The Road by Cormac McCarthy was a great book. Once it got interesting I could barely put it down. I think that if anyone were to learn a couple of virtues from the book, they would have to be trust and determination.
Trust played a large role in the father and son's relationship.
"Why do you believe me?" the man asked.
"Because I have to."
The boy has to put his trust in the man because there is no one else around. The man serves not only as a father to the boy, but also as a leader and protector. On the other hand, there was a point in the book where I felt that the man put had some 'panic' trust in his son. While hiding in thick brush from possible murderers, Papa tells his son to take the pistol and kill himself if they are found. The man later regrets his decision to say this, saying that he panicked at the time.
The traveling couple are determined to get to the south to find a better living condition and a better way of life. While the old man is on his deathbed, he tells the son to have resilience, to keep traveling, and most of all, to be determined. To do what he has to to survive.
I would definitely recommend this book to others. I'm glad I decided to read it.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Friday, May 31, 2013
The Road #2- Is Cannibalism OK in a Situation Like This?
The man and his son are doing all they can in order to stay alive for as long as possible.
All except eating other people.
The travelers have come across two scenarios in which cannibalism was involved. The first occurrence was in the fancy house. Exploring the basement, the man discovered several helpless people trapped inside. After encountering more people that chased them out, the son questions the man about the situation.
"They're going to kill those people, aren't they?"
"Yes."
..."And they're going to eat them, aren't they?"
"Yes."
"And we couldn't help the because they would eat us too."
"Yes."-pg. 127
Later, the boy goes as far as asking if they would ever resort to eating other people. The man answers, "No. Of course not," because "we're the good guys," and "we're carrying the fire." -pg. 128-129
I feel as though this was an appropriate response to child because he doesn't want to frighten him by telling him the harsh reality of what people actually do to stay alive.
The second occurrence happened when they spotted a group of travelers sitting around a fire. Something scares the group off and the man and the boy go to inspect the area. The boy finds an infant's head roasting on the fire. He feels sorry for the baby because he thinks that he could have been saved. The man is disgusted that someone as young as the boy has to have an image such as this imprinted into his mind forever.
If I were involved in a life or death situation such as this, and the only way to continue to survive we're to consume another human being, I would do it. I may not like it, but I'd do it, even through the risk of disease and infection. The only problem I have with this is that I don't feel like a person should be murdered and then consumed. I think the person should die of natural causes beforehand.
The second occurrence happened when they spotted a group of travelers sitting around a fire. Something scares the group off and the man and the boy go to inspect the area. The boy finds an infant's head roasting on the fire. He feels sorry for the baby because he thinks that he could have been saved. The man is disgusted that someone as young as the boy has to have an image such as this imprinted into his mind forever.
If I were involved in a life or death situation such as this, and the only way to continue to survive we're to consume another human being, I would do it. I may not like it, but I'd do it, even through the risk of disease and infection. The only problem I have with this is that I don't feel like a person should be murdered and then consumed. I think the person should die of natural causes beforehand.
Saturday, April 20, 2013
A Letter to Parents
Parents.
Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. Now that the corniness is over, let's get to the subject. Parents and parenting- where to start?
Obviously, our parents play probably the most important role in our development as a person. They teach you what's right and wrong, what's left and right, and what's north and south. However, there are most likely an infinite amount of ways to raise a child, so who or what dictates which method is right? Parenting definitely differs amount races and cultures, so there is no universal way of raising a child or children. In Psychology, I am learning some of the technical things that go along with parenthood, such as the right times to give her a bottle, or stick him on the toilet. We read a recent article from the New York Times, and I would like to give credit to Mr. Frank Bruni for the quotes that I use.
"MODERN parenting confuses me. The vocabulary, for starters.
Take the word “last.” Usually it means final. Last exit: there are none beyond it. Last rites: you’re toast.
But the “last chance” for a 4-year-old to quit his screeching, lest he get a timeout? There are usually another seven or eight chances still to go, in a string of flaccid ultimatums: “Now this is your last chance.” “This is really your last chance.” “I’m giving you just one more chance. I’m not kidding.”
Of course you are, and your kids know it. They’re not idiots."
I agree with his point that sometimes we make false ultimatums to our children. We can't help it: sometimes we just can't say 'no' to children. I'm pretty confident in saying that this IS universal- probably happens everywhere.
"Help me out here. Why is an adolescent’s TV watching patrolled more scrupulously than his or her iPhone use, which can lead to infinitely greater trouble? For that matter, why does an adolescent need an iPhone in the first place?
Yes, I know, it enables your kids to stay in touch with you, and vice versa. But 13-year-olds in my era didn't have iPhones, and we got home. Eventually."
I believe this is the most valid point he makes. Many pre-teens and teenagers of today have some type of electrical device glued to their palms, and I think it's getting ridiculous. I'm not saying I don't have one; we should take advantage of the advancements of technology, but just that the reliance on technology in this generation is getting out of hand. Sometimes it feels good to have 'No Signal', just fresh air and nature, or sand and the ocean. (Sorry, more corniness.) And I'm not saying it's the parents' faults, the media is probably the second most influential thing on a child. Let's just say that the media are our aunts and uncles.
