alyssa-a-1908-blog

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This may be completely and utterly obvious, but the word I noticed Poe mention the most was, “I”. Throughout the story, “I” was written 198 times. First, “I” typically means when one is discussing themself. In the case of William Wilson, I took this to mean that he was writing about how Wilson (the narrator) was extremely self-centered, and didn’t take to sharing the spotlight well. Which, we see by the end very clearly how poorly he took to sharing the spotlight. I did enjoy how he wrote it in first person, which made me read it like a journal. I think that makes things a bit easier to understand when reading older texts such as this one. It’s interesting that he uses “I” so many times (much like myself unfortunately), because this goes to show how Wilson cannot stand the other Wilson. He even goes to write how absurd he thinks it is that nobody else notices what Wilson squared is copying him! I all around just enjoy reading Poe, because each of his pieces is really spooky, but this also may go to see what his own self is truly like. That may be the more frightening part of his work..... 

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Tumblr Post #2: The Wonders of the Invisible World

As I was doing the reading for class tomorrow, I came to realize that this is probably the most dramatic piece I have ever read. I have decided to include this page as an example: 

As I read this, my mind was trying to wrap around the fact that people used to be (and probably still are) so devoted to religion that they really felt the need to condemn others if they didn’t line up with what they believed (or in this case, murder them if they’re even suspected of being anything spooky). I also found this page to be hilarious, in all honesty. He is being so dramatic, by writing how the only time they will be free from Satan is when God himself takes them out of the sinful land that which they live on. It made me chuckle how he is just assuming he would make it into Heaven- if there even is one. What really got me was the italics. I know that probably was not how it originally was written, but I still found it funny how emphasized things like: Wild Beast of Hell and fiery darts looked when they were in italics. 

Anywho, I should probably write what the assignment calls for. Three things I noticed being mentioned a lot in this reading was:

1. The Devil: It is easy to notice that the people in this colony don’t mess around with Satan. The Devil is mentioned so many times throughout the reading, and I think this helps readers begin to understand how scared they were, and also how angry they become when someone messes up their worship. I honestly don’t know how to put any of this into more religious terms, since I’ve never been to church. But the way he talks about the Devil reminds me of people who don’t like the Patriots talk about the Pats.

2. Time: Their expiration dates were often mentioned in this reading. I saw that rather than the author be upset when writing about death, he rather rejoices, since this is when he will be united with God. I found it interesting though, how he just assumes he is going to Heaven. I often take old passages such as “The Wonders of the Invisible World” and try to relate it back to modern times, so I can help myself get a better understanding of the reading. With this, however, I think about how nowadays, I feel that people either:

A. don’t believe in any type of religion

or

B. Don’t assume they’re going to heaven

Nobody knows what is going to happen after death, so I found it weird that Mather was kind of boasting about how when God takes him, he will be in Heaven and free from all sin, and demons and such, and how even though time is never promised, we should be grateful for when God takes us. No thank you!!! I would like to live my life!

3. Ghosts (Apparations): I wanted to mention ghosts because there is one section in the reading that discusses how during some of the testimonies, they say how they saw ghosts of two women. This also is leading me to mention that they really were searching for needles in a haystack when trying to convict someone of witchcraft. I say this because in one section, they convict a man for literally only being strong, which makes me upset, because he could have just been super buff. 

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Tumblr Post #1- The disorganization of my Life

The first photo I picked showcases my super messy desk because it is something that occurs far too often in my room (I do clean it about once a week though). This is for “indigenous”, which means, “Produced, growing or occurring natively or naturally in a particular region or environment.” I chose this pic because it is just something that everyone expects when they come to my house, seeing all of the things that compile on my desk from the week. It showcases how my mind is always going a million miles a minute, and that I can never seem to be organized at all, as shown on my desk.

Secondly, I chose a photo of my two housemates and I for “colony” because we have all recently moved out of our hometowns to be living off campus together. I chose this because I thought it was funny to see all of our things on the table, such as laptops, muffins, notebooks. And even more in the background, where all of our personalities are mixed in with the decor. When I think of a colony, I think of those around me who are there for one another, so I thought it would be wrong to not include them in this blog post. I think of colonizing as well, so I thought this photo showcases us settling into our home together. 

Both pictures relate to the other because I am comfortable with both. I am completely comfortable with the messiness of my desk. I am also completely comfortable with my housemates (oh, they consented to being on Tumblr). I wanted to include both of these photos because although I am comfortable with both, my housemates keep me in check in regards to my disorganization, and are able to help me organize my thoughts (and spaces) when I really need help. 

Both of these relate to the realities outside of my own personal realm because of how my own mind is always racing. I think that the messiness of my desk shows that my own mind cannot ever be in one spot, and there is always a million thoughts going on at once. My messy desk shows my inability to focus (no matter how hard I try). My housemates, however, have my back. When I absolutely cannot focus, they are always there and willing to help me. They ground me, and give me outlets to focus. They’ll play music, they’ll talk to me, etc... But it also goes the other way around too. I always have their back, no matter what.