Brave New World- Final Reading

1.  How do you think that John's love for Shakespeare, his incredible lust for Lenina, and his tragic death all relate to one another?
2. How does Huxley truly feel about utopias? 
3. Orwell uses fear and Huxley happiness to create their dystopia/utopia. Neither of them work, so what is the perfect combination to make a utopia?

1. I believe that John's role as an outcast truly defines who he is. Not really belonging to anyone combined with the fact that his mother slept around with many different men made him who he is. Shakespeare was all he had, and John hangs on to that and the TRUE love within the plays. It is because of this that he seeks more than a sexual relationship with Lenina. He wants monogamy, a true and deep relationship that he can cherish forever. Sadly, in the world they live in, this cannot happen, and John becomes the outcast who is marveled and goggled at for his unnatural ways. These two things, John's love for Shakespeare and his mixed feelings about Lenina combine to push him over the edge and end his life in a hanging.
2. I do not think Huxley likes Utopias. In the beginning of the book, we get the sense that Huxley is trying to create a happy place with no worries, but the method behind it is not the best course of action. There are a few things wrong, and this is where Bernard comes in. Huxley uses Bernard to show that everything isn't perfect, and to show some unrest within the World State. This, coupled with John's situation at the end of the book makes the reader think that Huxley is using them to show that while Utopias might be wanted in some areas, there will never be a perfect society. This is how Huxley truly feels about Utopias.
3. I think what both Orwell and Huxley are trying to get at is that the perfect society can never be created. Orwell does this with a clear and blatant showing of what goes wrong with too much control, letting the audience know that a government like this, led by fear, will never work. However with Huxley, we see many positive things within the World State, but must understand what Bernard and John represent (see answer 2) before we can get Huxley's point. Both of these authors are trying to say that a perfect society, a Utopia, will never be created, but they do it two very different yet important ways.

"Communist Utopia"- Thomas Hornung

1. Communism is evident through the artist's use of dark colors, most noticeably. The gray skies and buildings show depression and similarity, which is what communism is all about. Also, the eyes give a sense that someone is watching you wherever you are, whatever you're doing.
2. The artist views communism as a dark, lonely, and sad place, as shown through the bleakness of the painting. He feels as if communism oppresses, which is evident through the wall. The gray surface shows that communism is attempting to make everyone the same, but the red bricks breaking through are the people that are fighting communism.
3. I think the title is sarcastic and satirical. The title is meant to show that communism is bad, and the darkness and horrible nature of the city is the best communism is going to get. Its as if the title is saying, "If this is the best communism gets, why is it here?"

Brave New World- Second Reading

The first question that came up during my reading were about Bernard's feelings for Lenina. In what way is he attracted to her? What are their plans for the future and how does he, honestly, feel about her?
      - Bernard's feelings with Lenina have seemed to go back and forth. They started off as seemingly true feelings, when he is angered as he overhears people talking about her "as though she were a bit of meat" (Huxley 43). I think Huxley used this to show that Bernard liked Lenina before she knew him that well, and it came over as kind of a boyish crush to persuade the audience to be on Bernard's side. However, it seems that Lenina gets shoved to the side as the book progresses. Bernard's fascination with John and the reservation seemingly overtakes his relationship with Lenina, and we hear less and less about her as the book goes on, leaving us in doubt as to what his true feelings are. Possibly this turn of events was brought in to show that maybe we forget what is important in life, and that Bernard will later go back to Lenina as he realizes what their relationship actually means.

The next question I had was how long will the one-state actually last? How durable is it and how long will the people continue to live like this?
    - We haven't had much of an introduction as to how the one-state existed, except the tid bits about ford and the start of this empire and how the people came to accept it. It does seem very durable, and is demonstrated through the government's control into the people's minds. Huxley writes, “’Old men in the past used to renounce, retire, take to religion, spend their time reading, thinking­—thinking! Now-- such is progress—the old men work, the old men copulate, the old men have no time, no leisure from pleasure, not a moment to sit down and think…” (68). This shows that through the use of soma and other government control, the one-state has intruded upon the minds of the citizens and made them, as they believe, happier. The durability, with the continued use of soma, could last for a long while if they keep perfecting and adding to their mental and social control.

