Blogpost 15... FINAL BLOGPOST

Senior year is always full of lasts, but for me, there was also a first,

I was in love

Blogpost 14

Using my skip

Blogpost 13

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

To me, I think the American Dream is the idea that all US citizens have equal opportunity and can all achieve success and prosperity through hard work and determination.  When I picture the American Dream, I think about a family, two parents and two kids, all standing comfortably in front of a house, with two cars and a dog.  I am well aware that not everyone wishes to have a family and a house like this but I see such a thing like having a family as something to be really proud of.  I mention the comfortable part because what this picture entails is that this family is well off and not financially struggling to hold their property and can well provide for their family.  

2. What is your definition of wealth?
Literally, the definition of wealth to me is having a lot of money, because typically when I use it I use it in the context, “Oh he/she can afford to do that because they are relatively wealthy.”  A lot of Gatsby.  But if you would like to take it another way, wealthy could just imply you have a lot of something.  That does not necessarily have to be an object either, perhaps a person is wealthy in happiness.

3. What are Americans’ attitudes toward wealth and poverty?
Typically, wealth is a large dividing factor between some people.  Those who live in poverty typically resent those who are wealthy for the fact that they are so privileged, can live so comfortably, and can afford to make mistakes without it being a potential to have to miss a meal from a financial mistake.  People who are wealthy dread the idea of living in poverty, because I cannot think of anyone who would like to live a life struggling to make it day to day.

4. What is your attitude toward wealth and poverty?

I feel bad for the people in poverty, it is a really sad thing to see that people are struggling so much especially if they are good people.  As far as wealth, sometimes I am a bit jealous by their lifestyles but overall I recognize the fact that there will always be the rich, and there will always be the poor.  I cannot hate my life for not being filthy rich, that would be extremely selfish of me, but I fear the idea of living in poverty.  I also recognize the fact that some people are just born fortunate, and others just are not.  

Blogpost 12

There is a large separation between translations 1-3 and translation 4. For one, quotes one through three begin by automatically introducing Gregor/Gregory Samsa. I think this affects the tone because it creates a familiar introduction, as many people start by stating their names when introducing themselves. The words chosen also provoke different imagery when compared to translation four. Translations 1 and 2 both describe Greg’s dreams as “uneasy,” versus translation 3 which describes them as “troubled.” Uneasy and troubled differ because troubled sounds slightly more extreme than uneasy. The word troubled contributes more to how Gregor Samsa was feeling at the time of awakening. The syntax of 1-3 differs from 4 because they are all straight on sentences with no commas in between. Lastly, 1-3 each use some kind of adjective to describe to describe the size of the bug Gregor was, using either “gigantic, giant, enormous.”





Translation 4 differs from 1-3. It uses much harsher diction to describe what happened to Gregor Samsa, by using words such as “monstrous” or “vermi or “agitated.” I think each contributes to the intensity of the situation, versus the initial interpretation of 1-3. Translation 4 also has commas to break up the sentence. I think this really adds effect to the sentence because it requires the reader to take dramatic pauses. Overall, translation 4 is the most effective because it has the most emotions invoked in it which provokes more emotions within the reader. The difficulty of having a text translated from one language to another is that you usually lose some of the meaning within the process. Some languages have certain tones, words, and structure that is intended to make their audience feel a certain way but when translated it loses part of its meaning, for reasons such as things can be translated differently or that specific tone or word just does not exist in the language it is being translated to.

Blogpost 11

Practice IOC:

Criterion A: I would give myself a 7. I showed a good understanding of the text itself, and I always tried to reference my point to the passage I was given. I did not give myself a higher score though because I felt as if it could have been better.


Criterion B: I would give myself a 4 for this category, because although I did make a reference to the effect on the reader, I barely did it. I should have added more.


Criterion C: I would give myself a 2 for this category, I tried to go in order of the passage as a method or organization but I realized that I had multiple points about one section that I should have mentioned together so it made the analysis seem to go everywhere.

Criterion D: I would give myself a 4 for this category, I think I was pretty coherent throughout my analysis and clear on what I was saying by providing a lot of good examples and references and discussing the book in a way where if I was to talk to someone who hadn’t read the book, they wouldn’t be totally lost by what I was saying.

Blogpost 10

       


The image on the right is intended to give insight to the book since it depicts the vital organs that are taken from the “donors.” The background is grey and lacks any other color, which gives off a more negative feeling to the viewer. The sketch of the body is minimal as well as the organs within it. The body is missing arms, a head, and the remainder of their body below the waist. It is possible the creator of the book cover does this with the intentions to show that the students at Hailsham are only important for these things, their identity is irrelevant. The book cover on the right has a boat that is floating in the water out on a vacant lake. I think the creator of this cover intended to remind the reader who has already read the book that Kathy is unable to find Hailsham so it reflects it by there being nothing around the one boat almost at shore. Between these two images, I can say that they both pull the same kind of emotions from the viewer. Each provokes a feeling of eerie loneliness, with the use of the dark colors and the absence of life. Each image also provides some insight into events in the book that are extremely important to the development of the plot. The difference though is that they both show very different parts of the book. If I had been someone who hadn’t read any of the novel yet, I would have assumed that from the depiction on the left it was about life, because of all of the vital organs shown. The picture on the right is more about the setting, so if I hadn’t read the book I would’ve assumed it would be about a relationship between two people and someone leaving, and the boat was the escape. The kind of people that would have to have made these book covers had to been deeply affected by the darker aspects of the novel, which is what inspired them to create them. Same goes for the readers, those who are attracted to darker novels would automatically be pulled to it by the dark colors, the loneliness feeling it gave off, and the title of “Never Let Me Go” accompanied by the feeling the other aspects of the cover that informs the reader this novel is not a happy love story.

Blogpost 9

In Melissa Marshall’s TED Talk, “Talk Nerdy to Me,” she is reaching out to the scientists and engineers of the world to try and convince them to teach people about the work they do within the context of that individual’s understanding. Melissa Marshall herself is not an engineer, but she at one point taught a communications class at Penn State to engineers, and even though the research was beyond her, she loved learning about what these people were doing in order to try and change the world. Her purpose was to show that these interactions are what connects people to have a common goal and gives the opportunity for more ideas to be heard. Melissa’s first hand experience working with these people and finding a genuine interest in their work, plays a role in convincing her audience to feel the same and that she is right, in essence it makes her a credible source. She uses pathos to further convince her argument with her constant excitement for discussing the topic, it helps show that even though her mindset is not one of an engineer, she still finds their work extremely fascinating and believes other people would feel the same. Although some feel that taking the time to learn these things is unnecessary, I think it is rather the opposite because this is the research that will change the world some day. Prior to this blogpost, I had already seen the “Talk Nerdy to Me” video, I always found it inspiring so it was important to me to do this one for my blogpost. I strongly agree with Melissa’s points still after watching it for a second time.

Blogpost 8

Using semester skip for this one