Person, Grace, and God week seven vocab

unequivocal (14): Having only one possible meaning.

Convoke (14): To cause to assemble in a meeting.

week six post B

This post I would like to compare this book to the Golden Compass, another teenage fiction book. Surprisingly, their is a huge reading level difference between the two. For example, the Golden Compass depicts the monstrous nature of the church (in the book, the church is monstrous) by, if your familiar with the story, the jarring of demon's of little children. The worst scene in Elephant run, is that of the slight description of decaying corpses. Another huge difference between the two books is the theme development. Other than the foreshadowing presented in Elephant run, little to none analysis was required to understand the rest of the book. However, if you wanted to grasp the whole picture in the Golden Compass, you needed to analysis carefully, because many themes were hinted on. A similarity however, is the vocabulary used. It isn't very difficult to read each book, for the vocab isn't very intense, but of course, it is a step up from elementary school reading, but not by much. I remember reading the Golden Compass in fifth grade, I didn't exactly catch all the deep themes in the book, but I defiantly enjoyed the most obvious plot line. Elephant run was even easier to read because of the less condensed font and the very easy to follow plot line.

week six figurative language

Do to the fact that I finished the book last week, I will go back through the book and pickout and clues that would foreshadow the ending of the book.

1."I'd like that," Nick said, but he still had no intention on going"(92). This is a key foreshadow that I missed because throughout the begining of the book, Nick is constantly reminded that his stubborness will get him in trouble. Well in this case, Nick is going to be transported to India because the Japanese are going to invade the part of Burma he is currently in. He winds up captured, and is forced to stay in Burma for about 8 months.

2."He'll be fine as long as we don't run into a tiger along the way"(231). This quote refers to Hannibal, a fierce elephant that can only be controled by Hilltop, a mysterious monk. I over looked this quote and others metioning Hannibal's utter hate of Tigers, which plays a crucial part in the end of the book because Hannibal winds up saving Nick because he attacks this Japanese jeep covered in Tiger hide.

3."In Burmese, Kya Lei meant Tiger's Breath. An odd name, even for a Burman, Nick thought"(240). This quote I didn't miss exactly, and I predicted that Kya Lei would be key to the ending of the book (I metioned how in my previous posts), but I remeber when I first read this, I ignored it.

quote week six

"When I get a chance, I volunteer Miss Pretty for rail duty. Jackson is usually assigned to that crew. It's terrible work because you're exposed to the sun all day. But the last two times I volunteered, he wasn't there"(261). This quote was important to the book because it shows how the rescue of Nick's father is going to be much harder then anticipated, so they are going to keep trying to figure out ways to accomplish it, which is exactly the major theme throughout the book.

week six theme

The theme that I found most important throughout the book was that you must keep trying if you want things to get done.

vocab week six

Choon (289): An item used by Mahouts, it is like a small backpack.

baton (290): a club that marks someone of authority.

week 5 post b

This week I finished by book, and I would like to talk about the conclusion. Throughout the book, many deaths occur of innocent people. However, even though some of these deaths are described in more detail then a book designed for children, it is barely a step up. For example, in the beginning of the book, when Mia's father dies by being beaten, his corpse is described as "Nang and captain Josephs had been dead for some time. They may have been killed as early as the day before, when Nick was on the island"(111). This scene would not have appeared in a child's book, however for a young adult my age, this lack of imagery is unnecessary. My A.P. world text book gives pictures of actual paintings of morbid scenes with the details. The fact that a textbook is giving more information about death without going into much detail is making me consider if this book shouldn't be labeled as teen fiction.
The ending of the book is also like the ending of a children's book in the sense that everyone lives happily ever after and none of the main characters who were portrayed as protagonists are killed in the end when realistically half of them would be dead. So this book is labled under teen fiction, however, the definition of a teenager is too broad in my opinion because someone my age would fine this book childish, where as a 13 year old who is technically a teenager would fine it well done.

week 5 theme

The theme that is predominate in this section of the book is; don't give up hope, no matter how impossible a situation seems because you can always find a way to make it possible if you think clearly.

week 5 quote

"I have lived my life,' he said, bowing. 'Now you go off and live yours"(Hilltop 310). This quote is extremely imporant to understanding the ending of the book because Hilltop has been this authority figure that has proven himself to be fearless at times of great danger and wise in the sense that he protects Mia and Nick when a single mistake could have them executed. Throughout the book, you really don't understand why he is going through all this trouble for two children, because doing this is putting his life in jeporady. With this quote, you realize that he does this immense act because he has lived his life, and he is trying to allow these children the opportunity to live their lives to their fullest.

week 5 figurative language

1. "His head drooped back, and Nick stifled a distraught moan. The man with the boots was his father"(296). This is an example of figurative language because you can picture Nick's anguish at seeing his father dead.

2. "The tracker rolled away and came back up on his knees, pointing the rifle at Nick's chest"(307). This is an example of imagery because you can picture Nick's life being an instant away from being ended.

