POE and HAWTHORNE: Psychological Puzzles?

After reading "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe and "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, we are left with a sense of the supernatural which is characteristic of some literature born during the American Romantic period.  Make a comparison, using quotations from both of the short stories, of some of the elements of the supernatural and explain how they advance the meaning of the stories. Can the authors be considered psychological enigmas?  Explain.   Write between 1/2 page to 3/4 page; respond to two of your peers' posts by Friday at midnight.

Throughout the story Rip Van Winkle, Washington Irving relies heavily on the use of description in regards to both nature and characters. There are many different scenes in which nature is described in great detail, and most of the characters have their features described carefully. In which ways is this reliance on nature important? What does it say about Rip Van Winkle and his attributes regarding the earthly world? What about the description of characters? What is it that Irving is saying about Rip's tendency to detail things? Is there a connection between how he views the world and how he interacts with it?

Steve Job's Graduation Speech at Stanford University 2005

The link for the video we were watching in class is here: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc&feature=player_embedded

In this blog, you are to simply watch the video of this great American.  You are then to make a response without much prompting from me.  It is your reaction that matters.  This is an informal writing so structure is not important.  What does this video evoke inside of you?  What is your response to Steve Job's basic philosophy of life?