Thursday, May 19, 2016
How Equal Are People In America Today?
The people who live in America are not as equal as the Founding Fathers who wrote the Declaration of Independence claims they are. Minorities, immigrants, and women are all, even today, at a lesser stature than their fellow white male counterparts. In the movie "Gran Torino", a family of Hmong immigrants reside in an old, run-down, decrepit neighborhood overrun by gangs of different racial backgrounds. The violence and poor living conditions of this neighborhood of immigrants displays the inequality still faced by many Americans today, because for many immigrants, impoverished neighborhoods are the only places accessible to them to settle down and try to make a living. On the other hand, the social aspect of the immigrants portrayed in "Gran Torino" also proves the claims that all men are created equal in America wrong. Walt, the only white man living in the neighborhood, starts out by treating his Hmong neighbors like the dirt beneath his feet, because of the time he spent serving in the Korean War. He refers to them with a plethora of racial slurs, demonstrating that those of different races and those in the minority in America are still considered to be "less-than" Caucasian Americans by some people. This means that there are still instances of inequality in this country, even in present day. The economic and social statuses of immigrants and minorities in present-day America, as displayed in the 2008 movie "Gran Torino", prove that not all Americans are truly equal like this country claims that they are.
Monday, January 11, 2016
The Crucible Act III Purpose
Arthur Miller's purpose in Act Three is to show how it is sometimes best to keep quiet in order to protect yourself or the ones you love. An example of this is when Giles refuses to give any names in the dispute over land with the Putnams. He says: "I will not give you no name. I mentioned my wife's name once and I'll burn in hell long enough for that. I stand mute" (Miller, 90). This demonstrates Miller's purpose because Giles previously made the mistake of mentioning his wife, who is now under questioning, and now he realizes that he must remain silent in order to protect the other innocent people. Another example of Arthur Miller's purpose in this act is when John Proctor, in his anger, suddenly accuses Abigail of being a whore, and then realizes that he must confess to the court that he had had an affair with her. The line and stage direction that go with this are as follows: "PROCTOR, trembling, his life collapsing around him: I have known her, sir. I have known her" (Miller, 102). This exemplifies Miller's purpose because, since Proctor made the sudden accusation of harlotry against Abigail, now he must confess to committing adultery, and therefore potentially ruining his own life in the process. The purpose of Act Three is shown through several of the characters in the scene making the situation much worse for themselves and their loved ones when they speak up, instead of staying quiet.
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Chapter 18 and 19 "Wild" Entries
Chapter 18:
Cheryl uses this chapter to prove that she has been successful in what she had originally set out to do. At one point, she sits by a river and finds herself once again thinking about her mother: "Where was my mother? I wondered. I'd carried her so long, staggering beneath her weight. On the other side of the river, I let myself think. And something inside me released" (Strayed, 306). This quote proves to the reader how much Cheryl has grown, improved, and healed on this trip because she is finally at the point where she can release her mother from her metaphorical grasp. Her mother would have wanted Cheryl to learn from her mistakes, to grow and heal after everything that had happened, and to make a new life for herself. Cheryl is on the path to doing all of these things; she has reflected on everything she did wrong in her life and has accepted that she did them, she has used this experience to heal and to become a better person, and she will move to Portland after her trip ends to kick-start her life again. Her mother would have been very proud of the woman that she is becoming because of how much she has grown as a person because of her hike on the PCT. Because Cheryl has learned how to let go of her mother's death, she has finally been able to heal herself.
Chapter 19:
As Cheryl sits on a bench near the Bridge of the Gods, reflecting on her journey that she has just finished, she meets a man in a BMW who gives her a card with his information on it, offering to meet up with her in the future. Cheryl later reveals that she never sees that man again. This completely juxtaposes her previous encounters with men she has just met at other points in her life because normally, she would have followed through, met up with the man, and probably would have slept with him. Now, she chooses never to contact him. This shows how much she has grown and changed as a person because she no longer feels the desperate need to be with a man at all times, and does not need to be intimate with strangers all the time. She chooses to include this seemingly insignificant event to end the book to show strong character development and how she herself has changed her views and ways. By going on this life-changing hike on the PCT, she has healed herself and now has a completely new perspective on her life.
