Overall, this quarter went very well for our AP Composition class. I thought that, while we were at each others' throats most of the time, the energy that our class shared helped exponentially in making the discussions both more interesting and intuitive.
Also, I thought that while some of the readings seemed a bit unnecessary (Mary Wollstonecraft), most of them proved to be quite entertaining, if not enlightening. Some of my favorite texts that we read include: "Death of a Fish," by Adam Gopnik, "From Pencils to Pixels: The Stages of Literacy Technologies," by Dennis Baron, "What is Poverty," by Theodore Dalrymple, "What Are Master-pieces and Why Are There So Few of Them," by Gertrude Stein, "A Carnivore's Credo," by Roger Scruton, and "A Modest Proposal," by Jonathan Swift, among others. I especially enjoyed said texts because they dove into the most readable, deep depths of intellect that seemed reasonable (if not truthful) to me.
In finale, I hope that next quarter proves to be as enthralling as this quarter and that our class's energy is maintained in both our discussions and analysis of these exceptional works.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Initial Reaction to O'Brien's Masterpiece
This book is amazing!!! I share 100% the enthusiasm of my fellow classmates for Tim O'Brien's novel The Things They Carried. O'Brien has a beautiful voice and his uncensored description of the war in Vietnam is proving very effective to me. I especially love how his book is laid out as a series of short stories about his life around the time of the war and how they are all interconnected, enhancing the story.
The main stylistic point that has made an impact on me thus far in reading O'Brien's novel is in the first chapter when he makes a lengthy description of the things that the men in his Alpha Company carried during the war. He explains not only the obvious physical things that they were required to carry (guns, radios, etc.) and the things they were not required to carry (condemns, marijuana, tranquilizers, etc.), but also the emotional/psychological things that they were all burdened with, such as the deaths of many of the men in their company.
Thus far, this book has made an impact on me both as a writer and as a reader, and I cannot wait to read on and experience Tim O'Brien's amazing writing.
The main stylistic point that has made an impact on me thus far in reading O'Brien's novel is in the first chapter when he makes a lengthy description of the things that the men in his Alpha Company carried during the war. He explains not only the obvious physical things that they were required to carry (guns, radios, etc.) and the things they were not required to carry (condemns, marijuana, tranquilizers, etc.), but also the emotional/psychological things that they were all burdened with, such as the deaths of many of the men in their company.
Thus far, this book has made an impact on me both as a writer and as a reader, and I cannot wait to read on and experience Tim O'Brien's amazing writing.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
"Times have changed for student protestors" by Lampert Smith
In this article Lampert Smith recognizes how times have changed for political protests concerning college students in the United States. He recognizes how many students do not find the motivation for joining protests, and instead watch television or do other things. Also, the students that do take interest, are not nearly as emotional/active in the protests. Mainly, Lampert is comparing the modern-day protests with the vehement, anarchy-established protests of the 1960's.
My personal response to this issue is that I share, 100% the observations made by Lampert Smith. Today young people, especially college students, care more about drinking, partying and watching television than they do about their country/political landscape. Whether this be because there is no draft or direct contact with these students, as Smith believes, or if the students simply do not care, I believe it is that latter more than the former. Students over the past forty years have become increasingly selfish and in need of constant satisfaction in their lives, which leads them to care about partying, drinking and watching television more than the more important political topics that will come to affect their adult lives in the real world.
My personal response to this issue is that I share, 100% the observations made by Lampert Smith. Today young people, especially college students, care more about drinking, partying and watching television than they do about their country/political landscape. Whether this be because there is no draft or direct contact with these students, as Smith believes, or if the students simply do not care, I believe it is that latter more than the former. Students over the past forty years have become increasingly selfish and in need of constant satisfaction in their lives, which leads them to care about partying, drinking and watching television more than the more important political topics that will come to affect their adult lives in the real world.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
"A Carnivore's Credo" by Roger Scruton
This essay, by Roger Scruton, ranks as one of the most enlightening essays that I have read thus far in AP Composition. In said essay, Scruton devises an argument for the persuasion of non-meat eaters to eat meat. First, he makes many observations such as to the causes for the vegetarian movement of the past fifty years. He blames this movement primarily on the growth in the fast-food industry and on the decline in eating as a family pastime. Also, he states that eating has switched from a moral encompassing ritual, bringing families together in thanks for their food, to a savage affair that often separates family members. To bring this back to his point on why people have moved towards vegetarianism is that the current generation yearns for some sort of ethical basis in their lives, so they eat vegetables as a direct connection with mother earth; this movement has also shown up in the recent "Green" movement.
