Final Suggestions

Apart from our take home portion/ project, I have a suggestion besides everyone's answer of Jeopardy. Perhaps we should take a look at several modes of media ranging anywhere from passages to YouTube videos. We would then have to use the "isms" we have learned/other theories we learned in the semester and apply them. This would get a discussion going and who knows where we would end up. It would be a good way of using everything we've learned while giving us a pleasurable intellectual experience that would most likely help us retain the knowledge years from now since it will be linked to something we can remember.

5 Things to Change the World by Omir

1) Set up some sort of law that would require all cars to be efficient, green, and low-mileage. Yes, it would suck not being able to drive my Jeep anymore, but if we don't want L.A., Pittsburg, NYC, etc to be uninhabitable in a few hundred years, it's only logical.

2) Determine a good health care system that helps citizens who have paid their taxes. If you have a condition, there's no reason you should be killing yourself just to pay for the medication that keeps you alive. Seems redundant right?

3) Fix the education system. We all know the US is falling behind rapidly. But globally,we need to make education much more accessible, and even mandatory up to a certain point. With the technology available today, there should be no excuse for any child to be left uneducated. Education kills ignorance and ignorance kills a lot of other negative things.

4)End Racism/ Stereotyping. We all do it. Usually we end up pleasantly surprised and befriend people we normally thought we couldn't. Don't forget everyone has things they are going through, but everyone also has inner beauty.

5) Declare Gang members terrorists/ make it illegal to be a gang member. This would wipe out about 25% of some cities' population, but crime would go down significantly and some neighborhoods would be restored. People live in fear around the world paying taxes to gangs. That is beyond heinous.

Ideology

Theory Toolbox suggests that ideology is a difficult to get at in addition to it being such a difficult concept to understand. Ideology: the study of ideas, just like Biology is the study of bios or life. Well, it's a lot more complicated than that. It can be described as the "material study of immaterial things" (83). We learn that the word's early meaning carried a negative, that it was someone trying to convince people of ideas as opposed to realities. I know there are a lot of different ideologies out there ranging from almost anything you can think of. There are obviously a number of ideologies that people agree with and disagree wit as well. There are certain ideologies that people tend to be scared of, a famous example would be Hitler's ideology that lead to the holocaust. Some people disagree with the current president's ideologies saying that we are getting to close to socialism or already there. I argue that everyone has ideologies that are shaped through their environment, life experiences, and personalities. We have already studies a few isms in class this semester, and we can use those to gain a deeper understanding of what ideologies consist of.

Snow White

Will be copied and pasted soon. (not like plagiarism).

Subjectivity

Subjectivity and Objectivity are clearly polar opposites. But my question is, when are they respectfully appropriate and under what conditions? In America, we clearly try ( at least many of us) to remain polite and politically correct. Often, we see people engage in heated and ferverous debate when politics are discussed. One may have a specific stance on an issue such as taxes or health care, whereas another person thinks the complete opposite, it is then we we see blatant subjective views. Can one ever be objective in such a personal issue as politics? Not likely. I find it is very hard to discuss an issue without expressing some sort of personal bias. This leads to my main question/point stemming from Theory Toolbox. How are we supposed to act in the academic world? As professors and students, how far should we express our subjective views? I believe that staying subjective in the classroom is extraordinarily difficult to do, and I rarely see i it happen in many of my discussion courses. But I find that to be a good thing. I want to know what other people's opinions are on different subject matters. It is good to hear when people agree with you, but it's also interesting to see the opposite or counter-argument. When it comes to politics, I have a hard time associating myself with either the GOP or the Democratic party. My beliefs are linked to both parties. Yet, I don't want to be known as an independent. I want to identify with a bigger group. Sure, people's opinions can sometimes enrage people to the point of anger and physical violence. However, I believe that the conversation and debate is stimulating. Nowhere in this world will you find a place where everyone agrees and isn't bored out of their minds. Many things shape our subjective mindsets: our parent and the way they raised us, our economic status, our race(s), our language, and our exposure to different things. I believe one needs a good balance of both objectivity and subjectivity in the classroom. For example, last night I went to Taco Bell with a friend. On our way back we were pulled over by the police because our car fit a description of a car they were looking for. I immediately wanted to yell at the cop because she was giving me the worst attitude and was clearly trying to make up for her insecurity of being a female officer. However, I stayed objective and called her ma'am. Subjectively, I haven't had the best experiences with the Fort Worth police as they seem to think every party deems 5 police cars. Subjectively, I was thinking, Aren't there worse neighborhood around here with drug addicts? I kept my cool and after 20 minutes we were off with cold tacos. My point is, like many things in life, one must find a reasonable balance.

