I agree with Keedy in that a worthy cause will not by sunk by an inept poster. You see plenty of breast cancer awareness posters, symbols, and/or articles in a regular week, sometimes so much that you don't think twice about them. Yes, the pink ribbon helped to promote people's actual awareness, but it is the message behind it that induced people's involvement in trying to find a cure. Of course the design grabs the audience's attention, but once again, it is the message behind it that really makes the difference. I don't think an "inept poser" focusing on this cause would do much to disrupt people's will to engage in finding a cure.

I am by far a PC fan. I can honestly say I'm not computer savvy at all, and I have been working with PCs as far as I can remember. I have used a Mac before but I am unfamiliar with the design and where everything is located. I see advertisements for Mac laptops, so I assume they are becoming more and more used. They are more colorful and visually attractive, as well as the different style, which draws more attention. However, the unfamiliarity of the software and the design does not appeal to me.

"You're gonna miss this, you're gonna want this back, you're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast. These are some good times, take a good look around. You may not know it now, but you're gonna miss this." Whenever I think about how I can't wait to get through this semester, or out of the dorm, this song always somehow comes back to mind, reminding me not to rush through life because in the end, I'm going to wish I could have more of this time.

Short Writing Assignment #2

In the short story, "Ducks on a Pond," several characters have been greatly affected by a circumstance or crisis in the past, of which they have eventually learned to overcome. The author relays the central message of the story through the narrator, Baxter, as he connects with the other characters to reveal their life-changing events. However, the passage reflects on the progression and emotions in Baxter's own life while making the change of living with shame and remorse, to living in happiness. In a particular passage, the author conveys, through Baxter's past and his journey to recovery (both physical and mental), the importance of continuing to enjoy the happiness, rather than dwell on the regret of past incidences.

Short Writing Assignment #1

1) "Ducks On A Pond"
2) Sometimes things in life don't always go as planned, accidents happen, and it is easy to look at the negative effects they may bring. I think the central message in the text is that when dealing with these past incidences, it is important not to regret the past, but move on from it instead. Then, you learn to enjoy everything else in life.
3) "But I knew better. My gut told me that I needed to be like him, and that the only way to accomplish that was to work the legs, tighten the screws no matter how much it hurt so that the bones would straighten. And for all those years of agony, the pay-off was slight. Eventually I got ride of the braces and learned to run, but never with his speed, his agility, his athletic grace. Although polio didn't cripple me, it did its damage." (pg. 258)
4) I think the sentence, "Eventually I got rid of the braces and learned to run, but not with his speed, his agility, his athletic grace," shows the progress Baxter made in his own attempt to recover from the polio. He realizes that he will never be as good of an athlete as his father was, but continues to work on his athletic ability even through his disease, rather than dwelling on it. Also, I noticed a recurrent pattern as Mixson tends to stray away from the topic of baseball; maybe it hits a sensitive nerve and he does not like to think or talk about it since he has moved on. The detail given by Mark Sibley-Jones for the impacts made in these lives, provided the reader with awareness of the characters' emotions.
5) The passage does not have significant instances of rhyme, rhythm, or alliteration.
6) Baxter's perseverance in attempt to regain his strength lost in his battle to polio, described in the passage I chose, contributes to the implied message of the text in multiple ways. Rather than hiding behind his limited ability to use his legs (living with negative thoughts), he continues to tighten the braces so he can get them off soomer, and move on with his life. The recurrent patters in Mixson's attempts of changing conversation topics whenever baseball is brought up is evidence that he might not want to think or talk about it in the case that it does, indeed, remind him of troubles in the past. He brings up topics that focus on the current times.

Thesis: Through Baxter's past and his journey to recovery (both physical and mental), the author conveys the importance of continuing to enjoy the happiness of life, rather than dwell on the regret of past incidences.

"Darkness" in "Sonny's Blues"

1) "But now I feel like a man who's been trying to climb out of some deep, real deep and funky hole and just saw the sum up there, outside. I got to get outside" (pg. 20). This was said in Sonny's letter to the narrator. At the time, Sonny was in rehab because of his drug addiction and relates that to "darkness". The sun that he sees outside is what he also sees as his freedom from rehab. He is looking from the darkness (his situation) to the "light," which is one step forward.

2) "The silence, the darkness coming, and the darkness in the faces frightens the child obscurely... The darkness outside is what the old folks have been talking about. It's what they've come from. It's what they endure. The child knows that they won't talk any more because if he knows too much about what's happening to them, he'll know too much too soon, about what's going to happen to him" (pg. 23). This "darkness" is referring to the lifestyle that the adults are used to because it's the same lifestyle they grew up knowing. There is more to the "darkness" than just the nighttime, it is also referring to the safeness of the streets where they live. The child realizes the adults don't want him to know about their experiences because he might realize he will come to know the same experiences and lifestyle one day.

