http://pizza.com/fun-facts

Ernest Hemingway family tree:

1954 is the year that Hemingway received the Noble Price for his contemporary way of writing modern literature. Above is his award acceptance speech:

Tattoos are one of my biggest obsessions. I love them on men and women of all ages, and i believe no matter what story is behind each persons ink, its important and meaningful to that person in some way. I'm not a very expressive person, but I find comfort in getting tattoos and expressing myself through art on my body. This link explains where the word "tattoo" comes from and the significance tattoos had in early ancient civilizations.
http://www.designboom.com/history/tattoo_history.html

Poetry Essay

                    Poetry is a form of writing that does not have to make sense, its reasoning and theme is not usually clearly stated. Many poets use personal experiences in order to create their pieces of literature as well as using specific literary elements to help the reader understand what is being read. Robert Frost wrote a poem called “The Silken Tent”. This poem includes literary elements such as simile, symbolism, and imagery to convey the relationship between a woman and the love for her family.

                    Unlike many famous poets, Frost’s work was published while he was alive, writing poetry was his way of life and his form of work. He allowed the people in his existence to influence his writing and by the time he was 41 years old he had two full-length collections published (poets 1). “The Silken Tent” is a poem about a woman that feels bound to her family, she is happy in her life living as a wife and as a mother. Frost begins this poem with a simile “She is as in a field a silken tent” (1). He does this in order to let the reader interpret what this poem is going to be about, a woman who is tied in this silken tent. Using simile is a key element in allowing the reader to understand that this poem will deliver a story about a woman and her position in life. This was the only simile Frost used in this poem, the rest is metaphor. The use of metaphor in this writing will permit the reader to feel a stronger connection to the woman and a deeper feeling to the relationship this person has with her family.

                  Symbolism is another literary element that Frost used in “The Silken Tent”. An example of this is, “So that in guys it gently sways at ease, And it’s supporting central cedar pole, That is its pinnacle to heavenward, And   signifies the sureness of the soul” (4-7). These lines symbolize the woman who is comfortable with the role she has in her family, her calmness and sureness is portrayed through these lines allowing the reader to realize how strong this woman’s love is to her family.  Lastly Frost uses the element of imagery, this literary element is extremely important in explaining the relationship this woman has with her family because the reader can feel the emotion, they can get a picture in their head of what is going on. this, “But strictly held by none, is loosely bound-By countless silken ties of love and thought-To everything on earth the compass round” (10-11). Now the reader can understand that this woman doesn’t feel trapped, she doesn’t feel obligated to live like this, she is bound to her family from all the love around her.

                    Literary elements are critical in any poem, and Robert Frost used them in such vigorous ways that he could tell a story by using them. Frost wrote about the relationship a woman had with her family in his poem “The Silken Tent” by incorporating useful literary elements such as simile, symbolism, and imagery. 

"There is no lonelier man in death, except the suicide, than that man who has lived many years with a good wife and then outlived her. If two people love each other there can be no happy end to it."- Ernest Hemingway

This is a picture of my sister and I, My sister is the top picture and I am the bottom. As you can see this is a combination of two pictures of tattoos that me and her got, they are sister tattoos that are very meaningful. These symbols are not very popular, nor do many people recognize what these symbols mean. They are the Armenian Wheel of Eternity symbol. And why are they not the same?  In the link below a quick description of the meaning behind these symbols are given:

http://tamarnajarian.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/armenian-wheel-of-eternity/ 

"I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know?" - Ernest Hemingway

Short Story

               Short story authors include a variety of formal elements in order to create virtuous fictional pieces of literature. To construct a well-developed piece of writing such authors use characterization to form stories to be appealing to the reader, to create a meaning .Two authors that partake in this are Edgar Allan Poe and Ernest Hemingway. In the short story, “The Cask of Amontillado,” Edgar Allan Poe used literary elements like foreshadowing, setting, and irony in order to formulate a successful story for the reader.

