High School

It was difficult,
It was rough,
Some times were good,
Some times were tough.

It was tedious,
It was dragging,
Some days were fun,
Some days were lagging.

It helped us make friends,
Though we may have lost some, too,
But through it all,
We definitely grew.

It made us work hard,
It took up our time,
Soon it'll be over,
And we'll have to say goodbye.

It shaped us a lot,
Got us to where we are now,
We've made it to the end,
Though I'm not quite sure how.

For that I am grateful,
And I'd like to say,
Thank you, high school, for everything,
But we can no longer stay.

As we step into the future,
We say goodbye to our past,
We've made some great memories,
Ones that will always last.

I'm thankful for you all,
My teachers and my peers,
When we graduate in June,
I'll probably be in tears. (accurate)

What's in Whitman's Head?

"Brochure
Two characters as of a Dialogue between A. ..."
"Lessons for a President elect Dialogue between ... and 'President elect'"
"Why now I shall know whether there is anything in you, Libertad.  I shall see how much you can stand"
"Perhaps I shall see the crash - is all then lost?
"What then? Have those thrones there stood so ...?  Does the Queen of England represent a thousand years? And the Queen of Spain a thousand years? And you"
"Why now I should see what the old ship is made of"
"Any body can sail a fair wind, a smooth sea"
"Ship of Libertad
Blow mad winds!
...
Crash away
..."

3 pictures of men with full beards, progressing into a man with a hat and a man in a jacket with a hat.
A picture of a skeleton with a sword through its heart.

I think a good amount of the things found in this notebook are significant when attempting to interpret Whitman's writing.  Many of the passages of words found in this were the starts of poems. The transformation of thoughts and ideas to poetry was evident in this notebook, and it is my assumption that he had many more and they all contained the "rough drafts" of his poems throughout the years.  I believe the sketches he drew helped him create the ideas in his head in a visible form. This notebook could be the revelation of what might have been his primary creative process, though it is likely that that may have altered throughout the many years he created poetry.

After reading the analyses of this notebook, many things I did not see became more clear.  When I read the presidential section I was not aware that this specifically had to do with Lincoln.  Now that I am aware that it was, it seems plausible that Whitman did carry this notebook around with him and seeing Lincoln inspired some of his writing.  I was also unaware of the writings about religion as I could not read them very clearly.  He took his views of religion and created his own version of a religion which he wrote about in his works.  He uses this notebook as a place for him to write down his views of the world and then creates poetry from his interpretations.  It is very interesting to see the process written down, despite the difficulty of reading it.

The American Dream

1. How would you describe the “American Dream?”

In my opinion, the "American Dream" is the fulfillment of the goals of an individual.  So for me, living the "American Dream" would mean living a life full of service and purpose, spreading the word of God and living a positive and loving life.  There are many ways that I can achieve these goals such as being part of a good church, starting a family (eventually), getting a job in which I can serve others (such as physical therapy which I am very interested in) and overall trying to stay positive in any situation.  This may be completely different from someone else's perception of the "American Dream", however, and that is okay.  Everyone has different dreams and goals for themselves and that is what creates their "American Dream".  Overall, I would say that the "American Dream" is comprised of drive and determination to achieve an individual's definition of success.

2. What is your definition of wealth?

My definition of wealth is having an abundance of material things.  When you look up that word, it says practically the same thing.  I don't believe material wealth is the most important thing; I think happiness is.  However, I think in some cases you can reach happiness (or at least certain kinds of happiness) through material possessions.  That might sound bad but whatever, everyone knows it's the truth to a great extent.  Yes there are some people who are genuinely the happiest they could possibly be with minimum possessions, but that is not the majority of people.  I'm not going to try to lie in order to make myself sound as un-materialistic as possible because that is not true.  However, I don't think that I would be unhappy without these material things.  Thus, I do think the true definition of wealth has to do with money and material, but I don't think wealth is equivalent to happiness which some do.