3) "He says he never in his life seen anything as dark as that road after the lights of that car had gone away... Oh, yes. Your Daddy never did really get right again" (pg. 24). The narrator's mother was telling him about his uncle's death and how much is affected his father. Ever since the death, his father saw every white man as the man who killed his brother. The "darkness" could represent the darkness of the road that the father remembers after the car sped off. The "darkness" could also represent the adness of how his father was forever changed after that night.

4) "I was sitting in the living room in the dark by myself, and I suddenly thought of Sonny. My trouble made his real" (pg. 29). This thought crossed the narrator's mind as he was thinking about his trouble of dealing with his daughter's death. He realized then that Sonny was in a very serious and harmful situation that could eventually lead to his death as well. This "darkness" represents the death and sad emotions in the narrator's thoughts.

Inhabiting and Transforming a Poem

1)
Character
by Taslima Nasrim

You're a girl
and you'd better not forget
that when you step over the threshold of your house
men will look askance at you.
When you keep on walking down the lane
men will follow you and whistle.
When you cross the lane and step onto the main road
men will revile you and call you a loose woman.

If you've got no character
you'll turn back,
and if not
you'll keep going
as you're going now.


2) Taslima Nasrim's poem seems to be more of a message directed toward women. I think that the author is trying to explain, through examples, to women that men do not hold very much respect for them, and it takes character to get through that lack of respect. I also think, in one sense, the author is attempting to make the point that in life it is not important what other people think or say about you, as long as your life is how you want it to be. The judgements passed by other people should not conflict with your own beliefs. The speaker is saying it takes character to rise above, and not care or worry about what is said, but rather continue living your own life your own way.


3) A woman can face problems in this world, such as disrespect and insults because of what type of woman she is, but it is how she deals with the issue that trule defines what kind of person she is. If she "turns around" to defend herself by confronting the speaker, she is just giving the speaker attention, which is what he wants, so now he thinks he has won. However, if she just keeps walking and ignores the comment, she is the bigger person.


4) I think the narrator is an older, wiser woman who has more than likely been in the situation of which she is speaking. I believe she is giving this advice to a younger woman or girl, probably her own daughter.


5) I think the theme is living your own life, your own way. Negativity is going to come in many forms, from many people in your life but it is your own decision how to deal with it. Learning to realize some of the negativity isn't even worth your time, and prevail, makes you stronger. I can see the narrator hopes to instill this useful information in her daughter for when she encounters it.

"Sonny's Blues"

I enjoyed this story, mainly for the fact that it reunites family through a sense of understanding. Apparently the brothers never had a history of a close brotherly relationship. I understant the narrator's role in Sonny's life after his parents passed away, which made for an even more difficult connection between the boys. Not to mention, they are very different in the ways they look at their lives and future, and the ways they deal with situation life throws at them. The older brother is obviously more responsible and knowledgeable, while Sonny is carefree and more likely to fall under pressure. It is Sonny's addiction that brings the brothers back together. The narrator initially did not know how to go about dealing with the news, whether he should contact his brother or not. However, it took his own trouble of dealing with the loss of his daughter to realize Sonny's trouble and how in need of family he is at this time of his life. The sense of understanding that reunites the brothers, is due to the willingness on each other's own part to accept the agreements as well as the disagreements or faults in his brother's life. It wasn't until the narrator actually took the time to witness Sonny's music, that he finally understood the importance of it to his brother, and how Sonny could make a difference with his music. "For, while the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, it always must be heard. There isn't any other rale to tell, it's the only light we've got in all this darkness."

"Videotape"

I found this story interesting in multiple ways. I don't think the chance of a young girl playing with a video camera and coincidentally catching a murder on tape is very likely in the real world. However, it does, in fact, bring to mind the realization that violence is all around us in the world today. I am sure that any incident remotely similar to this one would scar a child with images, noises, and thoughts that they should not even comprehend at such a young age. And sadly, in more parts of the world that we may think, children witness violence on a regular basis. Toward the end, the film was played many times over and over for no real purpose. I can only assume that the people are drawn to the story of the film, which is primarily violence and crime.

"Lost In The Funhouse"

I, for one, feel as though this story was incredibly hard to follow. There were so many thoughts being thrown together from every possible direction, as if the author was simply writing whatever came to mind. The message behind the story was also very hard for me to portray, and I found the text and ideas hard to focus on from the very beginning. To be honest, I probably could not even point out a legitimate story-line or plot within the story.