3. "dog tags
hung on bamboo crosses
sounding like wind chimes"(286). This haiku is an example of figurative language because it shows the author's opinion about how the deceased soldiers aren't completely gone. He does this by making all those soldiers who died in the concentration camp make sounds on earth because their dog tags make noise when the wind blows hard.

week 5 vocab

Dispersed (290): To scatter or to send off in various directions.

Decomposition (292): The act of disinigration.

Week 4 post B

This week I wish to discuss the book in the respect that the author (Roland Smith) draws attention to the hardships war unintentionally creates for all of those who are in the countries involved in the war. For example, Nick orginally lives in England during world war II, but is moved to Burma because of all the Nazi bombings. He arrives there only to discover war is just around the corner, and all of the inhabitants of Burma are about to suffer for what they had no part of. Japan invaded Burma, which lead to the basic enslavement of the Mahouts (elephant drivers) and the people in the communites nearby. A far out community is forced to give tribute to the Japanese soldiers, which completely disrupts their lifestyle and thus they have to endure hardships because they have to eat less and live in fear of Japan's rule. Another example of how innocent people have to endure hardships is when a girl is forced to shave all her hair and her eyebrows in order to escape the Japanese compound disguised as a monk. Conquered countries don't usually have a say in what their conquerers do. So of course the citizens of a conquered country don't have any rights at all, unless the conquerers give them some.
The thing I loved about this book was how the author got these hardships across with barely any violence or death, this made this book better in my mind because almost all books about war have greatly depressing scenes that depict utter multilation of the human body.

week 4 theme

The theme that I think is most important in this section is that sometimes in order to save the ones that you love, you must make great sacrifices.

Week 4 quote

"Nothing is safe with the Japanese, but it will be safe enough"(266). I believe this quote is important because it even though the plan to Nick's father seems safe enough, it could still go horribly wrong and cause multiple problems. I think this attempt might even lead to the death of a person close to Nick.

Figurative Language week four

1. "On the far end of the camp, outside where the fence had been, were the graves. Row after row of bamboo crosses with dog tags hanging from them"(255). This excerpt from the book is metaphorical because the only way for the soldiers to escape from the concentration camp was to die, and the fact that the graves are outside the fenced area shows this.

2. "He is a thief and a traitor. Anyone caught helping him or hidding him will be executed." He looked at Hilltop. "What about you monk? Do you konw this Kya Lei." "I have heard the name," Hilltop said, meeting the captain's gaze without a glimmer of fear"(243) This passage illustrates foreshadowing because Hilltop wouldn't know the name of a random person, so if he new someone, they would have to be very notorious or very famous. Either way, he will probally play a major role in the upcoming story line.

3. "The sentry stood up a little straighter when he heard the name. Hilltop was relieved. It meant that the Colonel still held the power, or else his loss of it hadn't filtered down to the sentry level yet"(256). This quote is symbolic towards how if you treat those under you unfairly, they won't be very willing to help you. The Colonel punished those below him for making mistakes, and when he finally made one hisself, he was hurt.

Vocabulary week four

Moulmein (260): A seaport in southern Burma near the Salween River.

Guerrillas (254): Members of an indigenous military unit operating in small bands to defeat an enemy.

