It was A journey
It was Better than Before
It was Confusing
It was Defining
It was Exciting
It was Fun
It was Gone faster than I thought
It was Hard
It was Interesting
It was Jokes with friends
It was Karma
It was Language and Literature
It was Mine
It was Nobody & everybody
It was Open
It was Pictures
It was Questions
It was Right and wrong
It was Staying up until 2 am
It was Tiring
It was Unforgettable
It was Very long
It was Writing essays
It was Xbox games
It was Years
It was Zeros and hundreds
It was High school.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Witty Whitman
Step 1
On most of the pages in Whitman's notebook there is a stamp, it looks like a bird surrounded by some sort of text, possibly in Latin. This could be a stamp by the manufacturer on the pages, or it could be something that Whitman himself added that has special significance to him. Whitman also seems to write in a mix of English and some other roman language, like Spanish or Latin. I can make out the phrase "Ship of Libertad" which has a mix of multiple languages. I also noticed that there are multiple crossings out and revisions, showing that Whitman's poems are not pure and easy inspiration, but take hard work and many iterations. An example is the Ship of Libertad line, because on the next page there are many other ideas for names such as Ship of the World, Ship of Humanity, Ship of Promise, and Ship of the Ages. There are also several drawings on the subsequent pages, with different stylizations or accessories based on different possible ideas. Whitman also seems to have included several doodles from his imagination, with little to no context for their meanings.
Step 2
I was unable to make out most of the words on the first several pages of Whitman's notebook, but I find it interesting that Whitman was just filling it with his imagination, not ideas or early drafts of poems. I was wrong that he took the word Libertad from Latin, but correct that it was a Spanish word. According to the article, Whitman was in favor of universal freedom in the world, and in favor of the Latin American revolutions to break free from their colonial leaders. Whitman seems to think in an universal and eternal mindset, rather than just for his lifetime or homeland, which is unique from most people. Most of his musings in his notebook seem to have a pessimistic edge to them, revealing a cynical side in his thoughts about the world, despite his wishes for freedom. Whitman seemed to have a lot in common with Abraham Lincoln, only a few years earlier in time than the president himself. It would have been very interesting then, to see what could have happened if Whitman had been an adviser to Lincoln or even if the two men had been friends. I thought that all of the sketches of Whitman in the notebook had been self portraits, but it is fascinating to think that he instead allowed others to see inside and even edit his notebook, such as draw pictures of him, since a notebook is usually a very private item. Whitman is known as a bohemian, which is reflected in his sketch for a newspaper called "The Boheamian" that was included on one of the last pages of the book. Whitman once again seems pessimistic and cynical in his last drawing, potentially an allegory for America, which is a very dark drawing of a skeleton with its heart pierced by a sword. Whitman seems to have many sides to him, a whimsical side shown by the sketches of a harp and newspaper, a deep side shown by his thoughts on freedom and equality, and a cynical side shown by his lack of faith of success in America.
On most of the pages in Whitman's notebook there is a stamp, it looks like a bird surrounded by some sort of text, possibly in Latin. This could be a stamp by the manufacturer on the pages, or it could be something that Whitman himself added that has special significance to him. Whitman also seems to write in a mix of English and some other roman language, like Spanish or Latin. I can make out the phrase "Ship of Libertad" which has a mix of multiple languages. I also noticed that there are multiple crossings out and revisions, showing that Whitman's poems are not pure and easy inspiration, but take hard work and many iterations. An example is the Ship of Libertad line, because on the next page there are many other ideas for names such as Ship of the World, Ship of Humanity, Ship of Promise, and Ship of the Ages. There are also several drawings on the subsequent pages, with different stylizations or accessories based on different possible ideas. Whitman also seems to have included several doodles from his imagination, with little to no context for their meanings.
Step 2
I was unable to make out most of the words on the first several pages of Whitman's notebook, but I find it interesting that Whitman was just filling it with his imagination, not ideas or early drafts of poems. I was wrong that he took the word Libertad from Latin, but correct that it was a Spanish word. According to the article, Whitman was in favor of universal freedom in the world, and in favor of the Latin American revolutions to break free from their colonial leaders. Whitman seems to think in an universal and eternal mindset, rather than just for his lifetime or homeland, which is unique from most people. Most of his musings in his notebook seem to have a pessimistic edge to them, revealing a cynical side in his thoughts about the world, despite his wishes for freedom. Whitman seemed to have a lot in common with Abraham Lincoln, only a few years earlier in time than the president himself. It would have been very interesting then, to see what could have happened if Whitman had been an adviser to Lincoln or even if the two men had been friends. I thought that all of the sketches of Whitman in the notebook had been self portraits, but it is fascinating to think that he instead allowed others to see inside and even edit his notebook, such as draw pictures of him, since a notebook is usually a very private item. Whitman is known as a bohemian, which is reflected in his sketch for a newspaper called "The Boheamian" that was included on one of the last pages of the book. Whitman once again seems pessimistic and cynical in his last drawing, potentially an allegory for America, which is a very dark drawing of a skeleton with its heart pierced by a sword. Whitman seems to have many sides to him, a whimsical side shown by the sketches of a harp and newspaper, a deep side shown by his thoughts on freedom and equality, and a cynical side shown by his lack of faith of success in America.
