Assignment #10

After going through this class, I can easily see how my writing has grown after going through this class.  I now am very aware of the tone I am using in my writing, and am very particular about the connotation words.  Although I did enjoy the class and all of the writing in it, I do not think that I will continue my blog.  Blogging is not truly one of my interests, so I don't think that I will continue it.  The pro's of blogging are that you can openly express yourself, kind of like a journal.  The negatives of it are if it is able to be viewed by the public, you can be scrutinized for what you are writing.

Assignment #9

Truthfully, I do not understand the poem, mainly because I have never seen the show Pop-eye, so I don't get the references to it.  I think this hinders my understanding of the poem, and I wish that I knew all that he was referencing to.  All that I know about Pop-eye is that spinach makes him strong, and that's not very much to go off of.  So I don't think that I have enough information to make an educated opinion on the poem. My favorite line would have to be "But you can't do that--he hasn't even finished his spinach," because it is the only line that I really understand the reference.

Assignment #8

Hurricane Sandy - Sonnet

Last week in October struck a hurricane,
Power lines, tall trees and old houses fell,
Of the New Jersey Coast it was its bane,
Countless people without a place to dwell,
Towns and cities swept away in a flood
Desolating all that stood in its path,
This storm surely spilled its fair share of blood,
Upon everyone it took out its wrath,
Homes and lives in ruin, dreams torn apart,
Certainly will rebuild and recover,
Laying the foundation for a fresh start,
Sandy’s aftermath will never hover,
A state forsaken, and utterly wrecked,
Our pride and resolve it did not affect.

By Matthew Perino

Assignment #7

When I think of the Vietnam war, it makes me think of an unjustified and pointless war, in which we had no place being in.  America continuously tries to oppress democracy upon people, and we have no place in doing that.  We spent millions of dollars, and thousands of people's lives in an attempt to win a war that was not winnable.  America should not have gotten involved in Vietnam, it caused no good.  Many young men's lives were completely ruined by war injuries resulting in the loss of limbs, or terrible post-traumatic stress disorder.  The wars today in Iraq and Afghanistan are similar to me because they are also pointless wars, in which we have no place fighting.  We are fighting a war to "protect our freedom," but our freedom is not at jeopardy.  We started a war that we shouldn't have, and it's terrible, only resulting in the loss of many innocent people's lives.  There are a lot of striking similarities between the two wars, both are unjustified, and we shouldn't be there.

Assignment #6

I do not think that we can break from our cultural heritage, because it defines us.  Although some people may revolt against their heritage, eventually everyone comes to terms with it, and accepts who they are.  Our cultural heritage defines who we are, and dictates our life.  "Society" keeps us in line by not allowing cultures which go against the popular culture to flourish, but rather by oppressing them.  For instance, in America, most people are Christian, and people who are not of Christian faith are oppressed against, especially Muslims.  Muslims are pressured by popular culture to not espouse their faith openly because it is scrutinized by many people.  I don't think that anyone truly breaks free from their cultural heritage.  People may try to break free, but everyone's culture that they are born into is what they are defined by.  It isn't possible to revolt against yourself, so even if you don't like or agree with your cultural heritage, it is what molded you.  There is an inherent danger in going against societal norms, and that is scrutiny from the popular culture.  By going against the everyday, there are many people who's lifestyle you are going against, and people don't like that.  The benefits of it are you can express yourself freely, and be who you want to be, and show who you are.

Assignment #5

Honestly, I would also condemn the both of them, as their peers did.  Obviously, I do not agree with their choices, and do not understand as to how it could come to that.  Boyle did not do a good job of convincing me that in their situation, it could come to that.  I don't understand how a couple could just deny their pregnancy and ignore it, to me that is utterly ridiculous.  If they didn't want the baby, or didn't want anyone to know about it, they could have simply of gotten an abortion.  It doesn't make any sense as to why she was saying that she couldn't get one done, and that was the end of the conversation.  To me that is inane, and ridiculous.  I think that was a plot hole in Boyle's adaptation of this story, because to me that just didn't make any sense.  Boyle didn't convince me that this could happen in real life at all, to me it just seemed completely insane.  I don't think that I would want to be able to understand such behavior, because to me there is no explanation, and I like to think that makes me a humane and sympathetic person, because there is absolutely no explanation for what they did, it is sick.

Assignment #4

I found that our peer review day was very helpful.  My colleagues insight on my essay enabled me to see things from a different point of view.  Not only were they helpful in finding all of my grammatical mistakes, they also helped my alter my tone of the essay, which was invaluable. After peer review, my essay did not need as much work as I thought it would have.  Normally, after I write the rough draft of my essay, it still needs a lot of work that I need to do, which takes quite a bit of time.  But, after peer review, my essay was ready to be a final draft.  Peer review is now an essential component in my essay writing.

