Love?

What is Christopher’s definition of love? Do you agree with it? What is your definition of love? How do people experience love, for example between parents and their children? Given Christopher's aversion to being touched, can he experience his parents' love for him, or can he only understand it as a fact, because they tell him they love him? Is there any evidence in the novel that he experiences a sense of attachment to other people?

In the novel, Christopher gives his definition of what love is on page 87 - "...loving is someone helping them when they get into trouble, and looking after then, and telling them the truth..." Though this definition is not necessarily a bad definition, I feel that Christopher's definition is too shallow and realistic, and not thoughtful enough. By definition love is probably too broad to be explained in mere words, as there are many stages and feelings of love, all ranging differently in terms of emotional depth, and (in my opinion) can only be experienced. I learned a few  in last year's Bible course; for example, infatuation is the immature "puppy love" teenagers usually obsess over, eros is the passionate love that usually forms from sexual desires, agape is a "brotherly/paternal love," and unconditional and conditional love.

A specific definition of love, though - I would have to refer to the love of God and the love of Jesus (religion kicking in again). It is an unconditional love, where you care for someone enough to where you would sacrifice your own life in order to save theirs, as according to the Bible Jesus did to save us from death.

Love is complex, however. There is the rational and realistic side of it, which is to care for someone immensely, but there is also a more emotional and spiritual aspect of it - a connection does form between you and that person, and the care you have for the person may be irrational, but is a deep sense of connectivity. Love can be experienced through different actions (also depending on which form, of course). Between parents and children, there exist a deep bond that is formed ever since the child meets eyes with their mother and father. For me personally, I know how much my parents have worked to support me and build me up, and they did this our of their paternal love (and tough love, I guess), and I love my parents with a sense of respect and gratefulness that cannot be totally expressed in words, because it has been building up ever since I was an infant. Because of my personality, and I guess partly because of my culture, I feel very awkward displaying love through actions - as long as people know that I am respectful and attentive to them, that is enough. This love is mutual - I know I can trust my parents, and my parents prepare me for the outside world with care.

Christopher, though. I believe that Christopher thinks of love in the rational, fact-based sense. However, I think he still feels an emotional connection only to those he cares immensely about - but he cannot explain or comprehend it, and therefore goes right by him without a second thought. This is despite the fact that, realistically, he cannot form social contracts with others.

I believe this because despite the fact that his mother has not given him the respect or care she should have (I still cannot believe she did what she did. In  my opinion it breaks the "contract" between mother and son and cannot be forgiven easily), Christopher still decides to seek his mother and, in essence, loves her. This is very controversial and ambiguous, though, and I won't be quick to pass judgment on him, even though he is purely fictional (at least, I think).

A World With No People

In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Christopher likes the idea of a world with no people in it (p. 2); he contemplates the end of the world when the universe collapses (pp. 10–11); he dreams of being an astronaut, alone in space (pp. 50–51), and that a virus has carried off everyone and the only people left are "special people like me" (pp. 198–200). Christopher often fantasizes about being the only person left in the world. What is comforting about fantasizing about being the only person left in the world? Have you ever thought about being alone in the world? If you were alone in the world, what would you do?

Christopher often fantasizes about being "alone in the universe" - that is, being the only person left in the world. Because of his autistic nature, he cannot empathize with others and has severe social difficulties. Because of this, interacting with other people is difficult and stressful for Christopher, and as a result he hates crowds, group interaction, and invasion of privacy. This is probably why he finds comfort in being alone - free to think and go as he pleases.

I don't know about being the only one left in the world. In all honesty I do not prefer a large group - I prefer a smaller, closer knit group to be with. However, after being in Taipei for so long, I have become comfortable in a crowd - to an extent, of course.

It depends on my mood - sometimes you have the need to be around friends and socialize, other times you do wish you were able to be alone in the universe.

If, by some freakish incident, I were to become the last man on Earth, I guess there wouldn't be much to do but to think, read, steal food (and DVD's!) from stores and homes.... ? I never really thought about it. But if I were the only man left, I would probably be too busy surviving and running from the zombies to do too much. It also wouldn't be long before I would snap and start talking to mannequins as though they were real people. For a while though, just living alone, surviving alone... I can't express in words why it sounds appealing to me, but it just would be.

Each Other’s Business

In the article “We Are Each Other’s Business,” Eboo Patel illustrates his ideas with references to art and literature. What point does he make about the Norman Rockwell painting? How does he use a Gwendolyn Brooks poem to support his ideas? Do a Google search for these two works and see what they mean to you.

In the article "We Are Each Other's Business," Eboo Patel expresses his ideals about pluralism. In the article, he mentions the painting Freedom of Worship by Norman Rockwell. For Patel, he views the painting as an illustration of a world where people have the same goals and pursuits and as a result find comfort in the presence of one another - yet, they are apart because of their difference in their beliefs. For him, it is a "vivid depiction of a group living in peace with its diversity, yet not exploring it." This is an illustration of his earlier childhood, where he was friends with people from diverse backgrounds; yet, their topics never touched the ambiguity and hazard of the difference in their culture and religion.

He also cites literature to back up a story he told about intolerance. He quotes a Gwendolyn Brooks poem, which says "We are each other's business; we are each other's harvest; we are each other's magnitude." This is to portray his belief that if someone has the power to stop an injustice, then that person should do so. It is also a support to a story he told about when he failed to protect his friend from an unjust act against him.

Both of these references instigate at least a small response in me. For the most part, I agree with Patel's point of Norman Rockwell's painting. It is as I have mentioned in previous journals - people need to have a sense of mutual respect for one another between those of different cultures. However, his belief that people can live in peace with diversity, yet never exploring it, is somewhat idealistic and quite impossible - it wouldn't be long before disagreements would occur because of a disparity in beliefs. To understand means to explore, and this is where Patel has a minor mistake in his beliefs.

In addition, I agree with Gwendolyn Brooks to an extent. The truth is that yes, if one has the power to stop injustice, then that one person should utilize his power to try and stop it. However, this often borders on arrogance and nosiness. On an individual basis, this principle can be kept fairly reasonably. But this has its limitations - if a person is being hurt or manipulated, then reporting the offenders to the authorities is necessary; but if your neighbor's dog has died, you shouldn't go searching for the killer when it isn't your job to. In addition, on a global or international scale, it really isn't wise to stop "injustice" in the world just because you have the power to.

In conclusion, I think that Patel is, unfortunately, occupying the far left of a scale. These ideals can be taken for truth, BUT there needs to be moderation and self-judgment to see when the ideals apply.

Self-Definition

In the article “Islam in America,” one of the interviewees says that she can define herself in one word: Muslim. Think about yourself. Can you define yourself in one word? If so, what is it, and why do you think that it captures the essence of who you are? If not, why not? Are there several words that you think define you? Do you think it is a good thing to define oneself narrowly, with only one word, or is it better to base one’s self-concept on a wider range of ideas?

Defining a person with one word is sometimes hard. People often like simplifying and breaking things down, and  with describing oneself someone will break their personality apart to find a specific word that will describe their personality and their beliefs. It's not a bad thing; the term that people come up with is usually their center of their life and what they live for - essentially what their entire life is based around of. Based on my experience, if the person is religious, this word usually turns out to be their religion, or related to their religion. The interviewee deemed herself "Muslim", and I would bet that all devout Christians would call themselves "Christians" as well.

