What Makes a Novel "a classic"?

A classic is a novel that has been discussed thoroughly, is controversial, contains complex literary devices, has a moral, and contains well developed themes that can be identified throughout the piece.

All great classics have some kind of controversial aspect to them that sparks discussion and arguments between literary analysts.  The controversies are usually the result of different interpretations or arguments over whether the novel is appropriate or insulting.

Another aspect is whether the novel uses literary devices, especially complex metaphors and visual descriptions. 

Comments to others on wuthering heights

kle-

I feel like the reason people grow apart is because as they get older they are influenced by all different kinds of activities, interests, classes, and genres. Due to the differences in interests, everyone starts to go choose their own path. Metaphorically a friendship is exactly that, a path or road that two friends travel on. When the two friends reach a fork in that road and choose opposite paths, try as they might it is impossible to keep their friendship burning strong. After awhile, the two friends are separated by miles of houses and woods and the flame that is their friendship blows out like a candle in the wind.

MDeco-

Mike,

Good job bro. I like your second paragraph a lot. You're getting good at these blogs lol (naa just kidding they suck compared to mine). I liked your bit on the nature of humans. It's a good point that humans are greedy. We tend to want more and more even though many of the richest people in the world have claimed that they have a void that they cannot fill even with their pockets stuffed with cash.

Love, 
Pans

Jenny the Penny-

Ok call me insecure but I would NEVER want to marry a women who's income was greater than mine. That would totally screw with the balance of things. A man is supposed to be the one carrying the family. If my wife was making more money than me I'd probably just buy myself an apron, chill at home, and call it a life. Ok so that was a little sexist but it's funny so i'm leaving it there, however that doesn't change my position on this matter. I would feel like less of a man if my wife was raking in the dough and I was at home baking it. LOLOLOLOL that one was funny to. It's a pun get it.

Adopted Children and Revenge

I can say first hand that the statement, "an adopted or foster child will never be accepted as a 'real' member of a family," is a falsehood. My Aunt and Uncle adopted my cousin Gabriella about 6 years ago and she is treated with as much if not more love compared to other child. I myself am always excited when she visits because she looks up to me like any younger cousin would. I feel absolutely no different about Gabriella than I do my other cousin Luca who was birthed by my Aunt Sylvia. I love them both equally because to me they're just my cousins and nothing, especially not direct relationship, is going to change that. 

 "Revenge is justified when someone beats you or insults you on a daily basis." No one truly believes that this statement is morally truthful. However, most people live their life by it without thinking twice about whether it's right. Personally, i don't really care if it's right. If someone is giving me a problem everyday of my life, I'm gonna make sure he gets his regardless of whether I know I'm just doing it to raise my own self esteem. Revenge is the sweetest poison because although you're getting the initial happy confidence, if it becomes frequent you could become just as bad as the perpetrator. 

The Role of Diversity (#4) and What I've Learned From Icarus (#5)

The Role of Diversity (#4)

http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2008/0520_islam_kremer.aspx

Diversity is what makes the world an interesting place to live. Both physically and mentally, everyone is different; no two people are exactly the same. Most religions encourage diversity in their communities. They believe that if a person of one race learns to understand the ideas, culture, and background of another, there will be peace between them. As long as two people can get past their differences and learn to find what they have in common then it will be easy for those people to become friends. 

This concept is proven by Malcolm X when he arrives on the plane to Mecca where he will complete his Hajj. As he is boarding he looks around and exclaims, "Packed in the plane were white, black, brown, red, and yellow people, blue eyes and blond hair, and my kinky red hair-- all together, brothers! All honoring the same God Allah, all in turn giving equal honor to each other" (Haley 330). 

Religion isn't the only thing that people of different races or ethnicities can share. As a high school student, the exchanges and friendships that I have with classmates of different races and ethnicities aren't based on spiritual ideas. As a part of the student tech team at my high school I have developed friendships with indian students through the experience of learning about technology and how it can be incorporated into our school system. We work together as a team and we help each other when we have problems. 

What I've Learned From Icarus (#5)

http://www.hse.k12.in.us/staff/DBROVIAK/Page%20files/Mythology/Stories/Icarus.htm

The story of Icarus caught my attention while I was reading through Malcolm X. Usually, in mythical tales similar to this one, the lesson is clear and easily identified. After reading the story, I realized that the moral was really more of a warning and there were two ways of interpreting it.

