Trust

So I noticed that a theme of my weekend was trust...or more like the lack of it.  What has always frustrated me is how many parents think that the harder they push down strict behavior, and do not trust their children the more likely they are to rebel.  I'm lucky because my parents understand this quite well, but because I am a teenager I see all types of parents disciplining my friends.  I also get to see the other side that most parents don't because I hear the thoughts of their kids on the matter and the real effects that some disciplines have.  So, I believe that people need to give out more trust.  I am not saying that punishment for doing something wrong is bad, but there comes a point when it gets to be over the top.  When this happens it goes from a learning experience to wanting to do the exact opposite of what your parents are telling you.  I can't count the times when I have been with friends they said that they want to be good because their parents trusted them to come and didn't make a big deal of it.  I also can't count the times where I have heard "I don't understand why they don't trust me, I have never done anything bad...maybe I will just give them something real to not trust me about if thats what kind of person they think I am." I mean it just seems common sense to me that if you give trust then most of the time you are going be respected out of it, but a lot of parents don't see it that way.  I don't get why. 

Random

I seriously never have anything to write about.

The AP English exam is a DAY away.  I am not too nervous, but then I realized that I need to get a bit more on top of it because if I go into it thinking I will pass without reviewing that much I could end up not passing.  It would be EXTREMELY ironic if i ended up getting a 4 on the history exam and not english, now that would be upsetting. 

I still don't know what to write about.

I decided yesterday that I am going to prom...that should be interesting. hmmmmmmmmm

I am very excited that I am almost a senior...It's really weird how fast it seems like it went, but when you actually going through it, it seems really slow. 

When do we get our scores back for the exam? i heard that it wasn't until late in july.  I hope it's sooner, because I am not a very patient person when it comes to waiting on test results.   

Random again...

I didn't think I had any homework this weekend, and was very excited until I just found out that I have a psychology test tomorrow... but oh well.  Today is mothers day.  My aunts, uncles, and grandma are downstairs for mothers day brunch.  I am also upset because one of my friends came home from college yesterday because she is one SUMMER BREAK alreadyyyyy!!! This makes me depressed because we have a month left.  I hope it goes by extremely fast.  I don't think I am gong to have like any actual testing finals, except for environmental.  All my other finals are big papers.  In history we have this 10 page paper to write, which I am not looking forward to.  History is not that exciting to write about to me.  I might not even have an environmental final.  Like 3 months ago we convinced him that if any one of us win this water project thing that we would not have to have a final.  I am defiantly hoping that someone will win it!  Not many people enter this contest so we count for about 50% of the entries in the contest.  The person that wins gets to go to Alaska. 

If I were Joe...

if I were in Joe's position I would have to believe that I would want nothing other than to die.  Throughout the book I kept wondering why he wasn't going crazy.  I could not believe that years were going by and he was still insane.  When he was communicating the the doctor I kept wanting to yell "tell them you want to dieeee!!," but he never did!  There is something about being that confined that just really freaks me out.  I think it's like a phobia or something, because when i was first reading that he was just a stump it was almost too hard for me to read.  I kept getting freaked out.  When I read the chapter about how he thought he was being eaten by a mouse and couldn't do anything about it, I had to put the book down because it was so hard for me to read imagining if that was happening to me.  So, if I were in his position I would have to think I would concentrate on killing myself, because living would be torture.  Okay, I really have to get back to studying APUSH.

Random...

All I have been up to is studying for the APUSH exam on Friday.  I think i might have ADD now or something because i haven't been able to concentrate on studying.  But maybe anyone would have a hard time concentrating studying for like 5 hours straight.  I really am not nervous for the English exam.  I feel pretty prepared for it, and there is not much you can actually study for.  Umm...I'm really excited for the weekend, not because I have anything planned but because i will be done with the freaking exam!!! soooo excited!!!  I have decided that I can't take it too seriously because if i don't pass, which I probably won't I will not be too disappointed.  I can't think of anything else to say...these blogs are harder to write than our normal ones becuase there is a certain thing to write about.  Usually I am excited for the day to be over but not today becuase then I will just have to go home and study! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

March of the Flag

In this speech Beveridge argues that Americans are blessed by God, and because of this blessing it is our duty to control other countries that cannot control themselves.  Because we are "blessed" with such a strong governmental system, we have the means to easily take over and help govern those counties who are full of anarchy.  We have proven to be very successful in war because of this strong governmental system.  The book almost shows the counterpoint to this idea.  It might sound all good when you are talking about it, but talk does not show you how it really effects the American people.  Beveridge talks about a broader picture.  Yes, we are a powerful nation and do have advantages that others do not, but even when we go to war there are horrible consciences that effect the American people.  We might win in the end, but not without sacrifices.  Joe is an example of the other end of the spectrum.  He demonstrates that deep emotional pain that an American is experiencing because of the American government wanting to spread it's democracy.  By his account we realize how horrible war can actually be, even when it seems that we are on top and winning. 