film reflection 2

Friendly Water Front:
On the Water Front was very effective when used in correlation with All My Sons, because they both had many overlapping themes even though the situations were quite different. For example, Joe Keller’s decision in All My Sons to send broken airplane parts to the air force, jeopardizing the lives of those pilots. He did this because he was under immense pressure, and was afraid if he didn’t ship the plane parts out, his business would be shut down. In On the Water Front, Terry faces a similar situation because he can help shut down the mob that is taking control of the dock workers, forcing them to work for little pay. However, since Terry helped bring down the mob, Terry was nearly killed. The theme of when is it ok to break the rules of society is very integrated in both of these story’s plots, which is amplified by the literary and dramatic aspects of each story.
For example, when the priest is giving his speech to the workers after the mob killed Kao, he brings up the main theme of when it is ok to be a whistleblower. He points out that the mob had manipulated society so that it is now breaking the rules to give the authority tips on what is going on, but if they continued allowing this rule to be enforced, then their situation would only become worse and worse. Had not Karl Malden acted the way he did, with his voice loud and strong, the theme would have seemed weaker than it did after his speech. The setting of that scene added a subtle benefit to the speech as well, because the priest is standing over Kao’s dead body, with wine caskets scattered about. This careful layout of the scene made you think more deeply about the horrors that the workers were letting the mob get away with. The setting of the docks itself is powerful because it shows what a powerful working class we had during the late 1940’s to early 1950’s. It shows that as our economy grew, so did the greed of the people in power. The mob completely taking over the union in order to rob the workers of their hard earned money.
Marlon Barndo (who played Terry Malloy), was an excellent choice because of how he presented his character as a slower person, but was having trouble being a “patsy”. He made it obvious that his character didn’t always think too deeply about his actions, but Marlon did very well in the sense that he made it apparent that Terry was smart enough to regret what he had done. For example, when Terry witnesses Joey pushed off the building, he realizes that he just helped kill Joey, and regrets it immensely. Had he made Terry seem too slow, then the independence Terry had to show would have seemed unrealistic which would have reduced the efficiency of the theme. An example of Terry’s independence was when Terry starts to question his brother’s actions in the car, when the two of them had brought up Terry’s past life. He didn’t say his questions using the most sophisticated words, but he certainly had thought deeply about what had happened to him. Karl Malden did an excellent job playing Father Barry because he had firm voice when his character was trying to convince the workers to defeat the mob, but when he was confused, his voice wasn’t quite as strong, so it made Barry seem naive when his character was. For example, his voice seemed less firm when he was first questioning the workers about why they let the mob control them. Had he used that same tone of voice when he was trying to convince the workers to take a stand, his speech would have seemed flimsy and that part of the movie wouldn’t have been as thought provoking.
Lee J. Cobb (Johnny Friendly) was excellent at being someone who appeared friendly and someone you wanted to know, to a person willing to kill in order to make money. This trait was crucial to the characterization of Johnny because it added depth to the play because if Cobb’s character had immediately acted selfishly it wouldn’t have generated so much anger at him. When Johnny is first introduced, awareness is created that he breaks the rules, but it doesn’t seem so awful. But as Johnny is revealed as a cruel, horrible person, angry is generated because it’s obvious that he manipulates other people with his outgoing personality, which only allows him to get away with stealing the workers money. The make-up on Johnny’s face after he got attacked by Terry, adds dimension to the movie, because not only does it give satisfaction that Johnny’s in tough shape, but it also is symbolic that Terry alone made Johnny bleed.
The cinematic aspects of the film were important to getting themes and other key messages across to the audience. Photography was crucial in doing this because of all the close-ups that were used to emphasize points, like when Terry is explaining to Edie that he really didn’t expect her brother to be murdered, and the steam engine horn starts to blow droning him out. The camera zoomed in on the horn, which enlightened the audience that it was a deliberate act of the director to have this horn being blown as loudly as it was. The horn itself was important because it symbolized the whistle blowing by Terry, and it foreshadows a little as well because when it was blown, it hurt Terry. So when Terry tips off the authorities, the audience already knows that he is going to be hurt in some way. Again cinematic aspects of the film prove useful in making the movie more enjoyable because the music playing throughout the movie set the atmosphere. When there was little or no music, like when Joey was pushed off the roof, the atmosphere was dreary. When Edie and Terry were dancing, it was apparent that the movie was much lighter because of how light the movie was. The duration of the shots proved significant in providing the audience with important scenes and continuing the plot line of the movie. For example, the scene in the car when Terry is talking to his brother, the duration of the shot on his speech outlined its importance. When Terry said “I could have been a contender, I could have been somebody.” The camera focused on him throughout that whole line.
On the Water Front and All My Sons had multiple similarities, but some critical differences. Consider Edie and Chris. Edie always saw things in an optimistic light, and because of this was somewhat arrogant to the fact that the waterfront is a very corrupt place. This is why she was like Chris from All My Sons because he too is arrogant to the corrupt society around him. Until his father tells him near the end of the book, Chris had refused to believe that his father had framed his friend and neighbor, even though all the evidence pointed towards his father. Another similarity between them is how Chris always talked to people about chasing their dreams, even though if they did, it would hurt their families because of how little income they would be getting. The major difference between these two characters was that Chris got extremely upset and basically killed his father, where as Edie got angry at Terry and her family, but she never actually did anything other than yell at them. So Chris gets much more extreme emotionally, where as Edie was less vocal.
The biggest theme in both stories was when it was ok to be a whistle blower against their society, but the outcomes and the fates of the characters were decided because of whether or not community members took a stand. No one stood up for Joe’s employee when he was placed in jail unfairly, even though it was the right thing to do. However Terry in On the Water Front finally stands up to the mob and shuts it down.
I highly recommend this move because of the one aspect to it that elevates above most other movies, and that is the theme of the when it is ok to break the rules of society. The movie shows perfectly how hard it is to stand up to an oppressive group of people, especially when they control the society. Which makes the movie all the better because of the conflict created by doing the right thing. The movie also does a good job in incorporating action and suspense with lots of dialogue to enhance the plot of the movie, but at the same time keep the audience interested. This movie appeals to all audiences, but to enjoy it to its full extent, I would suggest you be old enough to appreciate the themes in the movie, rather than just the action given.

unit 2 week 3 post b

This week I would like to compare this book to another book by the same author (Roland Smith), which is titled Thunder Cave. These two books are similar concerning how the main character is American citizen, but they wind up stranded in another country they somehow have connections too. For example, Nick's father in Elephant Run is a British inheriter to a British mansion built in Burma (for a while, Burma was a British colony). Nick goes there during world war II only to find himself captured and held hostage by the Japanese. In Thunder Cave, the main character, Jacob, finds himself captured by poachers when he is trying to find his father in Africa. In both stories, the main charater needs to rely on the natives of the area in order to survive. The difference between Elephant Run and Thunder Cave is that Elephant Run is a little more realistic because it is based off a major event in history. Thunder Cave might have had some realism to it, but it wasn't nearly as important in history as world war II is. Also he incorperates elephants a major part of these books, I'm not sure why elephants, but he must think them amazing creatures.