In order to tie these points into persuasion, he brings out the ethical argument near the end of the essay. First, he talks about how it is the duty of the people that recognize the need for animal appreciation, primarily the vegetarians, to eat meet so that they can bring that appreciation back into the process and not leave its future to burger-gobbling pigs. Finally, he makes a point that if we treat the consuming of meat with more respect, then the procurement of said meat and the treatment of the animals will in turn improve.
I completely agree with most of what Roger said. He brought up a lot of good observations surrounding the argument of carnivorism from both sides of the issue and I thought that his theory for the causes of the vegetarian movement was spot on. The only thing that I found a little weak in his paper was his overgeneralizing in describing the raising of cows in particular. While he recognizes the pig battery farms, he generalized the raising of cows to be positive in all cases; by this he says that most farmers treat cows with utmost admiration, taking care of them and feeding them well before they are slaughtered, and at the time of slaughter it is humane and virtually pain-free.
In order to tie these points into persuasion, he brings out the ethical argument near the end of the essay. First, he talks about how it is the duty of the people that recognize the need for animal appreciation, primarily the vegetarians, to eat meet so that they can bring that appreciation back into the process and not leave its future to burger-gobbling pigs. Finally, he makes a point that if we treat the consuming of meat with more respect, then the procurement of said meat and the treatment of the animals will in turn improve.
I completely agree with most of what Roger said. He brought up a lot of good observations surrounding the argument of carnivorism from both sides of the issue and I thought that his theory for the causes of the vegetarian movement was spot on. The only thing that I found a little weak in his paper was his overgeneralizing in describing the raising of cows in particular. While he recognizes the pig battery farms, he generalized the raising of cows to be positive in all cases; by this he says that most farmers treat cows with utmost admiration, taking care of them and feeding them well before they are slaughtered, and at the time of slaughter it is humane and virtually pain-free.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
"What is Poverty" by Theodore Dalrymple
In this essay, Theodore describes what he interprets to be the state of poverty in varying countries in today's world. His main focus resides in, what he terms the "welfare state", or England. Dalrymple talks about how in England people take advantage of the government's welfare system, which in effect eliminates his understanding of poverty; by this he means that even the poorest class in England are treated with shelter, food, medicine and entertainment free of charge by the government. He contrasts this state of poverty with that which he observed in Africa: lepers with their noses rotted off, people with heart failure walking eight miles in 120 degree heat to get treatment and then walking back home, etc.
The main point that Theodore tries to get across throughout his essay is that in "welfare states" such as England and most of the current members of the European Union, it has become practice for the poorest of the poor to take advantage of the government; thereby not learning/gaining any values out of the experience of being poor and keeping the "Devil's Temptations" a part of their daily lives (drugs, gambling, prostitution, etc.).
Overall, I loved Theodore's essay on what he believes to be poverty. I agree with him in his observations of the welfare states and how their poor are suckled into contention. I also feel that having poverty is healthy for a society, being a capitalist, because it evens out the scales and teaches good ethics/morals; every family tree has a low point on it, and this is where they find their values to live by.
The main point that Theodore tries to get across throughout his essay is that in "welfare states" such as England and most of the current members of the European Union, it has become practice for the poorest of the poor to take advantage of the government; thereby not learning/gaining any values out of the experience of being poor and keeping the "Devil's Temptations" a part of their daily lives (drugs, gambling, prostitution, etc.).
Overall, I loved Theodore's essay on what he believes to be poverty. I agree with him in his observations of the welfare states and how their poor are suckled into contention. I also feel that having poverty is healthy for a society, being a capitalist, because it evens out the scales and teaches good ethics/morals; every family tree has a low point on it, and this is where they find their values to live by.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
"From Pencils to Pixels: The Stages of Literacy Technologies" by Dennis Baron
This quaint history of writing by Dennis Baron was quite dry in parts, but was effective in outlining the main events in the development of writing. After reading the chapter in Jared Diamond's book Guns, Germs, and Steel about the history of writing, I was already somewhat informed on its roots in Sumerian Cuneiform and so on, but what I especially took from Baron's article was his description on how people have accepted different writing technologies as they have come to be over the years.
Dennis talks about how every time there is a technology invented in the advancement of writing, it is not widely accepted at first and may not even be taken seriously. For example, when writing was first developed on stone tablets that were inscribed using styluses, because the majority of people were illiterate they took the scribes as being a joke much as people took the computer geeks of the nineties (when this article was most likely written). Another example would include Plato's criticism of writing when it was developed during ancient times, because he believed that written events weakened the actual memories of said events.