What I Learned

Overall, I learned a lot in this course this semester. I was always interested in Twain both as an author and as a person. I knew he was revered and greatly respected. After reading a good amount of his works, I see that he was a compassionate man who stood up for his beliefs and he defended the less privileged. He wasn't one of these crazy transcendentalists who questioned everything, he was arguably the most influential author in American history. He was a family man as well who cared deeply for his family. His "angelfish" in his later years showed me he was a loving man till the end, even after all his personal tragedies. he stood up for slaves, women and stood against imperialism and racism. He was bold in his writing and was as influential as anyone could be.

The Mysterious Stranger

The Mysterious Stranger was quite the reading for me, and I understand why Dr. Williams chose it for the very end of the course. We developed our analytical skills and it was a good yet melancholy close to our readings. We all know what the piece is about, so the real question is, was the devil right?"It is true, that which I have revealed to you; there is no God, no universe, no human race, no earthly life, no heaven, no hell. It is all a dream - a grotesque and foolish dream. Nothing exists but you. And you are but a thought - a vagrant thought, a useless thought, a homeless thought, wandering forlorn among the empty eternities!"He vanished, and left me appalled; for I knew, and realized, that all he had said was true" ( Twain). The core of me wants to refute this and ignore it; it makes me want to say that through God or my religion, this does not apply to me. But as a scholar, I have to take this seriously. What if this world the devil speaks about with nothing but ourselves is true? Don't some people live just like this? I believe that there are some dark truths out there in the world, but through good company and good morals one can overcome the darkness.

A Dog's Tale

A Dog’s Tale is a rather touching yet melancholy story. As with previous short stories by Twain, we can expect to learn some moral lesson to go home with. In this story however, I get the feeling the satire here is more of a social commentary on the inhumanness of people along with their hypocrisy and disrespect towards life. The story follows a dog that has learned lessons of honor, respect, and purpose from her mother. When she is separated from her mother and joins a human family, she puts her lessons to work. When she drags the baby out of her crib, the mother of the family think she has gone crazy and beats her before she realizes that Aileen saved the baby from a fire that had ignited because of the fireplace. This goes to show how people are quick to inflict physical pain on an animal and assuming the worst- two sad traits of the human being. When Aileen gives birth to a puppy, it isn’t long before the husband of the family kills Aileen’s puppy because of a scientific experiment testing optics. The message at the end of the story is clear, like many of Twain’s stories. It gives abused animals a voice, shows how people are relentlessly cruel and hypocritical, and shows the loyalty of man’s best friend.

Huck Finn..again

After reading Tom Sawyer for the third time in my academic career, I realized a couple of things. Firstly, I have no idea why such a complex novel was assigned to me in middle school, and secondly I never realized Twain had so many commentaries on social issues within his books. While I had always known the book to be controversial, I never realized that he was strongly opposed to racism and slavery as a whole. I believe that Twain used these texts to try to enlighten people/ readers not only on his opinion but perhaps to sway their opinions. After all, Twain was a big supporter of imperialism before he realized what the truth was and then vehemently opposed it. Huck Finn seems like an innocent story when you read it young, but as an adult you realize there is a whole lot more going on than you originally thought. I think this is a great book to keep in the course and should be essential to TCU Core Curriculum.

A Scrap of Curious History

Of the three essays we read for today, the one that left me thinking the most was "A Scrap of Curious History" After we received that quote sheet from Dr. Williams in class, I was left to thinking about how society really does dictate what is acceptable during any given time period. For example, let's take the civil rights movement where only 45 years ago colored people were being sprayed with firehouses like rag-dolls for fighting for their God-given rights. At the time, in many parts of the country, racism was considered okay because that was how people were taught and raised, that whites were supreme to every other color. Similar to abolitionists, civil rights leaders weren't seen as heroes in every town. Some people despised MLK, Cesar Chavez, and Malcolm X. Now society has determined that being racist is politically incorrect, when in the Bible itself it says that all men are created equal. It is rather sad, even today, how many time the first thing we notice about someone is their race. But Dickinson is right, if you demur you are considered dangerous- and handled with a chain for your beliefs because you are going against the established social norms that have been laid before you. It amazes me how humans can treat others like animals, show no compassion, no love.

The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg

After reading "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg", I realized that this was yet another one of Twain's "short" stories that leaves the reader with a sense of self-examination and it left me wondering about society's and my ethics. Clearly this story suggests that money can make people do crazy and ridiculous things and essentially brings out the worst in people: deception, greed, and lying. The Richards seem like a honest older couple who could really use the money for themselves and are clearly tempted many times to take the money. Eventually,they do the same as the other 18 and submit a letter with the words to the mystery man. In the end, when they receive the checks they feel so guilty that they burn them and eventually their health deteriorates and they die. When I put myself in their shoes, I wonder what I would have done. I surely would have been tempted to take the money for a new car, many shoes, or a new house, but in the end I think I would take the honest road and do what is right. The mystery man played the people in town like a bunch of puppets. Money really can make people do crazy things and there is no doubt that money can change a person. I remember my freshman year I had more cash than I ever had in my life and before I knew it I had unopened CD's and boxes of new Nike sneakers in my closet. I had new sunglasses and new polo shirts. Money is a dangerous tool that can overtake a person. This is why we see so many professional athletes who end up bankrupt with nothing after their careers. One must have a strong mind to not be manipulated. Unfortunately, it would seem that most people would easily succumb to it.

