Poe

Edgar Allan Poe had a very hard life, and it showed through in his writing. His mother died when he was very young, and his father left his family. His foster mother died, he was estranged from his foster father, and both of his wives died. He dropped out of college, enlisted in the military, and then dropped out again, this time discharged after finding someone to take his place. The many dark happenings in his life sent him into a deep depression, making him withdrawn and angry. He vented his feelings in many of his works, including the Raven, which was written about after the time that his mother died. Many of his works include death and madness of his characters, which is reflected through how he viewed his own life. Lastly, his stepfather kept his stepmothers death a secret from him. Poe was outraged, and you can see how this affected him as many of his stories deal with secrets and betrayal, usually leading up to the death of one of the characters.

Luke Mallette

Modern Slavery

The topic of the next blog that we have to do for this class is modern slavery. When he says this Im just going to assume that he means in america, so I am going to say that slavery today would be the way that we treat the illegal aliens that immigrate here from mexico. This is because they work for almost no pay, which is as close to barely being able to survive on as their bosses can get. Another way would be that they are treated like slaves in the way that they are treated by their bosses. They are treated like crap and worked to exhaustion because their bosses, much like slave masters, believe that it would just be cheaper to replace them than to take care of them. Another reason is in there living conditions. They are often crowded in less than standard living conditions, with whole extended families living in one apartment. They often have to make not enough food last for a while, and they are hunted down like criminals, though instead of this being for leaving like it was with slaves, it is now for trying to get into the country. Lastly, they are treated like second class citizens, just like the slaves were.

What is an American?

What is an american? It is a question that many have asked, but there is much more to that question than that. Its not someone who is indigenous to america, as there is no one who really is. The closest that you could get to that would be the early native americans, but not even they started out here. Personally, I believe that any person that you ask would have a different opinion on what makes an american an american. Many people however, would have a couple of basic points the same. An american is hardworking. An american never gives up, no matter how hopeless a situation is. An american takes care of his family and makes sure that they stick together. And an american, no matter what, does whatever it takes to achieve success in what he wants most and fights injustice whenever it may appear. It sounds great, but if you think about it, that fits another group that wants to live in america but is currently being persecuted every time that they try to enter. That group is the illegal immigrants. They are hardworking, taking jobs that no one else wants for little pay. They never give up, doing whatever it takes to make it into the country, going to extreme lengths to gain entry. They take care of their family, keeping together everyone, no matter how hard it is. And no matter what, they will fight for their right to be in this country until the day that they die. So if thats what it means to be an american, than either change that definition or let them into the country.