-KYLIE T.
-TORI D.
-CAMILLE R.
-AMY T.
's prompt 3 before 12:00 on 3/22 so i made it on time. :]
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
The Fraudulence of Liberation
What if your homeland, a sanctuary that you once held dear to you, suddenly becomes consumed by an unnerving guilt, one that transforms it into a place of nightmare? In *Khaled Hosseini's debut novel, The Kite Runner, he conjures two places that is contrasted in order to reveal Amir's true emotions about a past that he tries desperately to escape from, but cannot succeed to do so. For once you face the truth, there is no going back.
Amir lives a grand life in the city of Kabul. His father is held in high regards, yielding the reward of a luxurious life for Amir. His wishes were granted at the snap of a finger, and he left as if he was superior to the rest of the world. To him, home was his own personal heaven. He never had to do chores and he got everything he ever wanted. However, a person simply cannot have all his wishes come true. There was one thing he sought for, but never could acchive. That was to gain his father's acceptance, for his father to be proud of the boy he was, and not the boy his father wanted him to be. His fairy tale life suddenly warps into an nightmare when he witnesses an unspeakable crime done to Hassan, his best friend and unknowingly, his brother. When Amir refuses to reveal the secret, his perfect life slowly unravels until he finds himself escaping from a civil war that thrusts him into a life of hardship. What was once so perfect comes crashing down at the blink of an eye; the soaring kite burns to the ground, for shrapnel bombs and grenades were the new stars that lit up the skies of Kabul.
Amir's father and himself relocate to California to liberate themselves from the civil war that was stirring back in their homeland, and in this new place that they were forced to call home, hardship defined every passing day. Their luxurious life ceased to exist, and Amir finally learns the meaning of hard work. Baba [his father] pains to have left his homeland, but ironically, Amir feels a sense of success from getting away from Kabul. Though he knows that he traded his grand life for a life of work, he somehow manages to convince himself that his guilt is finally going away. That running away from the scene of the crime could liberate him from being persecuted by his guilt. Also, California gave Amir the chance to finally earn his father's affection, so he felt no guilt of having to run away from Kabul. He was content with his new life.
The comparison between Kabul and California deals mainly with guilt and affection. By running away from Kabul, Amir thinks to himself that he's freed his guilt from his body, destroying it and never looking back. However, California was merely a guise, a camouflaged depiction of his guilt. When he is forced to return to Kabul, his mind comes full circle and he is forced to finally accept that he has made a mistake when he learns of Hassan's death, a death that could've been avoided if he put aside his pride and revealed who raped Hassan. But as he looks at his destroyed homeland, he feels as if he is destroyed as well, internally. Hosseini chooses to depict two entirely different places to represent Amir's selfishness and guilt. Kabul was his sanctuary that quickly turned into a raging hell, and held a secret that he'd rather forget than face. California held a life of work, but it didn't matter to Amir, as long as he got what he wanted: liberation from his guilt.
*Khaled Hosseini's final message is that no matter where Amir escaped to, there was no escaping from his past and fate will eventually force him to face what he'd been desperately running from, going back to the central theme of the novel: redemption. When he finally accepts his mistake, Amir finally learns the true meaning of sacrifice and penance as he puts his own life in danger to save Hassan's only son from a group of terrorists, and as he realizes that he's almost like a stranger in his own homeland. Though he tried to escape from his past, it caught up to him in the end, even if he did run so far away. Ultimately, no distance would save him from facing the truth.
***thanks kylie t. for the correction on his name
Amir lives a grand life in the city of Kabul. His father is held in high regards, yielding the reward of a luxurious life for Amir. His wishes were granted at the snap of a finger, and he left as if he was superior to the rest of the world. To him, home was his own personal heaven. He never had to do chores and he got everything he ever wanted. However, a person simply cannot have all his wishes come true. There was one thing he sought for, but never could acchive. That was to gain his father's acceptance, for his father to be proud of the boy he was, and not the boy his father wanted him to be. His fairy tale life suddenly warps into an nightmare when he witnesses an unspeakable crime done to Hassan, his best friend and unknowingly, his brother. When Amir refuses to reveal the secret, his perfect life slowly unravels until he finds himself escaping from a civil war that thrusts him into a life of hardship. What was once so perfect comes crashing down at the blink of an eye; the soaring kite burns to the ground, for shrapnel bombs and grenades were the new stars that lit up the skies of Kabul.
