The Attack of 9/11

I remember that we didn't have school.  There was a situation with the daycare and I had to spend my time at my cousin's.  My uncle ran outside yelling.  He was saying "the towers" were coming down.  We didn't know why.  I had no idea what he was talking about.  I don't remember many specific memories about that day.  I remember the stress though.  I remember that we were about to travel out of the country and I remember the tense conversations, the pressing feelings and the fear. 

Until a few years ago, I had no real concept of what 9/11 meant.  I was sitting in my fifth grade classroom and we began to talk about different wars and assassinations that had happened on American soil.  She began to tell us, in detail, about the attacks on that clear September day.

The attack by Al-Qaeda on 9/11 was devastating for many people.  For the past decade, families all around the world have had to deal with the aftermath of that event.  Many people have suffered looking for rational reasons that they lost their loved ones.  As President Obama said, families have had to deal with the pain of the "empty chair at the dinner table." 

With the death of Osama Bin Laden, many of the families that suffered due to the attack on 9/11, finally feel that they have closure.  After the face of the most famous terrorist organization in the world has been brought to justice, many people wonder what steps they will take to have their lives continue on in a normal manner. 

I believe that this is a very messy situation for all involved.  I think that we would all hope that this would act as a "magic bullet" to give peace to the victim’s families and make sure that other terrorists don't want to follow in his footsteps.  However, there have been questions that have been brought up about attacks from other arms of Bin Laden's organization and many families still struggle with questions.

I believe that our government needs to be very careful as we move forward.  I think that there is the strong possibility of more attacks.  Bin Laden had been less involved in the "day to day" operations, in the last few years, and that means that others must have stepped up to take his place.  However, I think that we can avoid the worst that could come to our shores.  We need to keep soldiers overseas.  This will send the strong message that we are not going to back down and that no amount of fear and intimidation is going to keep our armed forced from doing their job.  Never the less, we need to be careful to respect their governments and their civilians so that they know we are there to deal with terrorists and not to take over countries.

Bin Laden's death is going to affect many people for a long time.  He will be a figure that continues to move people to action long after he is gone.  We need to remain positive as a nation.  We will only continue to be respected if we give the same respect and show that we will not back down from a threat.

Maus and Night Blog

I read Night and Maus I and even though I preferred one of the books I do think future classes should read both books. The books are good to read together because they show two different perspectives of families affected by the Holocaust. One story showed the rich life of a successful family before and during the Holocaust, and the other book focuses on a family of more humble means and how both were affected by the Holocaust.

In Maus a rich family strives to stay alive by bribing Germans and other people to take them in after being displaced from their home. On page 62 Vladik says, “‘I was very frightened. Then we heard something to give us a little hope.’ ‘We’ve bribed the Germans to release prisoners to the homes of local Jews who will claim you as relatives.’”  Clearly Vladik is not only wealthy himself but connected to people with money and influence. This is just one of many examples where Vlakik uses his talents and riches to live another day.

In Night the family is a working class family, although the father is a highly respected Jewish leader. They are not protected by their riches and as a result they suffer more early on. The mother and Elie’s sisters are separated from the father and Elie after they left the ghetto in Sighet and first arrived at Birkenau, the reception center for Auschwitz. . “I did not know in that place, at that moment, I was parting from my mother and Tzipora forever.” (p.27) In Maus Vladek is good at finding ways to keep his wife and himself safe through the troubling times of the Holocaust. In Night the family is split early on, but despite the fact Elie’s dad can not buy protection they struggle to survive together for the rest of the book, and nearly do so.

These two books go along with each other well to show perspectives about the suffering people went through during the Holocaust. I recommend future classes reading them both.

Fallen Angels

          War has a terrible impact on humans that leaves them with many questions, such as whether people should kill one another, how families feel about a death of a loved one and how life can go on as usual in the US during the Vietnam War.

          In the book Fallen Angels, the main character Richard Perry, is conflicted about whether people should kill one another.  Perry thinks for a long time about killing another human being in order to save himself. In the beginning of the book Perry just closes his eyes and shoots while in combat, but towards the end of the story he adapts to the war and becomes accustomed to killing effortlessly. “Then it was as if I were suddenly awake. I lifted the M-16 and started firing it in his face. I emptied the clip.” (180)  From beginning to end, however, Perry still has the feeling in his gut it is not right to kill a human. While writing a letter to his brother Perry states his feelings about war; “I just told him that the war was about us killing people and about people killing us, and I didn’t see much more to it. Maybe there were times when it was right. I had thought that this war was right, but (maybe) it was only right from a distance.” (269)

          Families always grieve over loved ones, who have passed no matter the situation, and Vietnam was a long way away and Americans didn’t really understand the point of being there. When a lieutenant named Gearhart accidentally set off a flare during a battle, it left a fellow soldier named Turner exposed. Turner was killed during the battle leaving the lieutenant feeling much guilt.  Gearhart had the task of writing the letter to Turner’s parents, but Perry rewrote the letter for him because he as well felt much pain for the fellow soldier. Perry thought it would be hard enough for the parents to hear about the death of their son and to get over that. The families don’t understand what is really going on in Vietnam. “‘The letter I wrote’, I said, ‘is going to sit better with his family. You might feel bad, like you need to get something off your chest, but don’t drop it on his folks.’” (172)

Slaughterhouse 5 Blog

PREWRITING.doc

Please list 10 ways you can improve your essay scores

1.Prepare more                                                                    

2.Take more time

3.Don't rush an idea

4.Talk to Mr. Cheng more

5.Come in early every now and then

6.Go to the writing center

7.Talk to my abnormally good looking para Erik

8.Review my papers with my case worker

9.Get familiar with the Diana Hacker handbook

10.Have peers look over my papers and give constructive thoughts

Please write any 15 thoughts about the book Slaughterhouse-5.  For each thought, please refer to a specific part of the book that generated this thought (for instance, “It was funny” receives no credit; “It was funny when he described the Tralfamadorians” receives full credit).

