Sunday, April 5, 2009
Movie Reaction
“Twelve Angry Men” a movie directed by Sidney Lumet, is about a jury case on a teenager accused of killing his father. Written in 1957 by Reginald Rose you know the consequences for such a crime is high. This kid was being tried for murder and he was getting the death sentence. Twelve men, who knew nothing about each other, were in charge of this child’s fate. All of the evidence was against him and it seems the jurors would have an easy job. I could not believe it when that one man voted not guilty, but I could understand. Putting a human being away to death is not an easy task. This is what made it so interesting.
The child had a neutral face; it was innocent enough to make him look not guilty, but he did have the look, also, of a crazy person. The one man who voted not guilty gave me a feeling of gratitude because I knew I wasn’t the only one. We shared the same belief. What made him stand out was in the midst of people who didn’t care about whether this child lived or died because it did nothing to them, he gave it doubt. These people weren’t all bad people either, but they just did not care. This similarly describes the attitude of people towards each other today. They really do not think about what could happen, and what did as long as it does not affect them. They are just worried about getting theirs, like the man that wanted to go to his baseball game, and really do not care much about what happens to others (this idea is generally what drives war as well). All of the characters’ unique personalities were also quite attractive as well. Every person had a specific idea, trait, skill, etc. that worked on this case and helped bring everything together. Even those who disliked the boy for good or bad reasons had their moments that brought about truth. This really made the movie more enjoyable.
The best part was the pieces of evidence become easily disproved while every jury member changes their minds. The pieces of evidence initially sounded like the boy was completely guilty, but given a little thought and examination the holes between the pieces of evidence were easily seen. This was very enjoyable to me because I love it when things with little relation come together. This is where character’s knowledge began to come together for the better of the case. The setting was perfect as well. The weather was a scorcher—the hottest day of the year as juror #7 called it. It was a perfect metaphor of how tensions were already high within the jury room because things immediately went off with a bang. When six of the jurors were convinced that the accused was not guilty, it became cloudy and a storm was rolling in. This was because the six easy ones were already convinced and the next six would be the hardest to get over and emotional tenses would turn into a storm.
In the beginning, I immediately disapproved of this movie because I was not a big fan of black and white movies. They always seemed to bore me to sleep, and I was more into the modern movies of my time. Older movies I could hardly understand as well because most of them had deeper meanings or at least a different way of getting to them. This one was different though, because there was always something going on in the case solving mystery. The setting was so simple, it only took place in one building and less than ten minutes was contributed outside of the one juror’s room. This kept the movie right at the main focus the whole time and the emotional turmoil kept turning up which made the movie even easier to watch. I was so surprised at how something so simple could not only be so complex, but entertaining as well. The plot was also simple enough for me to understand and follow as well as predict what may happen next. It kept unraveling like a good book as more and more was put out on the table, both literally and figuratively. All of these things made “12 Angry Men” the first black and white movie that I ever enjoyed and a great old style movie with modern issues. It is very easy to see how such a movie could have won three academy awards.
The child had a neutral face; it was innocent enough to make him look not guilty, but he did have the look, also, of a crazy person. The one man who voted not guilty gave me a feeling of gratitude because I knew I wasn’t the only one. We shared the same belief. What made him stand out was in the midst of people who didn’t care about whether this child lived or died because it did nothing to them, he gave it doubt. These people weren’t all bad people either, but they just did not care. This similarly describes the attitude of people towards each other today. They really do not think about what could happen, and what did as long as it does not affect them. They are just worried about getting theirs, like the man that wanted to go to his baseball game, and really do not care much about what happens to others (this idea is generally what drives war as well). All of the characters’ unique personalities were also quite attractive as well. Every person had a specific idea, trait, skill, etc. that worked on this case and helped bring everything together. Even those who disliked the boy for good or bad reasons had their moments that brought about truth. This really made the movie more enjoyable.
The best part was the pieces of evidence become easily disproved while every jury member changes their minds. The pieces of evidence initially sounded like the boy was completely guilty, but given a little thought and examination the holes between the pieces of evidence were easily seen. This was very enjoyable to me because I love it when things with little relation come together. This is where character’s knowledge began to come together for the better of the case. The setting was perfect as well. The weather was a scorcher—the hottest day of the year as juror #7 called it. It was a perfect metaphor of how tensions were already high within the jury room because things immediately went off with a bang. When six of the jurors were convinced that the accused was not guilty, it became cloudy and a storm was rolling in. This was because the six easy ones were already convinced and the next six would be the hardest to get over and emotional tenses would turn into a storm.
In the beginning, I immediately disapproved of this movie because I was not a big fan of black and white movies. They always seemed to bore me to sleep, and I was more into the modern movies of my time. Older movies I could hardly understand as well because most of them had deeper meanings or at least a different way of getting to them. This one was different though, because there was always something going on in the case solving mystery. The setting was so simple, it only took place in one building and less than ten minutes was contributed outside of the one juror’s room. This kept the movie right at the main focus the whole time and the emotional turmoil kept turning up which made the movie even easier to watch. I was so surprised at how something so simple could not only be so complex, but entertaining as well. The plot was also simple enough for me to understand and follow as well as predict what may happen next. It kept unraveling like a good book as more and more was put out on the table, both literally and figuratively. All of these things made “12 Angry Men” the first black and white movie that I ever enjoyed and a great old style movie with modern issues. It is very easy to see how such a movie could have won three academy awards.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Poet Analysis
Langston Hughes
1. Besides the Mississippi River that is in the United States of America, all the rivers he speaks of are in Africa. In literal terms, these are quite famous rivers, but also, these rivers are all the sites of major events of his life. They represent the struggle, growth, pain and accomplishments throughout not just his life, but the generations of African Americans. All of these rivers are also sites of literal struggles (war battles) as well.
2. He literally is the darker brother because he is black, but he is the side of society that is hidden and ignored from the world. It is a poem about racism. The white man tells the black man to eat in the kitchen to keep him hidden from company or the world, but as he is hidden he grows stronger and soon won’t be able to be ignored. That’s when he will “eat at the table” or share the benefits of white people as well. He also calls himself a “brother” because Hughes tries to show that we are all connected as one people and should not be segregated against. America is the land of equality, yet everyone is not equal. Blacks have always been counted as less than an American and he will shatter this ancient tradition shown though his title, “I Too” meaning, I too am human, I too am an American.
3. In this poem white supremacy prevails here. The boy is never listened to and the white man again leaves him and doesn’t believe him. This is exactly what black activists were trying to get rid of. Dubois and Locke would have disagreed about the negative talk towards the blacks. All of the degradation within the poem is not true about the beautiful black race.
4. McKay is a lot rougher on his poetry than Hughes is. McKay uses harsher syntax and tales and messages that put an aggressive look onto racism. It pumps everyone up ready to hate or fight against the struggles they have, while Hughes is calmer. He takes a more subtle step in his structure and writing. He flows more within his writing and tells us what struggles go on and how we can endure them, while McKay says something more like “This is the struggle, let’s end it!”
5. He was objecting to white people stealing black music and making it their own. They used blacks’ stories and cultures to keep them down. The whites also put their own little pieces in black cultures to “whiten it up” so to speak. This still goes on today, but not as badly as it did before.
6. Hughes talks more about America because America is the land with the problem. They’re supposed to be the land of the free, but they have the most divided country. It’s the land of opportunity for whites only. Africa has its issues, but they are not as violent and down-heartening on their people as America is. He does mention Africa sometimes because he want s to show everyone that he remembers where he came from and to remind them of their heritage.
Claude McKay
1. A harlot can be a common man with a low birth in society (peasant is an extreme, but accurate synonym). McKay uses this word to downgrade those Pharaohs and people who believe they’re over blacks or any other human. At the end of his poem he reminds us that after every day, our work is nothing compared to the mighty nations God created and his works under the sun.
2. He refers, in the beginning to us as “hogs” because we allow ourselves to be shut down by the white animals that contained us. As the poem goes on, we become the men who fight off the pathetic animals who try to stop our talents. Blacks saw us as no more than dogs. We were pets to them, just there to serve at their whim as slaves. Soon, though at the end of the poem, they become the dogs as we take our freedom.
3. McKay has more aggression to his messages. Instead of just stating the issues, he embraces them and puts his anger and the pride of all blacks together. His words and the way his poem flows gives it this effect. He also uses it to reach everybody for blacks to eventually rise up and whites to realize us as a people. Eventually he hopes that whites will realize this so all of the battles he puts in his poems will not have to come true. We can become equal without violence and his poems are a warning of what will happen if black people are kept condemned.
1. Besides the Mississippi River that is in the United States of America, all the rivers he speaks of are in Africa. In literal terms, these are quite famous rivers, but also, these rivers are all the sites of major events of his life. They represent the struggle, growth, pain and accomplishments throughout not just his life, but the generations of African Americans. All of these rivers are also sites of literal struggles (war battles) as well.
2. He literally is the darker brother because he is black, but he is the side of society that is hidden and ignored from the world. It is a poem about racism. The white man tells the black man to eat in the kitchen to keep him hidden from company or the world, but as he is hidden he grows stronger and soon won’t be able to be ignored. That’s when he will “eat at the table” or share the benefits of white people as well. He also calls himself a “brother” because Hughes tries to show that we are all connected as one people and should not be segregated against. America is the land of equality, yet everyone is not equal. Blacks have always been counted as less than an American and he will shatter this ancient tradition shown though his title, “I Too” meaning, I too am human, I too am an American.
3. In this poem white supremacy prevails here. The boy is never listened to and the white man again leaves him and doesn’t believe him. This is exactly what black activists were trying to get rid of. Dubois and Locke would have disagreed about the negative talk towards the blacks. All of the degradation within the poem is not true about the beautiful black race.
4. McKay is a lot rougher on his poetry than Hughes is. McKay uses harsher syntax and tales and messages that put an aggressive look onto racism. It pumps everyone up ready to hate or fight against the struggles they have, while Hughes is calmer. He takes a more subtle step in his structure and writing. He flows more within his writing and tells us what struggles go on and how we can endure them, while McKay says something more like “This is the struggle, let’s end it!”
5. He was objecting to white people stealing black music and making it their own. They used blacks’ stories and cultures to keep them down. The whites also put their own little pieces in black cultures to “whiten it up” so to speak. This still goes on today, but not as badly as it did before.
6. Hughes talks more about America because America is the land with the problem. They’re supposed to be the land of the free, but they have the most divided country. It’s the land of opportunity for whites only. Africa has its issues, but they are not as violent and down-heartening on their people as America is. He does mention Africa sometimes because he want s to show everyone that he remembers where he came from and to remind them of their heritage.
Claude McKay
1. A harlot can be a common man with a low birth in society (peasant is an extreme, but accurate synonym). McKay uses this word to downgrade those Pharaohs and people who believe they’re over blacks or any other human. At the end of his poem he reminds us that after every day, our work is nothing compared to the mighty nations God created and his works under the sun.
2. He refers, in the beginning to us as “hogs” because we allow ourselves to be shut down by the white animals that contained us. As the poem goes on, we become the men who fight off the pathetic animals who try to stop our talents. Blacks saw us as no more than dogs. We were pets to them, just there to serve at their whim as slaves. Soon, though at the end of the poem, they become the dogs as we take our freedom.
3. McKay has more aggression to his messages. Instead of just stating the issues, he embraces them and puts his anger and the pride of all blacks together. His words and the way his poem flows gives it this effect. He also uses it to reach everybody for blacks to eventually rise up and whites to realize us as a people. Eventually he hopes that whites will realize this so all of the battles he puts in his poems will not have to come true. We can become equal without violence and his poems are a warning of what will happen if black people are kept condemned.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Apply Question
For those who can't remember, here it is: Write a short paragraph about someone, you know with the use of repetition, to express a tone of admiration.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Their Eyes Were Watching God Quote
“She knew now that marriage did not make love. Her dream was dead, so she became a woman,” (Hurston 25)
This quote really sticks out within the story and is a big eye catcher to be in the first twenty-five pages. It shows how quickly Zora jumps right into deeper meaning within her stories. This phrase caught a lot of my attention because it makes you think. It reveals truth in some respects. Hurston uses this statement as a major attention getter and one of the many rhetorical phrases in her story. The two truths are that marriage does not make love and dreams.
Our first truth is very self-explanatory. Marriage will not create love in the future. Janie found this out when she married Logan, a man she never loved. One big mistake that most people make today is waiting for love to come and just rushing into marriage when love is what marriage should be based off of anyway. Without that there is nothing to keep the two of you together when things get hard. It’s the sticky adhesive, supposedly unbreakable bond that keeps a couple together, but at this day and age that glue has been getting weak and dry. Love is becoming dry to only last a few years instead of when love lasted forever. A bond so strong cannot be created by anything other than the intertwined souls of two separate spirits and that is not what marriage is. Marriage is the public declaration of this bondage and legal unification, but is also a life-changing decision, commitment, agreement, and bonding. With this book being written in the early 20th century it is possible that Hurston saw that the main thing that kept this together, love, was becoming less noticed and warned us against it.
Another point she had was about Janie’s dreams. Janie claims that she was not grown enough when her Nanny said that she was now a woman. Janie was not ready for this, but it happened. She wanted to live young for a longer time like she was before. She then realized that this was not possible so her plans, her dreams died. Here Hurston says that “she became a woman,” (Hurston 25). It is true though that when you get older and eventually become grown some of your dreams—in some cases most or all dreams—die along with your younger years. Everything that you wanted to be or do you then realize you can neither do nor do so easily. Reality crashes in and it alters your vision. You begin to see the difference between reality and dreams and you must wake up. It makes you think your dreams are impossible and twists what really is possible. Once you realize that it is claimed that you reach another level in growing up—you reach another level in maturity. Hurston says that Janie realized this and became a woman, showing that just like that, she knew the struggle and sacrifices of womanhood. Once you are grown certain things are given up for your own future and the people around you. Hurston showed us that this was another level in maturity and one of life’s unfortunate lessons that does not go well when learned the hard way, especially when Janie was just crying when she realized it.
