Monday, May 2, 2011
The death of Bin Laden
I (kind of) understand why Bin Laden's death can bring joy to people, especially to those who lost friends and family in 9/11. But my personal opinion is on the flip side. I don't like the idea of celebrating a death. i know that Bin Laden has done terrible things, but killing him is the "easy" thing to do, not the "right" thing. The right thing to do would be to capture him, tell him why what he's doing is bad, and maybe even refer to Muslim texts that say that killing women and children is bad. This may seem difficult, but the right thing is seldom easy. It is, however, possible. Every life on this planet has the capicity to help others. If someone is killed before they get that chance, then their life is wasted. If somebody dies "fighting for what's right" then they're life is wasted. If nobody fought, and nobody was killed, then we could all find solutions to the world's problems, together. Any, and yes I mean ANY time a human kills another human, that is the worst kind of crime there is. Because the victim could have helped so many more. No offense to the families and friends of 9/11 victims, but this man shouldn't have died. Those who lost loved ones are in a mindset filled with anger and grief, but if they understand that people can change, that will give them more satisfaction than "an eye for an eye". I have seen the videos of people parading the streets, all of them jolly that this man is dead, but how different was this from the videos of Taliban burning American flags firing AK-47s in the air? In ANY case of someone finding joy over someone else's misfourtunes is evil in its self. But Are the troops in Afghanistan evil for "fighting for their country"? in a sense, yes. But it's not their fault. They just don't know that what they are doing is wrong, neither do the Taliban. Once the world knows these truths, the World will know peace. Ignorance is the bliss, and there are so many ignorant people in the world right now.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Maus-night blog
There are so many similarities between the bboks Maus and Night that one would wonder if the authors were twins who underwent the same conditions. Well maybe not. Anyway, not only did both protagonists go to Auschwitz, they both had similar feelings and experiences. In both books, there are rumors of the Nazis burning jews: before or after their death. Also, in Maus and Night alike, the main caracter ends up injured and in the hospital, where they recieve better treatment and more meals. In both cases, the historical event of the evacuation of Auschwitz promoted similar feelings, like the fear of being shot, but also the desire to stay and attempt to escape the Nazi's oppressive grip. But sinse they both end up leaving, they end up going on the imfamous "run".
Even though both caracters underwent similar emotions and experiences, their pre-war lives gave them different paths in the camp. In Maus, Art's father was a skilled craftsman and shoe-repairer. These advantages gave him good work that paid off during his stay at the camp. The survivor in Maus also could speak Polish and English. He used this knowledge to teach his Kapo in exchange for good food and low work. However; in Night, the protagonists' situation was much different. Elie at the time was just a child, and needed to take care of his father constantly. He was also easily controlled by other Jews in the camp. At one point he was told to abandon his father and fend for himself, and he did end up contemplating it. Furthermore, sinse he was just a kid, he had no special skills or talents that would help him get work.
In my opinion, Maus is more reader-friendly. It uses cartoony caracters, hence the pigs, mice and cats, and is formatted like a comic strip. Night is more dark and the main caracter seems more hopeless as he must fend for himself AND his father, with no particular skills. Maus includes a crafty and intelligent main caracter which takes away from some of the melancholy of the subject. I preferred the book Maus.
Even though both caracters underwent similar emotions and experiences, their pre-war lives gave them different paths in the camp. In Maus, Art's father was a skilled craftsman and shoe-repairer. These advantages gave him good work that paid off during his stay at the camp. The survivor in Maus also could speak Polish and English. He used this knowledge to teach his Kapo in exchange for good food and low work. However; in Night, the protagonists' situation was much different. Elie at the time was just a child, and needed to take care of his father constantly. He was also easily controlled by other Jews in the camp. At one point he was told to abandon his father and fend for himself, and he did end up contemplating it. Furthermore, sinse he was just a kid, he had no special skills or talents that would help him get work.
In my opinion, Maus is more reader-friendly. It uses cartoony caracters, hence the pigs, mice and cats, and is formatted like a comic strip. Night is more dark and the main caracter seems more hopeless as he must fend for himself AND his father, with no particular skills. Maus includes a crafty and intelligent main caracter which takes away from some of the melancholy of the subject. I preferred the book Maus.
slaughterhouse 5 rewrite ( i didnt know how else to upload it)
Noah Boltik
Slaughterhouse five
“If I hadn’t spent so much time studying Earthlings," said the Tralfamadorian, "I wouldn’t have any idea what was meant by 'free will.' I've visited thirty-one inhabited planets in the universe, and I have studied reports on one hundred more. Only on Earth is there any talk of free will." A reoccurring theme in the novel Slaughterhouse Five is that free will is just an illusion, and seeing as this book is an anti-war book, it can be concluded that Billy keeps telling himself that he could not change the events that happened in the war so he could psychologically deal with the senseless destruction he has witnessed, there is also no doubt that he created the fantasy world of Tralfamadore for the sole purpose of trying to explain to himself why humanity is so cruel. The book promotes this idea: War is such a horrible and meaningless thing that it will cause all of those who have seen it to try to cope with it by getting lost in self-pity, losing faith in one’s ability to control things around them, and making themselves try to find ways to take away the guilt of being the destructive humans they think they are.
