hasaki

I've been in a situation similar to yours and I have to say, you must use the word "Love" very carefully. What you are going through is mere infatuation. Hang out with her when you get a chance, get a feel for her personality and let her figure you out a little. I've learned that the more you get to know a girl, the more your feelings will become concrete, what you feel now you may not feel after. She may seem shy, but many girls like that aren't, they just wait for guys to approach them and then you'll see them open up to you. Don't hold back or you'll regret it, just spend some time with her and then if it feels right, ask her out.

The Scarlet Letter is most definitely a novel to remember. This novel brings so much to the table, there is a little bit of mystery, deceit, evil, and so much more. The Scarlet Letter is full of symbols, themes and motifs. To fully comprehend the novel, an individual must read it more than once. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses very vivid imagery, yet the story unfolds quite slowly. One should have much patience while reading this classic, though in the end one will get rewarded. The Scarlet Letter has feeling, strength and love. What more can one ask for? There are no action scenes, yet there are points in the novel where and individual would want to continue to see what happens next, a sort of mystery. Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), was born in Salem, Massachusetts. His father, also named Nathaniel, was a sea captain. Hawthorne?s father died when he was at the age of 4. Hawthorne?s mothers name was Elizabeth. Hawthorne finished his education in Bowdoin College in Maine. From the years 1825 to 1836, Hawthorne was a writer for numerous magazines. Hawthorne wrote many novels in his time, The Scarlet Letter being one of his best works. In 1842 he married a woman by the name of Peabody. Hawthorne soon moved to England, where he was appointed as consul in Liverpool. He lived there for 4 years. Hawthorne died in Plymouth, N.H, on a trip to the mountains with his presidential friend Franklin Pierce. The Scarlet Letter starts out with Hester Prynne leaving Amsterdam to come to New England to build a new life, but unfortunately her husband had to stay behind. At the time, having an affair was frowned upon and no one to know better than Hester. She waited for what seemed forever and soon assumed that her husband was no more. Hester lived a quiet life until she was found to be pregnant. She soon gives birth to her daughter Pearl. Many questions arose to who the father was; even with the insistence of the minister and town elders she will not disclose the name of the father, so Hester will face the punishment alone. Because immorality of any kind was frowned upon in society she was sentenced to sitting in front of the whole village for 3 hours daily and had to where the letter A on the breast area of her blouse. The A represents many things, but literally it represents adulterer. Reverend Dimmesdale saves Hester from the gallows by stating the fact that her husband is assumed dead. One day a man by the name of Roger Chillingworth, a doctor, comes to visit Hester in her jail cell. The reader soon discovers that Roger Chillingworth is really Hester?s husband. After a long conversation, Chillingworth finally agrees that he will keep their marriage a secret for his sake and the sake of Hester. Chillingworth does ask to know the identity of Pearls father, yet she does not tell him. He tells her that it is his mission to find out who exactly the father is. As the years go by, Pearl grows to be a very mischievous and Hester is now earning a living by sewing and embroidery, she also spends her time tending for the sick and needy. The townspeople soon decide to separate Pearl from Hester thinking that Pearl may follow her mothers footsteps, yet again Reverend Dimmesdale intervenes and makes sure that Pearl remains with Hester. Chillingworth soon moves in with Dimmesdale. Soon Chillingworth determines that Dimmesdale is indeed the father of Pearl, this is after a long period of time although. Soon when Pearl gets older she understands more and more about the letter. Dimmesdale and Hester soon decide to go to London on a trip, but it all falls apart as Dimmesdale tells the truth about Hester and himself. He soon passes away; Hester and Pearl leave the town and settle in a cottage. Hester still wore the letter A on her chest until the day of her death. Some also claim to have seen the letter A on Dimmesdale?s chest as he died. The author conveys the themes of this novel quite well. There are many themes in The Scarlet Letter, but the ones that stand out most are sin, society and identity, and just in plain simple terms, evil. The story of Hester and Dimmesdale parallel the story of Adam and Eve because both couples suffer in a way because they committed a sin. Both also ended in knowledge. Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge, yet for Hester, her knowledge was of some places that women dare not enter. Evil is another big theme in The Scarlet Letter. References are often made to a ?Black Man?. The ?Black Man? is often associated with Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, Miss Hibbins, and Pearl who is often thought of as the Devil. Evil arises from the relationship between love and hate. Identity is another theme that surrounds Hester. She is free to leave Boston and take off the scarlet letter, yet she stays as if she is mentally or physically trapped in New England. She believes that the scarlet letter is a symbol of her character. There are 3 big symbols, the scarlet letter, the meteor, and the rosebush next to the prison door. The scarlet letter is meant to be a symbol of shame, but it is a symbol of strength for Hester. The adulterer meaning of the scarlet letter is soon demolished, it soon means something like able. The meteor is another huge symbol, to Dimmesdale the A made by the meteor in the sky makes him think that he himself should wear the scarlet letter A. It is quite hilarious how the community people interpret this as a sign from god saying Angel and that their governor has entered heaven. The Scarlet Letter is in all a marvelous book written masterfully by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Scarlet Letter is a book with something for everybody. The Scarlet Letter is definitely a book you want to read more than once, seems as though every time one reads it, something new is seen that was not there before. To comprehend the novel to a certain extent, the novel must be read more than once. Overall the book is one that an individual should read if they have not yet read it. The Scarlet Letter is truly one of the best.

