Reflective Blog

It was a normal Saturday afternoon on January 13, 2007. My little brother and I were playing mario kart on the game cube. We were so hooked on that game. We were in the middle of the race when I heard the front door open and close. Michael (my brother) and I hustled downstairs to greet my dad who was at work all day. It was cloudy outside and very foggy. My dad was complaining of a massive, tormenting pain in his shoulder. He took my mom's advice and went to the hospital. A few hours later we recieved a call from the doctor. He informed us that my dad had a heart attack.
My mom was in tears when she hear the trecherous news and when she told us, we got scared. She took us to my grandma's house so she could go visit him. She didn't want us too worry so she said very little. My grandparents weren't happy with the situation my dad was in. Michael and I spent the night there.
The next day my mom brought us home and she said that dad was going to be all right. It was just as cloudy in the morning than it was the previous day. I didn't feel like doing anything. All I could think about was my dad. My aunt spent a few days at our house to console us in our time of sorrows. I couldn't sleep knowing that my dad was in the hospital. It made me sick to my stomach. I stayed awake every night remembering the times I spent with my dad. I remembered when we played wiffle ball in the backyard. I remembered when we watched sports together. I remembered when he coached my soccer games. But most importantly, I remembered when my dad used to say everything will be alright during thunder storms. "The clouds are just banging into each other" he used to say. I thought "what if everything isn't alright? what if I never see dad again? What if..."
I morosely awoke that Thursday morning. The sun was shining and the birds were chirping. I shuffled my way downstairs for breakfast. By the time I got to the table a fresh plate of eggs awaited me along with a smile from my mom. She told me that my dad was coming home. I was so happy that I cried in joy. She told me to wake up Michael and get dressed so we could pick my dad up from the hospital.
When we got to the hospital my mom told us to wait in the car. She said she would get dad. A few minutes later she came out of the double doors with my dad. I was overwhelmed with joy. When he got in the car he was tired and he smelled funky. When we got home he went straight to sleep.
The next day he told us about his experience in the hospital. He had 3 arteries 99% blocked. He is lucky to be alive today. If I never got to see my dad again I don't know what I would do. I'm just happy that he's okay.

Persuasive Arguement

Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury. I ask of you, a simple request. My request is that you, the people of London, put this vicious criminal Mr. Hyde in prison for the rest of his days. He brutally murdered a member of parliment Mr. Sir Danvers Carew. It was late at night when this incident occurred. Mr. Hyde beat the life out of Carew. The end  of his cane was found in the gutter of his mansion. The next evening Mr. Utterson went to Hyde's house and found the other half of the murder weapon. This also isn't the first time that Hyde commited a crime. One early morning, at about 3 O' Clock, Mr. Hyde trampled a little girl and left her on the ground. As many of you may not know because Hyde bribed the family to keep this a secret. There are witnesses in both of these cases. A maid for the murder and Mr. Enfield for the girl. So my fellow citizens of London, all I ask of you is to make the right decision. Don't let a criminal walk. I don't want any criminals running loose in this fine city. Thank you for your time and I hope you make the right choice.

Character/Theme

In the book "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" I am drawn to Mr. Hyde the most. Mr. Hyde is like the mystery man of the story. We don't know much about him. All we really know is the story of the door and that Hyde had a key to Jekyll's house. When Mr. Utterson went to talk to Hyde in the earlier chapters, Hyde didn't want to show his face. This means that he is hiding something and he is mysterious. He also murdered Mr. Carew by whacking him with a cane and trampled over a girl without caring. Mr. Hyde is a murderer and I have a feeling that somehow he is involved with Lanyon's death and the breach in Jekyll's and Lanyon's friendship.
Hyde reinforces a theme that Stevenson is trying to show. He is reinforcing Human Nature. Everyone has their own style of living. Hyde's style is being deadly and creepy. He isn't very sociable and he is kinda shady. Everyone has a devil inside of them. Hyde just has a bigger devil that normal people. Hyde might be a bigger devil than Satan himself.

Story of the Door

The story of the door was a story about a man named Hyde trampling over a little girl at three in the morning. It was like he didn't care at all about others. Mr. Enfield brought the man back to the girl and her family and they threatened to ruin his reputation. Mr. Hyde offered a cheque to the family to pay for the expenses of the injuries. What I really had to think about was why the girl was out at 3 in the morning, and how her family suddenly appeared next to her. This is kind of unrealistic in my opinion. This story reminds me of the mental illness article, when it explained the different types of mental diseases there were. It seems like the man definatley had a mental problem because he trampled the girl and kept walking. He didn't apologize, he didn't call an ambulance, he kept walking. Most people wouldn't trample a girl and pretend nothing is wrong when there are witnesses such as Mr. Enfield. I feel that a writing a cheque isn't enough for what this man did. I feel that he should go to jail and have his reputation ruined. The theme of this chapter was about public injustices. Many people saw what Mr. Hyde did to the little girl. It can be ralated to robbing a store, there  are witnesses and usually there will be consequences. In this case, the consequence was that he would have to pony up some money to save himself, where as if he robbed a store he would go to jail. He was lucky that there weren't any cops around or he would be known as the heartless freak who trampled a girl.

Mental Illness in the 19th Century

At first, mental illness was blamed on witchcraft and demons possessing the human body. Later on, mental illness was blamed on brain damage. If you were mentally ill you were imprisoned, sent to alms houses or remained untreated. In 1841, Dorothea Dix urged for more treatment to the mentally ill in prisons. In 1851, Jacksonville's insane asylum was opened.There was a new method of treatment called "Moral Treatment". This treatment included work, exercise, living in a healthy environment, and education. "Moral Treatment" had a few problems. There were overcrowded hospitals due to lack of progress and unqualified staff members. Some causes of mental illness are due to alcoholism, fright, imprisonment, death, etc. By the 1880's static electricity was used as a treatment. The central point of this article is to explain the causes and treatments of mental illness. I was surprised that some people with mental illness weren't treated. Today there are so many people treating mental illnesses. There are nursing homes, special schools, and many other organizations that cope with this disease and try to find a cure for it.