Final

Prompt 1:

Describe the world you come from — for example, your family, community or school — and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.

At an early age, my parents separated. Because of this, my life has been truly shaped by living with only one parent, my mom. My mom has always been an avid participant in my life. Simply put, she has always been there for me. I have come to rely upon her more than anyone else I know. Throughout this whole experience, my dad has been living merely ten minutes away from where both my parents used to live. I have always tried to sustain a relationship between my dad and I. He is of coarse, my dad, but we have always had problems affecting our relationship. Because of this, he and my sister have always been closer. I have in result, had to deal with the rejection of my dad. A part of me has come to be very independent, not relying on anyone, and only believing in myself because of this. As my mom is closest to me, she understood the experience I was going through and gave me my freedom at a young ago. This freedom has had a huge impact on my life. 

Before I gained my freedom, I always tried conforming to my father’s wishes, doing everything I could to make him happy. I never thought about myself and how I could be happy. I recently discovered how I could become happy though. In a sense, I “relaxed.” Before, the world I knew was shaped in a very geometric concrete way, allowing no change; the world I live in now is much different. You could say it is abstract. I have learned to have fun.

You may be wondering how this has shaped my future dreams and aspirations. Before this change, I had extremely high expectations of my future. I wanted to go to the top colleges in the country, get the best jobs, and make the most money. The problem with this is that there is no fun involved in the process. I never though about actually finding a school that I liked, or a job that I would enjoy. I was still stuck in a box of conformity. I now know that this is not the case. When I grow up, I want to have fun, enjoying every second of my life, knowing that I made the right choice. My life is not going to be ruled and controlled by people like my father. I am my own person, free to make choices that I want. 

When I was younger, I was an avid swimmer. I have swam for at least seven years and have been on at least four swim teams. I loved swimming for many reasons, one of which was a sense of freedom it gave me. The problem with swimming was that I usually was not swimming the way I wanted too. My swimming career manly consisted of extremely monotonous, boring exercises in the pool. My dad loved that I was doing this, and in a sense forced me to keep swimming. I wanted to find a better way to enjoy it, but never did. Once my parents separated, I finally got to quit. My dad would say this is a failure, but to me, it was a rebirth. I plan to keep swimming in the future, my freedom guiding the choices I make as an individual. Swimming is one of the many positive effects freedom has given me. 

Prompt 2:

Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?

One of the biggest talents in my life is my early introduction to computers. At a young age, I became enthralled with computers; I wanted to know everything about them. My grandpa knew someone who showed and trained me how to use and fix computers. That started my first job, fixing computers. I slowly learned everything about computers, from fixing them to learning how to better use them. I am very proud of this quality because of the work and hard effort I put into learning it. It was very hard for me; it took a lot of time and training. It reflects one of the many hard experiences I have had to personally go through in my life. 

Throughout my life, I have had to make hard choices that would ultimately shape my future, one of these being computers. I put time and effort into learning a joy I found in my life. I feel this shows the dedication I have put into striving for success. I want to learn new ideas and become more educated about the world around me. Learning has always been fun for me because I want to be educated. This education has led me to strive for success. 

My joy for computers is only one of the many other interests I have. I plan to follow these interests into college and maybe even my future careers. I am motivated to learn and follow what I enjoy learning. Overall, I think enjoying something is what motivates me to learn. Because I enjoyed learning about computers, I learned a lot about them, and could potentially follow this topic into college. I plan to do this for anything else I enjoy. 

Connecting the first and this prompt together, I feel that I freedom I have acquired has greatly helped me find things I enjoy to learn about. Before, my life seemed very boring and generic, but now, I have many possibilities. I have discovered many new potential “pathways” for myself. My life will be very enjoyable and successful in the future. I am prepared to do my best to make it this way. 

Final Draft Book Review

My book, "The Last Town on Earth" by Thomas Mullen is a fictional story based on a little-known historical footnote about a small town called Commonwealth and their survival throughout the Spanish Flue epidemic, a disease which started during World War One and was brought back to the United States. 
 
Basically, Commonwealth decides to quarantine itself off from the rest of society while the Spanish Flu epidemic is occurring. Their basic goal is to stop the disease form spreading into their town, like the many others surrounding them. 

 "The encounter that ensues, and the shots that are fired, will have deafening reverberations throughout Commonwealth, escalating until every human value-love, patriotism, community, family, friendship-not to mention the town's survival, is imperiled."

 I think that this story focuses on the human aspects of emotion and survival. Obviously, Commonwealth is threatened by the epidemic raging outside of their small town. Many are forced to choose between life and death. Survival becomes the main concern of Commonwealth's society. With this change in morals, the town itself changes too. Conflicts occur, threatening as stated above, every human value, and the town itself. In essence, I feel that it illustrates the "animal" in us and what people are willing to risk for survival. 

"The Last Town on Earth" illustrates an image of a small town desperate for survival, but that the same time, uses historical events to connect to current modern times, such as the bird flu. This book is a great read!