Cheryl uses this chapter to prove that she has been successful in what she had originally set out to do. At one point, she sits by a river and finds herself once again thinking about her mother: "Where was my mother? I wondered. I'd carried her so long, staggering beneath her weight. On the other side of the river, I let myself think. And something inside me released" (Strayed, 306). This quote proves to the reader how much Cheryl has grown, improved, and healed on this trip because she is finally at the point where she can release her mother from her metaphorical grasp. Her mother would have wanted Cheryl to learn from her mistakes, to grow and heal after everything that had happened, and to make a new life for herself. Cheryl is on the path to doing all of these things; she has reflected on everything she did wrong in her life and has accepted that she did them, she has used this experience to heal and to become a better person, and she will move to Portland after her trip ends to kick-start her life again. Her mother would have been very proud of the woman that she is becoming because of how much she has grown as a person because of her hike on the PCT. Because Cheryl has learned how to let go of her mother's death, she has finally been able to heal herself.
Chapter 19:
As Cheryl sits on a bench near the Bridge of the Gods, reflecting on her journey that she has just finished, she meets a man in a BMW who gives her a card with his information on it, offering to meet up with her in the future. Cheryl later reveals that she never sees that man again. This completely juxtaposes her previous encounters with men she has just met at other points in her life because normally, she would have followed through, met up with the man, and probably would have slept with him. Now, she chooses never to contact him. This shows how much she has grown and changed as a person because she no longer feels the desperate need to be with a man at all times, and does not need to be intimate with strangers all the time. She chooses to include this seemingly insignificant event to end the book to show strong character development and how she herself has changed her views and ways. By going on this life-changing hike on the PCT, she has healed herself and now has a completely new perspective on her life.
Chapter 16&17 Wild Blog Entries
Chapter 16:
In this chapter, Cheryl makes a list of all of the things that her mother did wrong when Cheryl and her siblings were children. She does this when she realizes that her mother would have been fifty years old that day, and she becomes angry at her for not living to that age. This adds a new sense of how Cheryl is recovering to the book; one of the five stages of grief is anger, and Cheryl is just now embracing that stage. Later in the chapter, Cheryl reflects on her previous anger and other feelings she has had: "The truth was, in spite of all that, she'd been a spectacular mom. I knew it as I was growing up. I knew it in the days that she was dying. I knew it now. And I knew that was something" (Strayed, 268). This perfectly juxtaposes the list she previously made because now she is realizing how great of a mother her mother actually was. This can symbolize Cheryl's acceptance of what has happened and how she is truly on the path to completely healing herself. The contrast between the two main emotions Cheryl expresses in this chapter shows how much she has grown from the day her mother died to now.
Chapter 17:
In this chapter, Cheryl encounters two hunters in the woods, whom she supplies with water and iodine. After she leaves, one of them approaches her alone, and she does not know what his intentions are. She describes the scary encounter: "'You changed your clothes too,' he said suggestively, and his words expanded in my gut like a spray of gunshot. My entire body flushed with the knowledge that when I'd taken off my clothes, he'd been nearby, watching me" (Strayed, 286). This section exemplifies the fear she feels during this moment, as shown through her choice of words. She uses the word "suggestively" to describe the way the man talks to her, to make the reader uncomfortable; she makes the reader understand how what he says makes her feel when she writes "his words expanded in my gut like a spray of gunshot". That section depicts the tone of fear that Cheryl writes with in this scene. Lastly, when she realizes that he had been watching her change, she uses the words "flushed" and "nearby, watching me", to show the creepiness and terror of the situation that she is in.
In this chapter, Cheryl makes a list of all of the things that her mother did wrong when Cheryl and her siblings were children. She does this when she realizes that her mother would have been fifty years old that day, and she becomes angry at her for not living to that age. This adds a new sense of how Cheryl is recovering to the book; one of the five stages of grief is anger, and Cheryl is just now embracing that stage. Later in the chapter, Cheryl reflects on her previous anger and other feelings she has had: "The truth was, in spite of all that, she'd been a spectacular mom. I knew it as I was growing up. I knew it in the days that she was dying. I knew it now. And I knew that was something" (Strayed, 268). This perfectly juxtaposes the list she previously made because now she is realizing how great of a mother her mother actually was. This can symbolize Cheryl's acceptance of what has happened and how she is truly on the path to completely healing herself. The contrast between the two main emotions Cheryl expresses in this chapter shows how much she has grown from the day her mother died to now.
