The World is Too Much With Us - William Wordsworth

Reading this poem this past week was extremely applicable to me considering I am an officer for the new Grizzly Grreen Team on campus (no that is not a typo). Today's society is focused so much on the self that I believe people have begun to ignore their surroundings. Especially as teenagers we are so caught up in what is going on in our lives as students that sometimes we forget there is a world outside of high school. When we go up into the mountains for a vacation or watch a video on the environment in class we enjoy and learn for a little while but go right back to our lives again. Teens who try to talk about how exquisite nature is and how we should help preserve it are simply seen as environmental activists. The truth is that people like them have helped preserve what little of the natural environment we have left in national parks and preserves. We all live and thrive in areas that have nature around them. It may not be as obvious as 100 years ago, but it's still there. Our predecessors were much more intrigued with nature and appreciated it a lot more than we do now. In fact, one treatment for diseases in earlier eras was to be sent by the doctor to live in the countryside to get some fresh air for healing. If Wordsworth were alive today, he would be even more disgusted with us than people of his own time because of the irreverent way we treat the nature around us. One of the main goals of the Grizzle Grreen Team is to raise awareness of how we can help preserve our natural world. I think if Wordsworth were a teacher at Los Osos now, he would be the advisor.           - Dorothy Z.

Robert Walton and his Introduction

   Until today, when as a class we learned about Frankenstein and the history behind it, I was ignorant of the story and what it has to offer. I thought that Frankenstein was the name given to the monster, not its creator. I never held any interest in reading the novel or watching the film and always deemed it childish and not my cup of tea. After today's discussion the novel strongly appeals to me and I am eager to read it. The letters written by the explorer Robert Walton addressed to his beloved sister were wonderfully written and filled with vivid details. Before I read them, I was confused why these seemingly unrelated letters were used as the introduction to this book but now my confusion has vanished and I think they are a perfect way for the reader to prepare for what will come along within Frankenstein. 
  It was also discussed in class how the idea that along with creation comes death and the fears one possesses in relation to intellectual ability. Walton is captivated by his explorations and writes of his eagerness to learn the secrets of the Earth and to be knowledgeable in areas foreign to the rest of civilization. He meets an emaciated stranger stuck on an ice sledge and later befriends him. In letter four, Walton includes a statement that the stranger had spoken to him “You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been.”. This quote intelligently states the theme of the danger of knowledge, which evidently applies not only to Walton but to Frankenstein and his monster as well. 
  The letters introduce a number of themes that I expect to appear throughout the text of Frankenstein. The ambitions and character of Walton are most likely a strong parallel to those of Frankenstein as he struggles with loneliness and has a passion for intellectual advancement. His letters provide the reader with a frame narrative for what is to come in the novel, and acts as a constant reminder to the reader the presence of other authors and audiences such as Walton, his sister, and Victor. 


Bailey

Response to "The End of Solitude"

this article talks about the concept of solitude and having time to oneself. It develops the loss and inability of society nowadays to be alone and have time to onself. It goes on to talk of how kids these days are unable to spend 10 minutes alone by themselves without texting or social networking.
This lost social concept has evolved from boredom of the TV generation to aloneless of the web generation. kids are afraid that they will miss out on social activities if they keep to themselves. they spend hours talking to friends over the phone through texting or over the web on social networking sites. the article displays the importance of solitude for people and lack of it in reality.