Independent reading assignment-women of the silk

In many Asian countries, women were treated very poorly. When a woman was unable to have any sons, they were looked down upon. The novel Women of the silk moved me because the main character's mother is scolded for having another baby girl. Villagers think that she is cursed by the spirits/gods because she is unable to have healthy baby boy. The main character's father doesn't even bother looking at the baby when he hears that their fourth child is another girl. This moved me because as a child, my grandmother used to tell me how differently she and her brothers were treated from the elders. This moved me because if I was in the mother's place, I would not be able to survive under the unjust laws/rules that forbade women from doing things men could do.

Atonement-Amir

I think Amir feels guilty about a lot of things. One thing that Amir wishes to be forgiven was when he lied about the night that Hassan was abused by the other boys. He wants to make up for his mistake by placing his birthday gift beneath Hassan's bed. I think by making it seem like Hassan stole his watch, Hassan could be free and would no longer need to be treated poorly. I think Amir also wants to be forgiven by his father because he always feels bad about how he cannot live up to Baba's standards. He feels that he is letting his father down when he decides to write instead of doing things that Baba likes, such as soccer.

Mistakes

The biggest mistake that I have made in my life was when I first fought with my parents. As a child, I moved around a lot of countries and for this reason I had much difficulty adjusting to the new environments each time. When I first moved to America three years ago, there were many conflicts that I had to overcome. I had to learn to make new friends and had to learn to adjust to the new school system. Because I was mentally stressed, I started to complain to my parents about how it was their fault that I was having to experience all of the pain. After the whole argument with my parents, I made my parents feel bad about everything. Seeing how worried they were about me, I learned that I had caused them pain by saying all the mean things.

Preview Activity

The novel, Women of the Silk, by Gail Tsukiyama takes place during the time when China was influenced and controlled by the Japanese people. The novel is about the conflicts the two Chinese sisters must overcome. The book is mainly about how the two characters will fight to achieve their freedom. I think the author will talk about how poorly the Chinese people were treated by the Japanese government officials and how lowly women were treated by the Japanese men.

Women of the Silk
By Gail Tsukiyama
The book is about the Chinese and Japanese conflict during the early 1900s.
Is the book somewhat based on her own background history?
Does the story follow the history of China when it was controlled by the Japan?

The book is about two Chinese sisters. They work in the silk factory during the time when Japan had much control of the Chinese people. The books is about how the two sisters dream of becoming free from all of the repression.

preview activity

The book was written and published in 1991. The novel is dedicated to the author’s mother. The chapters are numbered and organized into different time periods in the character’s life. Some other novels that the narrator wrote are The Samurai’s Garden and Dreaming Water. The novel is written in third person and the author uses a lot of quotations to show the conversations between the characters in the novel.

I think the novel will be interesting to read because the author is half Chinese and Japanese. She may have different views of the history.

Short story

It was a gloomy morning. The American soldiers in Afghanistan were ordered to meet early in the morning to discuss the current war situations when suddenly the siren turned on. There was an emergency at the U.S. embassy in Afghanistan and the soldiers were assigned into their units to go to the embassy building and stop all the commotion. While on their way to the embassy building, one of the trucks suddenly stopped. The car engine wasn't working so the soldiers had no choice but to walk their way to the site. Because the group of American soldiers were vulnerable of getting attacked from the Afghanistan terrorists, they had to keep their identity a secret. To avoid any possible shootings, the group of soldiers decided to take a short cut through the woods. However, a Afghanistan spy had already found out about the situation and were following the American soldiers. When the American soldiers decided to stop by the river to take a break, the Afghanistan terrorists took the opportunity to attack them. When the shooting started, the American soldiers defended themselves by shooting back. But the number of Afghanistan soldiers outnumbered the American unit team. In order to fight back, they needed more soldiers to help, so the captain sent one of is members to run to the embassy building and report the situation near the river. So the soldier ran to the embassy and two more units were brought in to help the soldiers fight back.

Decision Making

There are approximately thousands of decisions that I must make in any given day. Some are less important than others but they all affect me in various ways. The type of decisions I must make are usually influenced by the environment I am in and the people that I spend my time with. For instance, if I wanted to do something during class I must take into considerations of how my actions will affect the people around me. My friends and family affect how I make my decisions because they influence me to think and act in a certain way. For example, when I had to decide which college to go, I had to talk it over with my parents and make my final decisions. Also, there were times when I had to act a certain way because of my family. When my parents decided to come to America, I had decide to come with them.

