Satire activity

          In the cartoon above, you can clearly see the satire introduced. A zombie with a stereotypical state of mind (searching for brains), is roaming the streets, where he passes by two young men. One of the men is wearing a shirt supporting Obama and the Democratic party, whereas the other man is wearing a shirt supporting Romney and the Republican party. He seems to analyze them and continue his search for brains. This was quite amusing because it was indirectly stating that Obama and Romney have no brains. This is an example of Horatian Satire, as it gently pokes fun at politics and ridicules the absurdities of these political figures. This also is evidently situational irony. In most cases, one would expect the zombie to take the brains from the two men, whereas in this case the zombie doesn't, as he suspects the men don't have any brains whatsoever. All in all, I thought this cartoon to be amusing as it poked fun at the intelligence level of both political parties.

Krista Ramsey column review

          Krista Ramsey's column talks about how one can help and understand people with poor quality of life/those who live in poverty. She talks about how one must be able to interact and socialize with people in the lower class if they truly want to make an impact or connection.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/krista-ramsey/2014/07/03/krista-ramsey-sherman-bradley/12201889/

          I believe that the strongest line in Ramsey's column would be: " 'People want an immediate return on things, but relationships don't happen that way,' he says. 'We need people to see beyond their preconceived notions – but to do that, people need to engage with an open mind and a desire to get to know people. In the end, you have to come being willing to receive.' " This line is very strong, as it connects the entire piece and summarizes it into one big idea. It's stating that the only way the haves and have-nots can truly connect is through interaction and understanding. Empathy is the key to forming solid relationships. It leaves a lasting impact on the reader, as it is the closing sentence in the column. It allows the reader to truly grasp the key concepts and ideas being discussed throughout the column. The line is advanced and more impressionable with the use of diction and syntax. Ramsey selected quotes with quite interesting word choice. The phrase "preconceived notions" is a wonderful choice. As for syntax, you can see that the sentences are descriptive and somewhat lengthy, as they carry an important message.
          After reading around four of Ramsey's articles, I am able to grasp a lot about her writing style. Ramsey tends to draw in readers by writing introductions that interest readers and cause them to feel the need to read more. Her informal writing style allows for people to read at a more conversational level, and they do not have to make an effort to grasp the message she is trying to promote. Her bluntness and simplicity makes it easy for one to understand what she writes. In an article titled Super Bowl QBs score points for great style, Ramsey states, "If you're the parents of the bride who put thousands of dollars into an elegant wedding, you might well feel a pang when people arrive in jeans with sunglasses atop their heads. The sight of sports jerseys and sweat pants at a carefully planned memorial service could be hurtful. And as you look down at your fitted blazer and heels in a sea of shorts, T-shirts and nylon jackets at your daughter's college graduation, you probably wondered why you bothered. Keep bothering." In this statement, you are able to see how Ramsey is clear with what she is saying. Her sentences tend to be on the longer side, however she keeps readers interested by maintaining a casual tone and writing short and blunt sentences every now and then.
          With the small amount of experience I have with Ramsey and her writing style, I have gathered a few questions. If I was to ever receive the opportunity to speak with her, I would start off by asking about how she came about her career. I would want to know about when she decided that she wanted to work for The Cincinnati Enquirer and what made her choose to do so.
          Another thing I am curious about is how she decides to write about what she does. I have noticed that she generally writes about positive topics, such as the start of a charity in order to help a person or group of people. She also tends to write about something that relates to the benefits and harms new trends can have on people. However, I still wonder what drives her to write columns about things like this.
          A final question I would ask Ramsey would be: How long did it take for you to truly develop a solid and unique writing style? Do you gain experience every day or are you continuously applying previous knowledge on writing? I would like to know if she gained her writing voice over a long period of time or if it was there from the moment she began to write.
          In conclusion, I enjoyed reading Ramsey's column and I think her informal writing style will enable readers to learn more, and enjoy it as well.

A Long Walk to Freedom

Final Blog Post

After reading the incredible novel by David peltzer, The Child Called “It”, I decided I wanted to take a look at an international role model and freedom-fighter, Nelson Mandela. The novel takes place in Southern Africa during the age of apartheid. Apartheid was the segregation of people due to race. It allowed the white people to receive several opportunities that the blacks would never have in their entire lifetime. They were constantly segregated; the blacks even had to use their own restrooms. Everything the blacks had was significantly worse in quality when compared to what the whites had. What angered the native South Africans most, was that they were being degraded and deprived of rights in their own land. This was their country, and yet they weren’t allowed to vote for their own leader.

