11/26/12

    I have definitely grown as a writer from high school up until now. I have been able to write in all different kinds of styles, such as narratives and research papers. The mistakes from past papers have helped me to improve current and hopefully future essays. I will not continue to post on this blog, because I have another blog on a different website for myself. I have had it for about two years now, so I plan to continue posting on that one. The cons of blogging include being distracted all the time, because  I know my other blog distracts me. The pros include being able to express your feelings however you want, and whenever you want to. I enjoyed blogging for this class. I feel like it was a fun alternative to basic homework assignments.

Blog #9

I think that John Asbury mixes a technical poem, in his case it was a sestina, with cartoon characters to add a sense of humor to the poem. To be honest, I did not understand the poem's meaning, even after reading it several times and listening to the audio. I understand the concept of how pleasant the country is, but I do not understand why the characters are cartoons. I do believe it was to add a sense of humor but to me it was confusing. My favorite line in the poem is "Rupturing the arpeggio of our years" because arpeggios are familiar to me from marching band. It was an interesting image to think about, such as the years going up a scale, which is what an arpeggio is. This was not my favorite poem to read in this class. I found it confusing, somewhat unnecessarily graphic in the last stanza. It seemed to have no plot, just Popeye in the country eating spinach with his friends with a looming thunder around them.

Blog #7

When I think of the United State's war with Vietnam, I think of war stories such as Forrest Gump. The movie accurately portrayed the war. I also associate it with getting involved in another countries' problems. This is similar to the current war in Afghanistan and Iraq because our country is trying to regulate their country. They have a weak government so our country got involved. It seems to be this way now because Osama Bin Laden was captured already, so there is no other point in being there. If the purpose of the war was already fulfilled, there is no more reason to stay. It seems as if this happened in both wars.

Blog #8

She was smoking her last cigarette when
they met that day by the side of the street
and he saw that her eyes had stars in them
her skin was ivory, her lips were sweet.

The boy know that she was no one's to hold
like a bird she would one day fly away
and he knew then that he loved her too much
and that nothing he did would make her stay.

In truth the girl knew he'd be good for her,
but she only knew how to let things go,
because her soul had been damaged before,
her heart had no place for emotions to grow.

They were in love but she would break his heart
and neither could save what would never start.

Breaking Free of Our Cultural Heritage

      As individuals we are able to break free of our cultural heritage but not in all aspects. For example, one may not want to follow Italian customs, but they are still, and always will be, Italian. You cannot change that. However, if you chose not to follow your culture's customs, that is fine, and that is how one breaks free. Society does not try to keep us in line with our cultures. I have not seen a single example of that, personally. What your family wants you to do is different from what society wants you to do. There is no danger in disregarding social norms. In in fact, I do not see how not wanting to celebrate Saint Joseph's Day (an Italian holiday) as disregarding social norms, etc. From another viewpoint, if a person does not want to observe Hanukah, but it is part of their culture, does not mean they are going against society.It is a personal decision. Society does not say that you have to celebrate this holiday because that is your culture. The benefits include being your own individual person. I do not see any disadvantages to that.

"The Love of My Life" Blog #5

10/8/12

  Jeremy and China were defiantly condemned by their peers for their disturbing actions. It was not mentioned in the story, but based on the reaction from the class discussion, it can be assumed that their peers in the story (and in real life) felt the same. Boyle did make me see how such an event is possible, even though there are news stories all the time about babies left in dumpsters. There is no explanation for such vile and disgusting behavior. And no, I do not believe those are harsh words to describe the situation. There are options. If China truly did not want the baby she could have proceeded to go with abortion. If she was against abortion, although we can presume not since she and her boyfriend killed their child after it was born, she could have given the child up for adoption. A loving family who couldn't conceive would have gladly taken the baby. If those seemed like a stretch, Jeremy could have left the baby outside of safe zone after it was born, such as outside a hospital, fire station, police station, or a Planned Parenthood or crises pregnancy center. They would have found a suitable home for the infant.
On another note, the whole situation could have easily been avoided. It is simple: No contraceptive equals no intercourse. China and Jeremy were completely irresponsible on the camping trip. It is not the end of the world if you do not have sex for a few days. People go years without having sex, a few days will not kill you. If you think you are mature enough to have sex, you are mature enough to raise a baby. That baby could have been the next president, or she could have found the cure for cancer or aids, but Jeremy literally threw the baby girl's future away.