Chapter 17:
In this chapter, Cheryl encounters two hunters in the woods, whom she supplies with water and iodine. After she leaves, one of them approaches her alone, and she does not know what his intentions are. She describes the scary encounter: "'You changed your clothes too,' he said suggestively, and his words expanded in my gut like a spray of gunshot. My entire body flushed with the knowledge that when I'd taken off my clothes, he'd been nearby, watching me" (Strayed, 286). This section exemplifies the fear she feels during this moment, as shown through her choice of words. She uses the word "suggestively" to describe the way the man talks to her, to make the reader uncomfortable; she makes the reader understand how what he says makes her feel when she writes "his words expanded in my gut like a spray of gunshot". That section depicts the tone of fear that Cheryl writes with in this scene. Lastly, when she realizes that he had been watching her change, she uses the words "flushed" and "nearby, watching me", to show the creepiness and terror of the situation that she is in.
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
"Wild" Blog Entries Chapters 13&14
Chapter 13:
On page 207, Cheryl gives major insight into her purpose. She writes: "It was the thing that has compelled them to fight for the trail against all odds, and it was the thing that drove me and every other long-distance hiker onward on the most miserable days. It had nothing to do with gear or footwear or or the backpacking fads or philosophies of any particular era or even with getting from point A to point B. It had only to do with how it felt to be wild" (Strayed, 207). Cheryl's use of anaphora in this quote (using "it was the thing" and "it had nothing to do with/it had only to do with" repeatedly) emphasizes her purpose. The purpose of this quote and perhaps even the whole book is to show how Cheryl has discovered the purpose of the PCT and her quest upon the trail. Cheryl realizes that the PCT was made to let people experience the true wilderness, not just at a reservation or state park, but really in the depths of the wild.
Chapter 14:
One quote I found particularly impactful was when she is thinking about her father: "...I didn't know my own father's life. He was there, but invisible, a shadow beast in the woods; a fire so far away it's nothing but smoke" (Strayed, 233). This quote was particularly impactful because it is hard for anyone to imagine not knowing their father, even when he is still there in their life. I can feel the pain that it brings Cheryl to reflect upon her relationship with her father when she writes this quote.
Another quote that resonated with me was: "I was passing through the beautiful territory I'd come to take for granted, my body finally up to the task of hiking the big miles, but because of my foot troubles, I sank into the grimmest despair" (Cheryl, 223). Cheryl is finally able to do what she initially set out to do, but she is having so many foot problems that it is hard for her to find joy in any of it. This quote also discusses how she has now taken the landscape around her for granted, because she has been surrounded by it for so long. Hopefully as the book progresses, she learns not to take her surroundings for granted and learns to truly appreciate what is around her.
On page 207, Cheryl gives major insight into her purpose. She writes: "It was the thing that has compelled them to fight for the trail against all odds, and it was the thing that drove me and every other long-distance hiker onward on the most miserable days. It had nothing to do with gear or footwear or or the backpacking fads or philosophies of any particular era or even with getting from point A to point B. It had only to do with how it felt to be wild" (Strayed, 207). Cheryl's use of anaphora in this quote (using "it was the thing" and "it had nothing to do with/it had only to do with" repeatedly) emphasizes her purpose. The purpose of this quote and perhaps even the whole book is to show how Cheryl has discovered the purpose of the PCT and her quest upon the trail. Cheryl realizes that the PCT was made to let people experience the true wilderness, not just at a reservation or state park, but really in the depths of the wild.
Chapter 14:
One quote I found particularly impactful was when she is thinking about her father: "...I didn't know my own father's life. He was there, but invisible, a shadow beast in the woods; a fire so far away it's nothing but smoke" (Strayed, 233). This quote was particularly impactful because it is hard for anyone to imagine not knowing their father, even when he is still there in their life. I can feel the pain that it brings Cheryl to reflect upon her relationship with her father when she writes this quote.
Another quote that resonated with me was: "I was passing through the beautiful territory I'd come to take for granted, my body finally up to the task of hiking the big miles, but because of my foot troubles, I sank into the grimmest despair" (Cheryl, 223). Cheryl is finally able to do what she initially set out to do, but she is having so many foot problems that it is hard for her to find joy in any of it. This quote also discusses how she has now taken the landscape around her for granted, because she has been surrounded by it for so long. Hopefully as the book progresses, she learns not to take her surroundings for granted and learns to truly appreciate what is around her.
