Quitessencial Engagement Ring

What could possibly say I love you any better than the diamond ring of her dreams? And better still, wrapped in the glowing electric blue box and white ribbon we all know and love, that of Tiffany and Company, and the quintessencial engagement ring. For anyone looking to pledge their life and devotion to the woman of their dreams, the Tiffany Setting engagement ring, is the perfect ring to ensure you that "yes", for no woman on earth can resist such a stone. Its round cut and classic platinum band is classy, down to earth, but will undoubtably catch the eye of other jealous mothers at soon to be PTA meetings. And rest assured that with Tiffany & Co. quality and prestige your diamond will never waver, from its setting, nor her finger.

Exodus Literature Circle Work

For this chapter of the book, and for out literature circle group, I was designated lexicographer. So here are some words from Exodus that we had trouble with

Unequivocal-leaving no doubt "It's had to believe any water on earth could be so unequivocal." (390)


Gnashed-to strike or grind " A day ago we;d have given up our teeth for a good rain, and now we gnashed them in frustration over the deluge." (389)

Deluge-an overflowing of the land by water "A day ago we'd have given up our teeth for a good rain, and now we gnashed them in frustration over the deluge." (389)

Fledge-to rear until ready for flight or independent activity "On the day a committee of men decided to murder the fledging Congo, what do you suppose Mama Mwanza was doing?" (383)

Entreat-to make an earnest request "Each child has its own entreaties to body and soul." (381)

Precocity- exceptionally early in development or occurrence "You examine ever turn of flesh for precocity, and crow it to the world." (381)

Emily Dickinson, The Belle of Amherst.

Since my last posts have been a lot about Adah and her love of Emily Dickonson, I thought it would be suiting as a commonplace post to do a little research on the acclaimed poet. In doing so iv'e also swiftly developed an admiration for her work.

Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830 and died at age 55 on May 15,1886. While living, most of Emily's work had never been looked at, let alone published and her fame came mostly after her death. She has come to be regarded as one of the most influencial poets of the 19th century. Her sister Lavinia Dickinson was the one who encouraged the editing and publishment of her sisters writing, though most of it wasnt touched untill they were found after she had passed. Some of her most words include, "It is better to be the hammer than the anvil," and "Hope is the thing with feathers." A couple of her most famous poems are "Because I Could Not Stop For Death," and "I Cannot Live With You."

Adah Price-Dickinson

Emily Dickinson: Because I could not stop for death


Becuase I could not stop for Death-
He kindly stopped for me-
The Carriage held but just Ourselves-
And Immortality.

We slowly drove-He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too
For His Civility-

We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess-in the Ring-
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain-
We passed the Setting Sun-

Or rather-He passed Us-
The Dews drew quivering and chill-
For only Gossamer, my Gown-
My Tippet-only Tulle-

We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground-
The Roof was scarcely visible-
The Cornice-in the Ground-

Since then-'tis Centuries-and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads
Were toward Eternity-

My job in our literature circle was to analyze some of the character's reactions to Ruth May's death. My favortie one though was that of Adah. She opens her response by quoting her favortie poet, Emily Dickonson, "Beacuse I could not stop for death-He kindly stopped for me." At first after reading Dickonsons poem, I thought it was the recirpocal of events that had been happening in the book. Now I see however that this opening line in particular expresses the surprise and abrubt halt of Ruth May's life. The rest of the poem goes on to say how the carriage led by death himself passed through differenct terms of life. Ruth May seemed to be the only character in the story unwilling to give up the ghost, to succumb to the dread of the Congo, that leads the rest of her family towards the end (death) as they complain about their non existent fellowship, frizzy hair, and lack of food. Ruth May embaraces the culture, the people, and she is the one that doesnt stop for death, so he kindly stops for her.

Selected Paragraph

This is Adah speaking on page 365 in response to Ruth May's death.
"I was not present at Ruth May's birth but i have seen it now, because I saw each step of it played out in reverse at the end of her life. The clsoing parenthesis, at the end of the paindrome that was Ruth May. Her final gulp of air as hungry as a baby;s first breath. That last howling scream, exactly life the first, and then at the end a fixed, steadfast moving backward out of this world. After this howl, wide-eyed silence without breath. Her bluish face creased with a pressure closing in, the neeeear proximity of the other-tan-;ofe that crowds down around the edges of living. Her eyes closed up tightly, and her swollen liped clamped shut. Her spine curved, and her limbs drew in more and more tightly until she seemed impossibly small. While we watched without comprehension, she moved away to where none of us wanted to follow. Ruth May shrank back through the narrow passage between this brief fabric of light and all the rest of what there is for us: the long waiting. Now she will wait the rest of the time. It will be exactly as long as the time that passed before she was born."

Besdies being incredibly poetic and really just an amazing parallel to draw between the life of Ruth May and her love of palindromes, this passage of Adah's reaction to Ruth Mays "closing parenthesis" is very interesting. Her idea of after-life contradicts those of her fathers, the one he preaches of, and the one she had been taught (im sure.) This paragraph was preceeded by and again followed by the same sentence, "Beacuse I could not stop for death-He kindly stopped for me." A famous opening line of one of Emily Dickonsons poems. This line seems like a typicall one for Adah to say and its placement is as well, parenthesizing the paragrah describing the "palindrome that was Ruth May." This passage was written with some real witt, (snaps for kingsolver) and is definately my favorite in Bel and the Serpent, its the epitome of Adah's intelligence, if it has one at all.

Ethical Education (SAT Practice Essay #2)

When you ask any student, "Why do you go to school?", chances are they will respond with an unenthusiastic "to learn." Thus, questions begin to arise, what is knowledge? Is wisdom synonomous with knowledge? And as we are faced with this question today, "should schools help students understand moral choices and social issues?" I say, most definately.
Take for example, one yound pupil with perfect marks on the SAT, flying colors on report cards, and teacher comments to die for. The student however knows nothing about right verses wrong, ethical verses unethical, and is utterly oblivious to the challenges faced by our society, not to mention how to deal with them. A different student, sitting on the opposite side of the specturm does, lets say, less than "satisfactoy" on exams, is lazy as heck, and never does his homework. He is however an outstanding athlete, human rights activist, and accepts as well as embraces cultural diversity. I can guarentee that the second student would be more sucessfull out in the "real world", leading a much more prosperous, happy, and virtuous life than that of the straight A student with no street smarts.
There are simple, "cruise classes," as many students at my school call them, based off of decision making, discovering ethics (not necessarily choosing which ones to live by) and overcoming social problems that arise typically outside of the classrooms. These classes are fairly easy to conduct, not to discredit the professionals that teach them, and are often even led b the students themselves through what our teachers call, cofacilitation, a hightly effective method of learning. Simply providing an opportunity to discuss such issues amongs peers is growth in itself and can greatly improve necessary social tools that everyone should be equiped with.
On the other hand, schools definately do have the responsibility to prepare students for college and a technologically advanced and ever changing world. The No Child Left Behind program, requiring all students to meet designated ruberics, and pass nationally standardized tests, is an excellent idea and im sure that since its creation, test scores have increased and college enrollment percentages have been on the rise. There is no doubt that such academic skills are also required for success in todays society.
Our nations schools need to find an appropriate balance, or perhaps more realistically, a ratio, of teaching academic, by-the-book skills, as well as social skills and undetstanding, and ethical exploration. Both types of knowledge are what most post high school educators seek, simply because they are what it really takes to do well in life.