this is a trial

The Destruction of Man (or the psycho)

Last month James McTeigue made an attempt to bring to life horrifying works of Edgar Allen Poe through his film The Raven. Now, this isn’t a film revue, but an inquiry into my love of Poe. When I watched that movie, I admit, I was disappointed. But it is because of that film that I decided to dig up the ol' Poe collection and bury my head into those pages of wickedness.

Throughout many of Poe’s work, I’ve noticed the reoccurring theme of the destruction of man.

In the “The Tell-Tale Heart”, the nameless narrator claims he’s fully sane. He proves to be the exact opposite of that throughout the remainder of the story. “You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded…”  The reoccurring image of the old man’s wicked eye is the narrator's indicator of his poor mental condition. "I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever." This eye controls him profusely; it gave him a reason to be rid of him altogether. The beating heart of the old man is a symbol of the guilt brought on before and after his murder. Having to listen to the thumping heart, even though no one else but him could hear it, caused his guilt to seep out and brought him to admit to the murder of the old man he so tediously plotted to murder.

Another one of my favorites is “The Black Cat.” This short story conveys the same concept, which is that the narrator at the opening of the play starts off my proclaiming that he too is not mad, saying “Mad indeed would I be to expect it [belief], in a case where my own very senses reject their own evidence. Yet, mad am I not—and very surely do I not dream.” The man telling this story is already conflicted emotionally, being that his only companions are his pets. The two important factors of this story needed to take into account are the narrators alcoholism and the Black Cat that so mischievously haunts him. Like the eye in "The Tell-Tale Heart," the alcohol drunken by the character serves as a catalyst for all the wrong doings done by the narrator, and the Black Cat is the representation of guilt and evil within him. It drives him insane until his ultimate downfall. The cat enrages him to the point of him taking it out on his wife. He kills her and hides her amongst the walls of his own home. His guilt is so strong that he cannot completely hide his suspicious nature and gives away his secret to the police that have come to look for his wife's body. The police storm the wall and dismantle it, discovering the hidden corpse. Upon its head sits the missing cat.

What I find to be quite interesting is that point where the two narrators/characters of these stories need to justify their sanity, when it is blatant enough that they cannot be by the looks of the events unfolded amongst the pages of their gripping stories. Why do you think that Edgar Allen Poe added this detail in?

-Marissa Santos

Graduation Angst

As graduation approaches, so do many other important things. College has been the one thing that has kept most of us busy. Whether it's financial aid, scholarships, or housing, the truth is we are probably all overwhelmed by now. Not to mention the stress we are all feeling this very moment due to our upcoming AP test. What I've been doing to help me study for the test is go over one of the study aids designed for our class. They help tremendously if you take the time to actually work out the tests and study the terms. What I like to do is go over a section that I don't feel very confident in and then after I study it, I'll take a quiz from the book. I have also been taking Mrs. Ross' advice and been going through all the handouts she has given us all year. It's interesting to look at the scores we got in the reading practices she gave us and see what we have improved on. I would strongly recommend everyone to really know all the AP terms or atleast familiarize yourself with them because that is going to be a big part of the test; there are a lot of them so it's best to have them down. In my book, it recommends that you take one full length test a week before the test. We're almost there guys, let's finish strong!

Net Generation Relationships

I wonder what the up and coming generation is going to identify with romantically. Our fast pace culture of vast technology and globalization--of which each generation of phone and music player becomes antediluvian every six months--has affected us in many ways, it's effects permeate through almost every aspect of our lives. One of the implications is that we have an emerging culture of young adults that can contact each other with a mere whim who have an increasingly low capability to delay gratification. This means that peer-pressure can exert itself with a more immense amount of force than ever before. where does this leave conservative and romantic views of chastity and monogamous relationships? The answer is hard to say, but it is clear that these emerging forces are creating a new paradigm of the idea way for the emerging generation to handle themselves concerning their love lifes. With all of this technology young adults have a bigger load of responsibility put upon them. Given this perception, what direction do you guys think we are heading into romantic-wise, and how close does our culture resemble the world state of Brave New World in this sense?

Financial Aid

The most stressful thing when preparing for college is financial aid, well at least for me. I started my long journey with my fasfa form. Although, that went by well its the paper work that I have to file for asu that I struggle with. First because its most of my moms information so its hard for us to find time in between our schedules to just sit down and fill every thing out! But I think when it's all done it will work out for the best.

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Long steps towards college

    College has been a frustrating experience for most of us. Waiting to be admitted, paying enrollment fees, and doing your FASFA are just some obstacles we, as high school seniors have to deal with. My experience has been a long patient one. The first step was getting accepted by the college I wanted to go to, which was ASU. However, having completed my application in early December and being accepted late February was a long painful wait. What would seem like everyday I constantly check my ASU email in order to hear back from them. After a couple months I grow hopeless and started to lose faith. In the end it paid off. The next step was the FASFA, which even more worse than getting accepted. Having to repeatedly tell my mom to file her taxes in order to complete my FASFA was frustrating, she did not get the fact that her not filing soon would affect my future. She finally filed, and I completed my FASFA in late April. Now I am only waiting for my FASFA to be viewed and accepted by ASU, so I can complete the rest of the tasks that I need to do.
           
  -Mario Hernandez

Scholarships and Goodbyes

I have been very busy lately with scolarship essays and recomentations, etc. Mrs. Rivers has been a great help. maybe yo guys can follow up with her if you need advice on what to do with your life, were you want to go, your goals, everything that yo need advice with she'll be there to guide you through. also, you know enrollment fee is about 300? well jobs anyone? because i sure wouldnt be able to manage that on top of everything else! i suggest babysitting or maybe cleaning your neighbors job for a couple bucks, you can also tutor your neighbor (or aunt's) troubled kid for a generous donation( wink wink) :)
I recommend you do something most people feel lazy about doing like cleaning after their dogs or giving them a bath etc. you guys catch my roll? You should also think abut getting a piggy bank in case your tire pops one day on your way to school or in case you NEED a car!
Junk food anyone? cut it out of your diet and see how much money you'll actually save! (trust me, alot!). Back to the money issue, lie to your parents and say the movie tickets increased by a dollar or two, if you go out every weekend then you should see your wallet slowly increase by 2's and if its not, the obviously you are doing something very wrong (lol).
Yes, my post might be a little humerous but take the advice and save up or work for those 300, or 500, or however much it takes for you guys to go to college. its a great opportunity to do it not only for yourselfs but for all the people that immigrate into this country wishing for a better life, do it for them, so that one day, you guys can be great doctors, helping the minority or teachers, educating those who WANT to be educated. Do it for the sake of doing it! Just because you can.
I hope to see all you guys at ASU or something close to that in the fall. I've come to love all of you guys because through these years, we have been like a giant family, helping each other through the path that we have chosen and I really wish the best for all of you, and if for whatever reason, your life is not filled with accomplishment then let it be filled with happines:) (tear).

ps. I know theres still a month of school left, two accodring to darlene (inside joke) but it just so sad sometimes. Sorry you guys :)