To conclude, there was a large message in this little phrase within the book. Love is not being used to keep lives together as it should be and it cannot be recreated by marriage. Also the dreams that you once had are slowly eroded as you become older and this is a new level of maturity and a painful life lesson. Hurston gives off many more messages within her book which makes it an entertaining book as well as education about what a textbook can’t teach you: life lessons.
This quote really sticks out within the story and is a big eye catcher to be in the first twenty-five pages. It shows how quickly Zora jumps right into deeper meaning within her stories. This phrase caught a lot of my attention because it makes you think. It reveals truth in some respects. Hurston uses this statement as a major attention getter and one of the many rhetorical phrases in her story. The two truths are that marriage does not make love and dreams.
Our first truth is very self-explanatory. Marriage will not create love in the future. Janie found this out when she married Logan, a man she never loved. One big mistake that most people make today is waiting for love to come and just rushing into marriage when love is what marriage should be based off of anyway. Without that there is nothing to keep the two of you together when things get hard. It’s the sticky adhesive, supposedly unbreakable bond that keeps a couple together, but at this day and age that glue has been getting weak and dry. Love is becoming dry to only last a few years instead of when love lasted forever. A bond so strong cannot be created by anything other than the intertwined souls of two separate spirits and that is not what marriage is. Marriage is the public declaration of this bondage and legal unification, but is also a life-changing decision, commitment, agreement, and bonding. With this book being written in the early 20th century it is possible that Hurston saw that the main thing that kept this together, love, was becoming less noticed and warned us against it.
Another point she had was about Janie’s dreams. Janie claims that she was not grown enough when her Nanny said that she was now a woman. Janie was not ready for this, but it happened. She wanted to live young for a longer time like she was before. She then realized that this was not possible so her plans, her dreams died. Here Hurston says that “she became a woman,” (Hurston 25). It is true though that when you get older and eventually become grown some of your dreams—in some cases most or all dreams—die along with your younger years. Everything that you wanted to be or do you then realize you can neither do nor do so easily. Reality crashes in and it alters your vision. You begin to see the difference between reality and dreams and you must wake up. It makes you think your dreams are impossible and twists what really is possible. Once you realize that it is claimed that you reach another level in growing up—you reach another level in maturity. Hurston says that Janie realized this and became a woman, showing that just like that, she knew the struggle and sacrifices of womanhood. Once you are grown certain things are given up for your own future and the people around you. Hurston showed us that this was another level in maturity and one of life’s unfortunate lessons that does not go well when learned the hard way, especially when Janie was just crying when she realized it.
To conclude, there was a large message in this little phrase within the book. Love is not being used to keep lives together as it should be and it cannot be recreated by marriage. Also the dreams that you once had are slowly eroded as you become older and this is a new level of maturity and a painful life lesson. Hurston gives off many more messages within her book which makes it an entertaining book as well as education about what a textbook can’t teach you: life lessons.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Glaspell
Glaspell uses a wide variety of symbolism to give out certain ideas about what happened in this house. There was a crime set and the items are rhetorically showing the idea, but not logically which is why they say that there is really no evidence. Glaspell uses the objects at the crime scene not only to prove the woman guilty, but he gives the differences of detective work between the men and the ladies which led them each, to their differing conclusions. He creates a dual-sleuth atmosphere where each group comes up with a conclusion with their own sets of evidence.
The ladies talk about Ms. Wright alone while they walk around the house. They Mrs. Hale claimed, “Wright was closed,” indirectly meaning that she kept everything to herself (Glaspell 14). She kept all of her emotions inside and when they decide to come out, it can be dangerous, specifically for her husband. Not only was she closed, but she claimed that Mrs. Wright and her husband did not get together. That definitely is not a good thing for a bottled up woman. Also the description of the things she had sitting around her house—her rotten fruit, the half-clean half-dirty towel, the quilt, and the bird cage—raises some eyebrows about that really went on there that left her stuff that way. Then men laughed as the women wondered if Mrs. Wright was going to quilt or knot her sowing design (Glaspell 17). They also find another one that is nice at the start but messy and incomplete near the end which is a symbol of her marriage (Glaspell 18). Her marriage began very nice, as every marriage does, but then it got messy and was incomplete by the end with “bad sewing” or issues in the marriage. The men don’t touch or even pay attention to the sewing which is also their marriage while the relationship and motive is all the ladies talk about. The women are underestimated in this story, but it is them who come up with the actual case.
Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters also found the most important piece of evidence. There was a bird that had its neck wrung until it was dead. This canary could be the spirit of Mrs. Wright that was killed by Mr. Wright —which could explain the sewing—since Mrs. Hale knew Mr. Wright (Glaspell 26). In return she killed him the exact same way he killed her. Here is the motive for what she did. This idea is also proven by the interview Hale had with Mrs. Wright when he asked for Mr. Wright and she laughed and said “He’s dead,” (Glaspell 6). These women knew what they were talking about because most of the attention was given to the women in the story as the men did their searching. As the men neglect their ideas they end up being exactly right. The case could not be completely solved with just the sheriff and attorney’s work because they did not have a motive. The women found that easily. It can be said that Glaspell mocks their detective work because the attention is all on the women and they knew the victim and suspect and claims them as smarter. Mrs. Wright was also smarter because such a simple way of murdering someone and an easy lie led them to a dead end. It is obvious that she did it, but they cannot prove it. The women’s gossip led them where the men’s evidence stopped along with the evidence and the untidiness of the house splits their methods, and gives a complete case to the audience, but leaves the characters in the dark.
The ladies talk about Ms. Wright alone while they walk around the house. They Mrs. Hale claimed, “Wright was closed,” indirectly meaning that she kept everything to herself (Glaspell 14). She kept all of her emotions inside and when they decide to come out, it can be dangerous, specifically for her husband. Not only was she closed, but she claimed that Mrs. Wright and her husband did not get together. That definitely is not a good thing for a bottled up woman. Also the description of the things she had sitting around her house—her rotten fruit, the half-clean half-dirty towel, the quilt, and the bird cage—raises some eyebrows about that really went on there that left her stuff that way. Then men laughed as the women wondered if Mrs. Wright was going to quilt or knot her sowing design (Glaspell 17). They also find another one that is nice at the start but messy and incomplete near the end which is a symbol of her marriage (Glaspell 18). Her marriage began very nice, as every marriage does, but then it got messy and was incomplete by the end with “bad sewing” or issues in the marriage. The men don’t touch or even pay attention to the sewing which is also their marriage while the relationship and motive is all the ladies talk about. The women are underestimated in this story, but it is them who come up with the actual case.
Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters also found the most important piece of evidence. There was a bird that had its neck wrung until it was dead. This canary could be the spirit of Mrs. Wright that was killed by Mr. Wright —which could explain the sewing—since Mrs. Hale knew Mr. Wright (Glaspell 26). In return she killed him the exact same way he killed her. Here is the motive for what she did. This idea is also proven by the interview Hale had with Mrs. Wright when he asked for Mr. Wright and she laughed and said “He’s dead,” (Glaspell 6). These women knew what they were talking about because most of the attention was given to the women in the story as the men did their searching. As the men neglect their ideas they end up being exactly right. The case could not be completely solved with just the sheriff and attorney’s work because they did not have a motive. The women found that easily. It can be said that Glaspell mocks their detective work because the attention is all on the women and they knew the victim and suspect and claims them as smarter. Mrs. Wright was also smarter because such a simple way of murdering someone and an easy lie led them to a dead end. It is obvious that she did it, but they cannot prove it. The women’s gossip led them where the men’s evidence stopped along with the evidence and the untidiness of the house splits their methods, and gives a complete case to the audience, but leaves the characters in the dark.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Bernice is A BEAST!!! lol
During a period of time (most likely shift from 19th to 20th century) the social structures of women began to change. The things that women were allowed to do began to significantly differ from the old times to the coming century which sparked a whole new idea and personality of the “common woman”. The old “cult of domesticity” women were considered obsolete and the new age of women (called that due to lack of a better name) was ready to take their place. This is where conflict came in and these weren’t always pretty, as Fitzgerald described with the story “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”. The two main characters, Bernice and Marjorie, are symbols of the strong impact and influence on one towards the other.
Their conflict can be compared to a conflict between animals. When these two animals (referring to differing ideas) meet, one tries to get its influence over the other. Whoever is weaker, more passive, or not up to the challenge, must submit to the victor. This is much like the battle between the cult of domesticity and the new age. Marjorie continuously mocked the older women with her sarcasm and strict tone towards her argument with Bernice saying things like, “Yes they were—not!” and “The womanly woman!” (Fitzgerald 8). Marjorie had her ways of attracting people and Bernice had her own ways, but Marjorie was able to attract more people and just seeing the older ways of attracting made her sick. When Marjorie challenged Bernice she only had the choice of doing what she was thinking about doing in the first place, leaving, or submitting into the ideas and power of the new woman. Marjorie had a louder bark than Bernice so it influenced her. In this instance it was strong enough to turn Bernice into something she wasn’t, both literally and figuratively. Her desperate attempt for popularity caused her to cut her beautiful hair, and doing that was like cutting away at her soul or her confidence (much like the biblical tale Samson and Delilah). Bernice also became something she was not using her new methods given by her cousin to attract attention. It gave her the crazy idea of bobbing her hair. The best thing which Fitzgerald implied was that each woman should just live their own lives.
To conclude, “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” is a great symbol and story of the conflicts between the cult of true womanhood and the new age. These conflicting ages were sometimes very dangerous, but were necessary because there was no way the two could have compromised, being complete opposites. The cult of true womanhood was the general idea because men did everything else while the women sat around the house and pretty much served everyone else. The new age of women was much different because they were actually working women that could be independent and had more power to do things. This new privilege kept from them for so many years made them change their submissive attitude because men were no longer the focus of their attention. It was now getting/keeping a job, and with them doing this, they did not need to depend entirely on men. These two clashing forces were formidable opponents, but Fitzgerald made it seem that the new woman can overtake the old woman. There was one last message that was given out at the very end of the story though and it was shown through Bernice’s drastic action: Don’t ever count the old style of women out.
Their conflict can be compared to a conflict between animals. When these two animals (referring to differing ideas) meet, one tries to get its influence over the other. Whoever is weaker, more passive, or not up to the challenge, must submit to the victor. This is much like the battle between the cult of domesticity and the new age. Marjorie continuously mocked the older women with her sarcasm and strict tone towards her argument with Bernice saying things like, “Yes they were—not!” and “The womanly woman!” (Fitzgerald 8). Marjorie had her ways of attracting people and Bernice had her own ways, but Marjorie was able to attract more people and just seeing the older ways of attracting made her sick. When Marjorie challenged Bernice she only had the choice of doing what she was thinking about doing in the first place, leaving, or submitting into the ideas and power of the new woman. Marjorie had a louder bark than Bernice so it influenced her. In this instance it was strong enough to turn Bernice into something she wasn’t, both literally and figuratively. Her desperate attempt for popularity caused her to cut her beautiful hair, and doing that was like cutting away at her soul or her confidence (much like the biblical tale Samson and Delilah). Bernice also became something she was not using her new methods given by her cousin to attract attention. It gave her the crazy idea of bobbing her hair. The best thing which Fitzgerald implied was that each woman should just live their own lives.
To conclude, “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” is a great symbol and story of the conflicts between the cult of true womanhood and the new age. These conflicting ages were sometimes very dangerous, but were necessary because there was no way the two could have compromised, being complete opposites. The cult of true womanhood was the general idea because men did everything else while the women sat around the house and pretty much served everyone else. The new age of women was much different because they were actually working women that could be independent and had more power to do things. This new privilege kept from them for so many years made them change their submissive attitude because men were no longer the focus of their attention. It was now getting/keeping a job, and with them doing this, they did not need to depend entirely on men. These two clashing forces were formidable opponents, but Fitzgerald made it seem that the new woman can overtake the old woman. There was one last message that was given out at the very end of the story though and it was shown through Bernice’s drastic action: Don’t ever count the old style of women out.
MLK Answers
1. Alliteration- Repetition of consonant sounds in a series of words; Allusion- An indirect reference; Metaphor- Comparison that doesn’t use like or as; Simile- Comparison using like or as.
2. The beginning of his speech is an indirect reference to Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. This was really good because Lincoln was the president who freed the slaves, and his speech was about freedom from segregation. He referred back to Lincoln to refresh their memories. Lincoln was the reason they were there, not as literal slaves, but as slaves of oppression. MLK planned to finish what Lincoln started.
3. Bible: “Justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream,” (MLK 4). Declaration of Independence: “Now is the time to make real promises of democracy,” (MLK 3).
4. “…Color of their skin but by the content of their character,” (MLK 4)
5. “…Chains of discrimination,” (MLK 2)
6. “Justice rolls down like waters,” ((MLK 4)
7. This is a metaphor and it is a powerful tool because it reminds them of their suffering ancestors. He is also reminding them of their freedom, yet they are still enslaved. The same chains that kept them from their freedom in the cotton fields are holding them from freedom in society. He was making the inference that blacks are still enslaved, just not with literal chains. This should not be true after one hundred years of freedom and in a country that is supposed to be free for all. This must be fixed and that is what he planned to do.
8. a. “Now is the time” (MLK3) b. “We cannot be satisfied” (MLK 4)
9. One of the effects of his repetition is to stress his point. This method combined with his powerful voice was able to drill this idea into the minds and hearts of everyone listening to him. This is the “faith” he had and he wanted to make sure everyone both knew it and took it home with them (MLK 5). He also wanted to let everyone know how powerful their faith and to be in order to endure the suffering that is going on. They needed encouragement to get through the tribulations they had. Dr. King knew this would be tough and if he was going to lead these people, then he needed to get through to them and lift them up. Judging by the resounding applause that he received (a lot louder after the speech) he did just that.’
10. His most powerful method, I believe, was when he spoke of not solving this issue with violence. It takes a lot of strength for a man, a culture, to walk around their home, the one place you deserve to have peace in “exile” (MLK 1). Yet this man still resorts to nonviolence; he says he will not have their “creative protest degenerate into physical violence” (MLK 3). He uses the word degenerate inferring that it will lower the status of their already powerful battle and claims to keep their victories on high by using “Dignity and discipline,” fighting “physical force with soul force” (MLK 3). He is also teaching them (and us) not to give in to the typical idea of a violent black man. If we resort to nonviolence we can always defeat the “evil with the good” (Rom 12:21).
