English Blog

    I enjoyed a summer vacation in Mammoth where I saw wild horses, found obsidian and crossed the border from Mammoth to Nevada to have lunch.  I traveled to all these places and saw all these things with my Uncle Greggy, who is not really my Uncle but a close family friend.  We were driving in his black Ford pick up truck when we saw a big cloud of dust.  Then we saw something I have never seen since, wild mustangs.  What an amazing thing to witness.  Some were brown some were black and some were many other different colors.  My sister squealed with joy at the sight of such gorgeous horses.  It was so incredible to see a creature in the wild that one usually sees in captivity.  Next, we drove over hills and through desert to get to a place full of obsidian.  Obsidian is a black rock that was used to make arrowheads for spears a long time ago.  We found arrowheads and numerous big chunks (many of which we still have today) in the hot, dusty and very dry desert.  After all the excitement we were all quite tired and decided to go to lunch.  We all had a good meal together in the hot, yet somehow relaxing restaurant after crossing the border into Nevada.  When we left it seemed so quiet, almost like a ghost town one would read about in a book.  Back at Uncle Greggy’s house I remember saying goodbye to him, while wondering when we would have another adventure together.  Before I could see him again we received a phone call from him saying that he had moved to Arizona.  This was my most enjoyable vacation because I got to see a close family friend, wild mustangs, obsidian and leave the state just to have lunch.

The Cask of Amontillado

By: Edgar Allan Poe

What is revenge?  It is made clear from the beginning that Montresor has a strong intent to have revenge on the wealthy and prosperous Fortunado.  It becomes obvious that he does not intend to kill Fortunado but rather to make him suffer when he says, “I continued, as was my wont, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation.”  Montresor planned to sacrifice Fortunado, implying that it would be slow, hard and painful.  He thought that Fortunado’s slow death would be revenge for the many “injuries” he received from Fortunado.  Montresor is aware of Fortunado’s habit of drinking alcohol to excess and decides to use it against him ultimately resulting in Fortunado’s downfall.  However, his plans do not turn out exactly has he had hoped.  Once Montresor shackles Fortunado in the dark, wet cellars he begins to fill up the whole in the wall to conceal where Fortunado is being held.  All the while, he is feeling increasingly guilty with each rattling of the chains holding the Fortunado.  When he is placing the last stone, he hears a voice form within the chamber that does not resemble that of the noble Fortunado, though it must be him for the chamber has no other way out.  Fortunado wants Montresor to believe that he thinks Montresor’s  “prank” is childish and just a joke.  Fortunado then goes on to say, “For the love of God, Montresor!”  Montresor replies, “yes, for the love of God!”  This exchange between the characters demonstrates Montresor’s lack of mercy for the Fortunado.  However, Montresor does say, “My heart grew sick–on account of the dampness of the catacombs.”  In reality, Montresor is sickened by his own actions in entombing Fortunado alive.