F. Scott Fitzgerald?s The Great Gatsby is much like an onion. On the surface there is the hard outer layer, but to really understand it, one has to dig into the fresh insides. On the surface of The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald portrays a romantic love between a man and a woman, but inside the real meaning is much deeper. Fitzgerald depicts the 1920?s as a time of decay social and moral values, evidence of this is the greed and the pursuit of pleasure. Jay Gatsby?s constant parties epitomized the corruption of the American Dream as the desire for money and worldly pleasures overshadowed the true values of the American Dream. After WWI ended in 1918, veterans found that life was not as rosy as it had been before. The war led to an economic boom as more and more people were buying materialistic items that they would have never bought. With this economic boom it became apparent that any person of any social status could become wealthy. This created the social rift between the families that had just found new money and the old wealthy industrialists. 1919, the women?s suffrage movement, running strong, were quick to establish prohibition in the United states with their influence. This consequently led to an increase in crime and illegal smuggling of alcohol; Al Capone is the prime example of what came out of that era of prohibition. Fitzgerald intricately places characters in these social trends. Meyer Wolfshiem, a man that is the epitome of the underground mafia. WWI vets Nick and Gatsby?s new found cynicism. Also, Jay Gatsby?s need to climb the ?social ladder? shows the need of wealth of the individuals in this era. If one reads the passage in which Fitzgerald characterizes Gatsby?s house as an ?amusement park? (41), it is also said that there are guests that attend without even meeting the host. This shows the need for ?new money? people to socialize with others to climb this ?social ladder?. Also the rift between ?old money? and ?new money? is quite evident with the geographical placement of the individual characters; East Egg, ?old money? individuals, who have been wealthy for generations past, and West Egg, ?new money? representing self-made individuals. The original idea of the American Dream as described in chapter 9 is about moral values and the pursuit of happiness. It?s written in the American Constitution that every individual has the right to ?Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness?. This right it seems has taken a twisted turn in the early 1920?s. The pursuit of happiness soon turned into the pursuit of wealth and ultimately to greed. This led to social rifts among the different classes and eventually corrupted the true American Dream. Throughout The Great Gatsby it is shown how social rift came between the love of two individuals, Daisy and Gatsby. This led to the eventual corruption of Gatsby himself, the pursuit of wealth, greed, and illegal deeds. T.J Eckleburg, the greatest symbol in the novel, represents more then just an advertisement, but like the onion, inside he represents everything that is corrupt in the new American Dream. After renouncing his parents, James Gatsby was said to be the ?son of God? (98), the only thing Gatsby believes in is money. Wilson in chapter 8, mistakes the advertisement as an advertisement for God, this in turn means that the advertisement portrays money. On the last page of the novel Nick compares the ?green breast of the new world? (180) to the green light at the end of Daisy?s dock. The ?green breast of the world? represents the dreams of the immigrants that came to the new world seeking religious freedom, opportunity, love, and democracy, along the way instilling universal family values. As they settled with these goals in mind, they strived and created what is America today. Fitzgerald describes the corruption as being the modernization of the beauties of what the settlers had seen before. Remember that accident which involved Daisy and Myrtle, Myrtle?s left breast had been torn off, this was regarded as Myrtle?s ?greatest achievement?. This achievement was the realization of American society which has torn off the green breast of the new world and replaced it with a corrupted rendition of what the settlers brought along with them. Along with this, Fitzgerald adds in the Valley of Ashes, which is the opposite of the green breast; a valley in general is different in that the green breast of the new world represents a hill, opposite to this is a valley which is a concave piece of land. The green breast represents the true American Dream and the Valley of Ashes represents corruption, like that of Myrtle and her adultery or Wilson and his killing of Gatsby. Fitzgerald uses an abundant amount symbols to fully satisfy the most rewarding symbol, the corruption of the American Dream. Settlers first came to America with one ambition, a better life. What came of this better life? The American Dream, a life in pursuit of opportunity, freedom, love, equality, family and wealth. These dreams soon diminished as materialistic values seemed to be above all else. These materialistic values consequently led the decay of the American Dream. The new American Dream described by Fitzgerald portrays a world where greed, the pursuit of money and pleasure are above all else. Fitzgerald portrays a world that has lost its way in the corruption of the American Dream.