Sunday, March 15, 2015
"Breathing dreams like air..."
I am fairly happy with the direction that my life is headed in at this point. I have challenged myself academically, and it is paying off for my future. My biggest goal for how I want to live my life in the future is to experience as much of life as possible. At it's most basic level, I think this is truly the American Dream. Most of what people do in pursuit of "The American Dream" is so that they can do what makes them happy when it really matters. Everybody in the world wants to be happy, so they create goals to help them achieve this. The pursuit of happiness is even explicitly mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, alongside life and liberty as the three core principles of America. Since both life and liberty are guaranteed in America, most people devote their time to the third principle, the pursuit of happiness. Gatsby spends lavish amounts of money in an attempt to get Daisy to notice him so that he can truly be happy, which shows that people have little regard for monetary wealth or material goods in their pursuit of happiness.
People do not only seek their own happiness though. There are organizations and people all over the world that are fighting for other people to be happy. This is true altruism, which is working for other people's happiness without regard to your own. People do not volunteer for their own physical benefit, but to help others find the happiness that everyone wants. Not everyone who does charity work enjoys their time doing this work, but by helping other people become happier, volunteers get a level of satisfaction and contentment that makes them feel happier as well.
I believe that true wealth is the freedom to do what you want without restriction. This is why even though Gatsby is extraordinarily rich, I would not consider him wealthy, because he does not have the freedom to do what he really wants, which is to be with Daisy. The only character in The Great Gatsby that I would consider wealthy is Tom Buchanan. Tom can and does do whatever he wants, although he is not a good person about it. For most of the novel, Tom faces no repercussions for his actions due to both his social status and his vast riches. Anyone who is truly unhappy cannot be wealthy, because that is what I believe wealth really is.
This reminds me of a quote "And when Alexander saw the breadth of his empire, he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer." Alexander the Great had devoted most of his life to doing what made him happy, expanding his empire and defeating his enemies, but when he was finished he was sad because he could no longer do what made him happy. This relates to the constitution and the "pursuit of happiness" because they portray happiness more as a journey, rather than a destination. Throughout life, people's idea of what happiness is for them can change, but almost every decision in a person's life is based on what they think will provide them with the most happiness in the long run, which is truly "The American Dream" .
People do not only seek their own happiness though. There are organizations and people all over the world that are fighting for other people to be happy. This is true altruism, which is working for other people's happiness without regard to your own. People do not volunteer for their own physical benefit, but to help others find the happiness that everyone wants. Not everyone who does charity work enjoys their time doing this work, but by helping other people become happier, volunteers get a level of satisfaction and contentment that makes them feel happier as well.
I believe that true wealth is the freedom to do what you want without restriction. This is why even though Gatsby is extraordinarily rich, I would not consider him wealthy, because he does not have the freedom to do what he really wants, which is to be with Daisy. The only character in The Great Gatsby that I would consider wealthy is Tom Buchanan. Tom can and does do whatever he wants, although he is not a good person about it. For most of the novel, Tom faces no repercussions for his actions due to both his social status and his vast riches. Anyone who is truly unhappy cannot be wealthy, because that is what I believe wealth really is.
This reminds me of a quote "And when Alexander saw the breadth of his empire, he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer." Alexander the Great had devoted most of his life to doing what made him happy, expanding his empire and defeating his enemies, but when he was finished he was sad because he could no longer do what made him happy. This relates to the constitution and the "pursuit of happiness" because they portray happiness more as a journey, rather than a destination. Throughout life, people's idea of what happiness is for them can change, but almost every decision in a person's life is based on what they think will provide them with the most happiness in the long run, which is truly "The American Dream" .
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Nothing Really Mattress(?): Kafka, Camus, and Importance of Translations
Diction - each translation provides a different description of Gregor Samsa's transformation; a gigantic insect, a giant bug, an enormous bug, and a monstrous vermin. Each of these serves to create a different image in the reader's mind.
Syntax - Each of the sentences is laid out differently the way it is read. Three of the four sentences start out by identifying Gregor Samsa as the character, showing the most important part of the sentence, while the final sentence begins with describing the setting, "one morning". The length of the sentences influences how they appear to the reader as well, some sentences are shorter than others, which makes them have a different impact on the reader, such as the shortest sentence is the most direct, and has more of a hostile tone than longer sentences.