Afghanistan

Recipe for Afghanistan: European influence, Third Anglo-Afghan war, Civil war, Soviet invasion and the Soviet War, establishment of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, rise and fall of Taliban, War in Afghanistan with U.S.

Spring Break

During this spring break, I visited Canada. It was a long time since I met my family and friends in Toronto, so my time there was very meaningful. I spent some time visiting colleges and met a couple of my friends, who toured me around their campus. I also met my brother who I hadn't seen so a couple of months. Together, we visited Montreal. I wanted to see McGill university and so we decided to tour around the city to see whether I would like it or not. Although I liked the school itself, I didn't really feel comfortable in Montreal; I didn't think that I could spend my next four years of life there with my limited French.

Tone

In the beginning of the first chapter, Ernesto Guevara states how he and his friend decided to leave home to travel around South America. In the journal, Ernesto Guevara states his reasons to leave; he explains that he wanted to escape from all the medical school stuff, the hospitals, the exams, etc. He realizes that he was much of a dreamer and could not be left at home doing what the rest of the people were doing. This excerpt helps people get a better understanding of him, because it tells you how everything started. It explains why he left Argentina to travel and how he met with his partner, Fidel Castro, and led the Cuban Revolution.
When Ernesto Guevara talks about the two commandments for traveling and the whole purpose of leaving, he mentions how there can be endless trips. This describes who Ernesto Guevara is because it separates him from the rest of people. His ideals and his dreams define who he is and why he left home to pursue his goals to, revolutionize places such as Cuba. This reflects his overall tone because from the excerpt you can tell that there was a plan all along inside him.
(This was a Do Now from a long time ago, but I didn't post it because I was having trouble connecting to the site at school.)

Separate Ways

When Che leaves Argentina, he is an idealistic dreamer, hoping to unite the South Americans as one “America”. Through his journey with his friend Alberto, he comes in close contact with widespread poverty, famine, and hunger. From his journey, he realizes that his goal is to help the people by making everyone equal. He sees that communism is the way to everything and starts to revolutionize Cuba. When Che first meets Castro and decides to work with him hand to hand, he doesn’t realize their differences in political ideals. However throughout their years together, they eventually separate. Guevara states during his speech that his goal is to help the sick and the poor so that they may prosper.
(I had trouble connecting my blog at school, so I'm posting the Do Now now)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdo6FwAPyng

"The Experts"

When Che and his friend are named “the experts” they travel around the different towns in Chile curing and helping out the sick and poor. This relates a lot to what Che does later on his career, because his whole goal is to spread the common wealth. Because he sees people suffer from poverty, he spends his later years trying to start a revolution to help the South American people. For this reason, he gets separated with Fidel Castro; Unlike Fidel Castro, Che believed in pure Marxist ideals.
(I was unable to connect to my blog so I'm posting my Do Now now)

Connection to the article

It is interesting how the article and Che’s story are alike because the basic background story is pretty much the same. The article and Che have similar circumstances that relate the two together. Although the two situations are both based on the political struggle between two nations it is different because of the problems concerning the political struggle. I feel like this can be considered similar because it deals with the whole political disagreement and the involvement of the American troops in South America.
(I had trouble connecting to my blog so I am posting the Do Now now)

Thesis

Ernesto Guevara dreamed of becoming the “problem solver”. But through his foolish mistakes, he failed to help South America and became a problem himself.
(I had trouble connecting to my blog, so I am posting the Do Now now)

Motorcycle Diaries-Peru

While in Peru, Che makes a visit to San Pablo, the leper island. Before Che leaves, he makes a long speech about his goals and ideals. He writes in his journal that the audience accepted the speech with great applause. Do you really think that they did or do you think that he was exaggerating?
In my perspective, I think Che might have been exaggerating because the audience could have had different political ideals. Not everyone in San Pablo believed in Communism and could have had disagreed with him. Furthermore, I think Che was making a fool of himself because he believed that he could be the hero/savior of the people of South America through his own personal efforts.
(I had trouble connecting to my blog, so I am posting my Do Now now)

My Ideals

I believe that there are some ideals that transcend our ability to define them. For example, I would define goodness and truth as the ultimate way to all things. I think that being untruthful or lying to make another feel better makes situation worse because it always leads to a bigger problem. Although the truth may hurt some at times, it is the best way because it deals with sincerity and honesty. Because our intentions are authentic, I feel that it is right to tell the truth even at times when it may hurt. Additionally, I feel that it is ok to make mistakes because it makes us better people. Although the mistakes may have consequences for the individual and others around him/her at a moment in time, I feel that one can never go wrong in trying hard. I believe that you ca always gain from your mistakes.