In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque progressively shows the brutality of war through the eyes of soldiers claiming their innocence. Remarque describes the war as a beastly adversary to these soldiers; furthermore he depicts the killing of enemy soldiers as a game for the Germans. Throughout the duration of the book, Paul Baumer, the main character, is portrayed as a once innocent adult that becomes emotionally desensitized by the war. The goal of All Quiet on the Western Front is to show how unromantic war truly is. War novels are known for emphasizing honor, glory, and patriotism, but Remarque contradicts all these points, showing the true colors of war. Through the soldiers, Remarque portrays the unromantic views of war which are fear, insignificance, and needless slaughter. As soldiers enter the war, they quickly realize how beastly they war indeed is. ?We march up, moody or good-tempered soldiers ? we reach the zone where the front begins and become on the instant human animals,? (Remarque 56). In this passage, Paul describes the effect of war on the psyche of his fellow solders and himself. The war itself was too much for these soldiers so that they have to go to their primal states. It seems as though these soldiers, overtime, realize that their enmity ?is not against men? but against the war itself (Remarque 103). Remarque implies that, for a soldier to survive in battle, he must turn off his mind and operate only off instinct, becoming less human and more like an animal. To the soldiers, a bomb is a ?blast . . . like a blow from the paw of a raging beast of prey,? (Remarque 3). Remarque uses every chance he gets to show the beastliness of war, he also wants to show that it is only war that makes humans into savages. The Russians in the POW camp are great examples of what the war really does to a soldier. Remarque illustrates how Russian POWs are more ?human and more brotherly towards one another?? then the German soldiers only because the war was ?over so far as they are concerned? (Remarque169). The author is trying to prove his point that war dehumanizes soldiers. Soldiers are now indifferent to the death of another individual; it is as though the war has desensitized the Germans to death. While Kropp and Katczinsky are arguing over how war should be dealt with, ??they lay a bottle of beer on the result of an air-fight that?s going on above,? (Remarque 41). Remarque subtly shows in this sequence how the soldiers are so bored in the time of war that they are wagering on air fights, and essentially the lives of the men inside them. ?Meanwhile the German aeroplane has been shot down ? Kropp has lost the bottle of beer? (Remarque 43). Out of the while airplane fight, all Kropp loses is a bottle of beer, while the pilot of the plane loses his life, but the soldiers are indifferent to this as it seems to be a natural occurrence in their environment. Remarque also begins the story with the death of Kimmerich, Paul?s school friend. The death of Kimmerich spans a whopping 2 chapters, where as the deaths of Paul?s other friends seem to hasten all the way till the end of the book, until they are not to even be mentioned anywhere. Even the death of Paul himself is short and it seems as though Paul is only content in death as he ?had an expression of calm, as though almost glad the end had come? (Remarque 296). This technique used by Remarque shows that, overtime, Paul and the other soldiers have become accustomed to death, and now is indifferent. There are many things these young soldiers never get to experience. Amongst them is the pleasure of having a romantic sexual experience. These young men are brought from their early teens into the war, without ever having a girlfriend, let alone going through sexual intercourse. Paul Baumer was brought into the war at the ripe age of 20 and like many others, he had never had any experience in the art of sex. When passing the poster of the woman wearing the white dress with the red belt, Paul states ?we can hardly credit that such things still exist? (Remarque 141). Remarque?s main reason for this is to show that these soldiers have been cut-off from society that they cannot even believe that such things as beautiful women even exist. There is a point in the novel where Remarque makes the soldiers meet 3 beautiful French women. The soldiers are invited to have some fun at their little cottage. Paul, being excited, believes that he will truly have a romantic experience that night. The soldiers bring along food and other rations, and the French women take it as a payment and they go off to do their duty. Paul is with a brunette, but all he can think about is the brothel for the soldiers and how they had to wait in line for their turn. ?I wish I had never thought of them? (Remarque 150). Since Paul had never had any romantic sexual encounters and only been with a prostitute, it is as though the war had desensitized him to sex as well. Paul, for a couple of weeks gets leave from the war to return home. Paul feels distraught and isolated even when he returns home. It is evident when Paul blatantly states that ?I prefer to be alone, so that no one troubles me? (Remarque 168). ?I stand on the steps, miserable, helpless, paralyzed, and against my will the tears run down my cheeks? (Remarque 158). Remarque shows how war has crippled Paul from being able to freely interact with others in society, in this case, his family. When Paul couldn?t turn to anyone, he turned to his books to find some familiarity. Unfortunately the books did not help Paul in any way, this resulted in him saying, ?Words, Words, Words -- they do not reach me? (Remarque 173). Even when walking through the streets of his hometown all he could thing about was watching out for a shell when a car muffler blew. By the end of the visit, Remarque uses a creative way to show the psychological effects of war. The ?Ah, Mother, Mother? (183) sequence at the end when Paul is interacting with his ailing mother shows how Paul cannot freely express his feelings to his mother; he is bottling up all of his emotions. War is tricky business, as it lures one in with fame and glory and spits the individual out with deep depression and thoughts of meaninglessness. Remarque?s portrayal of young soldiers in battle is phenomenal in showing how war itself is to be fought with, not enemy combatants. All Quiet on the Western Front is a novel in which Remarque, with his use of Paul Baumer, sends a message to all of his readers; war dehumanizes a soldier.

