Tell Tale Heart

This story was full of confusion.  For me, it didn't make a whole lot of sense at times, but it kept the reader guessing, and it left a lot up to you to figure out on your own.  I noticed a contradiction in the story.  At the beginning he admits that he is very nervous, but then through the ending of the story he wonders about his insanity.  The narrator calls himself a calm man.  That is his defense to insanity.  He is to calm to be mad. This turns out to be a contradiction, because at the end he kills the man because of a constant heartbeat.  The constant noise cracked him, and the so called calm man was seen as a lunatic after this.  In the story there is affection shown from the narrator to the old man, but he still ends up (in my opinion) killing him.  The story shows the difference between the old man, and his evil eye.  This falls in line with some Edgar Allen Poe biography's I read.  They say that he likes to use a mysterious, and unreliable narrator.  The narrator from Tell Tale Heart was absolutely unreliable, insane, and showed only his point of view.

Short Story

It was a saturday morning in the neighboorhood.  The weather was perfect, and the sun was shining bright.  Every kid sitting on those steps knew it was one of the most rewarding saturdays of the year.  It was the first day of summer vacation.  Before noon everyone was already outside, in shorts, flip flops, tank-tops, whatever.  It was summer, and by looking at all of us, anyone could see this.

We weren't bored, but we weren't doing anything.  Just sitting on the steps of Tony's apartment.  Are group spent lots of days on these steps, not bored, but just hanging out.  After about an hour of not doing much someone said...  "baseball?"  We all agreed, and headed down the block to play a game.  It was going good, everyone was enjoying themselves, and then my brother Charlie hit a bomb.  It went over the fence and smashed the glass of our neighboors window.  This is the typical neighboor that all the kids hate.  The type of guy that would give you a toothbrush on haloween.  The same guy who has called police for us playing in the street in front of him.  We were already sure he would be calling the fuzz, so we left quickly, and as we were leaving we saw him starting to chase after us.  We ran back to Tony's steps, scared of this angry King Kong sized man, and just waited, back in the same position we were... To be continued

If I Ruled The World (Imagine That)

Life..... I wonder....
Will it take me under.... I don't know

[Verse One: Nas]

Imagine smoking weed in the streets without cops harassin
Imagine going to court with no trial
Lifestyle cruising blue behind my waters
No welfare supporters more conscious of the way we raise our daughters
Days are shorter, nights are colder
Feeling like life is over, these snakes strike like a cobra
The world's hot my son got not evidently
It's elementary, they want us all gone eventually
Trooping out of state for a plate knowledge
of coke was cooked without the garbage we'd all have the top dollars
Imagine everybody flashin, fashion
Designer clothes, lacing your click up with diamond vogues
Your people holdin dough, no parole
No rubbers, go in raw imagine law with no undercovers
Just some thoughts for the mind
I take a glimpse into time
watch the blimp read "The World Is Mine"

[Chorus: Lauryn Hill, Nas]

If I ruled the world
Imagine that
I'd free all my sons, I love em love em baby
Black diamonds and pearls
Could it be, if you could 
be mine, we'd both shine
If I ruled the world
Still livin for today, in
these last days and times

[Verse Two: Nas]

The way to be, paradise like relaxin black, latino and anglo-saxon
Armani exchange the reins
Cash, Lost Tribe of Shabazz, free at last
Brand new whips to crash then we laugh in the iller path
The Villa house is for the crew, how we do
Trees for breakfast, dime sexes and Benz stretches
So many years of depression make me vision
The better livin, type of place to raise kids in
Open they eyes to the lies history's told foul
But I'm as wise as the old owl, plus the Gold Child
Seeing things like I was controlling, click rollin
Trickin six digits on kicks and still holdin
Trips to Paris, I civilized every savage
Gimme one shot I turn trife life to lavish
Political prisonner set free, stress free 
No work release purple M3's and jet skis 
Feel the wind breeze in West Indies
I make Coretta Scott-King mayor the cities and reverse themes to Willies
It sounds foul but every girl I meet to go downtown
I'd open every cell in Attica send em to Africa

