Marjorie Carling

Marjorie Carling comes from a high class family and thus, is well read, however, she is not well knowledgeable. She can remember the information she obtains, yet she can't understand it fully. Marjorie Carling is Walter Bidlake's unhappy mistress. Walter and Marjorie had an affair and she is pregnant with his child. She left her husband, Mr.Carling, due to his perversion, and now she lives with Walter. She acts like a nagging wife to Walter and as a result Walter treats her with cruelty. She justifies the way he treats her and meanwhile is having difficulty reconciling the needs of her body and her soul. When Walter stops loving her, she is left in her mourning, alone. It is funny how she left Carling for Walter and now Walter is leaving her. She obsesses over Walter by reading over his old love letters to her. This represents the idea that you want what you can't have.

"Marjorie took out a handkerchief and began to wipe her eyes. He felt ashamed of his odious thoughts. But she was the cause of his shame; it was her fault. She ought to have stuck to her husband." page 4.

Before this point, Marjorie's philosophy of living in the moment has failed her. She had an affair, and now she is being left. Now, rather than moving on, she is obsessing over the past.

Identifying a 'self'

as you read this week, ponder the following question and be able to answer it at the completion of the book -- given the existential idea of Existence precedes Essence, at what point in the book does Mersault finally make a choice that would give his existence essence? In other words, at what point does he finally become a person, an identity, a 'self'? Discuss.

Mersault finally becomes a person when he is sentenced to death. He begins to contemplate his importance in relation to the world around him in a broader sense. He identifies that nobody's life effects the world. We first see joy in Mersault when he thinks about how everyone eventually dies and that death is the only way to reach freedom. Mersault finds comfort in death because it is the only certain occurrence in life. While he is waiting for his execution, he has nothing to "play" with except for his own thoughts. He has no choice but to think about himself and thus, he conceptualizes that death is inevitable. Mersault comes to peace with his approaching death and grasps that he is an enemy to society. Therefore, he is ultimately identifying a self.

Song of Myself VI

VI

Or I guess if is the handkerchief of the Lord,

A scented gift and remembrancer designedly dropt,

Bearing the owner’s name someway in the corners, that we

     may see and remark, and say Whose?

Or I guess the grass is itself a child, the produced babe of 

     the vegetation.

1.This poem suggests that the poet is religious because he refers to grass as something God left behind for people to remember him by. It also suggests he believes that no one really dies and that he wishes he could translate what dead people were saying through the grass. He respects the grass because it comes from those who have died.

2.This poem portrays that America has a hopeful nature through the symbol of grass. Through his idea that no one really dies, makes it known how everyone matters and makes an impact on the world forever. It also could be saying that grass represents tongues of dead people.

3. It makes us, as individuals, feel hopeful by demonstrating an underlying message that no one really dies and death isn't as bad as it seems. It also symbolizes the importance of each individual because no one really dies.

4. The way he describes the connection between Man and nature(grass) is to use it as a symbol of the continuity of the inherent life-death cycle. "all goes onward and outward.." It also shows how grass grows everywhere no matter what just like people are born and die no matter what.

Who I am.

I was the kid who was extremely attached to their parents. It got to the point where I could not go to school without crying because I missed my mom too much. With this constant fear of the separation from my parents, I was isolated from my environment and friends. I couldn’t have sleepovers or even go to summer camps. This fear led to many others, making me prominently hesitant to try new things and profoundly anxious, and perpetually had me running from my problems. When I finally outgrew these impediments, I was able to become closer to my friends and found myself becoming less reliant on my parents. This struggle in my life has ultimately made me who I am. It has enabled me to overcome many fears I continue to find within myself. I now understand that being afraid of things is what prohibits me from living my life and results in missed opportunities.

Out of the Silent Planet seminar

In the socratic seminar, they discussed the hross' hunt for the beast and how they value it as their enemy. This highlights C.S. Lewis' idea of the fialure of man because we don't respect or apreciate the contrasts in life like we should. Without negative occurrences in life, there wouldn’t be positive occurrences in life. The beast provides this contrast to the hrossa. Through the hross’ ability to coexist with others illuminates how Man fails at coexisting and working well together. As humans we like to think of happiness and perfection as goals in life, we forget that the obstacles and struggles we face are what allow there to even be happiness.

Marcus Aurelius Quote

"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not a truth." -Marcus Aurelius.
An opinion is a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge. As a human you can not avoid bias and no matter how hard you might try you can not avoid even your own bias. 

Personal Statement

I am an athlete, student, teammate, friend, and a supporter. Through these roles I have taken, I have discovered what role I want to take in my life. On the court, I have learned how much hard work pays off. I have learned that how I act directly affects those around me. Everything in life is based on the mind. If you want to play well, then you are the one who controls it. These lessons and qualities I have learned and accumulate from the volleyball court have transferred over to my life in the real world.
As a child, I was very cautious of my surroundings as well as my actions. I was constantly fearing making mistakes, which ultimately prohibited my growth in all areas. My anxiety did not stop there, I was also unable to be separated from my mom. Although at first I thought that this side of me was hindering me, I now have come to the realization that from this fear/flaw I have learned how not to live my life. I learned from this mistake and now I make sure that I remember that fear only blocks you from becoming who you are meant to be and doing what you are supposed to do.
My life as a student athlete has shaped me into a success-seeking person. After all, "winning is not everything, but wanting to win is." -Vince Lombardi.