free write

Lately I have thought about the scientific laws of the solar system. It is hard to put my mind around the fact that the Earth is just a small dot when viewed in space. Does space go on for infinity? It must. Because it can't just come to a dead end, but if space never comes to an end where does it go? There must be life on other places in the solar universe. The Earth cannot be the only place of life, it just doesn't seem possible. Soon we will be exchanging information with aliens possibly. I believe that the next form of technology will be the ability to travel outside of our universe. What if our Earth becomes inhabitable in the near future, for instance a natural disaster occurs. Where will everyone go, what if life becomes dead on the Earth and the universe continues untouched. It really puts life into perspective, and makes all of our little problems seem pretty small. Though I don't believe fretting about the future is always a good thing. Maybe people shouldn't even plan to move to another planet, because maybe that's not natural. Possibly the only place our form of human that can inhabit is Earth. Whatever happens, happens, and it is what it is. I guess we must just live in the moment and not move to Mars for now. All of this seems pretty crazy and its honestly driving me crazy thinking about it.

Last chapter of Lord of the Flies

Write a reflection on the end of Lord of the Flies. Write at least a paragraph (6-8 sentences). Include at least 3 citations.

At the end of the book Simon and Piggy have died and only Ralph and Jack are left to fight each other. Ralph had always thought of the signal fire as a symbol of hope and rescue and the little civilization that was still left on the island, though the fire that is created in hope of killing Ralph is more of a war fire that ends up luring rescuers to the island. "The fire reached the coconut palms by the beach and swallowed them noisily. A flame, seeming detached, swung like a acrobat and licked up the palm heads on the platform." (Golding 206). This shows how seemingly simple a fire can be though it can still break apart a civilization and bring the boys back to reality. It shows the fire in a negative light, because it engulfs what is left of the island but it also brings the boys together. The fire is seen as the ultimate threat now that civilization is savaged. "Now the fire was nearer; those volleying shots were great limbs, trunks even, bursting." (Golding 203). Also after the fire destroys the island and Jack and Ralph are left to be rescued, Ralph emerges as the leader. " 'Who's boss here?' 'I am,' said Ralph loudly." (Golding 207). Ralph is finally recognized as the leader, and Jack realizes that he must agree to the circumstances. 

Future Plans

When the counsellors came I felt a sudden urge to start thinking about my future plans in college and even my career options after college. Everything started to feel more real and I actually started thinking about colleges that I might end up going to. I want to do something in college that genuinely interests me, because that will make me most happy. I haven't sketched out a finial plan or idea of what I want to do yet but most likely something in business or enterprising. I didn't really feel that the little surveys that we took were all that accurate because what I thought I was interested in didn't show up on the end results. I hope to get out of the state for college because I feel like I need to explore and find myself outside of high school and I don't feel like going to CU would really give me that sense of independence that I feel like I need. I might even end up taking a gap year after high school and go explore more and find what I am interested in, though I am not at that deciding point quite yet.

Ralph in Lord of the Flies (Chapter 1)

Ralph in the first chapter in Lord of the Flies is a very outspoken character. He is somewhat bossy and full of himself and likes to tell people what to do. He hasn't really stepped out of his comfort zone much and he doesn't really know what it feels like to be someone like Piggy or have a life as hard as his. He leads a very sheltered and privileged life. In this way he really doesn't understand the struggles that Piggy has to go through like being made fun of or not fitting in. " 'They used to call me Piggy.' Ralph shrieked with laughter. He jumped up."(Golding 9). In this instance Ralph is making fun of Piggy's nick name and continues to mock him about it. Ralph doesn't really know his boundaries and only continues to make Piggy feel worse about himself. Though later in the chapter Ralph stands up for his new found acquaintance, " 'He's not fatty,' cried Ralph, 'his real name's Piggy!' " (Golding 20). This shows that even though Ralph may have a rough exterior inside he is can be compassionate.

Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal

Jonathan Swift use satire to expose a different ill of society. Normally satire is used to make a joke of a certain group of people or something at the same time showing how society should change. Satire is a very strong form of opinion and when used properly can really make an impact on society, or at least change one or more peoples opinions on a topic. In all societies there are flaws, Swift once said, "Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own" (Battle of the Books- Jonathan Swift). There will always be someone with a different opinion or multiple people trying to fight for the right to call themselves a leader in a society. Satire is a very strong emotional tool and will always force people to view things differently.

