When I was

When I was young (well younger),
I was shy, and I was scared
I hid behind my father's legs,
afraid of anything that would break or chip away me.
When I was young (well younger),
I didn't know that it was okay to be different
I walked with my head hung low,
trying to blend in with the crowd.

Now,
I am resilient, and I am aware
I face my fears head on,
knowing that fear only has the power that I give it.
Now,
I see that everyone is different, that's what make us human
I dance in the streets,
without a care in the world of who sees.

Looking back on my life the biggest change I noticed that took place was my self-confidence. I used to be so afraid of people judging me if I said the wrong thing or acted the wrong way, so I kept everything bottled up in my head.  What the IB program taught me is that no matter what thought was bouncing around in my head, it was okay to share it. The last two years of my life have been a true roller coaster, but I was lucky enough to be in an environment where everyone around me was riding the same ride.  When ever we were were thrown into a loop, or jolted into a jagged turn, we just kept looking forward to when the ride would end, not really appreciating how it would make us stronger.  Now when the cart is climbing the last hill, using the remainder of its energy, I hope that we will be ready for what ever comes, no matter how high or steep the drop.  And when the ride is over I wish that we will realize how truly great it was.

Witty Whitman's Wonderful Writings

People always say that people with the sloppiest handwriting are often the people that have great intelligence.  Looking at Whitman's notebook visually displays this great phenomenon.  It is extremely difficult to read, or even make out some words in Whitman;s notebook because his slanted cursive handwriting is all over the notebook, with no clear organization, and several things are crossed out.  This sloppy mess of a notebook is justified by my theory that Whitman did not care how clearly he was writing, he just wrote down something in this notebook whenever it came to him, before it left his memory.  Also the pencil marks go from light to dark showing that Whitman took and wrote in this notebook whether he had a surface to write on or not.  This also explains the strong connection the elements of nature had to inspire his poems.

Some of the words and short phrases that I could make out where "and you,""clouds of death," and "stuff you are made of."  These few lines stood out to me that most because they we written on their own lines in Whitman's notebook, and they were in larger handwriting than the other lines surrounding them.  Since they are larger, i think that these were the lines that Whitman started or ended some of his poems with, because the lines were at the top or the bottom of the page in his notebook.

Its noted that the images began to fill the pages of the notebook.  What I noticed about the images were that they started to become more abstract and stranger in nature. The explanation that The New York Times give for these illustrations were that Whitman would pass his notebook around, usually in a bar, resulting in strange portraits of Whitman.  The illustration of a figure with a skull and a heart pierced by a rapier is said to be "an allegory of America itself, poised in a strange halfway state, suspended between day and night, life and death."  This allegory makes sense especially because Whitman compares America to a boat in bad weather.  Now the hat that the figure in the illustration looks like Abraham Lincoln's famous top hat, and this could represent the influence that Lincoln had on Whitman and how Whitman may feel like he has to carry on that burden. 

American Pie

1. How would you describe the “American Dream?”

James Truslow Adams defines the "American Dream" as a "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" regardless of social class or circumstances of birth.  I strongly agree with his perspective, the "American Dream" provides opportunities for individuals to grow and develop in order to create a 'good' life for themselves as well as their loves ones.  The "American Dream" is not always easily obtainable for everyone, some "American Dreams" are easier to accomplish than others based on the person's advantages, and disadvantages that they are given.

2. What is your definition of wealth?

I define wealth differently than most, I concentrate on quality rather than quantity, and goes beyond a quantity of number.  Wealth for me its not how many friends I have, or how many clubs or hobbies I'm involved in, instead it is in the nature of those friendships and extracurriculars.  Wealth and value is found in how these friends or loved ones and extracurricular activities impact my life, the lessons they have taught me, and the memories that they have provided me with.

 

3. What are Americans’ attitudes toward wealth and poverty?

Americans' attitudes toward wealth and poverty are mostly materialistic.  Only those who have a high income, and can afford certain goods and products are 'wealthy' and those who can not are 'poor'. Not only can these words describe the economic value of someone, but also the life that they were given.  People that are 'fortunate' have everything handed to them, they do not necessarily have to prove them selves to establish their worth, or to accomplish their "American Dream".  Those who are 'less fortunate' have to work hard, and constantly prove their value to others in order to accomplish their "American Dream."