[Chorus: Lauryn Hill, Nas]
You'd love to hear the story how the thugs live in worry
Duck down in car seats, heat's mandatory
Runnin from Jake, gettin chased, hunger for papes
These are the breaks many mistakes go down out of state
Wait, I had to let it marinate we carry weight
Tryin to get laced, flip the ace stack the safe
Millionaire plan to keep the gat with the cop camera
Makin moves in Atlanta, back and forth scrambler
Cause you could have all the chips, be poor or rich
Still nobody want a nigga havin shit
If I ruled the world and everything in it, sky's the limit
I push a Q-45 Infinit
It wouldn't be no such thing as jealousies or B Felonies
Strictly living longevity to the destiny
I thought I'd never see but reality struck
Better find out before your time's out, what the fuck???






Nas was born and raised in Queens Bridge, in Queens NY which is rough to say the least.  What I like about him and this song, is that he tells stories, and adresses problems that he has seen in his life, and everything is real, and it means something to him.  Lots of images are in this song, and I think he tries to show some of the issues he  sees, and are going on around him.  Hypothetically if he ruled the world it would be a better place for him, and people who are close to him, and like him, but not necessarily everyone.  The song works on two levels.  How he hopes life could be in a perfect world, and the reality of this world, and how it isn't fair sometimes.  

On The Reservation

I don't know what to think of when I hear reservation.  Native Americans past has been hidden from me.  I don't know much about their lifestyle, but they lived how humans were intended to live.  Instead of them being forced of of their own land, their way of life should have been embraced.  They were the ones living here in America before anyone else came.  Today Americans aren't living the way we were supposed to.  Our food, clothes, materials, and are general lifestyle is destructive to the human race, and the planet.  On the reservations, Native Americans where one with the land.  They respected it, and used what it offered them.  The world today could use that viewpoint.

Propoganda Today

Today, what really catches my eye is advertisements.  America spends billions of dollars on them, and it's what fuels Americans materialistic lives.  We see them everyday, and they influence are perception, and image of certain brands, and items.  These advertisements are everywhere and seen by everyone, and at times without knowing we buy something because it's engraved into are minds.  A certain type of advertisement I have a problem with is an advertisement where a celebrity is wearing, eating, watching something he/she knows absolutely nothing about.  People buy these things because they ascosiate the product with the face, and right away it influences their opinion.  My example is Tiger Woods.  I am assuming that Tiger Woods doesn't know a whole lot about watches, but he tells people to buy it.

Black Boy

A lot of people say bad things about Richards mother in previous chapters, but I thought she did a good job of raising him given the family's circumstances.  People say that she senselessly beats Richard, does not teach him right and wrong, and isn't there for him.  I can see why people would think this, and sometimes she doesn't always do the best thing for Richard.  She is a single mother for most of Richards life so far, and she doesn't get a whole lot of support from Richards father, or outside of the family.  She works with what she has, and she tries her best to be a mother and a father.  Traditionally fathers are the disciplinaries in the family, but she has to take this role, while being a mom, and supporting the family.  Richard also has to grow up quicker than most kids.  He doesn't go to school, and that is another place where children grow up.  Richard is being raised completely by his mom, without help from others.

Richard Craving Attention?

I do think Richard is looking for attention.  Richard is just doing what young boys do.  Obviously most young boys don't kill cats, or light homes on fire, but young boys do get into trouble.  He is doing a normal thing, just way that is worse than most kids.  Some of the things he does are things that he knows he will get into trouble for, but he doesn't care.  He just does them anyway.  He might be looking for attention becasue he never gets it.  He has a single mom, and a brother, so he won't get as much attention as other kids.  This backfires, because he needs something to do.  He has to occupy his time with something, and he chooses to do the wrong things.