The last question during this reading was why was John brought into this book? What is his purpose and what does he represent in Brave New World?
    - We met John on the reservation, and the first glimpse we get of him is that of a savage. Huxley writes when he first sees Lenina, a true woman, that "at once he was breathing Lenina's perfume, filling his lungs with her essential being" (143). John was born in a mix between the reservation's culture who did not accept him and reading about this wonderful civilization, the one-state, and fantasizing about it. He doesn't see how people can cope with all the rules that are set though, and maybe this is what Huxley is using him for. John might show our perspective. Us Americans with so much freedom, unable to stand that much of control. Perhaps Huxley will continue to use John in a way that shocks us from our perspective.

"Don't You Want Me?"- The Human League

1. The girl and the guy dated for five years, and now the guy wants to see her again after the breakup. The girl doesn't want to see him again. The subject is the breakup and the conflicts that come with it.
2. The man claims that he gave her the new life that she lives today when he says, "Now five years later you've got the world at your feet." He feels cheated that he helped her get on her feet and then she left him. The girl feels that she "knew I'd find a much better place either with or without you." This shows that the five years were good, but it wasn't all because of him that she got back on her feet. She had fun, but now its time to move on.
3. I side with the girl because even though the guy helped her to find her way to the top a little bit, she still feels that she needs to move on and do what's best for her. I agree with that because the guy sounds controlling, and the girl has to do what's best for the rest of her life.

Brave New World- First Reading

Equality or conformity is created through the use of SOCIAL equality. Even before birth, some children are created to look identical and each one is conditioned to have one specific role in society that he or she will grow up to fulfill. Huxley writes, "'And that,' put in the Director sententiously, 'that is the secret of happiness and virtue-liking what you've got to do. All conditioning aims at that: making people like their inescapable social destiny'" (16). This explains that the goal of conditioning is to make people perfect for a certain job, and no other job, thus controlling the equality and social destiny of each child.
Individual rights, religion, and relationships have been controlled extensively through the use of the caste system. The Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon are the five castes, and everyone must stay with their own caste. Relationships are confined to your caste, thus defining who you talk to and who you can be with. Conflict has been severely reduced as the World State has eliminated religion, and it has also taken away many individual rights, such as independent thought. Fanny says, "'And then he spends most of his time by himself-alone’” (24), showing that independent thought is frowned upon and even punishable.
The society in Brave New World is clearly a dystopia because of the use of Soma. Although the people are happy and have many leisure activities, the quality of life isn't valued very highly. People take a drug called Soma, which produces a sense of relaxation and contentment within the brain. The use of this drug ultimately highlights the fact that the World State is a dystopia. Everyone takes this to feel relaxed, the fact that they have to take it shows that there are flaws in the World State. The society created seems unpleasant and possibly even problematic. In chapter 3 the controller says this about soma: "All of the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects"  (54). This talk of soma as a substitute for religion makes it seem as if problems could occur later, and while a utopian society seems apparent now, a dystopia is sure to form as the plot unfolds.

Ethnography

1. One benefit of insider perspective is that the ethnographer is able to gain a perspective of how the people view the rest of the world. Also, he or she can appreciate how other people live. In outsider perspective, the ethnographer can easily compare to other cultures, which is the main point of the perspective.
2. These rules are important. Objectivity will never be achieved, and acknowledging your biases allows you to get them out there and move on without them being an issue. An informant allows you to not distort the image, and informing your subjects will make them less scared and afraid of you, so they will act naturally. This is why the rules are in place, and important when doing any type of ethnography.

Postcolonial Criticism

1. The West views the East as a realm of exotic, the mystical and seductive. Also, they are viewed as projections of the aspects of themselves which they choose not to acknowledge, such as laziness.
2. It means that people are not individuals, but viewed as a mass of people.
3. Their actions are determined by the racial considerations rather than their individual views on a subject. Their emotions are determined by instinctive emotions rather than taking the time to think it through. In other words, their decisions are not a factor, but whatever they feel is right is what they do.
4. The view of the east makes the west look a lot better, and makes them look almost "saint-like".
5. I think this view is still around today. In western societies, we look at ourselves as having the quintessential lives, and the view of others remains the same. It is commonly thought that eastern cultures, like Africa, are a mass of people and there are no individuals.