"About the feeding: explain to me what’s gained by the voluminous discussions, within earshot of little Edwin or Edwina, of what he or she probably won’t eat or definitely won’t eat or must somehow be made to eat, perhaps with a bribe. Any food that lands on the table after that much tortured preamble is bound to be eyed with suspicion and ultimately spurned, in part because it has ceased to be a vessel of nutrition or an answer to hunger at that point. It has become a power struggle: the parents’ wishes versus the child’s defiance. And the battle seems to end one and only one way. With chicken fingers."
I agree. We feed our children to many chicken fingers.
Connecting a little to Ordinary People- They say that you can't let your needs take over the needs of the family as a whole. Your children come first. Beth's actions obviously do not support this argument because she wants to look good to the other adults in the neighborhood. She doesn't want to have bad taste. She doesn't want to look like a 'flake'. She never takes into account Conrad's struggles over the death of his brother. She's selfish.
Here's the article- http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/31/opinion/sunday/bruni-a-childless-bystanders-baffled-hymn.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. Now that the corniness is over, let's get to the subject. Parents and parenting- where to start?
Obviously, our parents play probably the most important role in our development as a person. They teach you what's right and wrong, what's left and right, and what's north and south. However, there are most likely an infinite amount of ways to raise a child, so who or what dictates which method is right? Parenting definitely differs amount races and cultures, so there is no universal way of raising a child or children. In Psychology, I am learning some of the technical things that go along with parenthood, such as the right times to give her a bottle, or stick him on the toilet. We read a recent article from the New York Times, and I would like to give credit to Mr. Frank Bruni for the quotes that I use.
"MODERN parenting confuses me. The vocabulary, for starters.
Take the word “last.” Usually it means final. Last exit: there are none beyond it. Last rites: you’re toast.
But the “last chance” for a 4-year-old to quit his screeching, lest he get a timeout? There are usually another seven or eight chances still to go, in a string of flaccid ultimatums: “Now this is your last chance.” “This is really your last chance.” “I’m giving you just one more chance. I’m not kidding.”
Of course you are, and your kids know it. They’re not idiots."
I agree with his point that sometimes we make false ultimatums to our children. We can't help it: sometimes we just can't say 'no' to children. I'm pretty confident in saying that this IS universal- probably happens everywhere.
"Help me out here. Why is an adolescent’s TV watching patrolled more scrupulously than his or her iPhone use, which can lead to infinitely greater trouble? For that matter, why does an adolescent need an iPhone in the first place?
Yes, I know, it enables your kids to stay in touch with you, and vice versa. But 13-year-olds in my era didn't have iPhones, and we got home. Eventually."
I believe this is the most valid point he makes. Many pre-teens and teenagers of today have some type of electrical device glued to their palms, and I think it's getting ridiculous. I'm not saying I don't have one; we should take advantage of the advancements of technology, but just that the reliance on technology in this generation is getting out of hand. Sometimes it feels good to have 'No Signal', just fresh air and nature, or sand and the ocean. (Sorry, more corniness.) And I'm not saying it's the parents' faults, the media is probably the second most influential thing on a child. Let's just say that the media are our aunts and uncles.
"About the feeding: explain to me what’s gained by the voluminous discussions, within earshot of little Edwin or Edwina, of what he or she probably won’t eat or definitely won’t eat or must somehow be made to eat, perhaps with a bribe. Any food that lands on the table after that much tortured preamble is bound to be eyed with suspicion and ultimately spurned, in part because it has ceased to be a vessel of nutrition or an answer to hunger at that point. It has become a power struggle: the parents’ wishes versus the child’s defiance. And the battle seems to end one and only one way. With chicken fingers."
I agree. We feed our children to many chicken fingers.
Connecting a little to Ordinary People- They say that you can't let your needs take over the needs of the family as a whole. Your children come first. Beth's actions obviously do not support this argument because she wants to look good to the other adults in the neighborhood. She doesn't want to have bad taste. She doesn't want to look like a 'flake'. She never takes into account Conrad's struggles over the death of his brother. She's selfish.
Here's the article- http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/31/opinion/sunday/bruni-a-childless-bystanders-baffled-hymn.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Integration in America
The ultimate question- do we Americans crave integration?
I think we do; we just go about trying to achieve it in the wrong ways and methods. However, views on integration in America have drastically changed in the last fifty years. As supported in The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey believed that blacks should return to their native homeland of Africa. The acts of violence committed unto the African Americans at the time only made his claim more strong and reasonable. While most people were ready to jump on the Black Star Line, people like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. tried to teach whites the meaning of civilization.
Here at Whitney Young, since there is a wide range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, I feel that we may have a different view of integration than students from a school that is mostly black, white, hispanic, or asian. Students at Whitney Young experience both multi-ethnical situations at school at possibly single-ethnical sitations at home and in their neightborhoods. Because of this, we get two different viewpoints of how people in different public environments interact with each other.