Throughout the experience of reading my book, I have come to realize Thomas Mullen's writing style. In "The Last Town on Earth," Mullen does not use any special style of writing; what I think is special about it is that it subtly allows you to slip into the world he created.

"The doctor passed only two other autos during the fifteen-minute drive, saw but a lone pedestrian even though it was noon on Sunday, a time when people normally would be returning home from church, visiting with friends and family. The flu and been in Timer Falls for three weeks now, by the doctor's best estimation, and nearly all traffic on streets had vanished. The sick were condemned to their homes, and the healthy weren't venturing outside."

I feel this is a good quote to show his style. When reading this, I am immediately pulled into the doctor's point of view, seeing what he sees as he drives his car in Timber Falls, and feeling shock of the flue on his mind. Much of his writing pulls me into the book like this.  He does an expert job of allowing the reader to enter the world of any of the characters presented before them. When you are put into each character's mind, you realize that they are making extremely honest, life-changing decisions that challenge current moral issues; in essence, he puts the reader in the characters place and makes them think about what we would also do in their position. I am completely immersed in his world. He obviously took quality time to write his book. Each page is as thrilling as the next.
 
Thomas Mullen began writing this book simply because of his discovery of the 1918 flu pandemic, and also because of his interest in the epidemic. He did not discover much information about towns that specifically quarantining themselves off from society; he said this gave him room for creativity throughout the story. Mullen felt that the 1918 flu was a major even that had been "forgotten." Also, during the time he was writing the story, the bird flu was a cause of sickness in the United States. He thought the 1918 flue shared common similarities with the bird flu, and that this book is relevant to society because of it. 
 
Compared to other book I have read about epidemics like this one, I have not found them as impressive as this. Firstly, the ones that I have read are extremely cliche. They all are extremely dramatized, focusing on the events themselves and simply "how many people died." Also, they did not allow me to understand what any of the characters were experiencing, or even the world around them. Much of the other books simply focused on the "epidemic" view of the situation.

Peer Review Comments

*For Nawara: 

1. Your rough draft is very good so far. I am very impressed with how you connected children with social orders today to Enders Game; it is a great analysis. What you said is very true. The quotes that you used were also very relevant and useful to your topic.
2. One question I have is about the camp mentioned at the second to last paragraph. Do you mean the training school or the planet he was sent to?
3. Maybe you could also talk about how the training school environment Ender was in affected him.
*For Amber C:

1. You tell the story of the countless times that they meet, and the problems that occur throughout each reincarnation, but there is not DEEPER MEANING(analysis) to it stated. It would be much more interesting if you told of the meaning of the green gem, etc. . Also, you need more concrete details to support what you say. 
2. It also seems like the different topics of the review need to be integrated together more smoothly. The paragraph transitions can be rough. 
3. Fix grammer mistakes. 
*For Amber G:

1. I really like your analysis of Talon. It really makes sense how you say his character was shaped by the life he lived on the streets, and how he really is an adult in a child's body.
2. I really the dialogue you used to convey his character. "Talon makes Church officials laugh with his childish suggestions, he makes Knights blush with his perverse comments, he makes nobles confused and he makes other thieves jealous. Talon has such a broad character that fits perfectly inside the small stature of a young thief." It really allows me to see him in the book.
3. Maybe somehow make a deeper analysis of the character....go into greater detail about how his character was shaped, connect that idea to something else, ect. lol. 
But overall good review.

Essay RD

My book, "The Last Town on Earth" by Thomas Mullen is a fictional story based on a little-known historical footnote about a small town called Commonwealth and their survival throughout the Spanish Flue epidemic, a disease which started during World War One and was brought back to the United States. 

Basically, Commonwealth decides to quarantine itself off from the rest of society while the Spanish Flu epidemic is occurring. Their basic goal is to stop the disease form spreading into their town, like the many others surrounding them. 

"The encounter that ensues, and the shots that are fired, will have deafening reverberations throughout Commonwealth, escalating until every human value-love, patriotism, community, family, friendship-not to mention the town's survival, is imperiled."

 I think that this story focuses on the human aspects of emotion and survival. Obviously, Commonwealth is threatened by the epidemic raging outside of their small town. Many are forced to choose between life and death. Survival becomes the main concern of Commonwealth's society. With this change in morals, the town itself changes too. Conflicts occur, threatening as stated above, every human value, and the town itself. In essence, I feel that it illustrates the "animal" in us and what people are willing to risk for survival.

Thomas Mullen began writing this book simply because of his discovery of the 1918 flu pandemic. He did not discover much information about towns that specifically quarantining themselves off from society; he said this gave him room for creativity throughout the story. Mullen felt that the 1918 flu was a major even that had been "forgotten." Also, during the time he was writing the story, the bird flu was a cause of sickness in the United States. He thought the 1918 flue shared common similarities with the bird flu, and that this book is relevant to society because of it. 

