One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

    I really like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest so far. The book is about Chief Bromden, a Native American in a mental hospital, and his encounters with the people there. My favorite part about the book is that it’s written in a creative way that I haven’t really encountered before. Bromden pretends to be deaf and mute, so he has little to no interactions with any of the characters (as of halfway through the book). This allows the story to be told as if it was in third person with Bromden’s views and hallucinations added on to make it more interesting.

    Bromden is in a mental hospital, and not without reason. He has some sort of affliction that causes him to see and hear things, and he believes that everything is run on some sort of machinery. There are scenes in the book in which Bromden has intense hallucination/dreams, involving fog machines and being taken into the basement and watching a man get sliced open. Bromden believes that these visions are real, so sometimes it’s hard to tell whether or not the things that he’s talking about are actually there.

    Bromden continuously mentions the electro-shock therapy, so a lot of tension is building with that aspect of the story. McMurphy (the new inmate who causes quite the ruckus)  is starting to break under the Big Nurse’s strict and somewhat sadistic rules, so I expect that he’s eventually going to get the treatment. In our group, we talked about how McMurphy is comparable to a Jesus, being the savior of the inmates. The EST table is shaped like a crucifix, so If McMurphy is EST’d and then becomes a martyr, that would be so totally Bible.

Word Count: 287

Emersonian Self-Reliant Man

The Emersonian self-reliant man is one who does not follow a creed or way of life. In other words, it is someone who thinks for themselves and doesn't conform to other people's beliefs. Consistency is big enemy of self-reliance. Being consistent means that the individual is re-stating what they have said in the past, "because the eyes of others have no other data for computing our orbit than our past acts."Emerson believes that the individual shouldn't rely on their memory to make a point; the present provides the best experience.s The Emersonian individual should have the ability to do what they want, similar to a child as Emerson puts it. A child is in its own world, not trying to please anyone or accomplish a certain long-term goal- they just exist and do what they please because they are not aware of any opposite force against them. 

Society is one of the opposers of self-reliance.  Society consists of everyone working together to make things for others - If one is a part of society, another is benefitting from that person's labor. To Emerson, in society, "The virtue in most request is conformity." Self-reliance revolves around not having to conform, so they are aversions to each other. A man can hold the same beliefs as the majority, but only if he came to those conclusions himself, without any driving outside force that convinced him. If he shares a belief with a majority just because many people believe that idea, he is not self-reliant. AN individual can hurt others. Emerson says that the self-reliant man shouldn't hurt others: "If you are not [noble], I will not hurt you and myself by hypocritical attentions." He's saying that hurting someone because they do not share the same beliefs, or because they said something that the person in question doesn't like, then calling yourself a self-reliant man and hurting them is completely hypocritical. A real self-reliant man would be glad that the person is thinking for his or her self and not agreeing with the self-reliant man.

native american debate response

I think that this mascot debate is kind of ridiculous. It’s sort of hard to solve an issue like this when both sides are being equally as silly. The NCAA is trying to ban all mascots and team names that contain anything involving Native Americans. This is already in itself a stretch; they are asking the teams to cross out their names from any previous achievments, and change their symbol and name. The teams shouldn’t have to cross out anything, but they also have to admit that some of the names are pretty racist. Not all of them, like the Braves, but the Redskins specifically catches my attention. That’s like having a team with a black guy as their mascot and calling them the Blackskins. It’s pretty blatantly racist.

Also, their doesn’t seem to be much word from the party in question: the Native Americans themselves. The Florida Seminole tribe seemed to be fine with it, but that’s all we’ve heard from. They don’t really get a say themselves, but they also don’t have an evident problem with the names. Right now it seems like the argument is probably a group of white dudes arguing with another group of white dudes about another race. I think they should actually get an opinion from the Native Americans to proceed.

Word Count: 218

American Dream comparison

After reading A Raisin in the Sun and The Great Gatsby, The two books are from complete opposite perspectives, and I came to the conclusion that we read them in the wrong order. This sounds kind of silly, but the way that the American Dream is presented in both caused me to to come this conclusion. A Raisin in the Sun should’ve been read first to get an idea of how it is difficult to achieve the American Dream when one is poor. Once we had that in our heads, we should’ve read Gatsby to show that being rich and also having achieved the American Dream can be just as bad, if not worse, than being in poverty.

