AP Language

I Believe in Hammocks

2009-06-02T22:44:00.006-04:00

People tend to forget that they only live once. No matter what your religion is, or whether or not you believe in reincarnation, or soul, or life after death, the commonly accepted fact is that you cannot be the same person, occupy the same body, be composed of the same cells, the same phosphorus and nucleotide bases, that you are today. You will never breathe the same air twice, laugh at the same moment, or experience the same brilliant sunset. People get so caught up in their everyday lives, so weighed down by the stresses and difficulties that life presents, that they essentially let their stresses, anxieties, and deadlines dictate their actions and their enjoyment of life.

To all of those whom stress is the driving force in life, please listen to my advice: take a break, relax, and buy yourself a hammock. Yes, a hammock. As a child I would go over my best friend’s house almost every weekend. We played outside, in the pool, with half-penny people…you name it, we played it. But our favorite activity was to play and swing on the hammock. We would act out scenes of ships being ravaged by stormy waters, or of an airplane flying through the sky. We would wrap ourselves up in a cocoon and do flips. We would even try to grab the tree’s green leaves with our toes… I loved the hammock because of its ability to make me forget about the stresses in life—like the fight my friend and I had over what clothes the Barbie should wear—and instead focus me on the good times, the relaxing, fun, and beautiful times.

But the mysterious powers of the hammock are not limited to the open and imaginative minds of childhood. Just the other day, I was extremely overwhelmed by stress brought on by school, work, college testing and housing applications, quarrels with the family, and overall dissatisfaction with life. I thought I was going to burst. I was replacing my personal time with homework, and swapping sleep and happiness with studying and stress. Then one day my friend invited me over their house, they said that they had something to show me. When I go there my friend walked me around the house and in the middle of the lawn stood a hammock. After much poking, prodding, and words of encouragement (along with some swears for my stubbornness), and promises that I would not flip, my friend coaxed me onto the hammock. As soon as I got comfortable, my life seemed to slowdown. Forced to look up, I saw the stars for what seemed like the first time in ages. How long had I gone without noticing the splendor above me? I saw the sunset not as a countdown of the amount of time I had left before I had to start my grueling day all over again, but as a beautiful, relaxing wonder of the world. And when my friend’s cat playfully swatted at me from under the hammock, I laughed my first real, lighthearted, and carefree laugh in a long time. At that moment I realized that life is too precious, too short lived, too beautiful, too unexplored, too unappreciated to waste time being stressed and depressed. I realized that I was packing so much into my life that I could no longer enjoy it. I needed to lighten my load, to do things for myself because I wanted to do them. I needed to make time for me. I used to believe that a life passed by was a normalcy of life, but now I believe in hammocks.

So those of you who let work dictate your actions, who allow stress, fears, and anxieties rule your lives, treat yourselves. Spend time with family and friends, enjoy that bowl of extra fudge ice cream, take that trip to the spa you have been desiring, take that extra long shower, sleep in late, laugh at anything you find funny, sing out loud, dance when there is no music, sit out and watch the sunset, gaze at the stars…and most importantly, buy yourself a hammock.

A Modest Proposal

2009-04-30T22:36:00.004-04:00

FOR PREVENTING THE CHILDREN OF AMERICA FROM BECOMING OBESE, AND FOR MAKING THEM HAND-EYE COORDINATED FUNCTIONING CITIZENS

It is a saddening sight for those who walk through these school hallways, travel down these worn corridors, or step foot into a classroom to see children, ages nine, thirteen, seventeen, eighteen, all carrying extra weight upon their bodies. These children, unable to motivate themselves to put down the hamburger and instead do a lap around the track, are forced into a downward spiral of depression characterized by even more obsessive eating and loss of self-esteem and friends.

I think it is agreed by all parents and school employees that this growth of obesity is a direct reflection on the failure of our school systems to enforce the all important physical education curriculum, and that whoever could find a way to make physical education an effective, health inspiring, and educational course for the easy method of making children physically fit, coordinated, functioning members of society, would deserve a gym named after them, or at least a plaque hung in gratitude. But my intention is not only to benefit the children of junior high and high school; it will go much farther, as to take in the children down to the age of infancy, where habits these habits are started. The advantage to my scheme is that is nips this deadly habit in the bud, before it gets the chance to grow.

The vast number of children inflicted with obesity is growing at a rate never witnessed before, these children, experiencing a loss of energy from their weighed down bodies, refuse to better themselves by engaging in physical activities and instead, sit on the couch, gorging themselves with numerous bags of saturated fat and artificial food colorings. Parents are too busy trying to work to support the family, and doing household chores to realize that their child, instead of being active, is content to sit on the couch an twiddle its thumbs. But it is not the parents fault, it is hard to raise a family these days, and sometimes these situations do slip by. Yet, upon being informed about their child’s expanding figure they immediately become concerned. It is essential to handle this situation with the utmost importance, for it can be a sensitive subject, both to the child and to the parents who feel as if they are failures. Children in this situation are extremely sensitive. Characterized by a low self-esteem, children shy away from their friends and become reclusive, acquiring a liking for a soft couch and a long nap. Adding to the devastation of this is the buying of new clothes, since they will outgrow their own ones, or the attempt to squeeze into jeans that fit in the beginning of the year. These children, too embarrassed to even leave their own house, will, without the opportunity to exercise, grown to enormous sizes, and acquire health problems uncommon in children.

I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be liable to the least objection.

I have been assured by many a physical education teacher that in order to stop this pandemic spread of obesity, gym should be expanded to encompass all aspects of school life. Gym should be expanded to a full two hour class during school, followed by mandatory sports sign ups and weekend gym class sessions. Gym will be two hours every day because after subtracting the time it takes teens, especially girls, to change and the time it takes teachers to check attendance and start the class on warm ups, a good half hour will have gone by, and because the recommended amount of cardio exercise per day is 90 minutes, a two hour class will enable to get their cardio requirement without interruption. Weekend classes will be used to teach new techniques, and to have harder classes, since teachers will not want to tire students out for their next classes during the week. Exercise should also be incorporated into hallway activity. Students are allowed 5 minutes between classes, instead of spending that time rummaging through their lockers, or talking to friends, this time should be spent doing short, muscle building exercises. Students could easily be made to partake in jumping jacks, wall sits, or crunches for two minutes between classes, leaving a reasonable three minutes to get to class. Exercise could also be brought into the classroom itself, where when students wish to answer a question the must run in place, rather than raise their hand. This would be more effective than raising a hand because the teacher can see the student more easily than a hand, and it will promote healthy exercise. Also, lockers would be equipped with motion detectors where students have to perform certain yoga poses to unlock their lockers. Being that students will only have three minutes of locker time, and poses are hard to memorize without being seen, the chance of students breaking into each others lockers is rare. Exercise will not only promote a healthier lifestyle, but will sharpen a child’s coordination, making them more agile and therefore less clumsy and less embarrassed to take part in activities that require such skill.

This approach will be taken down all the levels of education, and applied, at a milder form, to infants. It has been proven that during infancy the brain is learning at its fastest rate, and it easily absorbs new information. This is why a positive attitude toward exercise will be exposed to these children at such a young age. Infants should attend fitness class twice a week, where they will watch children’s videos about incorporating exercise into every portion of there lives, and be taught exercises that they will, subconsciously, incorporate into their everyday lives. Parents will also be taught how to encourage their child to perform these exercises, and how to persuade them to do them more often and vigorously.

Any infant, child, or teen that is witnessed to be shirking their daily exercise routine will be made to exercise even harder the next day and will be made to watch a video about what happens when you overeat, do not exercise, and gain weight. This should convince students that participating and being fit is better than gaining weight and being miserable and unhealthy.

The advantages by the proposal which I have made are obvious and many, as well as of the highest importance. Firstly, as I have already observed, healthy children are happy children. Unhappy children are, in fact, our enemies, as they breed discontent and spew negative words and emotions. Discontent children also do not participate in school to their fullest potential, causing the school to drop in ranking due to students’ slack and low GPAs. If happy children are healthy children, then the school system has a responsibility to keep all children healthy and happy.

Secondly, the reflexes that will be sharpened during participation in gym will contribute greatly to a child’s life. It will sharpen skills such as safe driving, as well as make them more apt to enjoy and participate in sports that require quick reflexes.
Thirdly, self-esteem and self-confidence levels will rise in teens and younger children, as they will see themselves and their newly toned and in-shape bodies as beautiful. They will no longer have to wear or buy large clothing, and XL and XXL sizes will become something of horror stories told to misbehaving or gluttonous children. The fabric once used for these articles of clothing can then be used to make smaller sizes, resulting in the production of cheaper clothing, which teens and children can buy by the cart full.

Fourthly, children will learn to appreciate the art of exercise and will work out on their own. They will become interested in body building, running, swimming, dancing, kickboxing, karate, and many other physical sports; and will spread their love of exercising, as well as their knowledge of the benefits, to others. This will encourage others to take up exercising and will start a global shift towards being fit and healthy.

Fifthly, children will no longer be picked on or discriminated against for their size. All children will be fit. While some may be fitter than others, there will be no more discrimination between the obese and physically fit. And if one was to tease the other, it would just make the lesser fit one work harder, and improve their overall fitness; only benefits from this situation can be had.

I can think of no objection, that will possibly be raised against this proposal, unless it is that people will become so engrossed with their own image that they will go to harmful extremes to maintain it. Yet, since all of these opportunities and mandatory workout sessions will be available to students, it will be impossible to them to go to extremes to maintain their physical fitness. People only go to extremes when they feel there are no other options, and here, options are always available. Therefore let no one talk of watching what they eat; of limiting fats and carbohydrates; of addressing eating disorders; of fixing an aesthetically oriented society; of schools focusing on academics; on addressing depression in children; of limiting intake of fast-food; of going on family excursions that include exercise; of just accepting people as they are, for these are folly.

I profess, from the depths of my heart, that I have not the least personal interest in undertaking to promote this necessary program, having no other motive than the public good, the health of children, and the upkeep of their self-esteem; for I, myself, do not suffer from obesity or lack of coordination.

The 1984/Brave New World Stand-off

2009-03-09T18:01:00.002-04:00

While both Huxley and Orwell offered their own predictions of the quality of life in the future, Orwell’s prediction is more reflective of recent events. While Orwell’s prophecy has not happened in the United States to the extent that he forewarns, it has managed to manifest itself in many aspects of society, as well in the society of neighboring countries. While Postman would argue this, the evidence pointing towards the coming-true of Orwell’s prediction is overwhelming.

Although Brave New World does hold some relevance in the world of today, the similarities of cloning, gene engineering, and general openness are not enough to outweigh the similarities found in Orwell’s 1984. Postman claims, “We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn’t, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The roots of liberal democracy had held.” While it seemed at the time that America’s roots had held strong while the roots of other countries began to rot away, the disease soon reached the US.

