Letter to Cormac McCarthy

Dear Mr. McCarthy,
I think that your book is an amazing novel.  I think it has a great plot and is fabulously written to match it.  Your novel has a plot that makes people think about things that they would not necessarily want to think about.  For example cannibalism, this is something that in the modern day United States people don't think about because it does not happen.  However the fact that these people are resorting to cannibalism shows the ugly side of human nature.  It shows that humans would be willing to do anything to ensure their own survival.  This is especially well shown when they find the people locked up in the basement because they are being penned up like animals to be slaughtered.  Your novel is also very well written.  This shows in the emotion of the characters.  When you describe their feelings you know exactly how they feel and you almost get those same emotions.  Also you describe everything in such detail you can really see it in your mind. One last thing you mqnged to do is emotionally attach us to the characters we really care what happens to them. Overall I think you have written a great novel and can't wait to find out how it ends.

Hero or Stooge?

I think that John Proctor is both a hero and a stooge depending on where you look at it.  For us looking at him in the 21st century America he is a hero.  He is risking his own life just to stand by his principles.  In modern day society your principles is something that people often use to define you.  This means that our principles and whether or not you stand by them will effect they way you are viewed in the society.  John Proctor has good principles and the fact that no matter what he is standing by them makes him a hero from the view of modern society.
However in the Puritan society of Salem at the time of this play he seems like a stooge.  They seem to think that it is best to just keep their heads down and blame the problems on others or lie to get that lesser sentence of jail time.  This makes his actions that go against the general opinion of how to deal with this situation if it arises.  He would have been looked at as foolish or straight stupid by his fellow puritans.
Whether John Proctor is a hero or a stooge is an idea that changes through time with people in one time period having a totally different opinion then even the next generation.

Sinners in the hands of an angry god

I think that the sermon about sinners in the hands of an angry god is a very interesting.  I think that this piece gives a very good insight of the puritan beliefs and why they are the way they are.  This piece shows that the puritans think very highly of their people.  They say that they are the chosen people.  However they seem to think of this more as a chore then a privilege at some times.  For example they have to behave according to their beliefs all the time or face being destroyed.  They also seem to think that they are responsible for saving the people of the world.  With the floodgates being held back they make it seem like they need to get god to keep his hand there.  I can relate to them in the sense that my religion also believes that we are god’s chosen people.  However my religion is not as strict in its rules.  We also don’t believe that we only get one chance we offer reconciliation.

There goes the neighborhood

            Throughout history we see examples of new cultures coming into foreign lands and interfering with the natives. For example we see the Spanish conquistadors coming to South America and taking advantage of the Aztecs.  Often times the newcomers do not respect the people already there and this causes issues.  This is also apparent with the European colonists when they arrive in North America.  The English colonies were constantly trying to expand into the Native Americans’ lands.  This caused the Native Americans to become angry and try to fight back.  Later in this same conflict the United States government forced the Native American people to leave their lands to go live on the reservations.  The American people thought that they were just entitled to anything that they wanted.  This disrespect of the other cultures around them led to pain and hardships for the Native Americans.  This means that the relationship between the two cultures was destroyed.


                However even though there are plenty of negative examples of cultures mixing in history we can also find working relationships.  For example my neighborhood, Ukrainian Village is a perfect example.  It started out with lots of German immigrants then lots of Polish immigrants came.  This could have caused problems, however at the time many people did not like the immigrants so they banded together to strengthen the community.  Since that time a large amount of Ukrainian immigrants have come to the neighborhood.  For the most part the people in my neighborhood get along very well.  This is a great example of how three different cultures can come together and instead of creating conflicts they all strengthen each other

Introduction

                Hello everyone my name is Christian M. Cattan and I am a freshman at Whitney Young High School.  I live in the Ukrainian Village.  I moved to this area about a year ago from Lincoln Park.  One interesting thing about me is that I was an academic center student or an ackie.  Before I came to Whitney Young for the academic center I was a student at LaSalle Language Academy.

                I have three siblings two brothers and one sister.  My brothers are in the third and fifth grades and currently attend LaSalle Language Academy.  My sister is in seventh grade and has just entered the academic center.  My dad is a vice president for the American Institute of Steel Construction and my mom stays at home.

                All the kids in my family play soccer.  I currently play for the Whitney Young soccer team and my three siblings as well as I during the non-high school season play for Sockers FC a club based in the suburb of Schaumberg.

                Another thing that I enjoy doing is traveling.  I have family all around the world and have been to several countries in Europe.  In the summer of 2007 my aunt got married in Florence, Italy so my family visited France and Italy.  I also was baptized in Paris when I was a baby.