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Screensize: 640 x 480 800 x 600 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 UserName: Password: Antispam question: How many total fingers does a human have? Answer: Format Mode: Basic  Help  Prompt  Format: Font Andale Mono Arial Arial Black Book Antiqua Century Gothic Comic Sans MS Courier New Georgia Impact Lucida Console Script MT Bold Stencil Tahoma Times New Roman Trebuchet MS Verdana   Size 1 2 3 4 5 6   Color Black Red Yellow Pink Green Orange Purple Blue Beige Brown Teal Navy Maroon LimeGreen Message: * HTML is OFF * Forum Code is ON Smilies [quote][i]Originally posted by Jay[/i] [br]This being my final English essay of the year, I felt that I needed to share it...I'm sort of proud of it. I was fortunate enough this year to have a great English teacher, unlike the evil demon I had last year. Next year will be even better, I think... [i]“Something shot from my dilated nostrils, he has inhaled it in his lungs.”[/i] Captain Ahab---Moby Dick This quote is one of the strangest passages a person can find in Romantic era literature. This quote appeals to me because it is so random and weird. It has an out-of-the-blue feel that I can quickly connect with. This quote makes me laugh because of the image it conjures. I immediately imagine two bearded men surrounded by filthy, rotting sailing men all keenly focused on the conversation. All of the men notice a rather large, yellow-green globule with the consistency of lukewarm Jell-o fire out of Captain Ahab’s dilated nostril. They are paying no attention to the conversation, just this floating mass of mucus as it sails on a crash course towards Starbuck’s face. Suddenly, he inhales the disgusting object- all of the putrid sailors notice, and try desperately not to burst into obnoxious laughter. It reminds me of the times when I talk to someone and notice a little bullet of saliva eject from their seemingly innocent and unaware mouth. Everyone has been in this situation and normally follows the protocol-pretend like it never happened, wipe the spit on the shirt-tail or pants and continue to converse, try to forget the offensive liquid being absorbed into the previously unsoiled fabric. Situations like this always make me laugh and make me realize that we’re all human, and we all do some disgusting things from time to time. When it is not us performing the deed we keep quiet out of respect and, perhaps more realistically, for the sake of humor. This quote brings some entertaining memories to mind, but mostly it speaks to me by reminding me that my mind can help remove me from situations that I would rather not be tangled in by simply seeing the hidden humor in them. These thoughts should be fostered and allowed to grow, because as the only animal on the planet with the capacity for abstract thought we should be using that power as much as possible. Of course, it is obvious that Melville did not intend the image I see to actually happen in the novel, and this is why the quote has such an appeal to me. It provides a break from the monotonous dialogue much in the same way I imagine things to escape from being bored with day-to-day life. It fascinates me how language can be taken so many different ways. This quote is a great example, although it is still unknown why Captain Ahab’s nostrils are dilated. [i]“…And I never started to plow in my life That someone did not stop in the road And take me away to a dance or picnic I ended up with forty acres; I ended up with a broken fiddle- And a broken laugh, and a thousand memories, And not a single regret.” “Fiddler Jones” Edgar Lee Masters [/i] This is one of my favorite passages. I myself foster what some might call an unhealthy obsession with playing music. It is something that has to be experienced to truly understand. For Fiddler Jones in the poem, plowing the field was work that he would rather not do, much like any physical activity other than breathing or playing in instrument is work that I would rather not do. Although he probably felt that he was not respected because what he did was, after all, just rubbing a bunch of wires attached to a box, it was what he felt he needed to do. Earlier in the poem, he says that he hears orchestras in crows and robins, and windmills creaking. Once music becomes a part of someone’s soul, it cannot be removed. Like Fiddler Jones, if I die without accomplishing anything other than producing organized noise, I will not regret it. Music is, for myself and countless others, the best form of self-expression. It is another random thing-it exists for a brief moment and then it is gone. All of one’s random thoughts and feelings can be expressed through music. Creating music allows these feelings to be let out for a brief instant, music does not have to be written down or drawn, it is created, often spontaneously. It has the power to change people’s feelings and moods. This quote is so true to me because it expresses my exact feelings towards making music. Fiddler Jones did not have any regrets when he died because he had so much fun in life and did what he wanted to do, which was fiddle for people and make them feel better for a while. It does not need to be stated that music also provides for the creator. It is a way to express something ambiguously with sound, so that anyone who hears it can scrape their own meaning away. This quote has a strong relation to the first one. The random images and thoughts that a person has can be expressed with music. The human mind is too powerful to go unnoticed, or unexpressed. [i]“To be great is to be misunderstood…” “Self-Reliance,” Ralph Waldo Emerson[/i] This quote means quite a bit to me. I live my life the way I choose, believing what I want to believe. If no one understands, that is his or her problem. I share the same thoughts with Emerson in that every human is individual and should be able to pursue that individuality. This quote doesn’t conjure any images, but it inspires me. My philosophies on life may be viewed as outrageous or just plain weird, but they make perfect sense to me. While Emerson cites famous people that have had an enormous impact on many lives such as Jesus and Newton as “misunderstood,” the quote can be applied to anyone in any place. It is a great piece of advice, and is something that I try my hardest to pass on to others. One thing that angers me is when people try to impress others; people are too concerned with how they appear to others, not only in a physical sense, but also mental. I truly do not care if people understand my thoughts or actions, or if they view me as strange or eccentric. This is why this particular quote speaks to me, it reminds me that I need to find my own truths and follow what I believe. These three quotes are, at first glance, horribly unrelated. It is easy for me to establish a connection between them, but as it is to describe what the quotes mean to me, it is difficult to describe in words. The first quote gives the last two substance. The thoughts we have, whether they are about a specific topic or just random ideas or visions, should be let out somehow. Personal feelings, thoughts, and ideas should be let out, regardless of what others may think or how they react to them. The common thread in all three quotes is the power of being human, and being able to [i]think.[/i] [/quote]   Check here to include your profile signature.