Brave New World Final Post

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. What do you think Mustapha Mond meant by the quote on page 238, "Anybody can be virtuous now. You can carry at least half your mortality about in a bottle. Christianity without tears- that's what soma is"?

3. How do both 1984 and Brave New World regard past history and happenings? Also, how did they deal with what happened in the past and why do you think Huxley and Orwell chose to view the past in this light?

Communist Utopia

The painting indicates communism because you see the gray, empty streets being watched through the eyes on the walls. Everything is everyone else's in communism, so nothing is really private. The painting represents communism as we see it; not the theoretical proposition of communism, but the actual results in practice.
The author disagrees with the concept of communism. He is obviously portraying it in a negative manner, so he does not feel it is the wonder thing that it is made out to be in theory. He views it like the majority of the people who have experienced communism do - with hatred.
The title at first seems to go hand in hand. The concept of communism is supposed to be perfect and represent a utopia. Once you look at the painting, however, you understand that wasn't what the author was going for. communism to the painter seems to be a bad thing, almost like a dystopia. The title becomes ironic.

Brave New World #2

1. What could John stand for in Brave New World?
John is seen as a savage in the book. He is unable to resist his desires when he sees Lenina, "at once he was breathing Lenina's perfume, filling his lungs with her essential being" (Huxley 143). He is an outsider and cannot comprehend this different society he is placed in. John could represent one of us; if we were placed in a different society, we could not possibly comply with all of the rules. Knowing a different society causes a person to behave differently than everyone else. If we were put in Bernard's society, we would feel alienated watching everyone give up personal freedom because we are so used to the sense of total freedom.
2. Why does no one try to save Linda from her 'soma' vacation?
It seems that no one has a desire to see Linda anymore. She was disturbingly ugly to others, "you simply couldn't look at her without feeling sick" (Huxley 153). Everyone continues to let Linda take large doses of soma, or medication, and they realize she will be dead in a month or two. Everyone seems to be alright with Linda traveling on this short path to death except for John. John knows it will kill her, but John cannot do so much as raise a finger to object what everyone else wishes. Perhaps Linda's drugged-up death represents what Mustapha Mond said, "History is bunk" (Huxley 32). You cannot concentrate on the past, you must be concerned with the future. Leaving behind Linda is like disregarding the past. To advance forward, you must stop holding on to the past.
3. Why does does the author quote Shakespeare in the book so often?
Shakespeare is a well known poet who explores many known thoughts and emotions humans can relate to. In Brave New World, the society Bernard and John live in is so controlling and manipulative, it seems contrasting to use Shakespeares words. These deeply emotional writings are just the things that Bernard's society wants to abolish. The persistence of Shakepeare's quotes could represent the persistence of the human race; you can try to completely outlaw or govern something, but eventually people will find a way to rebel.

Don't You Want Me

1. The subjects are a guy and a girl in a relationship. The guy feels like the girl doesn't appreciate the things he has done for her, while the girl feels tired of the situation and wants to get out and explore the world.
2. The first side has the guy thinking about the girl. He knows that he helped her get to the place she is at and he feels she doesn't appreciate him, "Don't forget it's me who put you where you are now."
The second side has the girl who is tired of the relationship and wants to leave, "but even then I knew I'd find a much better place either with or without you." She felt she'd be successful either way.
3. I agree with the guy. He helped the woman get up in life and she won't credit his help. Without the guy, the girl would still be working in the cocktail bar. He's begging for her to come back.