1984- Part Three

In the end, Big Brother and the Party failed. They didn't do their job as they had planned. The succeeded in keeping Winston's thoughts 'right', in the end, but his actions were still there. Orwell writes, “Will you understand, Winston, that no one whom we bring to this place ever leaves our hands uncured? We are not interested in those stupid crimes that you have committed,” (146). This shows that although they can understand and manipulate thought pretty well, the citizens of the Party can still act out in ways that might be too large for the party to handle. Also, it says in Book One that, "In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they should make that claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demanded it. Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence of external reality was tacitly denied by their philosophy." I think this shows not only the raw power of the party, but also the weakness that they were unable to use it in a way that was totally effective. The party's greatest weakness is that they didn't control the political ACTIONS that were committed against the Party, which is why I believe they ultimately failed.

As for poor Winston Smith, he has been brainwashed. Psychologically tortured so much by the Party and O'Brien that he is totally brainwashed into eating what the Party is cooking. He is just a citizen, a person who exists and nothing more, and although Big Brother finally controlled him, one day there will be someone who acts out in a way that Big Brother can't control, and will be the downfall and demise of the Party. Winston Smith represents hope in this book to the future citizens who will finally overturn the Party and take down Big Brother.

Asian Love

1. I assumed that the girl was deaf or she didn't understand what the guy was saying because she didn't speak his language. I assumed that she like him and he liked her back.
2. I don't think this is a cultural conflict because they are of the same culture in the same place. The conflict is that they can't communicate with each other, but it doesn't necessarily make it a cultural conflict.
3. The external conflict is that they can't communicate in the traditional manner.
4. One internal conflict is that the guy didn't have to confidence to talk to her and ask to listen to her headphones.
5. The conflicts were resolved when the guy found out that she was deaf, and he still wanted to be with her. Also, they found a way to communicate through sticky notes and then sign language.

This Land is Your Land- Woodie Guthrie

1. I think this is an individualist message because he separates himself from everyone. He is alone on his walk on the "freedom highway", which signifies that he is alone on his journey. Also, it says you and me, not "this land was made for us".
2. I think this song is anti-government because it separates himself and the people from the government. It also shows that he thinks the government is taking away some of that freedom that was supposed to belong to the people.

1984- Part Two

        I think Winston is having trouble buying into what Big Brother is selling because a lot of it doesn't make sense to him. He doesn't understand why the children sell their parents to the Thought Police and why people get excited over a hanging, things like that. He wants the freedoms that he doesn't have access to, like the freedom to choose things like his job and his wife and his family. Even though he wants a future with Julia, he can't, and it is because of the Party that he is stripped of this choice.
        I believe his questioning is a form of rebellion because the people in this society are supposed to agree with the Party in every way, but Winston thinks differently and wonders who else thinks the same way. His rebellion, though small, can be compared with Occupy Wall Street because both Winston and the protesters are fighting the government for what they think is right. However, it is a little different because Winston is fighting for more freedom and less government control and the protesters are asking the government to take a certain action. Overall, our society has adapted the common parts of the Orwellian society, but it is no where near the level that takes place in 1984. Our citizens protest what they think is wrong and disagree in certain aspects, and the difference between the two is that in our society, we have the freedom to think.

The Egg

1. I think the conflict is external, between the man and society. The father wants to do great things and has ambitions, but the society rejects his ideas and ambitions. For instance, the man that sat at the restaurant got up after his tricks and "stopped at the door, turned and laughed" (Anderson pg. 7).
2. I think the chickens represent all the obstacles that the family has to go through, and the eggs represent the ideas and ambitions that hatch from them. The eggs may be hatched, but are not good at staying up and are not perfect, and is why the eggs are sometimes not there or not good. On page two, Anderson writes, "to go squashed and dead back to their maker."
3. I think he is saying these things because he was bored and had a lot of time to think and ponder about life. The narrator wants to see the darker side of life because the lighter side is getting pretty boring.
4. One time, I wanted to go to the moon, but I couldn't fly so I couldn't go to the moon. This is an external conflict between my want to go to the moon and the inability to fly there.

Aristotle Quote

    This quote is saying that an educated person can understand and elaborate on a thought or opinion, but not adopt it as one's own. I agree with this because you can be aware and knowledgeable on a topic, but not necessarily agree with the statement it is making. For instance, you may not agree with the Occupy Wall Street movement, but you should still stay up to date with the current issues and topics.

American Friendships

Americans could be percieved in this way because they value their independence, the might feel inferior to others if they can't manage alone, and they have a different connotation of the word 'friend'. This connotation may be more similar to an acquantaince, and not at true friend. The difference in meanings is a big part of why Americans are percieved this way.