Peer Reviews

10/2/12
After participating in the peer reviews in class, I did not find my views to change. However, it was very interesting to see other student's point of views on alcohol on campus and alcohol in general. I found the process to be very helpful editing wise. It is less intimidating to have your essay critiqued by a peer because they are all in the same boat as you, and also want to receive a good grade on their papers. I hope we can continue to peer edit and review to benefit us all as writers.

Is Heavy Drinking Be Part of Culture? (Blog Assignment #3)

9/19/12

              Can serious drinking be part of one's cultural heritage?

I do not agree with this question because I feel like it is a stereotype, such as saying all Irish drink, a common stereotype. I do, however, feel that serious drinking can stem from how one was raised. For example, If a child grew up with parents who were heavy drinkers, they grow up with the thought that it is normal to consume that amount of alcohol. As seen in "Drinking with Daddy" by Susan Cheever, drinking was just a norm for Susan and her family. Almost every night adults would come to their suburban home and have martinis. Because she was exposed to this at such a young age, Susan grew up thinking that consuming a large amount of alcohol on weekdays was common and normal. It has nothing to do with culture or ethnicity, just how one was raised. Alcoholism is also a disease, which can be genetic. This stems from genes, not ethnicity. It is all based on one's personal family life and health history. Regardless of where serious drinking comes from, there is help and one should not feel alone if they find themselves in such a situation.

   

"Two Kinds" Free Write

9/17/12

       After reading Amy Tan's "Two Kinds" short story, I could not help comparing it to the TLC show "Toddlers in Tiaras". They just seemed too similar. On the show, the young girls compete in beauty pageants. Their mothers force them to do so, and we know this because in the interviews the girls do nothing but complain. The children have to get their hair and makeup done and sometimes spray tans and fake eyelashes. All so their daughter can become famous. This is exactly what Amy Tan's mother did to her. Mrs. Tan was so obsessed with making Amy famous that she would go to any extent from getting her hair done (and destroyed), to grilling and testing her on various academic subjects.
      It seems that in both the short story and the show, the mothers are living out what they could not have as a child through their children. For example, on the show, many of the mothers competed in beauty pageants when they were young, but did not win. They now have a disturbing obsession with making their own daughters win the show, because they could not do so for themselves. In the short story, it is mentioned that Mrs. Tan had a rough life in China before she moved to the United States. She lost her twin babies and had other hardships. By forcing Amy to whatever it takes to become famous, she was living vicariously through her daughter. I find it interesting how people will do whatever it takes to get whatever they want despite the fact that it might hurt someone else along the way.

Theme from "The Use of Force" (Blog #1)

9/11/12

             William Carlos William's short story "The Use of Force" is the story of Dr. William's attempt to coax a young girl to open her mouth so he can properly diagnose her. However, his attempts are met with strong resistance, and he eventually must use force to pry open the little girl's mouth to save her. Throughout the text, many emotions are described. They range from frustration to downright violence within three pages. Because of the emotions displayed, it can be argued that the most important theme in the short story would be “The desire to help may be met with resistance”.  Following in second would be “Children are capable of stubborn furry”. The final most important theme in “The Use of Force” is “People may secretly admire those who resist them”.      

         “The desire to help may be met with resistance” is the theme that reoccurs frequently in the story. From the beginning, it was quite clear that the young girl would not cooperate with Dr. Williams. From the beginning, the child was difficult. She refused to answer the doctor’s questions about her sore throat and refused to open her mouth for an examination. Eventually it got to the point of physically attacking him. Resistance is evident throughout the entire story. “Children are capable of stubborn fury” is another high ranked theme for this story. As stated before, the girl attacked Dr. Williams and refused to open her mouth. When he tried, she screamed as though she was being murdered. This furry coming from such a small child proves what children are capable of.  Despite the violent resistance, “People secretly admire those who resist them” is relevant because Dr. Williams states that he had “already fallen in love with the child” because of her large efforts to fight him off, even though receiving the throat culture would save her life.

         Eventually, Dr. Williams is able to pry open Mathilda’s mouth. Because of the state of her tonsils, she is clearly sick. The story ends with Mathilda crying in defeat despite her best efforts to defend herself against the doctor. Out of all the themes that can be chosen for “The Use of Force”, resistance and furry are the most prominent.

9/10/12 

           This semester in Rhetoric and Composition,  I hope to achieve good grades and improve my writing skills. My goal is to earn high grades on my essays and writing assignments. I hope to come out of the semester with a new understanding on how to compose an essay the correct way.