First Brave New World entry

In Brave New World, the hatchery and the nrusery are the first examples of equality you come across. The hatchery basically produces humans in groups, raising them together and molding them to fit their futures. Whether you are Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, or Epsilon, you have been raised to fit that specific life. They do things when the children are infants, like condition the Deltas to hate books and flowers. That is how they reduce conflict in the world; they create human beings like baby dolls.
"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" (Huxley 16). The director is saying that by shaping these humans to be just how they are meant to be seen, happiness will be obtained. This is a startling contrast from our society where we are raised by our parents and shaped by our experiences. When compared to the book, our experiences can cause us to go anywhere. We will not always do what we are 'assigned' to do in our society, but in Brave New World these people have no freedom. They must wear clothes to specify their caste, having no forbidden books, no reproduction, no religion, no Shakespeare, no families. Essentially everything that could influence a person to diverge from their destined future has been outlawed.
Based on the reading so far, this is definitely a dystopia to me. No one is happy like I have experienced happiness, no one is given individual rights. "They don't know what it's like being anything else. We'd mine, of course. but then we've been differently conditioned" (Huxley 74). Lenina was pondering about the different social classes but soon realized everyone was different. She was raised to be what she was, and other Betas or Alphas were raised to be what they were. People were not given the opportunity to choose. Freedom is the big thing a dystopia lacks, and in Brave New World you see minimal freedom granted to the citizens.

Homeschooling response MLA

Homeschool provides many opportunities to those seeking a personal education experience with family support, far outweighing the negative consequences thought to be associated with homeschooling. A homeschooled education gives the student a much more personal experience, allowing the student to learn more efficiently with fewer interruptions from classmates. Jeub states “The one-on-one tutoring atmosphere is the healthiest, most productive and most progressive atmosphere for a student’s academic success” (73). It is evident that a student will learn more material in less time because he or she can be focused on the task at hand and not deal with confused peers or bothersome friends. Working with a mother or father to learn material will increase family bonds and foundations. Getting to interact with your family for prolonged periods of time will often result in quarrels and unwanted discussions, but in the long run it increases the trust and bond between parent and child. This communication cannot be found in a public school atmosphere, where teachers must act as temporary parents for over twenty kids that are fed up with school an hour into the day.

Although homeschool is appealing to almost anyone who wants their kids to receive one-on-one time, some concerns have been raised. “Some of the most troubled kids I dealt with came from homes where they’d been very sheltered” (Moore 76). Carole Moore explains that one of the negative consequences of homeschooling is the act of rebellion; however, rebellion is not a consequence of being homeschooled. Rebellion is an act of defiance towards the world. Kids who have been to public school their whole lives can rebel, adults can rebel, children can rebel. Moore proposes these homeschooled kids act out because the sheltering they have received from being homeschooled has affected them negatively. However, if a parent allows their kids to have rights and exposes them to life properly, rebellion is unnecessary. You see strict parents in strict households trying to control their rebellious children, but the fact that they are homeschooled or go to public school is irrelevant to the matter. 

1984 Resposne part 3

The end of 1984 is quite surprising. A cliché plot line is expected, and Winston is strongly estimated to overcome Big Brother. However, the ending brings the audience back around in a confusing loophole. Quoting the very end of the book, “Two gin scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother” (Orwell 245.) Big Brother has successfully won, penetrating the minds of even Winston, the one thought to be able to think beyond The State. It is apparent Big Brother will always be supreme over even the most creative of minds. In 1984, the State can’t be brought down. They have the thought police, Ingsoc, the various ministries, doublethink, and countless other ways to manipulate the thoughts and actions of the citizens in Oceania. Winston mentions “If there is hope, it lies in the Proles” (Orwell 60.) Winston discusses how the large population of the Proles, roughly 85% of the 1984 society, was the only hope to take over the State. They surely aren’t competent enough, and they most definitely don’t have the motivation or intelligence to, but their large mass is the driving force for their ability to conquer the state. The problem is the Proles would never dream of going against Big Brother; they are brainwashed by Big Brother as easily as a goldfish could be. At the end of the novel, Winston Smith is doomed to an obedient life in honor of Big Brother. He has been converted, his thoughts will never betray the State again. When he has memories of his childhood that go against what Big Brother wants him to believe, he so easily convinces himself they are false memories and goes on with his day. He has no motivation to see Julia. Winston Smith is another mindless product of the totalitarian government that Big Brother controls. 

Language of Love

1. I assumed that the girl was embarrassed or stuck up, not deaf. I felt as if she did not want to talk to the man at first.
2. The guy expects the girl to talk back to him. When she does not, he thinks she is brushing him off or doesn't want to talk to him. He is not a part of the def culture and did not know what to expect. The culture of talking in America has caused the man to expect an answer from the woman.
3. An external conflict would be the social expectation of talking.
4. An internal conflict would be the guy's feelings towards the girl.
5. The woman finally admitted she was deaf. He had to change his expectations of her responses.