The United States is run by a democracy, one that was designed to put the power in the hands of the people and to ward off corruption. Yet some Orwellian prophecies managed to sneak through. As Postman points out, “Orwell feared those who would deprive us information” and he “feared that the truth would be concealed from us”. As Americans, we would like to think that our government does not keep any secrets from us, or that our information in free from censorship, but it is not. Everyday the information fed to us is tediously picked out of a mass of events, and the only ones to reach our ears are the ones that are chosen, or the ones that leak out. This can be most clearly seen in history text books, where the bias is laid thick, and the history white outs are numerous. If you are not familiar with history text books, then what about the happenings at area 51? Only those few permitted to work there actually know what goes on. Classified as ‘top secret’ the American public is left in the dark for their so called ‘own protection’. But what is scarier than not knowing what goes on in your own country?

Other countries have fared out far worse than our own. Take, for example, the country of North Korea. The people of this country have become victims to Orwell’s prediction. “Overcome by an externally imposed oppression” (Postman) they have become subjects to extreme isolationism, deprivation of information, and control by fear by their dictator Kim Jong-il. People of North Korea are not allowed to communicate with people outside of their country, much like how in 1984 workers from different areas were not allowed to talk to each other. The lack of communication only makes the dictating force stronger, and the people weaker. In the Middle East, it is common for the governmental system to use torture as a way to control its citizens. Not to long ago, Saddam Hussein ruled by brute force, torture, and his secret ‘night men’. Using pain and death as a control, Hussein was able to bend the people to his will and convince his people that anyone different is bad, or dangerous. This sort of control has also been seen in China (Hu Jintao), Cuba (Fidel Castro), Africa (Mobutu Sese Seko and child armies), Germany and Poland(WWII and Hitler). Even the United States has used torture as a device to control and to break the will of its captives.

Unlike Brave New World people today are not warned against having time by themselves, in some aspects people are encouraged to have time to relax. Yet even when we think we are alone and un-attended we are mistaken. Cameras and security have become like second nature to us. We are constantly being monitored, whether it be walking in school, shopping in the mall, boarding a plane, or even in some places, entering the bathroom. Privacy is something of the past. Much like the telescreens in 1984 the Wii, was well as computers with cameras allow people to view each other from different rooms, houses, or countries. The tapping of phone lines has also become common place, as the government attempts to keep its citizens safe, even while abusing their rights to privacy and free speech.

“Orwell feared that hate will ruin us” (Postman), hate both from the internal and external aspects of society. The disease of hatred, power, control, and dominance, lack of privacy, and ignorance of rights has already plagued this world. We are not a ruled by “the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy” (Postman), but by oppression, fear, and our need to feel a part of something, no matter how horrible that something is. Orwell’s foreshadowing of civilization ruled by technology, fear, hatred, and secrets has finally come true.

Tyranny Flourishes In An Uneduated Environment- a claim on Animal Farm

2009-01-15T09:56:00.003-05:00

Tyranny, dictatorship, and anarchy have long plagued civilization. Many times, this happens because the people of a vulnerable civilization are looking for a leader, someone to promise them safety and peace. Willingly throwing trust, support, and power toward a single leader, the people of a civilization put themselves at risk. Their judgment clouded by fear, they willingly give up themselves and their freedoms to this leader. The leader is then rapidly consumed by the new level of power obtained, taking advantage of the people and the freedoms they surrendered, and without realizing it, a tyrant is born into this unstable and uneducated environment.

This is not a rare happening in the world of today. People are constantly tricked into throwing their support to someone who later uses it against them. Without the knowledge of the dangers of unchecked power, people give up their freedoms to a person who later becomes a dictator. While it is commonplace to think that this situation is only viable for third-world countries because they lack formal education and are in constant poverty, this is not always the case. One of the most devastating dictators, Adolf Hitler, came to power in (the non-third-world) Germany. Expressing the want to protect his country and build it strong, the people willingly threw all their support to him, without questioning what could come of his new and unruly power. Hitler was quickly consumed by his new power, and turned it against his own country. He rose from a hopeful leader, to a crushing dictator, ruling his country through fear and brainwashing. This similar situation has been seen in many different countries, spanning the entire globe; Saddam Hussein- Iraq, Adolf Hitler- Germany, Fidel Castro- Cuba, Mao Zedong- China, Kim Jong-il-North Korea, Napoleon Bonaparte- France, Benito Mussolini- Italy, the list goes on. Because of the lack of knowledge among the people, these leaders were able to rise to the level of dictator. Once they reached ‘dictator status’ they were able to suppress their people, taking away many of their civil rights, and brainwashing younger generations so as to snuff all rebellion. Proper education is throw aside in these situations and replaced with education that supports the doings of the dictator, rather than show that what they are doing is morally, and legally, wrong. Without knowledge, the dictatorship can grow to be more powerful, and therefore, more dangerous.

George Orwell grew up surrounded by this type of hostile environment, and his feelings toward tyranny are clearly shown in his novel, Animal Farm. The animals, fearing and loathing Jones, their master, plan a rebellion under the instructions of Major, the most revered pig on the farm. Once their rebellion is complete, they feel vulnerable without a leader. They worry about their livelihood and they fear the return of Jones. Then, in the midst of all this fear, comes a leader. Napoleon, flanked by the other pigs, promise survival and protection, and feeling safe in his words, the animals follow him. Napoleon quickly rises to a dictatorship, ruling Animal Farm through fear, changing of the past, and revoking of individual rights. He brainwashes younger generations into idolizing him, and convinces older animals that their memories of the past are faulty. Through these tactics, Napoleon was able to raise a tyranny of pigs, with himself as the ring leader. Through suppression of education, free will, and knowledge, tyranny was able to flourish on Animal Farm.

Education is clearly our one defense against the dangers of tyranny. Education spreads knowledge of the benefits and dangers of our decisions, and without it, whole countries can fall victim to power hungry leaders. Let the past be a reminder to us in the future- Tyranny flourishes in an uneducated environment, do not let those in power go unchecked.

"Clean Coal, Is There Really Such A Thing?"

2008-11-30T13:18:00.003-05:00

I have recently become angered by the ads on TV depicting coal as the cleanest and most efficient form of energy on the market. I remember seeing pictures in school of trains, factories, and seemingly whole towns running on coal, spewing black soot into the sky. We later learned that this soot came down as acid rain, killing whole ecosystems. We were taught this for years, but now coal is seen as the greatest thing since sliced bread. What is this?! Have people forgotten the black ominous smog that hovered above cities for days and seemed to clog your lungs with every breath? Or the mass ecosystems that were wiped out because of acid rain? Are we becoming like the people of Oceania, accepting everything that comes out of the telescreen to be true while willingly forgetting what we previously learned? Well for everyone out there that believes in the oxymoron of “clean coal” here is what I found out about it:

- It is a fossil fuel (hey weren’t we trying to get away from those and onto renewable resources?)
- The burning of it produces:
- ash
- sulfur oxide
- nitrogen oxide
- carbon dioxide
- radionucleotides
- mercury
Out of the list above, carbon dioxide, radionucleotides, and mercury are the hardest and most expensive to control and clean, and therefore are the most dangerous. Coal fired plants are the largest source of mercury, a toxic metal. Just a few drops of it can pollute millions of gallons of water. These plants are responsible for about 65% of mercury emissions. While ash, sulfur oxide, and nitrogen oxide can be cleaned from the air by scrubs on the smoke stacks, the scrubs do not catch everything.
“Clean Coal” comes with high economic costs. Because of these costs, many companies either cannot afford to keep up to date with the newest clean technologies, or they are too cheap to do so. While evading the standards might cut costs for companies, it is taking its toll on the environment. Regulation of standards is also very difficult because many people that use coal come from impoverished regions, making it hard to enforce.
Not only is it extremely difficult to enforce, but ‘Clean Coal” is still only seen as ‘promising’. It has yet to become clean. The most promising "clean coal" technology involves using the coal to make hydrogen from water, then burying the resultant carbon dioxide by-product and burning the hydrogen (World Nuclear Association). This brings up the topic of burying our unwanted and dangerous chemical byproducts, which opens a whole new can of worms.
So next time you see one of those commercials, claiming how coal is the cleanest recourse, remember the smog, remember the mercury, remember the acid rain, the deforestation, the animal mutations, the green house effect, the toxic emissions, and the black lungs, and then try and believe what the ad is telling you.

Just like me for me

2008-10-27T21:57:00.004-04:00

It's now 1990. I'm forty-three years old, which would've seemed impossible to a fourth grader, and yet when I look at photographs of myself as I was in 1956, I realize that in the important ways I haven't changed at all. I was Timmy then; now I'm Tim. But the essence remains the same. I'm not fooled by the baggy pants or the crew cut or the happy smile—I know my own eyes—and there is no doubt that the Timmy smiling at the camera is the Tim I am now. Inside the body, or beyond the body, there is something absolute and unchanging. The human life is all one thing, like a blade tracing loops on ice: a little kid, a twenty-three-year-old infantry sergeant, a middle-aged writer knowing guilt and sorrow. (236)

Today, as I reflect on who I am, who I was, and who I one day may become, I realize that under all this growth, I am still the same person I was 10 years ago. I am still that little kid running through the woods, swinging on the play set, talking constantly to anything that will listen, and dreaming dreams that seem impossible to achieve. I believe that as we grow into ourselves, the compilation of our experiences in life help us refine, not redefine, who we are today. As O’Brien states, “The human life is all one thing, like a blade tracing loops on ice”. Human life is all one thing. Like the line that follows the blade we all experience ups and downs, gains and relapses. It is the essence of what we experience that is the linking point between the lives of different people, not the actual happenings in life. Our past is always with us; it is a story trail of who we have become. We cannot shake ourselves free of our past because it is the foundation of who we have become. In this aspect we are ‘absolute and unchanging’.

When I look back on the pictures hanging on my wall, I know that they are just representations of me, snapshots taken at different stages of my development. These snapshots form a collage of who I am. In one picture I am the stubborn five year old, a smiling middle schooler, a questioning toddler, a sister sharing her blanket. Lessons of appreciating people for who they are, treating them fairly, striving for what I believe in, being independent, kind, and generous, have all been instilled in me at a young age. They have become the basis for how I act today, and have been left unchanged even as I have grown. All of these aspects have formed the person I am today, and they are as concrete as any good foundation should be.

Along with these essentials that make me, me, come ever changing fads. My group of friends is constantly growing and changing, the clothes I wear today are definitely not what I would have picked out as a kid, and my physical appearance changes weekly. But these are not the things that make me who I am. They are only accessories to my self-expression. They are not experiences that are life changing or memorable, they are just fun things to take part in on the road of life. Yet, if I was to look at a picture of me as I am today, I could tell you that I still see that same stubborn little kid who wanted to learn everything about the world. My goals in life have not changed, and neither have my hopes and desires. While they may have become a bit more refined, they still hold that childish originality from which they came. As O’Brien writes, “ […] in the important ways I haven’t changed at all”. The essentials of who I am have not changed. They are stagnant, they are the foundation upon which my entire essence is built upon.