"The Last Town on Earth" illustrates an image of a small town desperate for survival, but that the same time, uses historical events to connect to current modern times, such as the bird flu. This book is a great read!

Throughout the experience of reading my book, I have come to realize Thomas Mullen's writing style. In "The Last Town on Earth," Mullen does not use any special style of writing; what I think is special about it is that it subtly allows you to slip into the world he created.

"The doctor passed only two other autos during the fifteen-minute drive, saw but a lone pedestrian even though it was noon on Sunday, a time when people normally would be returning home from church, visiting with friends and family. The flu and been in Timer Falls for three weeks now, by the doctor's best estimation, and nearly all traffic on streets had vanished. The sick were condemned to their homes, and the healthy weren't venturing outside."

I feel this is a good quote to show his style. When reading this, I am immediately pulled into the doctor's point of view, seeing what he sees as he drives his car in Timber Falls, and feeling shock of the flue on his mind. Much of his writing pulls me into the book like this.  He does an expert job of allowing the reader to enter the world of any of the characters presented before them. When you are put into each character's mind, you realize that they are making extremely honest, life-changing decisions that challenge current moral issues; in essence, he puts the reader in the characters place and makes them think about what we would also do in their position. I am completely immersed in his world. He obviously took quality time to write his book. Each page is as thrilling as the next.

Compared to other book I have read about epidemics like this one, I have not found them as impressive as this. Firstly, the ones that I have read are extremely cliche. They all are extremely dramatized, focusing on the events themselves and simply "how many people died." Also, they did not allow me to understand what any of the characters were experiencing, or even the world around them. Much of the other books simply focused on the "epidemic" view of the situation.

Book Review #2:Last Town on Earth

Throughout the experience of reading my book, I have come to realize Thomas Mullen's writing style. In "The Last Town on Earth," Mullen does not use any special style of writing; what I think is special about it is that it subtly allows you to slip into the world he created.

"The doctor passed only two other autos during the fifteen-minute drive, saw but a lone pedestrian even though it was noon on Sunday, a time when people normally would be returning home from church, visiting with friends and family. The flu and been in Timer Falls for three weeks now, by the doctor's best estimation, and nearly all traffic on streets had vanished. The sick were condemned to their homes, and the healthy weren't venturing outside."

I feel this is a good quote to show his style. When reading this, I am immediately pulled into the doctor's point of view, seeing what he sees as he drives his car in Timber Falls, and feeling shock of the flue on his mind. Much of his writing pulls me into the book like this.  He does an expert job of allowing the reader to enter the world of any of the characters presented before them. When you are put into each character's mind, you realize that they are making extremely honest, life-changing decisions that challenge current moral issues; in essence, he puts the reader in the characters place and makes them think about what we would also do in their position. I am completely immersed in his world. He obviously took quality time to write his book. Each page is as thrilling as the next.

Compared to other book I have read about epidemics like this one, I have not found them as impressive as this. Firstly, the ones that I have read are extremely cliche. They all are extremely dramatized, focusing on the events themselves and simply "how many people died." Also, they did not allow me to understand what any of the characters were experiencing, or even the world around them. Much of the other books simply focused on the "epidemic" view of the situation.

First Book Review: The Last Town on Earth

My book, "The Last Town on Earth" by Thomas Mullen is a fictional story based on a little-known historical footnote about a small town called Commonwealth and their survival throughout the Spanish Flue epidemic, a disease which started during World War One and was brought back to the United States. 

Basically, Commonwealth decides to quarantine itself off from the rest of society while the Spanish Flu epidemic is occurring. Their basic goal is to stop the disease form spreading into their town, like the many others surrounding them. 

"The encounter that ensues, and the shots that are fired, will have deafening reverberations throughout Commonwealth, escalating until every human value-love, patriotism, community, family, friendship-not to mention the town's survival, is imperiled."

 I think that this story focuses on the human aspects of emotion and survival. Obviously, Commonwealth is threatened by the epidemic raging outside of their small town. Many are forced to choose between life and death. Survival becomes the main concern of Commonwealth's society. With this change in morals, the town itself changes too. Conflicts occur, threatening as stated above, every human value, and the town itself. In essence, I feel that it illustrates the "animal" in us and what people are willing to risk for survival.


Thomas Mullen began writing this book simply because of his discovery of the 1918 flu pandemic. He did not discover much information about towns that specifically quarantining themselves off from society; he said this gave him room for creativity throughout the story. Mullen felt that the 1918 flu was a major even that had been "forgotten." Also, during the time he was writing the story, the bird flu was a cause of sickness in the United States. He thought the 1918 flue shared common similarities with the bird flu, and that this book is relevant to society because of it. 


"The Last Town on Earth" illustrates an image of a small town desperate for survival, but that the same time, uses historical events to connect to current modern times, such as the bird flu. This book is a great read!