In Jonathan Swift's (A Modest Proposal) he wanted to find a way in which poor people and children became more valuable to society. His solution demanded attention and made people more aware of their own greed and guilt. Sometimes satire needs to be unpredictable or shocking in order to make an impact on everyday people not willing to change their habits. Swift's proposal is definitely shocking, and it exposes a very big gap in English society. His proposal sated that in order to make the poor more valuable to society, after a woman's child has passed the time of sustainability from their mothers milk, they can be sold to the English elites to be eaten. He proposes that this will become a sign of wealth for the Irish aristocrats. This idea benefits both the poor and the wealthy. The poor gain money from the sale of their child and the wealthy gain the social status that came with eating a child. Because it really didn't cost anything for the poor to raise a child off of the mothers breast milk for the first year of life, this proposal doesn't burden the poor at all. Swift also mentions that no one has yet to figure out a way to properly raise the poor children without them turning out to be beggars, and dependant on their mothers and fathers to pull their weight. In a way the children are giving back to society. Swift makes the argument that "as instead of being a charge upon their parents or the parish, or wanting food and raiment for the rest of their lives, they shall on the contrary contribute to the feeding, and partly to the clothing, of many thousands."(Swift 2). There will be poor people in every society and Swift argues that they should be able to give back to society with food instead of being burdened by an infant, and forced into begging and stealing.

Satire is used in this proposal to show a certain ill in society which is in this case the fact that people will pretty much do anything for a status symbol if what they are told to do is socially accepted. Originally Swift got the idea of selling babies for meat from an American, who says that ..."a young healthy child well nourished is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food"(Swift 3). This shows that people will do anything if they hear about other communities doing the same thing. This satire is used to show how peer pressure, from America in this case made the idea of eating babies seam acceptable. This idea of peer pressure also relates to the satire example of the iPhone 5 parody where everyone wants the newest iPhone not because it is practical only because it is what society said is acceptable.(YouTube, Satire Videos). Gender roles are also highlighted with the use of satire. Swift compares women to cattle or breeders and says that four women will be assigned to one man to breed and produce more infants for selling. Swift argues ..."whereof only one-forth part to be males; which is more than we allow to sheep, black cattle or swine; and my reason is, that these children are seldom to fruits of marriage, a circumstance not much regarded by our savages, therefore one male will be sufficient to serve four females" (Swift 3).This was also a hit to the domestic values of Irish Christian families who regard marriage will little respect. As for the guilt that may come along with eating a child, the wealthy will not have a problem eating the young because they have already destroyed the parents of the babies economically leaving them with virtually no money. In this section satire is used to expose the little conscious that the Irish people have, that they can take money, and even eat the younger generation for a social status without feeling the least bit of guilt.Irish people can abuse their social status to acquire more money and wealth without the guilt that comes along with it, that is the idea that Swift is portraying with the use of satire.

The idea of wealth circulates all about society because of the longing for wealth that comes from the majority of society. The new value of the babies will benefit the whole society. Swift mentions, "Secondly, the poorer tenants will have something valuable of their own, which by law may be made liable to distress and help to pay their landlord's rent, their corn and cattle being already seized, and money a thing unknown" (Swift 6). This gives the poor a taste of wealth and money. Much of society is hooked on the utter allure of being prosperous in society. This in turn, will make the poor more prized members of society because they now have a purpose in society. Due to the new value of newborns Swift argues that "Men would become as fond of their wives during the time of their pregnancy as they are now of their mares in fool"(Swift 7). Men in society would appreciate their wives much more during this time, abuse rates might fall and the overall value of women will increase in society. The women are now valuable because the newborn is such a wanted commodity. Women will finally have a predominate roll in society, opposed to being continuously abused, and treated like nothing. These examples all expose the satirical irony in Swifts argument. It shows how ignorant people are when it comes to society pressure. They will pretty much do anything to be accepted, or to have that social status that they want. At the end of the proposal he uses verbal irony to state that he wouldn't participate in this act though he would elect others to. He says ..."that I have not the least personal interest in endeavouring to promote this necessary work, having no other motive than the public good of my country, by advancing our trade, providing for infants, reliving the poor, and giving some pleasure to the rich." (Swift,9). This act relates to modern day politicians who propose a bill that wouldn't effect them but they want to push it onto the people anyway.