unit 2 week 3 theme

The theme I picked up on this section of the book is that you can't let you curiosity get the better of you when your life is on the line.

unit 2 week 3 quote

"I've managed to get transferred to the American embassy in Calcutta" (203). I believe this to be a very significant quote because you don't know anything more about the mother so far, that fact that she is getting closer and closer to Nick shows that she is going to be a crucial factor of Nick's survival of the Japanese control. This isn't implied, but I believe this because like with Bernard (Nick's step-father) she was metioned five times on two pages.

unit 2 week 3 figurative language

1. "Nick pulled the heavy door open and took a surprised step backward. His father was staring at him" (200). This excerpt shows personification of a picture because even though his father's face was on a painting, it can't acutally stare.

2. "If something is out of place, the Colonel will know. Nick remember Hilltop's warning, but he couldn't help himself" (201). This shows foreshadowing because this is the second time that quote has been metioned, so I believe it is reasonal to consider that Nick is going to leave something out of place, and he is going to be found out.

3. "Bernard is with me. He is working hard to get you out too..." (203). This quote shows foreshadowing as well because Bernard has been metioned five times in two pages, so I think that he will appear to save the day.

unit 2 week 3 vocab

Calcutta (203): A formal capital of British India.

prodigal (198): Wastefully or Recklessly extravagant.

unit 2 week 2 post b

This week I want to talk about how realistic this book is. If you want the sum of this post in two words here it is: its not. I'm afraid as the more and more I read this book, the more and more I'm having trouble believing it would happen this way. I mean its not far fetched or anything on that extreme, but I would guess that harsher things would occur. Take Nick's dad for example. His military commander got executed, but he got sent to a concentration camp instead. I find this odd because he was basically incharge of the military commander. I think the only reason why the author kept him alive is because he is Nick's dad and it would make the book much more dark if he died. Which leads me to believe that this book is targetting a younger audience then a teenager my age. Now don't take me as a guy who wants blood and guts to be spilled in every chapter, I don't want that at all. I think that its possible to make a good book on the occurings of tribal city in Burma light but still mostly accurate because little fighting goes on in that section of Burma, which is the darkest part of war. However, putting a person in a situation were they would be normally be killed, and then not killing them makes me think this author is sensoring the book more and taking away the truth. Which I think deters the point of the book, which is too give prospective on what happened to Burma.

unit 2 week 2 theme

The theme that I found in this section of reading was that if are cruel to someone, then it will come back to hurt you.

unit 2 week 2 quote

"If something is out of place, the Colonel will know"(201). I believe this quote is important because it shows that if Nick takes anything, the Japanese Colonel will know that he is still around. This leads me to believe that Nick is going to take something, and the Colonel will find out, which could be crucial in how the book ends.

Unit 2 week 2 figurative language

1. "Shocked by the hit-and in pain from the fall-Nick lay still for a moment"(125). This is an example of figurative language because it shows how Nick reacts to pain, which is imagery.

2."He slipped the note into the waistband of his longyi and went back to work, racking wave patterns into the white sand surrounding the central pond, called the ginshanada, or open sandss, open seas"(135). This is an example of imagery because it shows how the garden looks, and how it must stand out because gardens in Burma don't contain sand.

3."Nick thought he was going to hit him again, but instead he snapped the can in two over his knee and dropped it on the floor" (186). This excerpt of the book is symbolic because that cane symbolized how Nick is trapped and oppressed by the Japanese, but since he is free the cane can no longer rule over him.

Post A unit 2 week 2 Vocab

Mahout (192): An elphant driver or keeper.

Longyi (148): A cloth used as a turban or a loincloth worn by men in India.

Quarter 2 post 1 B

Upon request I'll add the title of my book: Elephant Run by Roland Smith.

"Cricket
beneath dew-covered leaf
one final chirp"(107). I know I used this quote in the figurative language section this week, but I just think it says so much about the author's attitude towards many different things. The author uses this quote to show that Nick's captor, Sergeant Sanji, is human. Although the sergeant is Japanese, and is invading Burma during world war two, the author shows that he has human characteristics about him. This is unusual in the sense that most authors when they write a book that a war is the central conflict, make the invading soldiers inhuman. However, because he related Sanji to us, you gain the understanding that Sanji isn't in much of a better situation then Nick is. It isn't specifically stated, but I think Sanji didn't have much choice in enlisting for the military. For with this quote, the author explains that Sanji is a master at haikus, which seems to me a talent that a killing machine soldier doesn't exactly have. To make matters worse for Sanji, he has to watch his leader murder opposing military figures by decapitation. This characterization of Sanji makes me more empathetic towards soldiers who are forced to fight and are trying to kill us because their country has messed up leadership. This also reminds me of the book "All Quiet on the Western Front" because the main character in that book attacks an enemy soldier and find that he is just like the soldier, only from another country.