Family History Connections

Throughout the many family stories that I read, I found a theme of families who were affected by war. I am doing a comparison of Jasiu, Crystal, and Tiffany's stories.

"My grandma told me what it was like to survive under Russian control. Though not know to be as horrible as the Nazis, they did do some unbelievable cruelty that matches up with the germens. It was not safe for anyone to go out on the streets anymore. Piss a Russian soldier off and pow! Pow!"(Jasiu)."

Throughout Jasiu's story, the cruelty of what Polish people faced from the Russians was told rather than what they faced from the Germans.  This greatly surprised me. I never realized that the Russians were so cruel to the Polish people. In his story, Jasiu described that his grandmother went to church, when some Russian soldiers entered and began killing the people inside. Luckily for his grandmother, she hid, but had to endure the sight of dead bodies and the smell of burning flesh after the Russian soldiers burned the bodies. 

"People in the village were shouting that the Japanese were coming into the village. Many fled but my grandma's grandmother decided to use the extra time to hide the little food that they had left in the house."(Crystal).

Crystal described the invasion of China by the Imperial Army. Apparently, many of the Chinese people faced many horrors from the Japanese. In particular, she described the account of her great grandmother's encounter. When the Japanese invaded her village, her great grandmother and grandmother decided to stay behind to hide the food that they had. This is because during the war, food was hard to come; also the Japanese looted any food or materials they found in Chinese homes. Her grandmother was caught trying to hide the food and was almost killed because of it.

"How would they get to America? It was by helicopter. My grandfather was a general so he ordered planes to head up north, but he saved one just for my family. We had to wait on the roof, but the person riding the helicopter took his own family to America."(Tiffany).

Tiffany's family was affected during the Vietnam war. During the war, her family tried to flee Vietnam, failed, and instead had had to resort to going from country to country until they reached the United States. Luckily, the reached the US eventually. They were forced to flee to the US.

As  you can see, there is a strong theme of war throughout the stories I have found.


 

Extra Credit Bog Post

1. I feel that the dialogue helpfully contributes to the story's growth of the relationship between Dorthy and Adrian. It allowed me to understand both of them much more easily. It also allowed me to see the progress of their relationship, e.g. if their was still tenseness between them or not. Basically, it allows me to discover new things about the individual characters, and more in particular, the development of the relationship between Dorthy and Adrian.
2. I thought the explanation of the Filipinio folklore was very interesting. This is because it brought a whole new level to the story. From what I learned, Dorthy was the decedent of a Filipino god, and Adrian was a vampire who needed to protect her from another group of people(not humans, one of whom I am guessing is the blond haired, green eyed white person who liked Dorthy at the beginning of the story.). The problem with this is that it reminds me way to much of a mix between Twilight and Percy Jackson and the Olympions.
3. Her reaction does seem realistic. It adds on the the story's progress throughout the plot. As stated earlier before Adrian told the folklore, Dorthy needed to discover who she was. It leads on to Dorthy researching into these stories and discovering more about them and the relation with them to maybe her and her family. She also might discover who Adrian is. Again, the problem with this is that it reminds me way to much of Twilight.
4. The cultural elements do not seem forced in the story. To me, the are not a big part of the story at all. There has not been a particularly big emphasis on Dorthy and Adrian being Filipino. The story has focused more on the building relationship between them. For all I care, they could be European and the folklore could be based off of European gods. I really don't care what their race is.
5. Dorthy is not a relatable female protagonist to me. This is firstly because I am male. Secondly, I do not know a lot of people who put such a big emphasis on schooling and not on socializing. As far as I am concerned, socializing is just as important as school is. It seems unrealistic for Dorthy to be so unsocialized(this again relates to Twilight). I do not care that she is Filipino. As I said before, it does not really matter. I feel the only people who would consider it to be cool would be other Filipino people, if they are prideful for their ethnicity or something similar to that.
6. He is compelling. This is partially because in my opinion, he was not properly introduced. By the way, the introduction of the story needs to be changed. It is extremely cliche, and did not draw me into the book. The mystery revolving around his character does does make him compelling though.

Basically, I thought the book was fairly good, but it feels like another story of Twilight so far and Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Somehow, make the story feel more original and unique. This is critical, for me at least, in order to get readers attention to the story.

JLC Cycle

Throughout Joy Luck Club, the biggest cycle I have seen throughout is the art of storytelling. The mothers of the book tell their daughters many varieties of stories; this is started because many of them had imperfect communication skills great enough to communicate with their daughters effectively. Because of this, they told stories to them, including themes of education, warnings, and success. They also wanted to make sure their daughters did not forget their heritage. These stories were passed on to their daughter and gave them a sense of identity and shaped their fate.

"I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these things do not mix?"(15).