I don't think that using one word to describe yourself is altogether a good thing. As mentioned earlier, it simplifies the personality of a person and attempts to make sense out of yourself. A human being is complex (this is why I hate a lot of movies; they portray characters as very simple people who change in a very unrealistic way), and the emotions and personalities of a person tends to be ambiguous and contradicting. A person's personality is usually very broad-ranged. For example, one may be a realist, but is interested in idealist philosophies, or one may support a progressive party for one country, but be conservative in nature.

For religion, though, this tends to be different. If you are truly devout to your religion, then you have already set yourself out to seek a particular goal, and as you have accepted a certain doctrine that you are bound to, then a basic structure for your life is complete. Because my head hurts too much to continue staring at a computer, I will make the ending brief: this still may change, however.

For me, though, I can't call myself a Christian, so to speak, although I accept Jesus's doctrines. I would call myself more of a Christ Follower, as that term does not associate itself with the negative connotation of the term "Christian". It also means that I am more open minded to the world, but I still attain a certain level of spirituality. I feel very reluctant and hesitant to type this, however, because recently my spirituality has hit an all-time low. I guess I still follow Christ, though, despite the fact that recently things have been different. As I said, things change.

Author’s Attitude

In the article “Islam in America,” what does the author assume about readers’ knowledge? What is the author’s attitude toward the subject? What is the author’s attitude toward the readers? Who would be interested in this topic?

First off, the author assumes that the reader doesn't know much about Islam. Her audience is most likely directed towards non-Islamic American citizens. This is because the title it called "Islam in America", and the text addresses the "American" perspective of Islams as well as the Islamic perspective of their own world, and thus the author's purpose is to inform the readers about the subject at hand.

The author's tone is straightforward, as she gives us the facts and supporting statistics, but she is also rather tentative in her writing. Nothing in her writing labels specific groups of people, and she does not use much generalization towards the people she mentions. She gives two sides of the issue - how Americans perceive the subject, and how Islams view it. Granted, as she is informing Americans about the ongoing situation, her perspective tends to talk about the Islamic culture more, probably to raise awareness amongst the readers about Islamic culture in America, and to suppress the stereotypic generalizations that often occur amongst American citizens, especially in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

The author also gives us the voices of the Islamic-American with direct quotes and real-life situations. This further helps raise awareness about the culture of the Islamic Americans. She also tells us how Islamic culture and American culture are slowly merging in a unique process. This may be the attitude the author has towards the reader. As many Americans do not know much about Islam, they feel as though they are "different" and harder to get along with. As a result stereotypes are assumed and isolation occurs. However, the author informs the reader that Islam is steadily growing in America, and that Islamic culture is also merging with American culture. As the essay is directed towards Americans, I think that just by including the idea of assimilation, that Islams are becoming more American, may cause some to gain a new approval of Islam.

Probably those interested in this article would be those who are 1) people with little knowledge about Islam, 2) people who believe in pluralism.

Living Together

Think about the people you know in school or in your neighborhood who have diverse backgrounds and beliefs. Do you think cultural differences can enrich a community? Why or why not? If so, how do they enrich the community? How do people from different cultures learn to live together?

Cultural differences do enrich a community, yes; it provides a mix of different and unique cultures under the imprint of one community, and it encourages people to develop inter-cultural relationships. Unfortunately, though,  cultural differences tend to lead to serious clashes and problems, and the ultimate idealistic goal of all people regardless of nation getting along together is close to impossible.

From what I learned from a brief (14 page) introduction to the Psychology of War, people tend to choose to be with others who are like them; hence, cultural segregation exists naturally. This is prominent in different situations, but the most unbiased and common situation is the cliques that usually form in High Schools. This social phenomenon occurs, to my belief, because as people our nature holds a certain contempt towards those who are "different".

There are a variety of factors that are involved in this, however, such as historical context; the different cultures of Jews and Palestinians have never, and probably will never, live together in harmony because of their controversial history. In addition, the African Americans have been prejudiced for centuries, and many of them still need to work hard to make themselves respected among others.. This point is even more illustrated when the white settlers forced the Native Americans off their land.

Ultimately, it is because of the fact that we cannot totally accept another culture that living together will never be easy. When you do not view the other culture with respect, they will become isolationist and in turn shut themselves off from you. This "stalemate" of two or more secluded groups viewing the others in contempt is probably the most tense situation you can get, for it only takes a spark to light the fuse (as illustrated in the film  "The Freedom Writers", where the students are split between individual gangs formed from those of different nationalities). The isolation of a particular group in response to prejudice is also worth thinking about; they sometimes rear up against the bigots, when in reality they themselves are also being intolerant of them.

Because people cannot accept the culture or beliefs of another, this makes politics very tiresome and irksome as well. There is such a clear divide between the beliefs that a democracy is almost impossible. This is the case in Taiwan; I personally support the KMT, who are mostly descended from those who followed Chiang-Kai  Shek to Taiwan, whereas the opposition DPP party are affirmed with the Taiwanese locals. Due to the history of Taiwan, the two groups have always been quite wary of the other, and their clear distinctions has rendered a bipartisan agreement impossible (for this reason I seriously doubt the promises of democracy in Taiwan).

Another example I want to bring up is inter-racial marriage. To place it lightly, they usually don't turn out well. This is because there is one person of the two who cannot totally accept the culture of the other (a clear example would be the young couple who almost divorced in the movie "The Joy-Luck Club").

But does this mean I am against a multicultural community? Not at all. In my philosophy, people of different cultures need to be able to live together in harmony. I myself have nothing against different cultures, but I respect them all the same. The main problem though, is the psychology of man; the tendency to push people who are different away and stick with those who are the same. To live together though, one thing needs to be achieved (as idealistic as it is). People need to learn to respect the beliefs of others and understand their culture, while at the same time retaining their own cultural beliefs. It is possible. When everyone has their own cultures, but realizes at the same time that everyone else is still human and worthy of respect, then we can bes seen as a race that is united, but individually unique.

Another Point of View

In “Evacuation Order No. 19” the narrator focuses on Mrs. Hayahsi’s experiences and her responses to the family’s situation. What different experiences and reactions might another character have had in a similar situation? Write a version of a scene from the story from the point of view of another character, such as Mrs. Hayashi’s son or daughter, or even Joe Lundy or Mrs. Greer.

The matter of perspective and beliefs is important when it comes to point of view. For instance, someone with authoritarian political beliefs may believe that the internment order is logical, rational, and necessary, while someone with more libertarian beliefs may view the internment as unjust and irrational. In addition, some people would hold all Japanese accountable for the war; this is the most prominently seen perspective that is displayed in many war films. Other more rational and open-minded folk would perceive and realize that not all the Japanese are to be blamed for the war; only some.

Within the story, this is also important when focusing in on the experiences and reactions of different characters. Because their lives and their situations are different, their perspectives will be as well. Mrs. Greer may not have a strong opinion regarding the internment order, whereas Joe Lundy may feel the tinge of sympathy and guilt towards Mrs. Hayashi.

The story told from the perspective of Mrs. Hayashi's son is as follows.

School was out, and the boy and his sister were walking home. The boy stepped carefully along the sidewalk, playing a game as he went; you could only step on the squared tiles, but could not step on the rectangular ones. He skipped from tile to tile, eyes glued to the sidewalk, backpack thumping against his back with every jump. The girl paid no attention to him. She look to the left and the right of the street. "People are staring at us," she announced.

The boy did not look up. "Maybe there's something wrong with your face," he suggested. The girl did not reply to this, but walked on thoughtfully. She stopped in front of a local shop, where a sign had caught her eye. She read over it quickly. "We are leaving," she announced.