A Raisin in the Sun follows working-class family who has just come into an extra sum of money left over in the father’s will. The American Dream is a major theme of the book, but the family hasn’t achieved it. The lack of the dream is more evident. Walter tries to reach his dream by using the money to invest in a liquor store, but they get duped and the money is stolen. The whole play focuses on the hardships of being poor, and how difficult it is to obtain the American Dream from nothing. They still end up with a new house, but they altogether don’t increase in happiness very much. We should have read this one first; we would’ve gone into The Great Gatsby already seeing what it is to be poor, and starting a new book to see what is to be wealth.

The Great Gatsby focuses on the upper class lifestyle, and the ritzy luxury that it entails. On the outside, being rich seems awesome, but Nick describes a lot of it as phony. While people are having a good time in Gatsby, a lot of it is portrayed as false happiness, and an obligation to be elegant just because of one’s social class (Daisy’s fake laughter comes to mind). In addition to that, a lot of pretty bad stuff happens- Tom and Daisy cheat on each other, there’s some sketchy insider trading business, and three people get killed. That’s even worse than the events in Raisin in the Sun.

I think it would’ve been really interesting to read Raisin in the Sun first, to get an idea of the hardships of being poor. We probably would’ve all had the opinion that living in conditions such as those and also achieving the American Dream would be very difficult, and rich people have it easy. Then, when we read The Great Gatsby, we would be expecting something a little less dark and more to do with those who have achieved the American Dream already. It couldn’t be as bad as poverty, right? WRONG. We would’ve seen that those particular wealthy people’s lives all kind of suck. They’re also pretty bad people.

A Raisin in the Sun and The Great Gatsby both portray the American Dream from different perspectives; from those who are poor and can’t achieve it, and from those who are rich and have already achieved it. The way that the books are written make it seem as if neither option is a very good thing. That isn’t to say that one can’t be poor and be happy or be rich and be happy, but from these viewpoints, that’s pretty much what it’s saying.

Word Count: 566

American dream analysis

Community Inquiry Analysis

    While doing this project, I saw that signs of the American Dream is ubiquitous in my neighborhood. To me, the American Dream is about the freedom to pursue what an individual wants to do in his or her life. For this reason, I focused on small businesses. After interviewing my subjects, I decided that with such a small selection of viewpoints, it is very difficult to determine whether or not the American Dream is present.
All of my subjects had different stories of how they came into their occupations, and all had varying views of their jobs. For example, Joey, the barber, wanted to become a hair stylist and now owns his own barbershop. On the other side of the spectrum, Augustine, the owner of the jewelry and electronics exchange, is young and is pursuing a career as a freelance graphic designer while running the store to keep afloat. With this perspective, I broadened my search into simply whether or not small businesses exist within my neighborhood. The answer is YES; there’s practically only small businesses, aside from the usual walgreens or gas station. In conclusion, the American Dream is definitely present within my community, although some people haven’t achieved it yet.

Community Investigation Proposal

For my community investigation, I will be focusing on West Walker. West Walker is the triangle made by Irving Park, Pulaski, and Elston. I will talk to two local business employees, and someone from my family (probably a parent). The businesses I am thinking about visiting are Two-Way Grill, Chicago Grill, Joey'z Hair Cutz, and the Jewelery and Electronics Exchange

American Dream article

Steve Hogan, the mayor of Aurora (the city in which the Dark Knight Rises shooting took place), recently tried to ban violent video games. If that doesn’t work, he at least wants to implement a tax on the sales of violent video games. The American Dream is largely tied to the Constitution; free speech is the First Amendment, and everyone can agree that it is one of the most important ones. Video game violence is fully protected under the First Amendment, so banning them would be considered unconstitutional. Some may also argue that the right to own a gun is the American Dream. I don’t really agree, but it’s in the constitution, so banning guns would also be unconstitutional. However, when the Constitution was written, there weren’t mass shootings with AK-47s in movie theaters. It seems kind of ridiculous to me that violent video games are considered more of a factor in shootings such as Sandy Hook and the one in Aurora than the ability to own an actual assault weapon. Hogan supports the right to own a gun (in moderation), which isn’t that bad; it’s a problem if he thinks that violent video games are worse. I love video games, and if they were banned I would be pretty peeved.