 When the mothers of the Joy Luck Club came to America, they decided to pass on their heritage and moralities to their children through story. In a sense, these stories were a way for the mothers to communicate with their daughters properly. They wanted to tell stories and allow their daughters to appreciate their heritage and remember who they were. They also wanted to teach them their morals of life. Unfortunately, they did not push the daughters to work hard enough to follow the stories(they became americanized), but the daughters still gained the stories knowledge and understood their heritage.

"And now I see what part of myself is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is our blood,"(15).

Although the daughters became americanized, they soon realized why the stories were told and what their mothers attempted to accomplish.  This then continues the tradition of telling stories, form mother to daughter, from mother to daughter, or son. They pass down their traditions, and heritage.

I see this as a cycle because throughout the story, the mothers tell their daughters stories, and it is assumed they will do the same thing in their older ages too. It is an extremely important part of their lives and is necessary to pass along critical ideas. These ideas changed the daughters fates, and they will do the same thing to the next generation. The story continues even after it has ended.

Family Story

 I, along with many other people, would consider my grandpa to be an extremely “crazy” or active person. From the beginning, he has always stood up for what he thinks is right. This is because when he was a child, he grew up relying on himself alone for support and guidance in life. He says his parents focus more on alcohol than he and his sisters. His parents constantly went across the street to drink with their friends. While they were gone, he say he and his sisters melted butter over lightbulbs, rolled marbles down the roof, then climbed down the roof to get them out of the gutter, etc. . He was left unsupervised, which was how he came to rely on himself. Later on in his life, he went to an all boys catholic school , directly across the street from a mortuary; he says the area constantly smelled of burnt skin. At his school, he succeeded in properly learning. He only regrets not passing geometry, which he still has not passed(he attempted to take a college class last summer, but it did not work out). 

He persisted in life for success; he up ended going to Stanford for a college education. He eventually met his wife here. Afterwards, he was sent to Vietnam in the navy eight years before the war started to find landing locations on the coast for the future war with Vietnam. Luckily, he was not killed because the second day after arriving at Vietnam, he became friends with many of the locals, who were supporters of the Viet Cong. He did this by simply playing volleyball on the beach. While there, he traveled down the coast, constantly looking for landing locations. When the war was near, he reached the capital of Vietnam; the day before he reached it, the Viet Cong had sprayed the hotel he was going to stay at with bullet fire. Also, they dug one foot deep trenches throughout the road systems so no one could move around easily. Luckily, my grandpa was unharmed and left before the war actually started. 

After leaving, he, along with many of his friends, etc. began to protest the war. I guess you could say at one point he became the classic image of a “hippie.” He was particularly involved with protesting in Alameda. He bought his house in Alameda during the early 50’s for an extremely cheap price, about twenty-thousand dollars, and has stayed here ever since. He raised his four daughters here too. They all became something of what my grandpa is like; I guess you could consider “crazy.” His family has always had a reputation in Alameda for being like this, or maybe a little too liberal. 

Later on in his wife, he and his wife both became involved in psychology; they basically both became therapists. I remember the backyard of his house used to be landscaped as a relaxing japanese themed garden; this is because he built a house in the back for their practice. I remember I was at his house once, he one of his patients had to use the bathroom, so she came into the main house. We had a dog on the side, which had a cat door that connected the side of the house to the bathroom. When she used the bathroom, my dog stuck his head through the cat door, which is right by the toilet, and the patient screamed bloody murder, running out of the bathroom and hiding in a closet. 

Later on, around the start of the twenty-first century, his wife developed a severe form of brain cancer. He tired everything he could to save her; both of them went to find help throughout the country, but they could not stop it. She died a couple hours after a halloween night. This changed his life dramatically.

Afterwards, he became an avid painter and still is. He has tried everything from realism to cubism. It is a huge joy to him. He can find inspiration in almost everything. He bought a house in Mendocino County; this is a huge source of his inspiration. The house came with ten acres of land, all of it beautiful rolling hills, different types of tress, and vineyards. What I find very funny about it is that throughout the area around of his property, there are pot fields scattered around other property’s, hidden behind trees. I accidentally walked in one once and was chased by a man; luckily he was too out of shape to run quickly. Anyways, my grandpa paints much of his property, and gives many pieces of his art to friends and family. Besides painting, he also like making wooden sculptures. Besides painting, a big source of his inspiration is swimming, which has been a big part of his life since he was a boy. He says when he was young, the swimming pools were segregated that he swam in. 

Besides his everyday activities, he has run for city council in one in the past couple of years. He unfortunately lost, but seemed to be fairly popular with voters. He is also still fairly involved with Alameda’s city council meetings. He makes his voice known to many. His last big “project” was his protest against suncal in Alameda, who wanted to develop the base. As you can tell, he can be very active in the community.

The amazing part about it is that he is eighty years old. He seems much younger to me. My favorite part about him is that he is always extremely lively and energetic. He is not the type that retires and watches T.V. all day. He will always find something interesting and fun to do in his life that will keep him healthy and entertained. He is a huge role model to me. I hope to be  like him when I am older and live and interesting and entertaining life like him too. 

jlc post

I am comparing "Two Kinds" to Amy Chua's relationship with her kids.