In the third chapter, the author explains how Billy had framed a prayer in his office. This prayer was supposed to make people “keep going”, although Billy soon after subtly claims to have no enthusiasm for living (because of his war experiences). The prayer says “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom always to tell the difference.” The book goes on to say “Among the things Billy Pilgrim could not change were the past, the present, and the future." This quote explains that Pilgrim greatly pities himself with the belief that he cannot control the things around him. He does this to handle his war memories.
In chapter 4, Billy tells how the Tralfamadorians see all of time as a simultaneous and reoccurring spectrum: “All time is all time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It simply is.” This quote explains how Billy believes that all events are unexplainable; that one cannot control events, and that one should not try to begin to understand life around them. He loses faith in his ability to control things to try to manage his feelings and memories about the war.
In the next chapter, Billy is still on Tralfamadore, and is trying to urge the guide to tell him the secrets of peace so that he could go back to Earth and stop the humans’ wars before his planet destroys the Universe, but the Tralfamadorians tell Billy that they know how the Universe ends. They say “We blow it up, experimenting with new fuels for our flying saucers. A Tralfamadorian test pilot presses a starter button, and the whole Universe disappears.” Billy creates this scene in his head to take away some of his guilt about war; even his guilt about being a human. The alien also later explains that humans should ignore awful times and concentrate on the good ones, further expanding on the idea that Billy is just trying to live with what he’s seen in Dresdon.
Friday, March 4, 2011
restrpo, fallen angels
Watching Restrepo helped me understand Fallen Angels better. Watching two of the marines "friendly fighting", for example, in the barracks reminded me of the scene in Fallen Angels where Monaco pulled out a fake grenade and pretended to try to kill everyone; in both cases they show their manliness for fun. When a marine in the movie Restrepo calls the barracks a "hooch" this reminded me of when Perry learns the same word in Fallen Angels. When Jenkins is killed by a random landmine explosion, it is kind of like the explosion by the jeep in the beginning of Restrepo. When the marines in the movie first go into a local village and try to build relations, its like when Perry's squad goes into the hamlet and talks with the locals. But the villigers are threatened by the enemies of the Americans, just like in the movie. There are many scenes in Restrepo where it shows the marines just waiting around their outpost, then suddenly a firefight breaks out; this resembles the theme in Fallen Angels of "hours of waiting, seconds of terror" Also, the scene where a marine is playing his guitar resembles the chess games Perry played in Fallen Angels. Furthermore, in Restrepo, they named the outpost restrepo in honor of a fallen soldier. This is much like the squad praying for Lieutenant Carrol's death. In battle, the book would describe Johnson setting up behind sandbags and lighting up anything that moved. This is a lot like when the machine gunner in Restrepo shoots off many shots towards the enemy. Finally, when you see the bombs being dropped off on the hills it reminds me of Perry's description of mortar showers
Both the book Fallen Angels and the documentary Restrepo showed me all of the difficulties of war. For one, watching your squadmates die is a horrible burden. Whether it's when Jenkins dies by a landmine, or Restrepo bleeding out in an evac heelicopter, the squad gets very emotional for their passing. Also, working on local relations seems to be a difficulty shared by Perry and Restrepo's squad. In the book, Perry had to go and risk his life and defend a village from Viet Cong, but in Restrepo, the leader had to try and negotiate a refund for the death of their cow, where no compromize was actually made. Finally, in both the novel and the documentary, the military squads are forced to go on dangerous missions. In Restrepo, operation "Rock Avalanche" was the worst mission the squad went on; they were ambushed, flanked and picked off. In the Fallen Angels, when Perry was separated from his squad, it was a horrible experience for him
Both the book Fallen Angels and the documentary Restrepo showed me all of the difficulties of war. For one, watching your squadmates die is a horrible burden. Whether it's when Jenkins dies by a landmine, or Restrepo bleeding out in an evac heelicopter, the squad gets very emotional for their passing. Also, working on local relations seems to be a difficulty shared by Perry and Restrepo's squad. In the book, Perry had to go and risk his life and defend a village from Viet Cong, but in Restrepo, the leader had to try and negotiate a refund for the death of their cow, where no compromize was actually made. Finally, in both the novel and the documentary, the military squads are forced to go on dangerous missions. In Restrepo, operation "Rock Avalanche" was the worst mission the squad went on; they were ambushed, flanked and picked off. In the Fallen Angels, when Perry was separated from his squad, it was a horrible experience for him
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Please list 10 ways you can improve your essay scores
1. spending more time finding a good intro quote 6. better word choice
2 expresse main point better 7 re-reading my essay when done writing.
