What the First Amendment means
Mood:  bright
The first amendment is the right to say, write, feel what ever is on your mind. You can be any religion and give the Government a list of complaints as well. The first amendment can be a little tricky taught. It also gives perverts the right to post Internet porn so little kids can see it with not much else the general public can do about it other then try to block it or cover their eyes like in the essay "Schools Challenge Students' Internet Talk" by Tamar Lewin and also "Is Hate Young and New on the Web?" by Jean Winegardner. It also gives other people such as Larry Flint the opportunity to sell smut magazines with at time brutal scenes of violence and discrimination against women with out being challenged. Larry Flint took his case to court and was found that he was within his first amendment rights to sell such magazines, as stated in the essays "Flint is No Hero" by Gloria Steinem and "Larry Flints Big Makeover" by Ellen Goodmen. Both of the essays expressed their negative views on the film "The People vs. Larry Flint" directed by Milos Forman. The first amendment can either be a blessing or a curse for some people, but for me it means the freedom to think and feel however I wish to without getting in trouble with the law, people however may be a different story. For people too, are allowed to use their freedom of speech to disagree with me and write and think what ever they want about what it is I have to say. Tricky Tricky First Amendment.

The People vs. Larry Flint
Mood:  not sure
The authors of the pieces about the film "The People vs. Larry Flint" directed by Milos Forman and produced by Oliver Strone all seem to have one thing in common, they hate Larry Flint and this movie. Oliver North described Flint as "a drug-abusing panderer of pornography is deposited on the silver screen as the man who saved the Constitution" ( 276). Another upset author by the name of Gloria Steinem writes of the movies dishonesty with some of the layouts shown in Hustler like " images of women being beaten, tortured and raped, women subject to degradations from bestiality to sexual slavery"(274). Ellen Goodman states that "I have long regarded Larry Flint as the curse of the First Amendment"(275). Now it may seem like all of these authors feel the same about Larry Flint and the movie itself, and in some cases thats true. In all of the essays found arguing against the film, some of the arguments are not the same. For example, North is the only author that doesn't really go into Hustler magazine itself, but really just the way the movie was made. Goodman focuses on what is in the magazine now and Steinem argues more about what has been edited out of the movie to make Flint likable. All in all, these authors all hate Larry Flint.

The People vs. Larry Flint
Mood:  not sure
The authors of the pieces about the film "The People vs. Larry Flint" directed by Milos Forman and produced by Oliver Strone all seem to have one thing in common, they hate Larry Flint and this movie. Oliver North described Flint as "a drug-abusing panderer of pornography is deposited on the silver screen as the man who saved the Constitution" ( 276). Another upset author by the name of Gloria Steinem writes of the movies dishonesty with some of the layouts shown in Hustler like " images of women being beaten, tortured and raped, women subject to degradations from bestiality to sexual slavery"(274). Ellen Goodman states that "I have long regarded Larry Flint as the curse of the First Amendment"(275). Now it may seem like all of these authors feel the same about Larry Flint and the movie itself, and in some cases thats true. In all of the essays found arguing against the film, some of the arguments are not the same. For example, North is the only author that doesn't really go into Hustler magazine itself, but really just the way the movie was made. Goodman focuses on what is in the magazine now and Steinem argues more about what has been edited out of the movie to make Flint likable. All in all, these authors all hate Larry Flint.

The Constitution
Mood:  spacey
To me the Constitution means so many different things; It is the most important article ever to be written by the founding fathers for the United States. The Constitution tells the people who is in charge, how they get there, who they are, what they have the right to do and also what they are prohibited from doing. It is what gives this country all the power it now possesses, because we have such a strong system and set of "rules" if you will, to live by. The amendments are by far the most crucial pieces of information written ever, they are the backbone of this nation. Where would the people be without a first amendment- the freedom of speech, religion, and freedom of press. Also amendment 13 the Abolation of Slavery, without it this inhumane process may still be going on today. I'm not saying that the constitution is all powerful and perfect in every way, I know it has many flaws in the system. Still, I would rather have this system then any other I've come into encounter with, ones that are to harsh or lenient, the Constitution protects its people under it, most of the time anyways.