America the Beautiful: What We're Fighting For

D'Souza argues that the reason America is such a strong country is because collectively we have pride in what we are fighting for, and many Americans will support the cause behind this fighting.  This is the sole reason for why we are so successful behind our fighting, with the exception of Vietnam.  But, this is only because not many were behind the war in Vietnam, which caused a lack of unity and strength in our fighting and determination.  D'Souza then goes onto to elaborate on this say thing in order to fight successfully one must believe in what they are fighting for.  This is similar to Joe's experience, because he realizes that he had no idea what he was fighting for.  Even though he entered into the war at first with no thoughts of being against it, he still did not have a tangible reason for going.  Americans are expected to fight for "freedom" and "liberty" and this is usually what brings us together as a nation when we are fighting.  But, Joe realizes that this really means nothing when you are out on the battle field.  You have a hard time understanding and connecting to the idea of "freedom" when you are killing men and trying not be killed at the same time.  Now, Joe is regretting fighting in the war because he feels no reason for being in it in the first place, and because of this he lost his life for an irrelevant cause in his mind. 

Resistance to government

The book and the article are both a like in that they have a theme of being somewhat against the governments tactics.  The article talks about how people do not feel directly connected to the government because many of the issues they try to enforce have no connection to its people.  This is similar to when Joe talk about how he doesn't understand why he was fighting, and how he got tied into the war in the first place.  It was not his war. He had nothing against the people he was fighting.  Yet, the government does.  Joe wanted to feel like he was fighting for something or someone, so he connected his fighting to his family, friends, and girlfriend, Kareen.  But, without that he really did not know what he was fighting for.  This is why many people feel so unconnected to the government, and where the idea of the best government is the one who governs the least.  The agenda of the government and the agenda of its people are always going to be different.  The government has the best wishes of the people, but often those concepts and ideas are not tangible to ordinary people.  Fighting for liberty or freedom is not something you can directly see, so it doesn't seem to relate as a major importance to most. 

Random..?

Well I was trying to study for the ap history test, but I got distracted and wanted to do something different.  It is also hard to study when my sister is in the next room signing really loud.  I don't think she realizes how loud she is.  I am almost finished with reading book one in Jonny Got His Gun...like 30 pages to go.  Some of the pages in my book look like the ink was pressed on to hard so it's really  hard to read some of the words, which is annoying.  I'm really tired of doing home work.  My brother saved up his money forever and bought a Jurassic Park- The Lost World pin-ball machine that he got yesterday...and it's freaking awesome.  It looks just like the ones from the arcade places.  Soo, I have been playing that a lot, and really just want to go play it now.  We are trying to beat the high score, but it's too high to even get close...but we are determined to beat it.  I also just got done and finished my environmental project with Abby V.  The project was to take the piece of land that already had stuff on it and then place certain things on it such as a school, agricultural area, stores, housing, etc.  I felt like I was in third grade making the poster and cutting out shapes to put on it.  Okayy I'm done!

Summer...is soo close!

This year has gone really fast! and I am soo thankful for that.  There is a lot I am looking forward to doing this summer.  I get to see my family that lives in California and Oregon in June, and go to our lake house in Culver, IN with them.  I also am really excited to go back to Costa Rica at the end of July.  I'm going with my youth group for a week and a half for a missions trip.  This will be my fourth time going, and I love it!  We spend the time helping build or fix up houses or just doing anything that needs to be done.  It's amazing because it's completely out of anyones comfort zone.  Last summer, we were sent to a village of a population of about 250.  I stayed with a host family for 5 days, and helped them build their new church.  Some of its like wayyyy beyond out of my comfort zone.  Like near the house I was staying at there was a farm that had a few pigs, which I didn't think anything of...until the next day I saw one of the pigs hanging upside down ready to be killed.  That night guess what was for dinner??? yepp, the pig.  It never seemed to end either, we have it in different styled meals for the next couple days.  Lets just say I was very hungry for those days, because I seriously could not eat it. 

hmm..

I have been sick all weekend.  I thought I was getting better saturday, but today I woke up and my voice is basically gone.  My sister keeps making fun of me cause she says I sound like our dog, which is a pug.  All the sounds he makes are snorting and grunts.  Hmm...not sure what else to write about.  On friday night my brother had this paint-ball battle birthday party at our house.  It was actually really entertaining to watch because it consisted of a bunch of 12 year olds running around in our woods shooting at each other.  Umm...Saturday night I pierced Lauren Voelkers ear twice.  I'm not very good with needles, but I didn't want to act scared or freak her out.  On the other hand, Abby V. (while I am trying to sick a needle in laurens freaking ear) is running around the room screaming "oh myyy Godd I am going to puke!! omgg help I am going to pass out!"  This was a BIG help to the situation, while poor lauren is sitting there helpless not knowing what is going on.  But all turned out well, Abby calmed down, and her ears look very, very cute.

Make up Post

 I didn't realize we had to do a random blog on thursday night because I was sick that day, and i just now realized that a lot of people had 2 random blogs.  