A Long Way Gone- Ishmael Beah

2008-10-02T23:16:00.001-04:00

The war finally reached me when I was twelve years old. I knew about the war through stories, but it seemed as if it was happening in a faraway and different place. In January 1996, I realized it was closer than I ever imagined.

The first attack came with little warning. No one was prepared and families were separated as everyone ran desperately into the forest. I lost my whole family, except for my older brother, in the chaos. The two of us stuck together and, along with a few friends, we became nomads, searching the wilderness and surrounding villages for our families.

Our journey through the wilderness was full of danger and many times we were threatened by people with machetes. We had to convince them that we were only boys looking for our families, not rebels of the RUF. After many weeks of searching, sleeping in deserted camps, starvation, misery, and shame, we heard of a rumor that a there was a village where many of the people from our village went after it was attacked. Hoping to find our families, we made our way to the village. We were all full of anticipation at the thought of seeing our families, but just before we entered the village, it was attacked by rebel forces. My family was burned to death, trapped inside a house. I was so full of anger and sadness. I had traveled so far to find my family, and they were killed right in front of me. If I had only gotten there a few minutes earlier, we could have been out of the village, nice and safe together. Hatred filled my body. I wanted to avenge the death of my family. This is where my journey began.

After the death of my family, the only thing I had to live for was revenge. I was taken into the government’s army, fighting the RUF rebels. After starvation and the pain from losing my family set in, I felt the need to become part of something larger than myself. Something that could hold together and stay strong after all else had fallen apart. I planed to avenge the death of my family by killing all the rebels I could. I was brainwashed into thinking that revenge and death was the only answer to winning the war and finally coming to terms with my family’s death. I traded in my childhood for an AK-47 and the front lines. I witnessed so many other children die around me. I didn’t know why I was still alive, but I knew that I was going to fight until the end.

Then one day, a strange armored truck pulled into our village. I was in the group of boys randomly selected for the UNICEF rehabilitation. My guns were taken away from me, and I was loaded onto the truck with all the other selected boys. It felt so weird to not have a gun. Weapons had become my way of life, and I was angry to have my routine changed. I did not realize that they had saved my life. The first few months were the worst. We were not used to being treated as kids and taking orders from ‘civilians’. It took time, and lots of patience and care from the UNICEF workers, but we were rehabilitated. We learned how to be kids and enjoy life. We started school and learned how to trust people again.

Never did I think I would become a writer, but it all started in the UNICEF rehabilitation camp. I became the spokes person, proving to the world that we can become children again, we are not monsters. Speaking from the heart has allowed me to overcome my anger, and understand that my family would want me to live and be happy.

Today, I write because I realize that revenge will just lead to revenge and revenge and revenge. It is vicious on going cycle. I write to alter people’s view of society, and to show them that as long as there is fighting, there will be child soldiers. I write to bring awareness. I was one of the lucky ones, I survived. To repay my debt to those that lost their lives, I must tell the world of their courage, their suffering, and the importance to step in and stop what is happening in Sierra Leone.

I write to keep the memory of my family alive. I do not want to forget them, or forget what made me who I am today. I do not want to forget those that helped me on my way, by remembering them in my writing, I am keeping them alive, I am giving them importance.

For a while I struggled with the fact that I was the only one of my family to survive. It did not seem fair to me, I believed that I should have died with them. But I remember what my father said to me, “If you are alive, there is hope for a better day and something good to happen. If there is nothing good left in the destiny of a person, he or she will die”(54). It was my destiny to live and write about my story. We cannot go back in time, but we can remember the past and do our best to change the future.

Memoir Blog- A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

2008-09-25T17:22:00.003-04:00

"Through sunless lanes creeps Poverty with her hungry eyes, and Sin with his sodden face follows close behind her. Misery wakes us in the morning and Shame sits with us at night" Oscar Wilde

This quote by Oscar Wilde is mirrored in characters of Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. The personification of poverty, sin, misery, and shame in Wilde’s quote relates to the way in which Ishmael (the main character) and all the other boys in the novel feel these emotions. These boys not only feel these emotions, but they become them. They are wrought by misery, sin, shame, and poverty, and essentially become the human shell for which all these emotions are stored.

Ishmael is surrounded by poverty. He has no food, water, shelter or family. He is poverty. After his village was attacked and his family gone, he lived in the woods, surviving off of anything he could find. Ishmael also becomes misery. He misses his family, and mourns their deaths. Everyone that he knew was dying around him and because of this he was depressed and spiritually broken (as anyone would be). He was afraid to think because of the memories and thoughts that came to him. Instead of letting out all his misery in the form of tears, Ishmael would harbor the misery inside him. On top of all the misery and poverty, Ishmael portrays shame. He feels shame for stealing and, most importantly, for leaving his family and friends behind. He also feels shame for not running back and protecting his family, for not sticking together with his friends, and for letting fear take control of him. Ishmael’s shame plagues him day and night, and leads him to have nightmares and, inevitably, sleepless nights, "I became restless and was afraid to sleep for fear that my supressed thoughts would appear in my dreams" (52). Sin is also a large factor in Ishmael’s life. He stole food from children and villages, he stole clothes, and he killed. The feeling of sin came from all his actions that were not normal to him. Ishmael slowly became sin as these violent happenings became everyday events in his life.

Wilde’s quote also represents this memoir in the sequence of events. In the memoir, Ishmael’s sin followed his poverty, and he woke up miserable, in pain, sad, hungry, and scared, and went to bed in shame from the choices he made that day and in the days before. Most of the time, Ishmael could not sleep because sleep would let his mind drift off to all the horrible things he had seen and done. So instead of sleep, Ishmael would sit up at night, looking at the stars. This also follows Wilde’s quote, for shame sat with him at night. Wilde’s quote reflects the feelings and emotions that Ishmael and others went through everyday during their fight for survival in a world that was always threatening.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

2008-09-08T20:20:00.004-04:00

The significance of the name Schell.

Oskar’s last name, Schell, is extremely significant in understanding both his character and the characters around him. In the English language, shell means a hard covering used for protecting and enclosing. This definition fits well with Oskar’s personality. After the death of his father, Oskar cuts himself off emotionally from people and the world around him. He retreats into himself, leaving only a shadow of his former being for all others to see.

Since Oskar is of German descent, it made sense to look up the German definition of schell. In German, schelle (the closest spelling of Oskar’s last name) means clamp and handcuff. This definition also relates to Oskar’s character. Oskar closed and cut himself off to other people and even to himself. There are examples of this all throughout the novel. Whenever Oskar is asked a question he first answers silently (in his mind) the way that he wishes he could, and then answers out loud with what people want to hear which is ultimately what he wants and wishes he could also believe. Oskar ‘clamped’ his mouth shut, locking in his emotions. His actions held him back from moving on with his life, much like how handcuffs keep you from moving your arms, or worse getting away from the situation. (Usually by the time you have handcuffs on it is too late to move on anyway, but since Oskar’s handcuffs were put on by himself, he was able to remove them if he wished).

Throughout Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Oskar repeats many phrases. The most important in considering the significance of the name Schell are the phrases “I’m Ok”, and “heavy boots”. Oskar has knotted and hidden himself so deep within that it is impossible for anyone to get through to him. In order to reassure his family that he is doing alright, he repeatedly says the phrase “I’m Ok”, even when he is not. This self defense mechanism diverts the peoples eyes away from the real problem and allows Oskar to continue to hide within himself. As for the repetition of “heavy boots” this goes to show how by hiding his inner most thoughts, feelings, and expressions, Oskar is indeed hurting himself. But instead of this hurt making him come out and open up to people, he delves deeper inside himself, afraid of the word around him.
Oskar’s last name, Schell, is an excellent symbol of his personality and character. It supports his actions and rather secluded personality. The use of specific names by the author can, as in this case, enhance the depth and understanding of a writing and make characters more personable

Macbeth

2008-05-30T13:12:00.002-04:00

MACBETH
If we should fail?

LADY MACBETH
We fail!
But screw your courage to the sticking-place,
And we'll not fail. When Duncan is asleep--
Whereto the rather shall his day's hard journey
Soundly invite him--his two chamberlains
Will I with wine and wassail so convince
That memory, the warder of the brain,
Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reason
A limbeck only: when in swinish sleep
Their drenched natures lie as in a death,
What cannot you and I perform upon
The unguarded Duncan? what not put upon
His spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt
Of our great quell?

MACBETH
Bring forth men-children only;
For thy undaunted mettle should compose
Nothing but males. Will it not be received,
When we have mark'd with blood those sleepy two
Of his own chamber and used their very daggers,
That they have done't?

LADY MACBETH
Who dares receive it other,
As we shall make our griefs and clamour roar
Upon his death?

MACBETH
I am settled, and bend up
Each corporal agent to this terrible feat.
Away, and mock the time with fairest show:
False face must hide what the false heart doth know.

This scene is an example of the role reversal that is present in this Shakespearean play. Here, Lady Macbeth takes the role as the dominant sex, while it was much more common in this time period for the male to be the dominant sex and the female to be submissive. In this case, Mady Macbeth is the one who is initially corrupted with power, she sees the chance to rise to a level very few excel to, and she takes it, bringing other people down with her in the end. She corrupts her husband, Macbeth, who goes on with her legacy after she is gone. In this scene particularly, you see the manipulative ways of Lady Macbeth, convincing Macbeth that they will not fail if he has the courage. She claims that they can just blame the drunk servants for the crime because they won't remember anything. Macbeth praises her for her evil, saying that if she is to have children that they will all be boys because her fearless spirit is so masculine. Even Macbeth realizes that she is not meek and mannered like most women. Lady Macbeth finishes her bloody plan by saying that when they come to investigate, they will not be suspect because they will put on such a good show of grievance, and with this Macbeth is won over. He decides to go ahead with her plan. This is extremely unheard of in this time, not only because he is being told what to do by a woman, but because he is supposed to be this amazing hero of the battlefield, capable of killing and making choices on his own. Here, Macbeth backs down and agrees with his wife, this is stereotypically a woman's trait, not a males. Macbeth backs down because he sees the wild ruthlessness inside of his wife. This can be seen when Macbeth says, "False face must hide what the false heart doth know" meaning, that a face of horror, but not of conviction, must hide the evils that are present in the heart. Macbeth has surrendered his superiority to his wife and now she wields the ability to control him.

Shakespeare's Macbeth is categorized as a tragedy, not only because of all the death, but because of one man's (or woman's) extreme lust for greatness. Macbeth had everything going for him, he was a war time hero, was well respected, and was on the ladder to success, but he was drawn into the desire for power, which corrupted him and lead to his demise and the deaths of numerous innocent people. This story goes to show that if we give into the temptation of wealth and power, we will be leading ourselves to our own death. Macbeth shows the weakness of mankind and how easily we can be tempted to do the unthinkable in order to achieve more power. As the reader, we are forced to watch Macbeth approach the cliff, and slowly step off, falling faster and faster as he ruthlessly kills all those that appear to be in his way, until that faithful second when he reaches the end of the line and crashes, and it is all over. His plummet has finally hit the bottom, and he is at the point of no return and he is consumed by greed and power. This is the bases for a tragedy, which is clearly modeled within Shakespeare's Macbeth.