11. 100 years ago we were set free from slavery by the great man Abraham Lincoln. Well I am here to tell you that we are far from free. Our physical chains may be gone, but we still are figuratively shackled by the segregation of our own country. Our nation told us in the documents that all laws are based off of that all men are created equal. This, in fact, is an abandoned idea which the country believes does not apply to the black race. We will make sure that this phrase written by our forefathers will be followed to the fullest and if the nation believes we will quiet this then they are wrong. We will fight to the bitter end, not with violence, but with strength, determination and dignity. So have hope for one day every city, every county, and every state will become as one just as the people of the nation will become as one and then we all can sing our country’s national anthem with pride and the satisfaction of truth. One day we will all stand together as a people and be thankful to be fully free.
12. The world’s biggest crime was the ignorance of thinking that black people were not a human race, like whites are. Discrimination and segregation were the effects of this stupid belief. The world separated blacks as lower beings and this is not right, nor can be true. Skin color does not make a person any more or less than another person. If either one gets shot they can die the same, if either one gets an education they can teach the same, if either one had the skill they could do the same. We are all a people and splitting us up can only cause one thing as it did: revolution.
13. I believe the American Dream is the idea that anyone can have the opportunity and chance to succeed and do well for themselves. They can also live in a peaceful world that is not like any other on earth and is better than any other. In a nutshell, it’s the only place you can have your cake and eat it too.
14. Dr. King names the states that have the heaviest segregation and are the most dangerous for blacks. Knowing this it almost seems impossible to see such a time when these states walk with blacks instead of hanging them. This adds to the effect of what he is saying and adds a lot more hope to his speech. If the most segregated areas in the whole country become unified peacefully and equally, then there is not a single place that segregation can hide.
15. I would have been extremely moved. Just watching it on TV made your spine tingle. Also knowing the time that they were in and all the suffering that they had gone through, this would have been a big encouragement if I were there. The speech touched the hearts of every American there and woke up many people to the problems and solutions to these problems in that time. This would make a lot of people ready to go out there and suffer and work hard so that they could look forward to equal rights and no more discrimination.
16. Racism is the prejudice of one race towards another. It also creates the effect of looking down towards these people and hatred between them. This can create great wars, violent or nonviolent.
17. These people resorted to violence because they did not believe blacks were not supposed to be free. This was mostly hatred and rage toward black people that fueled their violence. They wanted to prove that blacks were lower beings as well as everything else that they thought black were: violent, ignorant, etc. Blacks did not resort to violence, I believe, because MLK was powerful enough to convince black people to resort to nonviolence. He was a great leader because he influenced the black race to follow his plan. They also were not going to give up when they came so far or give in to the oppression. They were determined to continue.
18. I don’t believe that they are as dangerous as the Nazis. They are still dangerous because of their beliefs and oppression, but they are old-fashioned. We are in a new age where there are too many people ready to move on to a better life for them to make such a drastic change. If more people are going to keep the new idea instead of giving up to oppression, then they are going to be shut down before they even start.
19. There is no more segregation at this time. The whole idea about separated water fountains, separate schools and bathrooms no longer exist. Blacks and whites can now walk down the same street, into the same buildings, and use the same bathrooms without it being illegal. A black man has even become president of the United States! We have come very far and Dr. King would be very proud to see this. His dream with these things is truly fulfilled.
There is still some work to be done though. This is the most difficult part of his dream. This is the part in convincing people that blacks are humans and are just as good as whites at doing anything. We are all equal and some people are just prejudiced in this idea. Black are not equal in their eyes. We still have to prove to them that we are just as good, if not better than they are. This may not be possible, since these people are too stubborn to realize what we have already done. Hopefully convincing them can be accomplished.
2. The beginning of his speech is an indirect reference to Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. This was really good because Lincoln was the president who freed the slaves, and his speech was about freedom from segregation. He referred back to Lincoln to refresh their memories. Lincoln was the reason they were there, not as literal slaves, but as slaves of oppression. MLK planned to finish what Lincoln started.
3. Bible: “Justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream,” (MLK 4). Declaration of Independence: “Now is the time to make real promises of democracy,” (MLK 3).
4. “…Color of their skin but by the content of their character,” (MLK 4)
5. “…Chains of discrimination,” (MLK 2)
6. “Justice rolls down like waters,” ((MLK 4)
7. This is a metaphor and it is a powerful tool because it reminds them of their suffering ancestors. He is also reminding them of their freedom, yet they are still enslaved. The same chains that kept them from their freedom in the cotton fields are holding them from freedom in society. He was making the inference that blacks are still enslaved, just not with literal chains. This should not be true after one hundred years of freedom and in a country that is supposed to be free for all. This must be fixed and that is what he planned to do.
8. a. “Now is the time” (MLK3) b. “We cannot be satisfied” (MLK 4)
9. One of the effects of his repetition is to stress his point. This method combined with his powerful voice was able to drill this idea into the minds and hearts of everyone listening to him. This is the “faith” he had and he wanted to make sure everyone both knew it and took it home with them (MLK 5). He also wanted to let everyone know how powerful their faith and to be in order to endure the suffering that is going on. They needed encouragement to get through the tribulations they had. Dr. King knew this would be tough and if he was going to lead these people, then he needed to get through to them and lift them up. Judging by the resounding applause that he received (a lot louder after the speech) he did just that.’
10. His most powerful method, I believe, was when he spoke of not solving this issue with violence. It takes a lot of strength for a man, a culture, to walk around their home, the one place you deserve to have peace in “exile” (MLK 1). Yet this man still resorts to nonviolence; he says he will not have their “creative protest degenerate into physical violence” (MLK 3). He uses the word degenerate inferring that it will lower the status of their already powerful battle and claims to keep their victories on high by using “Dignity and discipline,” fighting “physical force with soul force” (MLK 3). He is also teaching them (and us) not to give in to the typical idea of a violent black man. If we resort to nonviolence we can always defeat the “evil with the good” (Rom 12:21).
11. 100 years ago we were set free from slavery by the great man Abraham Lincoln. Well I am here to tell you that we are far from free. Our physical chains may be gone, but we still are figuratively shackled by the segregation of our own country. Our nation told us in the documents that all laws are based off of that all men are created equal. This, in fact, is an abandoned idea which the country believes does not apply to the black race. We will make sure that this phrase written by our forefathers will be followed to the fullest and if the nation believes we will quiet this then they are wrong. We will fight to the bitter end, not with violence, but with strength, determination and dignity. So have hope for one day every city, every county, and every state will become as one just as the people of the nation will become as one and then we all can sing our country’s national anthem with pride and the satisfaction of truth. One day we will all stand together as a people and be thankful to be fully free.
12. The world’s biggest crime was the ignorance of thinking that black people were not a human race, like whites are. Discrimination and segregation were the effects of this stupid belief. The world separated blacks as lower beings and this is not right, nor can be true. Skin color does not make a person any more or less than another person. If either one gets shot they can die the same, if either one gets an education they can teach the same, if either one had the skill they could do the same. We are all a people and splitting us up can only cause one thing as it did: revolution.
13. I believe the American Dream is the idea that anyone can have the opportunity and chance to succeed and do well for themselves. They can also live in a peaceful world that is not like any other on earth and is better than any other. In a nutshell, it’s the only place you can have your cake and eat it too.
14. Dr. King names the states that have the heaviest segregation and are the most dangerous for blacks. Knowing this it almost seems impossible to see such a time when these states walk with blacks instead of hanging them. This adds to the effect of what he is saying and adds a lot more hope to his speech. If the most segregated areas in the whole country become unified peacefully and equally, then there is not a single place that segregation can hide.
15. I would have been extremely moved. Just watching it on TV made your spine tingle. Also knowing the time that they were in and all the suffering that they had gone through, this would have been a big encouragement if I were there. The speech touched the hearts of every American there and woke up many people to the problems and solutions to these problems in that time. This would make a lot of people ready to go out there and suffer and work hard so that they could look forward to equal rights and no more discrimination.
16. Racism is the prejudice of one race towards another. It also creates the effect of looking down towards these people and hatred between them. This can create great wars, violent or nonviolent.
17. These people resorted to violence because they did not believe blacks were not supposed to be free. This was mostly hatred and rage toward black people that fueled their violence. They wanted to prove that blacks were lower beings as well as everything else that they thought black were: violent, ignorant, etc. Blacks did not resort to violence, I believe, because MLK was powerful enough to convince black people to resort to nonviolence. He was a great leader because he influenced the black race to follow his plan. They also were not going to give up when they came so far or give in to the oppression. They were determined to continue.
18. I don’t believe that they are as dangerous as the Nazis. They are still dangerous because of their beliefs and oppression, but they are old-fashioned. We are in a new age where there are too many people ready to move on to a better life for them to make such a drastic change. If more people are going to keep the new idea instead of giving up to oppression, then they are going to be shut down before they even start.
19. There is no more segregation at this time. The whole idea about separated water fountains, separate schools and bathrooms no longer exist. Blacks and whites can now walk down the same street, into the same buildings, and use the same bathrooms without it being illegal. A black man has even become president of the United States! We have come very far and Dr. King would be very proud to see this. His dream with these things is truly fulfilled.
There is still some work to be done though. This is the most difficult part of his dream. This is the part in convincing people that blacks are humans and are just as good as whites at doing anything. We are all equal and some people are just prejudiced in this idea. Black are not equal in their eyes. We still have to prove to them that we are just as good, if not better than they are. This may not be possible, since these people are too stubborn to realize what we have already done. Hopefully convincing them can be accomplished.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Hughes Questions
1. Hughes main point was that church can be deceptive. Although it was at the end, it was one of his strongest statements. He lay in a bed crying because of that and the fact that he lied to his aunt to be saved. All those who told him about the great feelings of being saved and his aunt's misunderstanding with his feelings were the complete opposite of how he felt.
2. Hughes saw his friend who lied and became saved which was a sin, but he was not punished for it. Also he felt guilty for making everyone wait, and since he did not see Jesus or feel anything, he just gave up and went along with them to be saved.
3. The first two sentences contradict the idea of being saved. If people are saved, why do they still sin? What is the point of being saved from sin if all humans do is sin? His contradiction plays throughout the passage when he was saved from sin by sinning. If this can happen, what is the sense in being saved?
4. I believe Langston wrote Salvation twenty years later to expose his miscomprehension of the bible’s ideas. The bible is a very hard book to understand because there is so much to pull from it. Everything in there is not literal; there are many symbols. In fact the very Bible itself is a symbol of God’s voice. Everything the adults said were shown figuratively, not literally. The very fact that he was crying after he did what he did and his hesitation of doing it gave a sign of good in him. He was also thinking about everyone else and how tired they might be. He was caring for others, concerned for his friend, and upset that he lied. He also shows significance of his crying since he said he only did it once more in his lifetime showing he doesn’t cry a lot. With this you can say he wasn’t touched by a Holy Ghost, but he knew right from wrong and for that you can see a lot of good in him.
5. He assumes that the audience knows about the gist of the ceremony because he jumps right into it. He does add detail though to describe the way his church does it, if it is done differently than another local church.
6. All of the ideas about him being alone, everyone waiting on him in paragraphs 3-10, as well as the fact it was getting late, made Hughes very anxious. He “began to be ashamed,” so the pressure got to him (Hughes). The most powerful was probably the song that was used about the lonely sheep that almost literally referred to him. This really got to him and hits the audience emotionally because you know when a song is about you it makes its way to the heart quickly.
7. With narration it had a better effect on the audience. An argumentative essay would have turned some readers away who had different beliefs. In the form of a story, it can attract anyone, even those who are not in this specific religion. The title would probably be “What Is Salvation?”
8. He shortens the time taken to get to the sermon as well as shortening the service of the church that day besides the altar incident. He skips all the people that went except him and Wesley. He drew out his part to add more expression to his experience. At the end he jumps to his home in bed, because it was the only thing that mattered at the time. When you are that upset as a child the only thing left for you to do is go in the bed and cry. This gives the ending of his reason for writing this chapter.
9. During the sermon, he uses shorter transitions that consider a shorter time period than days or weeks like then, finally, and suddenly, (Hughes). Then he once again uses “That night” as a jumper transition (Hughes).
10. This is the focal point of the narrative. This is the place and time he learns this big lesson so we must know how it works to get the full understanding of his experience.
11. I think he feels understanding. He now realizes what happened at this time and even though he was ashamed as a child, he may not have redone it any kind of way even if he could. In the beginning when he spoke of those who told him he would see Jesus and whatnot, he did not call them liars. He just merely said that he did not feel anything.
12. He is setting up the time period. His sentences are child-like because he is a child at the time in the story. It would be a little strange to have sophisticated, advanced writing as a 13 year old boy.
13. Hughes expected to see Jesus in the literal sense while his aunt expected him, not to literally see him, but feel his spirit come over him. It would be more accurate to say see as Jesus in the sense that he would be able to see what Jesus would do or “What is the right choice?” This is a very significant difference because it gives the contradiction of a literal and figurative sense of the Bible. It is also where they say the “Holy Ghost” comes in because eit is supposedly the spirit that guides you to the path of justice.
2. Hughes saw his friend who lied and became saved which was a sin, but he was not punished for it. Also he felt guilty for making everyone wait, and since he did not see Jesus or feel anything, he just gave up and went along with them to be saved.
3. The first two sentences contradict the idea of being saved. If people are saved, why do they still sin? What is the point of being saved from sin if all humans do is sin? His contradiction plays throughout the passage when he was saved from sin by sinning. If this can happen, what is the sense in being saved?