My weekend was pretty packed with stuff starting off with the practice ap us history exam from 830 to 12 on saturday morning....which was horrible!! first of all, it was an extremely nice day out and instead of trying to concentrate on the essay I was attempting to write I was thinking about how much I wanted to be in the sun.  Soooo, when it came to write the last essay i literally could not write.  I kept trying to tell myself that i just needed to concentrate just to see how i would do in real life, but no matter how many times I told myself think...I couldn't.  But, this is partly because I didn't have anything to really write about because I haven't gone over studying for history yet, so I really didn't have any good examples for the essay.  So, I wrote a page basically restating the question, I'm pretty sure it got a 1.  Then just turned it in and got the heck out of there.  I can't stand history!

Gender

Being a girl comes with many disadvantages, but advantages as well.  Men have many stereotypes about women that we have come accustomed to living with.  Such as males always are dominate in all situations, girls are weak and can't defend themselves, they aren't as smart, and they are sexual objects.  I believe all of these judgments to be completely false.  But, we do see girls act this way in society making many people believe that these are fair assumptions to make.  Why i think that we see girls acting this way is not because they are actually weak or stupid, but because they find it easier to play into these stereotypes and act how society wants us and expects us to act.  It makes it much more easier in many situations to accomplish things if you conform to what people want rather than contradicting everything, which could cause conflict.  What we see in the media greatly influences the perception of gender.  All women are made to look flawless and delicate, while men are made to look macho and dominate.  Everyone plays into these roles because it's what we think and know to be "correct."  When there is a female that plays out of these stereotypes then it brings much attention some times positive but mainly negative.  These stereotypes can work for advantage as well.  And this is what many girls have figured out, and it is why they still exist.  Many girls find if they act dumb, weak, and incapable of taking care of themselves they can use it to their advantage to get what they need.  This is unfortunately why girls are still seen in this particular light. 

Ortiz Cofer

After Cofer moved to America her whole perception of her self- image changed, and this was mainly because of images in the media.  In America the media creates ideals of women or men that they think the perfect human should look like, and because of this people are willing to go through extreme lengths to achieve these looks.  Cofer never had a problem with self-image because when she lived in Puerto Rico, because she was considered beautiful there.  But, in America in the medias stand point she was not considered beautiful.  Beautiful to them is what they have created cartoon characters such as Wonder Woman to be.  Wonder woman has perfect hair, large breast, and is slim but still has curves.  Cofer was small and skinny, and once seeing this cartoon character she wanted nothing more than to look the same because she knew that she would then be considered pretty too.  She even was determined to take a pill that would cause her to gain weight.  Many people in America go through the same struggles as Cofer did, because they want to be considered beautiful in societies eyes.  But, many find that it is basically impossible to reach these standards without physically hurting yourself to get there. 

Gay Marriage Rights

I do not think that the reasoning behind having same-sex marriages has any logical sense or actual  support behind it.  In my opinion, the reason it is illegal in most states is because the beliefs of many people.  To me, it's very hypocritical to outlaw gay marriage because of all the things America says it stands for.  We pride ourselves on all humans have equal opportunities and rights, but we don't live up to our promotions.  There is no proof that a gay couple is any less capable of being a family than a man and a women is, and thats something that you can never really prove.  The real basis for same-sex marriages really boils down to prejudice.  When we look back on history and see things such as segregation and slavery it looks completely ridiculous to us, and we cannot even fathom why our government and people thought those things were okay.  All of these things all have the common thread of prejudice and judgment running threw them.  However, over time as seen from many events in history we tend to get over these judgmental attitudes  and get rid of these things that portray inequality.   I think it will be the same revelation when my kids look back on history books and see things such as how gay marriage was illegal.  

Engaging the Text # 5

In the supreme court case, Turner v. Safley, it was decided that Missouri could not arbitrarily deny marriage rights to prisoners.  A group of prisoners was previously denied the right of marriage, but the supreme court took back this decision once they went over the importance of what marriage represents.  They established that it was was a public statement of love, it has many serious religious importance to people, it offers the prospect of physical "consummation", and it comes with many protections, responsibilities, and benefits that are a big importance to people.  All this said, same-sex marriage is still not legal in Missouri.  Wolfson uses this as a comparison to how ridiculous it is that prisoners are given the extremely important decision of marriage versus people who have not committed crimes and are truly in love and have been together for a long period of time and wish to express that love with an official commitment.  People who wish to have same-sex marriage have the same goals and wants as every other person in society, but yet they are denied a simple right over criminals.  This is an important case to make because it shows how unreasonable the issues of same-sex marriage actually is.  It also places it into perspective that some people would actually rather give criminals rights over citizens who have done nothing wrong, and shines a light on how hypocritical and messed up our governmental system can actually be. 

Airplane Metaphor

Dr. Horn believes that a family with a mother and a father in a healthy marriage is compared to an airplane that always reaches its destination, and a family with a single parent is compared to a plane that only sometimes reaches its destination.  To me, this is a very opinionated and awkward metaphor to use to express this idea.  First of all I don't really think that there are some planes that are more unreliable than others or "sometimes" reach their destination, because those are the planes that have crashed and are no longer functional at all.  Dr. Horn then goes on to say that everyone would choose the first plane, and in the context of planes of course they would, but I am sure there are many people who are more than satisfied with being raised by  single parent.  I really think that what depends more on the success of a child is how it is parented rather than who or how many people are parenting them.  I know many people who have parents with a healthy marriage, but fail when it comes to parenting .  It all depends on how you go about raising your child. 