Individualism vs. Collectivism

1. In a collectivist society, people tend to be selfless, giving credit to others instead of focusing on their own accomplishments. The individualist society, people are more selfish and take credit for what they've done.
2. I think it is true that the oldest of PhD gets the most credit or approval in any society. However, it may not be taken as seriously in a collectivist society.
3. The quality of work may be less in an individualistic society because there are not as many people to work on it.
4. An acquaintance is someone who you know, but would never hang out with outside the environment you normally see them in. I think it is a negative connotation because they don't meet the standards of being a true friend.

Radiohead- 2+2=5

1. Lyrically, I think the song is saying that some things are never going to be perfect, and the people who believe that a Utopia is possible are unrealistic.
2. The music starts slow, then gets faster. The difference in pace of the music shows the unpredictableness of life sometimes, and the irregularity that it can bring. It reinforces the idea that a Utopia is not possible.
3. I think this relates to 1984 because in that book, a dystopia is occuring, and when people in the book think it is a Utopia, they are mistaken, as stated by the lyrics of the song.

Islam- Globalization and Gender

1. One of the conflicts is external, and it involves the problem of Western society influencing the rest of the world. We are looked at as the quintessential society and the 'right' way to do things. Our culture spreads, blocking out and even removing other cultures and customs in other worlds because we force Western culture on everyone else.
2. Globalization is the spread of an idea, or rather a culture. The speaker sees it as a one-way street because our role models are looked up to and respected in other countries and cultures, but we don't accept other people's role models because they are different.
3. The benefit of globalization is that it opens up the opportunity for many role models, whether people want it or not.
4. The Qu'ran and the Constitution.

1984- Part 1

The society in the book 1984, written by George Orwell, is meant by the government to be a utopia, but has become more of a dystopia, even if many of the citizens cannot recognize this fact. The government has tried to make all citizens appear equal and happy by way of the same opportunities, homes, foods, etc. for all citizens. However, the citizens have been stripped of all rights-freedom of speech, religion, and even their thoughts have been compromised. Only Goldstein, a traitor who is meant to be hated and despised by all, suggests that people should have such rights, and the people follow the government in saying that this idea is crazy. Even though this is a crazy idea to us, the people conform because the government is all-powerful and often arrests people or makes it so that they simply "no longer exist" if they are not cooperating with the rules. Enough people think that they are happy that there is no wheels underneath the thought of a revolution. The people are told that they live in a perfect world, even with their patched clothes and disgusting food and smelly houses, proving that this is a dystopia in meant to be a utopia.

Utopia

1. A Utopian society is the perfect world, the quintessential society in which to live in. No crime, disease, conflict, or any other harmful things would exist in a Utopian society.
2. My ideal world would include me and my family and friends all hanging out together and enjoying the things we love. School and church would be combined and everyone would be Christian. I could watch TV all the time and just do whatever I wanted. There would also be no sickness or diseases, and everyone would get along.
3. My soundtrack would include some Bob Marley, some OutKast, and some other funky and fun music to live my life to.

Built to Spill- "You Were Right"

1. The lyrical content of the song alludes to the frustrating and sad time in the artist's life, and the depressing and sad lyrics reflect that.
2. The musical content, the hard guitar and loud drums, reflects a rough time or frustrating period the artist is going through.
3. I think the song was very effective. The lyrics were saying that this person was right about the bad things in life, and now he is feeling these things, as shown through the lyrics as well as the musical content.

Bo Bartlett- "Young Life"

Claims:

1. The deer is above everything else because the man values it most.
2. The man loves the woman more than the child.
3. The painting is depicted in a dry, maybe hot, setting with not a lot of rain.

Facts:

1. The deer is above everything else.
2. The child is farther from the man and woman.
3. There is dirt on the ground with no plants.

    The man in Bo Bartlett's "Young Life" clearly lves the woman more than the child. The man and the woman are in a close embrace, with there arms around eachother and their heads leaning against eachothers. Also, the child is separated from their embrace, not at all involved in it. The child has his back to the man as well.