Word Count: 211

Donnie Darko Review

Donnie Darko is one of the strangest, most confusing movies of all time. The movie is about a teenager named Donnie Darko (hence the name), a seemingly-paranoid-schizophrenic living in a small town. At the beginning of the movie, Donnie is lured out of his room and out to the yard by a demonic voice. It turns out to be a six-foot-tall bunny rabbit, who we later find out is named Frank. Frank tells Donnie that the world will end in 30 days. At that moment, a jet engine falls on Donnie’s room. Throughout the movie Frank is portrayed as a mysterious ghostly being, and only Donnie can see him. He shows up at random intervals throughout the movie with cryptic messages; at one point, Donnie asks him, “Why do you wear that stupid bunny costume?” to which frank responds, “Why do you wear that stupid human costume?” He then takes off his mask, and it is a normal man with a bloody hole where his right eye should be. The rest of the movie involves a crazy health teacher, a self-help guru for teens (who turns out to have a “kiddie porn dungeon” in his house and is arrested for it, and Grandma Death, an elderly former author who does nothing but walk back and forth from her house to check the mailbox, which is always empty.(SPOILER ALERT) I won’t spoil too much, but at the end of the movie, Donnie’s girlfriend gets run over by a car. The driver turns out to be Frank, but he has no wound and his costume is for halloween; Donnie then shoots him in the eye. When Donnie goes to bed that night, a jet engine falls on his room, killing him. Grandma Death wrote about time travel, and the themes of the movie revolve heavily around alternate universes and time travel. However, it never actually says anything about them at all. I give it 5/5 stars, for totally blowing my mind.
Word Count: 331

story questions

New York

White begins by defining New York by what it isn't to distinguish it from other big, fancy cities that many view as romantic or amazing.  Teh skyline rises above everything and contributes to the city's beauty, but trash lines the streets and a complex sewer system runs below.  There is a lot of overcrowding, but there are many different stores and other destination options to get away from the density. These places are all situated in different neghborhoods, which each contain their own small economies.  This is similar to my neighborhood; there's a grocery store, restaurants, an electronics store, a barber, and many others within walking distance from my house.

Thurber

Thurber finds that many of his classes, such as swimming and botany, are not necessary for his goals and education needs.  His incompetence in these courses result in general bitterness from his instructors. In botany, for example, his poor eyesight prevents him from seeing through a microscope, which infuriates the professor.  In Thruber's opinion, the negative attitudes of his professors shed a bad light on his view of college.

Play Response

The Crucible reminds me of Inherit the Wind. A majority of each play takes place in court, and they revolve around religious issues. Inherit the Wind is about a teacher who teaches the theory of evolution to his class in a town where it’s illegal to teach anything other than creationism; the court case in the crucible is even more ridiculous, but it makes sense in the time period. The Crucible has a much darker ending than Inherit the Wind, although both conclude with death. Inherit the wind involves Matthew Brady, the opposing lawyer, dying from a heart attack (most likely caused by shame for losing); it’s a slightly comedic conclusion, as opposed to The Crucible which is dramatic and solemn.

I enjoyed the play, but none of the characters themselves are very likeable; they all say something in the play that shows them in a bad light at least once. Abigail is the main culprit, and she is exceptionally hateable. Everything she says or does is a direct contradiction to her previous stance on the subject, mainly her statement about not having her name slandered in the town. She then proceeds to do just that to everyone that she can. All the trouble she goes to just to put blame on others also makes her even more annoying. I suppose many people in that situation would do the same, but someone who would shove a needle into their own stomach to say that someone else is a witch is crazy in my eyes.

word count: 254

Dillinger Outline

1. Introduction
    a. Thesis: Although the actions of John Dillinger and his gang created a bloody war on crime with the FBI, he increased the morale of Americans during the Great Depression by giving them thrilling real-life entertainment in a time of hardship and bitterness towards banks.

2. Public view on Depression-era banks
    a. The public opinion on banks in the Depression was low because of foreclosures and failures.
        i. Major commodity crops failed leading to drops in agricultural real estate values (3).
        ii. Foreclosures caused farmers to lose their homes and most belongings (26).
        iii. By the end of the decade, over 9,000 banks had failed. (27).

3. Public view on Dillinger
    a. The public adored and respected Dillinger for being a modern-day Robin Hood.
        i. Dillinger got rid of mortgage records during robberies (2).
        ii.  "(Bankers) became wealthy by cheating the honest man” (13).
        iii. During newsreels, moviegoers cheered when Dillinger appeared on screen (11).