Quarter 2 post 1 theme

The emerging theme in the book is: don't judge someone by what other people say, wait until you get to know the person before you make any judgements.

Quarter 2 Post 1 Quote

"Hannibal wasn't there"(41). This is a very important quote because it shows that Hannibal, a mad elephant, didn't kill Nick. That is very unusual because Nick had just been attacked by him, so the fact the the elephant didn't kill him could possibly come into play later in the story.

Figurative language week 1

"cricket
beneath dew-covered leaf
one final chirp"(107). This poem was placed in the story because it shows foreshadowing in the book, the death of one of the British soldiers.

"As they kneeled, Nick noticed the terrible stench in the air. It was the same smell that had come from the monkey on the snag. Nang and Captain Josephs had been dead for some time"(111). This excerpt shows imagery because you can picture the smell of the dead humans.

"Metal on Metal. The iron bell. Hannibal"(39). This excerpt shows imagery because you can picture Nick hearing the monsterous elephant coming up behind him.

Quarter 2 Post 1 A Vocab

Singoung(11): Foreman

macaque (10): A species of monkey with short tails

Post B. week 5

I think I'll make this post about the Golden Compass/His Dark Materials series. One might be wondering: "what on earth has got this guy so excited about this book?" There is only one answer for that, and it is: Its Awesome! Its even better then Potter, hands down. How could that be possible? It has some key differences. Harry Potter was written with the idea of it appealing to the biggest audience possible. And one of the biggest reading population in America is... children. So throughout the series, J.K. Rowling tones down the more mature material that she could have easily added. So although it is a very clever series and its not completely void of dark occurrings, in my mind, it seems a little childish. The His Dark Materials on the other hand doesn't go into intensely gory and romantic scenes, but it alludes to sex and a twelve year old boy loses a finger (I can't tell you who, but he appears in the second book at some point). Also, this same boy witnesses his father's death knowing what is happening while it happens. Harry Potter on the other hand, can only remember glimpses of his parent's deaths because he was a baby when they were murdered. The Golden Compass also includes much more depth to the characters, where as Potter had some depth, but it didn't' really take much analysing to reach the bottom of the characters depth. The plot line requires more in depth analysis to completely understand what the significance the different scenes hold. If you haven't read the His Dark Materials series, you must. And even if you have, read it again, because trust me, its worth it.

Theme week 5

The major theme that I can find in these set of chapters is that everything is not what it seem to be at first glance. What I mean by this is people in general.

Quote week 5

"It's unbelievable how many black men and women have let the white man fool them into holding an almost romantic idea of what slave days were like"(245). This is the most startling quote in the whole book in my opinion. Its amazing how the black community is controlled so much by the whites, that the whites control what the blacks think their history was like. The fact that they can barely believe what they are hearing when Malcolm starts preaching to them what actually happened, sickens me. The fact that we fought a war to free African Americans from slavery, only to cover up the horrendous things we did, is just plain disgusting.

Appeals week 5

1. "This white man's Christian religion used to brainwash us black people! We have accepted it! We have embraced it! We have believed it! We have practiced it! And while we are doing all of that, for himself, this blue-eyed devil has twisted his Christianity, to keep his foot on our backs... to keep our eyes fixed on the pie in the sky and heaven in the hereafter... while he enjoys his heaven right here... on this earth... in this life" (231). This is an emotional appeal because it is a speech Malcolm's religious leader gave to stir up the black Muslim populace.

2."And each time we went, we were honored with dinner at the home of Elijah Muhammad. he was interested in my potential. I could tell from things he would say. And I worshiped him"(230). This is a factual appeal because it shows what how Elijah believed he held potential for being a good recruiter for the Muslim community. The passage also shows how influenced Malcolm was by another person.

3. "In years to come, I was going to have to face a psychological and spiritual crisis"(242). This is an emotional appeal because you want to know why after the whole chapter being designated to how strong his faith is, he says that he is going to have a crisis spirtually.

Post A week 5 vocab

Allah(215): A word for God, however in the book it is used for Islam.

Nationalist(251): a person fighting for national independence.