Was it Heaven or Hell?

After reading "Was it Heaven or Was it Hell?" I have found myself thinking about lies and how they can be beneficiary or malicious in one way or another. I took the story as another "parable" by Twain, whom I believe thinks that lying is a natural human action but some positive things can arise from such lies. When the doctor lies about Margaret being well, I originally thought he was trying to make the situation easier and give the girl some hope. However, the doctor seems blunt to me and explains that every person lies. Based on the exercise we did in class, I guess it sort of supports that. No one in the class denied doing the exercise saying they haven't told a lie recently. There were some doozies, but it just proves that people lie every day. As my mother told me, one lie leads to another and I am certainly guilty of that. Is it right to tell a lie that can help someone? I remember growing up having a blue parakeet named Joe. I really loved that bird. However, one morning I went to uncover him as I did every day, and I saw him on the floor. My mother told me he was just taking a nap and tired of being on the stick all day. When I returned from school, (kindergarden) "Joe" was back on the stick looking younger and revitalized. I guess sometimes the truth hurts too much.

A Ghost Story/ Back in 2010

I found Mark Twain's "A Ghost Story" to be rather entertaining and different from other short stories we have read in class. I felt like it was a generally fun story, although I admit, in the beginning I thought someone was going to die or something awful was going to happen. As the story went on, I sort of got the sense that there was nothing to be afraid of and the narrator seemed to become calmer as well. I had never heard of the Cardiff Giant before so I used trusty Wikipedia to gain some background knowledge on the situation and found that Twain is satirizing the hoax that occurred at that time. I found the ghost's diction to be rather comical and added some humor to the story because you would sort of expect the ghost of an enormous being to be rather angry and hateful towards the world. When he finds out the body nearby is just a replica, the reader gets the sense that Twain is having a good time with this and that he indeed is making fun of the situation. I felt like this short story was a page turner and a good read. I know I found my self laughing a couple of times. This is different in terms of narration compared to other of his stories but he is similarly satirizing a human condition: believing everything you hear and see.

Lucy

So I met with Lucy last week for a short introduction and she was thrilled to see that I speak some spanish. It will definitely be useful as I teach her a few things. She is a real sweet person and she just wants help. She reminds me a lot of Dolores, my previous partner, who I will also start seeing again real soon. This whole service learning thing, in my opinion, is great because it allows us to interact with TCU faculty we would usually not. These are hardworking people that just need a little help. As a college student, we are being prepared to better the world when we graduate. We can still make a difference while we are in it. I am glad Lucy and I am on the path to success. She called me a few minutes ago saying she can't meet this week, but next week is a go. I look forward to it. 

Dolores, Goodbye. For now.

I met with Dolores on Friday and we decided with finals coming up, it was best for us to continue our work together next semester. She thanked me and said she had came a long way. I agreed. I look forward to taking it further next semester. She indeed has come a long way. We are going to have to figure out how our schedules will be next semester to see what time we will meet at. We then basically discussed everything from the current news to our winter break plans. I told her I was going back home to Los Angeles and she said she was looking forward to spending time with her kids.

My First Car

I remember when I got my license, I was very proud. I walked to my dad with a smile on my face. All the practice with him had paid off. There was just one problem: I didn’t have a car. I didn’t want to ask my dad for one right away, but I wanted start driving right away. That afternoon I approached him about the situation and he said we would begin looking in two weeks. That was a lie. A month had elapsed since my victory with the DMV. I was growing agitated because the rest of my friends were already driving themselves around and I wanted to do the same. When we did begin to look, it seemed I would never find a decent car at a reasonable price. We spent another two weeks looking at cars that weren’t even worth our time. One day as we were driving home we passed a private dealership where we saw a green Range Rover for a decent price. I instantly fell in love and I remember lusting after it like it was a beautiful woman. I pointed it out to my father and we pulled over. The dealership appeared to be closed but when we neared the vehicle behind the fence, a man popped out. He invited us into the dealership to see the car. It was in excellent shape. The engine appeared to be in pristine shape. The paint looked brand new and the interior was gorgeous. It was a 1999 model but it was well taken care of. When he dropped the price on my father, he seemed impressed by the deal. I was hoping that he would decide that this would be his choice for me. He told the dealer he would return to give it another look. Sure enough he told me he would buy the Range Rover. I was very happy and I saw myself riding in style. He then told me that he was going to buy it for himself and he was going to give me his 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I didn’t mind that either. I was just happy to have a car. The first time I drove by myself, I turned up the radio and went cruising by the beach after crusing through the freeway. Ever since the, the Jeep has been mine and I have made many memories while driving in it and just in it as well.

