Freebie!

Due to the amount of school work and tests I have this week, along with my recent obsession with Grey's Anatomy, I will not be posting a blog!

"The Angel in the House" (CRR)

After reading and analyzing "Professions for Women" by Virginia Woolf, I wanted to further analyze the allusion to the "Angel in the House" and point out how effective and useful it was in helping Woolf relate to other women and how it helped to discuss the obstacles women faced in the work force of that time. Woolf's speech to these women most likely made them feel inspired, motivated, and eager for a change. I know Woolf really spoke to me in this essay. I felt a sense of remorse because of the obstacles the women had to face, but I also felt a sense of strength and power almost because of the allusion of "The Angel in the House." Woolf effectively used this in the beginning of her speech to help further prove her message and relate to the women. She was able to relate because other women were probably having the same troubles as she did with "the angel", but weren't doing anything about it.

"The Angel in the House" is a poem written by Coventry Patmore. In this poem written in the Victorian Age, Patmore describes his wife Emily. He makes her out to be this obedient, pleasing, elegant, and pure woman. Patmore is basically making his wife out to be an "angel of the house". She did what she was supposed to do, nothing more, and he believed that this was how all women should be; he though of his wife as a role model for others. This poem, however, did not receive much attention when it was first published. "The Angel in the House" received most of its attention later into the nineteenth and twentieth centuries when women began to fight and stand up for their rights as individuals. The poem became prominent when women decided to stand up for their equality, and that is why it is so effective in Woolf's speech. Woolf is standing up for the equality of women and wants to see a change in the way women perceive themselves.

In Woolf's speech, she makes the "the angel" out to be a phantom that restrains and limits the woman from not only thinking and imagining scenarios, but also from standing up and doing what they believe in. "The angel" made women feel inferior to men and afraid of doing something that was out of the ordinary for them as women to do. Being "the angel" that Patmore described was difficult for women of later years to do, especially for those who want to make something of themselves by going out and getting a job. Virginia Woolf tried to be the ideal woman. We know this because in her speech she discusses how "the angel" would haunt her and whisper in her ear telling her, "My dear, you are a young woman. You are writing about a book that has been written by a man. Be sympathetic; be tender; flatter; deceive; use all the arts and wiles of our sex. Never let anybody guess that you have a mind of your own. Above all, be pure." Woolf was incapable of being pure. She was born to write and create, and that was what she was going to. Because Woolf was destined to follow her heart, she proceeded to kill the angel. Woolf "turned upon her and caught her by the throat" and did everything to try and kill the angel, while succeeding to do so in the end. Woolf created this allusion to the angel so women would further be able to relate and understand that not everyone is made to be the ideal wife and satisfy the man's every need. In "Professions for Women", Woolf is urging her audience to realize that before the can become anything of themselves they must first confront and kill the demons and phantoms that haunt them. "The angel" is the women's subconscious and the only thing holding women back from creating their own lives are themselves. The Victorian Age of being a perfect wife and catering to the man is the reason for "the angel in the house". Women are so used to tradition and accustomed to acting a certain way that they don't know how to change without causing a disturbance within their home. Women were able to create a life of their own without being pure, charming, and obedient to their husbands and the male race. Woolf paints a picture of "the angel" and how she killed her, and she encourages other women to kill their angel too. By killing their own "angel", the women are finally able to succeed in life.

I feel that this allusion was extremely powerful in helping to convey Woolf's message. The allusion was effective in making the women feel guilty for never standing up and creating something of themselves. Not only could the women have felt guilty, but they could have also felt powerful and strong. The Woolf portrayed "angel" could have encouraged women to get the strength needed and the anger built up to kill "the angel" that is holding them back in their society. "Professions for Women" really stood out to me with the message and the devices Woolf used to convey and encourage other women. I really enjoyed reading this essay and looking at the equality issues women face from a different perspective.

