pleaaaaaaaaaaase click that ^
Sunday, January 30, 2011
I just thought this was really...interesting.
So, I was reading some posts on TheOnion (because Mrs. Griffin recommended it.) It is HILARIOUS if you get the jokes. Anyway, I saw this and I just thought of what a "fail" the whole situation was:
Controversy #5 Bruno Mars and Cocaine. Shocker? I know.
Controversy #5:
Bruno Mars and cocaine possession
Title of Article: Bruno Mars taking plea deal in Vegas cocaine case
http://new.music.yahoo.com/bruno-mars/news/bruno-mars-taking-plea-deal-in-vegas-cocaine-case--62005578
Author: PST
Date of Publication: January 28, 2011
Time Accessed: 10:22 PM
We were all led on by his beautiful mellifluous voice. We all sing his songs. We all love him. Similarly, were all cheated. Yes: cheated. Why did Bruno Mars have to ruin the fantasy he engendered in the minds of millions of female diehards? I’m sure we all shared the initial thoughts that generally held a strong sense of denial and rage at the very accusation that Mars would attempt such a change of heart. After reading and digesting the evidence and how Mars was caught with 2.6 grams of cocaine, I couldn’t avoid the rush of disappointment and the feeling of betrayal that lodged itself in my throat. It was stated in the article that Mars claimed that “he'd never used drugs before.” Yep, like the authorities haven’t heard that one before. That was a fabulous attempt to lighten the already burdensome problem you strapped on yourself Mars.
Although I am a fan of his music, I have to confess that the plea deal that he was given was too generous. Cocaine possession is a serious offense and letting a celebrity off with nothing but a slap on the wrist and a “don’t do that again” lecture makes me realize sadly at how our government has degraded throughout the years. The article stated quite nonchalantly. “Mars' real name is Peter Hernandez. Defense lawyers David Chesnoff and Blair Berk said that if he pays a $2,000 fine, performs 200 hours of community service, completes drug counseling and stays out of trouble for a year, no conviction will remain on his record. I was hurt that his name was another lie (even though that was naturally a given in the music industry); nonetheless, I still felt another wave of sorrow pierce my soul. Through all the evidence that proved that yes, Mars is an excellent manipulator of emotions; yes, Mars is an awesome artist; yes, Mars has resorted to drugs and a pansy plea deal, It all comes down to this: I strongly assert that there must’ve been something dreadfully wrong which forced Mars to resort to such demeaning actions, but further measures must be taken to assure the public that celebrities won’t be given leniency from the law because they’re U.S. citizens just like me. Moreover, correct me if I’m wrong, but I remember that “all men are created equal,” but that’s for another controversy.
Controversy #4
Hey guys, I know I know...
Title of Article: “Chicago man wears Packers tie to work, is promptly fired”
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Chicago-man-wears-Packers-tie-to-work-is-prompt?urn=nfl-311976
I have't been keeping up on the blogs recently due to an onslaught of tennis matches and marine awareness events, but I am here now to catch up.
Controversy #4:
Man fired for wearing Green Bay Packers Tie
Title of Article: “Chicago man wears Packers tie to work, is promptly fired”
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Chicago-man-wears-Packers-tie-to-work-is-prompt?urn=nfl-311976
Author: MJD
Date of Publication: January 25, 2011
Time Accessed: 10:03 pm
Date Accessed: January 25, 2011
After reading and accessing the article I’ve read and watching the video that came with the article, I sat a moment to think over what I had just learned. One thing I was educated on in AP American Government is that the media is always biased. Where is the relevance between knowing that the media is biased and this man getting fired over wearing a Green Bay Packers tie? The article I read did not further supply its readers with more information regarding
John Stone (the man fired) and his background information. Even though the article almost lured me into its deceptive clutches, I knew better than to walk right into believing everything that the media says because, like I said: the media is always biased. After realizing that I had no idea what John Stone’s “work ethic” was, I had no right to ridiculously point fingers of who made a fault in judgment here. Maybe John Stone was already on the precipice of receiving that ineluctably horrific pink slip, or maybe the general manager of the car dealership, Jerry Roberts unjustly fired John Stone just because the dealership supported the rival of the Green Bay Packers, who, after some degree of research on my part, happen to be the Chicago Bears. Roberts boldly claims, “I don't feel that it was appropriate for him to go directly in contrast with an advertising campaign that we spent a lot of money on.” The question remains: was it just to fire a man because he was wearing a tie that your dealership disapproved of? I assert strongly that not enough information is given to justify any of my assertion fairly.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Controversy of the Week Essay #3: Teen pregnancy perpetuates D.C. poverty
This article off The Washington Post entitled, “Teen pregnancy perpetuates D.C. poverty,” is an issue that we have all come to know very well. It is definitely a controversial issue placed in individuals, whether they be the pregnant teen, fathering teen, parent/parents of the teen, friends, etc. The idea strikes their families, including younger siblings, and their peers as well. This Washington Post article, in particular, has given the statistics of just one state in the nation, Washington, D.C.
The post proclaims that teen pregnancy is a “one-way ticket to persistent poverty,” and that, “teen pregnancy… is a driving force behind the rolls of the District's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and…the origin of many of the children placed in the city's foster-care system.” The article reinstates that 17,000 families in the District are enrolled in TANF, and that over 50% of the TANF recipients had started their families when they were teens. It is clear that, because this unfortunate issue is so widespread, it is not only aimed to those in Washington, D.C. but also to those in nations around the world, especially in the U.S. Therefore, this article hits those everywhere who encounter the issue or who feel for those involved.
Why get active on this controversy? Paragraph seven expands concern with more details, exposing that, in 2009, the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency served a total of 3, 841 abused, neglected, or abandoned children. Approximately 76%, 2, 903, of those children were born to teen parents or parents who’ve had previous children as teens. Executive Director of DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, Brenda Rhodes Miller, extends the issue range and tells us that children in foster care are much more likely than other youth to be classified with an emotional or behavioral disorder and to be placed in special education programs.
The article rightfully concludes that the poverty does not only take effect in terms of income, but also in unstable child development that hinders the lives of the boys and girls, and one example would be the structure of their homes and families. Miller’s last statement exclaims, “Spending money on the front end for high-quality programs and services that motivate young people to postpone pregnancy until they've gotten an education and grown up is a much smarter investment than trying to pick up the pieces on the back end.” Moreover, the country is losing this “back end”; the nation’s funding sources in deficit.
In my opinion, teens are in dire need of being informed of the setbacks and consequences that are a result of teen pregnancy. In my home, as young as my younger siblings are, with the exception of me, the 16-year-old, we are constantly reminded that for as long as we are not going in the direction of completing our college education and stabilizing our lives, we are not to conduct or associate with such behavioral levels. As teens, we must really pay close attention to the well-to-do adults in our lives and the advice they give us. I have learned to always listen closely and reason with their statements because they are old enough to know and see the extensions to the young life we are seeing in “OUR” eyes with such a naïve scope. I’d take advantage of what they have to say until it’s my turn to face it all myself.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/07/AR2011010704249_2.html?nav=hcmoduletmv
The Washington Post
by Colbert I. King
Published: Saturday, January 8, 2011
The Washington Post
by Colbert I. King
Published: Saturday, January 8, 2011
Friday, December 17, 2010
A Christmas Poem to My Classmates...Happy Holidays!