Vazquez

I think Vazquez waits to disclose that they are actually straight men to emphasize the point that the hate crimes are purely judgmental based on looks more then the actual personality of a person.  In both Brian and Mickey's stories they never talked or even looked at the people who attacked him.  The reasoning that that they must be gay was of what they were wearing, and the atmosphere they found themselves in.  She then lets us in on the fact that they are not actually gay.  As a reader we are not expecting this, and it shines a heavy light on how these acts of violence can be potentially dangerous to everyone.  It puts hate crimes on a whole different level when we realize that there is no logical reasoning for them, and purely have to do with appearance.  The issue of the violence does change when you realize that they are heterosexual because it now posses not only a threat to homosexual people, but straight people that are reading this as well.  People are not as effected when they are reading if they are heterosexual because they don't feel like it has to do with their life.  But, when she discloses that this is a threat to all then people actually get upset. 

Transcendentalism

I think that Eustace did share some of the common threads as transcendentalist believed in, but i don't think he was one.  Transcendentalist believe that humans are were divine because they were a part of nature, and that all nature shared one soul in common with humans.  This was a very spiritual way of thinking that i don't think Eustace had.  Although, he was very spiritual in that he did believe God created nature and spent much time praying, he did not think nature to be spiritual.  However, Transcendentalist did believe that human did not have a limit on their capabilities and that if you fail at something it is because a lack of effort.  Eustace definitely had thins way of thinking.  He put no limits on what he could accomplish, and would push himself until he achieve what he set out to do.  Many people found him controlling and harsh, but this was because Eustace hated when people failed at something because they were lazy.  Eustace did share some common idea with the Transcendentalist, but overall I don't think he was one.  I mean you never saw Emerson or Thoreau running around killing animals and living purely on the land.  I think Gilbert had this same idea as well.  She classified him more as someone that was mainly concerned about the maintaining nature, rather than coming up with complex ideas about the divine soul behind it. 

Emerson's Nature

One sentence within this essay that Emerson wrote that i found particularly strong and meaningful was, "I become a transparent eye-ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; i am part or particle of God."  This describes Emerson's feelings he has when he goes to the woods and leave his identity within society behind.  There is know one in the woods that can judge him, or disrupt the world that God created.  To him nature is pure and is the quintessence of what being one with God means to him.  Nature is the only thing left on earth in his view that has not been corrupted.  When he goes to the woods the problems in society like fortune, fame, and many different evils do not exist simple because nature is a whole different world apart from human corruption.  So, when he goes to the woods he slips out of his identify that the rest of society sees him to be and no longer exists as far as the rest of the humanity is concerned.  He becomes one with the purest form of the earth away from all materialistic corruption. 

The Last American Man

I think Elizabeth Gilbert wrote this book to bring praise to what she thinks is that last man in America who is living their life to it's fullest potential without the need of societies help.  This brings light to the idea that it is possible to live without all the necessities we have become so accustomed to.  When Gilbert describes Eustace Conway she makes him seem to be almost inhuman in that he fears nothing, and there is nothing that he cannot do.  The first time Gilbert describes him she states, "He is wildly competent, He is physically and intellectually predestined to acquire proficiency. He has perfect eyesight, perfect hearing, perfect balance, perfect reflexes, and perfect focus.  he has long muscles on a light but strongly constructed frame, like a natural middle-distance runner.  His body can do anything he asks of it. His mind, too" (17).  This description leaves us thinking that this man has no flaws, and it almost seems like he is too perfect to be a real human. She wants us to think that he is the last of his kind.  Within the story we do see that Eustace has flaws such as control and a need to do everything to it's fullest or else it is not acceptable in his eyes.  One one hand, this could possibly take away from his perfection.  But, I think that she added his control issues in the book to prove that he is on top of everything he does in life, and that he must do everything perfectly to be satisfied.  

Morals

I think that Richard taught himself the morals he lived by.  Throughout his life Richard was always in a conflict with some higher authority because he didn't not tolerate being treated badly for no reason.  Most kids around him at the time had listen to the teachings of the church and their parents to know that you have to do whatever and adult says when they say it, and you have to act a certain way to white people.  Wright didn't pick up on any of this.  He was always against going to church, and never saw the importance of going to school.  The reading states how morals from schooling or church related things, but Richard really didn't follow any of this.  Ironically, he seemed to have more morals than all of his friends that were brought up this way.  Richard could never justify stealing or letting himself succumb to the white, but many of black accepted it as a way of living.  I don't really know how Richard was able to teach himself so many advanced logics about life at such a young age, but I guess that just what makes him such a unique person for the time.  