Amir's father and himself relocate to California to liberate themselves from the civil war that was stirring back in their homeland, and in this new place that they were forced to call home, hardship defined every passing day. Their luxurious life ceased to exist, and Amir finally learns the meaning of hard work. Baba [his father] pains to have left his homeland, but ironically, Amir feels a sense of success from getting away from Kabul. Though he knows that he traded his grand life for a life of work, he somehow manages to convince himself that his guilt is finally going away. That running away from the scene of the crime could liberate him from being persecuted by his guilt. Also, California gave Amir the chance to finally earn his father's affection, so he felt no guilt of having to run away from Kabul. He was content with his new life.
The comparison between Kabul and California deals mainly with guilt and affection. By running away from Kabul, Amir thinks to himself that he's freed his guilt from his body, destroying it and never looking back. However, California was merely a guise, a camouflaged depiction of his guilt. When he is forced to return to Kabul, his mind comes full circle and he is forced to finally accept that he has made a mistake when he learns of Hassan's death, a death that could've been avoided if he put aside his pride and revealed who raped Hassan. But as he looks at his destroyed homeland, he feels as if he is destroyed as well, internally. Hosseini chooses to depict two entirely different places to represent Amir's selfishness and guilt. Kabul was his sanctuary that quickly turned into a raging hell, and held a secret that he'd rather forget than face. California held a life of work, but it didn't matter to Amir, as long as he got what he wanted: liberation from his guilt.
*Khaled Hosseini's final message is that no matter where Amir escaped to, there was no escaping from his past and fate will eventually force him to face what he'd been desperately running from, going back to the central theme of the novel: redemption. When he finally accepts his mistake, Amir finally learns the true meaning of sacrifice and penance as he puts his own life in danger to save Hassan's only son from a group of terrorists, and as he realizes that he's almost like a stranger in his own homeland. Though he tried to escape from his past, it caught up to him in the end, even if he did run so far away. Ultimately, no distance would save him from facing the truth.
***thanks kylie t. for the correction on his name
Saturday, February 20, 2010
I commented on ___'s Prompt 2...
I commented on the following people's prompt 2 so Aunty Lisa doesn't have to struggle to find my comments. :]
-Camille R.
-Kellie K.
-Amy T.
-Samantha D.
-Camille R.
-Kellie K.
-Amy T.
-Samantha D.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
PROMPT 2 & Update
UPDATE: Wow I never even knew we had a prompt two. It wasn't announced in class or on edline, so yeah. I was so close to not finding out but thanks to someone (you know who you are), this wasn't late and I was able to do it on time. THANKS! :]
Kneeling at the sands of Thebes, Antigone of the house of Labdacus commits a declared crime, but in her heart she knows that her actions will be a worth it as she gazes at the corroded body of her brother, Polyneices. In one of Sophocles' most acclaimed plays, he establishes a character who is expected to react like the rest of the women in the city and give in to men's demands. Creon, king of Thebes and uncle of Antigone, downplays women and treats them like mere accessories. However, Antigone breaks through the barrier of the law and defies his order, setting forth a chain of reactions that will change the lives of all those involved.
In the play Antigone, a battle ensues between Eteocles (who defends Thebes) and Polyneices (who attempts to plunder Thebes). Both perish in the battle, and Creon declares Polyneices a traitor and threatens to condemn anyone who gives Polyneices a proper burial. Antigone hears of the news and is aghast, and knows that in her heart it is a duty to uphold her brother's final wishes. She asks Ismene, her sister, for assistance but to no avail. Because of this, Antigone goes alone and breaks Creon's decree. She sprinkles dust over Polyneices' body, signifying a cleansing or a sending to the afterlife. Ismene pleads for Antigone not to go back, stating that they "are just women" and cannot do anything against men, iluminating one of the major themes of the play, the role of women in a society that is predominantly ruled by men. Angered by Ismene's words, Antigone dares to return to the body only to be caught by one of the guards. She pleads her case to Creon, not to be released from her consequence, but to prove her cause. Antigone tells Creon that the will of the Gods will always conquer his law, no matter how powerful he might think he is.