Besides showing how many people rejected the new technologies, Baron described how people over the ages reacted to the new technologies. First he told the story of how pencil makers initial rejected Morse code and the basis that they did not see it being effective. In turn, the developer of Morse code rejected the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell on the basis that he did not see it being effective because one could not record the conversations (in the initially invention).
The final point that I took out of Baron's article was that of differing reactions to the technologies of the pencil, the typewriter and the computer. First, the pencil grew in wide use by the fact the the only alternative was the pen and bottle of ink, so the pencil was a portable technology that could be easily taken anywhere. Also, with the invention of the typewriter and eventually the computer, the QWERTY keyboard system was developed in order to slow down typing speed so that the given machines would not break. This odd system of keyboard has stuck to this day due to widespread popularity.
Dennis talks about how every time there is a technology invented in the advancement of writing, it is not widely accepted at first and may not even be taken seriously. For example, when writing was first developed on stone tablets that were inscribed using styluses, because the majority of people were illiterate they took the scribes as being a joke much as people took the computer geeks of the nineties (when this article was most likely written). Another example would include Plato's criticism of writing when it was developed during ancient times, because he believed that written events weakened the actual memories of said events.
Besides showing how many people rejected the new technologies, Baron described how people over the ages reacted to the new technologies. First he told the story of how pencil makers initial rejected Morse code and the basis that they did not see it being effective. In turn, the developer of Morse code rejected the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell on the basis that he did not see it being effective because one could not record the conversations (in the initially invention).
The final point that I took out of Baron's article was that of differing reactions to the technologies of the pencil, the typewriter and the computer. First, the pencil grew in wide use by the fact the the only alternative was the pen and bottle of ink, so the pencil was a portable technology that could be easily taken anywhere. Also, with the invention of the typewriter and eventually the computer, the QWERTY keyboard system was developed in order to slow down typing speed so that the given machines would not break. This odd system of keyboard has stuck to this day due to widespread popularity.
Friday, September 25, 2009
My Genome, Myself: Seeking Clues in DNA by Amy Harmon
This essay was one of the most well-written and engaging choice essays that I have encountered during this term. In this essay, Amy Harmon tells the story of how she entered herself into a genome testing facility in order to be able to read her own DNA and find out clues to what her physiology will be like in the future. She talks about how she could see what traits she was given by her genes and also what diseases she would be at risk for in the future.
Throughout this essay, Amy brings up the question of whether or not it is ethical for humans to control the power to see their own make-up and their own future physiology? I believe that this is ethical, because saying that it is not is saying that every scientific breakthrough, including the discovery of DNA in the first place, is unethical. Humans have been blessed with the evolutionary capability of constantly increasing our knowledge due to our need to find out more about the world around us.
As to whether or not I would ever go through this genome testing, my answer would be no. This all seems like a waste of time to me because, while it is quite interesting, my genes do not write who I have to be. I could have some genes that say I am suppose to be ten pounds heavier than the average male, but because I am athletic and exercise constantly I am not. Also, I'm sure I do have some genes for a future of Heart disease or Kidney disease, but because I have a healthy diet I am not worried about these things.
Overall, while genes may seem valuable on the surface, they are not the final answer to any question. Our lives will never become predetermined, because of the simple fact of human ability, meaning that we can do whatever we set our minds to as long as we keep in mind two factors: devotion and patience.
For me, I'll just stick to the practice of seizing the day, because you never know if it will be here tomorrow.
Throughout this essay, Amy brings up the question of whether or not it is ethical for humans to control the power to see their own make-up and their own future physiology? I believe that this is ethical, because saying that it is not is saying that every scientific breakthrough, including the discovery of DNA in the first place, is unethical. Humans have been blessed with the evolutionary capability of constantly increasing our knowledge due to our need to find out more about the world around us.
As to whether or not I would ever go through this genome testing, my answer would be no. This all seems like a waste of time to me because, while it is quite interesting, my genes do not write who I have to be. I could have some genes that say I am suppose to be ten pounds heavier than the average male, but because I am athletic and exercise constantly I am not. Also, I'm sure I do have some genes for a future of Heart disease or Kidney disease, but because I have a healthy diet I am not worried about these things.
Overall, while genes may seem valuable on the surface, they are not the final answer to any question. Our lives will never become predetermined, because of the simple fact of human ability, meaning that we can do whatever we set our minds to as long as we keep in mind two factors: devotion and patience.
For me, I'll just stick to the practice of seizing the day, because you never know if it will be here tomorrow.
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