The boy stopped. "Leaving to where?"

"Doesn't say. I think a camp of some sort."

The boy thought for a minute before deciding that it would be a trip, like a vacation. He leapt to the next square tile, with a new spring in his step.

As his sister talked with his mother, the boy walked across the hall to open the door. "White dog! White dog!" He hollered down the street.

Although White Dog was old, skinny, ailing, and very small, he liked him very much. The dog was like a pet to him, though he could not keep it indoors. But he enjoyed his company, and the dog enjoyed his. In addition to becoming blind in one eye, lately the boy had noticed a new symptom to add to the already long list of medical problems with the dog: reduced hearing. It would take a while of calling before the dog would run over, tail wagging happily. This time, though, the dog did not come.

"White dog!" He yelled. When the dog did not come, he turned and went back into the house, slightly disappointed.

"That dog gets deafer and deafer every day," he remarked to his mother. She did not reply, but continued to do her kitchen work; however, he noticed that her mouth tightened slightly as he mentioned White Dog. He stood there and hesitated for a second. He then shrugged, and went to the dining table. "It's hot," he complained.

"Take off your hat, then," his mother replied.

He did not. The hat was from his father, and he had not seen him for ages. That fedora was the closest he could get to his father, and he was not going to take it off and lose him. It made him feel braver and more adventurous.

He turned on the radio. He twisted the dial, and after minutes of searching for a sports program, he gave up and turned to the classical music program. He did not particularly like it, but there was nothing else good on, and he had nothing better to do either. He listened to the loud applauses ("Bravo! Bravo!") and reached for another persimmon fruit.

Write a Letter

Imagine you were friends with the Hayashis, the family in “Evacuation Order No. 19.” Write a letter to them in which you express your thoughts on their situation. Also in your letter, give news from “home” and attempt to soothe and bolster your friends’ spirits.

Dear Mrs. Hayashi,

It is with utmost respect and dignity that I write this letter to you. First, let me extend my sympathies towards you and your family. I know that leaving an established life can be potentially difficult, and I doubt you needed me to say so. Things back in the town have changed slightly since your leave. Joe's hardware store, the one you usually go to, closed a week ago due to "personal reasons", and the town just seems emptier - only now do I realize the number of Japanese-American citizens who had resided in Berkeley. This is even seen in the schools - quite a sum of the student population is absent due to the Evacuation Order.

Personally I believe the Order lacks resolute authority and organization. I myself have studied the Order, and I find that a large amount of things that should be covered, aren't. This is very concerning for me, and as a result I am concerned for you and your family. I do not know how the conditions are over there, and I know I wouldn't be able to understand even if I did. However, I implore you to not think of all white Americans badly because of this incident. It is not everybody who supports the act; many here oppose President Roosevelt's order, and have openly voiced our discontent. I myself do not set myself against other races, no matter what the circumstances. However due to the current state of affairs, it would seem logical to some to enact the order; but you and I both know that Roosevelt probably should have thought it thoroughly first. The order is based purely on racial injustice, war hysteria, and bad political leadership.

I have no real idea as to how you are doing, and I believe the conditions must be pretty bad. All I can say is, if Roosevelt drops dead one day, then we will know the reason why - punishment for his injustice. I know your letter will probably be censored by the time I receive it, but how are you doing? Give my regards to your children. I wish you all the best.

Sincerely,

Toby Mac

Narrator's Persona

The story’s narrator has a significant impact on how we perceive the story’s characters. Describe the persona of the narrator in “Evacuation Order No. 19.” Analyze the effect of the narrator on readers. Use details from the story to explain your answer.

The persona of the narrator of the short story "Evacuation Order No. 19" can be described as reserved, punctual, informative, and formal. The narrator does not betray bias or feeling towards the subject and story at hand; the author of the story tries her best to keep the narrator formal and, as a result, neutral. Feelings of pain and discontent are not betrayed when it is revealed that the sign had ordered Mrs. Hiyashi to leave; emotional trauma or sadness is not revealed when White Dog is killed. The author utilizes a third-person limited point of view focusing primarily on Mrs. Hiyashi; as a result, not much emotion of the characters is revealed for the most part except for her feelings. However, because the narrator is perspective and punctual, he or she still betrays clues as to what the characters are feeling and what feelings the narrator (or the author, through the narrator) may be possessing. For instance, when White Dog is killed by Mrs. Hiyashi, it is says that she exhaled a large breath of air. By giving this minute detail, we can infer her true feelings about the mercy kill. Going along these lines, a large influence the narrator has on the readers is that he or she does not so easily release information pertaining to the characters and the story.This is where the reserved characteristic of the narrator comes in; because the narrator is reserved, only some details are spoken of that may hint at a certain character trait, but does not give it away completely. This is also important because it also allows the narrator to be unbiased for or against the issue of the internment order. An example of this is when the narrator briefly mentions that Mrs. Hiyashi does not always follow the rules, but in this case she does; and also when the son attempts to stuff his luggage with belongings, hinting at the boy's childlike and innocent personality.

This gives a unique experience for the reader. The reader is left in quiet confusion, subtle horror, and slow realization as the story progresses, and more details about the characters and the entire conflict of the story are slowly revealed. The narrator's punctuality allows for a clear rendition of events, but in contrast his/her limited point of view also gives us a limited perspective of the story. However, through these subtle means of communication through the narrator, you can feel the author's discontent towards the issue of Japanese internment.

This leaves a good reader in contemplation of the story; its characters and its course of events.

School and Community Characteristics

School and Community Characteristics


· What are the social characteristics that make up your school? These can include family relationships, as well as interaction between students and teachers.
· What are the political characteristics that make up your school? How is it governed? Who is in control? Are students able to participate in the school’s government or decision-making process?
· What are the economic characteristics that make up your community?
· What cultural groups make up your community? How have these groups influenced your community?

The social relationships in a school are like a web of relations and ties, all spun under a single roof of the school. There are interactions and a certain social contract that must exist between students, teachers, and parents, and there are the relationships that form within cliques and between friends. The relationships between students are obvious. They exist between friends that chat over lunch, and the people we choose to spend time with. Thinner relationships occur between the people who we know and are friendly with but do not know as well; and even thinner ones exist between the people whom we may act friendly towards but secretly dislike. A natural system of respect also forms within the student body based on personalities and visible strengths. Relationships between cliques are often most prominent in a school environment; the skateboarders usually hang together, the basketball jocks spend their time together, and the gamers usually spend their lunches with one another. In addition, apart from the relationships that exist between students, a triangular relationship also exists between teachers, parents, and students. The system is based on a set of naturally occurring laws within the school community.

The school is characterized as a hierarchy. Students are classified on the lowest possible level of the hierarchal pyramid. They don't have much of a say in how the school is run; they can, however, provide suggestions through the Student Council for approval, and help arrange and carry out school events. Teachers compose the second level of the hierarchy, and our head of the school, Mrs. Pamela, is at the top of the pyramid; whatever she thinks becomes law. Though each level has significantly more power and authority over the other, each level of the hierarchy is dependent upon the other.

The community that I live in is mostly composed of lower to upper middle-class Taiwanese people. Though I spend most of my time with these people, the town I live in is a Hakka town with relatively poor local inhabitants. Jhunan is a town based on fishing, independent farmers, and small businesses. However I never really felt at home in Jhunan or in Hsinchu, and really prefer to spend my time in Taipei City. Either that or the east coast of the island. This however defines the surroundings of which I live in.