Realization

At the end of the novel Richard came to the realization that the communist party and many others fighting for what they thought justice was were blind.  Richard states, "there're blind, I said to myself.  Their enemies have blinded them with too much oppression."  The communist party had rejected Richard for no legitimate reason, and Richard now knew that there was no point in fighting to be apart of there world.  He saw how corrupt they actually were even though the party didn't even realize that they had any issues.  They were fighting for rights but at the same time they were taking rights from others.  Richard realizes that people were so blinded by anger and hostilities from others that no ones was seeing threw clear lenses anymore.  All their priorities were in the wrong places.  Richard excepted that this was a reality and there was nothing he could do about it.  He was not angry with this because he knew that they could no longer control their irrational behavior.  Instead Richard become wrestles and anxious because he was striving so hard to figure out a way to express the actual reality of what was happening in the world in a way that people could understand. 

Artist vs Politicians

I do agree with Richard's view that artist and politicians stand at opposite poles.  An artist main purpose and goal is to create art that will have some sort of emotional impact on the viewer.  The opinion that the viewer gets from the piece can range in a wide verity of things, yet this does not matter to the artist.  The sole point of creating something is to let different minds come to different conclusions about there work, and as long as it evokes emotion or a response then their goal has been fulfilled.  They also are stimulated by there own emotions and views when creating the messages of their work, and they have an unlimited space to explore.  Politicians on the other hand do not have this type of freedom when speaking for their views.  Their sole purpose is to convince people that their certain view is the right one.  Because they have this challenge, there is little wiggle room to experiment with ideas or creativity.  They preach one specific outlook on something and will do everything they can to convince others to share the same view, while it doesn't matter if artist have a positive response to their work just as long as there is least a response. 

I think that it can be very easy for one voice to call a crowd to action, but it depends on who the person is.  If the person is well respected and has respected ideas then it is easy for people to turn to the person that seems to know what they are talking about.  Richard came into the communist group with little idea about what kind of group the John Reed Club even was.  But, after he expressed a couple of his ideas people turned to him and he was soon nominated as the leader of the group.  When Comrade Young come to the group people started to respect his opinions when the saw that he was an amazing artist.  When he started accusing Swann as working with the police people did not go against him because they truly believed that he was a credibly source.  If a person looks credible and has a reputation at something people are quick to turn to someone that seems to know what they are talking about, because many people need guidance and someone to follow to affirm what they think is true.  

Richard Wright

In one of the parenthesis he describes how in the south one was certain that there were hated.  He described how Shorty would offer to be kicked by the white men for money.  In chicao he is experiencing a whole different type of racism, because he does not know if people are racist or not because he is ignored like an object.  Richard comments that he now thinks that being kicked is better that the uncertainty of not knowing what people are thinking.  He would rather know where he stood in the world even if he was being taken advantage of than not know where he sands in society.  This is similar to what Linda felt in the book Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.  They both thought that the north would be this place where racism wasn't an issue.  But, they were both only half true in there assumptions.  They both found that when they moved to the north that there was no explicit racism one could see, but there was a great deal of indifference.  People didn't pay attention to them at all, and this made them feel uneasy because they didn't know how people felt or how to act. 

Positive Change

I defiantly think that going to the North will be a positive change for Wright.  He is so unhappy in the south that at this point any change could look positive.  Wright was beginning to fall into the conformity with all the other black in the south, and he knew that he needed to get out before he lost all of his dignity.  Blacks like Shorty and Harrison were willing to give into the demands of the whites in order to get by, and Wright never wanted to see himself willing giving up his self respect for money.  The North sounds like it will be a positive change for Richard, especially because he is going to be able to be with his mother and brother once again.  On the other hand, the North could end up not being all he dreamt it to be.  Like in Life of a Slave Girl, once she was in the North she realized that discrimination was still there, but it was in the form of indifference.  I also have just recently read about this time ear in History class.  During this time, many blacks moved to the North, and found there to be still much racism and segregation.  This confused many blacks because  all they have ever heard about the North was positive things, and it was a place where everyone could live peacefully. 

Subservience

In the time Richard was living in I do think subservience was a necessary part of living.  Richard had tried to get around it by not conforming to the whites orders or the orders of people within his family.  This proved to fail him miserably.  He found out soon that although it might be extremely hard for him to do he needed to obey the needs of the whites and treat them high than himself.  If he did not do this in life he wouldn't get anywhere, and could possibly end up dead.  Richard dealt with whether to subside to others or not his whole life, and I think he finally realized when he was in Memphis that there was no other way to live but to give in to this.  In todays world there is a certain limit to which we use subservience.  We are not required to use it to every person we see like Richard had to for every white person.  We are only required to use it in situations such as dealing with parents, teachers, bosses, or figures that are higher than us that maintain some sort of control over us.  Subservience will always be necessary in living in order to avoid major conflicts or hardships in your life, but I don't think that it is anywhere as necessary as it was during Richard's life. 

Wright coping with the white world

Wright states that he "began coping with the white world too late."  What he mean by this is that too late on in life he learned that in order to be successful or not be killed it was a necessity to treat whites different from blacks.  As a young kid Wright was different from many by the fact that he didn't not understand why some people had rights or authority over things that others didn't.  Because of this outlook, he never was content to assimilate with all the other blacks around him that had no problem letting whites treat them badly.  Many others were conditioned at a young age to automatically move aside when a white person walked by them, or knew the exact words to say to a white person in order to make them happy without a second thought.  Wright view of the world did not let him be conditioned in this way.  Now at an older age where he is finding himself in positions where he needs to have the outlook on life as his friends do, he does not know how to act in a way that won't get him in trouble with the whites.  Unlike others, he has to think about every action he takes and every word he says to a white person, and this is extremely hard for him to do.  He knows that he can not make it through life without getting in big trouble or killed, so he knows that he must leave in order to make it in the world. 