This was my favorite play by Shakespeare that we have read. I found the plot to be captivating, as it fits all people, we can all be corrupted by power, and everyone has experienced it once and a while, maybe with out even realizing it. I found the switch in the gender roles to be quite interesting, and unexpected quite frankly. Out of all the books that we have read this year, I believe this one had the best message, power is corruption. This applies to everyone. I also think tragedies are the easiest to relate to. I am not sure why, but I think it is because of the fear that people have of failing that lets us feel the pain of the characters more than most other feels would. But that is just me. I think that this is going to be one of the few Shakespeare plays that I will consider reading again.

Richard III

2008-05-30T11:23:00.002-04:00

BRAKENBURY
I am, in this, commanded to deliver The noble Duke of Clarence to your hands:I will not reason what is meant hereby,Because I will be guiltless of the meaning.Here are the keys, there sits the duke asleep:I'll to the king; and signify to him That thus I have resign'd my charge to you.

First Murderer
Do so, it is a point of wisdom: fare you well.

Exit BRAKENBURY

Second Murderer
What, shall we stab him as he sleeps?

First Murderer
No; then he will say 'twas done cowardly, when he wakes.

Second Murderer
When he wakes! why, fool, he shall never wake till the judgment-day.

First Murderer
Why, then he will say we stabbed him sleeping.

Second Murderer
The urging of that word 'judgment' hath bred a kind of remorse in me.

First Murderer
What, art thou afraid?

Second Murderer
Not to kill him, having a warrant for it; but to be damned for killing him, from which no warrant can defend us.

First Murderer
I thought thou hadst been resolute.

Second Murderer
So I am, to let him live.

First Murderer
Back to the Duke of Gloucester, tell him so.

Second Murderer
I pray thee, stay a while: I hope my holy humour will change; 'twas wont to hold me but while one would tell twenty.

First Murderer
How dost thou feel thyself now?

Second Murderer
'Faith, some certain dregs of conscience are yet within me.

First Murderer
Remember our reward, when the deed is done.

Second Murderer
'Zounds, he dies: I had forgot the reward.

First Murderer
Where is thy conscience now?

Second Murderer
In the Duke of Gloucester's purse.

First Murderer
So when he opens his purse to give us our reward,thy conscience flies out.

Second Murderer
Let it go; there's few or none will entertain it.

First Murderer
How if it come to thee again?

Second Murderer
I'll not meddle with it: it is a dangerous thing: it makes a man a coward: a man cannot steal, but it accuseth him; he cannot swear, but it cheques him;he cannot lie with his neighbour's wife, but it detects him: 'tis a blushing shamefast spirit that mutinies in a man's bosom; it fills one full of obstacles: it made me once restore a purse of gold that I found; it beggars any man that keeps it: it is turned out of all towns and cities for a dangerous thing; and every man that means to live well endeavours to trust to himself and to live without it.

I found this passage from Shakespeare's Richard III to be a sort of imitation of Richards two sidedness. In this scene, Two murderers are bribed with money to kill Clarence. One of the murders feels no remorse in doing this deed, drawn to the prize that he gets after he finishes his job, the second murderer on the other hand, is having doubts about going through with this deed. I believe that this is dual attitude is made to represent Richard. Richard is a complex character with 2 very distinct personalities. In the face of people he puts on a mask and acts like the nicest person in the world, one that cares about people other than himself and would do anything for them, but he is lying through his teeth, for as soon as he is alone, the mask comes off and you see the true Richard, the one who will do anything to get what he wants. In the face of people he has a conscious, much like the second murderer, yet when he is alone, he is like the first one, with out a conscious where the only things that matter are those pertaining to himself and getting what he wants. Richard is not driven by what is morally right, or by what society has deemed as right, he does as he wishes, taking out anyone who stands in his way. He hired these murderers, and in this way they represent him and his dominant, if not insane, ways. The second murderer also represents what Richard does not have, the ability to sense right from wrong and to feel remorse for ones actions. He is almost like Richard's missing half. All people are self centered at times, focusing on themselves and their need to achieve and succeed, but they also have a conscious that tells them when something is morally wrong, Richard does not have this. He is solely concerned about himself and his rise to greatness, taking down anyone without a second thought, and if he does think about it, he only sees the good that it did him, not the pain that it did to others. In the last lines said by the Second Murderer, he basically explains Richards theory, that a conscious only hinders, if you want to be great you must do without one, for it will make you mad, thinking about all the wrong you did to get where you are today.

Histories are by far my favorite genre to read. Most people find histories to be dry and boring, but i believe that there is much to learn from them and that they can be quite interesting if you find the right one. I believe that Richard III was the right one. Richard had the right mix of history and woven in fiction, and they complimented each other perfectly. Through this genre, Shakespeare was able to convey the tragedy of Richard III, the power struggle, the historical events, and the inevitable outcome. Shakespeare was able to bring in historical facts, like Richard's deformity, which helped bring a personal touch into the work that made you feel as though you were there in those times. You were able to see the character and witness how he used his deformity as a weapon to make himself seem weak while really being a power stricken individual. The way in which Shakespeare wrote this play gets rid of the boring and mellow aspect of some historical novels, and replaces it with interesting if not mind boggling facts and actions which bring you not only into the play but into the time period itself. (and you thought histories were boring :p )

While I did say that I enjoyed reading historical novels, I found this one to be my least favorite one that I have read. I really do not enjoy reading Shakespeare as I have previously stated and I was constantly confused and lost with what was going on in the play. For me, I would have rather seen this one acted out, it would have been easier for me to relate to and understand. It is not that I did not like the play, it is just that I have difficulties reading Shakespeare's writing, I find it hard to understand. Other than that, the play and the characters themselves were incredible. Shakespeare was able to create such intricate characters and generate such strong reactions from the readers in a relatively short amount of time. I give his much applause on his capabilities as a writer to create characters that generate such a compelling reaction from the reader. I felt hatred, remorse, sadness, suspense, and intensity in all the correct places to to all the right people. I was able to feel the same pain the characters felt, and I was able to feel the insanity that coursed through Richard's veins. In this way I really enjoyed the play, I just wish Shakespeare could have written in a way that I was more capable of understanding in the first read through, not the second or third. Other than that, this was a good example of the history genre written by Shakespeare.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

2008-05-30T09:18:00.003-04:00

A Midsummer Night's Dream, written by William Shakespeare, is a comedy. Through his arrogant characters, misunderstanding, misuse of words, and general self-righteousness, Shakespeare is able to weave a play in which the reader is drawn into fits of laughter and disbelief. Personally, i really enjoy this genre. It is able to convey an important message through laughter and light heartedness which I find to be the best way to prove a point without over stressing it. Comedy is an easy-easy-to-read type of genre which makes it fun to read and entertaining at the same time. It does not contain the dryness of some of the other genres. This play especially was filled with more than one source of comedy. Between the arrogance of Bottom, and the misunderstanding between the fairies, and the confusing love story between the two sets of lovers, this book is practically bursting with comedy. And as with many of the Shakespearean comedies, the ending is a happy one, with the young lovers marrying the person that they wanted, and basically living 'happily ever after'. Comedies are also a great place to insert morals, mostly because of the lightheartedness that is associated with them, the moral will not weigh them down. In this particular play, there seem to be two morals, one is demonstrated by Bottom, which is not to be full of yourself and come off as being, well excuse me, an ass (symbolized by the head of a donkey he ended up acquiring). The second moral seems to be to mind ones own business, because when you try to become involved in something that does not concern you, things can be taken out of context (represented by the mix up between the lovers and the drama that went with it).

An example of the comedy in the play can be seen in this passage:

SNUG
Have you the lion's part written? Pray you, if it be, give it me, for I am slow of study.

QUINCE
You may do it extempore, for it is nothing but roaring.

BOTTOM
Let me play the lion too. I will roar, that I will do any man's heart good to hear me. I will roar, that I will make the duke say, “Let him roar again. Let him roar again.”

QUINCE
An you should do it too terribly, you would fright the duchess and the ladies, that they would shriek. And that were enough to hang us all.

ALL
That would hang us, every mother's son.

BOTTOM
I grant you, friends, if you should fright the ladies out of their wits, they would have no more discretion but to hang us. But I will aggravate my voice so that I will roar you as gently as any sucking dove. I will roar you an 'twere any nightingale.

QUINCE
You can play no part but Pyramus. For Pyramus is a sweet-faced man, a proper man as one shall see in a summer's day, a most lovely, gentlemanlike man. Therefore you must needs play Pyramus.

BOTTOM
Well, I will undertake it. What beard were I best to play it in?

I found this scene to be one of the most comical in the play, while there is more to it than this one section, you are able to get the gist of Bottom's 'I am better than you' attitude. I found it extremely comical how he believed himself to be the best for so many parts, and how he could imagine himself being cheered on as he gave his preformance. Not only is he self-righteous and conceded in this excerpt, but he believes that the women will be scared of the loin's costume and roar. He sees women as these fragile beings who cannot determine on their own that the situation and costumes are fake, which is also comical because they are going to a play, so they would know very well that what they are witnessing is fake. My favorite line from this excerpt is said by Bottom, "Let me play the lion too. I will roar, that I will do any man's heart good to hear me. I will roar, that I will make the duke say, “Let him roar again. Let him roar again.” this just brings a smile to my face because it shows just how self-centered Bottom is. He must take the spotlight away from everyone else, and be the one that everyone is focused on at all times, which can be seen here as he steals the focus from Snug and places it on himself. He is also a drama queen, if I do say so myself, he believes that he is the best at everything, and he believes that he would be the best at every role, even being asked to act it out again because of his stellar performance. This section is so comical because everyone knows at least one person in their lives that acts as Bottom does and it is so easy to picture and imagine the frustration that the people around him feel because of his constant arrogance. Bottom also compares two things that are in no way similar to each other, like roaring as a dove or nightingale. These comparisons are just ridiculous and show how Bottom is willing to say anything, no matter how much intelligence it is lacking, in order to make himself sound better and persuade other people to idolize him.

This was one of my favorite Shakespeare plays that we read, mostly because I am a fan of comedy. This play was easy to read and understand (I have a tendency to get lost in some of his plays). This play leaves one with a happy lighthearted feeling, since everything worked out in the end. It also leaves one with a sense and a conscious thought/ determination to not act as Bottom, not to be a conceded person too involved with themselves to care about anyone else. I found myself laughing out loud and smiling to myself through out this whole play mainly because of the characters and all of the dilemmas and challenges that they faced along the way. This is one of the few plays by Shakespeare that you do not need acted out to get the full meaning and understanding of it. This is another reason why i liked it, it was easy to follow even though it contained so many characters. I am not a fan of Shakespeare, so I was surprised when i read this book and actually liked it, believe me, it was quite a shock. I would recommend this book to be read again, it is a easy read, yet it is fun, it has lots of things to analyze, and it is still Shakespeare (which i see as to be a good combination).