That opens up our eyes
To the unexpected gifts in life—
Each day a sweet surprise.
For the people whom we know;
Like festive Christmas candles,
Each one has a special glow.
A dash of Christmas food,
(Amazing how a piece of pie
Improves our attitude!)
Wrap it up in love and peace,
Decorate with optimism, and
Our joy will never cease.
We know we will remember
To be in the Christmas spirit,
Even when it's not December.
I.R.#2-The Woman Warrior: Prose Analysis #2 of 2
Pg. 171; Paragraph 3
My mouth went permanently crooked with effort, turned down on the left side and straight on the right. How strange that the emigrant villagers are shouters, hollering face to face. My father asks, "Why is it I can hear Chinese from blocks away? Is it that I understand the language? Or is it they talk loud?" They turn the radio up full blast to hear the operas, which do not seem to hurt their ears. And they yell over the singers that wail over the drums, everybody talking at once, big arm gestures, spit flying. You can see the disgust on American faces looking at women like that. It isn't just the loudness. It is the way Chinese sounds, chingchong ugly, to American ears, not beautiful like Japanese sayonara words with the consonants and vowels as regular as Italian.
Analysis:
This piece of passage firstly helps us see the symbolism of how a Chinese emigrant is portrayed through American eyes. The presented diction plays the imagery very well, especially where it repeats about the Chinese shouting being able to be heard blocks away, the big arm gestures, and the spitting. I myself see this in movies, as well and (with no offense intended) I can agree with what this passage is implying. But because these emigrated individuals are different, there is no reason for us to discriminate, nor for them to alter themselves because of discrimination. I gained this idea in my readings, and must I say, society has changed and acceptance is here.
Secondly, in America, this is the perceived Chinese. But, back at their home, the Chinese are strict and skilled. There shall be no reason for chaos. There is order and expectations. Why now in America are they depicted as these types of human beings? The passage reads, "It isn't just the loudness. It is the way the Chinese sounds, chingchong ugly, to American ears, not beautiful like Japanese sayonara words with the consonants and vowels as regular as Italian." It seems as if coming to America has changed the Chinese point of view-from ordered to chaotic, from traditional to optional, from directed to wanting to feel "American-feminine." Describing your own people as "chingchong ugly" is another hint that Kingston was probably not as proud being a Chinese in America as she would be if she were back in China.
In conclusion, this passage vaguely, but surely presses into the Chinese's image in America and adds another puzzle piece to the idea of Chinese emigrants' struggles and changes in direction to the American way.
My mouth went permanently crooked with effort, turned down on the left side and straight on the right. How strange that the emigrant villagers are shouters, hollering face to face. My father asks, "Why is it I can hear Chinese from blocks away? Is it that I understand the language? Or is it they talk loud?" They turn the radio up full blast to hear the operas, which do not seem to hurt their ears. And they yell over the singers that wail over the drums, everybody talking at once, big arm gestures, spit flying. You can see the disgust on American faces looking at women like that. It isn't just the loudness. It is the way Chinese sounds, chingchong ugly, to American ears, not beautiful like Japanese sayonara words with the consonants and vowels as regular as Italian.
Analysis:
This piece of passage firstly helps us see the symbolism of how a Chinese emigrant is portrayed through American eyes. The presented diction plays the imagery very well, especially where it repeats about the Chinese shouting being able to be heard blocks away, the big arm gestures, and the spitting. I myself see this in movies, as well and (with no offense intended) I can agree with what this passage is implying. But because these emigrated individuals are different, there is no reason for us to discriminate, nor for them to alter themselves because of discrimination. I gained this idea in my readings, and must I say, society has changed and acceptance is here.
Secondly, in America, this is the perceived Chinese. But, back at their home, the Chinese are strict and skilled. There shall be no reason for chaos. There is order and expectations. Why now in America are they depicted as these types of human beings? The passage reads, "It isn't just the loudness. It is the way the Chinese sounds, chingchong ugly, to American ears, not beautiful like Japanese sayonara words with the consonants and vowels as regular as Italian." It seems as if coming to America has changed the Chinese point of view-from ordered to chaotic, from traditional to optional, from directed to wanting to feel "American-feminine." Describing your own people as "chingchong ugly" is another hint that Kingston was probably not as proud being a Chinese in America as she would be if she were back in China.
In conclusion, this passage vaguely, but surely presses into the Chinese's image in America and adds another puzzle piece to the idea of Chinese emigrants' struggles and changes in direction to the American way.
I.R.#2-The Woman Warrior:Reader Response #4 of 4
This last section of my reading is primarily focused on the final chapter, titled, "A Song for a Barbarian Reed Pipe." The whole story has come together in determining the truths of Chinese emigrants to America. In the place of a girl-throughout the expanse of the story- a lot of the passages define shame; how you are admitted into a shameful bubble and how you are treated because of it.
A term repeated in the story is "American-feminine." Kingston, being a Chinese girl born in America, always felt the need to fit into the picture in American life. In my previous post, I mentioned recently reading of how the Asian-American emigrants are the fastest growing discriminated-against ethnic group. To collect information from the passages in the story, Chinese girls were under pressure just for being girls. Girls, in China, were considered the least favored sex, who would either become wives or slaves. I've come to realize that Kingston's fantasies of being a warrior were a sign of hope and dignity. I sense that it signified strength. Kingston did not want to be put down. If anything she may have wanted recognition and honor, because it is what she deserved, same for other Chinese girls. Chinese girls were constantly put straight to shame because they were girls. Boys were given the ultimate pride: the toys, the outings with uncle, the training, etc. Girls were the servants getting ready to be married to men with money who would go out to work and send the women money while she cared for her family. I cannot agree with this. However, all this "women-being-lower" talk has been a part of cultures worldwide. Men were always the dominant sex.
On account of raising a Chinese daughter, Brave Orchid (Kingston's mother) had cut her daughter's tongue so that she would not get tongue-twisted as she was raised. This did not work in Kingston's favor, for she was tongue-twisted anyway. But, I just can't understand why a mother would do such a thing as drastic as that. Why couldn't the mother have the hope to be content, no matter how her daughter had turned out? I'd really like to do more research and find out how morals differed between the Chinese and Americans. There was also a moment in the book where Kingston confesses to her mother that she had taken the life of a spider. This immediately offset her mother and she spoke no more of it. How strict, really, is it in a Chinese household? I do remember having a classmate in elementary school. Her name was Hannah L. Because my mother is a teacher at my elementary school, she had a conference with this girl's mother at the time. The mother tells my mom that her daughters do not watch television. They listen to music and play instruments and no matter how rocket-high their grades were already, they received tutoring on the side for advancement. This amazed me. I continue to wonder about their state of mind, expectations , racial thoughts as they get competitive, etc.