Icarus was warned by his father not to fly to low for fear that the fogs of the earth would weigh him down and not to fly to high because the sun would melt his wings. Icarus of course let this warning slip in through one ear and out the other. The lesson here: Always heed the wisdom of your elders. 

As Icarus flies from Crete and the evil King Minos, he is overcome with joy. He feels invincible as if nothing can stop him. While flying, he notices the seagulls flying closer and closer to the sun. He decides that if the gulls can do it, so can he. This of course is his downfall. Before long the sun melts away the feathers from his wings and he falls to his death. The lesson here: Know your limitations. 

The first lesson is a valuable one and it has been proven true in my life. When I was about eight I was at the beach with my family and like any 8 year old kid, was impatient to get into the water. As my dad set up our spot, I grew more and more impatient. Watching him dig the hole for the umbrella was worse than watching the news (at the time I was 8 and all I could sit through was spongebob).  So I announced, "I'm going in the water this is taking to long." 

Without turning around my Dad said, "No, you'll wait here until I finish and then I'll come in with you. It's high tide and your strong enough to fight a rip tide God forbid you got caught in one."

Like Icarus, I disregarded this warning. I grabbed my body board and tapped my sister on the shoulder, inviting her to come with me. As we ran off my dad turned around, noticed where we were headed, and shouted, "Okay, but I'm not coming in to save you!" 

He was of course kidding but either way I didn't care. I was a great swimmer. Unfortunately, there's a difference between being a great swimmer in a pool compared to the ocean. 

So me and my sister dived into the water with our boards, alined ourselves with the current, and rode a few waves feeling the rush of adrenaline as we sped towards the shore. Tired, we laid on our boards and talked. Every once in a while my sister would get off her board and tell me that she couldn't stand, just to freak me out. Of course I knew she was bluffing. To prove it I'd slide into the water and my feet would meet the ground easily. I guess we were too distracted by our game to realize that we were being pulled out to sea by a rip tide. My sister laughed and jumped off her board into the water. She looks at me wide eyed and says, "Mike, I can't stand."

I smirk and she knows what I'm thinking as she struggles to get back on her board. "No Mike for real!"

I slid off into the water and didn't expect to keep going down. My feet didn't hit the bottom for a solid three seconds. Realizing what happened, I flailed my arms and legs swimming to the surface. When I came up I was in a panic and couldn't think straight. I tried grabbing onto my board but I couldn't find it. The salt water was stinging my eyes and I was swallowing gulps of salt water. My sister was calling to my dad from her board

My dad ran into the water diving in after us. It wasn't long before he had me back on my board and was pulling me towards the shore. 

Sometimes it takes a life or death situation to knock some sense into you. Fortunately, unlike Icarus, I was lucky enough to have my dad there to save me. From that day forth whenever my Dad warned me about something, I took it a little more seriously.

"The Road Not Taken" Written by Robert Frost (#3)

"The Road Not Taken"

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

"The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost is one of the most famous and inspirational poems ever written. There are two ways that a person can interpret this poem. 

The first is that the speaker, faced with the decision to choose between road X and road Y, chose the one less traveled by. (hahaha i'm a poet and I didn't even know it). The message in this "hallmark" version is that although it may be more difficult, forge your own path in life instead of following in someone else's footsteps. 

The second interpretation is rather blunt. However, it can be good advice for those who are indecisive or dwell on the past. The speaker explains that the paths looked similar and would ultimately lead to the same place. However he makes the decision to take the second path. This symbolizes that we do have a destiny but we decide the road we take to get there. Towards the end the speaker explains that he can go back another day and take the other path but that he probably won't. The moral is that once you make a decision, you must live with the consequences and events caused by your choice. 

Both of these expositions can be compared to Malcolm X's life. He made it his priority to take the road less traveled after his arrest in 1946. Instead of rolling over and living life in the prison system like an average inmate, he began frequently visiting the prison library and reading as much as he possibly could. He educated himself to become one of the most influential people of our time. Malcolm didn't care about the situation he was in. There wasn't a way to turn back time or retreat into the past. There was only the future. The path malcolm chose was a narrow, rocky one. Headstrong, Malcolm found where the yellow wood opened out into a bright green valley. There the light from the sun illuminated his destiny. He stuck to his path not without regrets but without second guessing his decisions or stopping himself from becoming great.