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

2008-03-30T14:57:00.002-04:00

QUOTE:

"26 April: Mother is putting my new secondhand clothes in order. She prays now, she says, that I may learn in my own life and away from home and friends what the heart is and what it feels. Amen. So be it. Welcome, O life! I go to encounter for the millionth time the reality of experience and to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race." (275-276)

This was one of my favorite quotes in the novel. It really shows Stephen's aim in life, which is to be an artist and experience life through his own eyes and soul. He will function by what he thinks is good and right and will no longer care about the twisted views of others. The new secondhand clothes can be seen as a symbol of his rebirth. To him his life is new. It is there for him to structure and form into what he wants it to be, yet it is really secondhand, since he has already used part of his life and when he devoted himself to function under the rulings of others. He is now going to strive to be an artist who functions under his own individual voice to help the unconscious people in his race create their own voices. Stephen has finally found the importance of being an individual and finding one's inner voice. He has chosen to follow his heart and create for those around him the true meaning of life. The last sentence in this quote just seems so powerful when you read it especially because of the word forge. Forge makes it seem as though it will be hard to do what he is about to take part in. The connotation of the word forge brings to mind the image of a hot room, with a furnace and bright red light, where a person is bent over, hard at work making some type of artwork. So for Stephen, turning his experience into a conscience 'work of art' for everyone to really look at, admire, and except is going to be a difficult task. But Stephen has finally learned how to spread his wings, to be true to himself, and he is about to take flight for the first time, experiencing the freedom and knowledge that comes along with it.

SYMBOL:

Flight is a very important symbol in Joyce's Portrait. It is embedded within the story, even into the character himself, as his last name, Dedalus, is a parallel to a character in Greek mythology who tries to escape imprisonment by making wings for himself and his son and attempting to fly to safety. Throughout the book, Stephen is set on leaving Ireland, yet he must wait so that he does not overestimate his own abilities (his abilities being both living on his own and his intellectual ability). While Stephen grows and becomes intellectually stable, he spends his time at the university where he develops his theories both on aesthetics and on flight. He realizes his passion in writing and buys his time at the university, sharpening his speaking and writing skills as he prepares to flee Ireland. In the last section, chapter 5, birds appear yet again to Stephen, but this time they stay for a longer amount of time in his stream of consciousness and he is able to see them clearly. For Stephen, this is his signal to leave Ireland. He is now fully formed as an artist and writer and cannot express his full potential if he is to stay in Ireland, and so, like the birds, he takes flight. With flight comes the freedom of choice, of speech, and of action, everything that Stephen wanted. Flying is the picture of freedom, and so is one of the most important symbols in the novel.

OPINION:

This was one of my least favorite books that we have read all year. I found it very difficult to read on my own, as I was continually unable to decipher the events and happenings on my own. This is not one of the books that I would pick out to read on my own, for I believe that there was too much background knowledge needed in order to understand what was going on. Without the discussions in class, I would have been lost. The stream of consciousness that the book was written in also made it difficult for me to grasp what was going on, especially towards the end. I found that I had missed so much in my reading of the passages that I was dumbfounded when we went over them in class and discussed what actually happened in that nights reading. This is defiantly not a book that I would bring to read on the beach.

#238- Riddle, William Heyen

2008-03-30T12:20:00.005-04:00

William Heyen's poem, Riddle, is a very hard hitting poem that focuses on the Holocaust and the various people who took part in it. Through this poem it becomes obvious that the Holocaust is not the fault of one person, but of many. I thought that there was a great realization in this poem; many people blame one person for the Holocaust, yet many people took part in it and carried out his wishes without a second thought. This can be seen in stanza five, "and some herded them in,/ and some dropped the pellets,/ and some spread the ashes,/ and some hosed the walls" (17-20). The Holocaust was not the result of one person's bidding, but of many people's blind following. In a way, the speaker is pointing his finger at everyone of us for the Holocaust because we just sat around and did nothing while these horrors continued to happen. While reading this poem, I realized that it really isn't a riddle who killed the Jews, we all did. We all contributed to the devastating events that occurred and this poem just shows that everyone is at fault. "And some planted the wheat,/ and some poured the steel,/ and some cleared the rails,/ and some raised the cattle." (21-24) even the people who grew the food and worked the rails were at fault because they supplied the Nazis with food and supplies.

The speaker of this poem is the poet himself. He is reflecting on the events of the Holocaust and how people blindly blame one individual for the death of many, even though many people were responsible. William Heyen lived during the Holocaust, which would point to his strong feelings and opinions towards this genocide and his knowledge of the people who took part in it. He speaks of the people he knew that were affected by it saying, "My friend Fritz Nova lost his father-/ a petty official had to choose./ My friend Lou Abrahms lost his brother. Who killed the Jews?" (9-12) This just goes to show that everyone was affected by the Holocaust and that even people who were close to you could be lost to it, no one was safe. The rhyme scheme of this poem is ABCB where only the second and fourth lines rhyme. This almost gives the poem a list-like form, this and this happened, and because of these things, that happened so who is responsible? The rhyme schemes show how action was connected to the preceding event, "David Nova swallowed gas,/ Hyman Abrahms was beaten and starved./ Some men signed their papers,/ and some stood guard."(13-16) this quote really shows how because of many events, this horrible thing was able to happen. There is no steady meter in this poem. The absence of meter shows how not one thing lead to the next, but how many happenings brought about the result. There is no one person to blame, and so there is not one meter to rely on.

One of the most obvious devices in this poem in repetition. Here the repetition emphasizes the fact that it was not one person's fault, it was not one person who killed the Jews. Repetition of "not I" (lines 5-8) shows that no one wanted to take the blame for the events that occurred, while the "and some" (17-24) shows how there were groups of people involved in every step of the genocide. Another device used in this poem is understatement. Many of the events are understated in the way that he described them. Heyen took out the grim and gorey details and left just the brief outline of what really happened. "dropped the pellets" (18), "spread the ashes" (19), and "smelled the smoke"(25) are all understatements of the horrors that one would have experienced in one of those camps. Understatement leaves the reader to imagine for themselves the details that occurred, it leaves room for the imagination.

#221- Vergissmeinnicht- Kieth Douglas

2008-03-29T10:28:00.005-04:00

Vergissmeinnicht, 'forget me not' in German, is a poem on war. For this poem it is important for the reader to understand the background of the author. Keith Douglas served in North Africa during World War 2 and was killed in action during the invasion of Normandy in 1944 at the age of 24. Douglas's most famous and moving works were written during the war and were published after his death.

Knowing this, it becomes obvious that the Speaker of this poem is the poet himself. The speaker is reflecting on the horrors of war and the needless death and fighting that comes with it. The speaker even shows a form of compassion for a dead and decaying soldier. He sees the corpse as a person rather than a statistic of war. The fallen soldier is an enemy gunner, yet he still feels compassion for him and his beloved, "the dishonored picture of his girl/ who has put: Steffi. Vergissmeinnicht/ in a copybook gothic script."( 10-12). This compassion can also be seen in the last couplet, "And death who had the soldier singled/ has done the lover mortal hurt."(23-24). This couplet can also be seen as a paradox of war. The speaker also shows a persons mortality my mocking the mocking how people hide behind their equipment during war, expecting to be saved, "and mocked at by his own equipment/ that's hard and good when he's decayed."(15-16). The speaker realizes that we are fragile and mortal creatures, "[...] on his skin the swart flies move;/ the dust upon the paper eye/ and the burst stomach like a cave." (18-20), and that not even the most expensive equipment can save us from death. The speaker seems to give us a first hand account of the follies of war.

There is no stable rhyme scheme in this poem. The rhyme constantly changes, sometimes being ABBA, AAAA, or ABAB. This unstable rhyme scheme seems to mimic the randomness of war, and the changing conditions and situations. It represents the different feelings of the soldiers, the constantly changing war plays. Without a steady rhyme scheme poems can get messy, but this poem it able to stay neat and tidy with the help of syllabic verse. Each line has either 8 or 9 syllables which give it a rhythm without the help of a steady rhyme scheme. Many of the lines also are run-on lines, making it seem like his thoughts are rushing from one thing to the next without stopping. This makes the poem almost like a stream of consciousness, but without the confusing break-offs and references to prior events.

There are many devices used in this poem to convey the author's view and stance on war. Imagery is a big component of this poem and can bee seen throughout the whole work. The use of imagery gives the feeling of restless passion and misery that is haunting the speaker. For example, "nightmare ground" (2) shows the suffering of war, as does "the soldier sprawling in the sun."(4). Imagery allows the reader to enter the mind and scene of the speaker/poet and become one with the poem. Personification is also a prominent device used in this poem. "The frowning barrel of his gun"(5) and "and mocked at by his own equipment"(15) are two examples of the personification used in this poem. Personification allows the reader to further connect to the poem and helps one picture the situation being explained. Repetition of words in the same line is also a literary device that Douglas uses in this poem. The repetition of the words gone, found, and one can be seen in lines 1, 3, and 22. When reading these lines, the repetition reminds one of the sound of a machine gun spitting out bullets, the shot and the echo or the hit. From this, the sense of war is further reinforced onto the reader.

I thought that this poem tastefully represted the short comings and horrors brought about by war. It was not over descriptive on its accounts of the gore, yet it was able to get its point across. This is now one of my favorite poems. I found it to be so touching in a way that I cannot describe. My favorite line from this poem is " For here the lover and the killer are mingled/ who had one body and one heart." (21-22). I like this line because it really just shows how the killer is connected to the lover by the deceased man, and even though they were on different sides, they both had but one body and one heart to share with others on this earth.

Warning, by Jenny Joseph, poem #246

2008-03-28T19:37:00.005-04:00

Let me start off by saying that this was one of my favorite poems. While reading it I could just picture a little old lady, running around and being rather mischievous, i thought it was hilarious. I think that this poem really shows how up-tight people today are. Stanza 3 really shows this saying "But now we must have clothes that keep us dry/ And pay our rent and not swear in the street/ And set a good example for the children./ We must have friends to dinner and read the papers." People today conform to the standards set before them, never straying in fear of being singled out and ridiculed. Yet in old age, people tend to care less of what people think of them. It is like the saying that as you get older, the more you resort to your childhood and the things that you missed out on. Elderly people are always seen as being able to get away with more things, being more free natured than ourselves, and being able to get away with it. I also like the line "But maybe I ought to practice a little now?/ So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised/ when suddenly I am old and start to wear purple." (20-22). Here the speaker is cutting away the defining line between the expected behavior of an adult and that of an elderly person. The speaker would like to live such a care free life, and jokingly states that she should start acting care free now, that way her friends are not surprised when she suddenly goes against everything that society has taught her, 'warning' (as the title says) the people around her of the person that she is going to become. I find that this poem is telling people to live a little. You only have one life to live, do not wait until the end to stop caring about the views of others, stop caring now, that way you can live a happier free life with a free spirit.