Imagery/Details - Each translation highlights different details in order to create different imagery for the reader. The translations use different words to describe the dreams that Gregor had, like uneasy, troubled, or agitated. By tweaking the description of either Gregor or his actions, the different translations slightly alter the percieved personality of the character.
Structure - The first translation is focused on the actions taking place;"As Gregor Samsa awoke...", "he found himself...", which makes the passage less sedentary and more active. The second translation is the shortest and most direct, which changes the author's tone from the other translations. The third translation creates an atmosphere that the rest of the story will follow. This translation is about setting the stage, rather than explaining a character or describing actions. The fourth translation is the most detailed and has the most imagery. This translation is about creating an image in the reader's mind, and make them visualize the text.
Each of the different translations adds a different context to the message and alters the reader's interpretation slightly. The diction of each passage focuses on different elements of literature, and this in turn shifts the reader's focus. By focusing on verbs, a translation makes the passage seem like an account of events, whereas by focusing on adjectives and descriptors the passage seems more like a vivid description of a scene. Punctuation also varies between each of the translations. By including more commas, the fourth translation forces the reader to take more time while reading and appreciate the details more, rather than the second translation which includes no commas and is much more straightforward and direct.
The first and third translations are the most effective in my opinion. Both the second and the fourth translations alter a key detail of the text, which drastically changes the passage. The second translation changes the main character's name from Gregor to Gregory and removes most of the details as well, which strips the passage of its tone and makes it much more bland. The fourth translation says that Gregor transforms into "a monstrous vermin" rather than a bug or insect as the other translations say. This alters the reader's mental image of the text, since the most commonly associated animal with the word vermin is a rat, not an insect. I think the first translation is the most effective, because it has more emphasis on the actions than any other translation, which engages the reader by being active, instead of a passive description of a man in bed.
The variety between all of these translations of a single line highlights the greatest difficulty in analyzing translated texts. Whomever translated the text inadvertently added some of their own perspective and interpretation, which affects how the reader reacts to the passages. This was only a single line, but the amount of differences between them shows that an entire story translated by two different people can have wildly different end products, despite being based on the same original text, because of the interpreter's personal choices in how they present the words.
Syntax - Each of the sentences is laid out differently the way it is read. Three of the four sentences start out by identifying Gregor Samsa as the character, showing the most important part of the sentence, while the final sentence begins with describing the setting, "one morning". The length of the sentences influences how they appear to the reader as well, some sentences are shorter than others, which makes them have a different impact on the reader, such as the shortest sentence is the most direct, and has more of a hostile tone than longer sentences.
Imagery/Details - Each translation highlights different details in order to create different imagery for the reader. The translations use different words to describe the dreams that Gregor had, like uneasy, troubled, or agitated. By tweaking the description of either Gregor or his actions, the different translations slightly alter the percieved personality of the character.
Structure - The first translation is focused on the actions taking place;"As Gregor Samsa awoke...", "he found himself...", which makes the passage less sedentary and more active. The second translation is the shortest and most direct, which changes the author's tone from the other translations. The third translation creates an atmosphere that the rest of the story will follow. This translation is about setting the stage, rather than explaining a character or describing actions. The fourth translation is the most detailed and has the most imagery. This translation is about creating an image in the reader's mind, and make them visualize the text.
Each of the different translations adds a different context to the message and alters the reader's interpretation slightly. The diction of each passage focuses on different elements of literature, and this in turn shifts the reader's focus. By focusing on verbs, a translation makes the passage seem like an account of events, whereas by focusing on adjectives and descriptors the passage seems more like a vivid description of a scene. Punctuation also varies between each of the translations. By including more commas, the fourth translation forces the reader to take more time while reading and appreciate the details more, rather than the second translation which includes no commas and is much more straightforward and direct.
The first and third translations are the most effective in my opinion. Both the second and the fourth translations alter a key detail of the text, which drastically changes the passage. The second translation changes the main character's name from Gregor to Gregory and removes most of the details as well, which strips the passage of its tone and makes it much more bland. The fourth translation says that Gregor transforms into "a monstrous vermin" rather than a bug or insect as the other translations say. This alters the reader's mental image of the text, since the most commonly associated animal with the word vermin is a rat, not an insect. I think the first translation is the most effective, because it has more emphasis on the actions than any other translation, which engages the reader by being active, instead of a passive description of a man in bed.
The variety between all of these translations of a single line highlights the greatest difficulty in analyzing translated texts. Whomever translated the text inadvertently added some of their own perspective and interpretation, which affects how the reader reacts to the passages. This was only a single line, but the amount of differences between them shows that an entire story translated by two different people can have wildly different end products, despite being based on the same original text, because of the interpreter's personal choices in how they present the words.