Post B week four

As I mentioned in my theme post for this week, the main theme in these chapters is white hate. It partially scares me because Malcolm X becomes one of the most influential African Americans in his time, and the religion his family wants him to join is teaching that whites were savages when they were first created. If he had started to teach this to all the people who listen to him, social peace would never have become possible. This confuses me a little because even though I haven't reached the part of the book that he starts to become influential, it doesn't seem likely that he wouldn't teach something that he learned when he was first introduced to his faith. So maybe I've missed something about his character that allows him to change his views on race extremely. I am curious to find out the exact details, and I will post them next week. Now I want to talk about religion and how people can interpret it to justify killing or hurting other people. Its easy to say when you see killing in the name of religion: "wow, those people are monsters." and not go any farther. Now I'm not saying the idea you can kill people because of how you interpret your religious text is justified; not at all I think the whole idea is sickening. But you need to ask what would cause people to want to kill others. When people die from the the attacks of religious fanatics, its almost certain the attackers believe themselves to be doing the right thing, because it was what they had been taught. But almost every religion that these people claim to be apart of starts off believing killing is a negative. So somewhere along the line, someone interpreted that it allowed you to kill other people. What caused that thought? I believe its pressure from another society in a forceful way. And the people they want you to kill are the people who belong to the society that is pressuring them. This explains why Malcolm is learning to hate white people from a branch of a religion composed of only blacks. The reason why I'm bringing this up is because this is a very wrong thing to do, but its not just the people who kill who are responsible, almost always another group of people is pressuring them.

Theme week four

The most reaccuring theme in these chapters is: blacks are superior to whites, and whites were originally savages where blacks were intelligent.

Quote week four

"When the Bible says "Moses lifted up the serpent in teh wilderness," that serpent is symbolic of the devil white race Moses lifted up out of the caves of Europe, teaching them civilization" (193). I find this quote extremely important to the understanding of how Malcolm thinks because he is joining a religion that teaches white hate. I understand why a branch of religion would incorperate this, but it doesn't help create peace and understanding between blacks and whites. If anyting it will hurt the community more.

Appeals week four

1. "In one generation, the black slave women in America had been raped by the slavemaster white man until there had begun to emerge a homemade, handmade, brainwashed race that was no longer even of its true color, that no longer even knew in true familty names. The slave master forced his familty name upon this rape-mixed race, which the slavemaster began to call "the negro" (188). This is an emotional appeal because Malcolm is claiming that the white man forced a race to be born that isn't black and is brainwashed.

2. "The very enormity of my previous life's guilt prepared me to accept the truth" (189). This is an emotional appeal because he is trying to get you to understand that depth that he messed up in life.

3. "On the island of Patmos was nothing but these blond, pale-skinned, cold-blue-eyed devils- savages, nude and shameless; hairy, like animals, they walked on all fours and they lived in trees" (192). This is an emotional appeal for me because this is part of a story explaining the existance of white people, and it basically makes us monsters.

Week 4 post A Vocab

Masonry (186): The craft or occupation of a mason.

Satan (181): The great adversary or humanity.

400 Blows review

Authority’s View on Cages:
After a half-hour of reflecting upon the movie, how I should answer the first question finally came to me. I nearly shouted: “Eureka, I have found it!” but as that would have raised the eyebrows of my parents, I refrained. My opinion of the film was that it was very effective in conveying how Francois Truffaut felt during that time in his life. He constantly creates a negative mood whenever an authority figure was present. For example, his teacher was constantly yelling whenever Antoine was in school, which didn’t exactly give you a happy feeling. He similarly made the mood much lighter when authority wasn’t present by adding music in some parts, like when his youthful self was playing hokey with Rene. However, the movie wasn’t effective in the sense that I need to question how accurately the brutality of some of the authority figures was portrayed. The one person that sticks in my mind is the teacher. I guess it is possible that someone could be so cruel to a bunch of boys, but I have trouble believing it was that bad for Truffaut. Granted that this is a memoir so it is acceptable for him to exaggerate, but it takes away from the film (in my opinion) because it hampers the knowledge of how life really was back when the movie was made.
Truffaut’s emotion and values are portrayed best by the themes he chooses to incorporate in the movie. For example, the theme that authority can never understand that a child needs to be a child, shows just how he thinks authority acts. In the observatory center, he portrays the people in charge of him as insensitive, almost monster like humans. They place children so young that anything they could have possibly done to put them in a jail was done so with innocence enough to excuse them. The characters he creates also help illustrate how he feels about authority. The teacher is an extremely unfair, strict, almost cruel person who is always bullying Antoine. He punishes him for being a kid and he takes away the one thing a child his age needs when he is in school: recess.
The dramatic aspects of the film generate thought and understanding of what Truffaut was thinking. The casting of the characters was well done in the sense that they portrayed what was necessary. What I mean by that was they showed his opinions of what type of person they were and what their opinions of him were. For example, his mother had affairs with men other then Truffaut’s stepfather, and she was only nice to Truffaut when she thought he liked his father better than her. Claire Maurier (who played his mother) looked like how I imagined her and she played her role so well that she made the move more interesting because you began to wonder what the mother’s ultimate goal was. Georges Flamant did a good job of acting very angry and disgusted with the boys at school. He also looked like someone who would be grouchy; he wore suits that looked old and he had an attitude that made him defer only to the principle. Jean-Pierre Leaud made the understanding of how Truffaut thought very clear by acting like a child who was mischievous. When he was smoking, he always had a smug look across his face which told the viewer that he was very pleased with himself. The lighting of the scenes played a critical role in expressing how Antoine thought about the people around him. When he is in the school with the teacher who always yells at him, the lighting is darker. When he is skipping school, the scene is much lighter because he enjoys the companionship of Rene.
The camera movement and the duration of the shots were critical to the expression of Truffaut throughout the movie. For most of the scenes, the camera maintained a certain distance from the characters it was filming. An example of this type of shot is when Antoine and Rene are walking together when they are going to school. It is not too close to them, but it focuses only on what they are doing in the scene, everything else in the scene is trivial. So when Truffaut wants to emphasize something he thinks is important, he breaks this pattern of camera distance and usually zooms in on someone’s face. The duration of the shots played an important role in the movie because the longer the shot, the more freedom Antoine is experiencing. For instance, when Antoine is running away from the observatory, Truffaut takes two back to back scenes of just him running away. Both these scenes last at least two minutes! This shows how important Antoine’s running away is to him. The scene where the mother is kissing her boss is short because it provides a little more characterization of the mother, but more importantly Antoine loses a little freedom because now his mother knows he is not in school.
The 400 Blows and Black Boy are similar because both Richard and Antoine rebel due to the fact they feel that they are being cornered. Because of this, they feel that authority can never understand them and they basically start to do what authority doesn’t want them to do. In Black Boy, Richard rebels against his grandmother by writing a short story that she thinks is “the devil’s work”. In 400 Blows, Antoine rebels by trying to run away and live on his own. But Antoine’s way of rebelling is the barrier that separates him and Richard. Antoine tries to rid himself of authorities stare by running away. Richard on the other hand can’t bend himself to kneel at the feet of authority and doesn’t take flight either. He tries his best to live side by side with it.
I believe that if someone is looking for a film that expresses emotion and opinion without cheesy lines or over-the-top characters, then I think you might like this movie. It incorporates ingenious usage of basic features of film making to express emotion and opinion. It also shows how good acting and pretty straightforward plot line can be used to narrate an excellent story even though it doesn’t have the special effects we had today.