4. What is your attitude toward wealth and poverty?

My attitude towards wealth and poverty is measured again by happiness and quality over quantity.  You are considered a 'wealthy' person if your life is filled with people that cherish and care for you as much as you do for them, it is having people that you can depend on no matter what life throws your way.  It also your attitude about life, people who are 'wealthy' have overcome multiple obstacles that stood in their way, have learned from their mistakes, and are courageous in their actions.  I hope to be what I define as wealthy in my life, as I hope so do many others.  Those that are 'poor' do not have to be living in poverty, or financially struggling in anyway, but are struggling emotionally.  What is the point of the expensive things, if you have no one to share them with.  

FREEBIE!

Freebie!

I Ain't Afraid of No IOC

*Mrs. Genesky, the recording would not properly upload, I sent an email to you*

Criterion A: 5, I would make sure that my comments are well-supported references from both the except and the text as a whole.
Criterion B: 4, I would focus more on the effect that the literary features have on the readers.
Criterion C: 3, I would focus more on my transitions between the introduction, the body paragraphs, and the conclusion.  I would also make sure my conclusion is better thought out.
Criterion D: 3, Again I would try to explain my thoughts more coherently.

Judging a Book by its Cover

       

Although all four cover have visual differences, they are intended for the same novel, Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro.  The visual differences of these book covers represent the content of the novel in different eye-catching ways.  The first cover portrays the book as a romance due mainly to the girl's dreary posture and facial expression.  The red shirt that the girl is wearing contrasts with the earthy green colors behind her.  This leads the viewer's eyes to focus on her and associate the cover, and the title to be a love story.  The second cover, however portrays the book as a coming of age story.  The blurred image of the girl, shows the movement of spinning or dancing, usually something everyone does as kids.  The contrasting bright colors of yellow and blue creates a happy, young, and full of life mood.  The third cover chooses to portray the themes of loneliness and alienation in this novel.  The dull color scheme, and lone rowboat in the lake intensify the mood of loneliness and isolation.  Finally, the fourth cover portrays the novel as mysterious science fiction.  The blueish-gray color scheme brings an element of fear that is not in the other covers.  Harsh dark lines outline the title and human organs add a scientific element and creates an overall mysterious feel.

The reason behind the four different covers are to reach multiple audiences.  The first cover appeals to the romantics, the second to the coming of age fanatics, the third to the deep philosophers, and the fourth to the thrill seeking science fiction fans.

                              

1. Words, and things that come to mind.
1. (Left Cover) Broken hearted, hidden, and mistake
2. (Right Cover) creepy, pain, and donor
2. What would this image make you think the book was about?
1. A teenager whose significant other is dying, or moving away and the couple is forced to break-up.  However this is the teenage girl's first love, so she will never forget him, and as years pass, she often remembers them and vise versa.
2. A dystopian society, where the government is using a group of people for experimentations, and the main character is discovering the truth about these experiments and tries to stop them.  
3. Who seems to be portrayed? Whose viewpoint?
1. The teenage girl that is featured on the cover would be the narrator, and everything is through her viewpoint.
2. A 'rebel' character, who is slowly discovering the truth about his/her government; told through their perspective.
4. Does this image spark spark any ideas about the cultural construction of the book?
1. Not really, I would imagine a 'normal' society, because there is nothing on the cover to dictate an abnormal society setting.
2. Kind of, the cover really sets the mood that something is off, or not 'normal.' the blue-gray color scheme and dark letters and outline gives the sense that the story will take place in a dystopian science fiction setting.
5. What kinds of people would make this book, and what kinds of people would read it?
1. The person that wrote this book would have been like a John Green, because the author would not only focus on the romanic portion of the book, but also include deep philosophical thoughts, and a dash of humor.  The audience for this book would definitely be teenage girls that were into the romance genre.
2. The person that wrote this book would have been like a George Orwell, focusing on the technological portion on the dystopian society.  The audience for this book would be fans of the science fiction or dystopian genres.

Once Upon a Time...

Karen Thompson Walker: What fear can teach us

Read the transcript here.

Karen Thompson Walker compares human fears towards the components of stories.  All stories involve characters, plots, imagery, and suspense.  Our fears contain all of these aspects as well, in our fears we are the main character that goes through a sequence of suspense, that can create a vividly terrifying image in our imagination, and usually contain the questions of "what would happen?" and "what if?"  Its human nature to not only think about the future but also worry about it. Karen Thompson Walker also mentions the case of the whale ship Essex, in which the crew was swayed by the artistic rather than the scientific temperament.  When faced with the choice of possible cannibals and possible starvation, the crew decided against the idea that was most vivid to them, being eaten by cannibals, and chose the idea that appeared to be less vivid, slowly starving to death.  Finally she makes the point that truest fears that we can experience are the ones that are slow and subtle. 