The speaker of this poem is very important. The speaker of the poem apparently is a woman, since she talks about the Red Hat Society. In this poem, she is almost mocking the need to stay in line and function by society's rules; mocking the need to set a good example for our children who are just going to become old people who don't function by the rules, for following the ways of others and conforming so that we do not stand out, for reading the paper about things that really are of no importance to ourselves but pretending to be interested anyway. This can be seen in stanza 3 (as printed above). The speaker shows the restrictions of conforming society by showing the free spirit that she will be able to have as an elderly person, "I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired/ And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells/ And run my stick along the public railings/ and make up for the sobriety of my youth. / I shall go out in my slippers in the rain/ And pick the flowers from other people's gardens/ And learn to spit."(5-11). The speaker is telling the story of all people's lives, showing in how our early years we must conform to society's standards so as not to stand out from the norm, yet in old age, we are done with society. We no longer care what other people think of us and we do things soully on how we want to do them. I think the speaker is sending the message to all of the readers that life is too short for us to conform, we must stand out and live a little, and forget how other perceive us and our actions.

The rhyme and meter are also important in this poem, mostly because there aren't any. The lack of a rhyme scheme shows the freedom of speech, thought, and action that all people have. It shows that freedom that we all have, and shows that we are allowed to use it. There is also a lack of meter in this poem, since this poem is a free verse. This also shows the freedom that is ours to take advantage of. Each line is a stopped line, where the end of each line is like a natural speech pause. This form of writing makes it feel as though the speaker is talking to the reader. The rhyme and meter both go to show the importance of the freedom of speech, thought, and action that we all have. It is there for all of us, it is just our choice whether to take advantage of it or not.

This poem can come under the title of a satire. This is because the speaker is conforming to the expected way of life because she feels as though it is her duty, yet she hopes for and preaches about the day when she will be able to do was she pleases. She ridicules the ways of life that most people religiously follow because she wants people to step away from this way of life. Her situation could also be seen as ironic because she is preaching about leading the life you want and being free, yet she is still conforming to the laws that she is ridiculing. while this may be the case, it is obvious that a satire seems to describe this poem rather well. Another device used in this poem is tone. The tone in this poem is one of longing . Longing for the day when everything can be different, when one can do as they pleased without facing the consequences. She longs for the day when she will be able to act as she wishes and do as she pleases. The sense of longing seems to show the reader how important it is for us to be ourselves in every situation and to always be true to ourselves rather then conform to what society would like us to be. Without this sense of longing, this poem would not show people how important it is to stay true to ourselves.

To An Athlete Dying Young, A.E. Housman - poem # 249

2008-03-27T19:00:00.006-04:00

To an Athlete Dying Young, by A. E. Housman, gives the reader an alternate view of death. Rather than death in youth being a sad and mournful time, the speaker sees it as an escape from seeing your life's work forgotten and faded. The speaker of this poem takes the form of one of the deceased's friends. This can be seen from the line, "shoulder-high, we bring you home" (6) because in a funeral, it is custom for the deceased's closest friends to carry the casket. The speaker plays an ironic part in this poem, seeing life ended early as a great and lucky thing. The speaker views an early death as an escape from seeing his accomplishments forgotten and faded. The line "And early though the laurel grows/ It whithers quicker than the rose."(11-12) is a clear description of the speakers view. A laurel is an evergreen tree that is the emblem of victory, distinction, and accomplishments. Knowing this, it becomes obvious that the speaker is saying that accomplishments happen early in life and because of this, it is better to die in the glory of youth then to rest too long on one's laurels only to see them fade, beaten out, and forgotten. To the speaker, being forgotten is the worst thing that can happen to man saying, "Now you will not swell the rout/ Of lads that wore their honors out,/ Runners whom renown outran/ And the name died before the man." (17-20). The speaker is clearly envious of the deceased, and one gets the feeling that he is reflecting on his own life in this poem, on his accomplishments and how they were overshadowed by the accomplishments of others. The speaker wishes that he could have died in his prime so that he did not have to feel the pain of becoming another nameless forgotten blob in a sea of nameless blobs.

The rhyme and meter are also very important in this poem. The rhyme scheme is in AA BB format, producing a then and now feel. This is how it once was, and now this is how it is and how it will be. The meter is also important. Each line has eight syllables and when reading this poem, it seems to set a pace, much like the footsteps of a runner. This is important not only because the poem is about the life and death of a runner, but because it also shows the pace of life and life after death. It shows that life still goes on, and that life does not stop because of a death. In fact, life can erase any evidence of a deceased person's life.

There are two prominent literary devices used in this poem, personification and apostrophe. Personification can be seen in the lines "Eyes the shady night has shut" (13) and "After earth as stopped the ears" (16). Night cannot shut, and earth obviously cannot stop one's ears, it has no hands. Yet in this poem these two lines provide the reader with the feeling that death is a natural and peaceful bliss for this man, protecting him from seeing his glory fade and his fame forgotten. Apostrophe can be seen in the opening stanza "The time you won your town the race/ We chaired you through the market-place;/ Man and boy stood cheering by,/ And home we brought you shoulder-high." The speaker here is speaking to the runner as if he is still alive. By speaking in this manner throughout the poem, it feels as if he is reminiscing on the young man's life, and then reassuring him that dying young is better then dying after one's prime. This brings the reader into the poem, and makes them feel a connection to both the speaker and the young man.

When i first read this poem, I literally got tears in my eyes. I found it to be such a sad, yet beautiful poem, focusing on the life and death of a beloved athlete. I think this is why it caught my attention. But then, upon further inspection i realized that it is about one man's jealousy over the death of another, which I thought to be a bit strange. People usually want to live long happy lives, not short ones where they are cut down in their prime. Yet in a way it made sense, who wants to live to see all their records smashed and their name forgotten? No one. From the line "Smart lad, to slip bedtimes away" (9) I got the sense that the speaker was reflecting also on his own life, and how he has lived to see his fame tarnished. He views the athlete as smart because he died before he was able to feel the pain of his hard work gone to waist. Even though I may not agree with the speaker and his view of death, I still find this poem to be extremely touching and well written, a reflection on the glory of life, and the 'luxury' (as the speaker would call it) of eternal slumber.

Player Piano- Analysis & thoughts

2008-01-26T23:22:00.000-05:00

I found the broken headlight on Paul's car to be of importance to the novel. Headlights are meant to help you see at night by illuminating the area around you, yet Paul only had one. In the beginning of the novel, the broken headlight seemed to represent how Paul only saw one side to life, he only had half-vision. Paul only saw his side of the river, only his side of life, the 'successful and educated' side. Paul did not have any connections to the other side of the river and was in fact afraid of the people living on the other side. Because Paul refused to see the other side for what it was worth, he only knows half truths about life beyond machines. Paul has gone through life without question. His blinders have been up to the rest of the world, ignoring what he does not understand and only seeing what society perceives to be acceptable.

Paul also has other cars. It is hinted at that he has cars which are much nicer than the one that he drives around, yet he continues to choose to drive his old, rusty, loud car. This shows that although Paul works on the mechanised side of the river, he is still reluctant to let go of the past. This one fact sets up the idea in the reader that Paul might be able to overcome this societal barrier and bring the two sides together.

In the end, Paul doesn't even have a car, symbolizing how he is now going blindly throughout the rest of the novel. He has left all that he is accustomed to behind and has stepped outside of his box and now has to follow his heart, and believe that it will guide him to do the right thing. Paul has left behind the last of the machines, the start of peoples dependency on machines- his old and rusty car, and is attempting to bring back the human element that was lost to the industrialization of the city. (and to think this all started with a broken headlight)

I found this book to be shockingly representative of life today. People are becoming more and more dependent on machines, and we aren't even looking at the consequences. We are already seeing less industrialized people/countries as beneath us and people that are not as mechanically savvy as stuck in the past, outdated. This book seems to be a foreshadowing of what is to become of our society if we continue down the path we are going. Although there were many similarities between this novel and our lives today, I did not enjoy reading it. Maybe it was because it was so close to the life that we have now that i found it frightening... Truthfully, I just did not enjoy this novel. I am not sure if there is one specific thing that I can point out that I didn't like, I just didn't enjoy it in general.

Invisible Man- Analysis and thoughts

2008-01-26T21:35:00.000-05:00

One of the most intriguing characters in this novel is Mary Rambo. Mary Rambo stood for so much. She was a motherly figure to the narrator, providing him with food, shelter, acceptance, and pushing him to strive to be the best he could be.

Mary was the first person that the narrator felt a connection to. She seemed to like him for who he was, and even if she did not always understand him and his ways, she was always there to support him. Mary trusts the narrator, and expects him to make something of himself. She never expects anything from him, and even lets him stay in her house when he is not able to pay the rent. Mary would rather see to it that he is kept warm, dry and full, than out in the streets cold and hungry.

Mary Rambo is also an allusion to the Virgin Mary. While the most obvious connection is their names, the tie goes further. They both showed kindness to others and the ability to put the wants and needs of people before their own. Mary Rambo and the Virgin Mary were both extremely trusting people, for they both trusted other people and believed in the help of angels. Another similarity between these two women is their want to help, but their inability to fully understand the extent of the situation around them. Mary Rambo wanted to help the narrator, but she was incapable of doing so because she did not see the world the same light as he did. She could not comprehend, or did not want to comprehend, the problems that their race was facing. Because she could not do this, he was unable to fully communicate with her and bond on a deeper level and so had to leave her before he ruined the innocence that she had. The Virgin Mary, on the other hand, did not always understand the actions of her son, Jesus. She could not see the bigger picture and wanted him to remain her son forever. She did not want him to travel off and leave her behind, she wanted to be there and protect him, like every mother should. She could not see that her son was part of a bigger plan, and when he left her, she could not understand. But he had to leave, he had to continue the course that he was destined to take, much like the narrator, and he had to learn to leave some people behind in order to help the people as a whole.

Mary's last name is also important Rambo=Sambo. Sambo was the doll that Clifton had at the end of the novel, representing prejudice and degrading stereotypes of the black race. The doll represents a stereotypes power to control the actions of others, manipulating the movements and range of motion of the person. Mary was manipulated by society. She was made to believe that nothing was wrong, but if she was just to throw away this veil, she would have seen that everything as not OK and that something had to be done. While Mary was very courteous and friendly to the narrator, she was controlled by society and so could never understand his actions and so was of no help to him. If anything, his presence was a risk for her, since he was involved in so many 'battles' with other speakers in the city.

I found the Invisible Man to be a very long book. Now don't get me wrong, I am a fan of large books, but this one was just so bogged down by motifs, symbols and allusions that reading it became much like a chore to me. Overall I did like the book, it wasn't that hard to follow which made dealing with all the symbols a bit easier. To me, it just seemed like so many symbols were packed into this novel that it was very hard to discuss because everything could be picked apart and you could spend one period going over half a page. Getting past these things, the novel itself was not bad. Although this is probably not a book that i would pick out for a read on my own time, i believe that it has a good message and deserves to be read.

