way through the audience,
Capturing their attention like moths to a lamp,
Nearly blinding stage lights near my feet,
The audience seems so dark and so far away,
But I can hear a whistle and a cheer and see a face staring up,
As my feet explore the black Marley flooring,
Skid marks from my shoes leave the motions of the beat earlier,
And the empty, dusty, dimly lit theater becomes a place of enchantment,
In it there is mystery and excitement, but also a certain kind of calm,
Finally being able to show off something that's been worked on for so long,
Like pushing a truck uphill for a year,
And rolling back downhill in a convertible,
Leaving the stage gasping relief, feeling on top of the world.

There was a Paige Pohlad Went Forth

There was a child went forth every day;
And the first object she look'd upon, that object she became;
And that object became part of her for the day, or a certain part of
The day, or for many years, or stretching cycles of years.


Sitting on the broad shoulders of Father,
Strolling down streets bordered with trees,
Headed home after losing sense of time on the monkey bars,
Pretending to sleep until unconsciousness actually flooded,
Opening eyes to warm milk with sugar
In a small plastic mug embellished with a sketched rabbit,     (10)
Printed leggings and black mary-janes,
Lying on the red metal bed asking questions became a part of this child.


Mother calling up the stairs that dinner would be ready soon,
Father's jazz playing while we ate,
And always being told to take three more bites before dessert,
Mother pushing the grocery cart, always forgetting milk,
While a pair of legs hung out kicking,
Father teaching to catch the small football under the Magnolia tree,
Mother reminding the Peroxide would only sting for a second on scrapes,
Mother and Father talking in the front seats on road trips became a part of this child.     (20)


Meeting the extremely old and powerful first graders,
Breaks from class playing football with all the boys,
"May I go to the bathroom please?"
Nap time where there would be anything but napping,
Circling the arena in a saddle on Saturday mornings,
Peering out of the window on Christmas Eve to catch a glimpse of  any reindeer,
Wishing more kids the same age would move to the neighborhood became a part of this child.


New friends to sit with at lunch,
The height difference of the new "boyfriend,"
The new girl on the block who would eventually be the most important person in the world,     (30)
Rumors sneaking through the hallways,
Falling continuously through style phases,
Trying out for the Lady Hurricanes volleyball team,
Terribly awkward haircuts and bad teeth became a part of this child.


Staying up through the late hours into the early morning,
Wishing for nothing more but sleep,
Having no best friends, but acquaintances,
The treat of seeing old pals,
Learning who really does care,
Improving as a person became a part of this child.     (40)


Worrying about grandma in New York on 9/11,
Not being able to pay the bills on time because of economic crisis,
Watching the country being handed over to someone who deserves it,
Praying a friend in Japan is okay after radiation leaks,
These became part of that child who went forth every day, and who now goes, and will always go forth every day.

The American Dream in Great Gatsby and Raisin in the Sun

The American Dream is a common, mostly unspoken goal of the people living in America. The two stories, Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, and The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, both illustrate their own ideas and images of the American Dream. The different people in the books have similar and sometimes opposing views on parts of it.

Firstly, both Walter Younger and Gatsby want to seem very successful. Walter does whatever it takes to get lots of money in as little amount of time as possible. For example, when he gives all his money, including his sister’s college fund, to his friend to invest in a liquor store. He doesn’t realize that this would be a bad idea, which then results in the family losing a great amount of their finances. Gatsby is similar to Walter in the sense that he wants to show off his riches. He is constantly throwing parties that he himself doesn’t even attend, just for the sake of people knowing who he is and how much money he has to spend. In addition to this, he also tore himself away from his poor family, which included changing his name so he wouldn’t have to be embarrassed of them. Walter and Gatsby portray part of the American Dream that includes forgetting regular morals in pursuit of their goals.

In contrast to the disintegrating morals of Walter and Gatsby, the American Dream is shown in Daisy Buchanan and Ruth Younger in an opposite way. Both Daisy and Ruth want a perfect family life. Neither of them has luck with their significant others; Daisy’s husband is cheating on her, and Ruth and Walter disagree on many topics. For example, Daisy knew about Tom having an affair with Myrtle, but she doesn’t want to do anything about it because she’s afraid it might tear apart their family, more than it already is. Ruth does the same thing in the sense that she tries not to fight with Walter, such as in the opening scene of the story, and her main purpose in the household is to be the glue that keeps it together. Both Daisy and Ruth show the aspects of the perfect family life on their road to the American Dream.

Although these aspects of the American Dream are used throughout the novels and shown by many different characters, there is no morality happening in the stories. One of the only people in either book that has some sense of right or wrong is Lena Younger, the mother of Walter and Beneatha. Mama truly cares about all of the people in her life, no matter what faults they have. In The Great Gatsby, more than one character is shown doing terrible things without a second thought. For example, Tom beating Myrtle, Gatsby running over Myrtle without even stopping, and Wilson shooting Gatsby. There are no ethics when it comes to the people in the story, and this is also similar to the people in Raisin in the Sun. Mama is the only one who knows her priorities and will focus on positive things rather than the material values of the American Dream.

Word Count: 527

The Crisis vs. Speech in the Virginia Convention

Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry had very different styles of delivering their arguments against the control that the British had over America. Both were persuasive and strongly worded, however, I believe that Thomas Paine's speech was much more influential on the people's decisions on going to war.

Thomas Paine's debate had a much greater fire and spiritedness that wasn't as evident in Patrick Henry's. He seems to have more of a drive and sureness, whereas Henry seems to be more reserved and polite. For example, when Paine is explaining his anger with Britain, he says, "Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right...[to bind]... and if being bound in that manner, is nor slavery, then there is not such a thing as slavery upon earth." This is a very brisk and to-the-point way of going about his argument.

Another aspect that makes Patrick Henry's argument not as persuasive as Paine's is the fact that he asks lots of questions to his listeners. This can be confusing for the audience, and it could inspire alternate ideas that conflict with his original debate. His politeness can also be confused with insecurity when he says things such as, "[Men] often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen, if, entertaining, as I do, opinions of a character very opposite to theirs." Henry is very courteous to those around him, but I feel that Thomas Paine would have made a greater impression with a dive headfirst into his speech.

Overall, Thomas Paine just made a huge delivery in his speech that Henry couldn't compare to. He utilized his persuading skills in all ways possible.

Word count: 289

Elements of The American Dream

I believe that a big element of the American Dream is success. People spend their lives on the "pursuit of happiness," always striving to get to the top. Success doesn't necessarily have an origin, considering people have always had dreams and goals they wanted to accomplish. Naturally, over time, the definition of the word has altered to fit people's dreams. For example, during the Gold Rush in the mid 1800s, most Americans wanted to move west so that they could get a share in the valuable gold being found all over the region. At this time, success would have been considered to be finding gold and getting money to benefit your impoverished family, all after packing up and resettled onto new land out west to find a new life. This element is still very relevant in today's society. However, the meaning has changed greatly. Nowadays, it is measured more by how much money can be made while doing the least amount of work. Either way, success will always be a huge part of the American Dream, no matter how the meaning changes.

Word count: 182