Sonnet: Day and Night

Sonnet

Day and Night

By: Andie Kohrs

Leaves are falling as the transition is ending.

Warm breezy days turn to cold bitter nights.

Upon the trees, no bird songs are ringing 

Sunset has fadeth, leaving the stars to nourish light.

Twlight of the morning bringeth no mournful dark

With ease comes the light, stronger than the wind

Which growls heavily like a large dog bark.

The dark is withheld so thou day moves with bend. 

That glowing in the distance is perceivest by the fire.

Fields grow tired of thee ashes trickling down.

Flames die slow waiting for our lives to expire

Thoughts are swimming in our mind almost to drown. 

Winter’s round may end today,

But is only as long as day and night delay. 

Frankenstein: Humanity

This is a revision of this blog: http://andiekohrsaplit.blogspot.com/2012/10/frankenstein-humanity-of-creature.html


Up to the point we have read in the novel, I've noticed that Victor fails to notice the humanity of his creation. When creating the monster, he took little thought of the outcome of the human nature laws. We are still being forced to call him "monster" for lack of a better name. However, the creation is in many ways not a monster, but human. We can assume that the creation possesses some human DNA, because he is constructed of human parts. Although a body does not necessarily make a human. A body is a body, but nothing else until human factors are placed. Language is one the most important factors to making a human.  Animals do have the ability to communicate, but only humans have developed oral communication. The creation does have the ability to create thoughts, and speak them, which is proving his human characteristic. If it wasn't for his appearance scaring away potential socialization, he would be able to communicate with other humans.
Thought is the next biggest attribute to human. The ability to think, form intelligent ideas and problem solving are crucial to humanity. The creation is able to think through problems and solve them. He understands the ideas of justice, alienation, and rights. Although his rationality fails at times, and he does not choose the right way to solve things, his thought process allows him to produce human ideas. 
Lastly, I believe our emotions make humanity. The creation feels sadness for the cottagers, and also excitement for the cottagers when Safie comes home. The creation expresses the emotion he is feeling to Victor about his loneliness, and the pain he his suffering. 

We can gather from the novel that a body is not a human nor a monster. A human is only something that produces human capabilities. And from the beginning, Victor judges the creation as a monster, even though it is Victors own fault. The  human processes the creation does allow us understand the essentials it takes to being a human, and that the monster should not have been automatically given the name monster when in several ways he is a human. 

Never Forget. Poem by Andie Kohrs

Never Forget. RIP Uncle Buddy, October 13, 2012. 

The disease has attacked

and is forcing you to quit

To shut down your body

and take no more hits

The four-wheeler you taught me

to shooting a gun

You’ve been there for me

since my very first breath

You’re more than family

you’re forever my friend

Although you are gone

you’re always still here

You have fought the cancer

for so long and hard

You’re too strong to give up

I beg just a few moments more

I love you and miss you

I wish you were here

The memories will stay 

As I will never forget

Frankenstein: Humanity of the Creature

Up to the point we have read in the novel, I feel that Victor fails to notice the humanity of his creature. We are still being forced to call him "monster" for lack of a better name. But in fact, Frankenstein is in many ways human. We can assume that Frankenstein (the monster) possesses some human DNA, because he is constructed of human parts. Then again, a body does not necessarily make a human.
I would have to say that language is a big part of what makes a human. Animals do have the ability to communicate, but only humans have developed oral communication. The monsters ability to create thoughts, and speak them, makes him human. If it wasn't for his appearance, he would be able to communicate with other humans.
The next attribute I believe that makes a human, is thought. Such as the ability to think, and form intelligent ideas and problem solving. The monster is able to think through problems and solve them. He understands the ideas of justice, alienation, and rights. Although is rationality fails at times, and he does not choose the right way to solve things, his thought process makes him very human.
Lastly, I believe our emotions make humanity. He is able to feel sadness for the cottagers, and also excitement for the cottagers when Safie comes home. Frankenstein also expresses his emotion to Victor about his loneliness, and the pain he suffers.
While several readers may not believe that the monster is human, I think that he possesses several human qualities even if he fails at times.

Frankenstein: Responsibilities.

       I wanted to talk about the responsibilities that Victor held as the creator, and want to challenge why Victor abandoned his creation. I personally believe that Victor was very selfish when making his creation. Victor is was very ambitious and obsessive with his work. Eventually, it pushed his experiment too far.  Victor's creation is often seen as a villain, and evil. But I think that Victor Frankenstein should've taken responsibility for the crime's his monster created because he was indeed the creator.  This really shows Victor's selfishness when he shows no regard for others, and takes no responsibility for a monumental action. Victor said, "I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart." (Shelley, 51)
       Frankenstein is frequently misunderstood and a lonely character, who was abandoned by his creator. His creator is the closest thing to a father figure, but is no longer there for him. Sadly, he is not accepted by society due to his terrifying appearance. He is being a book judged by his cover. Victor has a parental duty to nurture his baby, and he fails at doing so. The creature is only made of fragmented pieces, and his heart is made of fragmented pieces as well. 
       I find it so heartbreaking that Victor could not own up to his creation. It would be like a mother abandoning her baby on the streets after giving it birth. It is illegal and looked down upon by society, which I think should've cause more emphasis to be put on the fact that Victor abandoned his creation at birth. 

Jantsen's Gift

       This summer I had the chance to read a book called, "Jantsen's Gift" by Pam Cope. It is a true story about a mother who looses her son, Jantsen, in a freak accident when he was about thirteen years old. For several years after Jantsen's death, she struggled to live with the loss, and becomes severely depressed. After slowly recovering from Jantsen's death, she soon becomes involved with her friends orphanage in Vietnam. After visiting the orphanage in Vietnam, her life totally begins to change. She knows she was called to Vietnam and to help rescue one child at a time off the streets. It didn't take long for her to rescue more than two hundred children in Vietnam. She even adopts one baby boy of her own. 

  After a New York Times article about slavery in Ghana, Pam then begins to intervene into the orphanage system in Ghana. She takes several trips to Ghana over the course of a few years, slowly removing kids from the streets and the slavery system, and putting them into orphanages. She begins a series of orphanages, starting with the Village of Life in Vietnam, and next the Village of Hope in Ghana. Pam and family downsize homes and make several lifestyle changes in order to pay for the homes in Vietnam and Ghana. It becomes a full time job for Pam and her family, and even today they work on the Villages, hoping to build them stronger everyday. 

This book really hit home for me, and helped me want to make a difference in the world. I was extremely moved and have set up a time to meet with the author of this book due to her being a friend of a friend. One of my families closest family friends, Jan, has organized for another home to be added on at the Village of Life. Our friend Jan lost her baby at only a few months old, and Jan's family has decided to make the new home in Ghana in honor of her son. 

I HIGHLY recommend reading this book. I believe it caters to all ages, and both male and female. You will be extremely moved, and called to make a difference in lives all across the world. Pam Cope is a wonderful author, and after suffering such an extreme loss in her life, is able to write such an incredible story about grief, and rescue.