Sunday, February 15, 2015
You down with the IOC? Yeah, you know me!
For Criterion A, I would give myself an 8 as a grade. I referenced various parts of the novel during my analysis, both from before and after the passage, and used direct quotes from the passage. I gave good context for my passage, and explained the characters as well.
For Criterion B, I would give myself a 5. I could not find very many literary devices in the passage that I chose. I did point out the diction and dialogue used in the passage, as well as general themes of the novel. I also barely examined the effect of the devices on the reader.
For Criterion C, I would give myself a 2. I did not spend that much time in my planning period organizing my commentary, but I did do some. My ideas generally flowed from one to the next, but there were several times during the commentary that I paused in order to finish with one idea, and then just picked up with a different idea.
For Criterion D, I would give myself a 4. I use generally adequate language throughout the commentary, but there a few moments when I lose track of my ideas and I fumble for the words that I am looking for. Otherwise, I use the appropriate terminology for literary devices and the lenses and themes of the novel.
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Blog Post 10, I've got you covered
The two covers that I chose to compare were the top right and the bottom left covers. The top right cover features a blurry depiction of a girl facing away from the the viewer. The girl is in a blue dress against an orange background, creating a deep contrast between her and the environment. The girl is also blurry on the cover. The blurriness of the girl could represent the clones' almost humanity, that they are not quite the same as everyone else. This is accented by the girl looking away from the camera, which creates an air of anonymity and mystery about her.
The second cover that I analyzed was the bottom left. This cover features a lone rowboat floating on a shoreline. In the background there is a pier with a sunset lighting the sky. This is a very lonesome cover, without any people being featured. The boat on the cover could represent the opportunities that the clones believe they have, but in the end, no one is able to realize those opportunities, they are not even real opportunities. A single rowboat represents the mere possibility of escape, but just as a rowboat cannot cross an ocean, the clones cannot escape their fate.
One interesting thing about these covers is that they both feature Kazuo Ishiguro's name much bigger than the title Never Let Me Go. This could represent how the characters and the lessons in the book are more important than the book itself. A difference between the covers is the presence of a girl on one and just a boat on the other. Both covers also feature a quote from a review, probably to entice people into reading the book.
When looking at the top right cover, the first thing that comes into my mind is a child running away. It reminds me of someone alone in a desert with no people or things around. This makes sense with the clones, because they are so alone in life, no one is really there to help them. When looking at the bottom left cover the first thing that I think of is sunset on the shore. This cover is even lonelier than the other cover.
If I hadn't already read the book, based on the top right cover I would think the book is about two girls that run away from home in India, but somehow get separated and have to find their way back to each other. It reminds me of the film Slumdog Millionaire. Based on the bottom left cover, I would think that this book is about a guy who spends the summer at the beach in a rundown house while fixing it up, but now he has to leave.
Both of these covers are very different from the cover of the book that I have. Neither of them seem to directly relate to the plot of the book, and the bottom left cover is not related at all. Both of the covers evoke feelings of sadness and loneliness, which are prevalent themes of Never Let Me Go.
The second cover that I analyzed was the bottom left. This cover features a lone rowboat floating on a shoreline. In the background there is a pier with a sunset lighting the sky. This is a very lonesome cover, without any people being featured. The boat on the cover could represent the opportunities that the clones believe they have, but in the end, no one is able to realize those opportunities, they are not even real opportunities. A single rowboat represents the mere possibility of escape, but just as a rowboat cannot cross an ocean, the clones cannot escape their fate.
One interesting thing about these covers is that they both feature Kazuo Ishiguro's name much bigger than the title Never Let Me Go. This could represent how the characters and the lessons in the book are more important than the book itself. A difference between the covers is the presence of a girl on one and just a boat on the other. Both covers also feature a quote from a review, probably to entice people into reading the book.
When looking at the top right cover, the first thing that comes into my mind is a child running away. It reminds me of someone alone in a desert with no people or things around. This makes sense with the clones, because they are so alone in life, no one is really there to help them. When looking at the bottom left cover the first thing that I think of is sunset on the shore. This cover is even lonelier than the other cover.
If I hadn't already read the book, based on the top right cover I would think the book is about two girls that run away from home in India, but somehow get separated and have to find their way back to each other. It reminds me of the film Slumdog Millionaire. Based on the bottom left cover, I would think that this book is about a guy who spends the summer at the beach in a rundown house while fixing it up, but now he has to leave.
Both of these covers are very different from the cover of the book that I have. Neither of them seem to directly relate to the plot of the book, and the bottom left cover is not related at all. Both of the covers evoke feelings of sadness and loneliness, which are prevalent themes of Never Let Me Go.
Friday, January 30, 2015
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