Life-Changing Events

What events in history or in the present have forced people to change their lives completely? How do people cope with hardships that require enormous changes in their lives? Have you ever experienced an event that made a sudden and significant change in your life? If so, describe the event and how it changed your life. If not, imagine how you might react to such an event.

What events in history have forced people to make a change? That's not a hard question to answer. most of history is involving change - a change in thinking, a change in a pattern, anything that causes the status-quo to shift and the world to become altered. When the Japanese-American internment occurred in 1942, countless families of Japanese descent were force to adjust to new surroundings and later, the consequences of the internment. Households across American and the world were forced to live on limited amounts of food. Men were drafted into the armed forces, leaving families behind.

In China around this time, the Chinese Civil War raged on. To make matters worse for the citizens of the Republic of China, Japan was also launching invasions onto the Chinese mainland. The Rape of Nanking occurred in 1937 as the Second Sino-Japanese war raged on, striking fear and resentments in the hearts of many Chinese people.

When the ROC retreated to Taiwan, the native Taiwanese inhabitants felt oppressed as the government immediately took control of the island, changing their lives forever.

History is filled with life-changing moments. They also occur on a small scale to individuals.

So how do people cope to hardships associated with change? I think I have talked about this before. Most people start out with grief and self-pity. But as time goes by they begin to realize and accept the situation. Some people never leave the grief stage, while other jump ahead to quickly without realizing what they are facing.

A sudden and significant change? ... Apart from establishing myself into a religion, nothing else has happened that is totally significant. When one does happen, though, I expect myself to have a rational mindset. I will acknowledge what I am stepping into, what I am leaving. I will grieve if necessary, and make peace if necessary. The main thing, though, is to honor the past and step into the present.

Satire in “The Storyteller”

What aspects of “The Storyteller” make it a satire? What is Saki poking fun at with this story? How does he use humor and exaggeration to make his point? Support your answers with details and examples from the story.

I feel as if I have answered this already in my earlier blog posts, but here goes...

A satire is a genre of literature that takes vices, shortcomings, or other issues and hold them up to ridicule, usually with the intent of poking fun at specific individuals and society to assert their views on how the individuals or society should improve. A typical satire will contain some irony and a deep message; even the most comical and lighthearted satire will have a serious assertion and theme. It relies on exaggeration and irony to create humor, which fuels the comical side of a satirical piece of literature.

In "The Storyteller" by Saki, Saki includes aspects of exaggeration in order to oppose the subject that he is making fun of - the conservative, rigid means of upbringing children. He does this by, through the third-person omniscient perspective, showing how the aunt's ways of teaching are ineffective and her dullness and insipid personality do nothing to calm or satisfy the children. I can see this reflected in today's society; on principle, children who are forced to learn and behave against their better nature usually end up rebellious (this is a big hint on a theme that can be derived from the story). The bachelor, on the other hand, tells a captivating story that leaves all the children in awe.

This brings me to another point. Saki uses the character of the bachelor to bring to light the issue of how society insists on upbringing children to be "good" against their true nature. Saki was raised in a rigid household, and because of his hatred towards it he wrote a good number of satires about the topic; this story also includes the implication that there should be room for children to grow based on their true nature. Such a serious theme is brought up with humor. The bachelor's story is exaggerated (and as a result it is intriguing), and what basically happens is Bertha, the main character of his story, is killed as a result of her good behavior. The situational irony and the humor in which it is presented also encloses a deep issue of society.

In short, Saki's story includes the basic aspects of a satire; exaggeration, irony, and humor in order to ridicule a topic and through these methods he also bring up serious societal issues that are worth contemplating about.

Motivation for Telling a Story

In “The Storyteller,” what is the aunt’s motivation for telling the children a story? What is the bachelor’s motivation? How are their motivations similar? How are they different? How does the aunt react at the end of the bachelor’s story?

After reading "The Storyteller," the aunt's motives and the bachelor's motives for telling the story are quite plain. There are four kinds of causes, as set forth by Aristotle, which I learned last year: the material cause, the formal cause, the efficient cause, and the final cause. For this particular question regarding the motives of telling the story, I will examine the final and efficient causes. The efficient cause of something is the "moving cause", or the primary source of change. In this case, both the aunt and the bachelor have the same efficient cause for telling the story: to calm the children down and keep them quiet. This is demonstrated by clear evidence from the text and by inferring from the aunt's actions.

The final cause is something's ultimate aim or purpose. In this case, the aunt's purpose is to, through a story (deplorable and boring, but a story nonetheless) remind them the virtues of proper demeanor and good attitude. The bachelor's purpose, though, is different. He sees the aunt's belief in rigid upbringing and also sees how ludicrous and futile her attempts are to quiet the children, and his purpose of telling his story is because he wants to mess with the aunt and point out the absurdities behind her methods of teaching.

The aunt reacts to the bachelor's story by criticizing him for "undermining years of careful teaching", indicating her belief in rigid upbringing; it is this very subject that Saki criticizes and satirizes through this short story.

Omniscient Point of View

In “The Storyteller,” what do we learn about each character through the omniscient point of view? How does this choice of narrator affect the plot? How would the story be different if told by either the aunt or the bachelor from the first person point of view? What would be lost?

Saki chose to tell the story "The Storyteller" through a third-person omniscient point of view. He chose this perspective and not, say, a first-person point of view, for specific reasons. An omniscient perspective allows the reader to observe all of the developments and the events that are unfolding in the carriage, and allows us to delve into the minds of some of the characters in order for us to observe their thoughts and opinions. In addition, this specific type of perspective gives us an unbiased account of the series of events that occurs in the story.

Through the omniscient point of view, we are able to look into the thoughts of some of the characters (as the narrator permits). By utilizing the third-person omniscient perspective, the reader's view and understanding of the story is not limited towards a specific character. With this point of view, we are able to learn the thoughts and allows us to infer the personality of the bachelor. Through the third-person perspective we learn how annoyed he is with the children's constant movement, how he finds the aunt's teaching method's laughable, and his thoughts surrounding the incident afterwards. We can also learn about the aunt's thoughts; upon first impression she finds the bachelor a "hard, unsympathetic man" and cannot think of good replies to the children's constant stream of questions ("she was utterly unable to come up to any satisfactory decision about the grass in the other field").

This choice of narrator greatly affects the plot. For one thing, if the story were to be told from another point of view, such as first-person, the tone of the story would be based on the personality of the person who is telling the story. With the third-person omniscient point of view, the narrator keeps an unbiased account of the plot. If the story were to be told from another point of view, such as from the perspective of the aunt, we would be reading a story that would include dissenting opinions of the bachelor's story; if we were reading it entirely from the bachelor's perspective we would read about the bachelor's strong opposition towards the aunt's methods of quieting the children.

If the story was not told form a 3rd-person perspective, the unbiased account of the story would be lost.