All-in-all, I observed that Maxing Hong Kingston had come a long way in a hard life of being a Chinese emigrant to the United States of America. There was enough evidence to show that discretion was tight in the Chinese revealing themselves to the Americans. The Chinese children were asked not to disclose certain information to Americans. Evidently, growing up was already challenging because of that. What about making friends? Or sharing? This has been another interesting read and an addition to my position on feminism, and I have to say that I can definitely compare privileged girls in high society, to those in foreign countries who are trying to get past in America; changing, reinventing, and converting themselves. I pray that females never shy away from their dreams and goals in life. Females are not servants, or slaves, or strictly wives. Females are their own warriors who fight every day just for the simplest things. Through this we can become the true heroes because firstly analyze what's within.
A term repeated in the story is "American-feminine." Kingston, being a Chinese girl born in America, always felt the need to fit into the picture in American life. In my previous post, I mentioned recently reading of how the Asian-American emigrants are the fastest growing discriminated-against ethnic group. To collect information from the passages in the story, Chinese girls were under pressure just for being girls. Girls, in China, were considered the least favored sex, who would either become wives or slaves. I've come to realize that Kingston's fantasies of being a warrior were a sign of hope and dignity. I sense that it signified strength. Kingston did not want to be put down. If anything she may have wanted recognition and honor, because it is what she deserved, same for other Chinese girls. Chinese girls were constantly put straight to shame because they were girls. Boys were given the ultimate pride: the toys, the outings with uncle, the training, etc. Girls were the servants getting ready to be married to men with money who would go out to work and send the women money while she cared for her family. I cannot agree with this. However, all this "women-being-lower" talk has been a part of cultures worldwide. Men were always the dominant sex.
On account of raising a Chinese daughter, Brave Orchid (Kingston's mother) had cut her daughter's tongue so that she would not get tongue-twisted as she was raised. This did not work in Kingston's favor, for she was tongue-twisted anyway. But, I just can't understand why a mother would do such a thing as drastic as that. Why couldn't the mother have the hope to be content, no matter how her daughter had turned out? I'd really like to do more research and find out how morals differed between the Chinese and Americans. There was also a moment in the book where Kingston confesses to her mother that she had taken the life of a spider. This immediately offset her mother and she spoke no more of it. How strict, really, is it in a Chinese household? I do remember having a classmate in elementary school. Her name was Hannah L. Because my mother is a teacher at my elementary school, she had a conference with this girl's mother at the time. The mother tells my mom that her daughters do not watch television. They listen to music and play instruments and no matter how rocket-high their grades were already, they received tutoring on the side for advancement. This amazed me. I continue to wonder about their state of mind, expectations , racial thoughts as they get competitive, etc.
All-in-all, I observed that Maxing Hong Kingston had come a long way in a hard life of being a Chinese emigrant to the United States of America. There was enough evidence to show that discretion was tight in the Chinese revealing themselves to the Americans. The Chinese children were asked not to disclose certain information to Americans. Evidently, growing up was already challenging because of that. What about making friends? Or sharing? This has been another interesting read and an addition to my position on feminism, and I have to say that I can definitely compare privileged girls in high society, to those in foreign countries who are trying to get past in America; changing, reinventing, and converting themselves. I pray that females never shy away from their dreams and goals in life. Females are not servants, or slaves, or strictly wives. Females are their own warriors who fight every day just for the simplest things. Through this we can become the true heroes because firstly analyze what's within.
I Really Did Not Like What He Said
I was reading this article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20101215/ts_yblog_thelookout/rick-scotts-bold-education-plan-draws-bevy-of-critics#mwpphu-container
, then I came across this comment that immediately peeved and irked the heck out of me.
You can't really read it, but here is what John 3 said:
"Public school systems in this country have failed and arte going to continue to fail and that one of the reasons that the public school systems have fallen way behind european schools. I know that in public school system sex education and sports are more important than any other subjects and both should have nothing to do with a tax payer based school system. Yes I believe in school vouchers so a parent can send their kids to a private ,home based or public schools and that judge has overstepped his bounds and needs to keep their mouth shut and quit interfering in rights of others as well as the teachers union which is nothing but socialism.Public school systems have failed since the 60s .Right today you got young people graduating High School that cant read good cant halfway write and some graduate top of class and have no desire to get a job .So whats wrong with public school system in the U.S they have fallen flat"
This dude also named John replied:
"Are you speaking for yourself. Or, has the level of your illiteracy been acquired through hard work and dedication?"
My response:
Yes, where have you acquired such skill; such literacy?
I dislike your hasty generalizations towards public schools in the US. I also find objectionable the information you interestingly provided for us readers. Firstly, sex education and sports are not more important than any other subjects nor do I find that my school is largely biased on what subjects prove to be superior over others. Denying the fact that I may prioritize and excel in certain subjects over others, it doesn’t mean that I miserably fail the rest. Most, if not all, subjects are considered equal and are given credit that way (depending on the school’s curriculum.) Secondly, again, not all public schools are “failures” or have “failed since the 60’s.” There are always those sour apples and our schools in the US try their hardest to locate and separate those from the good so the rest will remain unaffected; however, they can’t get all of them. Similarly, the police are perpetually haunted by those who tend to slip under the radar and avoid being caught. (If we were discussing our nation’s security…that’s a different issue)
Finally, I grew extremely peeved after reading what you asserted on your two concluding sentences: “Right today you got young people graduating High School that cant read good cant halfway write and some graduate top of class and have no desire to get a job .So whats wrong with public school system in the U.S they have fallen flat”
Now, where you obtained such questionable information, I can’t bear to fathom, but be assured that we aren’t all idiots and rebels as you seem to perceive us to be. I was enormously impressed with your diction and syntax when you said “cant read good cant halfway write.” My response: What were you saying? Here’s my advice, before going around and criticizing the homes of others, why don’t you check if your house is in check first? It would be horrendous if someone proved you to be the opposite of what you truly are: a well-educated man(?) Also, it won’t hurt to prove you wrong one last time when I emphasize that I plan on getting a job after graduating top of my class while taking classes at a University. In fact, I am close friends with the other top-notch students and most already have a job and I know a myriad of respectable teachers that would vouch for us; no questions asked. We’ve toiled and endured quite a lot of hardships to get where we are and I am not going to let some (insert insulting adjective and derogatory noun) bad-mouth otherwise.
I commend your bold claim, but before you make anther statement that would prove to be folly, I suggest that you do a considering amount of research because you never know who’s going to be stomaching your words.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
I.R.#2-The Woman Warrior:Reader Response #3 of 4
Continuing on with my reading, I have grown to be so appreciative and accepting of this different ethnic background. Because this book is majority talk-story and fantasizing from Maxine Kingston's point of view, all I could really analyze are the experiences and the diction that the author uses. I'll have to admit that the images created in the lines are very abstract and full of meaning. To think of old China-and even old Asia, generally- is to think and feel art. I go on to read with respect towards people and traditional practices as the characters do amongst each other in interaction with their customs.