Antigone's betrayal of the law contributes a lot to her character. There are many arguments that the tragic hero in this story is Creon, but there are also evidences to support that Antigone could also be a contender for that role. In Antigone, Creon's tragic flaw is his unwillingness to open his mind and see from other people's perspective. This brings about his imminent downfall. However, Antigone is the breaking point in the play. Her fate brings the ultimatum to all the rest of the character's lives, and this is mostly due to a lingering trait that she possesses, which is her pride. In this play, Antigone seems to be boastful about her actions, that she alone buried Polyneices. In the scene where Ismene pleads to be joined in her sister's punishment, Antigone counters Ismene's plea and states that her sister had no part in burying Polyneices alone, and she deserves no credit. It is to be understood that this seemingly innocent act of protecting her sister is a guise for her thirst of justice. Antigone alone wanted credit, and she did not defend her sister out of love, but out of desperation to prove that Creon's laws should be defunct. In the scene where she walks to her deathbed, she rages at the people of Thebes and curses their sympathies, for she has no regret in performing the God's wills. She also has an epiphany and compares herself to the goddess Niobe, a woman who was turned into statue for boasting about her beauty. This statement, which is often perceived as cry for sympathy, can be analyzed as the point where her hubris is finally revealed, and that she acknowledges her pride as her downfall. Antigone believed that she alone can defy Creon's laws and save her brother's damned soul.
Antigone's death conjures a tragedy that claims the lives of many others who are left on the earth. Because of her death, Haemon, her lover, seeks vengeance against his father, attempting to murder Creon by impaling him with a dagger. Creon swiftly dodges his son's unexpected attack, and after Haemon's realization of his failure, his desperation leads him to commit suicide and stab himself. Overcome by grief, Creon contemplates whether the unfolding events have all been the result of his foolish judgement of Antigone, and weeps for the death of his son. Eurydice learns of his son's death, and is devastated when she finds out that Creon was the cause of his death. She, too, feels that her husband deserves no mercy, and joins her son in the afterlife by piercing herself with her sheers.
Do the end justify the means? In Antigone, the title character of the play is faced with a certain warfare in which her values is pitted against the laws of society. Does a woman have a voice in a society that is predominantly ruled by men? She strives to attain the answer to this question and breaks the law of a tyrannous king, therefore also breaking the stereotype of women as helpless. Though conflicted with society's views, Antigone successfully breaks Creon's decrees and proves that the God's laws will always reign above. In doing so, she also reveals her tragic flaw of pride and ignites a chain of events that bring the dramatic play of Sophocles' Antigone to a devastating close.
Kneeling at the sands of Thebes, Antigone of the house of Labdacus commits a declared crime, but in her heart she knows that her actions will be a worth it as she gazes at the corroded body of her brother, Polyneices. In one of Sophocles' most acclaimed plays, he establishes a character who is expected to react like the rest of the women in the city and give in to men's demands. Creon, king of Thebes and uncle of Antigone, downplays women and treats them like mere accessories. However, Antigone breaks through the barrier of the law and defies his order, setting forth a chain of reactions that will change the lives of all those involved.
In the play Antigone, a battle ensues between Eteocles (who defends Thebes) and Polyneices (who attempts to plunder Thebes). Both perish in the battle, and Creon declares Polyneices a traitor and threatens to condemn anyone who gives Polyneices a proper burial. Antigone hears of the news and is aghast, and knows that in her heart it is a duty to uphold her brother's final wishes. She asks Ismene, her sister, for assistance but to no avail. Because of this, Antigone goes alone and breaks Creon's decree. She sprinkles dust over Polyneices' body, signifying a cleansing or a sending to the afterlife. Ismene pleads for Antigone not to go back, stating that they "are just women" and cannot do anything against men, iluminating one of the major themes of the play, the role of women in a society that is predominantly ruled by men. Angered by Ismene's words, Antigone dares to return to the body only to be caught by one of the guards. She pleads her case to Creon, not to be released from her consequence, but to prove her cause. Antigone tells Creon that the will of the Gods will always conquer his law, no matter how powerful he might think he is.
Antigone's betrayal of the law contributes a lot to her character. There are many arguments that the tragic hero in this story is Creon, but there are also evidences to support that Antigone could also be a contender for that role. In Antigone, Creon's tragic flaw is his unwillingness to open his mind and see from other people's perspective. This brings about his imminent downfall. However, Antigone is the breaking point in the play. Her fate brings the ultimatum to all the rest of the character's lives, and this is mostly due to a lingering trait that she possesses, which is her pride. In this play, Antigone seems to be boastful about her actions, that she alone buried Polyneices. In the scene where Ismene pleads to be joined in her sister's punishment, Antigone counters Ismene's plea and states that her sister had no part in burying Polyneices alone, and she deserves no credit. It is to be understood that this seemingly innocent act of protecting her sister is a guise for her thirst of justice. Antigone alone wanted credit, and she did not defend her sister out of love, but out of desperation to prove that Creon's laws should be defunct. In the scene where she walks to her deathbed, she rages at the people of Thebes and curses their sympathies, for she has no regret in performing the God's wills. She also has an epiphany and compares herself to the goddess Niobe, a woman who was turned into statue for boasting about her beauty. This statement, which is often perceived as cry for sympathy, can be analyzed as the point where her hubris is finally revealed, and that she acknowledges her pride as her downfall. Antigone believed that she alone can defy Creon's laws and save her brother's damned soul.
