Traveling

Hi, my name is McKenzie Kelly and I am a student at Lenoir-Rhyne University.  I am an exercise science major and I hope to become a physical therapist.  Something that I love to do outside of school is to travel during summer breaks.  I have been to Mexico, Jamaica, and Haiti.  In Mexico, I was able to ride around in a jeep, experience their food and culture, hold different types of parrots,  and also go snorkeling in the ocean.  In Haiti, we got to see some of the things that many people hand make to sell, have cookouts on the beach, and see some different kinds of monkeys that roam free.  In Jamaica I was able to take a tour around the island on a catamaran and see all of the friendly fish in the ocean while snorkeling.  Although I have been to many amazing places, I hope to travel to more in the future.

Mexico

Haiti

Jamaica

It’s a wonderful Town

The play Our Town and the movie It’s a Wonderful Life are related in the way that they reveal their stories of the characters in the small towns.  In the forward of Our Town it is said, “It’s a Wonderful Life actually owes a great deal to Our Town.” (Margulius xi).  The creators of It’s a Wonderful Life got ideas from the play of how they could depict their story through the use of a small town.

Our Town was written earlier as a play to reveal a story of simple towns people who grew up in their small town.  The play revolves around one town and a set group of characters who grew up there.  Because it is such a small town, everyone seems to know everyone and that adds more story to the play.  It’s a Wonderful Life was later written as a movie to portray a similar aspect of a story dealing with typical American life through a small town.  Because the ideas were very similar, although Our Town came first, it was said in the play’s foreward that, “It’s a Wonderful Life actually owes a great deal to Our Town.” (Margulius xi).  Although the movie gained some ideas through the play they were still very different in the story they told.  

Through their simple lives and small towns, both the movie and play showed a well developed story of small town American life.  Although the play and movie had a great deal of things that were alike and different, the creators of Our Town still believe that the writters of It’s a Wonderful Life owe them a lot.

Works Cited:

Margulius, Donald.  Foreward.  Our Town by Thornton Wilder.  Harper Perennial, 2003, pp. xi-xx.

 

Explication

The Devil in The White City, a work of literature about murder, evil, and a fair, reveals the evil plots of a man against his unsuspecting victims.  A quote at the beginning of the book unfolds what Erik Larson’s the story is about.  “It was so easy to disappear, so easy to deny knowledge, so very easy in the smoke and din to mask that something dark had taken root.  This was Chicago, on the eve of the greatest fair in history.” (Larson 12)  This short excerpt reveals information about characters and setting needed for the remainder of the story.  

The unraveling of an evil character begins here.  The reader is given the idea that there will be a character to settle in Chicago with a devious plot that is entirely unknown to the rest of the world.  The excerpt also gives the idea of a setting that appears to be light and happy when in reality, it is unknowingly turning very dark.  The addition of the fair to the story adds a light aspect and provides greater suspense with the unknowing notion of what will happen to the unsuspecting fair goers.  

The explication of this short excerpt from the book reveals the darkness of Erik Larson’s book.  The idea of a devious character is brought up as well as the dark setting.  The excerpt does a great deal for the beginning of the book as it not only draws the reader in with the suspense of that will happen but it also reveals the overall ideas of the story.   The quote, “…Something dark had taken root.  This was Chicago, on the eve of the greatest fair in history.” (Larson 12) reveals the wondrous setting of the fair that will soon become a nightmare.  

“Saints Can Be Hell To Live With”

Creature, by Heidi Schreck is an absorbing play about faith and family.  When Margery Kempe, a young religious woman, claims to have seen visions of both Jesus and the devil, shortly after the birth of her son.  John Kempe, Margery’s husband, becomes very worried for her life and displeased at her ability to put her devotion of God and story of her visions over her family.  While Margery wishes to devote herself and everything she has to God, John only hopes to help Margery and that she will return to their family with a greater effort and appreciation.  “Saints can be hell to live with” (Rachel Saltz) describes the feel of the play.  Although Margery is convinced her actions will result in her becoming a saint, it is difficult for the people around her to watch her go through this with no caution to her own life.

After the birth of Margery’s son, she begins seeing visions of Jesus and the devil.  Her hope is that if she remains completely devoted to God and continues to hear and see him, that she will one day become a saint.  Although Margery continues to tell everyone of her visions, John attempts to convince her to lie and say it was only a dream so her life will be spared.  Endangering her life she becomes closer to God and more distant from her family.  “I am Gods servant!” (59).  Margery wishes to be a servant of God and to wear white to symbolize that, even with it being inappropriate due to her being a wife and a mother, she is still completely devoted to God.  Because of Margery’s love and devotion to God it creates an overall conflict of the play of her life being in danger and her separation from her family.  

John, Margery’s husband, is only hoping to help Margery and safely return her to the family where she would be a devoted wife and mother.  John fears for Margery’s life due to her stories of her visions and her excitement towards the belief of them being true.  John’s conflict throughout the play is that he becomes hurt that his wife is more interested in being a servant of God than a wife to him or a mother to their child.  “I work taking care of my son because my wife is to busy loving God to love her family.” (49).  John is dedicated to their family, even with Margery being absent.  While Margery continues with her love of God and story telling of her visions in hopes to become a saint.  

Although Margery and John are family, throughout the play they each have their wishes which result in extreme conflicts that seem to only escalate instead of resolve, until the end.   Their wishes of becoming a saint and returning to the family result in the conflicts of separation of the family and devastation each time their wish does not happen.  Soon enough the play resolves the conflicts by sparing Margery’s life and returning to John and the baby, where they could once again become a family which would be their main priority.

 

Works Cited:

Shrek, Heidi. Creature. Samuel French, 2011.

Saltz, Rachel.  “Faith and the Tempted Woman of a Certain Age.”  The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com, 5 Nov. 2009, Accessed 18 Sept. 2017.