Satire

Honestly speaking, if I were to list all of the things in the world that annoy me, it would exceed the maximum word limit of blogs. With that said, here are a few of my pet peeves:

• Loud music
• DVD's not in their original cases
• Excessive use of internet lingo ("LOL", "JK", etc)
• Intentionally misspelling words on the internet, esp. through online chats
• People who burp loudly and expect applause
• Crocs
• Chuck Taylor All Star shoes
• People who infringe upon personal space
• Anyone (apart from me) sitting or lying on my bed
• Spelling the word "permanent" wrong
• Girls with too much make up on
• Dying hair
• Excessive hair combing
• Those who fret and continually ask others, "How do I look?"
• Staring
• "Like..."
• Amateur waiters (or restaurants with bad service)
• People talking loudly (on the phone or otherwise) on trains, MRTs
• Doggie doo on the sidewalks
• Spam (on Facebook, email)
• People who don't rinse their dishes but put them in the sink
• Excessive trash talk during games
• Excessive dirty jokes
• Those who swagger/sneer/wear baggy clothing and low riders
• "Gangster" talk
• Talking back to respected authority (by my standards)
• People who are quixotic
• Bad grammar
• High school students using simple English
• High school students using obscure words
• Excessive swearing/cussing
• Smokers who don't take into consideration the concerns of others when they smoke in public
• People who name off long lists of what they hate

The tale of Howie

In the heart of Manhatten lived a kid by the name of Howie. Howie was quite the teenager. He was rowdy, and swore excessively, especially in public settings. He walked with a swagger and a sneer, and his normal attire consisted of what he decided was "gansta"; a large t-shirt untucked over baggy, low riding jeans that fell to his thighs. He was admired by his peers and notorious among the teachers due to his habit of backtalking. His grades suffered because he spent so much time on the internet that his spelling and grammar was slowly deteriorating. He stalked the halls during school hours, and looked quite intimidating indeed. However his stupidity could be taken for one's advantage; Howie's vocabulary consisted of a large bank of choice cuss words, but other than that he had the vocabulary capacity of a 4th grader. All one needed to do was to give a quote that sounded complex, Howie would scrunch his face to think, giving you time to slip away. The years went by like this, and his parents had grown increasingly concerned. One day the school had a fire. One of Howie's friends had left a cigarette sitting in the bathroom; it fell to the ground, lit a piece of toilet paper, and soon enough set the room on fire. The fire alarm rang, and Howie panicked. As he ran towards the door, his pants fell down lower and he tripped. His large shirt wrapped around his face and he could not see. The shirt wrapped around his head and forced the earrings deeper into his ear and his eyes watered from the pain. Cussing wildly, he stood up to start running again. Ignoring the yells coming from the surrounding teachers (mostly because he could not understand them or hear them over his swearing) he ran into a wall and fell down, quite unconscious.

Goodness

Is goodness always rewarded? In “The Storyteller,” whose version of life—the bachelor’s or the aunt’s—do you think is true to life? Why? Can you think of examples from your own life or experiences to back up your opinion?

Is the act of being good always rewarded? Well long story short, it isn't. "Goodness", the act of being good, isn't always fully appreciated in the world, especially not the world that we live in. The definition being "good" varies: being morally upright, or like the girl in the bachelor's story, doing everything right and well.
In my life, being "good" generally refers being moral, not so much about doing everything "right". From experience and observation I see that if you be the "goody two-shoes" in every situation, social interactions with others will be severely limited and others will gain a negative impression of you because of this./ The "good children" of society tend to be the loners of society because they do not know how to have fun or, in short, socialize with others. This is because society generally does not accept goodness; and neither does the harsh world that we live in. The reason for this is quite simple: it is boring.

I have morals and my religion, and I abide by the moral obligations of which I believe in for myself. However I feel that on the topic of "goodness", I tend to retain what I believe is ight, but this does not mean that I am severely caught up in doing everything that is correct and, in essence, "good"

Saki’s Purpose

In reading “The Storyteller,” the author gives us some clues about what his purpose might be. Read the following clues, and then write about how they might illustrate his purpose.
· The aunt’s story is “deploringly uninteresting.”
· The aunt keeps saying “don’t” and the children keep asking “why?”
· The children think the bachelor’s story is beautiful, but the aunt thinks it is improper.


H. H. Munro, better known as Saki, spend a large portion of his childhood living with his grandmother and aunts, housed under a straight-laced and strict environment. Due to this experience, many of his stories center around the topic of a strict upbringing, and most of the stories also involve strict aunts. These stories are often satires, poking fun at such a topic, and at the same time portraying a negative impression towards the issue. The short story "The Storyteller" is also like this.


In the story "The Storyteller", the aunt tells a story which is tasteless, lackluster, and "deplorably boring". In addition the aunt's feeble attempts to calm the children only make them more restless. When the bachelor tells his story, the story's purpose was of course to calm the children down, but the main reason was to mess with the aunt's years of careful education. I think that this story is a satire; it pokes fun at the child-raising methods of the 19 century aristocracy, especially its strictness and solemness. In addition, due to Saki's own childhood experiences, the story may be a clear portrayal of his dislike and dissatisfaction with the way that his aunts raised him. I don't blame him either; I would have hated it, since this is honestly no way to raise children. It is in the nature of children to frolic and have fun, and forcing them to obey strict statutes is cruel and unthoughtful.

Influence of Childhood

How might a writer’s childhood experiences influence his or her writing? Do you think your unique experiences in life would be a good source of inspiration for a story or book? 



A writer's childhood experiences may influence his or her writing, leaving behind a unique fingerprint that tells others of the story's individuality and personal meaning. It is during a person's childhood, and the transition between child and adult, that one gains much knowledge and basic experiences of life. This is one of the grounds of how that person's character and personality is. In addition, many people are inclined to remember certain childhood events or meaningful experiences, regardless whether good or bad. With this in mind, an author's writing may echo his own past and his feelings about the topic.


The book or story written by the author is also needed to be taken into consideration. If the story is a personal memoir or autobiography, then of course, the author's childhood experiences are resolutely presented. For example, in Barack Obama's personal memoir Dreams from my Father, Barack cites multiple childhood experiences, and these experiences are the basis for the story itself.


Apart form memoirs, other genres can also contain elements that are imprints of the author's childhood experiences. H. H. Munro, for example, often includes pompous and/or cruel aunts in his stories, an allusion to his own childhood, where he lived with his aunts. Dickens' books often referenced the separations of society, which were prominent in his past as well, and some of Shakespeare's plays also hint the experiences of his own life.


Would my experiences make a good story? Not unless you like boring novels. Each person's tale of childhood is different in one way or another, and I don't believe that my childhood would contain enough memories or interesting experiences to fill up a story. They are personal sediments, personal remembrances, that do not have a need to be shared.

Point of No Return

How do people react when they are in a situation they cannot change? Have you ever found yourself in such a situation? If so, how did you react? If not, how do you think you would react? 

Basically, I think there are two ways a person reacts to a situation in which they cannot change. The first type is the type that continues to moan, complain, or worry about the issue at hand. I'll call them the "stressers". The second type of person is the realist; knowing that nothing can be done to change the situation, he shrugs it off and accepts the circumstances. Instead of fretting and stressing, this person leaves the past behind and instead looks towards the future and the new situation that unravels around them.

These situations often occur in life. When a sudden change in a person's fortune occurs, their situation changes almost instantly. I was expecting to go down to Taichung to study after 9th grade. Then I got transferred here. Our house was broken into a month ago. I missed the train to go to Taipei three weeks ago. My friend transferred to the Philippines to study, and inevitably it meant breaking up with his girlfriend. Once, at a school spring retreat, the camp's councilor dared us to go bridge-jumping into the river below. Somehow I agreed to it, and me and a couple of other friends headed up the path to the bridge. Once there I realized the height of the bridge - easily four stories high. Naturally, I freaked. But chickening out at that point would be a disgrace to all men, and so I squared up, and after watching the councilor do a backflip, I jumped (minus the backflip).