The Evolution of Valentine's Day (SSR)

I bet most of you don't know how Valentine's Day came to be, and to be honest, I didn't either until I found myself looking it up one day. I'm not quite sure how I got to the point of looking it up, but my mind was wandering and it just happened. Through my reading, I found out that Valentine's Day has evolved to be what it is today. It all began around the fifth century and there are many possibilities as to when it began because many different theories exist as to how the day came about.

The legends originated with the Catholic Church because Valentine's Day is named after one of three saints in the church with the name Valentine or Valentinus. In fact, all three of the saints were believed to be martyred, or prosecuted because of their religious or other beliefs. Of the most popular legends that exist, it begins with St. Valentine who was a priest during third century Rome. While he was a priest, Rome was under the rule of Emperor Claudius II. This emperor decided that single men were better soldiers than those who had wives and families were; therefore, because he believed this, he decided to outlaw marriage. Valentine became aware of how cruel this action was and decided to disobey Claudius. As a result, Valentine began performing marriages in secrecy for young lovers; however, Claudius became aware of what Valentine was doing and ordered him to death.

Now, even though that's just one of the few legends that exist regarding the origination of Valentine's Day, it remains the most popular. Valentine's Day today is nothing like that. Well, I can't say nothing because yes, people still elope and get married in secrecy and go against their parents, not necessarily and emperor, but nobody gets put to death and/or told they can't get married for war-like reasons. Today, Valentine's Day is celebrated on February 14th (the day believed to be the death or burial of St. Valentine) in the United States and across the world, although it is not recognized as an actual holiday in other parts of the world. I'm not knowledgeable on how the day is celebrated in other parts of the world; however, I do know what the holiday brings to the U.S..

In the U.S., Valentine's Day is celebrated by people of all ages; the celebrations begin when you're in kindergarten and continue throughout adulthood. As children, we were able to experience the Valentine's Day parties that took place at school. This was the party where we got to burden our parents with having to buy us decorations to put on an old shoe box to shove our valentine's in that we would all just end up throwing out after the party was over. We would wrap our shoe boxes in some aluminum foil or red tissue paper, glue some pipe cleaners on, and stick some Styrofoam hearts on to make it look somewhat presentable. I was never one to go all out on these boxes; however, I do remember a few very elaborate boxes that you just knew the kids mom helped decorate. Whenever my mom tried to help me she would always do it the wrong way, I would get mad, and that would be the end of her helping me. But continuing on, there were more to these parties than just the boxes we made to stick our valentine's in that we received from our classmates; it was playing games, giving and receiving valentine's from your friends, feasting upon conversational hearts, and decorating heart shaped cookies that we would devour in no time. As kids we always wanted the newest, fanciest, and usually the most expensive valentine's to give out to our friends. I know I was guilty of picking out the valentine's that had the best saying on them or the best piece of candy on them and giving those to my friends and the people I liked. Looking back though, I realize I probably wasn't the only one to do that, but it was an immature action on my part. The tradition of Valentine's Day parties lasted all the way up until fifth grade and slowly faded away because we were growing up and the school slowly began to take holiday parties away altogether because they wasted time for educational opportunities. Even though kids today may not get to experience these parties, I'm glad I was able to because they were just something simple that created many memories.

To move on from children, teens and adults celebrate Valentine's Day as well. They don't celebrate by decorating cookies and shoe boxes and handing out Hello Kitty valentines, instead they take it more seriously because they are actually at the age to be experiencing love or to be in love. People today go out of their way to make Valentine's Day extremely special considering it is the holiday of romance love. Adults and teens most commonly buy chocolates and/or flowers for their significant other or the person they are crushing on. Red roses are most commonly associated with this holiday because the color red signifies love, and any kind of chocolate is appropriate to give on this day because who doesn't like chocolate? Another gift given to each other by people of this age are cards. Valentine's Day is the second most popular card giving holiday next to Christmas, of course. On Valentine's Day though, it doesn't take much for someone to do something for someone they love or like. It's as simple as going to the local drug store, picking up a simple card with a sweet saying inside, and buying them a chocolate bar or a bag of Reese Cup hearts. Along with going out and buying gifts, making DIY (Do It Yourself) gifts has become extremely popular amongst people. The amount of gifts that could be handmade is endless and most of them are very clever and sweet. Gifts like these hold more sentimental value and are more likely to last longer than a dozen roses or a chocolate bar.

