Journal 31

For my job shadowing I went to Landmark Aviation at Springfield Capital Airport. Landmark Aviation is and F.B.O. which stands for fixed base operation. This means Landmark houses, fuels, and repairs aircraft right on the field. It was and extremely exciting experience. I was also able to take a tour of the control tower. That was     awesome. I had to sign a waiver saying that I would not divulge any information concerning the tower, because it was a Federal building. I was able to see all aspects of the aviation career. I went into the maintenance hanger and was able to work on some of the planes. That was cool because most people do not get to see how a plane really works, they just assume that it flies because of the propeller. There are so many more aspects that go into flying a plane then simply having enough power. I also got to refuel a jet and some smaller aircraft. When fueling the airplanes it is important to make sure that you are putting the right kind of fuel into the plane. There are two types of fuel. There is JetA fuel and there is Avgas100LL. JetA, as you might expect is for jet turbine aircraft. Avgas100LL is for piston powered planes. If you put the wrong fuel into a plane it is extremely dangerous. The plane will run off of the gas that is still in the fuel pump, but once the plane gets in the air the engine will die. I was also able to taxi some of the planes off of the runway. It was difficult to get used to at first, because you steer the rudders with your feet, as well as braking with your feet. I would love to become a pilot. I could definitely see myself doing those jobs. The excitement and danger that comes every day interests me very much. I hope to become a missionary pilot, so this was a great experience for me.

"Chanting the Square Deific"

Walt Whitman is a very accomplished writer who wrote many poems which he compiled into a published work called "Leaves of Grass". In his poem "Chanting the Square Deific" Walt Whitman brings to the reader his beliefs on how his "Self" is made up. Whitman brings up the "Square" or the four parts that make up the "Self". Whitman believes that each of these four components help in making him who he is. He believes that each piece of the "Square" keeps the other in check, and that they are all part of his "Self", they are part of his soul. The four components are the Father, the Son, the Spirit and Satan. The first three are very similar to the Christian belief in the Trinity. The Trinity is a very important aspect of the Christian religion, and shows that Whitman was familiar with the Christian faith. The fourth component, Satan, is not at all related to the Christian beliefs. A Christian should have no desire to have Satan reside in him or imitate him in any way. In Christianity it is important to live a life that is blameless and pure in the sight of God. Whitman may be showing the reader that he is not blameless and he does have faults, but it is not like his personality to be transparent and show his weaknesses.

The first component to Whitman's theory is the Father. In the poem Walt Whitman writes that the Father is, "Out of the old and new, out of the square entirely divine, Solid, four-sided, (all the sides needed,) from this side Jehovah am I,"(Whitman) The Father is old, and yet he is young. He is a divine being. Whitman says, "Jehovah am I"(Whitman). Some people may take this as Whitman being arrogant and cocky, however it is simply Whitman showing his belief in the fact that the Father is part of him. The Father's judgement is final. Whitman writes, "I dispense from this side judgments inexorable without the least remorse.(Whitman) What the Father says is the final word. He is right and just in what he does, and he does not need to change what he has already done. In his idea of "Self" all four aspects made up a certain part of him.

The second part of Whitman's theory is the Son, which once again is very similar to the Christian Trinity. The Son is the savior or the redeemer in his theory. Whitman writes, "Consolator most mild, the promis'd one advancing, With gentle hand extended"(Whitman). The idea of the Son is once again very similar to Jesus Christ of the Christian religion. In the Bible when he is born he is presented the promised one. Christ was the one who came into the world in a peaceful way. Christ also conquered Death in a peaceful way. He did not come in and kill all of the Romans and take over the world. He lived on the Earth and became a sacrifice. The only thing that was violent in his coming was the way he was killed. Whitman says of the Son, " For I am affection, I am the cheer-bringing God, with hope and all-enclosing charity,"(Whitman) For Whitman the Son is the aspect of the "Square" with which he has a relationship. The "cheer-bringing God" would be someone he would much rather have a personal relationship with. The Father is more harsh and final. The Third component is Satan. Satan is described as,

“Comrade of criminals, brother of slaves,

Aloof, dissatisfied, plotting revolt

Crafty, despised, a drudge, ignorant,"(Whitman)

He is the devil after all. What else would be expected from him? Whitman says that, "in the depths of my heart, proud as any,"(Whitman). He also says, “Defiant, I, Satan, still live”(Whitman). Whitman is showing that he knows he has faults as well. If you take his literal meaning when he says that however he is saying that the Devil is inside of him and is part of him. The Father and the Devil can not inhabit the same place, which is contradictory to the Christian faith.