All this is to say that we are always caught in situations, sometimes unpleasant, that we cannot change. I like to think myself as more of the realist. When something goes wrong, or a change in tides occurs, there isn't much to do but to "suck it up", "walk it off", and accept the situation as it is and focus on what is to come. There may be pain and grief, but those feelings are transitory and will pass. I know people who are "stressers" and who are realists. When those stressers talk to me about how they feel, I can sympathize and may empathize, but I also tell them that soon they will need to get over it and look at the new future in store for them.

Of course, the far extremes are also unfavorable. Those who are extremist realists usually become cold and heartless, and those who are far left stressers are emotional and vulnerable. I believe that feelings are a natural part of the human mind, and instead of ignoring pain or stress we need to acknowledge it and make peace with it. That is the healthy way.

My Favorite Stories

 Favorite Childhood Stories

• Robert Munsch classics
• Love You Forever
• Tedd Arnold books
• Huggly series
• Joanna Cole
• The Magic School Bus series
• Mark Brown
• Arthur series
• Curious George series
• Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
• Toy Story
• Beauty and the Beast

These are only some of the favorite storybooks/stories from my childhood. Different stories appealed to me for different reasons. Unfortunately I cannot precisely tell you how or why these stories appealed to me as a child. However I can tell you that most books, most stories, appealed to me because I realized that they contained something deep that I could not understand, a concept that I could not draw. Stories such as Robert Munsch's (my favorite children's writer) book Love You Forever stirred emotions that I could not understand as a child; and yet this is why they appealed to me. However only a few months ago I found a copy of Love You Forever and read through it, I was deeply touched by the depth of the themes of what, at the time, was only a simple child's book.
Maybe it is also for this reason that I also read stories such as Huggly, the monster who lives in the world underneath our beds, and the antics of the mischievous monkey Curious George. Huggly's adventures base themselves around discovering the "human" world around them. Maybe it was the idea of Huggly and George's innocence and his desire for discovery; perhaps it was the theme of innocence to experience that stirred my still developing mind. Whatever it was, the idea of discovering and understanding the world around us continues to be one of my favorite themes in literature.

In addition, I want to mention one last story; the story of Beauty and the Beast was, and admittedly still is, my favorite Disney fairy tale. Why? Apart from the themes of the story, it is because the tale included elements that were accurate depictions of human nature and of love. As a child, I always thought it was ridiculous how people could fall in love at first sight; this is why other Disney stories never really appealed to me. In the tale of Beauty and the Beast, character developments and the portrayals of love are accurately portrayed. Love is built upon, and not found in seconds. People change. Such ideals intrigued me, and I could understand that such ideas were different from those told in other Disney movies. (Again, I did not understand all of this of course - I was young at the time!)

These are the reasons why such stories appealed to me.

What I Like About This Class

I think one of the main things that I like about this class is its relatively small size. Instead of having a class that jams around thirty kids in a classroom, our English 2 (Honors) class is small, composed of only nine individual students.

In my belief, there are probably only two subjects where a small class is crucial to advance the learning of students: English and Math. I believe this because in math class, students are generally at different levels, and it is the duty of the instructor to teach the students so that all of them can understand the difficult concepts of mathematics. With a large class, the questions and concerns of each individual cannot be met; moreover, the teacher can only answer questions that will benefit the common good, but not the questions of the individual student. With a small class, discussions, questions, and concerns can be addressed without inconvenience to the teacher, and the students can benefit immensely from it.
Similarly, the same concept applies to a literature class. In addition, if the class is advanced, then an important activity that can help enforce literary analysis is group discussion. With a small class, group discussions can be carried out with maintained order, and I believe that with a smaller class the thoughts and ideas of each individual is of more worth and can be pondered more deeply upon. In contrast, with a large class discussions are difficult to direct, and the amount of information an individual student can share is limited.
This is why I like the fact that our class is small; group discussions and individual concerns can be addressed directly.

I also like how the class atmosphere is light and airy, and though we may touch on serious topics, there is still a relaxed atmosphere. This is also enforced by Mr. McCool's constant stream of jokes, some good and some quite cold.

What I Don’t Like About This Class

Here is your chance. Try to think of all the things you don’t like about Honors High School English 2 class. Try putting them in order by what you like least. Then, explain why you don’t like it. Try to be specific and give advice on how things could be better.

So I am supposed to write 200 words concerning my negative thoughts surrounding my English class? Easier said than done. However I guess there are a few points that I would like to address...

First off, I would like to refer to the English class that I had last year (just for the sake of this assignment, I'm not comparing it to the English Honors class here). We not only analyzed novels and short stories, but we also watched video clips, listened to audio tracks, and studied artworks that were pertaining to the theme at hand. This wide range of media that we analyzed contributed greatly to my knowledge of literary analysis, finding themes, and observing symbolism, meaning, motivation, and truths (just to name a few). I think that in our class we have only studied short stories and novels so far, and it would be nice if we had a video clip or two sometime to analyze accordingly to the topic at hand.

Also branching from my first point, I hope that we will soon be able to study dramas and myths, because they are at the heart of understanding themes, symbolism, and literary analysis in general. I think we could read some harder forms of literature in this class as well - Shakespeare, maybe; Poe, or Charles Dickens. I loved reading classical literature not only because of the challenges in reading the text, but because these classical writings included many deep themes and symbols that we often discussed openly during class last year, which I realize we haven't been doing, at least, not yet.

I also feel as if we are using technology very often for almost all of our assignments. While this is not a bad thing, I think that there might be a slight overuse of technology for schoolwork. Journal assignments, essays, presentations - these can be done on a computer, no problem. However I feel as if we should do a little more writing for our assignments as well, you know, with pen and paper. I think that an excess use of technology not only hinders our thinking progress, but it also, well, kills my eyes.

Man, I hope Mr. McCool won't kill us after reading our critiques tomorrow...

Buddhist Doctrine

Siddhartha does not follow this doctrine, but he experiences it. 
1) Life is suffering. 
2) Suffering is caused by ignorance and attachment. 
3) Suffering is ended by overcoming ignorance and attachment. 
4) The path to the suppression of suffering is The Noble Eightfold Path which is made up of right: views, intentions , speech, actions , livelihood, effort, mindedness, and contemplation 
What are your views on Buddhist doctrine? Do you think it is correct? Would it be useful to apply to your own life? What other doctrines have you heard 

My views on Buddhist doctrine? Well, I don't follow these doctrines but I acknowledge their principles and wholeheartedly respect those who follow such doctrines for their passion, self-denial, and aim for self-righteousness. I believe that the Buddhists are on the right track of searching for salvation. They acknowledge that life is suffering, and they seek ways to circumvent suffering, encouraging good deeds, and deep meditation. I also respect and applaud the efforts of Buddhism to self-denial of human nature. However I cannot accept Buddhist philosophy because of the contradicting ideals I believe in. Buddhist doctrines focus on the cleansing of suffering through deeds; in other words, actions committed within one's own power. I don't believe that humanity has the motivation or the ability to be perfect in their paths of life, no matter how much meditation one does. The inability of human nature to exceed expectations is the basis for almost all religions because it acknowledges the fact that we cannot accomplish it on our own. Buddhism, however, requires one to overcome suffering by one's own ability (in addition, even if one did possess the strength to become completely sinless and pure, he would have so much pride, self-satisfaction, and self-righteousness that he would look upon others with disdain. It is an aspect of human nature to do so, as seen with the example of the Pharisees or the Jews in the old times). Standards like these cannot be met; nirvana cannot be achieved on a person's own ability. In addition, I believe suffering is necessary in life to obtain experience and to gain wisdom; one who has experienced no suffering has yet to grow.