Reading Critically

      The first step in reading critically is to establish the preliminaries. This includes the title, the author, and when and where the work was published. This gives us some background information on the story and can help us greatly when we are trying to dig deeper in our understanding of the piece. Next comes the first read of the work. You shouldn't bog down on everything in the piece, and if you don't understand a word, circle it and come back to it later. You should take notes while you read. This includes circling words that you don't know and writing questions that pop to your mind when you read something. A pencil and journal are good to have near by to take your notes. After you have read the work a few times, summarizing helps you gain a better understanding of what you read by repeating it back in written form. There are short and long ways to do this, but either way, summarizing is helpful (like I'm doing here). Analyzing what you've read is a good way to find the author's main idea, support for the idea, and other elements. By doing these things, you well be a better critical reader, and understand what you are reading on a deeper level.

The Avett Brothers- "Shame"

1. I think the subject is relationships and the tone is somber and regretful.
2. "Overwhelming" pushes the tone because if makes it sound like it is just too much to bear. It really helps set the tone. "Boatloads" gives a good explanation of the tone because it is saying that there is so much shame, so much that he is regretful of it. Also, "sink" gives a negative and sad feel to the song, and has a stronger meaning than "fell", or some other word like it.

Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out- SOAPSTone

S- The subject of David Barry's Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out, is to show some key differences in males and females which can at times make life difficult. These differences are illustrated by anecdotal evidence. For example, he writes about how he and his wife argue and disagree over what is clean and what is not. The stories he tells are funny, but clearly identify that women like things to be clean, and men like to watch sports.

O- Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out was written in the mid 1980's during modern time. This is exhibited because the guys go to watch television in one of his stories. Also, he writes, "an important project on the Etch-a-Sketch", and while these toys are still around today, there were very popular in that particular time period, which gives us a clue to when this was written. It also has a modern feel to it, demonstrated through the culture that husbands and wives live in today. The women are no longer 'required' to do all the cleaing, as was custom in earlier times. This was probably written here in America, or possibly Australia, where David Barry is from.

A- David Barry's intended audience is probably adult men and women. This is shown through his ability to highlight a few key differences between men and women. He tells his audience that women like things clean, and men like sports, and gives his opinion on what he thinks is wrong or justifiable with these. Barry is not writing to younger people or older people, as they have different cultures and lives that don't relate to what this story is saying. Also, through Barry's bias as a man, his audience appeals to mostly men, but involves women heavily as well.

P- The purpose of Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out is to entertain, but also inform. He presents the men vs. women argument in a light and funny new way, but also informs on these differences. He makes us laugh, but then describes these differences and gives his opinion on them. For example, he starts his first story off with, "The primary difference between men and women is that women can see extremely small quantities of dirt." This makes us laugh and wonder where he is going with this. He then goes on to explain that women like things to be a lot cleaner and neater than men. Barry's purpose is to inform on the differences, but entertain us with many giggles throughout.

S- David Barry believes women are too nit-picky. He shows this through his description and bias in saying that he doesn't like to clean and that things don't need to be as clean as his wife would like them to be. He expresses this by saying, "She is in there looking at the very walls I just Windexed, and she is seeing dirt! Everywhere!" This shows that he thinks it is clean, but clearly his wife disagrees.
    He also believes that it is acceptable to leave a party to go watch sports with the other guys. He displays his bias when he has to go to a party with his wife on a night when the World Series is on, and he hates it. He wants to watch, so he and the other guys skip out and go watch the game in another room. He thinks it is important, but his wife would not agree.

T- The tone is funny, and somewhat incredulous. The way his wife acts, you would think he thinks she is from another planet. He disagrees with some of the things she does, and talks about her as if she is crazy. His incredulous tone makes for some funny jokes, and that is a big part of the tone as well. David Barry's Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out is funny, but as an incredulous tone as well.

American Tongues

1. Voice in literature means your tone, and the way sound when your words are read. It is made up of your word choice and is unique to you.
2. Whenever someone says something I don't like I am usually sarcastic and mess around with them, saying things that are very sarcastic. This is indicated through my writing.
3. I would like talk around a subject if it were awkward, or maybe if I was in trouble with my parents and had to explain something to them.
4. Voice is important because it helps keep your nonfiction writing form being boring, and it keeps the reader entertained even though your topic may be a little boring.
5. We can develop our voice by using positive and negative tones for whatever it is we are trying to say.

Eleanor Rigby: Classic vs. Metal vs. Dubstep

For this song, I prefer the classical version. It is just so much simpler and cleaner. The metal version made me want to puke, and I didn't like it at all. I could handle the dubstep, with all the cool-sounding beats, but the classic triumphed over all the others. It is the original version by the original group, and I felt like the others weren't that bad, just unnecessary for a sweet sounding song.