In my own life I often come to a fork in the road; a time where I have to make a decision and a time where I struggle to choose a path. My most recent experience in this realm was when I was confronted about whether or not to continue playing football. To me, it wasn't just a sport. Football was a part of who I was. My teammates had become my friends and my coaches had become my mentors. Throughout 7 years of playing I was taught discipline, perseverance, and sportsmanship. However, I had to face the truth. Physically I knew I couldn't change who I was. 

For five consecutive years I was one of the biggest kids on the team. I was gutsy, ruthless, and tough. But I gradually noticed a change. At the end of my fifth year, I realized I wasn't as good as I had been in the past. Though the answer was staring me in the face, I refused to believe that a persons skill could be determined by size. However, standing at 5.3 at the end of the freshmen football season, I knew I could no longer compete with the other players who at 6.2 deserved the position far more than I did. I was getting pummeled by the competition from other schools. The kids I would line up against would smirk when they saw who they were lucky enough to be paired with. So although it may not have seemed like a tough decision for someone looking in on the situation, quitting football was one of the toughest choices I have ever made. 

I am the nostalgic old man scanning through pictures of his younger years, for every time I watch a game of football and see the pride in the eyes of each player I feel an emptiness that I cannot fill. 

Although I miss putting on my gear and playing the greatest game in the world, I know I made the right decision. I love the game of football, but the amount of time I would have had to put in to match up against the competition wasn't worth wasting especially if I had to put my academic career in the back seat.

Sometimes I don't know where my decisions will lead me, or how tough the road I choose will be. But after I make my choice I realize that I can't dwell on whether it was the right one, but instead how I can avoid it in the future if it was the wrong one. In my case, I understand that the choice I made was in my best interest, and although it caused me pain to take the right path, in the end I know it was worth it. 

"When you come to a fork in the road....Take it"  - Yogi Berra

My Harlem Experience (#2)

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bhistory/timeline/game.htm

 I only vaguely understood the feelings that African American's had towards our black president until our field trip to Harlem. Of course I knew that blacks were happy about it but i never grasped the importance of the situation until I heard the joy in Neal Shoemaker's voice. It was inspiring to hear him speak with such pride when he took us to the Barrack Obama tribute museum. The significance of the event never struck me until we traced the line of black history back to slavery. Now I understood how incredible it was that we had come this far. The timeline posted above is similar to the physical one we experienced durning our Harlem field trip.

What was also amazing was the muslim religion and the good things that were produced from it. For instance, I had no idea that anyone in the community could become the Imam, or leader, of the Mosque and muslim community. It is incredible that they could put so much trust in whomever was the most "pure of heart". That is a huge difference from Christianity which has different ranks in the clergy. I also couldn't believe that Neal Shoemaker had received the property to start his business from the Mosque. The very tour we were on was all due to the generosity of the Imam and his community. 

Overall, the Harlem trip gave me a broader view of the muslim religion that I couldn't have taken out of a regular day in the classroom. 

Reading Saved His Life...Swimming Saved Her's...Maybe Wrestling Will Save Mine (#1)

http://www.northjersey.com/hssports/swimming/39830452.html

In our darkest hours it is often that we retreat to our comfort zone. In jail Malcolm finds comfort in the only place he can, the prison library. Books become Malcolm's best friend in prison when he has no one to turn to and his life is in pieces. They saved him from overwhelming anxiety, pain, and insanity. When Tierney Benvenuto's sister died, swimming was the one thing she could turn to for comfort. 

Hobby's are good for many things, but the one thing they're great at is helping you to forget. For me, there's nothing more liberating then getting on the mat after a tough day at school. If on any given day my teacher yelled at me for not getting an assignment done or I knew I didn't do well on a test, i could always count on wrestling to make my feelings of regret, guilt or anxiety disappear. If I had a long week or if I had an argument with a friend, it was nothing a day on the slopes couldn't fix. 

For this reason it is important to have a hobby to fall back on. You never know when you may need something other then a friend, parent or teacher to comfort you.