Easy Read
The book that we are reading now in class is much easier than any of the other pieces. I actually found myself reading more than was required because it was so relaxing to reading something that did not take too much thought. I will admit that at some instances I wish the language were a little more difficult because at one or two instances I felt as though I was reading a middle school book.
The one aspect of the book that I love in any authors writing style is when they have scenes that do not seem to be related at all but later you find that the whole story is one big, messy web. Also in this style I have found that some author change chapters with a dramatic change in characters and plot. I have always found that intriguing but what I feel is even more interesting is that this book does not feel as choppy as some others I have read.
In I think the third chapter I was a little confused because it had said that the escape artist had died I thought when he did the escape from underground. But then the boy sees him and he is alive doing shows and escaping from prisons. I have a feeling I missed something or I was just reading it wrong. All I know is, I perceived it as he had died and then was alive. I tried rereading it 4 times and I still could not find what I missed.

Changing My View

This week’s readings I really enjoyed. I had a lot of fun reading about Hank’s adventures to rescue the damsels. I knew that there had to be some catch but I thought that something was going to happen to him; not her turn out to be a little loony.
My views of Hank have definitely changed over these chapters. At first I thought that he would end up a good guy but was motivated by his own thoughts of supremacy. But now, I realized that he does actually care about the people and does have feelings. The main part that changed my views of him was when he was in the castle and freed the men and women that had been trapped in the dungeon of the queen. I thought that she was crazy and cruel for doing what she was doing but as Hank points out, she was brought up that way and does not know any better.
I do not know if I was reading too much into the book but I felt that the whole nature vs. nature could have been a political statement. I could be completely wrong because I never notice those types of influences but I thought that that could be taken that way.
In the end I love this book and I cannot wait to find out what Twain has in store for us.

Blah!

This week’s blog entry is going to be much harder than last weeks but I did not fell inspired by anything in particular. Last weeks left me with thoughts about the equality of society but this week's was not shocking or intriguing. I did not feel any special ties with the selected passages, although I am extremely excited to be reading another Twain’s book.
Twain’s book, Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, has been the most exciting aspect about this English class. I feel that it will end up inspiring me like Huckleberry Fin did on many issues.
The passage we read about the graveyard was a good passage but I did not feel a tie to it like the first few ones. I think this was because I feel connected to Tech because I am living here but I do not feel connected to Georgia because it is not my home state. I cannot say that I felt nothing when I read but I could not stop thinking of other things as I was reading. I thought of the other atrocities that have happened in society that have been hidden away and lost. Even though I feel that this is terrible because people should know what has happened but I did not feel that the way the passage was written would convey the emergency of the situation.

Georgia Tech and the New South Creed

Equality

In the short text, Engineers and the New South Creed, many debates were broken down. Some that puzzled me where the ones on improving the stability of the south, and school vs. shop. I felt while reading this passage that I might have missed a few references because I am from Florida and do not always realize the rivalry between Georgia and Tech. Other than that handicap, I found the passage enlightening and nice to learn some history about Tech and Georgia.
The first topic that aroused some fights inside of me was the emphasis on how the new program was viewed. It was viewed as “an antidote to the rising tide of class antagonism in America. (Hopkins, 182)” This thought process is problematic because it is not helping people but keeping them content. It would only benefited the people who could afford to go to school there and not create equality. The proposal seemed as if it was a description of a Utopia and not of reality. The proof is in the statistics after the first few years of opening; over half of the students were sons of wealthy businessmen. How is this a program that was beneficial to the masses? The answer is, it wasn’t.
The other problem I struggled with was whether Georgia Tech should be shop or school. Thankfully, today it is school but I do not see a problem in shop schools. There are shop schools today who use the knowledge of the students to help pay for the equipment and hardware at the school; such as: cosmetology, and massage therapy schools. I felt that that debate was more of a trial and error, than a definite fact. The history proves that a school was needed even if it did step on the toes of Georgia.
These debates are not answerable. I felt with the hopes of the program that the people really had no vision to “break down the barriers of prejudice.” If they did want to actually accomplish the goal that it would take more than a school. It would take many trials and years. But why would they want to make everyone equal?