Thursday, April 24, 2008
Definition of Satire
A satire is a genre of Literature in which the author will be attacking something that he doesn't agree with, with humor. The best example I can think of a satire is South Park. In every episode there is a meaningful point made, but with loads of humour. In one episode they make fun of Michael Jackson and makes the point that his son must live a very neglected life, and that law enforcement usually tends to attack rich black men ratrher than rich white men.
The Glorious Revolution
If you ask me The Glorious Revolution was nothing more than a whole bunch of drama. King James, a catholic, wanted to keep catholic control in England and didn't want the protestants in power. William his some in law, a big supporter of the protestants didn't like what James was doing and decided to take him out, but without too much force. First William got a bunch of support from many people ranging from many different places in Europe. Then he got the OK from the Dutch ( he had to get the OK from them because he was a Dutch Stadholder). The great thing about all this is William did it all super secretively. King James fears it but wasn't completely sure he was about to get invaded. So with OK from the Dutch William invades England with a fleet of ships twice the size of the spanish armada. The ships come in without any bloodshed. Just like William predicted there wan't much fighting because the king knew that his army was smaller and didn't have a lot of support for him. So William makes it to London and tries to start taking the throne but can't immediately because of politics, but gets it a few months later. Once he gets the throne there are a bunch of uprisings in Ireland and Scotland. King James even returns to Ireland with 6,000 French troops at one point coming to help out, but leaves once his army gets humiliated. Oh yeah, during all this the French declares war on the Dutch because of its invasion on Britian and they have an alliance with Britian. So William goes and battles there, but ends up just loosing a lot of money and putting the Dutch in a lot of debt forcing the Dutch to leave global politics and leaving Britain as the powerhouse in Europe.
So what good did all this drama do, because it was a whole bunch of drama. Well, because of the Glorious Revolution the Bill of Rights were made, Absoloute Monarchy ended leaving more power to the parliament, and catholic influences in english politics ended. All this I believe helped the people of Britain get away from the absoloute monarchies that they were used to, and help the everyday people start to think for themselves rather than what the king says they should think.
So what good did all this drama do, because it was a whole bunch of drama. Well, because of the Glorious Revolution the Bill of Rights were made, Absoloute Monarchy ended leaving more power to the parliament, and catholic influences in english politics ended. All this I believe helped the people of Britain get away from the absoloute monarchies that they were used to, and help the everyday people start to think for themselves rather than what the king says they should think.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
mentor logs
April 16th, 2008
3:15-4:15
Today Drew and I just talked about college and my work ethics. She told me that I need to stop being lazy and do my homework. She says that in college I'll really be hurt academically by not doing homework or studying. Doing homework and studying has always been super hard for me and I've always had trouble just getting it done. Hopefully by the time I'm in college I'll get my act together and study.
Drew was a little dissapointed in me today because I didn't get my college application turned in. I was going to but I forgot to get my dad's card one night and just kept on forgetting and forgetting all week. I need to make sure I get that done or she'll kill me.
Other than that we just talked about random stuff. We didn't get that much done but I had a nice time talking to her. Hopefully next week we can work some on my product.
3:15-4:15
Today Drew and I just talked about college and my work ethics. She told me that I need to stop being lazy and do my homework. She says that in college I'll really be hurt academically by not doing homework or studying. Doing homework and studying has always been super hard for me and I've always had trouble just getting it done. Hopefully by the time I'm in college I'll get my act together and study.
Drew was a little dissapointed in me today because I didn't get my college application turned in. I was going to but I forgot to get my dad's card one night and just kept on forgetting and forgetting all week. I need to make sure I get that done or she'll kill me.
Other than that we just talked about random stuff. We didn't get that much done but I had a nice time talking to her. Hopefully next week we can work some on my product.
Mentor logs
April 10th, 2008
3:30-5:00
When Drew came today I was working on my critical essays section of my noval project. Before she began to help me I explained to her the story of Brave New World. Once I had explained the story to her she read the directions on what I needed to do and began to help me. It helps to have her around because she's good at helping me get my ideas out on paper in a clean cut way. One problem though is it's hard for me to write with someone watching me.
It was pretty funny because even though she was helping me with my noval project we ended up talking about stock markets. When I was talking about how I think the great depression had an infuence on Brave New World it sprung a conversation on stock market crashes and how they affect everything around them. We concluded that we both think the great depression had a big impact in the writing of Brave New World Huxley was experiencing some of the side-affects of seeing the "perfect world" of the 20s go down the drain. When talking to Drew I can tell that she is very interested in the stock market and really knows her stuff.
Other than that we mainly just talked about random stuff. One of the random things we talked about is my college career. She really wants me to jump on it and apply for college and gives me due dates in which I should send in my application and get signed for the tests. This helps me because I'm lazy and sometimes need a little structure to get something done. Drew and I will be meeting again next week at the same time.