4. John Dillinger and his Gang
    a. Dillinger didn’t care about foreclosures; he was in the business purely for profit.
        i. "He stood right in the way and kept throwing slugs at me. What else could I do?" (12)
        ii. Dillinger’s robberies were complex and carefully planned (11).
        iii. The people who idolized him only heard about his escapades in magazines (34).

5. FBI’s Opinion
    a.  Dillinger was the FBI’s number one priority not only because of the damage he was causing; civilians saw agents in a negative light for trying to take down their hero.
        i. Audiences of newsreels would boo and shout when agents appeared on screen (11).
        ii.  Dillinger became Public Enemy Number One.
        iii. The FBI started to pursue him when he drove a stolen car over state lines, which is a
                            federal crime (6).

6.  Death and Afterwards
    a. After Dillinger’s death, people seemed to come out of a trance and respect for Dillinger  

   almost disappeared.

        i. When Purvis shot Dillinger, he received fan mail from all around the country (7).
        ii. J. Edgar Hoover facilitated a change in media focus, resulting in more films revolving

  around FBI agents rather than gangsters (15).

iii. Purvis became known as “the man who got Dillinger”, and gained popularity after     

   killing Pretty Boy Floyd and Baby Face Nelson (30).

The Crucible Act II Response

(I accidentally turned in an act 3 response last week instead of act 2, so this is act 2)

In Act II, Abigail is starting to become more of an antagonist. In the first act, she is somewhat standoffish and insists that her name won’t be slandered in the town. Her extremely selfish nature shows with her schemes to try to get others accused.  Everyone accused has selfish intentions because their lives are on the line, but none of them make the effort to do things such as plant evidence to shift the blame.  When Mary Warren made the doll and stuck a pin in it, Abigail was sitting next to her.  Later Abigail goes so far as to actually stick a pin in her own stomach and fake a fit just to get Mary Warren under more suspicion.  I also have sympathy for Mary, because there isn’t a scenario in which things turn out well for her; if she denies that she’s a witch and shifts the blame to Abigail, Abigail will get angry and turn in John Proctor.  If she doesn’t, she dies.

Word Count: 166

Notecards

1. The public's view on banks in America during The Great Depression was mostly negative due to major losses of savings resulting from failure. Because of this, many Americans didn't have the same opinion of bank robbers as they do today. Some even idolized the criminals for being so daring (3).

2. Dillinger and his gang were seen as similar to movie stars. Their robberies often involved action and chases, and they were extremely charismatic and social with the public. The robbers also gave poor Americans entertainment in the Great Depression. In a way, Dillinger helped by getting rid of mortgage records during robberies (3).

3. A major factor in the downfall of banks during the Depression was the failure of major commodity crops such as corn.  These losses lead to drops in agricultural real estate values. During the drop, large banks didn't lose nearly as much as small banks, as many small banks were located in agricultural areas (7).

4. Dillinger's gateway into bank robbery was a grocery store hold-up with a partner.  He couldn't find a job in Indiana, so he needed to find a way to quickly make money.  He was arrested at the scene, confessed and  went to jail for eight and a half years (1).

5. As soon as he got out of prison, Dillinger robbed an Ohio bank and was arrested again shortly after. Two of Dillinger's accomplices came to the jail pretending to take Dillinger back to the Indiana State Jail. While busting Dillinger out, they shot the sheriff, locked up his wife and deputy, and drove away (1).

6.  Melvin Purvis was appointed to capture Dillinger by J. Edgar Hoover, who didn't believe that it was possible to catch Dillinger.  Hoover avoided getting the FBI involved until Dillinger stole the car.  Stealing a car and then driving to another state is a federal crime, so pressure mounted on the FBI to do take action.  Afraid of losing the public's respect, Hoover shifted the blame to Purvis for not pursuing Dillinger (11).

7.  Purvis recieved a tip from one of Dillinger's friends that she would be seeing a movie with Dillinger at the Biograph theater in Chicago on July 22, 1934.  When Dillinger came out of the theater, Purvis and several other agents were waiting for him. Dillinger was shot twice and was killed.  Purvis refused to take any credit for killing Dillinger, and he wouldn't say which of his agents actually fired the shots that killed him. Regardless, he was sent fan mail from Americans all over the country (12).