               Edgar Allan Poe was an extremely successful author whose writing became famous and valued after his life ended. He wrote stories that were categorized as horror, and a lot of this had to do with the way he used his literary elements. In his short story, “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe uses irony to allow the reader to get a sense of what the characters are about. “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventures upon insult I vowed revenge (Poe 1).” With this being the first sentence the reader gets a sense of darkness, revenge isn’t anything nice and right away Poe allows the reader to conclude the dark side of his main character Montresor. The reader doesn’t need to know why Montresor wants revenge, or what he is going to do in order to realize something bad is going to happen. By looking at the name Fortunato, it resembles the word fortunate; when revenge and harm is going to be put on someone they won’t be so fortunate, so Poe is using irony through this character’s name. “I drink,” he said, “to the buried that repose around us” “And I to your long life” (Poe 5). In this part of Montresor and Fortunato’s conversation the notion of Montresor drinking to Fortunato’s “long life” sets up irony allowing the reader to recognize that Fortunato will be killed somehow at some point in this story.  Through these examples the story becomes serious and intense, the reader notices how these two men will take a turn for the worse, and something is going to happen. Irony is extremely important in helping the reader understand a character. Irony is also used by Ernest Hemingway in his short story, “A Clean. Well-Lighted Place.” The “nada” prayer in this story told by the older waiter allows the reader to distinguish the difference between the older and younger waiter. Characterization isn’t portrayed just through irony, the point of view in which a story is written is important as well.

               Poe writes this short story in the point of view of first person, the narrator being Montresor. Poe writes on page four, “Come,” I said, with decision, “we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, and admired, beloved; you are happy, as I once was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter. We will go back; you will be ill, and I cannot be responsible. Besides, there is Luchresi--.” This is being said by Montresor in the story, and when the reader reads this they can understand what he intends for Fortunato. The use of foreshadowing in this part of Poe’s story helps to develop characters; it helps to formulate what change is going to occur and has the reader question what is going to happen. On the other hand, Hemingway foreshadows who the type of guy the old man is who drinks at the café late at night. The old man is not a distinct character in this story, but through this excerpt of the story the waiter gives a hint as to why this man does what he does. “I am of those who like to stay late at the café,” the older waiter said. “With all those who do not want to go to bed. With all those who need a light for the night” (Hemingway 145). These lines support how the reader will view the older waiter and the old man who drinks outside. It’s clear the older waiter foreshadows the intentions, and reasoning behind the old man staying out late at night drinking alone. By having foreshadowing in both these short stories, Poe and Hemingway developed a successful story with meaning through their characters.

               Lastly, setting is a huge factor in shaping what a character is like. In Poe’s short story, both Montresor and Fortunato alter due to the change in the setting. The two start to travel further in order to fine the Amontillado. “He leaned upon it heavily. We continued our route in search of the Amontillado. We passed through a range of low arches, descended, passed on, and descending again, arrived at a deep crypt, in which the foulness of the air caused our flambeaux rather to glow then flame”(Poe 7). A crypt is a place where someone is kept and buried, the setting is now framing this story to be horror filled, and now the reader can interpret what Montresor has intended for Fortunato this whole time. Montresor states “Proceed,” I said; “herein is the Amontillado. As for Luchresi—“(Poe 7). Poe gradually changes the setting of this story from a party, to an underground death trap, allowing time for the reader to understand the progress of each character along with the point of this story. In Hemingway’s short story, setting didn’t change. This story took place in the same spot and no one seemed to move. On page 143 Hemingway writes, “…and looked at the terrace where the tables where all empty except for where the old man sat in the shadow of the leaves of the trees that moves slightly in the wind.” The waiters were looking at the old man late at night waiting for him to leave; they watched as he sat outside alone and drank his brandy. Hemingway’s use of one setting permits the reader to draw conclusions, and apprehend why each character has the attitudes they do, and why they do the things they do.

Authors can use literary elements in different ways in order to form an overall meaning to a story that they are writing. Foreshadowing, setting, and irony were all used in the framework of Edgar Allan Poe’s, “The Cask of Amontillado,” and Ernest Hemingway’s, “A Clean. Well-Lighted Place.” These two stories included the same type of literary elements, and even though used in different ways, they still created distinct characters that helped to develop a successful, prosperous piece of literature to read.

The Silence

I laughed, I cried, and I felt pain

But my love for him is what kept me sane.

For better or for worse were the words we shared

Fate brought us together, and you were the only one I cared.

My perspective on life has never changed

Even though things haven’t gone as planned.

Life is full of surprises, both good and bad

I am thankful for the time we had.

  Our bed is so lonely and cold-

If only I had your warm hands to hold.

Life threw us a curve ball that we had to take

For you are left as a memory;

I believe that was fates only mistake.

                                                                                                         -Amanda Mathosian