1.It is interesting how well the Americans are treated by the Germans compared to the Jews.

2.It was funny how Kurt Vonnecut relates everything to sex.

3.I like when Kurt Vonnecut has you thinking about Billy in the war for a second and the next he is on Tralfamadoria.

4.I like the mix of fiction and non fiction togeather.

5.I wonder if Billy was suffering from a mental disorder.

6.Many signs in the book point towards Billy dealing with Post Trumatic Stress Disorder

7.I wonder why Vonnegut included himself in the Dresden portion of the text

8.I believe, after some research, that Kilgore Trout IS Kurt Vonnegut

9.It makes me wonder about what kind of treatment that the mentally ill recieved in that era

10.How does Billy's life go on after his death, if we look at the book from a Tralfamadorian sense?

11.Who else was in the Tralfamadorian Zoo?

12.I would have liked to know more about what happened to Montana Wildhack.  Why does Billy never go in detail about the supposed child they had?

13.I wonder how the public reacted when the novel was published?  Did THEY see it as an anti-war book?

14.Do previous opinions on the book still hold true today?  Does our current situation globally change anything?

15.I wonder why Vonnegut decided to make Billy so meek and dumb?

State 5 possible themes for the book Slaughterhouse-5.

1. War can have a terrible effect on the mental state of soldiers.

2. A man is defined by his values and how he acts.

3.Everything is impermanent.

4.Sex is a frightening or alternately dull thing.

5.Death can only be understood by those that see it firsthand.

Write a conversation between yourself and Billy Pilgrim in which he tries to teach you a lesson based on his own experiences.  You must explain IN DEPTH at least 3 specific events and details from the book in order to receive full credit.  This conversation should go on as long as it takes to demonstrate YOUR UNDERSTANDING of Billy’s experiences.

Billy: Hey hey hey Matty!

Me: What's poppin' big dog?

Billy: So have you finally understood all the ideas about Tralfamadorian time?

Me:...

Billy: Seriously, its some crazy stuff.

Me: Billy, YOU'RE some crazy stuff.

Billy: No it makes a lot of sense.  Tralfamadorians see time in a very different way.  They see our entire lives set out before us.  It is like looking at a kalideoscope of events.  They are all pre-determined but still moving.  It is why they don't get sad about death.  It just means that the person who died is in a bad spot at THAT moment.  Not every single moment.

Me: Billy, you need to get some help. 

Billy: Also, did you watch those Montana Wildhack films that I sent you?

Me: Yeah Billy, that was weird.  Why were you sending me sixty year old dirty movies?

Billy: First, I thought you'd dig understand the cinematic history that lead up to Paris Hilton's film career but I also wanted to brag that she and I totally hooked up on an alien planet.

The Five Manly Quotes of Macbeth

    The famous philosopher Plato once stated, "The man who makes everything lead to happiness depends upon himself and not upon other men."  The definition of manliness has always been "being assertive and having control of your present and future."  In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, he addresses the idea of manliness in the main character Macbeth.
    One example of Shakespeare's view on manliness comes when Lady Macbeth is attempting to convince Macbeth to murder Duncan.  Lady Macbeth says, "What best was't then that made you break this enterprise to me?  When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man" (1.7, 53-58).  This is showing that Shakespeare believes that the male should have dominant and competitive qualities.  If he doesn't, he can't truly be called a man.
     Another example of Shakespeare's views on manliness occurs when Macbeth states, "Hang out our banners on the outward walls.  The cry is still 'They come!' our castle's strength.  Will Laugh a siege to scorn. Here let them lie.  Till famine and the ague eat them up.  Were they not forced with those that should be ours, We might have met them dareful, beard to beard, And beat them backward home. " (5.5, 1-8). In this quote, Macbeth is talking about the man in side of him that he is bringing to the war for who will be the true king of Scottland. The man who has started this war against Macbeth is the son of the once known king, Malcolm. The reason for why Malcolm does not controlle the royal thrown of Scottland is due to Macbeth murdering the old king that was later blamed on him for fleeing of Scottland to England.  This is important because Shakespeare believes that men should be constantly trying to better their position in life and to keep control of what, potentially, could be theirs.
    Another example of manliness in Macbeth happens as Macbeth says, "I have almost  forgot the tast of fears."  (5.5,19).  Macbeth has just heard the scream of terror from a woman. The scream heard from many men was due to the Lady Macbeth's suicide.  Shakespeare's opinion on manliness also seems to include that he should care about his wife and her safety.
    Macbeth displays manliness when he states, "I will not yeild to kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet and to be baited with th rabble's curse. though Birnam Wood be come to Dunsinane and thou opposed, being og no woman born, yet I will try the last" (5.8, 32-37).  This is spoken to Macduff during one of the final battles in the text.  Macbeth is proclaiming that, despite the prophecy coming true, he is not afriad to fight for the crown that he believes is his.  This displays Shakespeare's version of manliness because he is brave in the face of insurmountable odds.
    Another example of the idea of manliness comes when Macbeth states, "That will never be.  Who can impress the forest, bid the tree, unfix his earthbound root?" (4.1, 108-110).  In the quote, Macbeth is talking to the witches.  He believes that there is no way to have their prophecy come true, so he is free to become King without any consequences.  This is important because it shows that Shakespeare believes that arrogance plays a big role in manliness.