Here at Whitney Young, since there is a wide range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, I feel that we may have a different view of integration than students from a school that is mostly black, white, hispanic, or asian. Students at Whitney Young experience both multi-ethnical situations at school at possibly single-ethnical sitations at home and in their neightborhoods. Because of this, we get two different viewpoints of how people in different public environments interact with each other.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Is Poverty a Choice?
Poverty- noun
1. the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor.
I don't believe that poverty is a choice. It's a lifestyle that some people are trying to overcome. It may come upon a person unexpectedly, and they may not know how to deal with it. In America, poverty rated are through the roof, but what signifies being impoverished? Poverty in the United States is definitely different than poverty in southern Asia or Europe. Because of this, poverty is not a universal term; it should be hesitantly used to distinguish certain situations.
I believe that an impoverished person can begin to sort themselves again if they have right tools and the willpower to work hard to overcome their unique situation. We have all of miracle stories of unlucky people who beat the odds to become very famous. Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z, even Michael Jackson have come from unfortunate statutes. We all are lucky enough to have the things we want. We must not look down on people who are homeless or live in homeless shelters, because 'things just haven't worked out for them yet.'
1. the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor.
I don't believe that poverty is a choice. It's a lifestyle that some people are trying to overcome. It may come upon a person unexpectedly, and they may not know how to deal with it. In America, poverty rated are through the roof, but what signifies being impoverished? Poverty in the United States is definitely different than poverty in southern Asia or Europe. Because of this, poverty is not a universal term; it should be hesitantly used to distinguish certain situations.
I believe that an impoverished person can begin to sort themselves again if they have right tools and the willpower to work hard to overcome their unique situation. We have all of miracle stories of unlucky people who beat the odds to become very famous. Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z, even Michael Jackson have come from unfortunate statutes. We all are lucky enough to have the things we want. We must not look down on people who are homeless or live in homeless shelters, because 'things just haven't worked out for them yet.'
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Malcolm X
In the Autobiography of Malcolm X, Malcolm tells of many events that have shaped his life. However, one key point sticks out to me. After he is pushed to the limit at his high school, Malcolm flees to Harlem and Boston. There he falls into a life of crime, drugs and other misfortunes. When he is arrested for these things, Malcolm feels like his life isn't going anywhere. Because he is so vulnerable, the idea of Islam appeals to him because it proposed an reason for his problems: the white man is the devil.
While in jail, Malcolm continues to begin the practice of Islam, along with his penmanship and writing skills. He writes to his brothers and sisters, introducing them to the religion. He also writes to the gangsters he used to know, but they are illiterate and cannot write back. Malcolm tells others what he had previously begin to believe, that the white man is the devil, and also that the white rave was created in a laboratory. Many people are reluctant to accept these ideas because they are very random and farfetched to them.
I believe that these were the most shaping series of events of Malcolm's life. He is dedicated to learning the ways of Islam. He feels as thought he is accepted in this religion, that others understand his pain.
While in jail, Malcolm continues to begin the practice of Islam, along with his penmanship and writing skills. He writes to his brothers and sisters, introducing them to the religion. He also writes to the gangsters he used to know, but they are illiterate and cannot write back. Malcolm tells others what he had previously begin to believe, that the white man is the devil, and also that the white rave was created in a laboratory. Many people are reluctant to accept these ideas because they are very random and farfetched to them.
I believe that these were the most shaping series of events of Malcolm's life. He is dedicated to learning the ways of Islam. He feels as thought he is accepted in this religion, that others understand his pain.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
King Still King?
Ahhh... Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most important people in the history of America, for his issues with equal rights, integration, and freedom. Of course, we all know that he dealt mostly with the freedom rights of African-Americans, but many people do not know he also fought for other minorities and religious groups that were not treated fairly. He changed the world, no doubt about it.
So ultimately- King Still King?
Uh-huh.
Yeah.
Definitely.
Just think- if MLK was born exactly one year later, the world might be an entirely different place right now. One year younger means one more year until college, which means he may have chosen a different path, like science or medicine instead of politics and civil rights. Which means--Possibly no integration. Think about it. I'm not saying it was entirely luck, just that he chose a good time to challenge the world's views at the time.
Interesting Fact- Martin Luther King Jr. led a march in 1966 in Marquette Park, which is literally a block away from my house.
So ultimately- King Still King?
Uh-huh.
Yeah.
Definitely.
Just think- if MLK was born exactly one year later, the world might be an entirely different place right now. One year younger means one more year until college, which means he may have chosen a different path, like science or medicine instead of politics and civil rights. Which means--Possibly no integration. Think about it. I'm not saying it was entirely luck, just that he chose a good time to challenge the world's views at the time.
Interesting Fact- Martin Luther King Jr. led a march in 1966 in Marquette Park, which is literally a block away from my house.
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