The speaker, Karen Thompson Walker, tries to persuade her audience towards her way of thinking, that fears are nothing more than fictional stories, and can provide us with wisdom and insight about the truth.  She accomplishes this through her use of ethos, logos, and pathos in her speech.  

As a fictional writer, she uses her experience of writing her novel, The Age of Miracles, to how humans are able to think about the future, and how the future can bring up questions of fear.  Since she is an experienced writer, the audience believes her correlation between the components of stories and fears to be true.  The speaker also mentions famous novels like, The Origin of Species, Jane Eyre, and The Remembrance of Things Past to ensure her credibility as a well-educated, and successful author.  This use of ethos allows the audience to trust the speaker's perspective because of her credibility as an author, and persuades the audiences towards her purpose.

Aside from using famous novels and authors, Karen Thompson Walker references to the whale ship, Essex, throughout her speech.  The story of the ship and the crew inspired Herman Melville to write Moby Dick.  She uses direct quotes from Herman Melville and Vladimir Nabokov to support her support her purpose of reading our fears in a more scientific temperament than an artistic one.  Karen Thompson Walker also uses a study concerning "Productive Paranoia" to inform the audience that how they read, and studied the fear can help them prepare for their fears.  This use of logos successfully supports the speaker's claims and contributes to a more persuasive, and convincing argument in her favor.

The story of the Essex also allows the audience to sympathize for the crew members that were placed in the tragic situation.  Karen Thompson Walker adds to this emotional response form the audience by including a fear from her childhood, and including more common fears in her examples.  As a child she feared the earthquakes that happened in California, and was always worried that "the Big One might strike while we were sleeping."  The inclusion of her own fear makes the audience feel a personal connection with her, and creates a relatable, and sympathetic or empathetic mood in the audience.  While describing the relationship between stories and fears, she uses common fears like, flying on a plane as an example to create that further understanding and connection between herself and the audience.  The use of pathos in the speech allows this connection to reach the audience on a personal and emotional level that makes the speaker a relatable person.  Due to this, the author seems very passionate about her beliefs concerning the subject of fear, which further persuades the audience to her purpose.

I decided to analyze this talk because fear has been a big aspect of my life.  I have been questioning several things like, whether I'll get into my dream school or not, and where I'll attend college if I don't.  I really connected to the speaker's point that "the most nuanced stories in literature are often the richest, so too might our subtlest fears be the truest" because I agree that the worst fears that you can face are the fears that are unexpected or that move very slowly.  I also agreed with Karen Thompson Walker that how we read our fears determines what we can gain from them.

Duality in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Characterization of Mr. Hyde:

"Mr. Utterson stepped out and touched him on the shoulder...he had unlocked the door and disappeared into the house." (Stevenson, 9-10)

Characterization of Dr. Jekyll:

"To this rule...This is a matter I thought we had agreed to drop." (Stevenson, 12-13)

Stevenson focuses on duality in this novella. He characterizes Mr. Hyde as an embodiment of pure evil through dark diction to not only describe Mr. Hyde's physical appearance, but also uses it in his dialogue. Dr. Jekyll is characterized as a well respected, prosperous doctor. These conflicting characters contribute to the overall mysterious tone of the novella. Mr. Hyde's dialogue is short and filled with cynical undertones, while Dr. Jekyll's dialogue is longer and well formulated. The development of the idea of duality in the novella, Jekyll states that that a human's soul is a battleground between 'good' and 'evil'. He hoped that the potion that he created would separate the good and the bad, but only brings out the bad through the character of Mr. Hyde.

Things Are Not Always What They Seem To Be

Dr. Jekyll: Surrounded by wealth and success, people think I'm grand.

Mr. Hyde: To the good doctor I am a helping hand.

Dr. Jekyll: The doors to the laboratory remain tightly shut.

Mr. Hyde: And I am the only one who holds the key.

Together: Things are not always what they seem to be.

Mr. Hyde: Mr. Utterson was his name, the one that interrogated me on the street.

Dr. Jekyll: Mr. Utterson came for a visit and questioned me about my assistant's past

Mr. Hyde: His eyes froze when he finally saw my face.

Dr. Jekyll: His eyes turned back to mine before he left the house.

Together: He is coming on to us, watching our every move.

Dr. Jekyll: Everyday is a fight between good and bad, I embrace the good,

Mr. Hyde: And I embrace the bad.

Dr. Jekyll: I can no longer control the potion's curse

Mr. Hyde: I have finally won.

Together: Things are not always what they seem to be.