Monday, June 4, 2012

Rocks Rock


Rocks Rock
They are much better that Socks
Although they are Heavy
They still are better than Socks

Rocks Rock
They can be used as Locks
Or they can Not
Rocks are Locks

Rocks Rock
They are cheaper than Stocks
Rocks are worth more in Bundles
Rocks are not Stocks

Friday, May 18, 2012

Symbols of “The Lottery”


Author’s Note: This is a text analysis piece using symbols on the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson.

            The short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is about a small village in the middle of nowhere. In this village, there is a tradition that every year, one person is chosen to be killed by their fellow villagers in some inhuman way. The belief of the village is that the men are better or more prized than the women. So, the man of the family is the one to choose the family's fate.  Symbols in a story can affect the way that the reader interprets their meaning.  


            I found that there were many symbols in reading this book. Some of the symbols were the black dot on the paper to symbolize death, or when the children piled rocks so they could eventually kill the one unlucky person in the whole village. In this story, winning the lottery by drawing the black dot would mean eventual sorrow because of death, when in real life, if you were to win the lottery it likely would mean riches and a life of happiness. The rocks in this story can be construed as another death symbol but, I saw them as a kind of last hurrah. Everyone in the village knew that if you were to draw the black dot, you were going to die. So, the rocks were a way to show that by throwing them at a person, they can die knowing that everyone was there to witness the last seconds of their lives.

            A book that I thought had the same kind of symbolism was the "Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. In this book, the tributes' names are picked from a bowl.  Their names are written in black ink on a piece of paper. It is similar to "The Lottery" because they picked from a box, and if they pick a black dot, it means death, much like it did in the "Hunger Games". Also, in the "Hunger Games", photos of the tributes that died were shown in the sky at night, kind of celebrating their death. Just like in "The Lottery", the rocks are kind of a celebration of the person being killed.  

            Other people might think differently than I did, but there are many different ways to interpret a piece like this. They could have seen the other village as a new future for the coming generations. Shirley Jackson could have been thinking that the traditions followed in her time could be considered silly in present day. The symbols within this book did not really point in any definitive direction on where the author was going with this story.      

Friday, May 11, 2012

Birthday Card

Hello, I am the birthday card that you got for your birthday last year. I have been sitting in your room being squashed underneath tons of papers. At least this isn't the worst thing that could have happened, I could have ended up like Bill who got thrown away right as I came about a year ago. Even if I won't be remembered I will still remember you and the very first time we met a year ago. Oh, look someone is shifting through the papers, oh the glorious light. I wonder what they are doing with me now. Oh no, what is the smell, oh great the garbage can. I was hoping that you forgot about be and would let me live another day, now I just have to rot in the landfills. Goodbye forever.   

Friday, April 27, 2012

What is Cloning?


            When people think of cloning, they think of the mad scientist type, sitting in a tube and waiting 30 seconds for an exact copy to be zapped up. Well, that is not exactly true. On TV, cloning is used for doing tasks that a lazy man wouldn’t do, but in real life, cloning could be used for saving lives and enhancing what we know about ourselves. If used correctly cloning could change the world we live in today.

            What exactly is cloning? Cloning is the copying of a being by using DNA to create an exact replica of that same thing (The University of Utah). The cloning process, unlike what is portrayed on TV, can take months to complete. For example, if someone wanted to clone their dog, first they would take a cell from the dog, and place the nucleus of that cell into an egg cell. Then, over time it grows into an embryo.  Once the embryo grows enough, it would be planted into a surrogate mother.  The embryo would then be born through the normal birthing process.  As a result, the same dog would have been  created twice (The University of Arizona College of Science).   The first cloning was done in Scotland.  Scottish scientists were able to create a copy of a sheep in 1996.  They named her Dolly (National Institue of Health).

            Cloning has proven to be successful with animals.  One of the advantages with cloning is that it could help endangered species become less endangered.  In addition, cloning could be used to make a pet owner happy with creating a copy of their beloved pet.  However, there are disadvantages that go along with the advantages.  For instance, not all of the clones are exact.  They appear to be exact when first created but, over time, they turn out to be a look-alike.  Further, while people think that it takes one attempt to create a clone, it actually takes several hundred attempts to create a successful clone (The Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloning).
 
            To some religious groups, cloning has been thought of as unholy because of the process in creating a copy of the same being.  But, to some people, it is thought of as helpful to the environment and the world.  Also, because the process involves taking DNA from another being and trying to create an exact copy,  sometimes it doesn’t come out right on the first try and can take several hundred tries (Park).