"Chinese parents demand perfect grades because they believe that their child can get them. If their child doesn't get them, the Chinese parent assumes it's because the child didn't work hard enough. That's why the solution to substandard performance is always to excoriate, punish and shame the child. The Chinese parent believes that their child will be strong enough to take the shaming and to improve from it. (And when Chinese kids do excel, there is plenty of ego-inflating parental praise lavished in the privacy of the home.)"

I find that between these two readings, the common problem occurring in both is the high expectations the parents have of their children. Both parents feel that their children have the potential to achieve greatness throughout their lives, but by believing this, strain and resentment are put on their children.

In "Two Kinds," Jing-mei and Waverly Jong felt resentment towards their mothers because of the stress put on them. Jing-mei was expected to be perfect by her parents(this supports Amy Chua's article). She began to resent her parents for this. She also did not go to college as a form of resentment. Weverly Jong also felt resentment towards her parents. Specifically, she was a good chess player; her mother constantly bragged about her and used her as a source of pride. Her mother also claimed credit her Waverly's success. Waverly grew tired of this and eventually quit playing chess. Both stories problems resulted from the stress put upon Jing-mei and Waverly.

I feel that the two stories support the accusation of Asian parents expecting too much of their children. When this happens, obviously children develop a resentment towards their parents.

JLC Post

The introduction to the second section of Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club foreshadows resistance between family. In the introduction, a mother tells her daughter not to ride her bike outside of her vision. The girl complains bitterly to her mother about that; the mother explains the twenty-seven malignant gates and say how bad things can happen to her outside of the house. The daughter in turn, ignores her mother, and falls the second she lands on her bike.

In "Rules of the Game," and "Voice From the Wall," resistance is shown between mother and daughter. In the first chapter, Waverly feels resentment towards her mother because she constantly braggs about her chess playing skills. Waverly did not understand her mother's pride in her skill. Instead, she only saw her mother bragging. In the second chapter, Lena manipulates her mother's speech when being forced to act as a translator. This in turn leads to her mother's messages being manipulated into new meanings.

In both chapters, both daughters face resentment or anger towards their mothers. They are both confused as to why events in their life are occurring. This all ties in with the introduction to part two because when the daughters do not follow the book about the twenty-seven malignant gates, their lives are affected for the worst.

Joy Luck Club-Quickwrite #2

I feel that both An-mei and her mother would both put family honor as an importance in their lives.

An-mei grew up with her grandmother; throughout her life living with her grandmother(Popo), she was infused with senses of family honor in her morals. Popo constantly "controlled" her life by means of telling her to respect the family. For example, An-mei was told that the paining of her father was watching over her, so she needed to behave. One of the biggest examples An-mei dealt with was that of her mother; Popo told her that her mother was a ghost and that mentioning her name would be an insult to the family. Even though An-mei wanted to see her mother, she followed her grandmother's orders and soon forgot about her.

Although An-mei had to put family honor as a big emphasis in her life, a part of her still felt rebellious to the idea of it. In chapter two, a story was told of a recollection about her mother. In the story, her mother wants to desperately see her, but is not allowed to. An-mei wanted to too. In the chaos of the situation, a bowl of boiling soup spills on her neck. An-mei uses the scar that formed from the burn to be used as remembrance of her mother. She still has a feeling of love for her mother.

When Popo became very ill, An-mei's mother came to visit her. She made the sacrifice of cutting a piece of meat from her arm and putting it in a bowl of Popo's soup. This is considered very respectful and is meant to make the ill person become better. Even though Popo did not let her daughter see An-mei, she still had deep respect for her mom. An-mei wanted to see her mother, etc., but still followed the rules of Popo based around family honor.

In the end, the both put family honor as a big emphasis in their lives. This is because they are trained to think this way; it is a big part of their morals.

Why Chinese Mothers are Superior Responce

"For example, if a child comes home with an A-minus on a test, a Western parent will most likely praise the child. The Chinese mother will gasp in horror and ask what went wrong. If the child comes home with a B on the test, some Western parents will still praise the child. Other Western parents will sit their child down and express disapproval, but they will be careful not to make their child feel inadequate or insecure, and they will not call their child "stupid," "worthless" or "a disgrace." Privately, the Western parents may worry that their child does not test well or have aptitude in the subject or that there is something wrong with the curriculum and possibly the whole school. If the child's grades do not improve, they may eventually schedule a meeting with the school principal to challenge the way the subject is being taught or to call into question the teacher's credentials."

I am in strong support of the Western parents view of education. Children have the room to make mistakes in life. That is what the point of education is for. Children should not be expected to learn in school at the rate a college student is expected to do so.For example, throughout my school career, I have made many mistakes. That is because high school is meant to prepare you for college. My mom actually understands that. She does not punish me unnecessarily.