Final thoughts
Mood:  hug me
My final thoughts on this unit is that I always enjoy reading different story's, especially ones about fair away places. I throughly enjoyed the essays about how language is used in different places of the world , like China and Russia. It really showed me how different cultures are and how certain words are used more or have more meanings then others. For instance, in China there are tons of words to describe family, and that you must call family friends "Aunt" or "Uncle" to show respect to them. It opened my eyes to the kind of society we have in the U.S., how many words we have for war and sex and vulgar words to put another person down is countless,it really showed me that there needs to be a change in the way we treat each other and what should be appropriate with one another.Another thing I thought was interesting was the usage of figurative language in some of the essays as well. "Grease Lake" was an excellent example of the proper usage of descriptive language, it was interesting and entertaining because of all the figurative phrases. Reading pieces like "Grease Lake" makes me want to write more decisively to entice the reader and to spice up my piece more. It is twice as interesting with metaphors and paints a better picture for the audience. It was very difficult though to get through all of the readings in class, since all of them were quite long- most worth the read though, but non the less hard to talk about in length with the class. I enjoyed this unit because of all the interesting essays, they weren't just about grammar usage and the proper way to write an essay, but about something different and gripping to read, like the language essays.

Creative Writing
Mood:  loud
Gleaming gold diamonds, like the jewels of the royal family....
Nothing makes my heart flutter like a butterfly more then the precious beauties I see before me..
Impossible to find the perfect fit, like finding a needle in a hay stack...
A look of desperation, will my prayer be answered?
Will my curse be broken, will I finally look normal..
Satin and wondering lace, like a labyrinth of fabric, never ending and always interesting
I wait for my fate to be given to me, the anticipation bubbling inside of me like an erupting soda pop
Finally the Axe has fallen and my fate sealed..
The mystery man returns with my sunken treasure, my holy grail, my cream in my coffee, the apple in of my eye, my perfect match, my perfect fit..
The sparkling champagne of wondrous love that will be consumed by my huge feet, their soul mate has just arrived in the perfect shoe form..
I am whole now, Nirvana has been reached now that I have my brand new portable state of happiness, like a kid in a candy store, I rock my new kicks with style and panache, smiling from ear to ear..
Life is good with my new shoes... oh yeah..

Creative Writing
Mood:  loud
Gleaming gold diamonds, like the jewels of the royal family....
Nothing makes my heart flutter like a butterfly more then the precious beauties I see before me..
Impossible to find the perfect fit, like finding a needle in a hay stack...
A look of desperation, will my prayer be answered?
Will my curse be broken, will I finally look normal..
Satin and wondering lace, like a labyrinth of fabric, never ending and always interesting
I wait for my fate to be given to me, the anticipation bubbling inside of me like an erupting soda pop
Finally the Axe has fallen and my fate sealed..
The mystery man returns with my sunken treasure, my holy grail, my cream in my coffee, the apple in of my eye, my perfect match, my perfect fit..
The sparkling champagne of wondrous love that will be consumed by my huge feet, their soul mate has just arrived in the perfect shoe form..
I am whole now, Nirvana has been reached now that I have my brand new portable state of happiness, like a kid in a candy store, I rock my new kicks with style and panache, smiling from ear to ear..
Life is good with my new shoes... oh yeah..

Voice of the reader Vs. the writer
The voice of a reader is a very complex, inner mind state. When a person is reading a book or note, that person hears their voice, not the person who wrote it. The reader relates to the material through their own mind and imagination- their inner voice. The writer however, hears their voice and emotional standings when writing a piece. A writers words are very personal to them, and they may write a certain way to make it more interesting or to hit a certain audience, but non the less it is their words. In the piece "Amy and Isabelle" by Elizabeth Strout, Isabelle is relating to Hamlet by William Shakespeare, calling Hamlet "mellow-dramatic" and that she did share some of the same view points. Shakespeare probly did not intend on a teenage girl to find Hamlet dramatic at all, but in Isabelle's inner voice, she and Shakespeare did not see eye to eye. Isabelle formed her own opinion about one of the greatest writers of all time,in saying that "men had a lot to learn" when Shakespeare wrote "Frailty, thy name is women!". The two separate voices and not to mention time periods, have a lot to do with writing and reading, today women see Hamlet as a sexist pig, when Shakespeare was writing, men did have the upper hand and were the dominate figure of a household. Reading is a very private act, it allowes a person to be free to let their imagination go with any given words, as well as writing, is allowes a person to be creative and voice their opinion. Knowing these two sides is a very positive way of looking at reading and writing, both sides allow freedom and creativity to come out.