Post B week Three

These chapters focused alot on how messed up his life was. He bounces back between how he can't have a legal job and earn money, and how he stays high all the time when he is awake. I find, to my surprise, myself pitying Malcolm. I normally wouldn't pity someone who is in this situation because it would be possible if they truely wanted too, to change their life style. However, due to white supremecy, Malcolm can't really change what he is doing to survive. Its this or living on the streets. Malcolm realizes this, and he will occasionally critize white people. For example: "I have also read recently that groups of white couples who get together, the husbands throw their house keys into a hat, then, blindfolded, the husbands draw out a key and spend the night with the wife that the house key matches. I have never heard of anything like that being done by Negroes, even Negroes who live in the worst ghettoes and alleys and gutters"(141). Now I don't disagree with him in the sense that this is immoral, and considering in the previous paragraph he metions that whites think Black's have worse morals then they do, this quote is justifiable. But I don't think that just whites are capable of actions on this level, instead I think that maybe Black's didn't do this exact thing, but can do something like it. Basically what I'm saying is that its not the color of your skin that decides your morals, its the society you've grown up in.

Theme week Three

Basically the theme that reaccurs the most in these chapters is how messed up his life is because of the society whites force Blacks into.

Quote week three

"Through all of this time of my life, I really was dead-mentally dead. I just didn't know that I was"(145). This quote is important because it shows how Malcolm thinks of how he acted and thought when he was younger. I wonder what happened to make him think this.

Appeals week three

1."The dealer let me have loose marijuana on credit. He saw I was so high that he even helped me roll it-a hundred sticks"(151). This is an emotional appeal because it shows how messed up Malcolm was, and in me it generates disgust.

2."For a hustler in our sidewalk jungle world, "face" and "honor" were important. No hustler could have it known that he'd been "hyped," meaning outsmarted or made a fool of"(147). This is a logical appeal because it shows that Malcolm is in grave danger due to the fact that one hustler he barrowed money from, thinks Malcolm ripped him off. It shows how tedious life is for Malcolm.

3."A .32-20 is a funny kind of gun. It's bigger than a .32. But it's not as big as a .38. I had faced down some dangerous Negroes. But no one who wasn't ready to die messed with West Indian Archie"(146). Emotional appeal because your not sure if Malcolm is going to be shot or not.

Vocabulary week three

Hoodlums (141): Gansters

Hustler (152): a person who employs fraudulent or unscrupulous methods to obtain money

Post B week two

"I was able to keep that cracker stripping of clothes until he stood there drunk with nothing on from his pants up, and the whole car was laughing at him, and some other soldiers got him out of the way. I went on. I never would forget that- that I couldn't have whipped that white man as badly with a club as I had with my mind" (90). The thing I find important about this quote is how Malcolm X is almost being racist and sterio typical about whites. Not to say we weren't doing that exact same thing back then, but this could have easily have happened to a black man. The thing that bothers me about this is just how easily he thinks whites are not all that smart.
"I got my first schooling about the cesspool morals of the white man form the best possible sourse, from his own women. And then as I got deeper into my own life of evil, I saw the white man's morals with my own eyes. I even made my living helping to guide him to the sick things he wanted" (106). Again stero typing whites as perverted people lacking decent morals. For someone who is trying to promote racial equality, he doesn't seem to be doing a good job of it. He constantly complains about how, for example, the white man doesn't have any morals concerning prostitution. But later on in the same chapter, he talks about blacks doing the same thing but without any protest about them.