3:30-5:00
When Drew came today I was working on my critical essays section of my noval project. Before she began to help me I explained to her the story of Brave New World. Once I had explained the story to her she read the directions on what I needed to do and began to help me. It helps to have her around because she's good at helping me get my ideas out on paper in a clean cut way. One problem though is it's hard for me to write with someone watching me.
It was pretty funny because even though she was helping me with my noval project we ended up talking about stock markets. When I was talking about how I think the great depression had an infuence on Brave New World it sprung a conversation on stock market crashes and how they affect everything around them. We concluded that we both think the great depression had a big impact in the writing of Brave New World Huxley was experiencing some of the side-affects of seeing the "perfect world" of the 20s go down the drain. When talking to Drew I can tell that she is very interested in the stock market and really knows her stuff.
Other than that we mainly just talked about random stuff. One of the random things we talked about is my college career. She really wants me to jump on it and apply for college and gives me due dates in which I should send in my application and get signed for the tests. This helps me because I'm lazy and sometimes need a little structure to get something done. Drew and I will be meeting again next week at the same time.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Literary Importance of Brave New World
Does Brave New World deserve to be studied in an english class? I believe it does because it has such a meaningful message. Aldous Huxley puts out a strong message in the Brave New World that you cannot have utopia without people loosing their individuality. Brave New World also has a good deal of historical significance because of how much the mood of that time shows in Huxley's writing.
In BNW everybody lives in this perfect utopia in which "Everyone belongs to everyone else." In this world people are created, they are not born. Using the Bokanovsky's process they can create 96 babies from one sperm cell. Embyro's are conditioned to whatever their destined occupation is and raised in a government controlled nursery where they are fed propaganda their whole lives. In the pursuit of a utopia the government has almost completely ruled out the option of individuality."individuality is literally impossible. As a result, built on a large foundation of identical, easily manipulated people, the society thrives. Stability lives, but individuality—the desire and/or ability to be different—is dead." (cliffnotes.com). I believe that the loss of individuality from utopia is the main message in BNW. It is also a very meaningful message because not only is it a interesting idea, but in Huxley's time it really seemed like a strong possibility because of the great depression, the industrial revolution, and the rise of corporations.
Another message I picked up on from the book is that full happiness cannot be achieved without sacrifices. In BNW, John the Savage wants to show his love to Lenina but all she wants to do is have sex with him. "I wanted to do something first.... I mean, to show I was worthy of you," said John. Lenina replied, "Why should you think it necessary" (BNW 189). This quote shows how John felt like he should have to prove his love first, but Lenina didn't care. Lenina didn't care because she had grown up in the BNW and doesn't know better, but John knows that if he proves himself first that the sex will be more meaningful and he'll reach a higher level of happiness. It's kind of like when you build something yourself, or buy something with your own money. Since you've put the sacrifice into it you'll appreciate it more and it will give you more pleasure. In BNW everything is made to be easy and simple, with no conflicts.
When Huxley wrote BNW it was during the worst part of the great depression. Everyone was broke, unemployed, had no confidence in the economy, and was feeling the giant come down of the roaring twenties. During the great depression people were getting the feeling of what happens when something so big (e.g. the U.S. economy) falls to the ground. I think that this had an influence on Huxley because he got to see the bad side of something as big as the U.S. economy crashing.
I also believe that the industrial revolution had a big impact on the way BNW was written. All through Huxley's life he was witnessing the industrial revolution. People were starting to work in factories, do specialized work (like in BNW), and become more dependent upon other people (also, like in BNW). I believe that this was the main influence on the book because before the industrial revolution people generally worked for themselves. They planted food for themselzes, they hunted for themselves, they built houses for themselves, and made clothes for themselves. When the industrial revolution occured all the sudden people were producing things for other people and buying instead of making products from other people. Because of this people became more tied to their fellow beings, creating the famous quote of the book "Everyone belongs to everyone else."
I think that because of BNW's message on the importance of individuality and its historical background it is a must for english classes all over. Students everyone I think should read BNW because they need to know that their individuality is important and that if they let the government take it away from them they'll loose many of the simple pleasures that we all love.
In BNW everybody lives in this perfect utopia in which "Everyone belongs to everyone else." In this world people are created, they are not born. Using the Bokanovsky's process they can create 96 babies from one sperm cell. Embyro's are conditioned to whatever their destined occupation is and raised in a government controlled nursery where they are fed propaganda their whole lives. In the pursuit of a utopia the government has almost completely ruled out the option of individuality."individuality is literally impossible. As a result, built on a large foundation of identical, easily manipulated people, the society thrives. Stability lives, but individuality—the desire and/or ability to be different—is dead." (cliffnotes.com). I believe that the loss of individuality from utopia is the main message in BNW. It is also a very meaningful message because not only is it a interesting idea, but in Huxley's time it really seemed like a strong possibility because of the great depression, the industrial revolution, and the rise of corporations.