8. Dillinger's outgoing character even showed in prison, where he made many friends. Dillinger was expected to be a rowdy prisoner who often acts out, but he obeyed rules and didn't cause a lot of trouble. In his time in prison, Dillinger became closest to the group of inmates that chose to be in the life of crime, which contributed to his year-long spree (5).

9. Dillinger and other criminals such as Pretty Boy Floyd and Bonnie and Clyde were so popular to the American people in the Depression that crime magazines were published containing stories about them. These stories were often exaggerated to keep reader numbers up, and subscribers reached millions. The stories of crime gave many Americans entertainment when they needed it most (9)

10.  Dillinger and other gangsters created a lot of trouble for the FBI in the early 30's.  However, the criminals' actions were an advantage to the FBI's growth. The FBI was a newer organization in the 30's; it was a little over 20 years active.  The crimes allowed the FBI to create more of a presence and motivated them to expand (4).

11. Dillinger's actions appealed to the public even on the big screen.  Dillinger's face was shown in cinemas across the country when a newsreel about the search for Dillinger debuted in April of 1934.  When the real showed Dillinger, audiences would cheer and applaud.  Audiences would boo and shout at the clips of FBI agents.  The search for Dillinger in itself had become a live action movie, with the FBI as primary antagonists (6). 

12.  Many of the people who adored Dillinger weren't fully aware of the harm he was causing to other civilians.  He was only reported to have killed one person (a police officer), but those involved in the heists he performed were still terrified.  Dillinger admitted to feeling sorry for the officer's family, but expressed little remorse for the victim, saying, "He stood right in the way and kept throwing slugs at me. What else could I do?" (6).

13. A citizen of Tennessee, Mrs. W. B. Grant, was on of the Americans that spoke out to the government, specifically Eleanor Roosevelt, about John Dillinger's "hero" status.  She claimed that the legal system in the United States was unfair, and John Dillinger should be put on trial.  She had met Dillinger and his crew of robbers, and she said that they weren't bad people.  Grant justified Dillinger's actions by comparing robbers to bankers themselves, saying, "(Bankers) became wealthy by cheating the honest man (2)."

14.  John Dillinger was known for his brave stunts, including the normal civilian life he led.  Dillinger would go on regular outings such as going out to dinner and even attending a Cubs game.  Despite his high notoriety, he wasn't in much danger when he showed his face in public.  At one point, he greeted his lawyer who was talking to a police officer. When he gained more awareness (eventually becoming Public Enemy Number One), he dramcally changed his appearance by getting plastic surgery and sporting a fake mustache (8).

15. As more and more bank robbers were killed, the public started to change their view on the criminals.  Many films and newsreels were created to be more on the side of the FBI.  J. Edgar Hoover played a large role, facilitating pro-FBI propaganda to be put into media. He was originally reluctant to do this, but he decided it was best for the war on crime (9).

16. Near the end of the Depression, almost all civilians had completely switched sides.  Looking back on Dillinger's actions, many people decided that he was a bad man (along with the other robbers). There were still a few people who thought of Dillinger as a hero, but they didn't dominate the media as before.  J. Edgar Hoover had his mind set on the robbers and would talk about them "all the time" during his last few years, according to Will Sullivan, Hoover's assistant director (9).

17. At the Indiana State Archives, Dillinger's fame made his records extremely popular with the public.  Documents about Dillinger became increasingly rare; as people tried to get their hands on them, more and more records disappeared.  Because of this, the documents were moved to confidential areas, and prison records are now only accessible online (10).

18. Dillinger's gang consisted of men that he met in prison: Harry Pierpont, Charles Makley, John Hamilton, Walter Dietrich, and Russell Clark. After Dillinger was released from prison, these men and five others escaped the Indiana State Prison.  Homer Van Meter, one of Dillinger's closest friends, was paroled and joined the gang shortly after (11).

19. Dillinger's robberies were well thought-out and complex. A typical robbery started out with a couple of Dillinger's gang members scouting out their next target and creating a map of the bank's layout.  The gang also had a designated getaway driver, who would learn the escape route and practice it over and over again.  During escapes, the gang would usually throw nails or create diversions with gas tanks to throw their pursuers off track (11).

20. J. Edgar Hoover was the director of the FBI during Dillinger's run of crime.  Hoover was known for collecting information about activist groups, trying to find any way to convict them of any crime.  He used many illegal methods to arrest people, including wire taps and planing evidence (13).