This Land Is Your Land

I think Guthrie's point is collectivist because he keeps emphasizing "you and me." He makes an image of a vast country for him and the rest of the people, not just him. An example from the song is "In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people."
This song would be anti-government. It criticizes the country and the people who live there. He often questions the government. There are no trespassing signs, there are hungry people. Was this land really made for you and me?

In my opinion, I feel Winston is having a struggle in wanting freedom and his obedience to Big Brother. He realizes that he is doomed to a life of believing in Big Brother, but he can still differentiate between his opinions and the government’s forced opinions. His small acts of defiance are hidden protests, satisfying only his resentment toward the State. Winston can question anything he wants, he can sneak around as he pleases, and he can engage in small thrills like writing in a journal when he isn’t supposed to be, but ultimately Winston knows he can only continue breaking these small rules while keeping the big ones.
Winston’s own internal conflict is nothing of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Take into consideration how open the OWS protestors are; they have their signs, their speeches, and their own personal propaganda. They are open about what they believe in. Winston is fighting a personal battle and appears normal and compliant to everyone who sees him on the streets. Winston is fighting for freedom, while OWS protestors are fighting for fairness and opportunities. Fairness and opportunities can exist without ultimate freedom. However, freedom cannot exist if there is total government control. Both Winston and OWS are protesting again “The Man,” or the government. Winston’s silent protests would be seen by the government as expected but unacceptable. Winston would simply be vanished for rebelling against the government. OWS protestors are seen as outspoken and are somewhat admired for their strong opinions, but many people find them incorrect or misinformed. However, because freedom exists in our country, they are allowed to continue protesting for what they believe. I would not say we are Orwellian. We are not completely controlled by propaganda, surveillance, or misinformation. We have the ability to think outside of the government and nonviolently protest.  Compared to Winston, we are free.

If you are educated, you can contemplate an idea and know and understand both sides of it, but not have to have an opinion. You are open minded. I agree because it means you know what you believe in, but still can entertain other thoughts without being swayed by your opinion.

Me or We

In a collectivist culture, the personality traits that are ideal are loyalty, working together, and family-like. In an individualistic society, you want independence, self-goals, self-drive, and someone who is concerned about themselves.
A Ph.D has more status in an individualistic society where education and branching out is valued. An older family member would be admired more in a collectivist society because they have had the most experience.
A teacher going into an individualistic culture will probably want to teach everyone to work together and not encourage independence. They will probably not want t make a big deal of themselves and try to assimilate into the workplace. It would be an internal conflict because it's their own opinion. A teacher going into a collectivist society will probably be too independent, and they will stand out from the crowd. This is an external conflict because it will seem to be going against the norm of the culture.
An acquaintance is someone you know and are sort of friends with. It's a neutral word because you could be familiar with this person or barely know them.

2+2=5

Lyrically, the song is talking about believing what you are told to believe. He is paying attention to what he is being told, he likes the safety of being controlled. He doesn't like to think for himself.
The music to me sounds like something bad is about to happen. It's almost taunting to me, and after the chorus it gets more upbeat.
In 1984, they say you have to believe everything you are told, even if it is 2+2=5. The song is talking about being controlled by The Man, submission, and totalitarianism.

Yale Speech

The conflict is using women and sexuality to sell and attract things in the western world. This goes against their conservative religious beliefs. This is an internal war between the two countries thoughts on objectifying women.
Globalization creates conflict by giving a definition of how you should be and act. Its not always positive.
The benefit is globalization has opened up better role models for people. This can help take away from our sexually centered cultured.
The two sources mentioned were the Quran and the USA constitution.