Assignment #3

I think that it is more than completely possible for heavy drinking to be apart of one's cultural heritage, but it has been evident in the past.  In most European countries, such as Russia, Germany, and France, alcohol is cheaper than water, so drinking throughout the entire day, everyday, is normal.  In Russia, vodka isn't even considered a hard-liquor.  In Germany, they have a month long celebration of alcohol, being Oktoberfest.  Drinking water, or other non-alcoholic beverages on the regular, is a new phenomenon in human history.  Since before the middle-ages, people have drank alcohol as opposed to non-alcoholic beverages because of a lack of clean drinking water.  This resulted in alcohol being a major part in most of people's lives, and their cultural heritage.

Assignment #2

I found the the story The Man in The Well was very disturbing.  The kids finding amusement in the pain and struggle of the man was sickening.  I didn't understand why the kids didn't just simply go to an adult and help the man.  I also thought that it was very intriguing as to how the man knew all of the children's names.  I didn't really understand that part.  I also thought it was confusing as to why he continually asked the kids what his name was and how to describe what he looks like, as if they knew who he was.  All of this added to the mystery of who the man in the well was, and how he got there. Overall, I really enjoyed the story, and so far it has been my favorite.

Assignment #1

1. Even in their later years, people may have trouble forgiving themselves for bad things they did when they were young.
2. Within groups, people may engage in conduct that is wilder, stranger, or more uncivilized than their usual behavior when alone.
3. People project their fears or suspicions onto others, even those who do not actually pose a threat to them.
4. Children fail to understand when an adult is in danger.
5. When dealing with an adult, even a helpless one, children may have in their minds images of parental authority that affect how they treat the person.
6. Children are capable of conspiring with one another against the adult world.
7. The psychological reality of children and adults is a deep well within themselves that they cannot see into.
8. We should be more compassionate toward people who are trapped.
9. Children may have difficulty sharing the perspective of another person.
10. People need to see one another's faces if they are to trust one another.

I found this story to be very disturbing.  To me it was very sickening that the kids did absolutely nothing to help the man.  Rather, they used the man as a sort of play-thing or toy, and his struggle was their entertainment.

I picked the statement  "Even in their later years, people may have trouble forgiving themselves for bad things they did when they were young," to be the number one theme to describe the story because of the connotation of all the words in the story.  This story has a very dark and somber tone, it is also very morbid.  The narrators point of view is very depressing and regretful over what he did.  He discusses how throughout the rest of his life none of them ever returned to the well, or the surrounding areas.  He could never truly come to terms and move on from what he did as a child, none of them could.  They all just left the man there to die, and he is depressed about his actions as a child.

I picked the statement "Within groups, people may engage in conduct that is wilder, stranger, or more uncivilized than their usual behavior when alone," second, because it also applies to the story very well.  If any of these kids were alone, rather than not helping the man, they would have went to an adult or their parents to find help for the man.  In group settings, people take on a pack mentality, and do things that are wilder than what they would normally do.  A good example is this story, the kids are brutal to the man, when he is in dire need of a help.

I picked the statement "People project their fears or suspicions onto others, even those who do not actually pose a threat to them," third because I found that it also applied very well to this story.  In this story, the kids fear the man, and the consequences they will face for not helping him.  Although the man is in no position to threaten them, they fear that he can harm them.

I picked the statement "Children fail to understand when an adult is in danger," fourth because I found that it also was very applicable to this story.  The children in this story simply toy with the man as opposed to actually helping him, resulting in his eventual and assumed demise.  The children didn't understand that by not helping him, he would die.

I picked the statement "When dealing with an adult, even a helpless one, children may have in their minds images of parental authority that affect how they treat the person," fifth because although it does apply to this story, I don't believe that it is the main theme in this story.  Children see adults as being invulnerable, and when put in a situation where the adult is in danger, they do not see that they can be harmed, as is shown in this story.

I picked the statement "Children are capable of conspiring with one another against the adult world," sixth, but, I don't agree with this statement as the theme, and don't believe that it applies to this story.  I don't think that these kids were conspiring against the adults, rather they didn't know the consequences of their actions.

I picked the statement "The psychological reality of children and adults is a deep well within themselves that they cannot see into," seventh because I although I see the connection between this story and the statement,  I don't believe that it is the main theme.

I picked the statement "We should be more compassionate toward people who are trapped," eighth because it isn't the main theme, but I think that the statement is true.  The kids should have been more sympathetic to the man, and helped him out, but they didn't.

I picked the statement "Children may have difficulty sharing the perspective of another person," ninth because I don't agree with it.  I believe that the children understood the perspective of the man, but just ignored it.

Lastly, I picked the statement "People need to see one another's faces if they are to trust one another," because I do not agree with it, and don't believe that it is the underlying factor in why the kids didn't help the man.

What I will accomplish

As I'm sure it is for most of us here, this is my first semester at Stockton, and with that comes an aura of doubt about my abilities and intellect, and how I will perform under the new stresses of college life.  Naturally my expectations for this semester are high, and I hope that I can achieve my goals. This semester I am taking Cells and Molecules, Rhetoric and Composition (obviously), Pre-Calculus, Planet Earth, and my Cells and Molecules Lab.  So far I don't believe that any of my classes will be too challenging, but I guess I will see.  I'm just excited to be here, and I am loving Stockton.