Kandinsky vs. Pollack

- I prefer the Kandinsky because it is somewhat abstract. There are a variety of shapes and colors to look at, and I find something different and new within the painting each time I look back at it.
- I think the Pollack is more pleasing, universally. I think people would enjoy this more because it is monochromatic and similar all around. It is more pleasing because Krandinsky's is too much, and too many colors to be pleasing.

Sign Language

1. From watching the video, the single effect that I took away from it was that there are so many beautiful things out there, and we shouldn't just ignore them when they are right under our noses.
2. -Dialogue: "We shouldn't just ignore them," is what Ben says about these beautiful things.
    -The closenesss of the camera work, and the intimate feel it gave.
    - His tone about his job, and how much he loves it.
3. I would change the music. It had a kind of final, ending sort of sound, and I felt that although it provided for the fact that Ben was leaving his job, it didn't really match up with what I thought was the single effect. I would have made it a little more happier, to show all the beautiful things he describes.

George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant"

1.      S- This story is about a police officer living in India. He tells his struggles as a young man during difficult political times, and how he deals with them. He then tells the story about how he was called upon to check on a rogue elephant, and then decides it is best for it to be shot.

2.      O- This story, or article, is set sometime around the start of the 20^th century. It is during a time when the Europeans are hated in India, where the police officer is working. The political and cultural issues make are important in this story.

3.      A- The audience is young people, people in their late teens to their late 20’s. Orwell rights to this audience because that is the age group that he is in during the story. It appeals to this audience because they can relate to the feeling of conforming to people’s views to not look like a fool.

4.      P- I think there are two purposes. The first is to entertain, to give a story that is interesting. But I think the real purpose is to inform. Orwell’s underlying message in this story is that we shouldn’t do things just to look good. The elephant could have lived, but instead was put through torture just so Orwell wouldn’t be mocked or ridiculed. This is what he informs the audience of through this story.

5.      S- The speaker is George Orwell, who we assume is also the main character of the story. He is a police officer in the early 1900’s living in India.

6.      T- The tone is very thoughtful. He is reflecting back on himself and telling about himself as a younger man. He often questions his actions and wonders whether they were just. He never switches tones, even when he is describing the awful, gut-wrenching death of the elephant. He is constantly thoughtful and clear throughout his story.

Harry Nilsson- "Good Old Desk"

S- It is about God and his faith.
O- In the 1960's and 1970's when this was written.
A- Adults, pretty much anyone over 18.
P- To inform and entertain.
S- Harry Nilsson, and adult.
T- He is somwhat affectionate, and has a comforting tone.

I think Harry Nilsson is talking about religion, and that God is always there for him; God is dependable for him.
1. "To keep my hopes alive"
2. "Such a comfort to know its got no place to go, its always there"
3. "Its the one friend I've got, a giant of all times"

Norman Rockwell's "The Runaway"

The 1950s were a time of great change, both in culture and perspective. The American people were not all best friends, and America was no longer on top of the world. We were at war with Korea, and there were a lot of issues in society at that time. However, Norman Rockwell's painting "The Runaway" forgets all this. His painting sugar coated the American society in the 1950's and left the social uprisings behind. "The Runaway" overlooks the fundamental rift that was rising in America throughout the 1950s- an emerging counter culture that was not concerned with how things were, but how they are.

The Beatles: "Across the Universe"

1. - Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes.
    - Sounds of laughter shade my life
    - Shines around me like a million suns
2. The million suns is a symbol for all the love that is around him, and nothing can penetrate that.
3. One symbol that I always view as a symbol in the American flag, which I always took to stand for our bravery, our democracy, and every citizen within its borders. Every time I see the flag it reminds me what the stripes and stars stand for, what it took to shape America, and all the men and women fighting overseas.

Shuggie Otis- "Inspiration Information"

-The feel of this song is happy. It put me in a good mood, made me smile, and gave me the feeling that I needed to wash a car.
- The guitar and the keyboard really give this song a funky and happy feel, and without them, this song just wouldn't be the same. Also, had the lyrics been more pronounced, and the focus of the song was not on the music, the audience would have listened more to the lyrics and probably wouldn't have gotten that same feeling of mellow happiness.