I feel that a big part of high school for the student is too also find their independence. Students need to learn for themselves; if parents are constantly pushing them to do better in their lives, they will grow to look for that in their future lives. Yes, parents need to guide their children, but they need to give them independence at the same time. They need to allow their children to know that they are in control of their lives. The choices they make will determine their future lives. They will not have someone to baby them through situations for the rest of their lives. Children need to be given the choice to explore their freedom and make learn how to take control.

If they are putting their child through ASTI, logically they should understand what I just explained. It is a chance for them to explore high school and college at the same time. They need to decide and choose if it is right for me and if they will succeed, not their parents

Egypt and Animal Farm

Animal Farm Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The name Animal Farm stood in distance, with its name now a past recollection; and its  true significance and dream gone. Napoleon proclaimed that the farm be named Manor Farm, the prior name of the farm which was ruled by the tyrant Mr. Jones. Board by board, the name Animal Farm was removed from the entrance, removing the symbolism of the rebellion and Old Major’s teachings. Manor farm was slowly written in its place, its white paint dripping in the rain. Next the seven commandments were reduced to only one; “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” A sense of acceptance washed over the animals; Animal Farm was over.

Napoleon walked out. Two hooves arrogantly walked forward; he really had become a human. Behind him, two humans walked out, both wearing smug looks.

“Thank you for the business Mr. Napoleon.”

Napoleon replied with the best smile a pig could muster. “It is always my pleasure gentlemen.”

Suddenly, an angry squeal erupted from his mouth. “What are you looking at animals? Get back to work!”

Hurriedly, the other animals obligated. They were all very hungry and tired. Many collapsed on the ground, whimpering and crying for food. All were forced to work until next day; Napoleon planned to trade much of the harvest tomorrow.

Napoleon saw many of the other animals collapsed on the ground. Again, and angry squeal was released from his mouth. This time though, a dogs bark was heard in the background. The animals hurriedly got to their feet, but it was too late. Viciously, the dog jumped on one of the goats. Blood splattered the ground.

Silence. In the background, wind could be heard rushing through ancient evergreens, a stream merrily splashed along a sandy bank, and baby birds could be heard asking for food.

    “Get to work now!”, Napoleon scream.

    “No!” and with that the animals flung themselves upon Napoleon. Shrieks of pain could be heard from amidst the movement. After continuous blows, Napoleon was pronounced dead.

    In unison, the animals triumphantly yelled “For Animal Farm!” Napoleon was dead and they were free at last.

The animals stared at Napoleon's cold and still body in complete silence and awe. None of them could say anything  they were too overwhelmed with what they did. Then all of a sudden, Walter the old pig,  spoke up and said,

“Well are you guys just going to stand here and look at it or help get rid of it?”

The rest of the animals looked at him as if he said something stupid. Walter looked back at them as they did not move.  

“Don’t look at me! Clover, place your head under his back and pick him up; goats, go under him and lay his legs on top of you; other pigs, help me pick up his feet.”

The animals did what Walter said and picked him up gracefully. The animals saw the lake across the farm and decided to throw him in there. They carried his dead body until they reached the lake and threw him in there. As they saw Napoleon’s body all the way down in the lake, the animals wondered what they were going to do next now they do not have to take orders from anyone anymore.

As the animals gathered back to the farm, they now realized that they no longer have to take orders or be part of a monarchy. The animals decided to keep Animal Farm, but not as a place to make the animals slaves but for the animals to make plans so that there would not be another tyrant trying to take over. Their new leader was Clover, the older horse who made the rules fair for this group of animals and for the next generations.

Debate Rebuttal

I am respond to Karen Situ's opening statement for her debate on altering DNA.

I feel, based off of what Karen said, that altering DNA can be a good and bad thing. For many, it is good. There are many different diseases around the world, such as caner, than cannot effectively be cured throughout the world population. If gene therapy were to allow a person to become immune to these diseases, then the world's population would not have to endure epidemics such as breast cancer, ect. Obviously, many lives would be saved and new advances in scientific technology would allow us to explore many more possibilities of gene therapy. If gene therapy was used to cure diseases, I feel that it is being used for the greater good.

DNA altering could also possibly become a bad thing. If it was used to create a "superhuman," then I feel that problems would occur. For example, if "superhumans" were created, the original genetics of a human could become potentially lost. If this happened, there would be no turning back with the new human genetics. This could be considered a possible "epidemic" if a problem occurred with this. Also, an inequality could become created in society. "Better" and "lesser" humans would be in a constant battle against each other. This again could create huge possibilities of potential problems.

Obviously, many good and bad results could occur. I feel that in the society we live in now though, unchangeable problems would occur if DNA altering became a option to some. It must be used correctly in order to become positive to society, but the chances of that seem very slim to me.