Antigone's death conjures a tragedy that claims the lives of many others who are left on the earth. Because of her death, Haemon, her lover, seeks vengeance against his father, attempting to murder Creon by impaling him with a dagger. Creon swiftly dodges his son's unexpected attack, and after Haemon's realization of his failure, his desperation leads him to commit suicide and stab himself. Overcome by grief, Creon contemplates whether the unfolding events have all been the result of his foolish judgement of Antigone, and weeps for the death of his son. Eurydice learns of his son's death, and is devastated when she finds out that Creon was the cause of his death. She, too, feels that her husband deserves no mercy, and joins her son in the afterlife by piercing herself with her sheers.
Do the end justify the means? In Antigone, the title character of the play is faced with a certain warfare in which her values is pitted against the laws of society. Does a woman have a voice in a society that is predominantly ruled by men? She strives to attain the answer to this question and breaks the law of a tyrannous king, therefore also breaking the stereotype of women as helpless. Though conflicted with society's views, Antigone successfully breaks Creon's decrees and proves that the God's laws will always reign above. In doing so, she also reveals her tragic flaw of pride and ignites a chain of events that bring the dramatic play of Sophocles' Antigone to a devastating close.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Prompt 1: Symbolism in Novels
Symbolism in writing yields powerful effects, albeit sometimes hidden in the text. It is left up to the viewer to decode the author's intentions. The novel I chose to do this prompt on is J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series, and the symbol I will explore in the essay is none other than the famous scar that Harry himself possesses.
Harry receives his scar when he was just a little child, despite knowing very little of it in the beginning of the series. He acknowledges the scar as a curse, that the scar is a reminder of her mother's death and Voldemort's triumph in taking his mother's life. However, the scar is more than just a reminder of death, but it stands for everything that Harry stands for. The scar is something like a badge of honor, proof that he has overcome a great struggle in his life. It also connects harry to both good and evil, as the scar, we learn later in the book, becomes the very tie between him and Voldemort. Through the scar, he is able to catch glimpses of Voldemort's intentions. It enables Harry to speak parseltongue, a power that is unique only to Voldemort. Thus, he begins to think that he his evil. As shown in the fifth book, The Order of the Phoenix, Harry has dreams of being a snake and attacking Ron's father. He questions himself and asks if he is the hero or the villain, but the true intention of the dream-like premonition was to reveal where Mr. Weasley's location was.
The scar could also be interpreted as a physical manifestation of all the hardships and damage that life deals. The scar is a constant reminder of how both his mother's love saved him and how Voldemort took her life away. It symbolizes Lily Potter's undying and limitless love for Harry.
Harry's scar is the main focus of the plots for the Harry Potter series. Through the scar, Harry is able to learn about both his past and his future, and in the end it serves as the key to defeating Voldemort. Because Lily had sacrificed her life to save Harry, he came to possess the scar while Voldemort lost his body. During the final act of the story comes the battle between good and evil, and Harry's scar is what ultimately defeats Voldemort. Because of Lily's selfless act of sacrifice, Harry experienced something that Voldemort had never possessed, which is love.
To Harry, the scar was at first nothing but a curse. It caused him pain and unwanted attention. But in reality, the scar is what makes Harry unique. It marks him as a "chosen" figure in the book. It defines who he is, just as Christ's scars made him an undying legend and Odysseus's scars help identify him as a tragic hero. But most importantly, the scar shows what Voldemort does not have. Love. Which is why he proved to be victorious in the end.
Harry receives his scar when he was just a little child, despite knowing very little of it in the beginning of the series. He acknowledges the scar as a curse, that the scar is a reminder of her mother's death and Voldemort's triumph in taking his mother's life. However, the scar is more than just a reminder of death, but it stands for everything that Harry stands for. The scar is something like a badge of honor, proof that he has overcome a great struggle in his life. It also connects harry to both good and evil, as the scar, we learn later in the book, becomes the very tie between him and Voldemort. Through the scar, he is able to catch glimpses of Voldemort's intentions. It enables Harry to speak parseltongue, a power that is unique only to Voldemort. Thus, he begins to think that he his evil. As shown in the fifth book, The Order of the Phoenix, Harry has dreams of being a snake and attacking Ron's father. He questions himself and asks if he is the hero or the villain, but the true intention of the dream-like premonition was to reveal where Mr. Weasley's location was.