When I read that Maxine Kingston's mother, had lost two children, happening to be Kingston's rightful siblings, I began to wonder. How much grief to people in this culture actually feel and experience? Do they believe in happiness in the life after the one lived? Or, do they believe it is simply what's destined for the individuals? Another point that came across was when I previously remembered reading of how girls are not the desired choice when a woman is bearing a child. In this section, I read that Kingston's mother had used money she received from her husband to attend medical school. I am struck once again with the mode of feminism, and I think, "That is great!" Way to make something of yourself. I saw that no matter how dishonoring a girl may be in old China, girls still have willpower, self-esteem, and determination. If I were a girl in old-China, I'd feel shameful for just being a girl if I had to hear that I'm a problem almost every day. It's nice to see that in Kingston's stories and characters, there is strength rising in the hearts of the females; carrying a child about to be born from an unknown man to your family and making a sacrifice to remove the same from your family, fantasizing of life as a Chinese warrior, hearing the accomplishments and dignified stories passed down from your mother. It's truly amazing. I really believe that all this talk-story empowers life and gives it a meaning. Not only is Kingston's mother passing the value of independence to her, but also the value of being yourself and knowing just how great a potential you have if you set your mind to it.
Now, in total contradiction to what I just expressed myself on in response to this section, I come across another scenario. Old Chinese slave girls for sale. ENOUGH SAID. Really?! The book outlined that Kingston's mother, known as "Brave Orchid" in this section, had hassled on the idea that her daughter Maxine's birth had cost her $200 during the time when girls were being given away as slaves for FREE. You could say this makes me red in the face. Here I am thinking the Chinese were respectful. But my new idea is that they demand respect, but don't give it when there is any hint of shame in the picture. As an American citizen, we go by the U.S. Constitution, which promotes civil rights, liberties, and ultimately, the pursuit of happiness. (*gasp) What a big difference between cultures, basically on the values of respect.
I am glad about one thing, though. My question had been answered. What "ghosts" are mentioned in the book? Who are they and how do they exist? Brave Orchid explains to her daughter and teaches her that the ghosts are plainly the white Americans since Kingston's family had become immigrants to the U.S. I recently read in the A.P. American Government textbook that the fastest growing population of discriminated immigrants to the U.S. are the Asian Americans. This saddens me. What a time Kingston's family must have been having. Their way of life must have been dramatically altered, just to search for better. As Mrs. Griffin stated once, America is "the gift that keeps on giving!"
When I read that Maxine Kingston's mother, had lost two children, happening to be Kingston's rightful siblings, I began to wonder. How much grief to people in this culture actually feel and experience? Do they believe in happiness in the life after the one lived? Or, do they believe it is simply what's destined for the individuals? Another point that came across was when I previously remembered reading of how girls are not the desired choice when a woman is bearing a child. In this section, I read that Kingston's mother had used money she received from her husband to attend medical school. I am struck once again with the mode of feminism, and I think, "That is great!" Way to make something of yourself. I saw that no matter how dishonoring a girl may be in old China, girls still have willpower, self-esteem, and determination. If I were a girl in old-China, I'd feel shameful for just being a girl if I had to hear that I'm a problem almost every day. It's nice to see that in Kingston's stories and characters, there is strength rising in the hearts of the females; carrying a child about to be born from an unknown man to your family and making a sacrifice to remove the same from your family, fantasizing of life as a Chinese warrior, hearing the accomplishments and dignified stories passed down from your mother. It's truly amazing. I really believe that all this talk-story empowers life and gives it a meaning. Not only is Kingston's mother passing the value of independence to her, but also the value of being yourself and knowing just how great a potential you have if you set your mind to it.
Now, in total contradiction to what I just expressed myself on in response to this section, I come across another scenario. Old Chinese slave girls for sale. ENOUGH SAID. Really?! The book outlined that Kingston's mother, known as "Brave Orchid" in this section, had hassled on the idea that her daughter Maxine's birth had cost her $200 during the time when girls were being given away as slaves for FREE. You could say this makes me red in the face. Here I am thinking the Chinese were respectful. But my new idea is that they demand respect, but don't give it when there is any hint of shame in the picture. As an American citizen, we go by the U.S. Constitution, which promotes civil rights, liberties, and ultimately, the pursuit of happiness. (*gasp) What a big difference between cultures, basically on the values of respect.
I am glad about one thing, though. My question had been answered. What "ghosts" are mentioned in the book? Who are they and how do they exist? Brave Orchid explains to her daughter and teaches her that the ghosts are plainly the white Americans since Kingston's family had become immigrants to the U.S. I recently read in the A.P. American Government textbook that the fastest growing population of discriminated immigrants to the U.S. are the Asian Americans. This saddens me. What a time Kingston's family must have been having. Their way of life must have been dramatically altered, just to search for better. As Mrs. Griffin stated once, America is "the gift that keeps on giving!"
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Orwell’s “1984” --Prose Analysis 2 of 2
Independent Reading #2
Orwell’s “1984” --Prose Analysis 2 of 2
“He thought of the telescreen with its never-sleeping ear. They could spy upon you night and day, but if you kept your head, you could still outwit them. With all their cleverness they had never mastered the secret of finding out what another human being was thinking.” Pg. 138
It’s amazing at the amount of information you can pull from a passage…
The telescreen is a machine that records and watches what you do and say. It can hear you, see you and it even broadcasts important information (like news). In this passage the telescreen is referred to like a human and this is called personification. This machine (non-human being) is given the sense of hearing and sight. It is also given certain humanly characteristics such as cleverness and the act of spying on someone.
Delving into a deeper level, why would Orwell make Winston refer to the telescreen like a much abhorred person? Why is Winston referring to this machine like a person? In my opinion, humans are the most dangerous creatures on this planet. We are capable of many beautiful and wonderful things, but on the flipside, we are also capable of the most horrendous of things (i.e. the destruction of humanity, and the society they live in serves as an excellent example). Humans bring life and destruction. That is why Winston is referring to the telesreen as if it is a living human. By emphasizing how human it is, is Winston hinting on how the telescreen and those who monitor him become the cause of his inevitable destruction? Is this foreshadowing of what will happen to Winston?
Orwell’s “1984” --Response 3 of 4
Independent Reading #2
Orwell’s “1984” --Response 3 of 4
Pgs.132-197
This particular section contained a lot of information and a lot went on in the course of a few chapters. One particular part that I surprisingly enjoyed was when Winston read the book that O’Brien gave to him to read after Julia and Winston visited his flat. The complexity and the amount of knowledge that the book held is astonishing.