Speech

Wright had worked hard and earned the right to be called valedictorian.  He was asked to give a speech that would represent his hard work and the hard work of his classmates.  When Wright found out that he was to give a speech that was written by for him he had every right to refuse to read it.  Richard felt as if it was his right to speak his own words to the audience to describe what points he wanted to get across.  The speech that they wanted him to read was written to please both white and black people.  Richard has never cared about how he makes white people fell because he doesn't really notice a difference between race.  Richard has eery right to refuse to say the speech, because he had earned it and should be able to reflect himself to others on his accomplishments.  This is yet another instance where Wright gets into a conflict with authority because he does not assimilate like everyone else does.  Richard's principal even tells him that he has been working with kids all his life and he has never encountered anyone that has an attitude like Richard does.  

Wright vs. Uncle Tom

Wright and uncle Tom first start out the feud with Tom waking up Richard and asking him what time it was.  Richard responded with the time twice, but Tom insisted that it was the wrong time and got mad at him for his "sass," and said he was going to beat him.  Richard got made at him because he knew that he had done nothing wrong, and that Tom was acting out on a grudge that he had against him.  At this point, Richard is not afraid to stand up for himself against being beaten for unfair reasons because it is a part of his daily life.  In order to show that he wasn't going to take crap from Tom, he can out with razor blades in his hands so that Tom could not beat him. It obviously worked.  Richard noes how to stand up for himself now against things that he does not feel he deserves to be punished for.  This type of rejection of authority is why most adults can't stand him. 

Writes Story

Wright feels gratitude after writing his story because he finally found a way to express himself in a way where no one could judge him or punish him.  he created a short story of an indiana girl that silently drowned herself in the water showing no pain or suffering.  All his life he was always getting in trouble for things that he didn't mean to do wrong, but people took them as horrible behavior.  He never knew how to explain his behavior to his mom because she would never listen or think that he was making up excuses.  Wright found that writing was a whole different way to express the feelings he had bottled up inside.  it was like a releases of emotions.  Wright described how the women has a puzzled look on her face after he read the story of the indian girl to her.  He said that any time  he thought of her face that he would smile.  I think this is because for the first time he expressed his thoughts, but there was no repercussions or punishments for his actions.  This women could not do anything but look puzzled, and I think her confusion made him happy.  

Wright dealing with his mothers paralysis

Wrights initial response to his mother becoming very ill almost near death with paralysis was opposite of his actual personality.  He become very quiet unlike his usual questioning self and stay very reserved.  He did not want to seem dependent on anyone because his mother was sick.  This was probably because then he would be admitting that he was in need of help and it would be accepting the absence of his mother.  Wright had been receiving help from others all his life from food to places to stay, and he never felt guilty for that.  But after his mother was no longer in the equation he suddenly felt that he would become helpless if he accepted gifts of food from friends.  Wright also tried to be forth a conscious effort for the first time in the novel to keep out of trouble.  He knew that if he did anything wrong then his chances of finding a place to stay with his relative would be slim.  Richard changed in the sense that after his mother become ill he become much more responsible and lost most of his childish ways.  he realized that he was on his own and that he had to stop relying on others and start providing for himself, which was something he was not accustomed to at the time. 

Wright and his view on Jews

Wright was brought up to believe that Jewish people were inferior compared to the black race.  They were taught that Jews were evil because they cursed Jesus and didn’t believe in Him.  It became expectable from a young age to ridicule and say racist remarks against the Jews because it is what everyone around them did.  It was normal for Wright and his friends to go around spitting racist and extremely rude remarks to Jew’s as they passed by them.  No one thought to except their religion or consider the actual story behind their belief.  This is very ironic considering the prejudice that they would instill upon Jewish people was the same types of prejudices that they experienced from whites.  Blacks were accustomed to being treated like animals by the whites.  Wright was in constant questioning of his mom about why whites and blacks were so separated, because as a kid he doesn’t really see a difference in people besides how they are treated.  Wright didn’t know at the time that calling the Jews names was anything but normal, and he saw absolutely nothing wrong with it.  In fact, it was the one thing bad he could say to another individual and not get beaten by his mother for it.  Even though it seems that because blacks were treated horrible by white they would not return the behavior to other ethnic groups, but that was far from the case.  They probably felt that it was okay because they had some other group of individuals that they could treat lower than the status they felt.  And, this would help them feel more human

Why is Wright Hungry?