21.  Hoover was intensely against Martin Luther King, Jr. Hoover notoriously called him ""the most dangerous Negro in the future of this nation." He used his illegal investigation methods to find any shred of incriminating evidence to convict King of being a communist. At one point, after failing to release to the public what he thought was proof of King's "criminal" behavior, he sent the recording to King's office, suggesting surrender or suicide (13).

22. Not all of Dillinger's gang was well-liked by the public; Baby-Face Nelson, for example, was more disliked than respected.  Nelson was particularly bloodthirsty, and killed more FBI agents than any other civilian in history. During some robberies, he scream and gun down innocent bystanders (14).

23.  Dillinger and his gang based their robberies heavily on the technique of Herman Lamm, on of the pioneers of large bank robbery. Lamm was a former World War I soldier, so he used military tactics to plan bank raids.  Lamm invented the method of drawing the bank's layout, and would even run through the robberies using actual-sized recreations of their target banks.  After Lamm's death, a member of his gang joined Dillinger in return for his knowledge of the "Lamm Technique" (14).

24. After Dillinger's death, it was widely believed that the man who was killed wasn't actually Dillinger at all.  Dillinger had previously been going by the name "Jimmy Lawrence," who was a less successful criminal at the time.  Lawrence and Dillinger lived near each other, and also eearily resembled each other. When Dillinger was killed, Lawrence coincidentally disappeared (15).

25. This caused much controversy over Dillinger's death.  In addition to Jimmy Lawrence's disappearance, there were several other elements to the victim's false identity.  Upon seeing the body, Dillinger's father said, "That's not my boy," and none of Dillinger's physical identification traits matched the body; his eyes were a different color, the height and weight didn't match, and he didn't even have the same fingerprints.  The FBI shrugged it off as the plastic surgery that Dillinger had received (15).


26. The reason for the dislike of banks in the Great Depression is mostly because of foreclosures on farmland.  When the economy was booming in the 1920s, famers took out many loans on land to be part of the crop industry.  When the Depression hit and land values fell, banks would have to take the assets pledged to them from farmers who took out loans. This made many people lose their homes and many of their belongings (16).

27.  Poverty rates spiked, and no one was spending money which caused many banks to fail.  During the first year of the Depression, over 740 banks failed. By the end of the decade, the number had reached over 9,000 (17).

28.  Melvin Purvis had immense popularity after the attack on Dillinger at the Biograph Theater, and he  came to be known as "the man who got Dillinger".  In the October after Dillinger's death, Purvis shot down another notorious bank robber, Pretty Boy Floyd, in an apple orchard.  After publicly declaring to catch Baby Face Nelson, J. Edgar Hoover took him off the job in fear of becoming less respected than Purvis (18).

29.  Until the mid-1930's, gangster films were generally well-liked and popular among viewers.  These films glorified criminals and depicted them as the heroes, with law enforcement officers as the "evil henchmen." In an effort to lower the respect of gangsters, movies centered around the FBI agents fighting them (19).

30.  Prohibition ended in 1933 and made people start to lose interest in gangster flicks. News articles about John Dillinger and other robbers became more common, which gave many people a new source of "real" entertainment.  In 1934, when the FBI started to bring down more notorious criminals, films such as G-Men (centered around an agent slaughtering hundreds of gangsters) appealed more to audiences, even though the main difference was the sides being switched (19).

31. In his most dangerous and well-known stunt, Dillinger escaped a prison using a wooden gun he had carved in his cell with razorblades and an old washboard.  He took a hostage (a custodian or guard) who proceeded to unlock him and lead him to a car with which he made his escape. It was that car that he drove over state lines that put the FBI on his tail (20).

32.  Dillinger later told his girlfriend at the time, Evelyn Frichette, that he hadn't actually carved the gun.  It was a toy gun made by a German woodsmith that had been smuggled into his cell.  The escape turned out to be a conspiracy involving three different people who were rewarded for helping Dillinger (20).

33. In the Great Depression, many people were against big banks.  These banks had foreclosed on farmers' land to compensate for the money being lost as a result of the stock market crash. Because of this, John Dillinger was seen as a modern-day Robin Hood (1).

34.  The Robin Hood status didn't completely fit his character, as many of the people who idolized him only had heard from him in magazines and newspapers.  Dillinger became a "professional" bank robber purely for the income.  He didn't care about big bank foreclosures as much as many Americans thought he did or wanted him to (30).