Jonathan Swift was very successful in exposing a gap in society, where wealthy people will go to great extents to build up their social status. This relates to everyday practices where people are so ignorant of their own actions and don't think of how they might effect others. Jonathan Swift never left his character and made the proposal a long satirical explanation. This is a work of art by Swift and really exposes many different levels of ill in society. Modern day society can learn from Swifts proposal maybe on a slightly less drastic level, by not conforming to others molds of what is seams right.

Satire Video Reflection.

One of my favorite satire videos was the parody of the new iPhone that is about 2 feet long. This video was very successful in depicting the average American's dependence on technology. In the video it shows how the average person can be so indulged in the newest technology even if it isn't productive or usable. This video used wit and sarcasm to expose the average persons needless dependence on technology.
The other video that I thought was a good example of satire was the Facebook parody video. In the video a Facebook CIA project was portrayed, where the CIA was tapping into the American peoples Facebook postings to solve terrorist threats and monitor the activities of everyday people. In this video American people were the main target. The video used wit to expose the fact that people publish pretty much everything on the Internet and that anyone can access that information. It showed that people really don't monitor what they are posting on the Internet, they are not aware of their safety on the Internet.

Satire Video

My video depicting satire shows a man, acting as President Obama giving a speech about the new Obama Care bill, and how it will affect peoples lives in America. President Obama brings in Jennifer Osborne to elaborate on the bill and how it will affect her personally. Osborne responds with the fact that she is extremely excited for Obama Care because she can now receive any health care services that she wants. She explains how she is planing on abusing the system in order to reap all of the benefits of the new health care system. This shows the average Americans stupidity, and general miss information on various federal bills and acts. 

Satire is the use of humour, sarcasm, and other demeaning devises that overall points out something wrong about society. In this clip the fact that people think they can abuse their rights in society is highlighted. Obama Care makes health care mandatory for all American's, or if you choose not to purchase the health care plan you are required to pay an additional amount of money along with your taxes. In this clip the average American (Jennifer Osborne) says that "now that I have free health care, I can get sick all the time.". This shows how far the average person will go when they are given a 'free' service. 

Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift was born in 1667 and lived until 1745. He was a satirist and essayist, he was a political figure for the Whigs and later for the Tories. He was a dean for the St. Patrick's cathedral. He is best known for his work of Gulliver's travels in 1728. When he was young he lived a life of poverty supported by his single mother, though a lot changed when Swift began schooling at private schools. 

Quotes: (from others)
"This satire works on so many levels that a paper such as this allows me to deal with only three elements, and in a necessarily superficial way: the ways in which the structure and choice of metaphor serve Swift's purpose, a discussion of some of his most salient attacks on politics, religion, and other elements of society, and his critique on the essence and flaws of human nature. Swift's purpose was to stir his readers to view themselves as he viewed humankind, as creatures who were not fulfilling their potential to be truly great but were simply flaunting the trappings of greatness." - Shirley Galloway 

" Consequently, as readers follow the instructions given in the text, they create meaning for themselves by constantly producing, modifying, and correcting their understanding of the signified as they move from book to book. This dialectical relationship between text and reader depends upon the tension between the role offered by the text and the real reader's own attitudes, what Wolfgang Iser calls "re-creative dialectics" (ix-x)." - Sue Bennett 

 Quotes: (from Swift)

"When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him." -Swift 

"We have enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another." -Swift 

"Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own."- Swift 

Hero Posters

My group choose Pi to reflect on his hero journey in the Life of Pi. In the life of Pi, Pi made a unique journey, it showed his mental and physical toughness. At first I wasn't completely sure about choosing Life of Pi though as I began watching the movie I realised the many parallels to the heroes journey incorporated into the story line. At the end of the movie Pi finally moves on from the adventure and is living his own independent life. I look up to Pi because he did something I couldn't have ever thought to do. He proved himself to be an driven self-supported individual, where in India he was constrained by the rules and regulations of his parents and people around him. During his adventure he was forced to be his own person and make his own life changing decisions instead of relying on others to support him. His actions really spoke to me and that's why I feel like our project worked so well. I especially liked the visual aspect of our poster, I thought it was very unique. Everyone in our group had their own part in the creation of the poster, and I feel like everyone participated equally for the most part. I also enjoyed others posters as well both the visual aspects and the actual presentation.