Animal Farm Mini-Essay

Napoleon and Major both used extremely influential and inspiring language to convey messages to their listeners. In both characters, the influential language was based off of a greater good; the wish to become free from human oppressors. Major, a wise old pig on the farm, started the Revolution by simply enlightening the other animals. He realized that to become free, he would need to inspire the animals, hence his "Beasts of England" song. "Soon and late the day is coming, Tyrant man shall be o'erthrown, And the fruitful fields of England, Shall be trod by beasts alone." He used his power and knowledge for the greater good of the other animals to convey a positive message. His song and speech were triumphant; the animals revolted and created Animal Farm. Once created, Napoleon, on of the pigs on the farm, became the "natural" leader of all other animals. His ideas were based off of Major. He then created the ideas of Animalism. He was an extremely influential character to the others, but the power he gained corrupted him.

Napoleon knew that with his supreme power, he could become the "dictator" of the others, which he chose to do. Unlike Major, who used his power for the good of all others, Napoleon used his power for the good of himself. "All Animals are equal, but some are more equal than others." Napoleon took control and influenced the others to follow him. In a sense, he "brainwashed them." A great example of this is Boxer. Because of the influence put upon him by Napoleon, he only worked harder because it was for the "greater good." Like Boxer, many of the other animals did the same. Napoleon used the ideas of Animalism to create a sense of control on the others; he used events to influence the others. The animals believed him because he was deemed "smarter." Major knew he could influence the animals to revolt, but did not know it would turn into a Communism.

Between both characters, a need was used to influence others; the big difference was the use of their gained power. These events happen all over the world, currently, in Tunisia. Power was used wrongly, and eventually, a new form of government was created. The book Animal Farm was based off of the communist rule in Russia. This book is an extremely important and influential book because it inspires people to do what they think is right.

Opening Statement: Facebook

I personally feel that social networks such as Facebook are more harmful to society than good. This is because they reduce real communication to emails, instant messaging, and friend requesting. There is no true friendship involved in these types of communication.


The definition of friendship is "friendly feeling or disposition."(dictionary.com). In a friendship, you communicate feeling, such as happiness. Friendship cannot exist without feeling. On a social network, there is no way to communicate true feeling. Everything is covered up by the screen in front of you. There is no way of seeing or feeling true emotion. Instead, people use emoticons such as ":D, :(." That is not an emotion. I feel that this lack of emotion could potentially be a source of communication breakdown in the future. Society could possibly base friendship off of technology rather than a "true" friendship. 


Besides a breakdown of communication, I also feel that a breakdown of the English language could potentially occur. With current generations of social network users, "text language" is the popular choice of communication. Many are too lazy to put thought, feeling, or time into what they write. Instead, they choose to write abbreviations, and words that are not in the English language. Words such as "ttul, brb, lol, smh" ect. are used. Currently, I have even heard some people say "lol" along with other words in person; this signifies an extreme cutdown on lack of communication. 


If you ever talk to parents about social networks, they usually always tell you to "be careful." This is because of "online predators" that participate in these networks. They can be anyone, from an old man, to a young adult. The problem is they have no good intentions while on these internet sites. Their intention is to look for little girls/guys for their own reasons. Predators make online socializing dangerous. Many people carelessly become friends with random people. This leads to issues.


Social networks create problems in the society we live in. They stop true communication, and allow for  online predidatoin. These are problems for society that need to be fixed. It is okay to use a social network to some extent, but many are using them past the line of regular communication.  

Political Power

I feel that political power can corrupt anyone in control of it. The problem with this form of power is the obvious fact that corruption faces anyone. The corruption can come in the form of their own desires of another party's desires. Yes, the political representatives can have good intentions, or appear too, but there seems to always be a story behind theirs.

In America, a democracy was created in replace of a monarchy during the American Revolution. In the beginning, the system was used correctly. No control came over it. Currently, that is the exact opposite. Powers such as Wall Street, the Federal Reserve, the Bilderburg Group, ect. have extreme influence over how are government is run. Essentially, in some cases, it doesn't matter if the Presidents of our country have good intentions, because they are controlled by these powers. In most current cases though, such as the Bush Administration, the President willfully took control of this power for simply money.

In America's current situation, "the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer." America's economy is currently based off of capitalism. It may seem to be that the "American Dream" is easily acquired because of this, but in reality, it is extremely difficult. That is because corporate powers, along with others who have influence in our government, make it this way.

Basically, America's government is largely controlled by other powers. These in turn influence the "President" of our country. Like in "Animal Farm," I feel that our country will soon(hopefully) revolt. The people cannot stand this much further. A revolt will idealy occur in which the democratic government is rightfully controlled.

I feel that George Orwell's opinion on political power would be that it can be easily corrupted. Obviously from reading his views based on "Animal Farm," he feels that without the correct governmental ideas, rightful political control will not be existent, as seen in the book. The book is based off of Communism, which always goes wrong; Democracy is harder to corrupt.

In essence, I feel that political power is controlled by not only the "leader" of the country, but can also be controlled by other powers.