Here are a couple of Experiences I've had at night. I was 2 years old living in British Columbia, Canada. I lived in a two story house, all of the bedrooms where we slept were upstairs. My parents told me that I slept in their room in a crib right beside the window, they also said that if I stood up, I could look outside and see our front door. Not many people remember what happened when they were at the age of 2, but this is one very vivid memory that I have yet to forget.It was late at night and I had just awoken from my sleep, I had a tendency not to cry when I was all by myself. I peered over the window in curiosity as I heard our door bell ring several times, there was a man with a long white beard, he looked as if he had aged a lot over time, maybe 75-85 years of age. He looked straight up at me and then disappeared, a thin fog then formed after he disappeared. I dropped into my crib and never forgot that day.Since that day, every time I sleep in a room all by myself, I wake up at 12:45am and 3:00am every morning, when I try to sleep again I hear creaks and a scratching noise. After 16 years, I have become accustomed to these happenings, but I still wonder what is going on.I have been trying to rationalize that things that happened that day, maybe it's just a dream, but I remember it so vividly and with such great detail that I always second guess it.Another...I woke up last night at 3:00am again and looked outside my window, I now sleep on the ground floor (different house), there was nothing there, but when I tried to sleep, I heard a lot of creaking. I looked up at the picture frame the is across from my frame I saw rapid movement, almost like the face was moving side to side, up and down. I felt my heartbeat increase and as I sat up and looked to the left of my room, I saw a large foot just there, ceiling to the floor. I freaked and forced myself to go back to sleep.

Heres my take on the afterlife.Question: If there are so many diverse religions, where is it exactly that people go? It is hard to determine where people go after their death. If one is not the same religion as you, it is taught that they go to hell, well now now, that must mean that hell has many more people than in heaven. Now here is what I think, after death, one goes to where one mind wants it to, think of how large the universe is, how many dimensions there are that haven not yet been explored. It is vast space that our soul gets caught in and we ourselves make it out to be what we want it to be. This is also where the difference between heaven and hell come in. Every human knows in the back of their mind if they should go to heaven or hell, one with a guilty conscious will go to hell. It is much like a dream, you dream about all of the things that are stuck in your subconscious mind that you would not think about during the day.The Question of life after death will linger on for eternity never being solved because when one does, there is no point in making your life pure if you know where it is exactly that you go.

Hey, new here to Xisto.com and am currently hosted by them. I have created this new student based interactive news website for my school. Check it out and tell me what you guys think. http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

There is only one thing that is destined in ones life and that is death. We are born to die, that's the truth. There are many of us that do not grow old, there are many of us that can not stay young (my mother says otherwise). If one knew their sole purpose in life, there would be no point in living it. there doesn't have to be religion attached to everything. It's quite simple. When one is setting off to do a proof and they accidentally stumble upon the solution, there is no point in doing it as it is already known. Philosophical indeed.