4. I believe Langston wrote Salvation twenty years later to expose his miscomprehension of the bible’s ideas. The bible is a very hard book to understand because there is so much to pull from it. Everything in there is not literal; there are many symbols. In fact the very Bible itself is a symbol of God’s voice. Everything the adults said were shown figuratively, not literally. The very fact that he was crying after he did what he did and his hesitation of doing it gave a sign of good in him. He was also thinking about everyone else and how tired they might be. He was caring for others, concerned for his friend, and upset that he lied. He also shows significance of his crying since he said he only did it once more in his lifetime showing he doesn’t cry a lot. With this you can say he wasn’t touched by a Holy Ghost, but he knew right from wrong and for that you can see a lot of good in him.
5. He assumes that the audience knows about the gist of the ceremony because he jumps right into it. He does add detail though to describe the way his church does it, if it is done differently than another local church.
6. All of the ideas about him being alone, everyone waiting on him in paragraphs 3-10, as well as the fact it was getting late, made Hughes very anxious. He “began to be ashamed,” so the pressure got to him (Hughes). The most powerful was probably the song that was used about the lonely sheep that almost literally referred to him. This really got to him and hits the audience emotionally because you know when a song is about you it makes its way to the heart quickly.
7. With narration it had a better effect on the audience. An argumentative essay would have turned some readers away who had different beliefs. In the form of a story, it can attract anyone, even those who are not in this specific religion. The title would probably be “What Is Salvation?”
8. He shortens the time taken to get to the sermon as well as shortening the service of the church that day besides the altar incident. He skips all the people that went except him and Wesley. He drew out his part to add more expression to his experience. At the end he jumps to his home in bed, because it was the only thing that mattered at the time. When you are that upset as a child the only thing left for you to do is go in the bed and cry. This gives the ending of his reason for writing this chapter.
9. During the sermon, he uses shorter transitions that consider a shorter time period than days or weeks like then, finally, and suddenly, (Hughes). Then he once again uses “That night” as a jumper transition (Hughes).
10. This is the focal point of the narrative. This is the place and time he learns this big lesson so we must know how it works to get the full understanding of his experience.
11. I think he feels understanding. He now realizes what happened at this time and even though he was ashamed as a child, he may not have redone it any kind of way even if he could. In the beginning when he spoke of those who told him he would see Jesus and whatnot, he did not call them liars. He just merely said that he did not feel anything.
12. He is setting up the time period. His sentences are child-like because he is a child at the time in the story. It would be a little strange to have sophisticated, advanced writing as a 13 year old boy.
13. Hughes expected to see Jesus in the literal sense while his aunt expected him, not to literally see him, but feel his spirit come over him. It would be more accurate to say see as Jesus in the sense that he would be able to see what Jesus would do or “What is the right choice?” This is a very significant difference because it gives the contradiction of a literal and figurative sense of the Bible. It is also where they say the “Holy Ghost” comes in because eit is supposedly the spirit that guides you to the path of justice.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Paraphrasing Songs
“The 6th Sense” Common
The time is now
We’ll show you how
The window to the soul is open now,
So listen up
The times were hard, yet I took charge
Came out on top despite the odds
Everyone’s in a struggle, but some don’t make it
These visual perceptions were crazy, strange to me
“There’s no need to care, at least you made it” I heard
But the truth will never lay inside me undeterred
Review where I came from, taking a glance
Where all people need is a decent chance
Giving back my own knowledge
To the young scholars
Who don’t know their potential of spitting rap for dollars
Can’t begin until they breathe in and read into
Where they been, what they did, and it’s too late for breaks
A message of truth, something you can relate to
Realize it, realize it
The stories of the ghetto-bound slaves
Yeah, Yeah
The barrier between me and the world that fuels my mind
The inner soul of my girl, and the words that I find
I do business with only the ones that accept our lives’ design
The revelation of rap now lasts forever
With me as the headliner “Common Brought It Together”
What I say is nothing simple to disregard
This is hardcore realism, times are hard
God brings this word of mouth through me as I speak it out
The perks and riches I’d love to take
Not just for me but for the children’s sake
Dealing with my culture and problems
The difficulties that are easily seen in them
So much is breaking me down
You can’t live forever in this town
I am the greatest one training others to watch for the false rap nation
A message of truth, something you can relate to
Realize it, realize it
The stories of the ghetto-bound slaves
Yeah, Yeah
I travel sometimes to walk with reality
Found a girl reciting rhymes that blew thoughts at me
What has this music done for the world
Reviving the forgotten while unity begins to unfurl
But what can I say?
What I don’t like I don’t try to see
This is no disrespect, that’s just me
I come to help with what I say
Preaching what I see and know everyday
Letting those on the street know that I pray
With them, the rich the poor, the famous athlete
They all know what I spit is me…
This version of “The 6th Sense” is a little more sugarcoated than the original song. It has a similar message, but not as serious. The audience is somewhat changed as well. The first refers to all people in poverty but the revised one is more about black people in poverty more than anyone else.
“Iris” GooGoo Dolls
Eternity means nothing without you
You understand this as well
If I don’t get to Heaven, all I need is you
I wish us together where only God can tell
I feel it in all 5 senses
I feel it all around my soul
I know that I can’t last forever
But please baby don’t let me go
Our secrets must be kept between us
Criticism is not now what I need
My heart can’t take the pressure
My inner soul I only want you to see
Sadness can’t be faked in this life
Nor facts be surrounded by lies
This isn’t fantasy although it may feel like it
Use pain to open up your own eyes.
Our secrets must be kept between us
Criticism is not now what I need
My heart can’t take the pressure
My inner soul I only want you to see
Our secrets must be kept between us
Criticism is not now what I need
My heart can’t take the pressure
My inner soul I only want you to see
Our secrets must be kept between us
Criticism is not now what I need
My heart can’t take the pressure
My inner soul I only want you to see
I open my heart to you
I open my heart to you
I open my heart to you
This song has changed in the way that the couple knows who each other are. In the original song the woman was unaware because her admirer was afraid to reveal himself to the world. The changed song is more of a secret romance where the couple are aware of each other. It is similar to a teenage rebellious love.
“Ghetto Heaven” Common
Looking through the ghetto for the one
Ladies got no sense, they just wanna have fun
A third type, no specifications, but special
Got the right mind and the clothes to match my mind’s image
My baby mama is lost
But my girl I got always
The spirit speaks
As the young searches for the meek
Given the cluelessness of a hidden, wandering man
When all that is tall sinks as low as it can
What’s left is me, with the right guide patrolling me through
And through hard times and temptation, I recognize what I came here to do
My mission is more important than riches and pleasure
I spread peace, happiness and spiritual pleasure
Peace of mind
Surrounding me with the peace of mind
Peace of mind
Surrounding me with the peace of mind
Listen miss, don’t put all your hopes and dreams with one man
You are independent to do whatever you can
You’re looking for the right guy money is not the key
Because those who spoil you are obsessed with their greed
Troubles from generations are handed down
Always reawaken and end up worse than when they were found
Know yourself, then search for the one
You have plenty of time and mistakes to learn from
Don’t’ punish all men because one turned you down
Realize what you want, and then achieve it
When your journey is over you will receive him
It’s a hard road to travel, but remember this
Your pain is only so that you can find your prince
Don’t look back, because your aching is past tense
You need someone in your life because loneliness is hard
Your peace comes from yourself and God
Peace mind
Surrounding me with the peace mind
Peace of mind
Surrounding me with the peace of mind
What I say comes overshadows me
It’s open-minded, joyful, rhythmic poetry
The business can take a lot out of you
But keep the good deeds in mind, your brothers too
Interpreting what our ancestors left behind
Putting the things together in my mind
Cherish the blessings of music
It’s not the crutch to riches, you can’t just use it
Live through it, embrace it, analyze it, take it
Run it through your soul and spirit, open your mind and think hard
Because our peace comes from yourself and God
Your peace comes from yourself and God
Your peace comes from yourself and God
This song was altered to fit many topics of truth and moral standpoints much like the original. The interpretation was changed somewhat to make the reader think into it. It had more of a religious theme than the first one.
The time is now
We’ll show you how
The window to the soul is open now,
So listen up
The times were hard, yet I took charge
Came out on top despite the odds
Everyone’s in a struggle, but some don’t make it
These visual perceptions were crazy, strange to me
“There’s no need to care, at least you made it” I heard
But the truth will never lay inside me undeterred
Review where I came from, taking a glance
Where all people need is a decent chance
Giving back my own knowledge
To the young scholars
Who don’t know their potential of spitting rap for dollars
Can’t begin until they breathe in and read into
Where they been, what they did, and it’s too late for breaks
A message of truth, something you can relate to
Realize it, realize it
The stories of the ghetto-bound slaves
Yeah, Yeah
The barrier between me and the world that fuels my mind
The inner soul of my girl, and the words that I find
I do business with only the ones that accept our lives’ design
The revelation of rap now lasts forever
With me as the headliner “Common Brought It Together”
What I say is nothing simple to disregard
This is hardcore realism, times are hard
God brings this word of mouth through me as I speak it out
The perks and riches I’d love to take
Not just for me but for the children’s sake
Dealing with my culture and problems
The difficulties that are easily seen in them
So much is breaking me down
You can’t live forever in this town
I am the greatest one training others to watch for the false rap nation
A message of truth, something you can relate to
Realize it, realize it
The stories of the ghetto-bound slaves
Yeah, Yeah
I travel sometimes to walk with reality
Found a girl reciting rhymes that blew thoughts at me
What has this music done for the world
Reviving the forgotten while unity begins to unfurl
But what can I say?
What I don’t like I don’t try to see
This is no disrespect, that’s just me
I come to help with what I say
Preaching what I see and know everyday
Letting those on the street know that I pray
With them, the rich the poor, the famous athlete
They all know what I spit is me…
This version of “The 6th Sense” is a little more sugarcoated than the original song. It has a similar message, but not as serious. The audience is somewhat changed as well. The first refers to all people in poverty but the revised one is more about black people in poverty more than anyone else.
“Iris” GooGoo Dolls
Eternity means nothing without you
You understand this as well
If I don’t get to Heaven, all I need is you
I wish us together where only God can tell
I feel it in all 5 senses
I feel it all around my soul
I know that I can’t last forever
But please baby don’t let me go
Our secrets must be kept between us
Criticism is not now what I need
My heart can’t take the pressure
My inner soul I only want you to see
Sadness can’t be faked in this life
Nor facts be surrounded by lies
This isn’t fantasy although it may feel like it
Use pain to open up your own eyes.
Our secrets must be kept between us
Criticism is not now what I need
My heart can’t take the pressure
My inner soul I only want you to see
Our secrets must be kept between us
Criticism is not now what I need
My heart can’t take the pressure
My inner soul I only want you to see
Our secrets must be kept between us
Criticism is not now what I need
My heart can’t take the pressure
My inner soul I only want you to see
I open my heart to you
I open my heart to you
I open my heart to you
This song has changed in the way that the couple knows who each other are. In the original song the woman was unaware because her admirer was afraid to reveal himself to the world. The changed song is more of a secret romance where the couple are aware of each other. It is similar to a teenage rebellious love.
“Ghetto Heaven” Common
Looking through the ghetto for the one
Ladies got no sense, they just wanna have fun
A third type, no specifications, but special
Got the right mind and the clothes to match my mind’s image
My baby mama is lost
But my girl I got always
The spirit speaks
As the young searches for the meek
Given the cluelessness of a hidden, wandering man
When all that is tall sinks as low as it can
What’s left is me, with the right guide patrolling me through
And through hard times and temptation, I recognize what I came here to do
My mission is more important than riches and pleasure
I spread peace, happiness and spiritual pleasure
Peace of mind
Surrounding me with the peace of mind
Peace of mind
Surrounding me with the peace of mind
Listen miss, don’t put all your hopes and dreams with one man
You are independent to do whatever you can
You’re looking for the right guy money is not the key
Because those who spoil you are obsessed with their greed
Troubles from generations are handed down
Always reawaken and end up worse than when they were found
Know yourself, then search for the one
You have plenty of time and mistakes to learn from
Don’t’ punish all men because one turned you down
Realize what you want, and then achieve it
When your journey is over you will receive him
It’s a hard road to travel, but remember this
Your pain is only so that you can find your prince
Don’t look back, because your aching is past tense
You need someone in your life because loneliness is hard
Your peace comes from yourself and God
Peace mind
Surrounding me with the peace mind
Peace of mind
Surrounding me with the peace of mind
What I say comes overshadows me
It’s open-minded, joyful, rhythmic poetry
The business can take a lot out of you
But keep the good deeds in mind, your brothers too
Interpreting what our ancestors left behind
Putting the things together in my mind
Cherish the blessings of music
It’s not the crutch to riches, you can’t just use it
Live through it, embrace it, analyze it, take it
Run it through your soul and spirit, open your mind and think hard
Because our peace comes from yourself and God
Your peace comes from yourself and God
Your peace comes from yourself and God
This song was altered to fit many topics of truth and moral standpoints much like the original. The interpretation was changed somewhat to make the reader think into it. It had more of a religious theme than the first one.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Never Again...
Realism has a definition as plain as the word itself. It is the real deal on life. Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote a tale called “The Yellow Wall-Paper” that described certain realism within the female society. Gilman uses a simplistic object to protrude her ideas about the woman’s place in a household. Her ideas are leaked out throughout her story and have a very sensible depiction although easy to read.
From beginning to end she describes this hideous wallpaper that is in a room she usually sleeps in. It has lurid patterns and a disgusting yellow that make you deny yellow as a color of something gracious. It is so disturbing that she also gets angry every time she sets her eyes upon it. This, in fact, is her imprisonment. She was suppose to do everything her husband told her to do and could not to rebel against him as a woman in that era. She uses this wallpaper to show her imprisonment as a terrible thing that she detests and it makes her sick. Her husband constantly denies her illness because he does not see that he is the cause of it; so he lets it go along telling her that she is improving. She angers herself constantly while trying to solve the mystery of the wallpaper because she is beginning to realize her situation in social imprisonment. She soon realizes it because the paper, “becomes bars,” at night and she sees a woman behind them (Gilman 9). This calmed her since that she knew as she says after she found out, “I feel ever so much better now!” (Gilman 11). She usually sees this woman in a surface that reflects images back at the observer like the windows hinting that is actually herself that she sees trying to escape that hideous prison.