3. What are Americans’ attitudes toward wealth and poverty?

Americans' in general have an attitude towards wealth that is the exact opposite than that towards poverty.  Wealth is desired, aimed for and admired.  Poverty is feared, aimed against and opposed.  Both, however, use the other as a platform for certain things they stand against (in a way).  To explain this complicated thought (sorry my brain can be confusing) I wanted to talk about politics. Wealthy, conservatives will use poverty to show that those in that situation aren't working hard enough in order to get themselves to the same place as the wealthy (they worked hard to get to the American Dream, so everyone else needs to work harder to get there).  As for those not as well-off who have a more liberal viewpoint, they may want to tax the wealthy more and themselves less.  These thoughts are just random and I do not have any intention of stating which side I agree with, but this is simply a way for me to connect the two in a real life example.  I apologize if that was still confusing.

4. What is your attitude toward wealth and poverty?

My attitudes towards wealth and poverty are somewhat along the lines of the general description I gave above in the sense that I am scared to live in poverty and strive to have wealth.  My fear of living in poverty drives me to be successful more than my desire to be wealthy, however.  Also, because I would not want to be in poverty, I also do not want anyone else to live in that state.  Thus, I am more inclined to try and help find a way to end poverty in the world.  I don't think everyone needs to own a Mercedes or be a CEO, but I do think everyone should have a place to live and access to clean water and food. 

Freebie :)

The IOC Can't Break Me

Practice IOC annotated passage:

Practice IOC voice recording wouldn't load so I emailed it to you!

Grading of my practice IOC:

Criterion A:  I would give myself a 6 on this as I believe that I showed adequate knowledge and understanding of the text, but my comments were supported by well chosen references to the text. Though that is one half from the 5-6 range and one half from the 7-8 range I feel like the IBO would give me a more harsh grade so I chose 6.

Criterion B:  I gave myself a 7 for this section because I think I had a good awareness and illustration of the use of literary features and a somewhat detailed understanding of their effects on the reader.  I could have elaborated more however.

Criterion C:  I gave myself a 3 for this area area because I tried to organize my thoughts well, but I had a hard time transitioning from each piece of evidence I had, leading it to sound not very structured.

Criterion D:  I would give myself a 3 for this as well.  I don't have the most extensive vocabulary in the subject of English, but I think that I was mostly clear and appropriate, with an adequate degree of accuracy in grammar and sentence construction.  I also believe that my register and style are mostly appropriate to the commentary.

In reality I'm probably not a harsh enough critic on my work, but I just don't want to assume I did too horribly.  I for sure did better than the guy in the video you sent us, though, so that's reassuring.

Hope you enjoyed!! :)

A cover's worth a thousand words

Cover 1

Cover 2

Cover 3

Cover 4

  

Cover 1

This cover pictures a girl that I would assume to be the main character and narrator, Kathy.  Amidst lots of natural greenery, Kathy is sitting in a somber and hopeless manner as the body language of her head hunched over and her eyes looking down suggests. The intended purpose of this image may be to portray the loneliness that Kathy felt during her life from Hailsham to being a carer.  This cover would draw people in as they would be intrigued as to what the girl on the front was thinking about and therefore what Ishiguro wrote. This one is more realistic looking than Cover 2, as is cover 3.

Cover 2

I think this cover is extremely powerful not only because of the image but also due to the large font size. The bright yellow and contrasting blue draw the eye of anyone looking at the book. The figure on the right side of the cover is a young girl in a blue dress, and the fact that her face is not pictured in this brings a sense of mystery to cover. This enigmatic aspect of the cover, in addition to the bright coloring, is most likely what the cover artist intended to do for the purpose of grabbing the potential audience's attention. This cover looks the least realistic out of the four, showing creativity and the dystopia/futuristic/unreal aspect of the novel.

Cover 3

This eerie image of a boat at dusk immediately brings me back to the point in the story when Kathy, Ruth and Tommy find the stranded boat in the marsh. The boat to me symbolized the characters' internal hope for a fate different from their's, but their inability to change their situation. Having the boat on the cover may serve the cover artist's intention of getting the audience to develop an immediate interest in the novel. This cover to me seems more dark than the previous two, as the colors used create a spooky vibe, but this aspect can just as easily draw attention to the book.

Cover 4

This is the most creepy cover of them all in my opinion. The off-size lettering and bent/twisted wire provokes a daunting effect on the potential audience. It is plausible that the cover artist created this with the intention of pointing out the frightening elements in this novel. The plot line being about clones created to give their internal organs away is in many ways degraded and thus the artist likely chose to focus on this to let the reader know better the more appalling parts they would be reading about. An important thing to note about this cover is that it is the only one of the four that does not have a quote/review on the front. This was probably the artist's choice to keep the cover looking as dark as possible and have nothing distract from that.