(I had trouble connecting to my blog, so I am posting the Do Now now)

Che Blog

After watching the video and the documentary of Che, I feel that no one is specifically responsible for his death. However, I do feel that the Bolivian government and Castro had some contribution or influence on his death because of what they had done to him. When Castro read the farewell letter to the people of Cuba, I think that (although Castro didn’t kill him physically) Fidel Castro left Che powerless, preventing him from coming back to Cuba. Because Castro felt that Che was getting on his political pathway, I think he felt it was best to keep Che away from Cuba as soon possible so he made an attempt to abandon him. I think that is why the audience can tell the awkwardness between the two when they are at a meeting after Che's speech on the Tri-continental. Because Castro had a different philosophy from Che, I think he may have contributed to Che's death.
(I had trouble connecting to my blog, so I am posting the Do Now now)

Ending (1)

“Phileas Fogg had won his wager, and had made his journey around the world in eighty days. What had he really gained by all this trouble? What had he brought back from this long and weary journey? Nothing, say you? Perhaps so, nothing but a charming woman, who, strange as it may appear, made him the happiest of men.”(Verne 245).

I did not really like the last chapter of the novel, because the story suddenly ended without any clarifications and solutions. When detective Fix found out that the actual robber was caught three days ago, Fogg is released from prison, and he suddenly finds out that he had actually made it back to England in time. I felt that the ending came too sudden, following Fogg and Aouda’s decision to get married the next day. Furthermore, I felt that the ending was unclear, because the International Date Line explanation was did not really make sense. Because the author forgot to take account of the first time the characters crossed the Pacific, it seemed unclear as to how long the journey had actually taken place. I am expecting that the author was trying to end the novel with a happy ending, and that is why he decided to end the story so suddenly by making Fogg win the bet.

Aouda

Before: “You are four minutes slow. No matter; it’s enough to mention the error. Now from this moment, twenty-nine minutes after eleven, A.M., this Wednesday, October 2nd, you are in my service.” (Verne 13)
After: “When he opened them again, I love you, he said, simply. Yes, by all that is holiest, I love you, and I am entirely yours.” (Verne 236).

In the beginning of the novel, Fogg is very cold and somewhat calculating. After meeting Aouda however, he begins to change in personality. Although I realized that Fogg had changed a lot after meeting Aouda, I was very surprised when Fogg confessed his love to her. I was also surprised by how quickly he had made the decision to marry her, agreeing to marry her the very next day. The old Phileas Fogg would have never let such things, because he required everything to be superhumanly prompt and regular.

International Date Line- 80 or 81 day? (2)

“The cause of the error is very simple. Phileas Fogg had, without suspecting it, gained one day on his journey, and this merely because he had traveled constantly eastward; he would, on the contrary, have lost a day, had he gone in the opposite direction- that is, westward.” (Verne 243).

The ending was very unclear to me. When Phileas Fogg and Passepartout left England and headed towards Hong Kong, they had initially crossed the Pacific without accounting for the International Date Line. For this reason, there is no need to “take a day away”. If the two characters had taken account of the International Date Line when they first crossed the Pacific, they would have lost a day and then gained back a day when they reached New York. Thus, this would have no effect on the date and would mean that Phileas Fogg had returned to England in 81 days. Another part I thought was confusing was how Passepartout was keeping a close eye on the date and the time. In the novel the narrator states that Passepartout kept the London time and did not bother to change his watch. “You have kept London time, which is two hours behind that of Suez. You ought to regulate your watch at noon in each country.” “I! Regulate my watch! Never!” “Well, then, it will not agree with the sun.”(Verne 44).

Symbolism of the Novel

Phileas Fogg, the main character, is a reserved and punctual Englishman. He lives a regularized life, following nothing but his daily schedule. Because of this reason, the only social life he has is at the Reform Club. After an argument with another reform club member, he is convinced that he can travel around the world within eighty days. With his valet, Passepartout, he decides to leave his home and embark a journey around the world. Although Fogg tries to follow a specific schedule, he is slowed down, visiting different places and meeting different people. Although he is limited in time and is unable to follow his regularized lifestyle, Fogg ends up gaining more from his busy life than his solitary and punctual life. Through the novel, I think the author is trying to imply that keeping everything in control can sometimes make things harder for people, because it takes away the fun. I think the author is trying to teach the audience that you should let time pass, not try to control it.