It’s quite amusing how I read this entire section in one sitting while waiting for my doctor to arrive. That’s how tedious the whole waiting period was. There were moments where I would have to stop, reread and then brood about a particular paragraph or conversation in the book. Some of the other patients would stare at me in complete curiosity because of my perpetually creased brow. That’s just how fascinated I was. I finally understood more of the operations and functions of previous societies and how Oceana came to be. I especially found pleasure with Orwell’s reference to the classes (i.e. low, middle and high classes). The book written by Goldstein claimed that every society had their Low, Middle and High. For Oceana, the Low would be the Proles, the Middle being the Outer Party and the Inner Party would be the High. Everything stated in this book is true. There was this particular quote in the book that I can’t quite locate that states that if you keep the society ignorant of what they could have, then they won’t want it and believe that what they have is the best that they could ever obtain because they wouldn’t know any better. Of course that’s common sense, but the blatantly wise statement of such an idea is both horrifying and amazing.
Also, the part about having constant war so that the society can keep the peace was amazingly exhilarating. That statement is a paradox, but in Oceana, it is found true. If the society is in constant war with no one really hurting each other and just constantly depleting supplies that your nation manufactured, then that society would be frozen from progress. A perpetual war is just like perpetual peace (which, by the way, never really occurs.) With no outcome, everyone in the society would be kept in constant routine motions and they would be forced to not think otherwise than their common goal.
Another wonderful statement would be when the book states that whoever has control of the past has control of the present and future because if you think about it, it’s quite true. If you had all documents of the past re-written to fit your present, you can control the outcome of the present, therefore creating your future. The “they” who want to hold this power is the High. The problem is, which is stated in the book, is that the Low, Middle and High are in constant changes. The Middle would want what the High have and would rebel with the Low calling it a rebellious act for freedom and “liberty.” Once the Middle have won and have succeeded in throwing the High off their thrown, they become the High and proceed to toss the Low back to where they belong, so really, the Low just stay where they’re at while constantly wishing for a change. Then, the cycle repeats itself.
Doublethink is a newspeak word where you would have to hold two contradicting thoughts and accept both. As a very logical person, I had a hard time comprehending how this is done. Another part of that rule is that if another thing comes up and replaces that of which you accepted already, you just accept it without hesitation. I ask how this is even possible. It’s just wrong. That just goes against everything I was brought up to believe in. It goes against reasoning. If two things are contradicting, it obviously means one is wrong and the other is right; unless both do not supply enough information to discredit the other and both are correct.
I apologize with the jumbled thoughts, but like I asserted earlier, there was a significant amount of information and my mind is recovering from shock. I seriously was mind-blown with all these epiphanies. One thing I’m sure of: I would never survive in Oceania. I’m too opposite; different. I do not conform and I don’t bode well with incompetent, bigoted authorities. I'm glad I live in this society. How would you feel if you were forced to even think a certain way and you would be immediately annihilated if you do otherwise?
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Orwell’s “1984” --Prose Analysis 1 of 2
Independent Reading #2
Orwell’s “1984” --Prose Analysis 1 of 2
“Winston did not get up for a few minutes more. The room was darkening. He turned over toward the light and lay gazing into the glass paperweight. The inexhaustibly interesting thing was not the fragment of coral but the interior of the class itself. There was such a depth of it, and yet it was almost as transparent as air. It was as though the surface of the glass had been the arch of the sky, enclosing a tiny world with its atmosphere complete. He had the feeling that he could get inside it, and that in fact he was inside it, along with the mahogany bed and the gateleg table and the clock and the steel engraving and the paperweight itself. The paperweight was the room he was in, and the coral was Julia’s life and his own, fixed in a sort of eternity at the heart of the crystal.” Pg. 122
This is a perfect example of an extended metaphor. Basically, the crystal is his life that he erected with Julia; the life that ironically will ineluctably lead to his doom. The room that he rented from the old man who sold the paperweight to him symbolized his “paradise.” He actually described it as his paradise. Ironically, his paradise, again would lead to his death. Ironic because paradise, by definition is, heaven and in his situation, it is not possible for him to have paradise. Even if he does find perfect happiness, I know he still worries.
The extended metaphor is stated in the text provided above, “The paperweight was the room he was in, and the coral was Julia’s life and his own, fixed in a sort of eternity at the heart of the crystal.”
The paperweight, which he holds near and dear to his heart because it is a piece of history that managed to remain unchanged, remained the truth of the past. The paperweight has represented the past and the room he was in at the moment also came from the past. He was laying on a bed that belonged to the past. He ate food that was only made in the past. The coral, the center of the crystal was the life that Julia and Winston created against the rules of the Party. Frozen in eternity, the coral is kept safe from change. Winston terribly wishes that his “love” with Julia can remain as eternal as the coral within the unchanging crystal paperweight.
Winston also uses this metaphor throughout the work, and establishes it into a more complex extended metaphor.
Orwell’s “1984” --Response 2 of 4
Independent Reading #2
Orwell’s “1984” --Response 2 of 4
Pgs.70-129
Again, this section was a fabulous read. I literally ate this part in one sitting; that’s just how awesome it is. There are several parts in this section that have literally caught me off guard and have amazed me thus far. Some of these parts include Julia confessing her love for Winston, them condemning their lives when Winston allows himself to be slowly drawn towards the adventure, and Winston accepting Julia’s advances leaving him doomed.
The story is complex in a way because of Julia and Winston’s lovemaking. It’s ironic because Julia is just a means for Winston, even if Winston does not recognize it yet. The irony stems from Winston’s need to live and his involvement in life occurring exactly at the moment when his time is short because of the very nature of the act itself. Winston’s dual mind characterized him throughout the second part. He knew that what he and Julia are doing is wrong, but she has given him hope. Winston has learned to hope but he has learned to hope at the very moment when he has placed himself in a hopeless situation. This is where we need to realize that Julia is just the means, as I mentioned earlier.
Something else I realized is that even if Julia and Winston share the same dislike towards the Party and Big Brother, they have nothing else in common. Julia doesn’t care for anything that doesn’t touch her life; she deems it unimportant, even if Winston believes that it is important. Julia just wants to be able to live how she wants to but she believes that there is no way to change what’s happened to their world, even if Winston believes otherwise. During this part of the story, there are a lot of realizations that occur and I can’t help but think, “Why is he with this girl?” The only reason must be because he was initially attracted to her, like other males. She was full of youth and she was against the Party’s ways.
I.R.#2-The Woman Warrior: Prose Analysis #1 of 2
A passage from pg.35; Lines 3-20
My mother caught the blood and wiped the cuts with a cold towel soaked in wine. It hurt terribly- the cuts sharp; the air burning; the alcohol cold, then hot- pain so various. I gripped my knees. I released them. Neither tension nor relaxation helped. I wanted to cry. If not for the fifteen years of training, I would have writhed on the floor; I would have had to be held down. The list of grievances went on and on. If an enemy should flay me, the light would shine through my skin like lace.