Invisble Man- Quote

2008-01-26T20:37:00.000-05:00

"Our white is so white you can paint a chunka coal and you'd have to crack it open with a sledge hammer to prove it wasn't white clear through!"(217).

Liberty Paints is a very important symbol in Invisible Man. Even the name is important. Liberty stands for freedom and equality, both physically and mentally, yet Liberty Paints is famous for one specific paint, Optic White. This paint dominates over all others produced and is the pride and joy of the company. The above quote said by Mr. Brockway is a metaphor to how the white race tries to cover up the rightfully earned equality and contributions of the black race. The paint is covering and disguising, removing the essence of the people who created it, much like how society took credit away from the people who deserved it.

The name of the paint also has a very direct meaning. The word 'optic' means clear and seeing, which is quite ironic considering how the paint is rumored to be able to conceal coal. But even more ironic is that the key component of the paint was a black chemical which was once again mixed in and forgotten, only to make the paint a brilliant white. This goes to show that the white race is taking credit for the contributions of the black race, making themselves look so much better than others around them.

Society tried so hard to erase all signs of the the black race. They tried to cover them up within the white culture, and 'brain wash' them into believing that they are insignificant in other people's eyes. Many of the characters in the novel, Supercargo for example, dressed in all white to try and cover up their true color and heritage. By doing so, they have essentially become the coal that Mr. Brockway was talking about.

Heart of Darkness- Analysis- The Congo River

2008-01-18T08:53:00.000-05:00

The river plays a vital role in the novel, "Heart of Darkness". The river allows access into the interior of Africa, or more commonly known at this time as the 'dark continent'. The river also acts as a divider, keeping Marlow separated from the natives and the evil ways of Kurtz. The river allows Marlow to see both sides of the continent, but it also allows Marlow to see both sides of a situation.

The river is also very hard to travel up; because of its strong current it is continually pushing back Marlow and his crew, almost as it it is trying to expel them from the interior. The slow progress upstream allows Marlow to get a sense of what the Congo really is. It lets him get a taste of the horrors and contorting power of dark, dense, wilderness.

The color of the river is also important. The brown current is symbolic of the natives that live in the Congo, for as the river pushes back the steamboat back towards civilization, the natives try and chase Marlow out of the Congo. The trip downstream was also much faster and easier than the progress into the Congo, "The brown current ran swiftly out of the heart of darkness, bearing us towards the sea with twice the speed of our upward progress"(151). This makes it seem like the trip back towards civilization was inevitable, as the saying goes, 'what goes up must come down'.

The trip back home was also much easier for Marlow because making his way into the Congo, he had to fight off temptations and evil to choose the person that he wanted to be. The river reflected this because it also pushed back on Marlow, on his boat, and made progress slow and dangerous with its many sangs and traps along the way. While leaving the Congo, the river was much swifter, making travel much smoother and more rapid. This is the same for Marlow's thoughts because he had overcome the temptation and could leave the Congo knowing that he had just conquered his situation and made the right choice, sanity, over the choice of his famed colleague, Kurtz.

Player Piano- quote

2008-01-17T20:27:00.000-05:00

"Anybody that competes with a slave becomes a slave" (281).

I found this quote to be a repetitive theme throughout the novel, Player Piano. Throughout the entire novel, people were constantly competing against themselves and against machines, essentially becoming slaves to this race against time. People were competing with machines for their jobs, for their entire way of life. In many cases people were inventing machines which could do their jobs, and since machines could do them faster and more efficiently, the machines quickly replaced the people who invented them.

Also, the people were basically slaves to the machines, constantly fixing, inventing, and upgrading them so that they had the newest and most efficient models. The people's main focus was the care and upkeep of the machines, causing them to lose all connections to how life used to be and enslaving them to the 'machine race'. The machines can also be considered slaves because they cannot think for themselves; they just do as they are programmed and are switched out once they are not running up to par.

Paul becomes a slave to showing people that they can live without machines in their lives. He is constantly competing against time to try and convince people that it is not to late to turn back and refuse this life controlled by machines. Paul loses his wife and his entire way of life to this quest, much like how slaves lost their families and possessions when they were taken. Paul becomes a slave to humanity, while most other people have become slaves to machinery. Either way, they are both competing against something, and are slaves in doing so.

Heart of Darkness- quote & thoughts

2008-01-17T11:51:00.000-05:00

"They grabbed what they could get for the sake of what was to be got. it was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind- as it is very proper for hose who tackle a darkness"(70).

This quote can be looked at in so many different ways. Colonialism is the main concern in this passage. Marlow viewed colonialism as evil, destructive, greedy, and degrading, which is clearly shown in this line. Colonialism and its effects on those involved is part of the main theme in Heart of Darkness. Marlow's views are carried throughout the novel as shown in his disapproval of the 'improvements' made on the road and Kurtz's treatment of the natives, especially concerning the heads on the poles. While Kurtz and his followers did not think or seem of care about their actions and the effect that they had on those around them, Marlow was able to look past the bribe of fortune and fame to see the horrible outcome of their actions. (Which may be why Marlow seems to show more respect for the cannibals aboard his ship, or why they seem to respect him more than the other characters met along their journey.)

The use of the word darkness also can have a double meaning. When first reading through this, darkness seems to represent the unknown world within the Congo, the people and the wilderness within, but upon further inspection it means so much more. The darkness that they are tackling does not only refer to the uncivilized world around them, but also to the darkness within themselves. The darkness that is within all humans is one that most people do not take much note of. It lurks in all of us, and even if we refuse to recognize its presence it still there, just waiting to reveal itself. In other words, this darkness that they are tackling is themselves. The crimes that they commit are being driven from the anger and wildness within and their actions are a result as they try to overcome, or give into, this new terror from within.

Blindness is also a common motif in Heart of Darkness. Blindness keeps people from seeing what is really there. Here, it is keeping the people from seeing the true cause and result of their actions. Blindness, in this novel, is chosen over sight. The characters choose not to see the truth in front of them but to cover it up and pretend it is not there. They refuse to see what they are becoming just for the chance of getting their hands on a small fortune.

The scary thing is that this happens to people today. Many people are on that 'every man for himself' mode and do not care about how their actions are clouding their vision and hurting those around them. I found this book to be a difficult read at first. With the page and a half long paragraphs and dense commentary, it was hard to understand in the first read through. The second time we read it is when i really understood and enjoyed it. This book really showed what can happen if we let fame and fortune get into out heads, and let the evil overtake our common sense. This is by far one of my favorite books that we have read thus far and i really believe that everyone would benefit from reading it.

The Handmaid's Tale- Analysis & Thoughts

2007-11-05T18:43:00.000-05:00

One of the most prominent themes in The Handmaid's Tale is the use of language for power. Men are viewed as the most important, and so are classified by their military rank. They each have their own names and so keep their identity. As for women, their names are stripped from them. Women are classified by their gender roles like Wife, Martha, and Handmaid. This erasing of names serves one purpose, to take away ones individuality.

Some women are also unfortunate enough to be dubbed 'Unwomen' and deformed children become 'Unbabies'. These people are seen as unclean and evil, less than those around them. Language has set them apart from the rest of society.

Women are also forbidden to read. This puts them at a disadvantage and makes them less then men. Men suddenly become more intelligent and more powerful then women because of this one thing. In the world of the Handmaids, they are not even allowed to have a constant name like the Marthas and Wives. Handmaids are made to take on the names of the Men they are stationed with. Their names show the Man's possession being Of___ the man's first name. This takes away their identity and makes them not a person but an object, and with each new station they loose their old name and become someone else's name, someone else's property.

Greetings are also predetermined, you must say the correct greeting or you will me seen as disloyal. African-Americans and Jewish people are also refereed to differently, which singles them out and allows them to be further persecuted for who hey are. Gilead has complete control over all its subjects, especially the women, because they have control over their names.

In one scene Offred is able to overcome the system and play scrabble with her commander. She is able to use language, and so has the upper hand. Through the words she spells you can see how she really feels and what she is thinking. These words give her power that she normally doesn't have. This is a perfect scene to see how language really does control this society.

This book was one of my favorites. It was right up there with Anthem. I found it easy to relate to and more believable than most of the other books that we have read. Atwood successfully got her message across to the readers. Her views on feminism are quite apparent throughout the novel and her biblical allusions justify her stance. Though Atwood's details and descriptions she is able to convey a picture of a corrupt society that has very little morals. She is able to show us what can happen, even if it is just a tad far fetched. Although the ending of the novel is not what I had expected ( I wanted her to get out) it served its purpose and i found the historical notes at the end to be very interesting, they might have been one of my favorite parts. The historical notes really showed how we could be viewing events that happened years ago completely wrong, and that we should show more respect for the people that had to endure different events. We should respect those hurt in the past and being to learn from their mistakes. This book also make me want to say that women should stand up for themselves more, because we are just as good as men, we should not be degraded just because we are not like them. We should fight for the rights we deserve.

The Handmaid's Tale- Quote- I believe in you

2007-11-05T18:11:00.000-05:00

"By telling you anything at all I'm at least believing in you, believe you're there, I believe you into being. Because I'm telling you this story I will your existence. I tell, therefore you are. So I will go on. So I will myself to go on."(268)

This quote made by Offred i found to be of peculiar importance, not just to the characters in the book but to people as well. Offred, after basically cut off from society and social contact feels totally and utterly alone. Humans are by nature social creatures and although they do like their privacy, they also like company. Offred only has solitude. She is not allowed to talk unless spoken to, and even then she must answer not with what she feels or wants to say, but with what she is trained to say. Without an outlet to vent out to like a person or diary (reading and writing were out of the question for women) it is easy of one to go insane.

Offred's situation is much like the one from the well known movie, Cast Away. Without anther person to talk to, to relate to the main character- Chuck Noland- is unable to hold onto his sanity. Noland feels alone, scared, and miserable. To solve this problem, he makes a friend in a beach ball- Wilson- whom he creates to substitute for the lack of human contact on the island. Wilson becomes his best friend whom he talks to and relieves himself of his stress and worries. Offred does a similar thing in her thoughts. She creates an audience, a friend, a reader, to keep her sane. By believing in the reader she is able to make it through. The reader becomes her closest and most trusted friend. Although she is not sure if we even exist, just the thought of letting her feelings go, of breaking the rules and coming into contact with another person is enough to keep her going.

Through this quote it also becomes apparent how important social contact is to humans. Without this contact one feels totally alone. To believe in other people is to believe in yourself. Everyone needs a buddy in life to make them feel good, to spill their heart out to. Offred is at the end of her rope. She desperately needs someone to believe in, to believe in her. Because we are there for her, she is able to go on. Our presence in her mind is enough to motivate her to keep going. Everyone needs a support system, and we as reader are that to Offred.