She also begins speaking of the woman rattling the cage trying to get out. Obviously this is Gilman attempting to be free, which is done with her paper as well as the rattling of the figurative cage. All of her thoughts, emotions, and feelings reveal themselves in that rebellious biography she writes all the time. The cult of true womanhood is once again attacked here. Charlotte does not like the idea of being second-hand to her husband and it makes her sick. She loves her husband and does what she must, but like other women, her sacrifices were not enjoyable. She is speaking her pain by saying, “John does not know how much I really suffer,” and is telling the audience that her brother is also a doctor and says she is fine as well, showing that it is not just her husband, but all men who are like that (Gilman 3). Also notice that she never speaks down about her husband, but she just says he does not understand and he never hurts her, but just does not think anything is wrong. Anger and hate were not always involved in the feelings of women and their spouses, but men just did not know how it felt to be in their shoes. At the end her husband faints when the prison is torn away from her. This is symbolic toward the realization of a problem. Many times when people find out an overwhelming truth about something, it is so much to think about that they are left unconscious. He did not realize his wife was so imprisoned so, in his misunderstanding, he is bombarded with thoughts in his mind. He cannot believe what has truly been going on.
Gilman gave a very similar message when she wrote “The Yellow Wall-Paper” that told the world about an unfortunate situation in society. She sought freedom from the bars symbolized in her writing. Also, in a way, the room is hidden thoughts of her mind and the wallpaper is the barrier keeping her from breaking free. It is said that bottled up (or imprisoned) emotions are bad for health. At least she found a way to release herself and become free.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/us/politics/03intel.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper
From beginning to end she describes this hideous wallpaper that is in a room she usually sleeps in. It has lurid patterns and a disgusting yellow that make you deny yellow as a color of something gracious. It is so disturbing that she also gets angry every time she sets her eyes upon it. This, in fact, is her imprisonment. She was suppose to do everything her husband told her to do and could not to rebel against him as a woman in that era. She uses this wallpaper to show her imprisonment as a terrible thing that she detests and it makes her sick. Her husband constantly denies her illness because he does not see that he is the cause of it; so he lets it go along telling her that she is improving. She angers herself constantly while trying to solve the mystery of the wallpaper because she is beginning to realize her situation in social imprisonment. She soon realizes it because the paper, “becomes bars,” at night and she sees a woman behind them (Gilman 9). This calmed her since that she knew as she says after she found out, “I feel ever so much better now!” (Gilman 11). She usually sees this woman in a surface that reflects images back at the observer like the windows hinting that is actually herself that she sees trying to escape that hideous prison.
She also begins speaking of the woman rattling the cage trying to get out. Obviously this is Gilman attempting to be free, which is done with her paper as well as the rattling of the figurative cage. All of her thoughts, emotions, and feelings reveal themselves in that rebellious biography she writes all the time. The cult of true womanhood is once again attacked here. Charlotte does not like the idea of being second-hand to her husband and it makes her sick. She loves her husband and does what she must, but like other women, her sacrifices were not enjoyable. She is speaking her pain by saying, “John does not know how much I really suffer,” and is telling the audience that her brother is also a doctor and says she is fine as well, showing that it is not just her husband, but all men who are like that (Gilman 3). Also notice that she never speaks down about her husband, but she just says he does not understand and he never hurts her, but just does not think anything is wrong. Anger and hate were not always involved in the feelings of women and their spouses, but men just did not know how it felt to be in their shoes. At the end her husband faints when the prison is torn away from her. This is symbolic toward the realization of a problem. Many times when people find out an overwhelming truth about something, it is so much to think about that they are left unconscious. He did not realize his wife was so imprisoned so, in his misunderstanding, he is bombarded with thoughts in his mind. He cannot believe what has truly been going on.
Gilman gave a very similar message when she wrote “The Yellow Wall-Paper” that told the world about an unfortunate situation in society. She sought freedom from the bars symbolized in her writing. Also, in a way, the room is hidden thoughts of her mind and the wallpaper is the barrier keeping her from breaking free. It is said that bottled up (or imprisoned) emotions are bad for health. At least she found a way to release herself and become free.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/us/politics/03intel.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Chapter 3 Response SOBF
Given the times that people had in the past as a result of racism, times were rigorous. The dark night of oppression was always seen and felt everywhere, like the never-ending night. In some instances, though, and beam of light would flash through the veil of racism and give people hope. Booker T. Washington was one of these flashes of hope; he was not the only one though, there were many others. Through detail and tone Du Bois gives a structural view on the morals of freeing black people from the slavery of discrimination. Understanding the idea that every idea is not best and detailing the specific problems people have can help people realize what is wrong and pick the best solution.
The tone that Du Bois gives off is that of constructive criticism. He gives background information that allows the reader to get into an in-depth meaning of what people are feeling. This gets you into the author’s mind and allows you to see why he is assessing the actions of other black leaders, specifically Booker T. Washington. He gives without much detail, the basic description of Washington’s proposal which is to give up, “political power, insistence on civil rights, higher education of Negro youth,” (Du Bois 87). The lack of detail in this proposal reflects the lack of support it has from many of the African American race. Du Bois goes on to say that these things are exactly what we need to make our community a group of, “teachers, professional men, and leaders,” (Du Bois 90). If we were able to make a league of these types of men, then we could easily overcome any tribulation that comes our way. Within three pages of the story Du Bois uses a numbering method of a teacher that numbers the complaints she has with an English paper. Like a teacher he is telling Washington what is wrong with his proposal, what it needs, and the mistakes that could have been avoided. He does not say that his proposal is totally wrong; he even concludes that the disfranchisement, civil inferiority, and withdrawal of aid from the Negro are not proven, “direct results of Mr. Washington’s teachings (Du Bois 88). The way he says it keeps it professional and respectful.
The tone soon changes to resentment near the end when the Declaration of Independence is put into the end of the chapter. The same quote that has been verbally crucified is the “all men are created equal” clause (Du Bois 95). This is overused so much because it was the foundation and backbone of our country when we had nothing else; it has survived through the Civil War and many others and has been the standpoint of nationalism everywhere, but it is ripped apart like the 300 year old paper it is when it comes to skin color. Why a dark human, cannot be equal to a lighter human is beyond understanding to many. America is seen as the land of the free with slaves. This is a contradiction, not even one fully agreed on because this immoral act brought us to the Civil War. How can everyone pursue life, liberty and happiness if it is only for a select few of color? Why ignore such a moral law that could bring everyone to happiness? Why must it be made an additional law when it is wrong in moral and governmental standpoints? Alas, with all this, we are still in opposition today. Racism has only moved from a usual topic on everyone’s minds to a subtle thought that passes by. We must still press on to keep this viral idea from ever resurfacing.
The tone that Du Bois gives off is that of constructive criticism. He gives background information that allows the reader to get into an in-depth meaning of what people are feeling. This gets you into the author’s mind and allows you to see why he is assessing the actions of other black leaders, specifically Booker T. Washington. He gives without much detail, the basic description of Washington’s proposal which is to give up, “political power, insistence on civil rights, higher education of Negro youth,” (Du Bois 87). The lack of detail in this proposal reflects the lack of support it has from many of the African American race. Du Bois goes on to say that these things are exactly what we need to make our community a group of, “teachers, professional men, and leaders,” (Du Bois 90). If we were able to make a league of these types of men, then we could easily overcome any tribulation that comes our way. Within three pages of the story Du Bois uses a numbering method of a teacher that numbers the complaints she has with an English paper. Like a teacher he is telling Washington what is wrong with his proposal, what it needs, and the mistakes that could have been avoided. He does not say that his proposal is totally wrong; he even concludes that the disfranchisement, civil inferiority, and withdrawal of aid from the Negro are not proven, “direct results of Mr. Washington’s teachings (Du Bois 88). The way he says it keeps it professional and respectful.
The tone soon changes to resentment near the end when the Declaration of Independence is put into the end of the chapter. The same quote that has been verbally crucified is the “all men are created equal” clause (Du Bois 95). This is overused so much because it was the foundation and backbone of our country when we had nothing else; it has survived through the Civil War and many others and has been the standpoint of nationalism everywhere, but it is ripped apart like the 300 year old paper it is when it comes to skin color. Why a dark human, cannot be equal to a lighter human is beyond understanding to many. America is seen as the land of the free with slaves. This is a contradiction, not even one fully agreed on because this immoral act brought us to the Civil War. How can everyone pursue life, liberty and happiness if it is only for a select few of color? Why ignore such a moral law that could bring everyone to happiness? Why must it be made an additional law when it is wrong in moral and governmental standpoints? Alas, with all this, we are still in opposition today. Racism has only moved from a usual topic on everyone’s minds to a subtle thought that passes by. We must still press on to keep this viral idea from ever resurfacing.
HW For Those Who Need It
1. Read Ch. 3 in Souls of Black Folk.
2. Do dialogue journals (20) based on pathos, tone, and detail.
3. Do 2pg lit response.
2. Do dialogue journals (20) based on pathos, tone, and detail.
3. Do 2pg lit response.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Souls of Black Folk
African Americans have come a very long way. We have hit the very bottom in the beginning and have rose despite all of the opposition we faced, but this rise was not by any means easy. The depressing times were enough to weigh anybody down to their inevitable doom and this is how upsetting the story is. Using a realistic mood, this story reveals the turmoil that many knew about during the rise of blacks after slavery. The topic is a staid one with both good and bad illustrations of the life of the African American.
One of the reasons this story is how blacks are just shut down. They see no way of coming up in the world or in people’s eyes. The story brings out that, “Throughout history the powers of single black men flash here and there like falling stars, and die sometimes before the world has rightly gauged their brightness,” (Du Bois 47). This is a disheartening fact in our people’s minds. No matter what was done, throughout all time, it was forgotten before it even began. Our people have suffered greatly and have been put down many times. This adds a historic discouragement as if the European can kill thousands and be a hero, but an African can save tens of thousands and not be considered at all. Knowing that your own kind has been shunned for generations makes you wonder why you should keep going on, but this can be a wake up call as well. This sad fact can awaken the idea of reformation in our minds and give us the power to change the fact that our people were held down. The thoughts of many were to give up, “what need of education since we must always cook and serve?” while this evil was turned to good by teaching us the true ideas of social responsibility and a real meaning of progression, because they not only saw it, they lived it (Du Bois 51).
Another tone shown towards the end is that of faith and slight touch of mockery. America is mocked for its bitterness towards the race that was below the Europeans by the statement, “Would America be poorer if she replace her brutal dyspeptic blundering with light-hearted but determined Negro humility?” (Du Bois 52). America could still have its precious money if it were kind to others. Greed empowers our country and makes those who have it knock others down and those who do not knock others down in their way. In actuality, all people need to do is work together and they will be richer than ever in more ways than one. This entails hope towards many of the African descent. The other entail of hope is the progress that is being made by our own people. While we slowly learn and realize what we must learn, we become more powerful and able to go to the next level. These levels are entitled to the tone that is in levels itself—from the bottom up. These levels imitate the levels taken by black people to reach the heights it has come to today and ends with a heart-warming tone by saying, “let me on the coming pages tell again with loving emphasis and deeper detail, that men may listen to the striving in the souls of black folk,” (Du Bois 53).
One of the reasons this story is how blacks are just shut down. They see no way of coming up in the world or in people’s eyes. The story brings out that, “Throughout history the powers of single black men flash here and there like falling stars, and die sometimes before the world has rightly gauged their brightness,” (Du Bois 47). This is a disheartening fact in our people’s minds. No matter what was done, throughout all time, it was forgotten before it even began. Our people have suffered greatly and have been put down many times. This adds a historic discouragement as if the European can kill thousands and be a hero, but an African can save tens of thousands and not be considered at all. Knowing that your own kind has been shunned for generations makes you wonder why you should keep going on, but this can be a wake up call as well. This sad fact can awaken the idea of reformation in our minds and give us the power to change the fact that our people were held down. The thoughts of many were to give up, “what need of education since we must always cook and serve?” while this evil was turned to good by teaching us the true ideas of social responsibility and a real meaning of progression, because they not only saw it, they lived it (Du Bois 51).
Another tone shown towards the end is that of faith and slight touch of mockery. America is mocked for its bitterness towards the race that was below the Europeans by the statement, “Would America be poorer if she replace her brutal dyspeptic blundering with light-hearted but determined Negro humility?” (Du Bois 52). America could still have its precious money if it were kind to others. Greed empowers our country and makes those who have it knock others down and those who do not knock others down in their way. In actuality, all people need to do is work together and they will be richer than ever in more ways than one. This entails hope towards many of the African descent. The other entail of hope is the progress that is being made by our own people. While we slowly learn and realize what we must learn, we become more powerful and able to go to the next level. These levels are entitled to the tone that is in levels itself—from the bottom up. These levels imitate the levels taken by black people to reach the heights it has come to today and ends with a heart-warming tone by saying, “let me on the coming pages tell again with loving emphasis and deeper detail, that men may listen to the striving in the souls of black folk,” (Du Bois 53).
HW For Those Who Need It
1. Read the 1st chapter of Souls of Black Folk and do dialect journals (20) based off of logos, tone, and detail.
2. Do a 2 pg literary response for the first chapter.
3. Complete grammar worksheet
2. Do a 2 pg literary response for the first chapter.
3. Complete grammar worksheet
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Booker T. Washington Response
Booker T. Washington gave a terrific speech called the Atlanta Exposition Address. This address spoke of the unity that all blacks dreamed of and all the ways we can progress. His review of the events afterwards was very interesting. The reacts of the people proved that many were moving away from segregation. This should have never happened though. Washington gives us an explanation of the stupidity of the disunity of the human race. With the many literary methods he used he got through to the public and left the subject to the people to decide.
Washington gives simplistic examples of the people’s idea of separation themselves from their brethren. He uses a mind-boggling simile that is so simple and refers to us in every way, “We can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things,” (Washington 2). Like the hand, it has its individual fingers. Each finger has its own structure, its own space, its own differences, its own height, size, skill, etc. and no one finger is perfect while the others are flawed. Yet they are all a part of the same thing. They are separated but at the same time unified in all that they do. The hand is not complete or functional if there is even one finger that does not work with the other four. This is how our people should be; we are all from different places, know and can do different things, have different abilities but we are all human beings. Everyone on this planet is a part of the most intelligent species and nothing less. How can you change, separate, degrade, or judge those that share your very qualities. We all came from the same two human beings, Adam and Eve, making us in some way down the line brother and sister.