At the end of the last word, I fell forward. Together my parents sang what they had written, then let me rest. My mother fanned my back. "We'll have you with us until your back heals," she said.
When I could sit up again, my mother brought two mirrors, and I saw my back covered entirely with words in red and black files, like an army, like my army. My parents nursed me just as if I had fallen in battle after many victories. Soon I was strong again.
Analysis:
The tone and diction in this section of text really depicts the scene. This descriptive writing, in combination with words of action really grips a reader in feeling what's going on. This is one type of aspect in books that readers like to engage in, and I enjoy this about the book because it makes the moments exciting, urging the readers to cover more ground in the text.
The overall syntax is also put together very well. The flow of what goes on in this segment is one that can be read well, and also completes the idea of what's happening and what the characters are feeling or experiencing. As the elements of tone, diction, and syntax come together, the text provides a deep meaning or time in the story. This is another advantage to the reader because a text, as so, enhances the experience of imagining the story's scenes.
What goes on in this scene very much symbolizes the nature of Chinese tradition. In many Asian countries, sacrifice and honor is a high portion of value. It is what sets society for the most part. For a parent to even carve on their child's back is really something that portrays strong moral values. This act is a good example of the expectations that the narrator is being held to.
My mother caught the blood and wiped the cuts with a cold towel soaked in wine. It hurt terribly- the cuts sharp; the air burning; the alcohol cold, then hot- pain so various. I gripped my knees. I released them. Neither tension nor relaxation helped. I wanted to cry. If not for the fifteen years of training, I would have writhed on the floor; I would have had to be held down. The list of grievances went on and on. If an enemy should flay me, the light would shine through my skin like lace.
At the end of the last word, I fell forward. Together my parents sang what they had written, then let me rest. My mother fanned my back. "We'll have you with us until your back heals," she said.
When I could sit up again, my mother brought two mirrors, and I saw my back covered entirely with words in red and black files, like an army, like my army. My parents nursed me just as if I had fallen in battle after many victories. Soon I was strong again.
Analysis:
The tone and diction in this section of text really depicts the scene. This descriptive writing, in combination with words of action really grips a reader in feeling what's going on. This is one type of aspect in books that readers like to engage in, and I enjoy this about the book because it makes the moments exciting, urging the readers to cover more ground in the text.
The overall syntax is also put together very well. The flow of what goes on in this segment is one that can be read well, and also completes the idea of what's happening and what the characters are feeling or experiencing. As the elements of tone, diction, and syntax come together, the text provides a deep meaning or time in the story. This is another advantage to the reader because a text, as so, enhances the experience of imagining the story's scenes.
What goes on in this scene very much symbolizes the nature of Chinese tradition. In many Asian countries, sacrifice and honor is a high portion of value. It is what sets society for the most part. For a parent to even carve on their child's back is really something that portrays strong moral values. This act is a good example of the expectations that the narrator is being held to.
I.R.#2-The Woman Warrior:Reader Response #2 of 4
I'm finally getting to realize what's going on here. It's not just a story that Maxine Kingston is making up for the sake of telling stories, but stories that are involved within her own family and traditional, old China.
Continuing from my previous response from the 1st section of my book to this second one, I see that the stories spoken transition from Kingston's family; her aunt, to the warrior Fa Mu Lan. Then it goes into more talk amongst Kingston and her mother. As I read, I felt as if Kingston, and probably many other Chinese girls in expectational families feel a certain pressure to keep the Chinese tradition and values alive; especially because shame on the family can happen as easily as attracting someone with sexuality and committing the act. I do agree with the expectations, for one. I also like how Kingston goes into these modes of Chinese fantasies- the example: she dreams and places herself in the position of Fa Mu Lan. As the girl narrating the story, Kingston feels the importance to keep shame away from her family and to stray away from the path that her aunt took.
I came across the lines in the story that spoke if it being better to raise geese than girls. I believe this is because Chinese men could become warriors. There was nothing much that a girl could do but house work, farming, or producing children. And I thought, if I were in this position, at least a girl in old China, I would be... quite ashamed to even step foot out of my home if that's what my elders or authority thought of my person. However, in unlike fashion, Kingston moved along telling stories with pride. I was greatly astonished when Kingston was fantasizing of her life as a warrior. When she told her parents, they had both taken her to a place in the house that was secluded. Her mother had her remove her shirt, and her father looked away. Knowing that she was going to war, they carved the names of revenge on her back! I questioned, "How could they do such a thing to their daughter?!" but I figured it's China, and that is some kind of sacrifice or duty of honor. I saw, that as a warrior, the girl felt honor, whereas being a daughter brought into a Chinese family was somewhat a disappointment. I didn't like this.
I could say that throughout this second section of the book (from my division), I was very appreciative of all the pictures that flooded my mind. I like how the author, Kingston, used lots of descriptive words that painted the scenes as I read. It was very nice. Every time I pick up the book and begin reading again it's like a whole new experience.
Continuing from my previous response from the 1st section of my book to this second one, I see that the stories spoken transition from Kingston's family; her aunt, to the warrior Fa Mu Lan. Then it goes into more talk amongst Kingston and her mother. As I read, I felt as if Kingston, and probably many other Chinese girls in expectational families feel a certain pressure to keep the Chinese tradition and values alive; especially because shame on the family can happen as easily as attracting someone with sexuality and committing the act. I do agree with the expectations, for one. I also like how Kingston goes into these modes of Chinese fantasies- the example: she dreams and places herself in the position of Fa Mu Lan. As the girl narrating the story, Kingston feels the importance to keep shame away from her family and to stray away from the path that her aunt took.
I came across the lines in the story that spoke if it being better to raise geese than girls. I believe this is because Chinese men could become warriors. There was nothing much that a girl could do but house work, farming, or producing children. And I thought, if I were in this position, at least a girl in old China, I would be... quite ashamed to even step foot out of my home if that's what my elders or authority thought of my person. However, in unlike fashion, Kingston moved along telling stories with pride. I was greatly astonished when Kingston was fantasizing of her life as a warrior. When she told her parents, they had both taken her to a place in the house that was secluded. Her mother had her remove her shirt, and her father looked away. Knowing that she was going to war, they carved the names of revenge on her back! I questioned, "How could they do such a thing to their daughter?!" but I figured it's China, and that is some kind of sacrifice or duty of honor. I saw, that as a warrior, the girl felt honor, whereas being a daughter brought into a Chinese family was somewhat a disappointment. I didn't like this.
I could say that throughout this second section of the book (from my division), I was very appreciative of all the pictures that flooded my mind. I like how the author, Kingston, used lots of descriptive words that painted the scenes as I read. It was very nice. Every time I pick up the book and begin reading again it's like a whole new experience.
