I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died
by Emily Dickinson
"Between the heaves of storms"
"Be witnessed in his power"
"Between the light and me"
"I could not see to see"
"And breaths were gathering sure"

I think that this poem is alright. I don't like how it is talking about death. I think that how the start of a phrase starts at the end of a line is kind of confusing. I am not sure if I really like poems that Emily Dickinson wrote. When you are reading the poem as a whole it isn't very hard, but when you are doing it line by line it gets really choppy. I am not the biggest fan of this poem.

Annabel Lee
by Edgar Allan Poe
"It was many and many a year ago"
"By the name of Annabel Lee"
"In a kingdom by the sea"
"and bore her away from me"
"In her tomb by the sounding sea"

I think that this poem is a lot better than a lot of Poe's' writing. I think that this one isn't as nasty and scary as the other ones even though it is still sad. I think that this poem is one with a message that you can see easily. I also think that this poem flows, even though there is a little force to it. I don't really mind this poem, but still think that it is a good one to read.

Heart, we will forget him
by Emily Dickinson

"You may forget the warmth he gave"
"I will forget the light"
"I may remember him"
"That I my thoughts may dim"
"You and I tonight"

I don't really like this poem. Again, I don't really understand it. I think that it is too short and really needs to be longer. I think that poems have to be long to even have a meaning, well most. I am not always sure if I translate poems the right way and that is why I think I never like them. This isn't my least favorite poem, but isn't even close to the top. If I understood this better I know it would be good.

Give Kids a Chance

by Tim Jordan

"Children are usually the last people we go to when really they should be the first."
"Children really do want to help out."
"All ways stay calm with your children, so you will be able to keep a good relationship."
"Do we become to mad with our children?"
"Children grasp things faster than parents do."

I think that this article is really good. I know that children really do like to help out even though they don't make it look like it. I also think that it is good to have good relationships with your family because it makes the house run better. This article didn't really do good transformations, but it made its point. I wouldn't really recommend this to someone, but do believe that it does have some good concepts in it.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

by Paul E. McGhee

"Laughter is a strong antidote to stress and pain."

"Nothing works as well to bring your body back to a good balance, than a laugh."

"Laughter relaxes the whole body."

"The sound of roaring laughter is far more contagious than any cough."

"This priceless medicine is free."

I think that this article is really true in what it says. We all know that when someone starts to laugh a lot more people join in, and soon everyone is laughing. I think that this was written really well and had good facts to go in it. I think that the writing was easy to read and it flowed really well. I do think that it needed a little more in the article. It was good to see that a lot of people think that laughing is important to our world.

Positive Effects of Music

by Tara Maroney

"Music reduces stress."

"Music is fun."

"Music makes you smarter."

"Music reduces pain."

"Even with all of the physical things music can do for you, it is also for enjoyment.

I really liked this because I really do think that the right music can help you out so much. This article was a little difficult to read for me because it didn't really seem like the words flowed. Even though the words didn't flow, the message that it was saying was one hundered percent true. I know during my day if i listen to different types of music, it helps with certain things. This wasn't that good of writing, but it was a really good message.

Now is the Time

by Thomas S. Monson

"Death eventually comes to all mankind."

"Death is one fact no one can escape nor deny."

"Death comes as an angel of mercy."

"Frequently death comes as an intruder."

"How fragile life, how certain death."

I think that this is a really good article. I think that we all have to remember that one day it will be our time or a loved ones time to go, but that is part of life. It is part of life to die. I think that this is a thing that all teenagers need to remember because it is hard to let someone go. I think that this article was very easy to read. I know that this kind of stuff interest me and that may be the reason, but this is my favorite free topic article.

The Art of Smiling

by Tina Su

"You feel more positive about yourself and the world."

"You will be healthier because smiles make you happy."

"You can make others days better with your smile."

"When you smile others tend to smile also."

"It makes others think positive things about you."

I really liked this because i agree with all of it. I think that smiling is what really makes your days. I know that when people smile and are happy with me I feel a lot happier. I know that when you smile you are happy and that the world looks better. I know when I am around people who smile, I just want to smile. I think that this article is really true.

Peace
by Sara Teasdale
"Peace flows into me"
"It is mine forever more"
"You are my deepening skies"
"My hopes were heaven high"
"Give me your stars to hold"

I didn't really like this one because I didn't really get the meaning of it. I think that it was really short and needed to be longer. It doesn't really flow while you read it. It almost feels like you have to read it over and over to get it. This isn't the worst poem I have ever read, but I didn't really like it.

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"Hardly a man is now alive who remembers that famous day and year."

"One if by land two if by sea"

"Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead"

"creeping along from tent to tent."

"By the trembling ladder, steep and tall."

I really liked this poem because it was easy to memorize. I also liked it because not like others it clicked in my head. I really like this time period in history and so I think that is another reason i really like it. I think that Longfellow made it really easy to go through and read with it making sense. This was my favorite poem that I read this year.

Good books help make a civil society

by Dana Gioia

"I must study politics and war."

"But book reading of any kind is falling as well."