Comparison of Covers 2 and 3

When I saw Cover 2, the three words I immediately thought of were playful, energy and mystery. The child on the cover seems to be moving around in an energetic and playful way, yet it is a mystery as to what she is up to. This is a more positive view, most likely due to coloring and imagery, than that of Cover 4. For that cover the words I thought of were scary, sheltered and punishment. The wire on this cover reminded me of a prison in which the prisoners are cut off from the outside world, much in a disturbing and scary way.

If I had not read the book and I saw Cover 2 in a bookstore, I would think the novel is about a young girl that is part of some kind of mystery adventure. Very much in contrast, if I saw Cover 4 without having read Never Let Me Go I would think it was a horror story about imprisonment and isolation of some kind. Having read the book however, it is evident in my opinion that Cover 2 is portraying the innocence of Kathy as a young child in Hailsham. She is aware, yet unaware of the future that is inevitably in front of her. As they say, "ignorance is bliss", and her bliss is not worrying about what lies ahead but rather making the most of her time at Hailsham listening to cassette tapes of "Never Let Me Go" by Judy Bridgewater. Cover 4 is quite the opposite from my perspective having read the novel. Seeing the intimidating wire all tangled up and the messing typing of the title points out the frightening features of this book. This to me is reflective of the caged-in feeling of Hailsham as they are surrounded by woods. There are faint trees in the background of this cover that relate to this facet of Hailsham and give a similarly cut-off vibe that the students may experience while growing up there. They know that there is another world outside of the gates of Hailsham but they have yet to see it for themselves, much like how there is so much more to the novel than this cover shows, but the audience has yet to read it for themselves.

On Cover 2, I think a young Kathy is portrayed by the moving, faceless figure on the right. In my head I picture Madame watching Kathy dance and sing along to "Never Let Me Go" in her room that one day. This idea could be supported by the blurriness of the image, as Madame's eyes would be watery so her vision would not be entirely clear. This viewpoint and portrayal of Kathy are very moving and lend themselves to my above point that this cover shows the innocence of the clones at Hailsham. Madame is very upset by the fact that Kathy is so interested in something she will never be able to have, while Kathy seems to simply be enjoying the song.  As for Cover 4, I think this is a picture of Hailsham from the inside out, most likely from Kathy as the narrator, though it could be from any student inside the school as they get older and more aware of their situation. The dark and lighter gray coloring and wire is most likely reflective of the student's realization of never having a normal human life. They may feel trapped, with no other possible outcome for their life, thus the purpose of having wiring there to keep them confined in the area.

In my opinion, the two covers show directly contrasting effects of cultural construction of the book. Cover 2 as it is much more positive in nature may come from a viewpoint of this novel purely being for entertainment rather than having a despairing tone to it like in Cover 4. For that cover, this may be from a place of concern and warning to the audiences to make sure that with all the new technology and advancements in cloning, that this does not become the outcome.

Going along with what I just wrote about, I think Cover 2 would come from someone who maybe saw human cloning and the entire idea of this book as extremely distant and far fetched. This opinion is due to the fact that I believe that if someone actually thought this could be a serious issue in our close future, they would view it as more of a terrifying problem which is what I think was the case for the Cover 4 artist. I think the kinds of people who would read the Cover 2 version are people looking for a more positive and fun book just based on how it looks at first glance. As for Cover 4, someone who enjoys mystery and darkness in novels would more likely choose this version as it has a very eerie effect.

Once upon a time...

Link to the TEDtalk: https://www.ted.com/talks/becci_manson_re_touching_lives_through_photos

This talk by Becci Manson was about how she took her experience and job as a photograph retoucher and applied it to help restore photographs that were ruined after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Manson opened by explaining her job and how many people do not respect it because they think her and her colleagues simply "make skinny models skinnier and perfect faces more perfect".  She said that their job is creating art and then introduces her story of volunteering in Japan.  Manson said that her volunteer team went to a site in Japan for three weeks, and while they were cleaning the homes and streets for reparation they found many photos.  They kept the pictures in a safe place so that when families returned they could look for them.  Many of the pictures had been damaged and they attempted to clean them off, but Manson thought it would be a good idea to use her skills at photo retouching to fix the pictures for the families.  Manson's purpose was to show that her talents could be used for more than just the superficial things many people assumed it was used for.