Monday, November 15, 2010
IR#2- Orwell’s “1984”-Response 1 of 4
Orwell’s “1984”-Response 1 of 4
Independent Reading #2
Reader’s Response #1
I had an amazing time reading the first section of my book. Orwell is a genius! His scope of comprehension, especially at that time, is amazing! For someone to be able to know so much and to think in depth, like he does, is just ridiculously cool. He is someone I would most likely enjoy meeting (I think). There are several statements in this book that is just total genius that I must quote them:
“Everything faded into mist. The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became the truth.” (Pg. 64)
My response to this quote would be one of horrification. Think about the power that “Big Brother” and “The Party” must wield to be able to make something as preposterous and hideous as this to occur. I was always that you can’t change history, but you have the power to control your present and therefore, alter the future. But this, this is just ludicrous! Everything recorded “historically” is altered and re-altered and the piece that was altered was destroyed. Doesn’t that just defeat the purpose of “history.” We were meant to learn from our mistakes through history because that is our nature. How will these people ever learn if all they do is change the past to fit their needs in the present and to secure their future? No human being has the right to alter and change what has already happened. If “the lie became the truth,” I wouldn’t know how to live with myself. Granted, it would be harder to remember what was right and what was wrong because the past is erased and changed to something different so then I would have no stable hold to cling to.
If the lie became the truth and the truth became the lie, the world will be chaotic. No one has the right to turn the world upside down. The funny thing about altering the past is that when you do that, you end up not having a legitimate past to rely on so all you’re living for is the present and I guess that’s what Big Brother wants to achieve to secure his future.
“He seemed to be breaking up before one’s eyes, like a mountain crumbling.”
Winston is describing how Rutherford looked like when he saw him a couple years back at this café. What caught my attention was his simile. I could understand if he compared Rutherford’s crumbling to some other insignificant object like a rock, or a building, but the mountain? Now why would Orwell make Winston compare Rutherford to a crumbling mountain? This is because Rutherford was considered a very strong, unyielding, immobile, and stubborn person. He was a source of undiscovered hope for this people and he too crumpled under the tyranny of Big Brother. He crumbled like a mountain. For a mountain to crumble and fall apart, it takes much effort, determination, erosion and persistence. It’s obvious that even hope can cease to exist in extreme cases; especially when the people who need the hope don’t recognize their need for change- their need for hope.
“The heresy of heresies was common sense.”
Because thoughtcrime was inadmissible, a lot of thoughts have been prohibited to the public. To think that even your thoughts were not your own, is a scary thing to behold to someone like me, who relishes imagination and logic. If even common sense (something my parents try to teach me) is not allowed, then what other thoughts can I own?
“If both the past and the external world exist only in the mind, and if the mind itself was controllable, what then?”
Exactly Winston! What then? Oh, what shall we do?
Then, whoever is the controller of that mind, controls how the controlled person perceives the past and the external world. Meaning, if the controller controlled all the minds of the people under his influence, then he controls the past and the external world (for those set of people). Power is scary.
What I thought to be quite interesting was how Huxley’s Brave New World is the total opposite of Orwell’s 1984. While Huxley’s setting in the book is clean, antiseptic and perfectly ordered, Orwell’s setting in his book is dingy, unclean to the point of disease infestation, sickly, dire and other unimaginable horror; even if there is some sense of control. A perfect-scary clean, brainwashed world vs. a chaotic-perfect-scary, dirty controlled hell. Science fiction- you’ve got to love it.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
I.R.#2-The Woman Warrior:Reader Response #1
Through Maxine Hong Kingston's diction in her book The Woman Warrior, we are told tales of which have been story-told for generations of old China and up until today with this novel. The subtitle reads, "Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts." From there, I knew this would be a rather interesting delight, and after reading the first two sections-No Name Woman and White Tigers- I figured the term "ghosts" would symbolize Chinese ancestors.
From page one, the art filled my mind. (That of the Asia really appeals to me as artwork.) The story told of the sister in a Chinese family who had sexual relations with an unknown man. This is a mother telling this to her own daughter. This sister was her husband's sister. Shame was set upon the family after the sister had become pregnant and their family home had been raided. Expecting the birth of the child, she had awaited far from home, bearing the pain and telling of the view in heaven, and many other scenes that shifted in and out of her mind. The time drew nearer and nearer and she suddenly moves into the pigsty where the baby is born. The mother decides to drown themselves-mother and child- in the family well because of the shame. The daughter was told not to speak of this aunt of hers. The "no name" woman. My reaction to this? Wow! Cultural expectations differ all around the world, and for this particular woman to be put to shame, driving her to commit this act, is a thought that gives me goosebumps. It's terrifying. The happening is terror in itself. With the story beginning this way, I became very very interested, desiring to read more and learn more. And then, I thought. If such shame is placed upon an individual for doing this, then where does the honor derive. This is, in fact, titled The Woman "Warrior," what tale will enter my mind after this.
There it was-White Tigers. It tells a tale of the daughter, carried into the clouds following a bird. It was beautiful, and very much dream like. She was climbing a mountain, hands torn up, feet torn up from the everlasting climb. She is greeted by an old man and an old woman with many offerings to her. After a day and night's stay, she is given the choice, to go home to her family, or to stay there and train to become a warrior! At last! A warrior! The old man and old woman were spiritual battle trainers, or as we know, monks. I was then reminded of the mentioned Fa Mu Lan (my reference to the Disney movie) and to another Disney move, Wendy Wu. They were both warriors of Chinese descent awaiting battle. I recognized the strength beheld in a woman. How much honor placed in them; especially in being a Chinese warrior. The daughter chose to train and I felt, in myself, a sense of pride and empowerment. Girls can do anything and girls have their own strength. Reading on about the girl's life with the monks was appealed to me as something very dignified and honorable indeed. I'm very curious to join the storyteller and her characters on this foreign journey. My reading continues from here.
From page one, the art filled my mind. (That of the Asia really appeals to me as artwork.) The story told of the sister in a Chinese family who had sexual relations with an unknown man. This is a mother telling this to her own daughter. This sister was her husband's sister. Shame was set upon the family after the sister had become pregnant and their family home had been raided. Expecting the birth of the child, she had awaited far from home, bearing the pain and telling of the view in heaven, and many other scenes that shifted in and out of her mind. The time drew nearer and nearer and she suddenly moves into the pigsty where the baby is born. The mother decides to drown themselves-mother and child- in the family well because of the shame. The daughter was told not to speak of this aunt of hers. The "no name" woman. My reaction to this? Wow! Cultural expectations differ all around the world, and for this particular woman to be put to shame, driving her to commit this act, is a thought that gives me goosebumps. It's terrifying. The happening is terror in itself. With the story beginning this way, I became very very interested, desiring to read more and learn more. And then, I thought. If such shame is placed upon an individual for doing this, then where does the honor derive. This is, in fact, titled The Woman "Warrior," what tale will enter my mind after this.