9/11

I remember exactly where I was on the morning of September 11^th , 2001. I woke up at 5:30 in the morning to get to the bus stop. I was in seventh grade. As my father drove me to the bus stop, we heard on the radio that a plane had hit one of the Twin Towers. My father didn’t know whether to believe it. The DJ was Rick Dees, who was known for being quite a joker. We then flipped the station and realized that the coverage was on almost every station. I knew something was wrong. As I boarded the bus, I plugged my Walkman into my ears to hear what exactly was going on. The bus’ radio was not working that week, so not many people knew what was going on. So there I was, twelve years old, wondering what was happening to my country. I just had a gut feeling that a commercial airliner would not accidentally slam into an enormous building. My father drove away with a angry and concerned look on his face. It was like something in a movie, on the 45 minute ride to school, I was telling everyone what was going on. I told them when the first tower fell down and everyone couldn’t believe it. The bus driver was getting updates on the radio and I remember the terrified look on her face. It appeared everyone knew that it was no accident. When we got to school, our teachers informed us that there had indeed been a terrorist attack on our nation. Some parents kept their kids at home. The entire day everyone was on edge. We didn’t have football practice and everyone was told to talk to our parents about the day’s events. It was a long bus ride back to the bus stop. The bus we took back had a functioning radio and we heard the estimated deaths and stories that were storming into the newsrooms. I live relatively close to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). I had never seen police and police cars in such a plentiful amount. They were patrolling what seemed like everywhere. I grew up accustomed to seeing planes in the sky. It was eerie not seeing a single plain in the sky. There was much less traffic on the roads and I am sure that people were glued to their televisions wondering if Los Angeles would be next. It made sense. New York had been hit, so why not us? I remember taking a shower and worrying what was going to happen to our nation. I’m glad we came a long way.

The Journey

For graduating seniors at my high school, you had two options. You either had to choose an organization or facility to devote three weeks of community service to, or you had to go on a grueling excursion in the mountains for the same amount of time. It was a mandatory exercise for us if we wanted to graduate. After thinking about it for a while, I decided I would challenge myself and go on the trip. We went to an informational meeting. They told us we would be going through rigorous terrain and that it was not for the weak. We would be covering a span of 100 miles in three weeks, which didn’t sound horrendous until we actually got there. I figured it would be a good learning experience.  We departed on a Sunday morning and the journey had begun. Over the course of the next three weeks, we had many struggles and victories. The Sierra Nevadas are full of treacherous terrain with much uphill so it was physically grueling and tiring. Every day we would appoint a pacer, a leader, and a compass man. The day I was leader was our hardest day. We had just reloaded on food for the second half of the trip and everyone was complaining about their packs being heavy. The day consisted of much uphill terrain, river crossings, breaks, and extreme fatigue. When we reached our destination for the night, everyone started throwing his or her packs on the floor. Some immediately began to rest, some cursed, some ate. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It was a flat valley that was once covered by an ocean millions of years ago. We found fossils if ancient organisms from long ago. The best part was going to sleep since we weren’t rolling downhill as we were accustomed to on the uneven land. The rest of the trip was just as bad and when we returned to school, we were all smelly, tired, unshaven, and dirty. I remember I was very glad to see my parents and I immediately went to go shower. It took me an hour in the shower to take all the dirt off of my body and to shave. I felt like the journey’s dirt was no longer on my body but the effects of it were everywhere. I felt more mature and I knew I was a stronger individual because of it. I still look back on my trip and the things I learned. 

Truth Vs. Fact

After reading the question, I gave it some long thought. I think Iyer means that you can write whatever you want on a piece of paper or word document. I think each person's reading or writing is different and unique to that one specific person. In other words each person has a different view and interpretation on any narrative. In " The Karheef", we can see that Iyer has an opinion on the facts of the story. It is his opinion, that make the story truthful for him. Each reader is influenced by the story in a different, unique way. It's very hard to encompass the "real" truth in what you write, but it should be our primary goal as writers to develop truthful, understandable, and honest essays. This reading made me realize the power of writing, and that it requires responsibility.

Next Level

After a week of not meeting, I saw Dolores again last Friday. She was still a litle sick, as was I. We went over a few vocabulary words as usual and then we hold a conversation. She is definiteley sounding a lot better than when we first started. This meeting let me know that she's taken the step where her confidence is no longer an issue. She is basically blazing through the material and our conversations range from government and religion to TCU Football. We discussed meeting even after the class is over which is fine with me since we have established a friendship.