This topic of ghosts is a very touchy one and solely depends on the view of the individual person. The media, especially as of late, has portrayed ghosts as grotesque and horrific things, instilling fear into all those that are drawn to their films or shows. There is no doubt in my mind that there are ghosts, it simply would not make sense if there weren't. Sir Isaac Newton's law of Conservation states that energy can not be destroyed. Our soul and being can not be completely destroyed, so where is it that it goes? There are many theories as to what happens after death, one of the most popular is the one that states that the soul of a being is attached to this Earth only if they do not want to let go. Therefore, lets say that an individual has some unfinished business to attend to, after death they will more or less stick around to see that the task is completed. Or think of it as attachment as well, if someone is attached to a house and particularly a room, it is most likely that they will remain there forever.Now I have 2 theories. There are many dimensions that are known to humans, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Yet I believe that there are many more that we simply cannot get a grasp of. I believe that humans do not have the capacity to differentiate between what is real and what is not real and these ghosts have found ways to travel between these different dimensions. It's much like a black hole in outer space, we know it's there, but do not know what it does. Some scientists have theorized that it can be used for time travel by use of different dimensions, far-fetched, sure, but it's not wrong unless it is proven.Another theory is that there are no ghosts and everything that happens is solely based on the human being and their own psychological powers. If you've heard of psi-balls, you know exactly what I am talking about, I have experienced this and have even blown out a candle with it once. I believe that if an individual really wants something, they can make it happen with the use of their minds. So all this ghost mumbo-jumbo happens only when the individual really wants it to happen. It's true, it's human nature to love fear, yet hate it at the same time. As far as death goes, you know when you go to sleep and don't remember the dream the next day? Thats exactly what I think happens, your just gone, in a deep sleep somewhere never to wake up, sometimes though you can be awaken by a jolt from a defibrillator.Thats my input for the day.

It is quite easy to control your dreams, just keep on reassuring yourself that you are indeed in control. It is also easy for one to become consumed by their dreams, hence the falling off the beds, a lot of movement, and sleep walking. I used to sleep walk a lot and drink milk during the night for absolutely no reason. I began to tell myself that it is I that is in control of my actions whether I am asleep or not. I soon stopped sleep walking.

When I was a child I thought exactly the same, but i always realized that when I pointed 2 mirrors together, I could never get myself or the back of my head to show in the 4th or 5th reflection (if you can follow it ) but i also realized that it always curves off, even if the 2 mirrors are parallel to each other, I think it would be cool of one were able to see down the curved pathway.

It's an urban myth with no scientific backing, just like falling in your dreams means that you'll die in real life. Some "scientists" say that when one dies in their dreams, they wake up, does this not contradict what your "scientist" says? One can only die by not differentiating a dream from reality. For e.g an individual can dream that his wife has cheated on him, this dream maybe so vivid that he may think that it really happened. The next morning he awakes not remembering the dream, but has developed a sort of malice towards his wife, this is all subconscious. I have seen this happen on many occasions. I can only think that this can lead to someones death.

The thing with Deja-Vu is that it can't be stopped, you always think that... "wait hasn't this already happened before?" but you can never alter what happens. I had a deja-vu last week during a hockey game where I remembered exactly what happened, but this was only while it was in the process of happening. It takes ones mind so long to adjust to what it has just seen that when one speaks, it may be too late to change the course of action.

It seems as though your subconscious is taking all of the stuff you saw or have seen in the past and meshing it up as time goes along. I'll need more info, like did you watch friends the day of? Did you watch any TV as a matter of fact? Have you ever gotten pulled over by a police officer that was quite rude? When is it that you actually wake up? (The death of somebody, you almost getting beat up, etc.) It is said that our subconscious is all connected somewhere in the Universe, ever have a Deja Vu incident or a premonition? I'm not doing all this to sound smart, but I do know some stuff about weird dreams and how they somewhat tie in to someones life. I'm a psych major in college and all these things intrigue me. Here's my thought on your situation: The snow bus is usually a symbol of death, if one has knowledge of literature and literary devices, snow is often used to foreshadow the coming of death or a tragic event, hence the shooting later on. Joey was only there because you wanted him to, he may be of your liked/disliked actors that you are constantly reminded of. The police officer not wanting to help you may be from sometime at a young age when you may have been afraid of the police and them not coming to aide you when you needed help. The bunch of Officers may be a gang of kids of adults that you despise or have some sort of malice against, or vice-versa. Them shooting at you creates a dramatic exodus of you and your little group. The boxes symbolize the many obstacles that you may have faced throughout your life, and the helping of the girlfriend just shows how much you believe she complements you. The running to save your girlfriend and kicking of the cigar puts you into the role of the Hero, which is everyones dream. This is all stuff I deduced, truly I know nothing of you brother.

Hey I'm pretty new to these forums, but I'm sure I can contribute in some way. Here are some sigs that I have. For Socom For someone else Hockey, YEAHH F.E.A.R tell me what yall think.