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Chapter 11 "Wild" Blog Entries
Part Four:
At the beginning of part four, Cheryl Strayed alludes to the poem "Samurai Song" by Robert Pinksy. The poem is narrated by a man who does not have any possessions, family, or anyone around him. He instead uses admirable characteristics (such as care, perseverance, determination, etc) to replace people and things. He makes the most of what he has instead of reminiscing on what he does not have. Strayed alludes to this poem at the beginning of the section because she is in a similar situation: she has no contact with family or friends, and not a lot of superficial possessions besides the ones she needs to survive, yet still she manages to get by on her admirable characteristics (care, perseverance, determination, etc) and uses what little she has to achieve her goal of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.
Chapter Eleven:
At the end of chapter eleven, Cheryl finds a pay phone on the trail and calls Paul. They "talked for close to an hour, [their] conversation loving and exuberant, supportive and kind" (Strayed, 189). After the phone call ends, Cheryl analyzes her situation; she misses her old life, yet she doesn't want to go back to it because of all the horrible things she had done. She realizes that this hike has been extremely beneficial. She writes: "...remembering how I'd felt more alone than anyone in the whole wide world that morning after Jimmy Carter drove away. Maybe I WAS more alone than anyone in the whole wide world. Maybe that was okay" (Strayed, 189). Her phone call with Paul helped Cheryl to realize that what she is doing is a good thing. Although she missed her old life, she knows that she cannot go back, and she is okay with that. Cheryl includes this part in the book because of how beneficial the phone call was to her; it allowed her to move forward with her life, while still keeping touch with someone she truly cared about. This section of the book and her story in real life was a milestone for her, so it was important for her to include it in the book.
At the beginning of part four, Cheryl Strayed alludes to the poem "Samurai Song" by Robert Pinksy. The poem is narrated by a man who does not have any possessions, family, or anyone around him. He instead uses admirable characteristics (such as care, perseverance, determination, etc) to replace people and things. He makes the most of what he has instead of reminiscing on what he does not have. Strayed alludes to this poem at the beginning of the section because she is in a similar situation: she has no contact with family or friends, and not a lot of superficial possessions besides the ones she needs to survive, yet still she manages to get by on her admirable characteristics (care, perseverance, determination, etc) and uses what little she has to achieve her goal of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.
Chapter Eleven:
At the end of chapter eleven, Cheryl finds a pay phone on the trail and calls Paul. They "talked for close to an hour, [their] conversation loving and exuberant, supportive and kind" (Strayed, 189). After the phone call ends, Cheryl analyzes her situation; she misses her old life, yet she doesn't want to go back to it because of all the horrible things she had done. She realizes that this hike has been extremely beneficial. She writes: "...remembering how I'd felt more alone than anyone in the whole wide world that morning after Jimmy Carter drove away. Maybe I WAS more alone than anyone in the whole wide world. Maybe that was okay" (Strayed, 189). Her phone call with Paul helped Cheryl to realize that what she is doing is a good thing. Although she missed her old life, she knows that she cannot go back, and she is okay with that. Cheryl includes this part in the book because of how beneficial the phone call was to her; it allowed her to move forward with her life, while still keeping touch with someone she truly cared about. This section of the book and her story in real life was a milestone for her, so it was important for her to include it in the book.
Monday, October 26, 2015
"Wild" Chapters 8 and 9
Chapter 8:
In the last section of this chapter, Strayed discusses the contrasting relationships that she had with her mother and her father. She reveals that he was abusive towards her, her siblings, and especially her mother, during the time that she knew him. But, her mother always came back to him because she had no other place to go. The relationship that Strayed had with her father was very strange and distant. On the other hand, Strayed had a very close relationship with her mother, whom she had known her entire childhood and early adulthood. Her mother had always cared for her and protected her, nourished her and raised her. The relationships that Strayed had with her mother and her father were polar opposites. These relationships impacted Strayed very deeply. She never had one solid father-figure in her life (she had a step-father, but he was not always there), so she was not able to experience father-daughter moments that other children get to have. Her mother was such a big part of her life, that her death rocked Strayed to her very core. On page 134, Strayed remembers something her mother had said to her about her personality: "'You're a seeker,' my mother had said to me when she was in her last week, lying in bed in the hospital, 'like me'" (Strayed, 134). This could be interpreted in many ways, one of which is that Strayed has always sought answers, and she chose to take this hike on the PCT to get answers about her broken life.