In the literal meaning, Wright is actually starving due to the lack of money his mother has.  His father mysteriously leaves, which leaves his mother home alone with no job or money.  For awhile Wright and his brother had no access to food because his mother was unemployed.  The metaphorical meaning of Wright's hunger rooted from longing to be understood and obtain a feeling of belonging.  Wright was constantly getting in trouble for things that an average 4 year old wouldn't normally explore like setting the curtains on fire or hanging a cat.  Wright obviously is very intelligent, he just is misunderstood.  He has a hard time understanding why he gets in trouble for the things he does, because at the time he doesn't think of the action as bad.  For example, the reason he hanged the cat was in order to prove to his dad that the words that come out of his mouth can be taken literally, and he wanted to prove his obedience.  Wright's reasoning for things is beyond his age, but is always misunderstood.  I believe that Wright has a Hunger for someone to understand his actions, and to not be thrown under the bus with punishment when he is trying to express himself.  

Do we NEED to go to school??..

Of course I think that receiving an education is important and a necessity in life, but I do think that could be taught in many other ways then the conventional schooling system that we have established.  For the most part I think that University does a pretty okay job at keeping the topics and learning interesting yet educational, which strays away from boredom.  But, many other schools students are simply spitting back facts that really have no connection to actual life, so with that aspect schools should be reformed not removed all together.  I do think that school takes up a ridiculous amount of life, and a lot of that time I spend working on school work that the second I turn it leaves my head.  I'm sure most students would agree with me that school has become less about actually learning things and more about grades.  I work hard at school for the grades.  Sometimes school can get very repetitive because I view it as work work work, good grade, work work work, good grade.  This is a dangerous cycle because I can get a hundred on a History test or on a vocab test, and then a week later I could easily fail the same test.  I retain info for the test, but I don't actually learn it.  This usually just applies to classes that information comes from a text book, not classes that revolve around ideas like English because then I am forced to think of my own thoughts, which teaches me the real information.  So, for most schooling, yes, I would agree that we don't really need to go to school to receive a proper education because the majority of the time I don't think I'm learning rather than spitting out useless facts that I forget days later. 

Non-Academic Education

All my education I have ever received has been taught with a nonacademic/ progressive type to style.  Learning how things relate to the current world around you rather than reciting subject matter from a book helps a great deal in forming a well rounded education.  Learning things that don't relate in some way to your current life is useless in my eyes, but unfortunately it is what most schools teach.  I am confident that the style in which i am being taught is going to give me a good foundation for dealing with things and shaping my ideas in the future.  What does sometime make me nervous though is that because I have really only been taught in this style what happens when I have to go to college, and perhaps they do not conform to what I am used to.  The rest of the world is very behind in this idea of nonacademic education because they teach to test not for the sake of letting their students actually learn.  I am really bad at purely educational all from the book type of informational tests, like the SAT.  Even though I have learned how to get around taking them, and can come up with a decent score now it has been hard for me in the past.  I think this probably has to do with the fact that I never was taught to think in that way, or learn in that style.  

Rhetoric images

Many of the rhetoric images I saw today were of places or storefronts.  The one that was different was Chris's photo of the boy's basket ball team.  I had never thought about the boy's uniforms sent our an example of rhetoric, but now I realize that rhetoric is in almost everything you see but we subconsciously realize it.  When I see all the boy's in matching uniform, now that i think of it, it does send me the impression that they are organized and play well simply just because they look put together and match as a team and look like a unit.  When this project first presented its self i had a hard time thinking of what I wanted to do, but now that everyone has presented i realize that rhetoric is in much more than I would think.  Of course, i realize that almost everything that we see is trying to send some kind os message, but when I look at these things I don't sit and figure out what they are trying to tell me, it just registers subliminally. 

Framing Class, Vicarious Living, and Conspicuous Consumption

Kendall's assertion is that the media molds how we live life, and it does not reflect it.  I would have to disagree to an extent.  I believe that the media is a mirror of our society, because if it wasn't then we wouldn't fallow so intensely what happens in the media.  In order to be successful the media has to cater to the audiences wishes and needs.  However, I do think that the media eggs on our values by making extremes out of all of them.  Like over emphasizing wealth, appearance, and power.  In this way they do control society.  They take our values and over emphasize what they can in order to sell it, and thats how they influences us.  I do agree with Kendall's claim that the media distorts our idea  of social inequality.  The media plays up the "American Dream," because they know that what people are most interested in.  People want to know and vicariously live through the wealthy by watching popular t.v dramas that usually revolve around the wealthy.  Because of this, the main focus of shows is around wealth, and people with no money or an average amount of money are played down as not important.  I don't think T.V is exactly what causes Americans to run up a credit card debit, but rather the need to have the latest technology item or the latest clothing trends.  But, this need and want comes from the media, which can be seen from television.  We get our ideas of what is in or popular from the media, which in return causes us to want it to fit in with everyone else.  

Images

For the pictures I took I concentrated on contrasting two different environments.  I went to Broad Ripple because I live pretty close to it, and then I went up to Carmel.  In Broad Ripple I took pictures of the various art installations they have scattered around randomly.  Most of them are all sculptures made out of some sort of metal, and all have extremely artistic characteristics.  This is common to see in Broad Ripple because the type of people and business they want to attract all fit within this arty persona.  I then went to carmel and look for art, sculptures, or monuments they might have around that compliments the characteristics they are trying to portray.  What I ended up taking pictures of was one of a couple big brick clock towers located next to the Village of West Clay.  I guess you could call it some kind of art, but what i found was very different than from Broad Ripple.  It was very dominate, proper, and wealthy looking, which is what Carmel is trying to portray in all there random things they put up to decorate.  It would be weird to think about a metal arty sculpture in the middle of a park in Carmel, because it just wouldn't fit. 