Washington gives another good example, a story/metaphor, about men begging for water on a ship when they are surrounded by a freshwater river. This reveals another type of ignorance within people. Why would you ignore the existence of something so important, as the men did of water, when it is vital to your existence? As water is to the men, friendship is to humans. We cannot just ignore the myriads of people around us because such a powerful force cannot be ignored. Your neighbor will not allow you to ignore them just as you will not let them ignore you. We all need friends and a friendship. Humans are not meant to live alone and they should not. It would be so idiotic to ignore the 6 billion and counting people on the Earth and near impossible. With an infinite amount of personality to choose from, the atmosphere is perfect for someone to just reach out because it will be hard for you to not catch one out of 6 billion people. Washington is just saying that the chances are on your side, the opportunity is here, all that is in your way is you.
To conclude, Washington uses stories, metaphors, similes, symbolism, and much more to discard the option of separating from people. There are too many people to just let alone and it is not right to try and isolate one group. Most animals will not harm their own kind unless they endanger their territory, family, or themselves. Humans are the most intelligent species on the planet and we are also the ones most known to kill our own kind. This is wrong; we should not kill or isolate our own people into groups because we are one group: human. We are people made under the image of God and he is colorblind, so why can’t we be?
Washington gives simplistic examples of the people’s idea of separation themselves from their brethren. He uses a mind-boggling simile that is so simple and refers to us in every way, “We can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things,” (Washington 2). Like the hand, it has its individual fingers. Each finger has its own structure, its own space, its own differences, its own height, size, skill, etc. and no one finger is perfect while the others are flawed. Yet they are all a part of the same thing. They are separated but at the same time unified in all that they do. The hand is not complete or functional if there is even one finger that does not work with the other four. This is how our people should be; we are all from different places, know and can do different things, have different abilities but we are all human beings. Everyone on this planet is a part of the most intelligent species and nothing less. How can you change, separate, degrade, or judge those that share your very qualities. We all came from the same two human beings, Adam and Eve, making us in some way down the line brother and sister.
Washington gives another good example, a story/metaphor, about men begging for water on a ship when they are surrounded by a freshwater river. This reveals another type of ignorance within people. Why would you ignore the existence of something so important, as the men did of water, when it is vital to your existence? As water is to the men, friendship is to humans. We cannot just ignore the myriads of people around us because such a powerful force cannot be ignored. Your neighbor will not allow you to ignore them just as you will not let them ignore you. We all need friends and a friendship. Humans are not meant to live alone and they should not. It would be so idiotic to ignore the 6 billion and counting people on the Earth and near impossible. With an infinite amount of personality to choose from, the atmosphere is perfect for someone to just reach out because it will be hard for you to not catch one out of 6 billion people. Washington is just saying that the chances are on your side, the opportunity is here, all that is in your way is you.
To conclude, Washington uses stories, metaphors, similes, symbolism, and much more to discard the option of separating from people. There are too many people to just let alone and it is not right to try and isolate one group. Most animals will not harm their own kind unless they endanger their territory, family, or themselves. Humans are the most intelligent species on the planet and we are also the ones most known to kill our own kind. This is wrong; we should not kill or isolate our own people into groups because we are one group: human. We are people made under the image of God and he is colorblind, so why can’t we be?
Monday, November 17, 2008
Yellow Wallpaper
Realism has a definition as plain as the word itself. It is the real deal on life. Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote a tale called “The Yellow Wall-Paper” that describes certain realism within the female society. Gilman uses a simplistic object to protrude her ideas about the woman’s place in a household. Her ideas are leaked out throughout her story and as easy as it is to read, it has a very sensible depiction.
From beginning to end she describes this hideous wallpaper that is in a room she usually sleeps in. It has lurid patterns and a disgusting yellow that make you deny yellow as a color of something gracious. She also gets angry every time she sets her eyes upon it because it is so disturbing. This, in fact, is her imprisonment. As a woman in that era, she was suppose to do everything her husband told her to do and was unable to rebel against him. She uses this wallpaper to show her imprisonment as a terrible thing that she detests and it makes her sick. Her husband constantly denies her illness because, as doctors sometimes do, he does not see that he is the cause of it and he lets it got along telling her that she is improving. She angers herself constantly while trying to solve the mystery of the wallpaper because she is beginning to realize her situation in social imprisonment. She soon realizes it because the paper, “becomes bars,” at night and she sees a woman behind them (Gilman 9). This calms her now that she knows as she says after find out, “I feel ever so much better now!” (Gilman 11). She usually sees this woman in a surface that reflects images back at the observer like the windows hinting that is actually herself that she sees trying to escape that hideous prison.
She also begins speaking of the woman rattling the cage trying to get out. Obviously this is Gilman attempting to be free, but this not only done with the rattling of the figurative cage; Gilman does this with her paper as well. All of her thoughts, emotions, and feelings are revealed in that rebellious biography she writes all the time. The cult of true womanhood is once again attacked here. Charlotte does not like the idea of being second-hand to her husband and it makes her sick. She loves her husband and does what she must, but like other women, her sacrifices were not enjoyable. She speaks her pain by saying, “John does not know how much I really suffer,” and tells the audience, to prove it is not her that is just complaining, that her brother is also a doctor and says she is fine as well, showing that it is not just her husband, but all men who are like that (Gilman 3). Also notice that she never speaks down about her husband, but she just says he does not understand and he never hurts her, but just does not think anything is wrong. Anger and hate were not always involved in the feelings of women and their spouses; men just did not know how it felt to be in their shoes. Also at the end her husband faints when the prison is torn away from her. This is symbolic toward the realization of a problem. Many times when people find out an overwhelming truth about something, it is so much to think about that they are left unconscious. He did not realize his wife was so imprisoned so, in his misunderstanding, he is bombarded with thoughts in his mind. He cannot believe what has truly been going on.
Gilman gave a very similar message in her writing of “The Yellow Wall-Paper” telling the world about an unfortunate situation in society. She wanted out as the constant shaking and rattling of the bars symbolized in her writing. Also, in a way, the room is concealed thoughts of her mind and the wallpaper the barrier keeping her from breaking free. It is said that bottled up (or imprisoned) emotions are bad for health. At least she found a way to release herself and become free.
From beginning to end she describes this hideous wallpaper that is in a room she usually sleeps in. It has lurid patterns and a disgusting yellow that make you deny yellow as a color of something gracious. She also gets angry every time she sets her eyes upon it because it is so disturbing. This, in fact, is her imprisonment. As a woman in that era, she was suppose to do everything her husband told her to do and was unable to rebel against him. She uses this wallpaper to show her imprisonment as a terrible thing that she detests and it makes her sick. Her husband constantly denies her illness because, as doctors sometimes do, he does not see that he is the cause of it and he lets it got along telling her that she is improving. She angers herself constantly while trying to solve the mystery of the wallpaper because she is beginning to realize her situation in social imprisonment. She soon realizes it because the paper, “becomes bars,” at night and she sees a woman behind them (Gilman 9). This calms her now that she knows as she says after find out, “I feel ever so much better now!” (Gilman 11). She usually sees this woman in a surface that reflects images back at the observer like the windows hinting that is actually herself that she sees trying to escape that hideous prison.
She also begins speaking of the woman rattling the cage trying to get out. Obviously this is Gilman attempting to be free, but this not only done with the rattling of the figurative cage; Gilman does this with her paper as well. All of her thoughts, emotions, and feelings are revealed in that rebellious biography she writes all the time. The cult of true womanhood is once again attacked here. Charlotte does not like the idea of being second-hand to her husband and it makes her sick. She loves her husband and does what she must, but like other women, her sacrifices were not enjoyable. She speaks her pain by saying, “John does not know how much I really suffer,” and tells the audience, to prove it is not her that is just complaining, that her brother is also a doctor and says she is fine as well, showing that it is not just her husband, but all men who are like that (Gilman 3). Also notice that she never speaks down about her husband, but she just says he does not understand and he never hurts her, but just does not think anything is wrong. Anger and hate were not always involved in the feelings of women and their spouses; men just did not know how it felt to be in their shoes. Also at the end her husband faints when the prison is torn away from her. This is symbolic toward the realization of a problem. Many times when people find out an overwhelming truth about something, it is so much to think about that they are left unconscious. He did not realize his wife was so imprisoned so, in his misunderstanding, he is bombarded with thoughts in his mind. He cannot believe what has truly been going on.
Gilman gave a very similar message in her writing of “The Yellow Wall-Paper” telling the world about an unfortunate situation in society. She wanted out as the constant shaking and rattling of the bars symbolized in her writing. Also, in a way, the room is concealed thoughts of her mind and the wallpaper the barrier keeping her from breaking free. It is said that bottled up (or imprisoned) emotions are bad for health. At least she found a way to release herself and become free.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Annotated Bibliography
Smith Ralph J (2008). Engineering. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved November 14, 2008, from Encyclopedia Britannica Online database.
Encyclopedia Britannica is an online encyclopedia with virtually unlimited information about almost any topic. This source gave the basic information of what engineering is as well as a quick overview of the history of it, including its origin. Engine comes from the Latin root, “ingenerare”, meaning create and the early English language used “engine” with the meaning to contrive, and was truly first used by modern society in the military; these people ended up being called the engineers because of their work with creating new methods and machines (Smith). The first engineers were those of the Egyptians and other ancient civilizations. The Aztecs were among the first to build aqueducts to cleanse their polluted water. Engineers started way back in BC times during the building of these ancient civilizations and we use many of their ideas. There was also a list of the things engineers do, listed from increasing to decreasing emphasis on science. This source gives a fundamental background of engineering in general without going into specifics. It talked about the problems, restraints, and resources in engineering. Engineers cannot choose the problems that they want to solve, they wait and fix what occurs. Their inventions and innovations always have something that could be done to them, so the waiting is not long, if they ever call it waiting. Any problem that is fixed can add another problem which is why engineers are always needed and are always working. Engineers not only make power driven things like military weapons create an extremely large amount of things that are used in the everyday household. Something as simple as a bottle of lotion has engineering in it. The specific things that are put in it must be tested with chemical engineering to ensure functionality and safety. One of the biggest things is packaging; engineers must decide what type of material to use to keep it sealed completely, make sure it is durable, keep it functioning (i.e. the pump in a bottle of lotion), and possibly environment friendly. This is some information this source provided to help understand the basics and history of engineering.
Belford Geneva G. (2008) Computer Science: Software Engineering. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved November 14, 2008, from Encyclopedia Britannica Online database.
Britannica sometimes leaves out some knowledge about specific subject since it has such a broad variety of information. This particular article had a different approach on the profession of engineering. It took a specific approach on a single topic of engineering. As we know, there are many types of engineering, but the one focused on exclusively is software engineering. Software engineering deals with programming computers, which is basically telling them what to do. This is requiring more and more time and money so it is taken very seriously now. Software engineering did not originally exist, but after the complexity began, the topic arose. Also with more and more things being run by computers and technology, there is more need for those in the software-making business. It is also considered engineering because it needs to be approached with the extreme caution and care just like other engineering projects. There are various ways and processes that are used to design software, and although the new and effective “discipline” was added to engineering, it still has companies coughing up a lot of time and money (Belford). Obviously something had to be done about it, so they created new equipment to help those who code the software. Other problems or constraints they have also include making sure that it works for an extended and detecting all the problems that can occur. Something always happens to computers that can keep things from getting done (as everyone knows). These things must be checked for so when it does happen to you, you are able to fix it. Troubleshooting is a major part of engineering because it can determine life and death, if serious enough. This would not pertain to software as much as a car or a building, but it is still very important. This is one of the reasons software goes into the engineering field; it needs to be handled by an engineer and it must go through all the tests of operation that engineers usually put into their creations. It takes a lot more than just sitting in a cubicle to create these things.
(2008). Engineering. Facts on File. Retrieved November 12, 2008 from World News Digest Database
This is a website that keeps a record of old definitions, news, etc. and those of the present. This source was very useful to me because it taught me about other engineering fields that I did not even know existed. Most engineering began with military engineering, because it was in the government and the military’s hands to build such industrialized equipment for protection, but when more machines were being invented and created, mechanical engineering sprang up and that soon branched out into more specific categories of engineering. This can explain the reason why all engineering fields have a relation connecting them to another field. The largest field of engineering is electrical engineering, which is not a surprise because electricity is a gigantic source of energy. The power that runs your home is based off this type of engineering profession. It also includes many other fields that branch from it which are, basically the branches that use electricity the most. Civil engineering is the broadest engineering of any of the others because it deals with everyday life. This involves the building of buildings, trains, roads, bridges, railroads, docks, tunnels, and many more. These various parts begin to create their own minefields of engineering like, transportation engineering, foundation engineering, coastal engineering, etc. Civil engineering deals with how you get from point A to point B and is based pretty much off of making a modern, safe civilization. Other new fields I noticed in this article are safety and sanitary engineering. Safety engineers are just what their name is. They research ways to keep workers from getting hurt by machinery and other things that can go wrong. They suggest altercations that can make things safer both in the workplace and at home. Sanitation engineers can be best described as environmentalists. They try to keep the environment, as well as other things, clean and safe from contamination. The issues about Lake Michigan would best fall into this category, (just so that there is a better understanding). These are not the only fields of engineering; there are many more that deal with other things you may not have known about.
McEachern Martin (2008). Game Films. Applied Science and Technology. Retrieved November 16, 2008 from Ebsco Database.