This talk relates to many themes within Never Let Me Go in an interesting way.  Manson knew how much the photos meant to the people of these towns, and how pictures help people remember certain times in their lives.  In Never Let Me Go, memories and how we think about them is a major theme that is shown to impact the rest of our lives.  The same is true with photographs.  Manson wanted to be able to give the citizens back their memories in the most clear and truest form so that they could remember things as they were instead of remembering the damage done to them.

Becci Manson is a professional photo retoucher, and as such, she is very knowledgeable of things surrounding her job.  She is also a member of "All Hands Volunteers" and does many things to help her community and countries all over the world as she did with the people in Japan.  Manson was a volunteer in Japan, she did not simply donate to the cause, she worked in the streets and with the families that were effected by this disaster. I believe this and her background give her credibility to be able to talk about how photo retouching can positively affect the lives of others.  Her audience should respond to this ethos by listening to what she has to say and taking into account her experiences beyond just fixing peoples bodies for magazines.

While this TEDtalk was more about telling her story of helping those in Japan who had damage done to their communities, Manson is still making an argument for photo-retouching as art and aid.  The logos used in this TEDtalk can be evaluated by looking at the strengths and weaknesses of Manson's "argument".  While she did not have any research or polls to back up her opinion, she did have the photographs that she and others had retouched to fix back to their original quality.  Manson also used her words to tell how the redone pictures positively impacted the people she helped.  It is difficult to analyze the elements of an argument for this kind of talk, but seeing that there are not many facts to be presented about this, I would say Manson did a good job of proving her point.  She may be biased towards her side considering that she does photo-retouching for a living, but the fact that she also does it for volunteering to help others shows that it is not just for her benefit.

The entire talk had me feeling very emotional, so it is evident that Manson could assume her audience would be emotionally effected by her talk.  I believe that her introducing the horrific events in Japan was the first pull towards pathos that Manson used.  She then furthered her argument by putting the photographs on the large screen so that the entire audience could see the amazing work she and so many others had done for the people whose pictures were ruined.  I think the use of pathos was the best element of Manson's argument, as the whole situation was extremely sad, and the audience could view the positive work she had done with her photo-retouching abilities.

Photo-retouching is a pretty modern concept, and I think that is what first drew me into watching this TEDtalk. I have also been learning about retouching in my ITGS, so I had some background knowledge on the subject and its implications.  I am also very involved in volunteer work, so to see those two things combined together was very interesting to me.  I was not exactly sure what the talk would be about at first, but when I finished watching I was very glad that I had.  This talk was all about helping people who have been through a tough situation, no matter how you choose to do it.  Whether or not some people see photo-retouching as unethical did not stop Manson from putting her skills to good use and helping many people devastated by tragedy. It was more than just clearing up a picture, it was giving people back memories that they cherished and will continue to cherish for the rest of their lives.

Double Indemnity

Walter Neff - a smart, successful insurance agent who cannot help but be fooled by a woman in an ankle bracelet.  Smart enough to figure out Phyllis' plan and smart enough to help her make it (almost) foolproof, but not smart enough to back away from his lust for her when he knew he should have.  In accordance with the typical film noir approach, Neff is strong in stature but weak when it comes to a beautiful woman.  That is not to say that Neff is a bad or immoral person, but the fact that he has no problem trying to get involved with a married woman does not speak highly of his character.  His intent at first may not have been to murder an innocent, unsuspecting man, but as the story progresses he gets more and more tangled up in this mess and eventually figures out that is not what he wanted to do.

Neff's innocence (prior to meeting Phyllis) is essential to the plot of this film.  Double Indemnity could not fit the film noir characteristics without there being a man who is influenced by the classic femme fatale character, Phyllis Dietrichson.  It is imperative to note that Neff transitions from a suave, masculine character into a nervous, anxious one as the story continues.  This directly contrasts with Phyllis, who is banking on that even if something does go wrong, Neff will be the one to take the fall.  The fact that the film progresses through Neff confessing everything that happened to his boss shows his true character; one that never meant to get involved with such a sly woman as Phyllis.  His heart took over his head and because of that he did things he never would have done before, and that he could never take back.  This standard film noir plot and characterization of Neff and Phyllis is what made this movie successful.