Gitlin

Gitlin feels that the streams of rhetoric that pour out of the United States have created a sort of global phenomenon.  He is saying that because many other cultures have adopted our products and ideas such as Coke, Disney, and clothing trends it has homogenized many countries cultures to our own.  It has brought the youth together "where they share some dreams of freedom, wealth, comfort, innocence, and power." America is a symbol of equal opportunity and freedom and youth that live all over the world want to adopt our idea and products because many people want to live in the culture we have created. So, they make it for themselves.   People want to be to have a connection with the American culture to feel that they have a sense global connection beyond the world that they live in.  I agree with Gitlin ideas.  Products and material items are very important to most Americans, and because of this American companies can thrive beyond those of many other counties.  Along with this people in other countries also look up to America as a free place where everyone has opportunities.  It makes sense that people would want to assimilate with all that products and ideas that Americans find important, because then they too will feel some sort of connection to being American. 

"Two Ways a Woman Can get Hurt"

According to Kilbourne, it is dangerous to portray women and men in sexual ways to advertise because it sends out the message that it is okay to depict people as sexual objects.  People are inspired and follow the media for the latest trends, and because the media is saying that people are nothing more then sexual objects for your own enjoyment than that is what people are going to follow and assimilate with.  It is bad for both men and women, but it is actually dangerous when it comes to women.  I would have to agree with Kilbourne when she states this.  Woman that are depicted as sex objects or controlled by men in advertisements then turn around and it becomes true life for actual women in society.  People so strongly follow what the media say that they believe it to be true life.  Kilbourne mentioned about a story where a girl was rapped and they used the slogan that Victoria Secret uses, which is that there lingerie will make them irresistible as evidence against her.  Due to the fact that she was wearing Victoria Secret underwear, she was asking for it.  Instances like this prove that people actually believe what companies advertise.  Women are at much more risk than men when it comes to this.  Men do not have to be worried as much about rape, harassment, or being beaten.  Men naturally have the upper hand because they are built to be stronger than women, and when ads are put out against them they do not have to deal with the consequences of their actions.  Its hard for men to understand this because they most likely have never experienced harassment or having to worry about being on street alone.  The main reason we have to have these concerns is because of how the media has depicted women to men. 

Super Bowl Ads

Like every years the common theme for the Super Bowl commercials was directed towards men.  The majority of the commercials this year focused on beer, cars, and women, which is not surprising considering football is thought to be a male sport.  What I did realize is that most of the commercials aim to have a funny pun that might or might not have anything to do with the actual product but they use that to get people to remember it. No body really cares about the actual product, because if they did they could get away with simply have a picture of what the products is and what it does.  But, that would not be affective.  The goal is to be the funniest commercial so the day after when you go back to think of all the commercials you saw throughout the game their commercial will be one of the only ones you remember, so you in return think about their product when you go out to buy something related to it.  This shouldn't be a legitimate way to buy a product, but companies have figured out that it works, and it does. 

The Bias of language, the Bias of Pictures

This essay reminds me of the very begging of the year when we spent time focusing on the difference between how people perceive pictures and writing.  I remember looking at how a cartoon illustrating an idea or a picture capturing a certain scene was much more effective when it came to capturing the viewers attention and portraying a specific idea that you want.  Putting your thoughts into writing can just as easily portray an argument, but it seems to have less of an impact on the viewer because its thoughts rather than a coherent picture that stays in your mind. Pictures are an easy way to persuade and convince viewers that what they are seeing is real, and it is easy to come up with a certain evaluation based on what they want you to think.  I think that what this essay goes more into depth about is the idea that pictures or even announcements can easily leave out what comes next in the sequence.  Technically, they are not leaving out truth, but not telling the whole truth.  By doing this it is easy for media to shape a story into anything they wish it to be in order to capture the attention of their viewers.  This is why media sources can never be truly reliable.   

reactions to disasters

Both 9/11 and the San Francisco earthquake had similar reactions from the public, but also had many things that contrasted them. In both circumstances people came together rather quickly as a community to help each other and grieve about their loses. Help form around the country started instantly in both circumstances. Disasters are one of the only circumstances where class structures and cultural restrictions seem to become irrelevant. People are all put in the same boat and are essentially all put at the same playing field. This type of reaction was seen in both the San Francisco quake and 9/11. The only difference between the two is that 9/11 stirred up a different type reaction from the public that the quake. The quake was a natural disaster and there was nothing one could do from stopping it from occurring, but 9/11 was planned as an attack. This brought people together on a global level to hear about and deal with the conspiracy. The San Fran quake even though many years ago still had the same relative reaction from the public as natural disasters we have today do. In Hurricane Katrina and was sent from all over the country and the community was rebuilt. All disasters have the basic same reaction from the public it just depends on the circumstance it occurs.