1984 Part 1

Equality and conformity have been established in 1984's totalitarian society through "The Party" and extreme supervision of one's thoughts and ideas, and other documents and writings. The Party uses different methods of propaganda to manipulate people's thoughts and opinions, trying to conform everyone into dependent thinkers. They have hundreds of BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU signs to watch everyone's waking move and convince them that being independent is wrong and shunned. This has the main goal of trying to level everyone out in the society to the same thinking capacity, an odd sense of equality that  The Party wants to create within the community. There are such things as thoughtcrimes that encourage people into conformity. Thoughtcrimes are just as they sound; evil thinking or wrongdoings in one's mind, purely consisting of thoughts and ideas. Thoughtcrimes are never verbalized, but are still often recognized through sketchy actions or off movements. People convicted of thoughtcrimes may never have the chance to think again. This pushes people in 1984 to believe in whatever The Party wants them to believe in, managing to convince themselves that whatever is being thrown at them is valid and accurate in order to ensure no thoughtcrime is being committed.

Reducing conflict is another main theme seen in stories of utopias. In 1984, religion has been almost demolished. There is little mention of it and people are certainly unaware of the meaning or use behind religion. Relationships have been altered from our standard view of their nature; abstinence is greatly supported and even celibacy is promoted and praised. Relationships are no longer seen as fundamental and natural. The Party is trying to demolish the very idea of human relationships, altering the views of the citizens by having them believe sex is filthy and disgusting, hoping to eliminate the idea and turn it into a severe taboo. Individual rights have been taken away for the promise of security. Everything is controlled by Big Brother. This creates a forced happiness that isn't really happiness; that fact that people are convincing themselves that this security will make their lives better gives them the idea that they are happy. However, like all conforming masses, you cannot see the other side of a situation when you are allowing yourself to be drowned in the intended propaganda.

After part one, I can safely conclude this society in 1984 is a dystopia. It's obvious The Party is intending to create a utopia, but in reality, utopias don't exist. The extreme oppression and conformity The Party has enforced has led to a dystopia where no one can think for themselves and can't go anywhere without the fear of being someone who sticks out of the crowd.

Utopia

• A utopia is a perfect world. It is free of sadness, pain, and negativity. It is meant to be a wonderful place, but it is also very subjective.
• An ideal world would not exist, so I am unsure of what to say. However, things I wish I could see improved are less hunger, less conflict, and less corruption. With the lessening of the certain evils, people would be happy. I think a happy world would be ideal.
• My Utopia would have a chill soundtrack, containing lots of acoustic guitar, soft vocals, and mellow tones. It would be a cross between Jack Jonhson and Olive Garden music.

You Were Right

1. The guy was in a relationship, and he was hurt by the girl. Lines 1-2 "You were wrong when you said everything was gonna be alright."

2. The music sounds sort of depressed and mellow, the tones go down instead of up. The guitar are drums are not too upbeat in the song.

3. The song is about being hurt after a breakup. The song is effective in this because the lyrics prove the writer's point. The musical instrumental part doesn't sound extremely happy, going along with the author's mood.

Young Life by Bo Bartlett - Painting

1.

• Claim: The family is a country family, living in a rural area.
• Fact: Many families in the countrysife own a pickup truck or hunter their own food.

2.

• Claim: The painting takes place in the 80's or 90's.
• Fact: Cars from the 80's or 90's had a boxy look to them.

3.

• Claim: The boy is not involved or important to the other two people in the painting.
• Fact: The boy is standing separately from the man and woman.

In Young Life, a well-known piece of art by Bo Bartlett, the main focus of the painting is a youthful boy and two relaxed adults. At first glance, it seems to be just a simple family on a hutning trip. Upon further inspection, the boy appears to be separated from the man and woman. This could represent how the boy has different ambitions in his life; he does not appear to be in the same position as the older man, showing he is not going in the same direction in life as the man is. His adversion to the other man in the painting could symbolize a parting or unimportance the two people have to each other. It can be inferred that the boy is not growing up to be like the male figure or the father in the picture.