With all that being said, it is clear that Valentine’s Day is not what it used and the people back then probably never thought it would evolve to be what it is today. It all started with a man marrying two people that were in love with each other, and now includes people of all ages doing many different activities. Yes, people who are in love and people who get married are still associated with the holiday, but today it has evolved to be so much more than that.

The Simplicity of Snow (PB)

Throughout the years of living in Northeast Ohio, one becomes accustomed to the weather that is expected: snow, cold, clouds, and all four seasons in the same day. It is typical for an Ohioan to complain about this weather, but it doesn’t necessarily bother me, especially the snow.

The winter months are my favorite for many reasons: first of all, it’s sweater weather, which is my favorite. The clothing that accompanies winter weather is always cute and cozy and just fitting for what is taking outside. But it’s not just that. It’s enjoying the Christmas season, curling up next to the fireplace, watching Elf on repeat all day, going ice skating with friends, or just something as simple as watching the snow.

The snow fascinates me and I get excited when the weather man from Channel 27 News predicts snow in his forecast. I don't look forward to the snow days, although they are nice and I don't complain when we get one, but instead I just look forward to the beauty of the falling snow. I enjoy seeing it blanket the Earth, allowing for the green grass that is there from March to November to disappear out of my view. The way the sun reflects off the snow and illuminates it in the morning just brings a smile to my face. The way the snow clings to the trees and turns the world we live in into a winter wonderland always makes for a pretty scene, along with the covering of freshly fallen snow. The way this snow looks is powdery, pristine white, and sparkling in a way that it only sparkles when it is fresh. I could go on and on some more about the beauty of snow, but it is time to move on to the main point I am trying to make...

So I guess you can tell that I tend to find myself gazing out the window at the snow more times than I would like to admit based on the previous paragraph, but while doing this, I have come to realize some other things that accompany the beauty of the snow. Even though the size and shape of snow is complex and intricate, and no two snowflakes are the same, it is so simple, so pure, and so clean at the same time. Along with the snow and this time of year being so simple, life seems to be simple, too.

I read a book a couple years ago titled Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares, which by the way is a great book if you’re looking for a cheesy romantic novel with a sort of adventurous plot, and this has come to be one of my favorite books because yes, I’ll admit I’m a hopeless romantic that enjoys those types of stories, but I also enjoyed it because it was set during the winter and Christmas season. The quote, “I love snow for the same reason I love Christmas: It brings people together while time stands still. Cozy couples lazily meandered the streets and children trudged sleds and chased snowballs. No one seemed to be in a rush to experience anything other than the glory of the day, with each other, whenever and however it happened,” is from the book and there is so much truth behind it. Time slows down, work slows down, school slows down, and our activities slow down. We have more time to relax and spend time with the ones we love. Life becomes so much easier when there is now falling around us because there is no pressure to do anything. The snow holds us inside almost as if it has the intentions of slowing us down. This season that brings the snow allows for us to take a step back from our hectic lives and enjoy the simple things that come along with it

The simplicities that accompany the snow affect people of all ages. Younger kids are able to go sledding, have snowball fights, to catch snowflakes on their tongues, and build snowmen. After that they can come inside in their snow pants and winter coat allowing for the snow to melt and drip all over their moms clean floors (my mom never liked this part) and indulge in a cup full of hot chocolate. Teens are able to anticipate the snow day, so they can go out for late night food runs, put off their homework for the second night in a row, and sleep till noon. Adults are able to relax because their children are able to relax. There aren’t too many things to be stressed about during this time of year and we all have the snow to thank for making our lives a little simpler for a few months out of the hectic year.