True Motives (7)

My predictions from Prompt 6 were partly incorrect. Detective Fix was not sent or paid by any member of the Reform Club. However I was right in predicting that he was trying to find the culprit so that he can get a percentage of the stolen money as an award. I was also right in predicting that Fix did not truly want to solve the case, because further in the novel the author reveals that Fix was merely pretending to go around the world to chase Phileas Fogg when his real purpose was to flee the law in England. At the end, Fix gets nothing that he wanted. When Fogg, Passepartout, Aouda, and Fix arrive in Liverpool, Fogg is arrested but set free when it is found that the actual robber was caught three days ago. So Fix ends up getting no money and is back in England, unable to free himself

Transition (3)

“The project was a bold one, full of difficulty, perhaps impracticable. Mr. Fogg was going to risk life, or at least liberty, and therefore the success of his tour. But he did not hesitate, and he found in Sir Francis Cromarty an enthusiastic ally.” (Verne 77).

In the beginning of the novel, the narrator describes Mr. Fogg as a very reserved and punctual man. He is impeccable in his manners and is described as living a regularized life. He “required to be almost superhumanly prompt and regular. On this very 2d of October he had dismissed James Forster, because that luckless youth had brought him shaving water at eighty0four degrees Fahrenheit instead of eighty-six; and he was awaiting his successor, who was due at the house between eleven and half-past” (Verne 12). Throughout the novel however, the readers see a change in Mr. Fogg’s character as he becomes more rational. For example, during the journey he comes across a young Parsi woman named Aouda, who is being dragged to a sanctuary to be sacrificed by Brhamins. When Passepartout tells him to save Aouda, he decides to devote his spare twelve hours to help free her from the sati ceremony. Due to the incident, he loses the two days that he had gained earlier but does regret it. Furthermore, he decides to take Aouda with him when he finds out that her family has moved and is no longer in Hong Kong. He feels it is uncaring just to leave her behind in Hong Kong by herself and decides to take her to England, where he can support her with his wealth.

Clues (6)

“Consul, said he, I have no longer any doubt. I have spotted my man. He passes himself off as an eccentric who is going around the world in eighty days. Send a telegram to London for a warrant of arrest to be dispatched instantly to Bombay, take passage on board the Mongolia.” (Verne 46).

From what I have read so far, detective Fix seems like a fool. Without a thorough investigation, he is suspecting that the main character, Mr. Fogg, is the bank robber. I feel that there is something about the detective, because he seems like he isn’t trying really hard to solve the case. From my perspective, it seems like he is rather trying to grab anyone that fits the description of the robber and accusing them of the crime so that he can get in recognition and possibly some money. I also think that detective Fix may have been paid to interfere in Mr. Fogg’s journey, because it is highly likely that another member from the Reform club is trying to make Fogg lose the bet.

Detective Fix and Che Guevara (10)

After reading the novel, Around the world in 80 days, I thought that detective Fix was very much alike Ernesto Guevara. When detective Fix suspects Mr. Fogg as the bank robber just by matching him to the description of the robber, I felt that Fix was acting very foolishly like Guevara was in his earlier years. Because of Fix’s mistake in suspecting Mr. Fogg as the criminal, he ends up delaying the whole voyage and makes many obstacles for Mr. Fogg, Passepartout, and Aouda. Similarly in Motorcycle Diaries, Ernesto Guevara puts his troops at risk and ends up killing himself when he tries to start another revolution in Bolivia, believing that he could become a hero and savior of the people of South America.

Jules Verne (12)

In the novel, Around the World in Eighty Days, author Jules Verne includes descriptions of various rail and shipping lines that were newly built during the technological innovations of nineteenth century. From reading the novel and after researching about the author’s history, I think the narrator might have accepted some companies’ requests to include their names and information onto the book. I would have omitted such information, because I think it distracted readers from the main plot. I feel that the author could have included more necessary information, such as a brief background history or description of the country (setting), because I think it would have helped readers follow through the novel.