Reading Critically: Summarization

Whether reading literature or an academic essay, there are obvious steps you must take in order to maximize your reading understanding and experience. First, examine the title. This will give you an idea of what's inside or a general tone or preference of the author. While talking about the author, it is very important to try and find anything you can about the author; background, special training, previous works, any special ideas or opinions. Knowing about the author will give you an idea into how the author writes and what you can expect as you begin to read. However, before you begin to read, you must try to find out where and when the work was published. Location of the publishing will help you identify the credentials; a work published in a respected journal will probably have much more authenticity and factual information than something published in a weekly tabloid. Date of publishing will help you know what tone the author may take on and also if the information is outdated or not.
After completing all of that, reading the piece is the next step. After reading, it's time to think critically. Analyze different parts of the writing to look for the main idea the author is trying to illustrate. You can now draw conclusions based upon what you have read and discovering the writer's assumptions. This allows you to link the ideas into a cohesive whole, allowing for full understanding. Evaluate your ideas and work them back into the writing, seeing if they make sense and are logical and factual. You may also want to look for a meaning behind the piece, the big picture the author is trying to get you to see. This is the big step because it gives you an abstract sense or feeling the author has intended you to feel. These are all steps of understanding your literature better, reading strategies that will facilitate your experience and help you reach literal conclusions much easier.

SOAPStone of Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out

Leah Pederson

SOAPSTone Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out

The subject of Dave Barry’s Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out is that women and men have their differences that can only be understood by the same sex. This idea is illustrated through the author first describing how he doesn’t understand women’s interest with cleanliness, and then as he shows women don’t understand men’s profound curiosity with sports. It’s known that men are very into their sports but women just can’t fathom why they are so important the men, and men feel the same way about the absolute cleanliness women strive for.

This essay was written during the current decade. This essay’s time is creation is illustrated by the conventional role of women (cleaning) and the popular interest of men (sports games). We also see this through the fact that the author is watching the World Series on television. The probable place of the essay’s creation is in America due to the strong interest in sports and how relatable the essay seems to the readers.

Dave Barry’s specific audience for Striking Out is mainly typical American men. The author’s target audience is exhibited by the disdain to women’s interest of cleaning and the keen liking to sports and sports games. We see this through the lack of understanding the author has with his wife’s housework and how strongly he feels about watching his sports games.

Barry’s purpose in Striking Out is to provide comedic relief to everyday events and poke a stick at American life. We see this portrayed by how the author explains how he cannot see the dirt his wife sees; “I go into the bathroom and it always look perfectly fine.” The author is showing that men don’t demonstrate such a fine interest in cleaning in women as do, and that women don’t care as much about sports as men do. He shows the second point as he says, “this is an area where men tend to fel very sensitive and women tend to be extremely callous.” We can see that the author is showing how different the two sexes are.

Dave Barry, a long time sports fan, believes that men are so absorbed in sports games that it seems ridiculous that women are not. This is shown as he describes how he was watching a World Series game and the women seemed extremely uninterested in it while he was simply hypnotized by the television. Dave Barry also believes that men weren’t meant to clean and cannot identify the meticulous uncleanliness that women see. He earlier explained how his wife found his son’s bathroom to be filthy while he saw it as perfectly clean. This influences the essay’s purpose by separating the views of men and women farther apart in these two areas of interest.

Barry shows a humorous and lighthearted tone about the subjects. He is not being sexist and he is not being arrogant about sports or cleaning; rather, he is just being truthful and honest. These attitudes are expressed with word choices such as “filthy” or “broadcast rays zinging through the air.” These show that the author feels strongly about his topic; women care too much about cleaning and men care too much about sports. It is not the author being ignorant about his topics, it is just him portraying typical American culture in a funny way.

Voice in Literature

Voice in literature is how the text is meant to be read, how you should imagine it differently from your personal voice. You can use punctuation, word choice, pause, metaphors, similies, irony, sarcasm, paralellism, etc.

I am enthralled to be in this classroom. This reflects my sarcast voice because when I'm sarcastic, I tend to use a more articulate voice and say my sentences with monotony.

I would talk around when asking for favors. You can't simply go up to someone and ask them for a favor; you must compliment them and make small talk before you ask them to help you.

Voice in non-fiction creates a personal touch to a character, making you view that character in a certain way. We normally avoid slang and first person in non-fiction.

To develop your voice, you should understand how you speak and how you can put that voice into your writing. You must translate it into your own writing, but you musn't be completely forward with it.