This article is somewhat of a media or news based type of article, but it still gave off some valuable information. Game Films is principally about the idea, both in the filming and gaming industry, of turning movies into video games. As the article stated, this was not normal a few years back. You would usually never see a video game and a movie both about the same thing. Now, things have changed; game makers and movie makers teamed up to help make a movie/game combo. They do this by allowing the gaming company they partner with to watch the set with the director and take pictures, notes and voice samples to make the most realistic movie based game ever. Watching can also help keep the storyline intact, making more movie viewers and gamers happy, because there is not a drastic transition from movie mode to game mode. This can allow both companies to make more money because the movie making company gets money from both sides of the deal (game and movie) while the gaming industry gets money from making a game to go with the movie (which is okay because generally they would not get any money from a movie at all). It has been pretty successful lately with its ups and downs as all industries have. This article also proves, with statements like, "‘In my next film, we're planning on simultaneously developing a major motion picture and, hopefully, a major game title that coexists in the same world and that shares the same characters,’ Cameron says, " and the fact that directors are signing off contracts to gaming companies, that good or bad, this idea is still going strong (McEachern). This article was a decent piece of information about how they get things done in the gaming/movie business especially if it is something you look forward to someday. It also had an adequate bit of news in it as well as some things that some may be looking forward to. Other than that it does not provide much about or engineering but it is something interesting I wanted to know.
McEachern Martin (2008). Masters of the Game. Applied Science and Technology. Retrieved November 16, 2008 from Ebsco Database.
This article was also a typical news type of reading. This did seem to be helpful though. It was about the brawls against many other video game making companies fighting to start the next generation in gaming. Every generation has something new about, but one of the most important aspects is the advanced graphics. Everyone wants to get to that realistic look, but it takes time, something they do not have against other companies because they are always at each others’ throats. This sometimes throws off the creation time and effort and something is rushed out of production (something that should never happen). This article talks about what companies are trying to do now so it looks better later and this is helpful because it gives an outlook on where things will be in the future. If this career was chosen to get into, then you have to be able to predict where the future will be, and with companies spilling their guts out to put themselves over another company, their information is something you can benefit from to better ready yourself for the future. It also gives advanced processes used to get better graphics and a better story. The better things look, the more people will want to play it. They also give a concept that they are trying to perfect. They are trying to make the, oh so popular, yet very difficult “cinematic game,” (McEachern). This one exclusively talks about the old movie, “Hard Boiled” and takes it to the next level by adding advanced graphics, an attractive storyline, and action that will mimic or surpass that of the movie itself. This article is very thorough in its explanation of the way they would make the movie into a game as well as about the way they would add on to things. There was not a great explanation about the movie plot though. They just talk about the comparisons between the game and the movie but other than that there is no idea what the movie is about. Some more movie information would really prove their point.
Robertson Barbara (2008). Heroic Effects. Applied Science and Technology. Retrieved November 12, 2008 from Ebsco Database.
This article is about what I really want to do. It talks about how the team for Robert Zemeckis’s Beowulf made the animation for the movie. This is what I really hope to do as well as turning books and stories into movies and games. Well to do this, as the article vaguely points out, you need real people. These people are used and hooked up to a computer so that their moves are read and it tells the character made on the computer to do what the person does. This is not only used for animation; those of you that are Pirates of the Caribbean fans (especially Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End) should know that Davy Jones was created the exact same way. This adds a twist and more uniqueness to a movie, especially one that already has real people in it too (again, Pirates of the Caribbean). In this case, it was all animation. The cast of Beowulf used all real people and this, proven by the quote, “By contrast, Beowulf actors wore Lycra suits, gloves, and a hat that altogether held 78 markers on their body, 25 on each hand, and 121 on their face, plus an eye tracker that captured eye movement. Over the suits, the actors sometimes wore costumes made of tulle and other materials the cameras could see through so that, for example, a warrior could fling a cape and a woman could lift the bottom of her skirt and run,” is extremely hard and time consuming (Robertson). Every sensor must detect the right movements and do the right things to make the characters seem more lifelike and not totally computer generated. That does not even begin to talk about the many things that can go wrong with computers because you know it always happens. This article gives a very detailed description of what they did, what they used and how they did it. The pictures also show how effective their hard work paid off. It is very effective and helpful and fits the title it is given as “Heroic Effects.”
Robertson Barbara (2008). Dark Magic. Applied Science and Technology. Retrieved November 12, 2008 from Ebsco Database
This is another good example of what I would like to do. Since I am into humans with inhumane powers this article fit perfectly. This one is about the effects of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and how the creators made these effects happen so vividly. Something to note, animation does not just come out of thin air. Most (if not all) of the time there is an actual real world object used. This is one of those examples. There were many things done in this film to make it lifelike and one of those things was using lifelike items. These items are then scanned into the computer, sometimes using pictures, but it is not just the computers that must do the work. The photographers must have excellent skill and talent to make these pictures come in correctly so that they seem as if they were taken out of an actual forest. It gives a good feeling of satisfaction and completion like this, "We want people to believe in these creatures. If they see Thestrals walking through the forest and think they're real, we've all done our job," (Robertson). All of this work also involves a large amount of teamwork and cooperation. These people had, “a small crew and long schedule,” yet they still got the job done (Robertson) and this is no school project. We are talking about a Hollywood presentation! They not did their job, but they put their blood, sweat and tears into it to make sure it was done right. This is why Harry Potter movies look so well done. It need people who want to do it and look forward to the end production. This is what this article shows more than the others. This article tells about the hard work of a film especially when your crew is a little underestimated. These people still came out on top with another great Harry Potter movie and saw their production come to life in the eyes of the thousands of people who watched it. This is how every film made should be seen.
Savage Lorraine (2008). The Anime Invasion. Applied Science and Technology. Retrieved November 12, 2008 from Ebsco Database.
Many people know that Japan holds a lot of the most popular entertainment on television, that is, when it comes to animation. They also hold a large portion of the video game business too, but we will not talk about that. The Japanese have a unique way of doing things that in many ways surpasses that of America. The animation that is shown from Japan to America is called “Anime.” This is not your ordinary animation like Toy Story, or The Lion King. These animation based productions are based less off of a child’s point of view and approaches a much more mature, adult-like perspective. Many anime in America are not even meant for the eyes of those under 21. These pictures are the ones that tend to get gory or have the scenes that are questionable to certain people. Besides that, it gathers a more realistic view on life, but usually uses a science fiction twist to it. The problems of life, good and bad, are focused on in these types of shows and are set up with one of a kind plots. It is almost exactly like watching a book with a much larger amount of action, but there are more differences than just storylines and lifestyles. “Anime artists achieve the medium's distinct look by using a broader color palette than would be seen in typical Saturday morning cartoons; applying creative lighting to set mood; focusing on minute detail, such as refracted images in water, accurate historical settings, and intricate mechanical devices; and experimenting with camera angles and abstract backgrounds,” (Savage). Yes, anime uses a distinct setting with more vibrant colors and detail than other animated cinema. They appeal to more emotion and their exact detail helps you get more into the show as you see the story unfold. These stories, as said before, can also be based on actual history. Some of the people you see slashing away at their enemies are actually war generals whose legends will live on forever in Japan. Simply put anime has more meaning than most other animated films which is why it is “invading” America.
LoPiccolo Phil (2008). Anime Anthology. Applied Science and Technology. Retrieved November 16, 2008 from Ebsco Database.
This article gives a personal point of view of one of the makers of an anime called Animatrix. This is an animated version of The Matrix. The Japanese anime are truly taking over America. The interviewee seemed pretty good about his new creation and what they had done. They chose a different approach though, and made a nine part series instead of a full television series which, in a way, kept the authenticity of the movie because a television series would have had to add on to the movie to keep going. A lot of times this make a show seem inconsistent as if it was not actually based off of the real creation and should not withhold that title. This article gives an opening to new ideas and theories that Michael Arias calls, “an encyclopedia of styles and techniques,” (LoPiccolo). Many other movies and concepts can come out of this production and already have. “The Terminator,” and “Kill Bill,” are already being processed through the minds of creative producers (LoPiccolo). These will also leave a large impact on the minds of gaming and television because they have a new idea to go off of. This article is a happy ending to a new idea. It lets you know that you should show your creative side in your career because you never know how far it can take you. Creating new things or even innovating old ones can have a promising effect on the world and will give someone the possibility to sketch their names in history. It is even said that when all of your ideas are gone and your creativity seems to vanish, your best ideas come out and there is a new trend made. You also have to be able to adapt to change—think fast on the spot. That is what is needed sometimes. Arias had to work with a team that did not have the patience of wait for a full film picture, whether it was better or not. Sometimes you just have to go with things because going against them can cost you your career.
Robertson Barbara (2008). She-Dragon. Applied Science and Technology. Retrieved November 16, 2008 from Ebsco Database.
The movie Eragon had many twists to it and it was very hard to capture everything correctly so that it looked realistic. There was a lot of work to do with Saphira, the dragon. There was much research done to make her look like a real animal. This is usually the problem with fantasy animals, since there is no foundation to start them after, but this team found a way and it was very fascinating. “McIntosh turns to his computer, plays a video of a Siberian tiger rolling on her back, and then switches to footage of a newborn fawn struggling to stand. ‘I used the Siberian tiger as inspiration for the baby rolling out of the egg,’ he says. ‘And even though the fawn's legs are longer than Saphira's, it was good reference,’” (Robertson). This is when you need to improvise with things even though they may not seem right. Research is sometimes needed just to make something that it not real move. Another piece of uniqueness with Saphira was the fact that her wings were more like a bird than a usual dragon’s bat wings. This made her more majestic and realistic, but that was tough work. When using the wing of a bird there were feathers added, but soon they seemed to blend into the dragon until they turned into scales. Most of the time with a career like this you have to think outside of the box. This keeps you on top of the competition and allows your picture to come out as number one. Ingenuity is very important in things like this and can decide your career. It may not be easy, but there can be fun out of it. Also you feel good when you know you contributed to the big screen production. These things are not always enjoyable, which is why you need to know what you are doing and like what you do. Otherwise extreme difficulties will come to you. If you enjoy what you do then it will be so much easier of yourself and you really will not have to work a day of your life.
Encyclopedia Britannica is an online encyclopedia with virtually unlimited information about almost any topic. This source gave the basic information of what engineering is as well as a quick overview of the history of it, including its origin. Engine comes from the Latin root, “ingenerare”, meaning create and the early English language used “engine” with the meaning to contrive, and was truly first used by modern society in the military; these people ended up being called the engineers because of their work with creating new methods and machines (Smith). The first engineers were those of the Egyptians and other ancient civilizations. The Aztecs were among the first to build aqueducts to cleanse their polluted water. Engineers started way back in BC times during the building of these ancient civilizations and we use many of their ideas. There was also a list of the things engineers do, listed from increasing to decreasing emphasis on science. This source gives a fundamental background of engineering in general without going into specifics. It talked about the problems, restraints, and resources in engineering. Engineers cannot choose the problems that they want to solve, they wait and fix what occurs. Their inventions and innovations always have something that could be done to them, so the waiting is not long, if they ever call it waiting. Any problem that is fixed can add another problem which is why engineers are always needed and are always working. Engineers not only make power driven things like military weapons create an extremely large amount of things that are used in the everyday household. Something as simple as a bottle of lotion has engineering in it. The specific things that are put in it must be tested with chemical engineering to ensure functionality and safety. One of the biggest things is packaging; engineers must decide what type of material to use to keep it sealed completely, make sure it is durable, keep it functioning (i.e. the pump in a bottle of lotion), and possibly environment friendly. This is some information this source provided to help understand the basics and history of engineering.
Belford Geneva G. (2008) Computer Science: Software Engineering. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved November 14, 2008, from Encyclopedia Britannica Online database.
Britannica sometimes leaves out some knowledge about specific subject since it has such a broad variety of information. This particular article had a different approach on the profession of engineering. It took a specific approach on a single topic of engineering. As we know, there are many types of engineering, but the one focused on exclusively is software engineering. Software engineering deals with programming computers, which is basically telling them what to do. This is requiring more and more time and money so it is taken very seriously now. Software engineering did not originally exist, but after the complexity began, the topic arose. Also with more and more things being run by computers and technology, there is more need for those in the software-making business. It is also considered engineering because it needs to be approached with the extreme caution and care just like other engineering projects. There are various ways and processes that are used to design software, and although the new and effective “discipline” was added to engineering, it still has companies coughing up a lot of time and money (Belford). Obviously something had to be done about it, so they created new equipment to help those who code the software. Other problems or constraints they have also include making sure that it works for an extended and detecting all the problems that can occur. Something always happens to computers that can keep things from getting done (as everyone knows). These things must be checked for so when it does happen to you, you are able to fix it. Troubleshooting is a major part of engineering because it can determine life and death, if serious enough. This would not pertain to software as much as a car or a building, but it is still very important. This is one of the reasons software goes into the engineering field; it needs to be handled by an engineer and it must go through all the tests of operation that engineers usually put into their creations. It takes a lot more than just sitting in a cubicle to create these things.
(2008). Engineering. Facts on File. Retrieved November 12, 2008 from World News Digest Database
This is a website that keeps a record of old definitions, news, etc. and those of the present. This source was very useful to me because it taught me about other engineering fields that I did not even know existed. Most engineering began with military engineering, because it was in the government and the military’s hands to build such industrialized equipment for protection, but when more machines were being invented and created, mechanical engineering sprang up and that soon branched out into more specific categories of engineering. This can explain the reason why all engineering fields have a relation connecting them to another field. The largest field of engineering is electrical engineering, which is not a surprise because electricity is a gigantic source of energy. The power that runs your home is based off this type of engineering profession. It also includes many other fields that branch from it which are, basically the branches that use electricity the most. Civil engineering is the broadest engineering of any of the others because it deals with everyday life. This involves the building of buildings, trains, roads, bridges, railroads, docks, tunnels, and many more. These various parts begin to create their own minefields of engineering like, transportation engineering, foundation engineering, coastal engineering, etc. Civil engineering deals with how you get from point A to point B and is based pretty much off of making a modern, safe civilization. Other new fields I noticed in this article are safety and sanitary engineering. Safety engineers are just what their name is. They research ways to keep workers from getting hurt by machinery and other things that can go wrong. They suggest altercations that can make things safer both in the workplace and at home. Sanitation engineers can be best described as environmentalists. They try to keep the environment, as well as other things, clean and safe from contamination. The issues about Lake Michigan would best fall into this category, (just so that there is a better understanding). These are not the only fields of engineering; there are many more that deal with other things you may not have known about.