The final part of the Square Deific is the Holy Spirit. Whitman says, “Santa Spirita, breather, life”(Whitman). In the Christian faith the Spirit was the one who dwells in us. The Spirit now becomes our moral compass and is the proof of the Christian faith. This piece of the Square Deific is identical to the Trinity of the Christian faith. Whitman says that the Spirit is him and lives through him, “Life of the great round world, the sun and stars, and of man, I, the general soul,”(Whitman). The Spirit is the example of the new life brought by the Son in a person.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit make up the Trinity. Whitman says that each component makes up a part of him. However in the Christian faith the Spirit resides in the believer, and the Father and Son are awaiting the believer in Heaven. The Trinity is a major part of the Christian faith and was very influential in Whitman’s development to his Square Deific. The Devil and the Trinity can not occupy the same place at once. The Trinity is much too holy to be in the same place. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit make are the three perfect pieces to the Trinity. To Whitman the Father, Son, Spirit, and Satan make up his Square Deific. The Trinity is important, but Whitman was mistaken when he put Satan in the same category.

Emily Dickinson Reflection

Emily Dickinson’s writing style differed from Walt Whitman’s wring style. Dickinson does not write in the free-flowing technique that Whitman does. There is a noticeable rhythm to her writing. She does not have the free verse that Whitman has. In her poem “If you were coming in the Fall” it can be experienced. She writes,

“If you were coming in the Fall,

I’d brush the Summer by

With half a smile, and half a spurn,

As Housewives do, a Fly.”(Dickinson 439)

There is an obvious rhyme scheme and pattern to her writing. She does not have the writing style that is similar to speech. Dickinson is different in the way that she writes. The rhyme scheme of her poem above shows that she was more interested in the listener of the poem, rather then the person reading it. Her cadence makes the lines of her poems flow together so that it is pleasant to listen to. Dickinson’s writing style is a mix between the free-verse of Walt Whitman, and the iambic pentameter style of other poets. Her style is so unique to her. No one else will really ever capture her talent and ability. She is also known for being very short and to the point in her poems. The lines in her stanza above she only uses four lines to open the audience up to the idea of her poem, whereas some poets would draw out this concept for six or seven lines. In a biography of Emily Dickinson it says that she was “Concise” and she used “sparing, chiseled verse”(Glencoe 437). Compared to Whitman’s free-verse writing style there is a very stiff contrast. Whitman is free-flowing and care free. Dickinson is precise and to the point. Her clear-cut and direct writing style is one of the main things that helped set her apart from the rest, making her a legendary poet.

Emily Dickinson is also different in the things that she writes about. The first stanza of her poem dissected roughly translates to, “If you were coming this fall, I would brush it by with half pleasure and half scorn just like housewives do to a fly.” Whitman wrote about the experiences he had when he was younger and had many jobs. He wrote about what he saw, heard and smelled on the streets of Manhattan. Dickinson wrote about things she saw from her window in her home in Amherst, Massachusetts. She wrote about the questions that came to her mind as she sat at her window in her house. Dickinson was known for writing about many of life’s great questions, which was contrary to what the “mainstream” poets were writing about at that time. This is another way that she was set apart from the other poets at that time. She was willing to discuss the things that no one else wanted to talk about at that time. Dickinson only had a handful of her poems published in the time that she was alive. In spite of that fact, she is one of the most familiar poets to the American society. This is because almost all of her poems were published posthumously by Thomas A. Johnson. She has become so well known and so popular because of her nonconformist ways, and the purity and rarity of her poems.

Dickinson, Emily. "If You Were Coming This Fall." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 97-99. Print.

Glencoe. "Before You Read." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 97-99. Print.

Walt Whitman Reflection

Walt Whitman has a very special and unique poetic writing style. In a biography of Whitman in the Glencoe Literature book it says, “Whitman’s poetry was realistic, free-flowing, and shockingly candid.”(Glencoe 408) He was one of the first poets to write in free verse. He did not follow the any certain pentameter, and each poem has its own exclusive cadence. The cadence was similar to regular human speech, not at all like to poems from previous writing styles. The book says, “He was the first poet in English to write extensively in free verse, an open, unregulated form that reflected the cadences of everyday speech.”(Glencoe 408) Walt Whitman’s writing style is reflected will in his poem “I Hear America Singing”

“I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,

Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,

The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,

The mason singing as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,”(Whitman 410)

As you can see there is no distinguishable rhyme scheme. The words are not exactly like someone is speaking them, but the cadence is more the same. Whitman wrote about himself in many of his poems he used his own experiences to manufacture a kind of poetry that celebrated the American spirit. When Whitman was young, he spent his time wandering along the streets of Manhattan.(Glencoe 408) We had many jobs such as: an office boy, a doctor’s assistant, printers assistant and journalist. He with those experiences and from wandering the streets Whitman really captured the American spirit. (Glencoe 408) It is evident that this is the way that Whitman got the idea for the poem “I Hear America Singing”. The way Whitman writes the lines almost the same as someone was saying them to you. He knows the familiar sounds that are incorporated with each laborer’s job. He knows the familiar sound of the mechanics steel tools against the motor, and the sound of the carpenter’s hammer and saw. He makes the reader remember the sound of the mason mixing the mortar, and laying the bricks. Because of Whitman’s unique writing style he is easier to relate to. His easy speech cadence makes it better to listen to, and easier to read. Whitman was a very accomplished writer and poet, but because people saw his work as radical. Whitman was a revolutionary in poetry. No one really read his work when it was first published. Those who read it saw it as offensive and made others upset. They did not like the way that he gave such a personal opinion in his works. The negative critics did not pull him down however. After a few decades people began to realize the impact of his works, and he has become a lasting impact on succeeding writing styles. Whitman’s early publications were so good that Ralph Waldo Emerson took notice of him and that Whitman’s writings were, “the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has contributed yet.”(Glencoe 408) That is saying a lot coming from the most influential and well known writer of the Transcendentalism period.

