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7/21/2020 3 Comments On the rainy river by tim o'brienIn the story “On the Rainy River”, Tim O'Brien shares a story where he was drafted to go fight in the Vietnam War. He shares his thoughts and opinions throughout the story. When you analyze the text, you will notice that there are characters, situations, and symbols/themes that relate to the Archetypal Theory. In the story, Tim is the protagonist who faces an issue. Normally a protagonist is considered a hero, but in this story, Tim is not really considered a hero until the end (where he decides to fight in the war). Tim tells us a personal story: "This is one story I've never told before." (O'Brien) A mentor is someone who serves as a teacher, or counselor, to the protagonist. In this case, the old man in the story, Elroy Berdahl, mentors Tim. In the story, Elroy takes in Tim and gives him advice, a room, and whatever else he needs. Tim states that Elroy is his hero and that Elroy saved him: “The man who opened the door that day is the hero of my life. How do I say this without sounding sappy? Blurt it out—the man saved me. He offered exactly what I needed, without questions, without any words at all. He took me in.” (O'Brien) Eventually, Tim faces an archetypal situation, “The Fall”. In this situation, an individual that is at a higher state of being descends to a lower state of being. Tim experiences this after he receives a notice that tells him he is going to be drafted into the Vietnam War. Tim becomes very fearful, scared, and anxious, causing him to descend into that lower state of being: “I remember opening up the letter, scanning the first few lines, feeling the blood go thick behind my eyes. I remember a sound in my head. It wasn't thinking, just a silent howl. A million things all at once - I was too good for this war. Too smart, too compassionate, too everything. It couldn't happen.” (O'Brien) "The Fall" causes a "Loss of Innocence", which is another archetypal situation. Loss of innocence can occur through sexual experiences, violence, or other events. In this case, Tim faces a loss of innocence through him being drafted in the war. Tim realizes the reality of life: "I was no soldier. I hated Boy Scouts. I hated camping out. I hated dirt and tents and mosquitoes. The sight of blood made me queasy, and I couldn't tolerate authority, and I didn't know a rifle from a slingshot. I was a liberal for Christ sake: If they needed fresh bodies, why not draft some back-to-the-stone-age hawk? " (O'Brien) Towards the end of the story, Elroy takes Tim out to the Rainy River. This river (the water) is an archetypal symbol of rebirth. When Tim is at the River, it makes him realize that he had to go and help fight in the war. He realized that it was the right thing to do and that escaping to Canada was just a “pitiful fantasy”: “It struck me then that he must've planned it. I'll never be certain, of course, but I think he meant to bring me up against the realities, to guide me across the river and to take me to the edge and to stand a kind of vigil as I chose a life for myself.” (O'Brien) In conclusion, it is very evident that there are many things in the story that can be analyzed through the archetypal lens.
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7/15/2020 5 Comments The essay process...The essay writing process can be difficult for many people. You will need to brainstorm ideas, write multiple drafts, get feedback from peers and teachers, and most likely revise your final copy. It may take a while to come up with a solid idea and solid arguments. This process takes a long time, but is normal for anyone who wants to create an outstanding essay. I have learned a lot about these pro tips that can help you make a successful essay. Read about them below.
In my opinion, it is very good to share your work with your teachers and peers for feedback. When others read your work, they can point out small things you might have missed that need improvement. Your peers and teachers can help you fix things such as grammar mistakes. They can also give you feedback that helps you revise your essay and make it even better. It is important that your peers are able to clearly understand your thesis and what your main points are. If your peers can not do this, then you definitely need to work on clearly stating your thoughts and arguments. Make sure to always ask for feedback when writing an essay, or any writing piece. It is a good idea to brainstorm ideas for your essay. Ask yourself these questions: What type of essay am I writing? What is my topic? What are my arguments for this topic? Make sure that you ask your peers to review your thesis statement and topic sentences. These are the things that shape the way the essay goes. These are also reasons why some essays are more successful than others! When your peers give you both positive and negative feedback, take it seriously. When you do not take the feedback you are given to revise your essay, your essay will not be successful! Remember that your peers only want you to be successful, so make sure that you actually use their feedback to help improve your essay!
Katy Perry, a popular American Singer and Songwriter, has received a lot of backlash for her song "Dark Horse". This song was found to be a copied version of Christian Rap Artist Marcus Gray's (also know as Flame) song, "Joyful Noise".