In his novel, A Long Walk to Freedom, Madiba (meaning “leader” as the people of South Africa call him) explains the struggles he faced as he stayed in the Robben Island prison for 27 years. The Robben Island prison was the most secured prison in all of South Africa and the nature of it was very similar to Alcatraz in that it was completely isolated from continental South Africa.  Mandela was put into this prison because of apparent treason to South Africa when he only desired to improve relations between the blacks and whites and end apartheid.

Madiba describes the challenges he faced and the living hell that he was put through in his time in the Robben Island prison. After he had been released from prison, he had felt furious. His entire life as a young man had been wasted as he rotted in a prison for trying to fix the evil that had been prevalent in southern Africa. Mandela had spent about four years after his time in prison isolated, as he was so angered. He had been looked up to by most of the native South Africans, as he was fighting for their rights. So, when he was released from prison, he was continuously asked to take over the position as president of South Africa. He describes how he would wait until his time was over, and how he would attempt to instill in the prisoners an idea that peace takes precedence over violence and reason takes precedence over impulse. This idea was extremely odd to many of the black prisoners as they feel that they should have revenge on the individuals who had done them so much harm. They felt that violence and rage was the only way to deal with the injustice that they faced on a day to day basis simply because of the color of skin they were born with. Mandela instituted the ANC(African National Conference) after his release from the Robben Island prison which was composed of black men who desired freedom from discrimination. He became President of South Africa in 1994, at the age of 76.

Madiba’s incredible story can inspire a generation. His death was a loss to all but that does not mean his legacy will not live on.

A sign segregating the whites and blacks by assigning them specific lavatories.

A Child Called "It"

A Child Called "It"

      This week I decided to pick up the nonfiction autobiography, A Child Called "It" by David Pelzer. It was actually a fantastic novel, as I was able to finish the book over the course of this week. It is quite a short novel, yet it is equally as heartbreaking as a lengthy text like Romeo and Juliet (lol). The novel stars David Pelzer himself, and shows readers his childhood life. It takes place in California, and young David has two incredibly unstable parents. His mother was an abusive drunk who treated her son cruelly. She physically and emotionally abused him, she starved him, and she did unspeakable and horrifying things that a young child should never have to go through. She didn't think of him as her son, she thought of him as her slave. She was unpredictable and cruel, and the only thing that kept him alive was his unfaltering hope for someone to love him.

     He was never able to tell anyone about his problem at home, as it required an enormous amount of courage and strength to do so. So when he was able to announce his unfortunate story to an officer, it was a major event. He had spent his entire childhood being hit and starved and burnt and yet he still loved his mother with all of his heart. At one point, he was staying with his aunt, and he ran away from her home because he missed his mother. He truly loved her, although she practically put her own son's arm in an oven. Thinking about this child's treatment is excruciating, it's so horrible that such an innocent young boy was forced to live his life as a boy who wanted nothing more than to be loved.

     In general, the novel was quite inspiring yet very heartbreaking. The fact that a pure young child like David was forced to be afraid of his mothers voice, proves that we should all be so grateful for what we have. We constantly ask for new clothes, or electronics, or whatever it is that has momentarily caught our attention, when there are kids who want nothing more than a warm meal every now and then. It shows that humanity becomes greedy; the more we are given, the more we want. However, we shouldn't be materialistic and obsessed over something as simple as a new pair of shoes. We should all think the way David thinks, that very little is required to make one happy. Love induces happiness, and we should always remember that.

Abuse can be both physical and emotional. It's quite horrifying what someone can do to a young child.

      

The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner

          This week I thought I would pick up the well known novel, The Kite Runner. I read the first five chapters this week, and I was able to pick up a lot of context from these thirty pages. This novel, written by Khaled Hosseini, takes place in December of 2001 in Los Angeles, with a middle-aged man looking back on his past as a young boy, peeking through the abandoned allies of his community. He begins with talking in almost a dark tone or manner. I expect the narrator to be the author, Khaled, as it the novel is in first person. Khaled believes that one is able to block out the worst moments of their past, and bury it. However, it takes time and effort, "because the past claws its way out". The novel introduces three characters, just on the first page. Rahim Khan, who seems to be an old friend of Khaled's, who lives in Pakistan. Rahim seems to induce the resurfacing of many of Khaled's old memories, and throughout the novel, Khaled is reflecting on his past.