Theme week two

The most recurring theme throught these chapters is that in order to survive as a black in New York City, you pretty much needed to break the law.

Quote week two

"The white woman with a Negro man would be with him for one of two reasons: either extremely insane love, or to satisfy her lust"(111). I think this quote is important because of how it shows that inter-racial marriage between whites and blacks happened, but mostly it was because of lust, not love.

Appeals week two

"Every man without a woman on his arm was being "worked" by the prostitutes. "Baby, wanna have some fun?" The pimps would sidle up close, stage whispering. "All kinds of women, jack-want a white woman?" And the hustlers were merchandising: "Hundred dollar ring, man, diamond; ninety-dollar watch, too-look at 'em. Take 'em both for twenty-five" (87). This is a logical appeal because it gives a good idea what life was like at night in Harlem, New York in the 1940's.

"There were many more reefer smokers around there, but these were a cheaper type, this was the worst of the ghetto, the poorest people, the ones who in every ghtto keep themselves narcotized to keep from having to face their miserable existance" (118). I am classifiying this as an emotional appeal. You feel rather bad for those who spend all their lives getting high so they don't have to face reality.

"Finally, right in her own house, with her family away, she threatened a Negro man who worked for her father that if he didn't take her she would swear he tried rape" (103). This is a logical appeal because until this point of the book, you only really see white men taking advantage of blacks. But this opens your eyes at how even white women would take advantage of their skin color to get what they want from blacks.

Vocabulary week two

Pimp (102): A person who solicits customers for a prostitute in exchange for money.

Conk (90): A hairstyle in which the hair has been chemically straightened.

Post B.

For this post, I'd like to talk about my book. It is the autobiography of Malcolm X, who, if you didn't know, was pretty much the oppisite of Martin Luther King jr. in the sense of how to gain rights. Martin was pro peaceful rallies, Malcolm was all for sending in gorriella fighters to fight those who were trying to put themselves above a certain race of people. I like the book so far, Malcolm does an excellent job of stating the dead truth, he doesn't seem to exaggerate anything. Because of this, it makes the book better, because even though i've been learning about racism since elementary school, I keep learning new things because of how accurate I believe Malcolm to be.
This book also goes hand and hand with Black Boy. Both authors lose their fathers, one through death (Malcolm) the other through the negligence of duty (Richard). Both characters even move a ton throught the book, which adds to both stories, but can cause me to get who moved where messed up. These books even offer perspectives concerning different levels of wealth of blacks. Richard, who has been poor his whole life is always hungry, and Malcolm, who isn't rich but has always lived in an area where he gets enough to eat. This difference makes a huge difference in prospective. Malcolm goes to a mostly white school, which means he really isn't scared to whites, where as Richard has never really gone with whites to school, and is hesitant to associate with them. As these books have similar themes, but with different views by the characters, it offers enjoyment for me to read them.

Theme

The theme that I can find over and over again throughout the pages that I read is white supremecy. What I mean is that Malcolm notices that most blacks are trying to become more "white", and the whites are incouraging it.

Quote

"It was a surprising thing that i had never thought of it that way before, but i realized that wwhatever iiwasn't, I was smarter than nearly all of those white kids. But apparently i was still not intelligent enough, in their eyes, to become whatever I wanted to be" (44). I really like this quote because I knew about hate related to racism, about unfairness related to racism, but I had never really understood that white people actually thought black's were not capable of the same intellegence as themselves.

Appeals

1. "They would talk about anything and everything with me standing right there hearing them, the same way people would talk freely in front of a pet canary. They would even talk about me, or about "niggers," as though I wasn't there, as if i wouldn't understand what the word meant" (3). This is a logical appeal, it shows how unaware whites were of how smart black people were.

2. "Later, I remember, we came to the textbook section on Negro history. It was exactly one paragraph long" (35). This is another logical appeal which shows how in a white school (Malcolm attends one) the white people barely give respect to the people they had inslaved for hundreds of years.

3."Malcolm, one of life's first needs is for us to be realistic. Don't misunderstand me , now. We all here like you, you now that. but you've got to realistic about beinga nigger, A lawyer-that's no realistic goal for a nigger. You need to think about something you can be" (43). Ouch! Even the white adults who like Malcolm and respect him, just don't understand that black's are capable of the same professions and opportunities white people have.

Vocabulary

Rastus: A degrading word for African American men used by whites in the south during the civil war.

Condescension: Voluntary assumption of equality with a person regarded as inferior.

First post

Hi guys, this is my first post! I hope you take a look at the poll.