"Young people do not understand the ideals of citizenship... and their appreciation and support of American democracy is limited."

"I sit with Shakespeare and he winces not"

"Indeed, we sometimes underestimate how large a role literature has played in the evolution of our national identity."

I did think that this was a good paper. I think what she said in it was very true and that literature is very important. I think that reading is timeless and would have to disagree with her there. I think that everyone needs to study certain things, and she is right about that. How she would phrase things in this paper made it all flow together. I think that this was important to read at the beginning of the year.

The American Scholar
Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Who can doubt, the poetry will revive and lead in a new age, as the star in the constellation Harp?"
"Here is never a beginning, there is never an end, to the inexplicable continuity of this web of God..."
"As love of the hero corrupts into worship of his statue."
"A fig tree, looking of a fig tree, becometh fruitful."
"Give me insight into to-day, and you may have the antique and future worlds."

I didn't really like this at all. I don't like when people tell us that as the years go on we just keep getting dumber and dumber. I feel that this would have gone on forever. I don't think that I would have even been able to stay awake. I feel like it took forever to get through the pages. The way he wrote this was very confusing. This was the hardest thing that I read during the school year.

The Lost Tools of Learning
by Dorothy Sayers
"However, it is in the highest degree improbable that the reforms I propose will ever be carried into effect."

I didn't really like this essay. I don't like it when people think that we are so dumb. I think that there were some good points to make in this, but the examples were to long. I think a lot of areas were dragged on. There were a lot of parts that could have been taken out and this essay would have been fine. I do believe ways of teaching should be changed over the years because everything else is changing. This was one of my least favorite things we read.

The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
by Lynne Truss
"Which sounds quite interesting until you look inside the paper and discover that the story concerns a quite large mob..."

I think that this essay had both pros and cons to it. I think that it was really hard to read in some parts, but was kind of funny in other parts of it. I really think that it could have been shorter and still have had all of the some things in it. Some of the examples it gave were really good and it showed me a lot. During some of the parts I really think that this lady had too much time on her hands. This wasn't my favorite or even on the list of favorite essays we read during this school year.

The Strenuous Life
by Theodore Roosevelt
"If we stand idly by... then the bolder and stronger will pass us by..."

This was one of the essays I really liked. I liked this one because it told everyone don't waste time. He even says even if you are wealthy don't waste your time. In this essay he told us that we need to work hard so people don't just walk over us or pass us by. I think that this is really good because I feel the same way. I think that everyone needs to work for things they have. I think that this essay really goes to our time period because so many of us do waste our time when we could be doing something really great.

The Scarlet Letter
by Nathanial Hawthorne
"A pure hand needs no glove to cover it."
"One token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another."

"But this had been a sin of passion, not of principal, nor even purpose."

"She had not known the weight until she felt the freedom."

"Ah, but let her cover the mark as she will."

This book was nothing like I have ever read before. I don't think that I really would want to read a book like this again. I didn't like how much sin there was in one book. I don't think that the plot was bad, but i just think that they could have toned the book down just a little. I think the symbolism inside of this novel was very good and really got one thinking. I don't think that the way it was written was very easy to understand. This was my least favorite book we read over this school year.

To Kill a Mockingbird
by Nelle Harper Lee
"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy... but sing their hearts out."

I really liked this novel. I think that it was the happiest one we read this year. I loved how cute Scout was. I also loved how it was written. I wasn't hard to read at all. I really liked the court part. If I were to change one thing about the book it would be that Bob Ewells would loose the trial. I loved how there was like a hidden character in this book. I also think that this character had a very big part in the book. This novel was my favorite of the entire year.

The Fall of the House of Usher
by Edgar Allen Poe

"My brain reeled as I saw the mighty walls rushing asunder- there was a long tumultuous sound like the voice of a thousand waters."

I really didn't like this story because i thought it was kind of creapy. I didn't think that the story line was very good. I don't really like any of Edgar Allen Poe's wrighting because it is too dark for me. I also don't really get why the house fell at the end. I know that it is all symbolism, but I'm not sure if I reallly got that. I think that this story could have improved if it was a little more normal and not so drama was put into it.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
F Scott Fitzgerald
"He and his son were often mistaken for eachother. This often pleased Benjamin"

I really liked this story. I think it was kind of funny and kept me interested the whole time. I really liked how he started old and then became younger and younger. I would find this weird though because I feel like you could tell when you were going to die. I think that if this were to really happen people would be freaked. I loved the relationships in this short story also. This was not my favorite story we read, but it was one that got me thinking about things.

Here We Are
By Dorothy Parker
"Listen," he said."I want to tell you something. When i was standing up there in that old church waiting for you to come up, and i saw those two bridesmaids, I thought to myself, I thought, 'well, I never knew Louise could look like that!' Why, she'd have knocked anybody's eye out."

I really liked this short story. I think one of the main reasons is because it is reallly funny and shows how weird first being married can really be. I loved when they would get into a fight and then be like oh lets never fight again, then the next thing you know is that they were fighting again. I really think that you got to see how easily girls can get mad, and thats what made it half funny. This was my favorite short story we read during the entire year.