If you listen closely to both songs, you can tell that Katy Perry incorporated the base and used very similar instrumental elements from Joyful Noise in her song Dark Horse. Since the base and the instrumental elements in her song are substantially similar to Marcus Gray's song, Katy was brought to court on copyright infringement charges. Gray also accused Katy of using the elements without his permission, which initially sparked the idea to take her to court. The jury decided that Katy was found guilty due to this fact. Katy using the elements from Gray's song was evidence enough to rule copyright standards. I believe that Katy did have some originality and creativity with Dark Horse. She claims that she had never heard of Marcus Gary or his song Joyful Noise before this case. She had originality in the sense that she, along with her team, had come up with unique lyrics that were their own. I feel like creators should make sure that their work is their own, unique and not copyrighted from other creators' work. If creators want to use someone else's work, they should ask for permission and create something that is not identical or similar to the original piece. Following these simple guidelines can surely decrease situations like this.
Watch and Listen to "Joyful Noise" by Flame (Marcus Gray) https://youtu.be/QCcW-guAs_s
Watch and Listen to "Dark Horse" by Katy Perry https://youtu.be/0KSOMA3QBU0
7/7/2020 1 Comment Serial: A podcast S1:E01Take a look at a podcast called "SERIAL". This podcast talks about multiple issues and crimes that occur in our everyday lives. Focus on Season One, Episode 01: The Alibi It's Baltimore, 1999. Hae Min Lee, a popular high-school senior, disappears after school one day. Six weeks later detectives arrest her classmate and ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, for her murder. He says he's innocent - though he can't exactly remember what he was doing on that January afternoon. But someone can. A classmate at Woodlawn High School says she knows where Adnan was. The trouble is, she’s nowhere to be found. (Summary from https://serialpodcast.org/season-one ) I found this podcast very interesting because this event happened in 1999. A lot has evolved since then, especially with technology and the criminal justice system. Hae Min Lee, a smart, beautiful Korean girl was supposed to pick up her little cousin from Kindergarten and drop her back home on a January afternoon. Her family became very concerned when she never showed up. Hae Min Lee was later found a few days later and the cause of death was strangulation. Her ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed was arrested a few weeks after her body was found. Many could not believe that Adnan Syed had murdered his ex-girlfriend. He was a responsible boy who was an EMT and read prayers at the mosque. Adnan could not remember what he did on that January afternoon. Many of the young kids that were interviewed at the beginning of the podcast could also not remember what they did that evening. If you asked me to remember what happened 6 weeks ago from today, I probably would not be able to give you a detailed itinerary. In a case like this, this concerns me. I mean, if Adnan could not recall what he did that afternoon, how would we know if he is telling the truth? How do we know that his friends are telling the truth? Adnan's story is mushy and is not very clear. Maybe Adnan was innocent. Or maybe he was just guilty. The way they presented this case (in a podcast) was very effective to me. You can listen to and focus on all the small details. You can listen to the case without any bias. That is one of the benefits of a case like this. I have never heard of this case before, so I was unbiased listening to this case in a podcast as I could not visually see anything. Both families have been impacted by this case. I feel that Hae Min Lee's family might have been affected more from this podcast. Her family might not agree with all the details that were given in this episode. For more details on this case, listen to Season One of "SERIAL": https://serialpodcast.org/season-one TAGS: SERIAL, Podcast, Justice 7/6/2020 2 Comments Should grade 12 University level English be a requirement for entry into all university programs?Here's a thought... You are in your final year of high school! You have decided that you want to purse a career in hairdressing, but to get into your university program, it says that you need to take a Grade 12 University Level English course. You might be wondering, "Do I really need to take this English course to get into my program if I want to do something like hairdressing? Does hairdressing even involve that course content?". Well...whether or not you believe that your program requires this course, I think it is a necessary course to take. I believe that taking a Grade 12 University Level English Course should be a requirement for entry into all university programs. Some might think that this is not ideal, but hear my reasoning. I believe that it is good to take this course, because whether or not you are doing literature, or anything English-related in university, it will help you with any formal assignments you may have to do. This course will help you throughout university. It will help you accomplish all your tasks and assignments with minimal mistakes, and it will set you up for a successful future. Just knowing the difference between there, their, and they're will go a long way. How will this course content help you in your future career? If you are doing something like hairdressing, you will still need to know these skills. For example, if you are the manager of a salon and you have to create new ads, or brochures/pamphlets, you want to make sure that it is correct in grammar, formal writing, and all other aspects. With any career you want to pursue, you want to make sure that you use your English skills in the marketing and advertising section. You may not need your English skills in general but it may be helpful in a successful future. Tags: education, university, english |