Chapter 9:
In chapter nine, Strayed uses juxtaposition several times. An example of this is when she sees a fox, and it begins to walk away: "'Come back,' I called lightly, and then suddenly shouted 'MOM! MOM! MOM! MOM!' I didn't know the word was going to come out of my mouth until it did. And then, just as suddenly, I was silent. Spent" (Strayed, 144). This qualifies as juxtaposition because in the first sentence, she describes her random and sudden shouting. In the second sentence, she is suddenly silent again. This helps contribute to her purpose because one of her main reasons for going on this trip in the first place is because her mother had died, and she needed to be alone for a long time. In this quote, it is very clear just how much she misses her mother, and how she wants her mother's company again. Another example of juxtaposition in this chapter is in the last paragraph, where she reflects on the silence and commotion of nature around her: "It had been so silent in the wake of that commotion, a kind of potent silence that contains everything" (Strayed, 145). This counts as juxtaposition because she is comparing silence and commotion simultaneously. This also contributes to her purpose because the whole purpose of her trip was to be alone, and since she is alone, she spends a lot of time in silence. Because of this, she is able to hear the sounds of nature around her contained in said silence. Strayed's use of juxtaposition in this chapter also pertains to her purpose in her novel as a whole.
Part Three in General:
John Muir was a Scottish-American naturalist and author who supported the preservation of the United States wilderness. He succeeded in preserving Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park, and other areas of wilderness, and he also founded the Sierra Club, devoted to nature conservation. He believed in viewing nature as God's work (he was a very religious man), the individual over the group, and viewing nature as his true home. I personally believe that he was a "modern" transcendentalist, because much of his beliefs coincide with the basic principles of transcendentalism. John Muir contributed a lot to the preservation and conservation of nature, and therefore is viewed today as a great transcendentalist,
Source: Wikipedia
In the last section of this chapter, Strayed discusses the contrasting relationships that she had with her mother and her father. She reveals that he was abusive towards her, her siblings, and especially her mother, during the time that she knew him. But, her mother always came back to him because she had no other place to go. The relationship that Strayed had with her father was very strange and distant. On the other hand, Strayed had a very close relationship with her mother, whom she had known her entire childhood and early adulthood. Her mother had always cared for her and protected her, nourished her and raised her. The relationships that Strayed had with her mother and her father were polar opposites. These relationships impacted Strayed very deeply. She never had one solid father-figure in her life (she had a step-father, but he was not always there), so she was not able to experience father-daughter moments that other children get to have. Her mother was such a big part of her life, that her death rocked Strayed to her very core. On page 134, Strayed remembers something her mother had said to her about her personality: "'You're a seeker,' my mother had said to me when she was in her last week, lying in bed in the hospital, 'like me'" (Strayed, 134). This could be interpreted in many ways, one of which is that Strayed has always sought answers, and she chose to take this hike on the PCT to get answers about her broken life.
Chapter 9:
In chapter nine, Strayed uses juxtaposition several times. An example of this is when she sees a fox, and it begins to walk away: "'Come back,' I called lightly, and then suddenly shouted 'MOM! MOM! MOM! MOM!' I didn't know the word was going to come out of my mouth until it did. And then, just as suddenly, I was silent. Spent" (Strayed, 144). This qualifies as juxtaposition because in the first sentence, she describes her random and sudden shouting. In the second sentence, she is suddenly silent again. This helps contribute to her purpose because one of her main reasons for going on this trip in the first place is because her mother had died, and she needed to be alone for a long time. In this quote, it is very clear just how much she misses her mother, and how she wants her mother's company again. Another example of juxtaposition in this chapter is in the last paragraph, where she reflects on the silence and commotion of nature around her: "It had been so silent in the wake of that commotion, a kind of potent silence that contains everything" (Strayed, 145). This counts as juxtaposition because she is comparing silence and commotion simultaneously. This also contributes to her purpose because the whole purpose of her trip was to be alone, and since she is alone, she spends a lot of time in silence. Because of this, she is able to hear the sounds of nature around her contained in said silence. Strayed's use of juxtaposition in this chapter also pertains to her purpose in her novel as a whole.
Part Three in General:
John Muir was a Scottish-American naturalist and author who supported the preservation of the United States wilderness. He succeeded in preserving Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park, and other areas of wilderness, and he also founded the Sierra Club, devoted to nature conservation. He believed in viewing nature as God's work (he was a very religious man), the individual over the group, and viewing nature as his true home. I personally believe that he was a "modern" transcendentalist, because much of his beliefs coincide with the basic principles of transcendentalism. John Muir contributed a lot to the preservation and conservation of nature, and therefore is viewed today as a great transcendentalist,
Source: Wikipedia
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)