         One thing I definitely enjoyed about the start of this novel is the diction. The author has a wonderful way of portraying his past. It took me two pages to want to read more, as the novel seems to be very mysterious. Khaled seems to have a very intriguing past, and he withholds the information from the reader, which is what makes me want to read more. It is a compelling and interesting book and it's definitely not your typical love story or science fiction novel. :)

          Something I didn't like about the novel so far was that it's slightly confusing. I love how the author makes the novel mysterious, however the phrases he uses and characters he refers to required me to make a lot of inferences that may or may not be correct. The only way to ensure who is who is by reading carefully and remembering small details. For example, the author might repeat a quote of someone he used to know more than once at different occasions in the novel, so you must be able to connect all of those events so that you are able to form a clear picture in your mind.

          In general, I enjoyed these first few chapters. Khaled talks about his childhood a lot and I expect this novel to be very well-written and attention-grabbing. As of now, I would recommend the novel to others. :)

Pakistan is located in Asia and at one point was connected with India, until a major war/dispute tore their relationship apart. They are now separate countries

Speak

Speak

This week I decided to pick up a book that I had heard a lot about. Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson. The book starts out with the introduction of main character, Melinda Sordino, a freshman with an enormous secret weighing on her shoulders. Taking place at Merryweather High School in Syracuse, New York, Melinda is constantly feeling guilty and in constant pain. She resorts to ditching school and hiding in an abandoned janitors closet. Self-harming is the least of her problems.

    She attended a party in the summer before she had begun high school, and it was quite intense. There were several upperclassmen along with readily available alcohol and drugs. She was having an amazing time at the party, until she met a boy. It may sound like your typical love story, but it's the complete opposite. Wildly desired Andy Evans, had approached her at the party. Feeling excited and intoxicated, the two went into the woods to speak together, and that led into Andy showing his true colors. Melinda had been raped by him, and she was too drunk to understand what was happening to her.

    Melinda finally realized what was happening in the woods, and was barely able to get away from him. So it wasn't a surprise when Melinda called the police. The authorities shut down the party, and everyone knew that Melinda was to blame.

    Melinda had lost a significant amount of friends due to the incident at the party, although nobody knew that she had been raped there. Her only friend is a new student named Heather, and she is constantly trying to get Melinda back into the loop, so that she gains some popularity. Melinda doesn't want this, and constantly tries to get out of seeing her old friends and Andy. So, she skips school.

    Her guidance counselor is quite worried about her and persists in asking Melinda what had caused her grades to drop so much. After awhile, she finally admits to herself that she was actually raped. It took her so long to realize it, but now it would be easier. She started to open up to several more people about her experience at the party. She speaks up (the title made sense at this point) about everything, and fights for herself, along with several other girls that Andy had played with as well.

    I think what I really enjoyed about this novel was that it was extremely modern. Thousands, possibly millions, of women all over the world are sexually abused and raped. It was a truly impactful novel, and quite relevant in today's times. I believe that if the novel gains popularity, it will be read by more, which means that more scared women will gain the inspiration to speak up about their situations and realize that by opening up to someone, they are not weak at all. They are actually significantly stronger. It was quite an interesting novel and I would definitely recommend it to young adults.

Above you are able to see the statistics of rape in each country. It is quite horrific to see that America is one of the darkest shaded countries, meaning people are more likely to be raped in America than almost any other country.

The Grapes of Wrath

The Grapes of Wrath

     As usual, I decided to begin another novel today. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I haven't heard much of this book, however I remember my sister read it when she was around my age so we had the book at home and I just picked it up :) To begin the novel, you are introduced to main character Tom Joad, a man convicted for manslaughter. He spent four years in prison and has just been released. He is on is way home to see his family in Oklahoma once more. Tom hitches a ride from a truck driver named Jim Casey. Jim and Tom go driving together, in order to seek out Tom's long-lost family. However, when they arrive to what should've been Tom's home, they are quite surprised.

    The two young men are shocked to hear that Tom's family has moved to California, in order to look for jobs. So Jim, being the kind soul he is, continues on with Tom on his journey. They head for Tom's Uncle John's home, where they find Tom's mother, father, and grandpa packing up the last of their family's possessions. They continue towards California at that point. Shortly after their departure, Tom's grandpa passes away :(

    So far, I have found the book to be slightly complex. The language used throughout the novel is spelt slightly different, as every piece of dialogue is spoken in a somewhat southern accent, so it can be slightly confusing when trying to read through. You have to slightly alter your mindset when reading through. However, overall, the beginning of the story is very well developed and I can't wait to read more!

Above you can see an image from the actual film made. It was clearly in a different age, where people spoke and acted quite different than they do in todays time.