Glencoe. "Before You Read." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 97-99. Print.

Whitman, Walt. "I Hear America Singing." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 97-99. Print.

Journal 29-Self

Let me start this by saying that I have no idea what is going on. The Transcendentalist self is going to be extremely difficult to define. Who am I? What am I like when no one is looking? I am a quiet person, when I am alone, no one is pressuring me to do anything. At home I feel free. When I am at school I have to act the way people want me to. I act in a way that I will be accepted by others. When I am at home, I am more relaxed. My personality is more laid backed, I like spending time outside where it is quiet and peaceful. It gives me time to reflect on life and evaluate myself. That is what I am doing right now. The Transcendentalist Idea that "all nature, and all people reflect the idea" means that everyone is an individual. They may appear the same on the outside, but on the inside they are all different. For me on the outside I try to be like the other athletes. I try to be athletic, in-shape, "cool" and indifferent about everything else in school. I try to be like them, but I am also different. I am not that different at home as I am at school. At home I am more calm and quiet, but that is about it. At school I try to be a good example of a Christian. I want to make other people wonder why I do not go out and part, or why I do not cuss. I want to show others that I do not have to do those things to feel content or to feel happy. I know that I am accepted for who I am because of Christ. I know that I do not need to do things to be accepted, but it is human nature to try and be accepted. My life at school and how I live is not fake. I do not change myself for people. The reason I am quiet at home is because there are fewer people to talk to. I do change a little bit, but I try not to.

Journal 28

"I heard a Fly buzz- when I died" is a very strange poem. The speaker is talking about what happened after he/she died. This fact and point of view gives a new and different way of reading the poem. Dickinson writes, "I heard a fly buzz-when I died" so it makes the reader think more about what Dickinson was talking about. You never get to hear what death is like from the point of view of the dying person. Then Dickinson writes, "The stillness was around my form Was like the stillness in the air Between the heaves of storm." This gives the image that when she died it was calm except for the occasional sobs from grieving friends and family. "The eyes beside had wrung them dry" shows that the people who were crying, but when it says that they were wrung dry it means that they had finished crying. Then she writes, "And breaths were gathering sure" I believe that it means that the person that was dying was gathering his or her's last breaths. He or she knows that the end is drawing near. "For one last onset, when the King Be witnessed in his power." I am not sure what this is saying, but it could mean that the "King" is calling the dying person home or to heaven. "I willed my keepsakes, signed away, What portion of me I, Could make assignable,—and then, There interposed a fly,". This part of the poem shows that she is giving up all of her material possessions, and was ready to die. "With blue, uncertain, stumbling buzz, Between the light and me; And then the windows failed, and then I could not see to see." These lines are showing that the person was ready to die and was going to have a peaceful death, but then he or she was interrupted by the fly. The person died anyways. Even though she was interrupted by the fly he died anyways and it didn't matter because now he or she is dead.

Journal 27

Emily Dickins0n's poems can be sung to the tune of "Amazing Grace" and "Yellow Rose of Texas". her Poems have rhythmic lines and the reason that they can be sung to several different folk songs was because her rhyme scheme and and story telling can follow a musical beat. Dickinson grew up in a Christian family. Her family was very legalistic about Christian laws and held many Puritan beliefs. "Amazing Grace" is a hymn that is a staple for the Christian religion. The lyrics summarize the belief's of Christianity, and what Jesus did for us. Since she grew up in the church she most likely sang "Amazing Grace" and many other hymns. Because "Amazing Grace" is a base of the Christianity, Dickinson was very much influenced by this song. Most of her poems were published posthumously. I do not think that she wrote these poems to go along with the tune of "Amazing Grace", but the rhythm and beat of the poems were influenced by it. When she was writing the poems she had the tune in her head. Because she had it in her head, the tune most likely helped her with the cadence of the poem. When Dickinson grew up she she started to stray away from the Christian faith however. As she grew up and began writing it appeared that she was beginning to develop here own idea for religion. Her Christianity faith was diminishing, but her the things she had learned when she was young were still sticking with her. Even though her faith had changed, you never forget the things that you learn when you are young. The things that she was taught when she was young still had an influence on her. Because she had strayed from her faith when she grew up and became a writer, I do not believe that it was her intention to writer her poems to the tune of "Amazing Grace", but because she grew up with that tune and rhythm in her head she unintentionally did it.