I however also believe that suffering is only released when one releases hold of worldly values, such as emotional attachment. I also strongly agree with the point of ignorance contributing to suffering. Too many people of the world, from multiple religions and various mindsets, contain themselves to a particular viewpoint through which they see the world. As a result many are ignorant and disrespectful of others. Buddhism finds a way through this by accepting and respecting all people and their beliefs.

These ideals are applicable to my life. I believe that one should devote oneself to possessing righteous actions and attitudes, and to accept and observe all people without ignorance or disdain. I also believe in contemplation and meditation. I respect the Buddhist ideals of seeking enlightenment and salvation through righteousness. I live alongside Taoists, Buddhists, and basic ancestral worshipers in Taiwan, and I also engage in their religious activities alongside my family, such as the ritual of burning paper money.

However, I have come and learned to believe in the Christian doctrines and to accept the religion as truth. I wish for no judgment to be passed on me for my beliefs, and I have chosen my path, just as Siddhartha chose his, because I my heart was touched in its logic, its philosophy, and ideals. I have experienced the doctrines of Taoism (which in a sense is related to Buddhism), Islam, and many different Christian factions in my life, and I respect and acknowledge them all, with no prejudice towards them.

Why Be a Prodigy?

What are the reasons for the mother wanting her daughter to excel? What motivates Jing-Mei to try to fulfill expectations?

I believe there a few reasons why Jing-Mei's mother wants her daughter to excel. Since her mother immigrated from China to escape oppression, she views America as a true land of opportunity, able to do practically anything. To take advantage of this she wants her daughter to find and/or develop a talent that can be further developed. This is the large, overlaying reason. Another more subtle reason is the fact that she may be trying to live her life through her daughter's. Because she never experienced the opportunity to develop talents, when she sees Jing-Mei's opportunity to do so, she pushes her daughter to grasp the experiences because she wants the best for her, and because she wishes to re-live her life through her daughter. In addition, in context to the story's background, her mother was part of the Joy Luck Club. In the club, the mothers would compete against one another based on their chil(ren)'s accomplishments, and after Linda continues to brag about her daughter Waverly's exemplary chess skills, she may feel a little threatened. As a result, if Jing-Mei excels, then she can be able to brag about her daughter as well.

Some of these reasons are acceptable, while others are not.

Jing-Mei wishes to succeed because she had it in her mind that she could one day become famous, if she found the right skill to develop. She also believed that when she did become famous, she could in essence become "perfect," and she would be accepted and loved by her parents. Unfortunately, after continual failure, this motivation slowly diminished.

Do my parents push me? How do I react?

My parents have been extremely good to me. They created a safe and secure environment for my childhood, and put their time and effort into raising and teaching me, and allowing me to go to an American school for my entire educational career. They work hard to make money, and work even harder so that I may have a successful future career and life. Though this probably is an obligation, I can perceive effort wherever it is found, and I see much effort here. As a result it is my obligation to respect my parents, honor their decisions, and aim towards a prosperous future (though I have to admit, too many a time I fall short of expectations).

The general expectations of my parents are good grades, a high SAT score, an admittance into a reputable college, and major in medicine. They also expect moral behavior and a socially adept person. I honor their expectations because 1) they are what I expect to do anyways and 2) I respect their decisions and know that it is for the best. I admit my grades falter, I procrastinate, and swear occasionally (alright, pretty often), but now I think about it I do hope to accomplish these goals. 

When I was younger, I took a few music lessons, as well as swimming. They all started out okay, but it always wasn't long before I started complaining, whining, and refusing. Soon all the classes were dropped.

I think back now and realize that I probably should not have quit so soon (but I have to admit, I don't have a single ounce of musical talent within me). This goes for all the things that I refused to do, because in the end I usually realize that it was for my own good that I was sent to the classes (speaking of which this summer I was sent to a school to study Chinese, which I initially disliked, but later I realized that it significantly improved my Chinese reading abilities).

As a result I have come to the knowledge that my parents know what is best for me, and are not like Mei-Ling's parents. They know I have limits, and I can sit down and discuss concerns with them to work things out. I submit to them and do not argue, but will reason with them.

The Influence of Others

People come and go in our lives, and we will meet some with different personalities and distinct character traits that will leave an influence on our life, either positively or negatively. However, which influence has a bigger impact on our lives; negative influences, or positive influences?

It is in my opinion that negative influences will tend to impact us more, and as pessimistic as this idea sounds, I have a reason for my belief. First off, I will need to explain a certain law of nature. In essence, all things work towards disorder, and order cannot be achieved without putting effort or energy into making it so. I believe this law works the same way for human behavior. The reason it is so hard for humans to stay moral and righteous is because it requires constant energy and conscious thought. It is much easier to become the ill-mannered of society because it requires less energy. It isn't socially acceptable, but it is much simpler. It is so much easier to change for the worse than for the good, because it takes less work.
Therefore, when those who are mild-mannered are mismatched with people who's ways are twisted and sinful, they often become less and less focused on doing the right thing, instead picking off on bad habits.

However, I have learned through observation and personal experience that a positive influence tends to have a much more powerful affect than that of a negative influence (despite my views, I still believe that light can overcome the darkness). Interacting with people who have made a difference is a real motivator and a powerful catalyst for change. However, what I realized is that those who continue to make a positive impact on the world are often forgotten, left out, or simply neglected, because one does not truly realize the depth of their deeds. Negative influences tend to stand out more, and I believe this is because ideals such as rebellion and potential conflict are more appealing to human nature.
Unfortunately when one does experience an impact from the positive influence of a person and wish to make a change, it is usually short lived as reluctance soon sets in, making one too lazy to carry out the work necessary.

Despite these tendencies, I believe positive impacts are powerful in the long run; one may fall short of standards and fall behind, but everyone stumbles sometime, and it is up to the determination of the individual to work towards becoming an upright person.

Can Bad Be Good?

It is human nature to avoid pain, suffering, and negative experiences; we shoot for the best possible outcomes, and when hardships and trials come, many stumble, fall, or give in to life's persistent demands of sacrifice. But despite the initial pain that hardships bring, can negative experiences have a good influence on life? I think so.

In the Bible, James writes about suffering temptations and trials. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers," he says, "whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4) James states the fact that the temptations that entice us towards sin, and the trials that trip us during life, must take place so we can gain strength and wisdom to learn to overcome them. It is through this gradual process of construction of the mind that we can become mature, steadfast, and righteous. Through trials we learn hardships, so we learn endurance and perseverance, and so that we can gain the experiences of life. 


On a more secular note, negative experiences may also aid to our emotional growth. " Many young people experience the joys of infatuation ("puppy love"), the mixed feelings which music songwriters love to write about, that brings about pleasure to the senses. However, the couple in "love" will sooner or later end their relationship, and pain will set it. This process is at the time a negative experience, and some may not be able to stand the pressure, giving in to suicide or depression. The same thing applies to those who are truly fond of a specific person. However in one of Alfred Lord Tennyson's poems, he writes that it is "better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." He was right; after the natural grieving process, we are able to use the events for our benefit, as we gain experience, wisdom, and rational thinking. Infatuated teens will learn to steer clear of such irrational emotions; heartbroken men and women learn to move on. Though the processes may be painful, in the long run it aids to our wisdom and understanding of life.


In essence, negative experiences aid to one's wisdom and understanding, and encourages perseverance, endurance, and faith in religion. The processes are grueling and painful, and some succumb to the darkness. But the light at the end of the tunnel is that the experience is short lived and will pass, and that these experiences are for us to look back to, realize the mistakes or hardships that have occurred, and apply our newfound knowledge in our current life. I recognize that this may not apply to all negative experiences, but it is true for a number of them.