Kandinsky vs. Pollack

1. I like the Pollack better because it has a wild and jungle feel to it. It's sort of earthy. The Kandinsky has a lot going on in it and I didn't know where to focus and begin looking.
2. The Kandinsky would be more pleasing to look at because it's brighter and more colorful when you see it. There are many, many things to focus on and can keep you entertained for a longer period of time vs. the Pollack painting.

PAIN vs. The Beatles

1. I like The Beatles' version better because it is original and is simply enjoyable. The dubstep remix was painful to listen to because the added bass didn't flow with the melody of the music and was taking a classic song and trying to remake it.
2. The original version of the song was much more pleasing to listen to because it had been constructed to make you feel thoughtful and sad. The dubstep was unnecessary and took away the feeling of the song it was intended to give you.

Sign Language: A short film

The single effect:
Happiness is not something you always need to search for. Sometimes, it's right in front of you. In order to see it, you must be open to the things around you, enjoying life as it comes, and finding beauty in the little things.

Three things that led to the effect:
1. The filming is up close and personal, we see his mannerisms.
2. He and the girl have the same rainbow gloves - an example of costume.
3. Irony is prevalent; he talks about his community but you see little of it.

If the camera's view was changed and not so up close and personal, it would change the single effect by not allowing us to see the happiness from Ben's point of view. Ben is very happy, but we may not see that if we are just observing him from a distance. Our perspective is much different than Ben's.

Harry Nilsson: Good Old Desk

Subject: Harry's "good old desk," his reliable object in his life.
Occasion: The 70's.
Audience: Adolescents, adults, religious individuals.
Purpse: To demonstrate how his desk is his escape, it's always there, etc.
Speaker: Harry Nilsson
Tone: Carefree, happy, caring, loving, thankful.

Nilsson is talking about his figurative desk, the thing that is always there for him. When he's upset he can turn to his desk; he can do the same when he is happy, angry, worried, confused, or anything else. His desk is like a good friend to him.

Good Old Desk is a symbol for Harry's relationship with God.
Support:
1. "It's a pleasure to see it's waiting there for me to keep my hopes alive."
2. "It's the one thing I've got, a huge success."
3. "It's the friend I've got, a giant of all times."

Shooting an Elephant

Leah Pederson

Shooting An Elephant: George Orwell

SOAPSTone

The subject of George Owell’s Shooting an Elephant is the effect of mob mentality and the pressure to do what the group wants. This phenomenon is illustrated with the event of the police officer being sent to control the elephant, but ultimately killing the animal as he realized that is what the crowd expects him to. We see this as the police officer goes to try to control the animal and then asks for a gun, later realizing as he asked for the gun, he gave the appearance he was going to shoot the beast and therefore he must shoot the beast in order to avoid looking like a fool.

Shooting an Elephant was written during the 1920’s. The essay’s time of creation is exhibited by the fact that Britain conquered Burma during a time period right before this. It is mentioned several times that the Burmans were running behind the police officer and that it was a time when the Burmese despised the English. The probable place of the essay’s creation is Burma as we can see that the first paragraph of the essay states they are in Moulmein in lower Burma.

Orwell’s specific audience for Shooting an Elephant is anyone who was alive during the time of the Anglo-Burmese Wars or for an anti-empiricist. The author’s general audience is expressed by the obvious written hatred for the British in the Burmese society as the Burmans openly expressed their dislike for the British police officer.  

Orwell’s purpose in Shooting an Elephant is to convey the hatred for the empirical societies and to show how an insane mob mentality could influence even the most sane mind. This spectacle is revealed as the police officer was standing in the crowd with the rifle in his hand, “And suddenly [he] realized that [he] should have to shoot the elephant after all.” The police officer had set out to simply calm the elephant until his owner was there to handle the situation, but as he asked for the gun he suddenly realized that the large crowd watching him expected him to shoot the elephant and do nothing else.

George Orwell’s, known for his anti-empiricist essays, believes empiricism was an evil thing but he was stuck in the hatred of the country he belonged to. This value is illustrated by the police officer’s want to help the Burmans instead of disregarding them. This value influences the essay’s purpose by having the police officer do what he thought was what the Burmans wanted, which was killing the elephant. Orwell, the great symbolist he was, believed the elephant stood for the weakening of the British Empire. The dead elephant stood for the British Empire being weakened by the persistent force of the Burmans. They wanted their freedom and the rifle shots indicated the distaste they expressed toward the influential empire.