Diego Rivera- "Semeadores"

S- The subject is Mexicans working, digging.
O- I think it is a time when Mexicans were enslaved, or had to work very hard.
A- Mexicans who struggled, and those who made them work.
P- To inform of Mexican's hard labor they endured.
S- Diego Rivera
T- Sorrowful

- The meaning of this piece of art is that the artist wants you to think about the hard labor Mexicans had and have to go through, as shown by the man digging, and the colors that make it look like it is very hot.

Wilco's Approach

1. Wilco's approach is to build a song, and then deconstruct it to see all the other options, and then seeing what ways you can make the song better.
2. My writing process is that I like to think of what my topic is, and then ways to support my topic. After that, I come up with a thesis, do a prewrite sometimes, and then sit down to write a draft. Next I re-read it, let others read it, and then improve upon it.

American Grafitti Soundtrack

1. Nostalgia is a feeling you get when looking back at times when you were younger, or look at something that gives you a warm, yearning feeling for what used to be. This feeling of nostalgia can be triggered by an object, song, sound, smell, or almost anything.
2. When I hear this music, I think of people in the '60s dancing together at a fast pace. I also think of the movie Grease, and the singing and dancing they do in a little diner.
3. My childhood is associated with my family and friends. I specifically remember playing with my cousin at his house when we were younger, and hanging out by the pool at my grandparent's house. We would go over there to swim and then eat together, watching the sun go down as we played in their huge yard or sat around and talked.

"The Pinch of Poverty"

1. Contributing factors of poverty include where you work (if your work), where you live, the type of government you live under, as well as others.
2. This artist portrays poverty in a negative light, as shown by the dark colors and gloomy faces.
3. I think the artist's message is that it is a hard life living in poverty, and can happen to anyone.
4. The artist uses dark colors and a certain dreariness about the painting to create a dark and bleak setting, which emphasizes the hard life of poverty. He or she also uses perspective as he puts the focal point on the baby to show that poverty can affect anyone, even a small child.

Live Free and Starve or The Singer Solution??

In Chitra Divakaruni's article "Live Free and Starve" she argues the point that we must stop abusive child labor in other third world countries. However, her approach is not to simply create a law to ban child labor. She uses her past experiences of living in another country to make the argument that if America stops the child labor, the children will have no shelter or food, and could starve to death. Divakaruni says that the children would rather work and have food than be free and die of starvation, hence the name of her article. She writes, "A bill like the one we've just passed is of no use unless it goes hand in hand with programs that will offer a new life to these newly released children." I agree with Divakaruni's opinion in this article, and I believe that we need to help these children once they've been released, not just get them out of the abusive workplaces.

In a somewhat contrasting view, Peter Singer writes in his article "The Singer Solution to World Poverty" that as wealthy as we are compared to many countries, we need to donate a large chunk of our money to help poverty in third world countries. He writes, "An American household with an income of $50,000 spends around $30,000 annually on necessities, according to the Conference Board, a nonprofit economic research organization. Therefore, for a household bringing in $50,000 a year, donations to help the world's poor should be as close as possible to $20,000." He uses this sort of, 'call-to-action' speak through much of the article, and uses a story to get our attention. He tells of Bob, a man who let a small child get killed on his watch when he could have helped, and tells us that if we don't donate money, we are the same as Bob; we let children die without doing anything. While I agree that we need to be generous and give to organizations that are trying to help, I disagree with much of his thoughts. He forgets that there are millions dying of cancer each year, and that there are thousands of other organizations that are doing great things to help other people. Singer questions America's generosity, and tells us that we should give more, even though many of us give to local charities to help the armed forces, or donate money to cancer research funds. As a Type 1 Diabetic, I know what it feels like to ask for money to help with research. When you are the one in need, and there is a fund to try and help you or others you love, you don't think about starving kids in other countries. We are selfish beings, there is no denying it, but that doesn't mean we don't try to help other people. This bias and flaw in his article is what keeps me from siding with Singer.

Ariel Pink's Haunted Grafitti- "Round and Round"

I liked this song fairly well. I am a big fan of the keyboard in music, and the synthesized sound made it enjoyable. The multiple vocalists in the song also helped me to like it. Most of the time I hate repetition when it comes to music, and that is my bias. It shows up because I liked the different sounds the vocalists created, as well as a variation of the sound all the way through. Although the lyrics were a bit difficult to understand, I didn't feel like I missed out on that much. I have been exposed to many different types of music, and because of that was able to understand that this song wasn't necessarily about the lyrics, but about enjoying the different sounds of different instruments.