Character Traits and Conflict

8) Mama is portrayed in the story to being a simple countrywoman living on a farm, and her character traits reinforce this identity. Mama seems to enjoy the environment in which she lives, and does not possess negative feelings towards the country in which she lives. Mama is also viewed to be tough, realistic, a "big-boned woman with rough, man working hands," (117) and is extremely hardworking, traits that may have evolved out of living on a farm, where a survival is only guarenteed through labor. As a result, she can kill livestock mercilessly and works hard from day to night, once "knocking a bull calf srraight in the brain between its eyes with a sledgehammer, and had the meat hung up to chill before nightfall," (118) which needless to say is quite an onerous task. Mama is also shown to be very perceptive, able to see though Maggie's personality and Dee's thoughts and feelings, a motherly instinct. She is also seen to be concerned about their lack of family unity. In addition, Mama does not give too much concern about her outwards appearance; however, she does wish that she has a more pleasant figure, an appearance that would please Dee.
Mama is also shown to be traditional. She does not approve of the contemporary ideals that Dee lusts after, and is disgusted by modern culture, portrayed when Dee attempts to teach her knowledge, "forcing words, lies, other folks' habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her [Dee]." (118) She is also very practical and realistic, as portrayed with her feelings towards the quilt. To her the quilt symbolizes a personal sediment, as it was her mother who made it, and wishes to put it to a practical appliance.
However, Mama is also shown to be reasonably open towards others. This is shown when Dee comes to visit. Despite the fact that Mama probably possesses some disapproval of Dee's appearance and personality, she does not openly voice her discontent, but quietly goes along with it.These are some of Mama's character traits as revealed in the story.

9) Mama experiences a few conflicts in this story, some small and others larger. One of the conflicts is Dee's behavioral change and her negative relationship with the rest of her family, including Mama. This is not necessarily resolved in the story, but the story is implied to end as Mama recognizes the differences between her and her daughter and might think the issue over. A second overarching conflict is Maggie's timidity. Because of a disastrous fire on their home, Maggie was covered with burn scars that damaged her self-esteem, and as a result is quiet and shy. This conflict is somewhat resolved by the end of the story; Maggie displays a certain wisdom regarding the quilts that gives Mama a revelation about her personality, and Maggie also gives a genuine smile as Dee is about to leave (though the cause of it is uncertain), leaving room for speculation that she might be on the road of breaking free of her timidity.
Another important conflict in the story, which is a branch-off from the first conflict mentioned, is the conflict that sparks between Dee's and Mama's perception of heritage, that is not exactly resolved, but left at a peace as Dee leaves.

Literary Focus

6) Maggie and Dee both have conflicting ideals concerning the quilt, and their feelings and actions demonstrate aspects of their personality. Dee wished to possess the quilt for its representation of her heritage and cultural background. She wished to place it on display, exhibiting her materialistic personality, and in addition it was only recently when she had the craving to preserve heritage, further demonstrating her obsession with fad and contemporary culture. In addition, Dee's falsely sweet tone of voice as she asks Mama for the quilts, and the shock when Mama refuses, reveals that she is not used to being turned down, and when Mama notes that they will be saved for Maggie, Dee's genuine shock continues to convey her arrogance and a sense of superiority she possesses over the rest of her family. Maggie, however, tells Mama that Dee can have the quilts. This exhibits her feelings of submission, reproachfulness, and inferiority (despite the fact that she probably does indeed want the quilts, she is willing to hand them over to Dee). This point is significant because Maggie understands the true intrinsic value of the quilt; not its general display of African-American heritage, but the quilt contains a personal sentimental value, as a reminder of a specific person of the past (her Grandma Dee). She is able to remember her grandmother without the quilt, she says. In this event, Maggie reveals her innocent personality, but at the same time reveals a wisdom that Dee does not understand.

7) The irony of Dee's sudden interest in heritage is that her past actions are in direct conflict with her beliefs in the story. Since a child, Dee wished to escape the uncivilized rural South where she lived. She did all she could to turn herself into someone else, ultimately leaving her home and her life, reinventing herself, and becoming in touch with the contemporary world. So why does she have a sudden fascination in her heritage, which she had neglected only a short while ago? I believe it is because of her obsession with wanting to be contemporary and keeping up with civilization and with fad. During the 1960s, when this story is set, the Civil Rights Movement of the African Americans was taking place. African Americans remembered their oppressed history, and there was an upward surge of pride because their history. To keep up with this new event, Dee has invested her devotion into her heritage once again (despite her contemporary appearance and materialistic approaches). This is why she wants to have the churn and the quilts.

Read with a Purpose

The idea of family heritage is the source of conflict in the story "Everyday Use." The two characters, Mama and her daughter, Dee, have different interpretations of heritage, which thus leads to conflict. Dee is portrayed as materialistic woman, and represents the idealist side of a spectrum. Throughout her life she has lusted for more than she had, and is implied to have a desire to leave her family behind to search for better. As a result, she worked hard, went to the city and integrated into the contemporary culture of the day. However, as the 1960s rolled by and the Civil Rights Movement was spurred, African Americans became increasingly proud of their long and oppressed history; and as Dee is obsessed with trend, and caught in superficial and ostentatious lifestyles, she realizes her pride of her heritage. As a result, Dee wished to possess the old quilts not for any practical use, but to put on display, to claim pride of her background (ironic, since in reality, she probably has little or no real pride in her ethnics).

Mama is on the other side of the spectrum from Dee. She has lived on a farm all her life, and as a result she is practical, simple, hardworking, and frugal. What she sees in the quilts is not so much the intrinsic value of its historical value. Instead, to Mama the quilts represent her culture and heritage, in which she valued the functionality, as well as personal sediments (as it reminded her of Grandma Dee).

Dee accuses Mama of not understanding her heritage because of just this. They possess directly opposite viewpoints on heritage and culture, Dee taking up the idealist end, and Mama the realist end. Dee is unable to see eye-to-eye with her mother, because she has become so upbeat and contemporary, and does not realize that her lifestyle has evolved and become different from her mother's lifestyle, which is much more practical and personal. As a result, she is unable to understand her mother's philosophy of "heritage."

Reading Focus Quick Check

1) Mama notes how Dee always desired more than what she possessed, which set her apart from . As Mama states on page 118, "Dee wanted nice things." The things she desired were obviously greater than Mama, a simple country farmer, could afford, and it would not have mattered if Mama had those luxuries anyways, since they would be of little pragmatic application in her life. The main thing that sets Dee apart from Mama is her desire for something better, for luxury, where Mama is more practical. Dee is also different from Maggie in her elegance, figure, and stature. She has more confidence and ambition, and is not timorous like Maggie.

2) Maggie would have put the quilt to a practical use; actually using it for covers at night. Dee, however, would have desired to put the quilt on display, as a symbol of her heritage. I find it slightly ironic that Dee is proud of her heritage, as she has become so contemporary, and her real faith and pride in her heritage is quite superficial and lacks true value to her life.

3) The story's title is "Everyday Use." This is significant because it recognizes the contrast between Dee (or "Wangero," as she is now called) and Mama. Dee desired wealth and luxury, and believed heritage was for display because of its price value. Mama believed more of pragmatic and practical living. She did not take price value into account when she examined the quilt for herself. She saw the intrinsic value behind the quilts; that they were good bed covers. The title displays the contrast between the mother and daughter.