Orwell articulates a hateful and displeased attitude about the empirical society the British created in Shooting an Elephant. These attitudes are expressed by the anger toward the police officer, who is British, and the British police officer’s secret agreement to the Burman’s feelings. This hateful tone prevalent throughout the essay portrays the unhappiness the Burmans felt to the British empire that controlled them at the time. 

Across The Universe: The Beatles

1. Imagines in the song:
Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup
Pools of sorrow, waves of joy
Heart drifting through my open mind

2. Many of these symbols are in context:
Rain- cleansing, continuity
Light- ideas, brightness, good, opposite of darkness and evil

3. Symbols:
Rain- a rainstorm is bad, foreshadowing to evil. However, simply rain is known as cleansing, pure, and peaceful.
Eagle- justice, honest, prestige
Making something more than an image is when it universally stands for something. It doesn't change in context and will always stand for that thing.

Rockwell's The Runaway Intro

America in the 1950's was bustling with important events and issues; the civil rights movement, better living, and new inventions. The 50's were known for their state of mind or way of living rather than just another decade. Life was peaceful, freedom and equality were emerging with the ideas we carry today. In Norman Rockwell's painting, you see a small child that appears to have runaway, sitting in a store and chatting up with a police man. At first,  it may seem normal, but once you realize the little child really has run away on his own, the "perfect" imagine of the 50's seems to melt away. No longer is this decade so innocent and wonderful our in heads. Rockwell's "The Runaway" overlooks the fundamental rift that was rising in America throughout the 1950's - an emerging counterculture that was not concerned with how things were but rather how they are.

Inspiration Information by Shuggie Otis

The overall feel of the song is mellow but upbeat, retro and groovy. The musical elements that gave off that vibe were the drums, with their upbeat-ness and rhythm, and the electric piano to give a grooving and retro feel.
The musician had to choose the combination of instruments to give the retro and dance feel to the song. It sounds like synth with guitar and drums and you just want to dance around to the song. You feel uplifted almost after listening to it and there is a sense of happiness and relaxation.

Semadores by Diego Rivera

Subject is two workers farming.
Occasion is the 1800's in Mexico on a farm.
Audience is identified easily by workers or laborers.
Purpose is to show the work these farmers do and how they are lower class. It is diverging from the idea of ideal communism.
Speaker believes in separating the classes because there will never be a perfect equal society, he is showing there will always be the lower class with the upper class. The farmers are the lower class, working hard for little money.
Tone shows a laborious and difficult attitude about farming while showing the lower class men are "just farmers" and don't mean much of anything.
The big idea the artist wants to make is the difficulty of labor and the separation of social classes. Diego lived in a time where communism was prevalent and the main idea of communism is equality. He is showing these lower class men doing hard work for upper class men and trying to show there will never be complete equality. He uses an abstract style of painting to show that we cannot relate to these workers because we are not in the same class as them. His brush stroke is very flowy and almost mixes the workers into the background, showing they are of little importance and would go almost unnoticed by people like us.

Wilco Response

Wilco's approach to creating a song is to deconstruct the ideas of the song to see if they can improve it, then make another draft after they deconstruct it. Once they have done that, they will continue to revise the song until they are happy with it.
My writing process consists of having a vague idea of what I will be writing or creating, then writing or painting whatever I have until I feel finished. Then, I will look back at my work and see what I can fix, add, subtract, or tweak.

Rock Around the Clock response

1. Nostalgia is a feeling of emotion or yearning for your past or a past time.
2. The images that come to mind during this music is a big dance room from the 50's. Everyone is doing the jive or swaying side to side and snapping their fingers, the girls have nice dresses, and the boys have suits.
3. The images that pop into my mind when thinking of my childhood are playgrounds, classrooms, and roasted pumpkin seeds. I used to always be on the playground, so when I think of playgrounds I automatically think of playing house or sliding down the fire pole and landing in the mulch; I remember the scent of new mulch so vividly. When thinking of classrooms, I go back to kindergarten when the class smelt like Clorox wipes and all of the furniture was hard and plastic. I would always sit in the corner and read the picture books by myself. My mother always made roasted pumpkin seeds during the fall when I was little and my mouth waters when thinking of the salty, crunchy feel of the seeds.