The scar could also be interpreted as a physical manifestation of all the hardships and damage that life deals. The scar is a constant reminder of how both his mother's love saved him and how Voldemort took her life away. It symbolizes Lily Potter's undying and limitless love for Harry.
Harry's scar is the main focus of the plots for the Harry Potter series. Through the scar, Harry is able to learn about both his past and his future, and in the end it serves as the key to defeating Voldemort. Because Lily had sacrificed her life to save Harry, he came to possess the scar while Voldemort lost his body. During the final act of the story comes the battle between good and evil, and Harry's scar is what ultimately defeats Voldemort. Because of Lily's selfless act of sacrifice, Harry experienced something that Voldemort had never possessed, which is love.
To Harry, the scar was at first nothing but a curse. It caused him pain and unwanted attention. But in reality, the scar is what makes Harry unique. It marks him as a "chosen" figure in the book. It defines who he is, just as Christ's scars made him an undying legend and Odysseus's scars help identify him as a tragic hero. But most importantly, the scar shows what Voldemort does not have. Love. Which is why he proved to be victorious in the end.
Friday, January 8, 2010
PERIOD 4
The "AND STILL WE RISE" assignments are in my blog. Sorry for all the poems, I've been putting them up for a while. Look on the sidebar for the assignments. Thanks.!! :]
~Jhay
oh yeah comment the poems if you want ;]
~Jhay
oh yeah comment the poems if you want ;]
Existence Theory
Hail allah! He causes the sands to blister even in the dead of winter,
causes our children to feign health to hide the pulsating blister.
Pulsing with blood? Covered in puss, dying of bacterial chronology
as one dies after the other like a doomed chain reaction
when this city never dies and so will the madness.
It never sleeps. The lighs make the world spin and Shiva
isn't a goddess of mercy, but rather, of an ethereal force
that threatens to excavate every unborn baby and birth it
as a fucked up being incapable of feeling like any other.
It doesn't even know its own mother; memory depleted
by the need to discover blood and devastation with sickle-sharp nails
and fangs like the hungriest of the wolves.
Hail God! Christianity spreading like an infectious rage,
turning on innocence and becoming the epitome of corruption.
Judgemental vice and a foundation based on lies, they grow.
Taking on the form of righteousness in the name of the holy,
they rid the world of anomalies, spilling blood, telling lies
it's all part of the marvelous game we call manipulation.
Cherubs! With your burning swords and bloodless souls,
it's the death sentence that our dice rolls and if you want a war,
we'll start a crusade. Instead of being a savior, I'll let memories fade.
To those abandoned in the depth of darkness, struggling to get out,
looking for the light that should've been ignited by a higher being,
feel the sting of disappointment and wither away in disbelief.
To those who waited for a savior and instead had a heart filled with failure,
blame it on the one who should've descended from the heavens
He too, is a myth. He too, burns in a pit of fire and ashes.
To those who never saw the light, it's been within you all along.
Capture the darkness and learn to control it.
No one rules the world but us.
We have a fist that is fit for ruling.
Bury his name, never speak of it again.
causes our children to feign health to hide the pulsating blister.
Pulsing with blood? Covered in puss, dying of bacterial chronology
as one dies after the other like a doomed chain reaction
when this city never dies and so will the madness.
It never sleeps. The lighs make the world spin and Shiva
isn't a goddess of mercy, but rather, of an ethereal force
that threatens to excavate every unborn baby and birth it
as a fucked up being incapable of feeling like any other.
It doesn't even know its own mother; memory depleted
by the need to discover blood and devastation with sickle-sharp nails
and fangs like the hungriest of the wolves.
Hail God! Christianity spreading like an infectious rage,
turning on innocence and becoming the epitome of corruption.
Judgemental vice and a foundation based on lies, they grow.
Taking on the form of righteousness in the name of the holy,
they rid the world of anomalies, spilling blood, telling lies
it's all part of the marvelous game we call manipulation.
Cherubs! With your burning swords and bloodless souls,
it's the death sentence that our dice rolls and if you want a war,
we'll start a crusade. Instead of being a savior, I'll let memories fade.
To those abandoned in the depth of darkness, struggling to get out,
looking for the light that should've been ignited by a higher being,
feel the sting of disappointment and wither away in disbelief.
To those who waited for a savior and instead had a heart filled with failure,
blame it on the one who should've descended from the heavens
He too, is a myth. He too, burns in a pit of fire and ashes.
To those who never saw the light, it's been within you all along.
Capture the darkness and learn to control it.
No one rules the world but us.
We have a fist that is fit for ruling.
Bury his name, never speak of it again.
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