            Sometime in the future, cloning could become an advantage for the world because of the power of creating an abundance of everything.  While it could be used to everyone’s benefit by ending hunger and possibly curing disease, it could also be abused if there were no rules or regulation as to when cloning would or would not be proper.  Cloning animals has already changed the way we think about cloning.  If, someday, rules or guidelines can be established to satisfy everyone’s interests, maybe cloning could become a common occurrence.             


National Institue of Health. "Cloning." 1 July 2011. National Human Genome Research Institue. 17 April 2012 <http://www.genome.gov/25020028#al-7>.
Park, Alice. "The Perils of Cloning." Time Magazine (2006): 3.
"The Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloning." 24 January 2009. Method of Healing. 18 April 2012 <http://www.methodsofhealing.com/the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-cloning/>.
The University of Arizona College of Science. "Cloning Controversy." November 2007. Home-Made Stem Cells. 18 November 2012 <http://student.biology.arizona.edu/honors2007/group01/controversy.html>.
The University of Utah. "What is Cloning?" 2012. Learn Genetics . 17 4 2012 <http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/tech/cloning/whatiscloning/>.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Blooming Katniss



Author's Note:  This is a text analysis piece on how Katniss Everdeen was a dynamic character in the book The Hunger Games.



               What would it be like to live in a post-apocalyptic world where two children, a boy and a girl, between the ages of 12-18 from each of the twelve districts could be chosen as tributes to fight to the death against each other, just to make sure that the districts' citizens understood that the Capital was in control and not to rebel?  When Katniss Everdeen's  younger sister, Prim, is chosen for the Hunger Games, Katniss volunteers to take her place.  Would you risk your life to save the life of someone you love?

               In the beginning of the book, Katniss is a hard-nosed, unapproachable person who has the responsibility of providing for her family and acting as a parent figure to her sister.  That all has to change when she volunteers to take her sister's place in the games.  She has to appear likeable to the Capital so she can earn sponsors to have a chance to survive. 

               The first change that Katniss made was actually set-up by someone else -- Peeta, the other tribute from District 12.  Peeta told the nation that he was in love with Katniss.  She was furious when she first heard it, but after Peeta explained, she changed her mind and decided it was a good strategy to use to get support from the nation. 

               When the games first begin, she is alone and has no allies while the other tributes have multiple allies.  She figures out that being likeable could be an advantage, so she forms an ally with another tribute who reminds her of her sister.  That ally motivates her even more to try to win the games so she can return home to her sister.  But then, something terrible happens to her younger ally and she is forced to team up with Peeta and be the couple that she never wanted to be. 

               As the games go on and she spends more time with Peeta, she sees that she connects with him.  She sees the good attributes in him and takes care of him.

               In conclusion, Katniss was able to change and become likeable and befriend other tributes to become her allies in the games.  By doing so, she was able to keep herself and the other tribute from her district alive, and now everybody in the nation loves them.  However,  the president thinks that they were rebels for challenging the rules of the Capital by having two victors of the games instead of one.  Katniss's love for her sister compelled her to be a dynamic character in the book in order to survive the games and return home to Prim.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

"Field Below" Response

In the poem "Field Below" by Regina Spektor  she is in a crowed city where she can't enjoy the things she once did, like a rooster crowing or a big open field below her house. Her tone in the poem is depressed that she can't enjoy everything she once did even though living in a big city should have better things to look forward to. I fell the author is trying to portray to us that living in the big light of a popular city isn't all its cracked up to be .

In "Field Below" the song I felt that she did sound depressed even more so than in the poem. But the mood is still the same feeling sorry for her living in a big city and not feeling right about where she is living. This shows that the way you interpret isn't always right, we don't know if she is truly feeling depressed about where she lives or if she is depressed about something else.    

"Big Yellow Taxi" Response

In the poem "Big Yellow Taxi" by Joni Mitchell the author is expressing her feeling towards what is happening in her paradise. Her tone for the poem is depressed that her paradise is being destroyed for concrete jungle that will last only as miserable memory instead of a positive memory. I feel the author is trying to portray to us that what we think of a big city as cool and a big rush of fun isn't what we think, and being simple and peaceful is what the ideal life is like.         

In "Big Yellow Taxi" the song I felt that she was more happy than sad compared to the text of the poem. But the mood is still the same feeling sorry or sympathetic for her living in the destroyed paradise she once loved. This shows me that the way that you listen or read something can effect the way you think of something or someone. It is strange that one version she is sounds happy and joyful and in the other she sound depressed and angry, which to me is confusing.