Poverty Painting

1. What contributes to poverty? Some things that can contribute to poverty are being born into it, being jobless, having a big family, having an addiction, lacking resources, not having enough money, lacking sharing, having limited education.
2. The artist portrays poverty by use of dark colors (the family's clothing, the background) and emotion in the subject's faces (they appear to be sad, tired, or weary).
3. The artist is portraying poverty with dark light: it's raining, there is a lack of sun, there is a gloomy atmosphere. The mother and son look solemn, their body language is nowhere close to positive. The artist is telling us poverty is hard to overcome, an example that is proved by the prison-esque bars behind the mother and her son. It is almost as if they are trapped in poverty, never able to escape. On the other hand, the girl in the picture is optimistic, looking forward with her bright flowers in her hand. It seems to the viewers that she has the most hope.
4. Two elements of art that enhance the author's message: The colors are mainly dark, but there is a little color in the flower. This could possibly display the little hope the family has, offering contrast from the dark scenery. The value also shows many ranges of the dark colors, showing the little girl with white because she has the most hope, while showing the mother and son with dark colors as if they are doomed forever.

Poverty Response

Live Free and Starve:
Chitra Divakaruni suggests in her article that when The United States passed a bill that wouldn't allow the import of goods from forced child labor factories, the nation failed to think past their own minds and into the world of these children. She says the children lived a very different life and to them, being able to have money to eat or for their families was much more important than the freedom we Americans know so well. To oppose her side, I say that Americans were doing the right thing. To be raised in a country where freedom is allowed is such a wonderful opportunity, it would only make sense to spread the philosophy to other nations. By not purchasing from factories that force children into working, we are decreasing their sales and hopefully putting the indentured children out of work. As Divakaruni says, "If the children themselves were asked whether they would rather work under such harsh conditions or enjoy a leisure that comes without the benefit of food or clothing or shelter, I wonder what their response would be." Although the author has a point, saying the children would be without food or clothing or shelter, the ultimate reason the bill was passed was because the harsh conditions they were working in was so unethical to our standards. Because we know of freedom and its joy, we could only want to spread the idea of freedom into other countries. Because the concept of indentured children is so wrong to us, it must be universally wrong by the vast majority of our country's reasoning.
The Singer Solution to World Poverty:
Peter Singer feels that Americans should be doing more than they are to help those in deep poverty. He also states that although we are often quick to chastise those who do something horrible (say selling an unknown homeless kid to organ peddlers), not donating to those in need is just as bad. Singer blatantly shows his point, "In the end, what is the ethical distinction between a Brazilian who sells a homeless child to organ peddlers and an American who already has a T and upgrade to a better one, knowing that the money could be donated to an organization that would use it to save the lives of kids in need?" It is agreeable that Americans could be doing more to help the poor or sick, but in no way does being face to face with a child in need compare to being thousands of miles from those you could potentially help. To take affirmative action, one must act as soon as they have the chance. If you have a situation right in front of you, you should take immediate action and help whatever is going on. You have the direct opportunity and if you choose to ignore it, you know for a fact you have potentially ended any chances a person had. Americans could do more by sending money to non profit charities that benefit the sick or poor, but when they are face to face with a problem, they must address it.

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

After hearing Round & Round, I was pleasantly surprised. I am quite picky when it comes to music but I was able to enjoy the song without strings of criticism running through my head.Growing up, I was raised on every type of music; my father is a college music professor and always brings home different albums and songs for us to listen to. I found Round & Round had a nostalgic 90's sound quality to it, almost a fuzzy feeling. As my facts, I pointed out a lot about the beat and tempo of the song. It had a not too slow but not too fast tempo with an enjoyable beat and I found those two combinations a perfect mixture. I would definitely consider myself having a bias to liking this song because it is similar to the songs I often listen to in my free time while also being close to the songs I used to enjoy as a child.