We- Analysis and Thoughts

2007-11-05T16:47:00.000-05:00

Yevgeny Zamyatin's novel, We, has been by far my least favorite novel. I found the whole situation and plot of the book far fetched and irrational. Although it did do its part to show the ultimate failure of Utopias I did not like the novel because I could not relate to it. I find that in order to truly enjoy a book you must be able to relate to it. I am not saying however, that We was a bad novel, it was well written and got its point across, I just am not interseted in this genre. As for showing the unlimited failure of utopias, We is one of the best. While reading this novel it becomes clear that forcing people into a certain way of life, forcing them to abide by predetermined schedules, and forcing them to accept the laws set before them inevitably leads to a society's downfall. You cannot have happiness without feeling sorrow, and you cannot be free but have no free will. D-503 and the citizens of One State are forced to feel the way they do, and they cannot think on their own. Because of this, the society has already failed them, and as shown, this leads to a society's downfall. We has an important that we should all abide by- think for yourself, embrace who you are, because individuality can set you free and that is the best utopia there is.

As for an analysis, I found the Benefactor to be an extremely interesting character. The Benefactor is god in all but name. His name is enough to strike fear and praise into those that hear it. Very few people in One State have ever seen the Benefactor in person, yet all have heard about his ways and his persona and fear him. I saw this as a direct connection to God because very few people had ever seen and come into contact with him, yet people still follow and praise him with no hard proof that he even exists.

The Benefactor also has the power to create and destroy, much like god. The Benefactor is able to create fear, rules, and laws, and he is able to destroy life and anything he creates. This brings up another good point- the Benefactor is seen and refereed to as a male character, not just in the book but when discussed in class. I do not remember reading anything that stated that the Benefactor was a man, yet from the description of its hand and voice we are to assume that it is indeed, male. This goes the same way for god. Yes, we have the bible that says that God is a male, but what if it is wrong? The bible was not written by God himself, no picture of him was included, no one in our lifetime has seen him in the flesh, so how are we to me sure? Without even seeing God, people show their allegiance to him, much like how people showed allegiance to the Benefactor.

God is also able to create and destroy. He can create and destroy life, he can bring about or take away happiness, much like the Benefactor, he has ultimate control. People look up to the Benefactor of leadership and guidance, much like how people look toward religion today. In this way, I see the Benefactor as a reference to God and our spiritual connection to him.

We- Quote

2007-11-04T21:11:00.000-05:00

"What's going on? A soul? Did you say, a soul? What the hell! Next thing you know we'll have Cholera again. What did i tell you? I told you so... we should operate on all of them, on the imagination. Extirpate the imagination. Surgery's the only answer...nothing but surgery..."

When I first read this I found it rather comical. It's a funny thing to get worked up over, a soul, the imagination. But the more I started to think about it, the more it became clear to me that it could be a scary thing. I mean, its intangible, you cannot grasp it, you cannot touch it, you cannot see it. I can understand how it can be seen as a threat. A soul and an imagination make everyone unique, which in a Utopia where everyone should be equal, being unique can clearly be a problem.

It is also funny how a soul is being related to Cholera, a painful and deadly disease. A soul is neither painful nor deadly. Yes, a soul allows one to experience pain but it does not bring it upon them. Also, a soul is not deadly, your soul cannot come out and harm people.

This quote also shows how little the doctors really know and understand the human body. Yes, there are certain parts of the brain that do certain jobs, like create imagination, but that is not their only function. By operating on these people the doctors could be putting themselves at more risk down the road. Not only this, but taking away imagination does not take away the soul. They are two different things, yet the doctors see them as one. Soul is not something that can be removed. It does not have a specific location in the body, it is everywhere, it is you. Yet these doctors do not see it, or they do not want to see it, it is hard to tell which. Surgery cannot solve all of your problems, and not all of your problems can be solved by surgery.

Fahrenheit- Analysis and thoughts

2007-11-04T19:21:00.000-05:00

In Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451, I found one character to be especially intriguing. This character is none other than Montag's wife, Millie. Millie is a kind of 'comparative character', her main purpose in the novel is to show the reader how extremely different Montag is from the rest of society. Millie is also the only other person that we get to know with the same exact views and outlook on life as the rest of society. Because of this, it is easy to speculate that Millie represents society as a whole.

Millie is not her own person. She lives by what society says is right and wrong, and she views others who stray from this view as dangerous. Millie is nothing more than an empty shell of a human being, a drone if you will. She allows herself to be filled with what everyone wants her to be, not who she wants to be. Society is against reading and so Millie is to. Millie is in fact afraid of books and when in one scene she touches one with her foot, she cringes and pulls it away. Her reaction to the book is much like society's, utter fear and repulsion.

Millie is also devoid of most emotions, just like society wanted. She cannot comprehend certain aspects of her feelings, she cannot ascertain their deeper meanings. At one point in the novel she explains that when she is angry she likes to drive fast in the country, ans sometimes hit dogs or cats. To most readers this is horrifying since we have been brought up in a society that finds this action morally unsound we find it hard to understand how killing can make one happy. Millie has been brought up in a world that does not require human emotion, especially human sadness. Even the death of another person does not affect her, she just basically shrugs her shoulders and changes the subject, just like the society wanted people to be able to do.

Millie is a mirror through which society is reflected in the novel. Millie was shallow and heavy, holding Montag back. When Millie is killed at the end of the novel it is as if Montag has overcome society's hold on him, for society died with Millie's death.

Although this was not one of my favorite novels, i did not totally dislike it. I personally am not a big fan of sci-fi and so decided early on that i was not going to like the book, but once I started reading it I found it to be better than I had anticipated. I found that it contained many similarities to today's world, which in some ways was rather frightening. I also liked how the book was not so futuristic that it became hard to relate too. This is one of those books that the more you think about it, the more it seems to grow on you and you realize the similarities and importance that it has to today's society. Bradbury was able to find the weaknesses in society and effectively portray them and their consequences Fahrenheit 451.

Anthem- Symbols

2007-10-25T19:31:00.000-04:00

One of the most prominent symbols in Anthem is light. Light is known to represent truth and knowledge, hence the light bulb over the heads of cartoon animations. In the novel, Equality and Liberty are the knowledgeable ones and so the names that they choose for themselves show this inner light. Equality becomes Prometheus, the god and bringer of light, while Liberty becomes the Golden one.

The city that Equality and Liberty live in is shroud in darkness. Everything from the buildings to the color of the peoples clothes are neutral colors, like white grey and brown. The only means of light for the people comes from candles which, in reality, provide very little light. This lack of light and color makes everything blend together, nothing is bold and different, everything is equal. When Equality shows the Scholars his discovery of light, they are fearful and unexcepting. This could be because light reveals things that people try to hide. It is hard to blend in when everything is illuminated. The light penetrates their frail society and shows the weakness in their ways. The light reveals their errors, much like how light on a mirror shows smudges. Once the cover of darkness is pulled back, the people do not like what they see and are scared, wanting to run away from the light and plundge back into the concealing darkness where they can inevidably hide from themselves.

While society does not accept the light, Equality and Liberty are not afraid, and so step towards it. By excepting light for what it is, Equality and Liberty embrace individuality and knowledge and break away from the rest of society. Through the help of light, both Equality and Liberty are able to see themselves for who they really are, it is like their own 'becoming of individuals'.

Anthem- Quote

2007-10-23T20:38:00.000-04:00

"Neither am I the means to any end others may wish to accomplish. I am not a tool for their use. I am not a servant of their needs. I am not a bandage for their wounds, I am not a sacrifice on their alters"(95).

This is one of my favorite quotes from Ayn Rand's Anthem. I found it to be a very empowering part of Equality 7-2521 speech, and one with a very important message, not just for the characters in the book, but for readers as well. Just by learning the word 'I' Equality was able to realize that he is an individual, and can stand on his own two feet. He came to realize that he can make choices for himself and that he is his own person. I think that today, people forget that they are individuals who can make choices on their own. We constantly follow trends set before us and we let other people use us for their own needs. We should not give up ourselves and our individuality for the sake of others. We should live for ourselves, make our own path in life, and help others that need it along the way. We should not take advantage of others, or let others take advantage of us. People are not servants to one another, like they were in Anthem, people are servants to themselves. It is not your responsibility to help others climb the ladder of success, it is your responsibility to help yourself climb. Equality has realized that he should not sacrifice his hopes and dreams, who he is, and what he is capable of, just so he can be of use to others. People should not be the scabs that help others heal, people are completely capable of healing themselves. Equality's speech is one that everyone can learn from, and everyone should listen to. Individuality is extremely precious, and should not be taken advantage of.

Acrobat

2007-10-15T21:27:00.000-04:00

U2's song "Acrobat" and Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale have striking similarities. Both works seem to focus on a girl that is opressed through choices that she did not necessarily want to make. Many of the topics discussed in "Acrobat" correlate directly to The Handmaid's Tale, making this song a perfect reflection of the thoughts and situations Atwood's novel.

The two opening lines in U2's song "Don't believe what you hear/ Don't believe what you see" were a direct connection to Atwood's character, Offred. Offred did not want to believe that the world she knew had changed so drastically. She did not want to believe that her role in society had been reduced simply to how she preformed her duty of childbearing. Offred did not want to believe in this world that she saw before her, where men where hung because they were pro choice. Offred tried to ignore these things and tried to keep believing that things were bound to change. Another line that correlates with the novel is "When I first met you girl/ You had the fire in your soul/ What happened to your face/ Of melting in snow". These lines describe how Offred's fiery nature, and love of life have slowly drained from her. She no longer fights for her rights, or for how life used to be. Offred has conformed to everyday life in the society that has be forced upon her. She has become lifeless, excepting things as they come, instead for fighting for them as she would have done in the old United States.

Another shocking similarity comes from the lines "You know that your time is coming round/ So don't let the bastards grind you down". As a handmaid, Offred has only so much time to do her duty of reproducing. The stress of not being with child, and the shame of not doing your duty surely brings some women to the brink of insanity, or at least into silent shame. This verse also brings into account the ceremonies that Offred had to go through once a month. She knows when it is time for the ceremony, and although it is an awful thing, she must not let it get the best of her, she must stay strong.

One of the most important things to Offred, and probably the one that kept her sane, was her mind. Offred was free to think what she wanted, when she wanted, it was probably the only thing that she had left that was under her control. The line from "Acrobat", "And you can dream" reflects the importance of this one last free will, free action. A line that directly correlates with this is, "And you can find/ Your own way out". Offred's dreams, her thoughts, her 'mind scenarios', where her way out. They were her way to escape the confinements of being a Handmaid, and losing all her rights as a women. Through her mind, she is able to go anywhere she wants, be anyone she wants, see anyone she wants. Offred's thoughts are the things that her keeping her sane in this world where she is considered nothing but a reproductive object.

As you can see, U2's song and Atwood's novel are extremely similar in their content, as well as their scenarios. Both women are treated similarly; it might as well have been the same person writing both the novel and the song. These two works go hand in hand, and the song helps to further describe The Handmaid's Tale.