There it was-White Tigers. It tells a tale of the daughter, carried into the clouds following a bird. It was beautiful, and very much dream like. She was climbing a mountain, hands torn up, feet torn up from the everlasting climb. She is greeted by an old man and an old woman with many offerings to her. After a day and night's stay, she is given the choice, to go home to her family, or to stay there and train to become a warrior! At last! A warrior! The old man and old woman were spiritual battle trainers, or as we know, monks. I was then reminded of the mentioned Fa Mu Lan (my reference to the Disney movie) and to another Disney move, Wendy Wu. They were both warriors of Chinese descent awaiting battle. I recognized the strength beheld in a woman. How much honor placed in them; especially in being a Chinese warrior. The daughter chose to train and I felt, in myself, a sense of pride and empowerment. Girls can do anything and girls have their own strength. Reading on about the girl's life with the monks was appealed to me as something very dignified and honorable indeed. I'm very curious to join the storyteller and her characters on this foreign journey. My reading continues from here.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
I.R.#2-The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston
This book here, being read by me-Alana Chargualaf-is definitely one that shocked me! I knew I would be reading about old Chinese ways;particularly, upon a female. However, I had finally spotted the cover and it reveals, "Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts." Ghosts?! Really. I never thought another day would come again. The first time I read about ghosts in an Asian story was a long time ago as a young girl, and the title was, "The Ghost Fox." The book is still packed up somewhere in my house. The first thing I noticed was that The Woman Warrior is much more sophisticated and at my level. Just reading the first line, I became intrigued. I am looking forward to furthering my read. From this book , I expect to gain wisdom on old Chinese culture and tradition, as well as a different perspective on womanhood. My new goal is to study the womanhood and femininity of the diverse women around the world in accordance with their cultures. Good luck to the rest of my fellow classmates on their second Independent Reading assignments!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Brave New World Book Review
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand." This beautiful quote is from the famous genius, Albert Einstein. It’s important to understand the significance of imagination because Brave New World is when you take imagination for granted and the world is solely based upon knowledge, nothing more.
Haven’t you ever pictured that one perfect world where life was so trouble-free and all the difficulties in life would vanish as easy as turning that light switch right there next to you, on and off. Beautiful and tranquil yet technological and scientific equal easiness; these describe the only world one would want to live in right—wrong. Brave New World has the power to greatly influence your thoughts of a look into the future where we thought everything would be awesome with flying cars and magically-appearing meals; however, if we had the technology to create these nearly impossible ideas, then scientific development would have reached a new high of complete domination where science became a part of all we know. The scariest part is the truth: We ARE on the path of Aldous Huxley’s astounding vision of ‘’an all-too-possible future’’.
Hatcheries and conditioning centers, powerful soma drugs, Malthusian belts, feelies, hypnoaedia, a strict caste system, and the extinction of individuality are examples of the factors Huxley’s New World revolves around that somehow keep social stability and peace, but at the cost of life’s truest pleasures like art and literature. As Oscar Wilde once said "Society exists only as a mental concept; in the real world there are only individuals." That says it all for the World State is a brainwashed society keeping its citizens under complete control mentally, which has the power to frighten a reader by giving a clear visual of how the world would become were a person to control the world entirely.
Aldous Huxley’s masterpiece is a work of excellent entertainment while warning his readers if not everyone that our ways now will eventually become like the citizens of his fictional world. Quoting Buddha, "We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world," clarifies that who we are is what our world will become. Through the obvious changes in attitude and beliefs of this current society, it shouldn’t be a surprise as to how our world will be at least twenty years from now. Just think a little.
There’s a reason why a façade is placed on a book and Brave New World does not mean a world of bravery I once thought it was, but maybe just the opposite. Now I want someone to tell me not to judge a book by its cover. That’s the first inference a reader usually makes because of the cover. Because of that we can have an idea of where we’re going or sometimes, where we’re not going. This new world is nowhere near bravery; it takes real courage to face every obstacle in life. Tears and smiles give us reason to appreciate our world. Then again, it may take real daring guts, a new kind of bravery, to exterminate our society to make a perfect one, utopian or dystopian.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Wuthering Heights - Prose Analysis #2
" ' Don't you think Hindley would be proud of his son, if he could see him? almost as proud as I am of mine. But there's this difference; one is gold put to the use of paving-stones, and the other is tin polished to ape a service of silver. Mine has nothing valuable about it; yet I shall have the merit of making it go as far as such poor stuff can go. His has firstrate qualities, and they are lost: rendered worse than any but I are aware of. And the best of it is, Hareton is damnable fond of me! You'll find I've outmatched Hindley there. If the dead villain could rise up from his grave to abuse me for his offspring's wrongs, I should have the fun of seeing the said offspring fight him back again, indignant that he should dare to rail at the one friend he has in the world! '
Heathcliff chuckled a fiendish laugh at the idea."
* note: "... see him? almost ..." is directly quoted; text included no capitalization :)
-Analysis-
A metaphor is a comparison between two unlike things without using the words "like" or "as."
(as I'm sure we all know)
An example, or rather two examples, of metaphor are used by the author in this passage. The first is referring to Hindley's son: "one is gold put to the use of paving-stones." This means that even though Hindley's son, Hareton, is naturally a son with "firstrate" qualities, these qualities are rendered useless by his status, which is controlled by Heathcliff. The second comparison is referring to Heathcliff's son, Linton: "and the other is tin polished to ape a service of silver." This means that Linton has no natural qualities and talents, but he can be put to use, resulting in said quality having a decent outcome. These metaphors are very cleverly used to emphasize Heathcliff's success in following through with his vengeance on Hindley Earnshaw. For example, Heathcliff states,
"Mine has nothing valuable about it; yet I shall have the merit of making go as far as such poor stuff can go. His had firstrate qualities, and they are lost: rendered worse than unavailing." Excellent comparison isn't it?
Overall, I'm very fond of this passage and I'm very impressed with the subjects Emily Bronte related in her choice of stylistic prose techniques.
Heathcliff chuckled a fiendish laugh at the idea."
* note: "... see him? almost ..." is directly quoted; text included no capitalization :)
-Analysis-
A metaphor is a comparison between two unlike things without using the words "like" or "as."
(as I'm sure we all know)
An example, or rather two examples, of metaphor are used by the author in this passage. The first is referring to Hindley's son: "one is gold put to the use of paving-stones." This means that even though Hindley's son, Hareton, is naturally a son with "firstrate" qualities, these qualities are rendered useless by his status, which is controlled by Heathcliff. The second comparison is referring to Heathcliff's son, Linton: "and the other is tin polished to ape a service of silver." This means that Linton has no natural qualities and talents, but he can be put to use, resulting in said quality having a decent outcome. These metaphors are very cleverly used to emphasize Heathcliff's success in following through with his vengeance on Hindley Earnshaw. For example, Heathcliff states,
"Mine has nothing valuable about it; yet I shall have the merit of making go as far as such poor stuff can go. His had firstrate qualities, and they are lost: rendered worse than unavailing." Excellent comparison isn't it?
Overall, I'm very fond of this passage and I'm very impressed with the subjects Emily Bronte related in her choice of stylistic prose techniques.
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