Quotation 1) "This morning brought fear that there hid somewhere on one of the back roads he intended to canvass another seizure, a bolt of lightning coiled behind a rock or stump or within the hollow of a tree or some strange nest and which his passing would trigger to spring, to explode, and to impale him."  This quote, stated by George but in reference to Howard's life, reveals Howard's hypochondriasis caused by his seizures that often leave him lying on the roads he would use to deliver goods in the midst of winter storms.  Howard does not tell his son, George, about his condition, causing George great distress as he slowly uncovers the truth.  This quote is one of the many times throughout the story in which Howard or George are in a situation where a medical condition either separates or connects George and Howard.  Howards seizures would bring them together, as George would try his best to help Howard, but are also the reason that George decides to escape from his family.

Quotation 2) "Another Incredible clock of which the author had the delight to hear is the clepsydra given by the king of Persia to Charlemagne in 1807." This quote is followed by Georges description of this clock, as well a few other clocks that he found interesting.  George explains how these clocks work in greater depth than any other person or thing in the book, showing his enjoyment and understanding of the clocks.  While his memories of the past tend to follow negative parts of his life, George is only ever calm and happy while he is remembering clocks, such as these.

This license plate fits George's personality due to his obsession with clocks.  While he is dying in his house, he notices that all the clocks in the room have wound down, and realizes that the clocks represent his body as it is shutting down.

 
Lit Circle Assignment 1

1a)  "He had built the house himself-poured the foundation, raised the frame, joined the pipes, run the wires, plastered the walls, and painted the room."(2) This quotation reveals the history behind the house that George, the main character, was going to die in, due to his sickness.  This house represents Georges life, as just like George, it is now falling apart.  The quote is also important to setting as it is the location where George and his family are whenever the story is not following his memories.

b) "When he imagined inside the case of that clock,  dark and dry and hollow, and the still pendulum hanging down its length, he felt the inside of his own chest and had a sudden panic that it, too, had wound down"(52)  This quotation is this first time in the book that George realizes that he realizes that he is going to die.  The quotation also shows how important the clocks are to George, as up to this point, clocks only seemed to be Georges' hobby and occupation,

2a) Clocks play a major role throughout the story for George.  He not only extensively explains about how he used to fix clocks, but also uses clocks as a way to represent his own life throughout the novel. 

b) The wagon that Georges' father Howard drives is the basis of all the stories George tells about Howard.  Howard was never away from his wagon, with his whole life style revolving around who and when he would need to bring the wagon to sell his items.  Outside of his day job, he would also use the wagon to bootleg whiskey.  Howard also uses the wagon as a tool to escape from his family.

c) A wood block is used by George to prevent Howard from biting his tongue while he was having seizures.  Throughout  the story, George refers to the wood block whenever he is remembering a negative aspect of his father.  When George was placing the wood block into his mouth one time, he was bitten.

d) Georges' family uses a dining table as make shift hospital bed for George to lie on.  There use of a dining table shows that George lives in older times or in a rural area.  The whole story is told by George while he is on this table.

 
Security Reading Response

               This article is written to provide a few points of views on the security vs. privacy issue.  The Author of the article shares reasons for why security has and will continue to have an advantage of privacy due to the fact that the government can create and initialize any law by stating that is necessary to do so in order to protect ourselves from terrorist threats.  The author proves his beliefs by disproving commonly used fallacies and arguments used by pro-security groups.  

 
I found the passage, Once Upon a Time, to be a unique but interesting story, even though i did not fully understand the authors reason for writing the article the way she did.  I found the way that she wrote the beginning of the story like a fairy tale was unnecessary.  To help me understand the story i used the reading strategy of rereading a few major parts of the story to allow me to get a better understanding.  I believe that my strengths in reading analysis and comprehension are that I read slowly and carefully, allowing me to remember important information.  My weaknesses are that i sometimes don't realize or create connections between characters.
 
Connor Torpy

Stephen Fry Article Response

               I found the claims made by Stephen Fry presented a unique point of view that brought up a few major points and questions in my head while I was reading his letter.  I do not necessarily agree with Stephen Fry’s statements that Putin’s actions are mimicking those in the Nazi regimes.  The laws do not clearly state all LGBT actions to be illegal, but they are open ended enough to potentially be used as a legal scapegoat for the prosecution of certain LGBT individuals and groups in the future. I do believe however that if the laws are enforced during the Olympics, the reputation of the Olympics being a time where the whole world can come together peacefully may no longer be true.  A full change in the location of the host city at this point in time would be near impossible. As so, the most likely result will be similar to what occurred at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, the last time in which Russia held the Olympics, in which nearly half of the countries that were going to participate boycotted the event entirely.  Every day that goes past without a country bringing up the option of boycotting the Olympics will only make it less likely that any national or worldwide rebellion will take place.