3. find better quotes 8. read question more thoroughly
4. explain quotes better 9. Have more parts of the question in my thesis
5. check grammar more 10. Use a stronger voice
Please write any 15 thoughts about the book Slaughterhouse-5. For each thought, please refer to a specific part of the book that generated this thought (for instance, “It was funny” receives no credit; “It was funny when he described the Tralfamadorians” receives full credit).
1. It promotes anti-war when Billy describes the war show on T.V. going backwards.
2. It was sad when the old hobo dies in the train.
3. It was intriguing when the Tralfamadorians talk about how the world ends.
4. It was throught-provoking when Billy describes the appearance of the Tralfamadorians
5. It was strange when Billy gave the Marksman a second chance at shooting him.
6.It was thought-provoking when the British POWs were more respected than the Americans.
7. It was ironic that the Germans helped Billy out of the Train.
8. It was ironic when Billy got the only civilian coat in the POW camp.
9. It was intruiging when Billy knows his futur.
10. It was Anti-war related when Billy gets emotional when he's reminded of the bombing of Dresdon
11. It is plot-twisting when you find out the Trout made a book just like Billy's tale
12. It is interesting how Billy describes the chapelain's job
13. It is descusting how Billy describes is daughter
14. It is sad when Billy sees the wounded horse
15. It is ironic how Billy is put in the same hospital room as a History teacher who is researching the Bombing of Dresdon.
State 5 possible themes for the book Slaughterhouse-5.
1. We don't fight because we hate others and want to kill them, we fight because we think we need to.
2. Death is no small matter, but it is innevitable.
3. We truely can't control much on Earth, so there's no point in worrying about that which we cannot control.
4. A good way to live is to look at the better parts of life.
5. Suffering is a pain worse than death.
Write a conversation between yourself and Billy Pilgrim in which he tries to teach you a lesson based on his own experiences. You must explain IN DEPTH at least 3 specific events and details from the book in order to receive full credit. This conversation should go on as long as it takes to demonstrate YOUR UNDERSTANDING of Billy’s experiences.
Billy: You look sad, Noah.
Noah: I am. My grandpa died yesterday.
B: so it goes.
N: What? How could you be so care-free about death!?! The least you could say is "I'm sorry to hear that".
B: Your grandpa is dead in this moment, put is in perfect condition in other.
N: huh?
B: Let me tell you about my experiences on Tralfamadore. I was abducted by aliens and put in a zoo on the planet Tralfamadore. They could communicate with me with a loudspeaker. And I learned many thing from them. You see, Tralfamadorians see in four dimensions, the fourth one being time. On their planet, they informed me of many things about how they perceive time, one of which is that people never really die, they see what things were, are, and are going to be, all at the same time. You should cherish the memories you had with him, instead of grieving for his loss.
N: Interesting point. But i doubt that you were really abducted by aliens.
B: I didn't think you would. But think about this. The Tralfamadorians also cherish all of the good parts about life. They do have wars in certain parts of their history, and they do know that they are responsible for the end of the Universe, but they would rather spend time at my zoo than reminisce over they're losses. Maybe you should do the same. In a week you will have taken my advice and you will notice how much better off you are; you will be a lot more hesitant about calling me insane.
N: I never called you insane
B: No, but in 12 days you will find me and tell me that you THOUGHT I was insane.
N: How do you know that?
B: oh ya. I'm a time traveller.
N: Right. (sarcasm)
B: Fine. Then I will tell you about my experiences in World War II.
N: Wouldn't you be a little older if you were in World War II?
B: Um.... well...... ahem AS I WAS SAYING, In world war II after the bombing of Dresdon, In which my prison camp was located, I left the burning city and found what i could to get back home. Along my travels i found a horse, but it wasn't until later that i realized it was bleeding. The poor horse was suffering the whole time. A massive burst of melancholy overcame me.
N: So you do have feelings for loss.
B: Pain is not the same as death. Death is innevitable. Pain is not. One can realize that death is near, and can embrace it. Pain, however, is a horrible thing to have kept in a moment.
N: I'm not sure how, but this made me feel better about my grandpa's death.
B: So it goes.
N: Would you shut up already? I swear I'm gonna kill you.;
B: so it goes.
N: (sigh)
1. spending more time finding a good intro quote 6. better word choice
2 expresse main point better 7 re-reading my essay when done writing.
3. find better quotes 8. read question more thoroughly
4. explain quotes better 9. Have more parts of the question in my thesis
5. check grammar more 10. Use a stronger voice
Please write any 15 thoughts about the book Slaughterhouse-5. For each thought, please refer to a specific part of the book that generated this thought (for instance, “It was funny” receives no credit; “It was funny when he described the Tralfamadorians” receives full credit).