McEachern Martin (2008). Game Films. Applied Science and Technology. Retrieved November 16, 2008 from Ebsco Database.
This article is somewhat of a media or news based type of article, but it still gave off some valuable information. Game Films is principally about the idea, both in the filming and gaming industry, of turning movies into video games. As the article stated, this was not normal a few years back. You would usually never see a video game and a movie both about the same thing. Now, things have changed; game makers and movie makers teamed up to help make a movie/game combo. They do this by allowing the gaming company they partner with to watch the set with the director and take pictures, notes and voice samples to make the most realistic movie based game ever. Watching can also help keep the storyline intact, making more movie viewers and gamers happy, because there is not a drastic transition from movie mode to game mode. This can allow both companies to make more money because the movie making company gets money from both sides of the deal (game and movie) while the gaming industry gets money from making a game to go with the movie (which is okay because generally they would not get any money from a movie at all). It has been pretty successful lately with its ups and downs as all industries have. This article also proves, with statements like, "‘In my next film, we're planning on simultaneously developing a major motion picture and, hopefully, a major game title that coexists in the same world and that shares the same characters,’ Cameron says, " and the fact that directors are signing off contracts to gaming companies, that good or bad, this idea is still going strong (McEachern). This article was a decent piece of information about how they get things done in the gaming/movie business especially if it is something you look forward to someday. It also had an adequate bit of news in it as well as some things that some may be looking forward to. Other than that it does not provide much about or engineering but it is something interesting I wanted to know.
McEachern Martin (2008). Masters of the Game. Applied Science and Technology. Retrieved November 16, 2008 from Ebsco Database.
This article was also a typical news type of reading. This did seem to be helpful though. It was about the brawls against many other video game making companies fighting to start the next generation in gaming. Every generation has something new about, but one of the most important aspects is the advanced graphics. Everyone wants to get to that realistic look, but it takes time, something they do not have against other companies because they are always at each others’ throats. This sometimes throws off the creation time and effort and something is rushed out of production (something that should never happen). This article talks about what companies are trying to do now so it looks better later and this is helpful because it gives an outlook on where things will be in the future. If this career was chosen to get into, then you have to be able to predict where the future will be, and with companies spilling their guts out to put themselves over another company, their information is something you can benefit from to better ready yourself for the future. It also gives advanced processes used to get better graphics and a better story. The better things look, the more people will want to play it. They also give a concept that they are trying to perfect. They are trying to make the, oh so popular, yet very difficult “cinematic game,” (McEachern). This one exclusively talks about the old movie, “Hard Boiled” and takes it to the next level by adding advanced graphics, an attractive storyline, and action that will mimic or surpass that of the movie itself. This article is very thorough in its explanation of the way they would make the movie into a game as well as about the way they would add on to things. There was not a great explanation about the movie plot though. They just talk about the comparisons between the game and the movie but other than that there is no idea what the movie is about. Some more movie information would really prove their point.
Robertson Barbara (2008). Heroic Effects. Applied Science and Technology. Retrieved November 12, 2008 from Ebsco Database.
This article is about what I really want to do. It talks about how the team for Robert Zemeckis’s Beowulf made the animation for the movie. This is what I really hope to do as well as turning books and stories into movies and games. Well to do this, as the article vaguely points out, you need real people. These people are used and hooked up to a computer so that their moves are read and it tells the character made on the computer to do what the person does. This is not only used for animation; those of you that are Pirates of the Caribbean fans (especially Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End) should know that Davy Jones was created the exact same way. This adds a twist and more uniqueness to a movie, especially one that already has real people in it too (again, Pirates of the Caribbean). In this case, it was all animation. The cast of Beowulf used all real people and this, proven by the quote, “By contrast, Beowulf actors wore Lycra suits, gloves, and a hat that altogether held 78 markers on their body, 25 on each hand, and 121 on their face, plus an eye tracker that captured eye movement. Over the suits, the actors sometimes wore costumes made of tulle and other materials the cameras could see through so that, for example, a warrior could fling a cape and a woman could lift the bottom of her skirt and run,” is extremely hard and time consuming (Robertson). Every sensor must detect the right movements and do the right things to make the characters seem more lifelike and not totally computer generated. That does not even begin to talk about the many things that can go wrong with computers because you know it always happens. This article gives a very detailed description of what they did, what they used and how they did it. The pictures also show how effective their hard work paid off. It is very effective and helpful and fits the title it is given as “Heroic Effects.”
Robertson Barbara (2008). Dark Magic. Applied Science and Technology. Retrieved November 12, 2008 from Ebsco Database
This is another good example of what I would like to do. Since I am into humans with inhumane powers this article fit perfectly. This one is about the effects of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and how the creators made these effects happen so vividly. Something to note, animation does not just come out of thin air. Most (if not all) of the time there is an actual real world object used. This is one of those examples. There were many things done in this film to make it lifelike and one of those things was using lifelike items. These items are then scanned into the computer, sometimes using pictures, but it is not just the computers that must do the work. The photographers must have excellent skill and talent to make these pictures come in correctly so that they seem as if they were taken out of an actual forest. It gives a good feeling of satisfaction and completion like this, "We want people to believe in these creatures. If they see Thestrals walking through the forest and think they're real, we've all done our job," (Robertson). All of this work also involves a large amount of teamwork and cooperation. These people had, “a small crew and long schedule,” yet they still got the job done (Robertson) and this is no school project. We are talking about a Hollywood presentation! They not did their job, but they put their blood, sweat and tears into it to make sure it was done right. This is why Harry Potter movies look so well done. It need people who want to do it and look forward to the end production. This is what this article shows more than the others. This article tells about the hard work of a film especially when your crew is a little underestimated. These people still came out on top with another great Harry Potter movie and saw their production come to life in the eyes of the thousands of people who watched it. This is how every film made should be seen.
Savage Lorraine (2008). The Anime Invasion. Applied Science and Technology. Retrieved November 12, 2008 from Ebsco Database.
Many people know that Japan holds a lot of the most popular entertainment on television, that is, when it comes to animation. They also hold a large portion of the video game business too, but we will not talk about that. The Japanese have a unique way of doing things that in many ways surpasses that of America. The animation that is shown from Japan to America is called “Anime.” This is not your ordinary animation like Toy Story, or The Lion King. These animation based productions are based less off of a child’s point of view and approaches a much more mature, adult-like perspective. Many anime in America are not even meant for the eyes of those under 21. These pictures are the ones that tend to get gory or have the scenes that are questionable to certain people. Besides that, it gathers a more realistic view on life, but usually uses a science fiction twist to it. The problems of life, good and bad, are focused on in these types of shows and are set up with one of a kind plots. It is almost exactly like watching a book with a much larger amount of action, but there are more differences than just storylines and lifestyles. “Anime artists achieve the medium's distinct look by using a broader color palette than would be seen in typical Saturday morning cartoons; applying creative lighting to set mood; focusing on minute detail, such as refracted images in water, accurate historical settings, and intricate mechanical devices; and experimenting with camera angles and abstract backgrounds,” (Savage). Yes, anime uses a distinct setting with more vibrant colors and detail than other animated cinema. They appeal to more emotion and their exact detail helps you get more into the show as you see the story unfold. These stories, as said before, can also be based on actual history. Some of the people you see slashing away at their enemies are actually war generals whose legends will live on forever in Japan. Simply put anime has more meaning than most other animated films which is why it is “invading” America.
LoPiccolo Phil (2008). Anime Anthology. Applied Science and Technology. Retrieved November 16, 2008 from Ebsco Database.
This article gives a personal point of view of one of the makers of an anime called Animatrix. This is an animated version of The Matrix. The Japanese anime are truly taking over America. The interviewee seemed pretty good about his new creation and what they had done. They chose a different approach though, and made a nine part series instead of a full television series which, in a way, kept the authenticity of the movie because a television series would have had to add on to the movie to keep going. A lot of times this make a show seem inconsistent as if it was not actually based off of the real creation and should not withhold that title. This article gives an opening to new ideas and theories that Michael Arias calls, “an encyclopedia of styles and techniques,” (LoPiccolo). Many other movies and concepts can come out of this production and already have. “The Terminator,” and “Kill Bill,” are already being processed through the minds of creative producers (LoPiccolo). These will also leave a large impact on the minds of gaming and television because they have a new idea to go off of. This article is a happy ending to a new idea. It lets you know that you should show your creative side in your career because you never know how far it can take you. Creating new things or even innovating old ones can have a promising effect on the world and will give someone the possibility to sketch their names in history. It is even said that when all of your ideas are gone and your creativity seems to vanish, your best ideas come out and there is a new trend made. You also have to be able to adapt to change—think fast on the spot. That is what is needed sometimes. Arias had to work with a team that did not have the patience of wait for a full film picture, whether it was better or not. Sometimes you just have to go with things because going against them can cost you your career.
Robertson Barbara (2008). She-Dragon. Applied Science and Technology. Retrieved November 16, 2008 from Ebsco Database.
The movie Eragon had many twists to it and it was very hard to capture everything correctly so that it looked realistic. There was a lot of work to do with Saphira, the dragon. There was much research done to make her look like a real animal. This is usually the problem with fantasy animals, since there is no foundation to start them after, but this team found a way and it was very fascinating. “McIntosh turns to his computer, plays a video of a Siberian tiger rolling on her back, and then switches to footage of a newborn fawn struggling to stand. ‘I used the Siberian tiger as inspiration for the baby rolling out of the egg,’ he says. ‘And even though the fawn's legs are longer than Saphira's, it was good reference,’” (Robertson). This is when you need to improvise with things even though they may not seem right. Research is sometimes needed just to make something that it not real move. Another piece of uniqueness with Saphira was the fact that her wings were more like a bird than a usual dragon’s bat wings. This made her more majestic and realistic, but that was tough work. When using the wing of a bird there were feathers added, but soon they seemed to blend into the dragon until they turned into scales. Most of the time with a career like this you have to think outside of the box. This keeps you on top of the competition and allows your picture to come out as number one. Ingenuity is very important in things like this and can decide your career. It may not be easy, but there can be fun out of it. Also you feel good when you know you contributed to the big screen production. These things are not always enjoyable, which is why you need to know what you are doing and like what you do. Otherwise extreme difficulties will come to you. If you enjoy what you do then it will be so much easier of yourself and you really will not have to work a day of your life.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Pit and the Pendulum Packet Response
Jeanne Malloy’s The Apocalyptic Imagery and the Fragmentation of the Psyche: “The Pit and the Pendulum” criticizes the story as well as the author, Edgar Allan Poe. She brings out many ideas about his writing. She goes in depth with the idea of religion based on his writing and critiques it using the topic as a direct attack on Poe claiming he is, “inconsistent with the themes of many of Poe’s other stories,” (Malloy 84). She also brings out the point of the prison that the narrator is in depicts a womb, along with the unknown sounds, constricting walls and the darkness. This was used as a lever to reach towards her comparison towards his romanticism. Malloy also utilizes many sources and other stories to compare, contrast and criticize his writing. Her points are generally set up to flow one into the other, yet every paragraph is like a story of her own. It has a beginning, the thing she wants to point out, and the end but the hinted sequels at the end of each paragraph keeps it moving despite its constant jumping from topic to topic. She kept a constant main topic of religion and many other subtopics to tie back to this main point. Several pages use something referring back to the Bible (savior, revelation, Christ, divine, etc.). These things make her analysis very thorough and informative, but it does have its flaws.
Despite her many well thought out point, this is actually her weakness. She has too many points. There is too much to think about and too much information given. Although she did refer to one main topic, this does not mean u can use a vast amount of other topics to go with it. There could have been more information to write about without repeating herself, which is what she was trying to avoid and did (too well). With too many points you can seem like you contradict yourself, in which she seems to do. She starts off by judging Poe’s reference to there being a savior despite dark times, yet describes his rhetoric and, “brilliant and daring,” (Malloy 92). Going back and forth between two opinions, while arguing one of them, can make a reader question the credibility of the writer. Even a paper with no limits can seem to jump around too much. You cannot take to broad of an approach, no matter what your restriction or freedom is.
A more aligned goal would make this a much easier analysis to read. If she would have kept the religion point, and not strayed too far away from it, it would make more sense. Just adding religious dialect is not enough to keep people pinned to your point. It must be a pathway without many distractions. A straightforward path gives straightforward answers. Doing this can avoid contradiction and keep the audience’s attention a lot easier. If someone has to keep shifting their eyes from one place to another just to keep up they will soon quit; this is similar with reading. A person’s brain cannot continuously shift around from topic to topic. If interest is lost in the beginning the audience will not see the good topics at the end, which is what she had. This critique is a very good one, but needs a narrower set of points to prove her main one. This can stop contradiction and keep the audience on the right path: the one into your mind.
Despite her many well thought out point, this is actually her weakness. She has too many points. There is too much to think about and too much information given. Although she did refer to one main topic, this does not mean u can use a vast amount of other topics to go with it. There could have been more information to write about without repeating herself, which is what she was trying to avoid and did (too well). With too many points you can seem like you contradict yourself, in which she seems to do. She starts off by judging Poe’s reference to there being a savior despite dark times, yet describes his rhetoric and, “brilliant and daring,” (Malloy 92). Going back and forth between two opinions, while arguing one of them, can make a reader question the credibility of the writer. Even a paper with no limits can seem to jump around too much. You cannot take to broad of an approach, no matter what your restriction or freedom is.
A more aligned goal would make this a much easier analysis to read. If she would have kept the religion point, and not strayed too far away from it, it would make more sense. Just adding religious dialect is not enough to keep people pinned to your point. It must be a pathway without many distractions. A straightforward path gives straightforward answers. Doing this can avoid contradiction and keep the audience’s attention a lot easier. If someone has to keep shifting their eyes from one place to another just to keep up they will soon quit; this is similar with reading. A person’s brain cannot continuously shift around from topic to topic. If interest is lost in the beginning the audience will not see the good topics at the end, which is what she had. This critique is a very good one, but needs a narrower set of points to prove her main one. This can stop contradiction and keep the audience on the right path: the one into your mind.
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