Ap Language

Response

2008-04-27T10:02:00.000-07:00

"Huxley's book is the better written of the two." This statement, along with "Orwell's is the timelier of the two" I feel neglect to look at many aspects of the books. In my opinion I feel the opposite is true. Huxley's book can be related to America today in so many ways, I made many comparisons in my in-class essay two weeks ago. Things are becoming so easy for the American public, and the average person is no longer really trying to advance their own knowledge of the world around them, they are being neutrilized by their own contentment, which is what happens in Brave New World. " In Brave New World the standardizing force (apart from conditioning) is pleasure." We find this very true in our American society. However, 1984 uses terror to induce the cooperation of its citizens. We do not relate to this very directly, but many other countries probably do. I began to look at the human rights in North Korea today, to see if it can be related to that in 1984. I did not get very far before many terrifying parallels were able to be made. Citizens of North Korea are not allowed to leave and the conditions there are hard to determine because foreigners are rarely allowed to enter, and when they do they are kept under extremely close watch, so accounts on the conditions there are gathered from refugees. People there are not allowed to speak their minds, which is something we see in 1984 and thus is the use of doublespeak, to narrow the range of thinking, so it becomes impossible to even think something out of the ordinary. I may be going back on what I said earlier in this response, but I feel both of these books are equally relevant. They both encompass different aspects of the world today, some societies we are tamed by pleasure and convienience, and others people are kept by force and terror. Huxley, and Orwell had very different visions, but they were both very accurate.

Commitment to Free Religion

2008-04-09T16:26:00.000-07:00

The right to practice whatever religion you want to is a right that I feel strongly about. Religious constriction makes no sense whatsoever because what good is it to force a religion upon a person who does not feel committed to it inside. It is like forcing someone to say that their favorite color is blue when it is really red. They may say that it is blue but inside they know that it is still red.
Also countries that force a religion upon their citizens is really only looking for themselves to prosper, not the spiritual well-being of their citizens. They force the religion to get more people to come to their churches ad contribute making them richer, they do not care about the God or whatever it is that they are forcing people to worship.
Religion is something that each individual on earth needs to find for themselves, if they feel just right in an organized religion then great, but if they don't they should not be forced to conform their spiritual needs. They need to search and find what they believe out for themselves. Kids who are forced to go to church when they are younger often have a period of doubt where they search through other ideas and see if there is anything that makes them feel more fulfilled, if not will go back to their original belief.
Another thing about religion that should be left open is the idea of being baptised and confirmed. Just because a person may not go through these rituals does not make them any more or less devoted to that religious group. They should not be discluded from the main group because of this. They have followed their own path to their own personal version of God. God is unknown, there is no concrete image of him and therefore no one has the right to say my God is the right one and if you don't follow him your going to hell and whatnot. Everyone's opinions should be respected an listened to because we do not know for sure that they are wrong and we are right.

2008-03-07T05:45:00.000-08:00

" All parents have the right to genetically design their children"

Though genetically engineering children can have many positive effects, the future possibilities are terrifying and potentially dangerous to the human race. Genetics engineering is also a moral issue, is it right for a parent or politician to decide if making the perfect child is right? Will genetic engineering lead to the potential extinction of certain kinds of people in the far far future? These are issues that we all ask ourselves when addressing genetic engineering and is why it has become such a sensitive subject.
A major pro in genetic engineering babies is the possibility that it may prevent various genetic diseases such as down syndrome and cystic fibrosis, but this is not without flaw.

http://www.ifgene.org/proscons.htm

Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T05:55:00.000-08:00

I am thankful, for my parents, who despite their efforts make me very angry at times. They mean well, ecspecially with all this college stuff, but it's so stressful sometimes and I take my anger out at them. I feel pretty bad for doing this, but I am thankful for everything that they do for me, from taking me to see colleges far, far away, to just taking care of me. So now, I can only try to show some appreciation for everything that they have done for me. I am also thankful that I got into the college that was my first choice, this is great for not just me, but also for my parents who will no longer have to deal with my anger and frustration and will see the kindness they deserve.

Drive to Succeed

2007-11-12T12:36:00.001-08:00

Drive to Succeed

Do you think that people who drive themselves out of poverty and into the world to work and try to provide for themselves and their family end up becoming more successful then people who inherit their money and place in the world? In my oppinion people like Frank McCourt who come out of poverty and are able to dream and achieve that dream are more driven to leave poverty because they have that to run from, they work and work because they dont want to return to where they once were. People who have never experienced poverty tend to take things for granted and sometimes chose that they like were they are and there isnt a point to work to better themselves or their familys. Poor people who manage to escape poverty seem to build momentum in their drive. Even Jeanette Walls's family is now doing well in the world because they do not want to go back to the way they once lived. Frank escapes with a dream of America and as we don't know what happens next in Angela's Ashes he seems now to be very, very successful due to his poor chldhood.