35. On July 22nd, 1934, Melvin Purvis and a group of FBI agents ambushed Dillinger outside the Biograph theater. As soon as Dillinger noticed the agents reach for their guns, he sprinted down a nearby alley, but he was quickly shot.  Anna Sage, a Romanian and friend of Dillinger, had faced deportation for prostitution.  She had tipped off the FBI that Dillinger was to go to the theater with her, thinking if she gave them Dillinger she wouldn't be deported. She was deported anyway (8).

Subtopics

1. Bank Failures (1920-1930)

2. The Great Depression

3. John Dillinger

4. Dillinger gang crime

5. Public views

6. FBI views

7. Dillinger's death

"The Crucible" Act I Analysis

A major recurring theme that I noticed while reading The Crucible is fear.  Fear is the basis of all of the accusations made to the “witches”.  The reason the trials are taking place is because the townspeople are afraid of the witches and the Devil.  If someone is scared of something, they are more likely to say irrational things: for example, Goody Putnam mentions that someone saw Betty flying over a barn.  Typically, one would think this to be a ridiculous accusation. However,  with the looming threat of being condemned to hell if seen as an ally to the Devil, the idea is a lot more believable. This shows that the Devil was used as a method of swaying civilians by anyone in power.  More powerful individuals also believed in Lucifer, but they saw it as an opportunity to get people to listen to them, especially in an environment in which that primary belief is also the government.

Word Count: 158

Sources for research paper

1. "FBI — John Dillinger." FBI — Homepage. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/famous-cases/john-dillinger>.
An essay about Dillinger’s career in crime

2. Gorn, Elliott J.. Dillinger's wild ride: the year that made America's public enemy number one. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.
An account of Dillinger’s crime spree from 1933-1934

3. May, Allen, and Marilyn Bardsley. "John Dillinger: Bank Robber or Robin Hood? — Little Bohemia — Crime Library on truTV.com." truTV.com: Not Reality. Actuality.. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/outlaws/dillinger/1.html>.
Biography of Dillinger

4.Nyholm, Christine. "John Dillinger Federal Public Enemy Number One: FBI Calls Year of the Gangster a Crimefighting Turning Point | Suite101.com."Suite101.com. N.p., 12 Mar. 2009. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://suite101.com/article/john-dillinger-public-enemy-number-one-died-1934-a102128>.
A short summary of Dillinger’s crime career

5. Toland, John. The Dillinger days. New York: Random House, 1963. Print.
A biography of Dillinger collected through interviews with individuals connected to him

6. "John Dillinger - Biography on Bio.."Biography CHannel. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2012. <http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/john-dillinger.html>.

7. Walter, J.R.. "Depression-Era Bank Failures: The Great Contagion or the Great Shakeout?." Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Quarterly 91.1 (2005): n. pag. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Web. 28 Sept. 2012

8. Leroux, Charles. "John Dillinger's death - chicagotribune.com." Chicago Tribune: Chicago breaking news, sports, business, entertainment, weather and traffic - chicagotribune.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2012. <http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-chicagodays-johndillinger-story,0,7770658.story>.

9..Silluo, Amy. "The Great Depression & American Attitudes Toward Crime | Suite101." Suite101. N.p., 24 Feb. 2011. Web. 4 Oct. 2012. <http://suite101.com/article/the-great-depression--american-attitudes-toward-crime-a352714>.

10."ICPR: Dillinger Gang." Indiana.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2012. <http://www.in.gov/icpr/2830.htm>.

11."American Experience | Public Enemy #1 | People & Events." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dillinger/pe

12. "Melvin Purvis Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com ."Famous Biographies & TV Shows - Biography.com . N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2012. <http://www.biography.com/people/melvin-purvis-9542100?page=2>.

13. "J. Edgar Hoover Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com ." Famous Biographies & TV Shows - Biography.com . N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. <http://www.biography.com/people/j-edgar-hoover-9343398>. 

14. Fox, Josh. "10 Famous Depression-era Bank Robbers." Top 10 Lists - Listverse. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. <http://listverse.com/2011/08/01/10-famous-depression-era-bank-robbers/>.

15. "John Dillinger - Public Enemy Number One." Legends of America - American History, People, Legends, Old West, Travel Destinations, and Lots More. For the Nostaligic and Historic Minded.. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. <http://www.legendsofamerica.com/20th-johndillinger.html>.