Age of Exploration (8)

The technological innovations of the 19th century started the age of exploration. With the completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad in the United Sated and the opening of the Suez Canal, it may it possible for people to travel around the world. The theme of this novel is the newborn possibility and freedom that rose from the technological boom. For this reason, the author tries to imply that nothing is impossible if you try. For instance, despite all of detective Fix’s plans that end up interfering the journey, Mr. Fogg ends up making it back to Liverpool in time.

Around the World In Eighty Days

Around the World in Eighty Days was first published in 1873 by author Jules Verne.

Poem

The person who wrote these notes passed away the moment his feet touched Argentine soil again.
The person who wrote these notes was no longer the ordinary, but a hero for America.
The person who wrote these notes was born the moment his feet touched Cuban soil.
The person who wrote these notes gave birth to the revolution.
It started with a journey to Argentina and it led to the birth of new Cuba, but it ended in Argentine soil again.

Ideology

Ideology: 1. The body of doctrine, myth, belief, etc., that guides an individual, social movement, institution, class, or large group. 2. Such a body of doctrine, myth, etc., with reference to some political and social plan, as that of fascism, along with the devices for putting it into operation. 3. Philosophy 4. Theorizing of a visionary or impractical nature.
I think that Che's ideology was based on the second one because you can see Fidel Castro and Che's division throughout their political career. Although they both believed in communism, you can tell from watching the documentary that Che believed in the good of all people. He criticized Soviet Union for trying to benefit only themselves and not the rest of the third world countries. He wanted to create this new Utopia where everyone would be somewhat equal, unlike Fidel Castro who wanted all the benefit and the profit to himself. Because Che believed in communist philosophy, he played a major role in the revolution and Cuban politics, which ultimately led him to leave Castro in 1965 to visit other countries.

Documentary Topic

Documentaries are made to help inform audiences of the certain topic or person. If I had the opportunity to create my own documentary, I would chose to do mine on the current economic crisis because it would allow future individuals to learn from the past. The recession is currently hurting so many Americans as well as others all over the world. Unemployment has recently been increasing to approximately seven to eight percent, excluding all those individuals out of the workforce (the discouraged workers). By creating such documentaries, it would allow future people to learn from our mistakes and make efforts to prevent disastrous economic crisis, such as the recession and even worse a depression. Additionally, by creating a documentary about our current economy it would allow people from the future to learn how the government worked to fix the problems. It would teach people how the president tried to solve problems.

Documentary

If I had to create a documentary on Che, I think I would focus on his journey and experiences in Cuba because it would describe his political career. By covering his life story in Cuba, I think I would be able to judge whether he was truly bad or not. Because so many people are unfamiliar with his story, I think covering Che's story in the documentary will give an opportunity for people to learn about him and his true motives behind all of his work.

Road Trip

During the fall of 2001, my family and I took a road trip to Muskoka, which is commonly known as the Canadian Wilderness. Although we had moved to Canada a couple of years before, my family never really had the time to visit places so my dad planned a a trip to Muskoka. Although it was the end of September, the weather was still very humid and dry and the woods were filled with hungry mosquitoes. During the first few days we were at Muskoka, the weather was warm so we hiked along the Muskoka Park trails, but the days eventually became colder and wet. When the weather became cold, the tree leaves changed colors so my family and I climbed up into the Lion's lookout, where we could have a bird's eye view of the woods and the town nearby.

Gathering Blue

I judge books by looking at the color, cover images, and summaries. After reading the brief synopsis of the book, I decide whether I want to read the book or not . If the book seems like something that I can connect to I usually read it. A book that caught my attention was Gathering Blue. After reading The Giver and looking at the front cover, I felt that it would deal with the same issues of the world without life and color so I decided to read it.

Che: anti-hero Video

1. Your reaction to Beck. Do you agree or disagree with his claims? Why?
2. A description--in your own words--of Beck's style and voice. How does he get his point across to his audience?

I understand and agree with Beck that Che might have not been the best man, but I felt that beck went too far in expressing his personal opinions. Che had different ideals and believed in a different philosophy from most people thus I realize Beck's point of view on this whole issue, but I feel it is important to allow people the right to express their own beliefs. Beck's style and voice is strong and persuading, however I thought his words started to distract the whole discussion when he stated things based only on his views and without any evidence. I think Beck gets his point across to his audience by trying to connect Che with people like Castro and Hitler, so that people will think that Che is wrong in every aspect.

Welcome

Welcome to my English blog.