Another message I picked up on from the book is that full happiness cannot be achieved without sacrifices. In BNW, John the Savage wants to show his love to Lenina but all she wants to do is have sex with him. "I wanted to do something first.... I mean, to show I was worthy of you," said John. Lenina replied, "Why should you think it necessary" (BNW 189). This quote shows how John felt like he should have to prove his love first, but Lenina didn't care. Lenina didn't care because she had grown up in the BNW and doesn't know better, but John knows that if he proves himself first that the sex will be more meaningful and he'll reach a higher level of happiness. It's kind of like when you build something yourself, or buy something with your own money. Since you've put the sacrifice into it you'll appreciate it more and it will give you more pleasure. In BNW everything is made to be easy and simple, with no conflicts.
When Huxley wrote BNW it was during the worst part of the great depression. Everyone was broke, unemployed, had no confidence in the economy, and was feeling the giant come down of the roaring twenties. During the great depression people were getting the feeling of what happens when something so big (e.g. the U.S. economy) falls to the ground. I think that this had an influence on Huxley because he got to see the bad side of something as big as the U.S. economy crashing.
I also believe that the industrial revolution had a big impact on the way BNW was written. All through Huxley's life he was witnessing the industrial revolution. People were starting to work in factories, do specialized work (like in BNW), and become more dependent upon other people (also, like in BNW). I believe that this was the main influence on the book because before the industrial revolution people generally worked for themselves. They planted food for themselzes, they hunted for themselves, they built houses for themselves, and made clothes for themselves. When the industrial revolution occured all the sudden people were producing things for other people and buying instead of making products from other people. Because of this people became more tied to their fellow beings, creating the famous quote of the book "Everyone belongs to everyone else."
I think that because of BNW's message on the importance of individuality and its historical background it is a must for english classes all over. Students everyone I think should read BNW because they need to know that their individuality is important and that if they let the government take it away from them they'll loose many of the simple pleasures that we all love.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
mentor logs
04/03/08
3:15- 4:30
Today me an drew talked about how everything we had done in my research paper was erased. She was pretty bummed about it, but it's in the past. We actually just talked our last visit because I was writing my logs for the last time.
Today our main focus was at stocktrak.com. Stocktrak.com is a website were you can invest fake money into the stock market and look at all your returns. Her portfolio is actually grouped with her whole class and they have a competition who can make the most. Drew is 9 out of 51, which I think is pretty good. She showed me all of her stocks that were doing good and told me why she bought them. She also told me that she had just invested realy money in the real stock market, so I wish her luck.
After that we pretty much just sat around and talked. We talked about my future education and looked at a few scholorships and a few schools, but other than that we just sat around.
3:15- 4:30
Today me an drew talked about how everything we had done in my research paper was erased. She was pretty bummed about it, but it's in the past. We actually just talked our last visit because I was writing my logs for the last time.
Today our main focus was at stocktrak.com. Stocktrak.com is a website were you can invest fake money into the stock market and look at all your returns. Her portfolio is actually grouped with her whole class and they have a competition who can make the most. Drew is 9 out of 51, which I think is pretty good. She showed me all of her stocks that were doing good and told me why she bought them. She also told me that she had just invested realy money in the real stock market, so I wish her luck.
After that we pretty much just sat around and talked. We talked about my future education and looked at a few scholorships and a few schools, but other than that we just sat around.
mentor logs
February 28, 2008
3:00-5:00
On Thursday, Drew came at 3:00 and she helped me on my Research paper. She knew a lot of stuff that I didn't and gave me a lot of insight. She also was really good at helping me write out the thoughts in me head. This helped a lot because sometimes a have writer's block and just can't think of the right way to write something.
Basically we talked about how stock markets affect their economies and how they can accelarate their economies. We also talked about how the stock market can liquidate money to consumers and how it affects people's everyday spending. Another thing we talked about was how the stock market can show a good index on how well an economies going.
She also showed me the website that I would be using in my product. The website is called http://www.stocktrak.com/. At this website you can use two million dollars in fake money to invest in the stock market for four months and see how well you would've done. You can also look at your portfolio in graph form, look at all the publicity around your stock, and also see how well everyone in your class in doing.
3:00-5:00
On Thursday, Drew came at 3:00 and she helped me on my Research paper. She knew a lot of stuff that I didn't and gave me a lot of insight. She also was really good at helping me write out the thoughts in me head. This helped a lot because sometimes a have writer's block and just can't think of the right way to write something.
Basically we talked about how stock markets affect their economies and how they can accelarate their economies. We also talked about how the stock market can liquidate money to consumers and how it affects people's everyday spending. Another thing we talked about was how the stock market can show a good index on how well an economies going.
She also showed me the website that I would be using in my product. The website is called http://www.stocktrak.com/. At this website you can use two million dollars in fake money to invest in the stock market for four months and see how well you would've done. You can also look at your portfolio in graph form, look at all the publicity around your stock, and also see how well everyone in your class in doing.
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