Memoir

2007-11-10T20:56:00.000-08:00

I think that McCourt relied mostly on his childish views of how things were. He never onced said how awful his father was for spending needed money on alcohol, even though he has every right to. He has repeated his mothers words but never really formed an opinion of him himself since after all it was the father who told him storys of cuchalain by the fire and that is really how a child views a father or any family member with a problem, they seem to overlook their downfalls and never really put their suffering together with that person. He seems to show the guilt and confusion that chldren around Franks age really do experience and if you were to look back you would say, that was irrational and stupid, but Frank shows genuine guilt for his actions.

2007-11-10T20:29:00.000-08:00

"Clohessy, do you know what you are an omadhaun. Do you know what an omadhaun is?
I don't sir.
It's the Irish. Clohessy, your native tongue, Clohessy. An omadhaun is a fool."(p.155)

All of Franks life, him and other boys his age are being put down and told they are fools useless.
Alcoholism is usually brought about by a feeling of uselessness and a lifetime of being put down by and authorative figure.
This seems to me like the older Irish generation fuels the younger Irish into becoming alcoholics like themselves and this vicous cycle is really the downfall of the Irish community.

Leaving Ireland

2007-11-10T20:17:00.000-08:00

If Frank had stayed in Ireland do you think that things would have been okay, if he had became a mailman and provided for his family or would he have fallen into the alcoholism that took his father? In my opinion I think that Frank would have became sick of Limerkick and started drinking like Malachy, this is were you know he has been smart and taken steps to ensure a future that did not involve poverty. Even people like Aunt Aggie know this because they show resentment at the Frank because he has taken himself from a terrible and hopeless life in Limerick. I want to know if Frank knows about his family now and how they are and if he kept in touch with them as a young man finding his way in America.

superstition

2007-10-10T19:08:00.000-07:00

Dobbins and his girlfriends pantyhouse represents a faith that the soldiers believed in. The religion that they all followed, that sometype of faith that may help them through the war. At first Dobbins says that the stockings remind him of home, the smell and feel but then his girlfriend breaks up with him and he still keeps the stockings because there was still a feeling of protection over evil. Dobbins survives the war even after tripping a land mine, but maybe things like stockings and superstition gave the soldiers something to live for, something to believe might be keeping them safe.

Mary Anne

2007-10-09T17:23:00.001-07:00

The story about Mary Anne and Mark Fossy is extremly powerful in the same way I think the story about the patrol in the mountains is. It contains mystery and danger, but it is the kind that makes you want more, that you become addicted to. It is even described as a drug by O'Brien. I don't understand what it is in this young girl that falls in love with the danger of vietnam though. The men understand its horrors but Mary Anne says it's "Not bad". I believe it may be her opposite self, the person that is inside her that was never able to come out being a highschool cheerleader in a rural town. War must bring out sides of people that aren't present anywhere else. The stress and terror are beyond anything we can know as civilians and these factors brought out a person hidden deep inside Mary Anne.

Opera in the Mountains

2007-10-04T15:47:00.002-07:00

This story is incredibly fascinating, in a horrifying way. With wars like vietnam, and any situation of extreme terror a certain mystery is felt about the situation, something beyond what humans normally feel and see. The mountan story about the troops who were sent there to record sound and report anything strange gives off this feeling, being far far away from home, in a strange jungle of death, these young men go crazy hearing an opera, and band playing right above them in the mountains. This shows what war does to people, it drives them away from reason and what they think is real and true. It brings them to the edge of the human mind and what it can contain. To me that is what this story conveys, the incredible capacity of fear and stress that the mind can contain.

Baby water buffalo

2007-10-04T15:47:00.001-07:00

This scene was shocking, very in fact. It is a metaphor for Rat Kiley and his young self, and the unbelievable pain he is put through. Not just one shot to the head, or something to concentrate on, to heal, his wounds are a mess. The young water buffalo is like Rat because they are young, so many possibilities for a future but it is taken from them by incredible pain. The war has ruined Rat from what he could have been. He is physically, emotionally, and mentally broken. To display this he has to destroy the Buffalo beyond repair. Not just kill him which would have been simple and to the point, Rat's pain is neither of these, his hurt is complex and it will linger for years and years.

टेस्टिंग

2007-10-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

Testing