In the Rapunzel poster I really liked the lettering and visual effects. I especially liked the lock of Rapunzels long hair on the side of the poster, I thought that was very unique and different and it really drew my eye. I also liked how they presented their poster, I could easily follow the story line and everyone seemed to contribute equally to the presentation. I also liked the Nightmare Before Christmas poster with Jack Skeleton as the hero. The drawings on the poster were very nicely done and well thought out. Also the presentation was very interesting and it made me want to watch the movie again. The heroes journey that they described in their presentation wasn't the likely journey that I would have thought of, though I thought that their perspective was very analytical and they really touched base with all parts of the story. They gave great detail, and really showed their knowledge of the story. Overall, the posters that were presented were all unique in their own way and they all showed me a different perspective of the heroes journey.

Conversation Passage

The passage from the conversation that really spoke to me was, " The mind has many possibilities but we can live no more than one life.". I thought that this passage was interesting because I think a lot of people tend to get lost in their own journey and they don't quite know which direction they want to take because there are so many different directions that they could possibly follow. It is not so much the so called "correct" path that is important to take in life, but what someone makes out of it. Being successful in a way, is in the eyes of the beholder. It is important for a person to be passionate about whatever they do in life because if you are not passionate about what you're doing what's the point of living? What have you lived for? These are all questions that one must ask themselves when they are choosing their path in life because we can only live one, so you might as well make the best of it. 

Joseph Campbell Passage

This passage to me is about finding yourself. It says that "we have not even to risk the adventure alone for the heroes of all time have gone before us.". To me this means that no one is ever alone in their quest, that people have struggled through the same things that we go through. I get from this passage, that as we go about our journey we find pleasure or true calling in places we would not have thought to find it. It says that "And where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves.". This means that when your aim is to take someone down or to question their beliefs, you are actually taking down yourself. The last section of the passage I think is about stepping out of your comfort zone and doing what is right. Others will follow the path that you have made if it is the right one. It talks about travelling into the outer world, and when you travel into the outer world you actually come back to center where you find your true calling. 

My Favorites

Favorite Movie

Safe Haven:

"Safe Haven" is a romance with a paranormal like twist. I really like the mix of themes, it has suspense but also you can relate to the characters throughout the story because of the romance factor. The main story line is about a young girl who moves away from home and in the process falls in love with a guy she meets in a small beach town off the east coast. Though mid way through the story line comes with a twist. The young girl is accused of a criminal act, and her relationship is put on hold. The rest would give away the end of the movie. This movie connected to me because I used to live close to where the movie was shot, and the young girl portrayed in the movie is one of my favorite actresses, Julianne Hough. Lastly I love paranormal like movies along with romances so that really drew me into the story line.

Favorite Songs: 

 Some of my favorite songs are by Hunter Hayes and One Republic. But some of my favorite are slower songs. I love "I Want Crazy" by Hunter Hayes. And "Counting Stars" by One Republic. Lastly I like songs by J. Dash and The EP Sage the Gemini. Even though I like slower songs, faster ones are better when I'm not in deep thought.  

  

This picture shows the family dynamic as soon as Hough enters a relationship with Duhamel, and becomes a mother figure towards his kids. 

This video shows the interesting and capturing twist to the story line. 

Best Experience of My Life

The best experience in my life has been just recently when my family and I went to an Island in North Carolina called Bald Head Island. I don't get to see my brother that often so it was really nice to see all of my family in one place. I also got to spend lots of time at the beach, playing in the sand and biking around the island. This island is really special to me because the last time I was there was when I was really little so it was nice to bring back memories. I also got to see my aunt, which was also really special because I am really close with her. Overall it was a amazing trip filled with everlasting memories. It was one of the best times of my life and I really appreciate the trip.