16. "Farmers Faced Foreclosure during the Great Depression." Wessels Living History Farm, Inc.. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/money_09.html>

17. "Bank Failures during the 1930s Great Depression." Wessels Living History Farm, Inc.. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://www.http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/money_09.html

18. Young, William H., and Nancy K. Young.The Great Depression in America: A Cultural Encyclopedia, Volume 1. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., 2007. Print.Young, William H., and Nancy K. Young.The Great Depression in America: A Cultural Encyclopedia, Volume 1. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., 2007. Print.Young, William H., and Nancy K. Young.The Great Depression in America: A Cultural Encyclopedia, Volume 1. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., 2007. Print.

19. Cravens, Hamilton. Great Depression: people and perspectives. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2009. Print.  

20. Matera, Dary. John Dillinger: the life and death of America's first celebrity criminal. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers ;, 2004. Print.  

"Pure Imagination" by Willy Wonka (From Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory)

Come with me
And you'll be
In a world of
Pure imagination
Take a look
And you'll see
Into your imagination

We'll begin
With a spin
Traveling in
The world of my creation
What we'll see
Will defy
Explanation

If you want to view paradise
Simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it
Wanta change the world?
There's nothing
To it

There is no
Life I know
To compare with
Pure imagination
Living there
You'll be free
If you truly wish to be

If you want to view paradise
Simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it
Wanta change the world?
There's nothing
To it

There is no
Life I know
To compare with
Pure imagination
Living there
You'll be free
If you truly

Wish to be

This song is performed when the guests of the chocolate factory enter the Wonka's candy garden . Wonka frequently states, "If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it," showing that he adores the haven he has created.  Everything in the candy garden is edible, and Wonka thinks there is no other place as wonderful in the world.

Communities

Communities I belong to:

1. Phantom Lake YMCA Camp Staff Development Program

2. Gaming community (Xbox Live)

3. Near North Montessori

Phantom Lake:
The camp is located in Mukwonago, Wisconsin. There’s a long, paved driveway leading from the entrance (marked with a brown painted sign) that leads to the check in area, a large field in which tents and tables are set up. Leading away from the field are two paths; one going to the lower camp tents and one leading into The Kettles, the camp forest which also contains another set of tents. Between these two areas is more forest and the Athletic Field, located at the bottom of hills on both sides. Past the lower camp tents is the Alford Lodge, and further is the dining hall.
The waterfront is close behind the dining hall with swimming piers, boats, and a water trampoline. The lodge is an open building with nothing but a piano, a few bookshelves, and a stage.  The dining hall is larger than the lodge and has many tables.

I’m in the Staff Development Program at Phantom, which I was able to partake in when I turned 15. SDPs are basically junior counselors; each counselor has one or two SDPs helping them with their camper group. SDPs also help counselors run the activities. We are assigned to one activity in the morning and one during free time in the afternoon. The SDP program is three years long. First year DPs are CITs, and they only stay for one week; second years are LITs (leader in training) and go for two weeks; third years are ACs (assistant counselor), and stay for three weeks. Every AC has one week of being a counselor in which they are called CACs (counseling ACs). Only a few ACs get selected to be counselors, which is a paying position.

I’ve been going to Phantom Lake for seven years, so it’s become like a separate family. I have met some of my best friends at camp , and I hang out with them the most whenever I’m there. The counselors and staff are also very close to me. I really enjoy the SDP program too, even though I’ve only done one year of it. I also learned a lot of social skills at camp, and I don’t think i would be the same person that I am if I hadn’t attended when I was younger.

Response to ”Letters from an American Farmer”

In ”Letters from an American Farmer”, Crevecoeur describes America as being far better than
his home country of France. He compares immigrants to plants being taken from their own dry soil and being transplanted into fresh, fertile ground to start a new life. He believes that one of the contributors to the ease of prosperity in America is that workers are rewarded for their labor without having to give a portion to a leader of some sort. That a noticeable difference between the modern economical policy and the one in the Post-Revolution era. There was no tax system in the late-1700s because the government did not want to have much of a strong presence. Now that America is large enough to have many programs that require government spending, people who make money have to give an amount to help fund these programs. The separation of church and state (which is still in effect) is also part of Crevecoeur’s praise.

Word Count: 159

Research Paper Preliminary Questions

1. How did John Dillinger's actions affect the population's views on crime?

2. What impact did the Great Chicago Fire make on the city's future?

3. How did the public react to Mary Surratt's conviction?