1. It promotes anti-war when Billy describes the war show on T.V. going backwards.
2. It was sad when the old hobo dies in the train.
3. It was intriguing when the Tralfamadorians talk about how the world ends.
4. It was throught-provoking when Billy describes the appearance of the Tralfamadorians
5. It was strange when Billy gave the Marksman a second chance at shooting him.
6.It was thought-provoking when the British POWs were more respected than the Americans.
7. It was ironic that the Germans helped Billy out of the Train.
8. It was ironic when Billy got the only civilian coat in the POW camp.
9. It was intruiging when Billy knows his futur.
10. It was Anti-war related when Billy gets emotional when he's reminded of the bombing of Dresdon
11. It is plot-twisting when you find out the Trout made a book just like Billy's tale
12. It is interesting how Billy describes the chapelain's job
13. It is descusting how Billy describes is daughter
14. It is sad when Billy sees the wounded horse
15. It is ironic how Billy is put in the same hospital room as a History teacher who is researching the Bombing of Dresdon.
State 5 possible themes for the book Slaughterhouse-5.
1. We don't fight because we hate others and want to kill them, we fight because we think we need to.
2. Death is no small matter, but it is innevitable.
3. We truely can't control much on Earth, so there's no point in worrying about that which we cannot control.
4. A good way to live is to look at the better parts of life.
5. Suffering is a pain worse than death.
Write a conversation between yourself and Billy Pilgrim in which he tries to teach you a lesson based on his own experiences. You must explain IN DEPTH at least 3 specific events and details from the book in order to receive full credit. This conversation should go on as long as it takes to demonstrate YOUR UNDERSTANDING of Billy’s experiences.
Billy: You look sad, Noah.
Noah: I am. My grandpa died yesterday.
B: so it goes.
N: What? How could you be so care-free about death!?! The least you could say is "I'm sorry to hear that".
B: Your grandpa is dead in this moment, put is in perfect condition in other.
N: huh?
B: Let me tell you about my experiences on Tralfamadore. I was abducted by aliens and put in a zoo on the planet Tralfamadore. They could communicate with me with a loudspeaker. And I learned many thing from them. You see, Tralfamadorians see in four dimensions, the fourth one being time. On their planet, they informed me of many things about how they perceive time, one of which is that people never really die, they see what things were, are, and are going to be, all at the same time. You should cherish the memories you had with him, instead of grieving for his loss.
N: Interesting point. But i doubt that you were really abducted by aliens.
B: I didn't think you would. But think about this. The Tralfamadorians also cherish all of the good parts about life. They do have wars in certain parts of their history, and they do know that they are responsible for the end of the Universe, but they would rather spend time at my zoo than reminisce over they're losses. Maybe you should do the same. In a week you will have taken my advice and you will notice how much better off you are; you will be a lot more hesitant about calling me insane.
N: I never called you insane
B: No, but in 12 days you will find me and tell me that you THOUGHT I was insane.
N: How do you know that?
B: oh ya. I'm a time traveller.
N: Right. (sarcasm)
B: Fine. Then I will tell you about my experiences in World War II.
N: Wouldn't you be a little older if you were in World War II?
B: Um.... well...... ahem AS I WAS SAYING, In world war II after the bombing of Dresdon, In which my prison camp was located, I left the burning city and found what i could to get back home. Along my travels i found a horse, but it wasn't until later that i realized it was bleeding. The poor horse was suffering the whole time. A massive burst of melancholy overcame me.
N: So you do have feelings for loss.
B: Pain is not the same as death. Death is innevitable. Pain is not. One can realize that death is near, and can embrace it. Pain, however, is a horrible thing to have kept in a moment.
N: I'm not sure how, but this made me feel better about my grandpa's death.
B: So it goes.
N: Would you shut up already? I swear I'm gonna kill you.;
B: so it goes.
N: (sigh)
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Siddhartha blog
In the book Siddhartha, the topic of following you own path reoccurs many times in different ways. When Siddhartha's best friend Govinda tells him that he wants to stay with the Buddha, Siddhartha replies: "Often i have thought: will Govinda ever take a step without me, from his own conviction? Now, you are a man and have chosen your own path." (pg. 30) This shows that the ability of knowing what is right for you is a mature and useful skill. As adult as choosing your own path is, it is still a bitter-sweet concept. When Siddhartha's own son abandons him, he reflects upon his actions with this quote: "He remembered how once, as a youth, he had compelled his father to let him go and join the ascetics... Has his father not suffered the same pain that he was now suffering for his son?" this tells us that when someone says good-bye to you for the last time, it may seem bad at first, but that person is making a decision for the better. I know how this feels because i had to say good-bye to my brother when he went to college, i felt sad at first, but i realized that he was a grown up, and he could handle his own decisions the right way.
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