3.1 Lifeboat Ethics

Read the Lifeboat Ethics, and notice that the author talks about his opinion on how the world’s condition should be protected and action should be taken in order to prevent anything from happening to the land of our future generations and the available resources. He believes that we should allow the poor countries to eventually die of hunger and disease, while the rich sit around getting fat and never being happy with the extravagant lives they live. I strongly disagree with his ideas.

To start off, I'd like to make an analogy of my own. We have three seeds, all in a bag together. The planter takes the bag out to the fields one morning to plant seeds and begins dropping them along the plowed rows ready to be filled with seeds in the hope that an abundant crop will flourish. These these seeds are picked up at the same time, and tossed out onto the ground. Our first seed lands perfectly in the trench, nestled in a soft warm mound of dirt, where nutrience is present constantly. Our second seed was not so fortunate. He landed off to the side, where the freshly plowed dirt is still soft yet is might be difficult to get all the nutrience he needed in the future. Our third seed was not fortunate at all. He landed way off to the side on the dry cracked powdery dirt where he would be forced to die there and wait to be eaten by a bird, die of the heat and dehydration, or simply die of lack of nutrience. None of these seeds had a choice or any control over where they landed. The first seed is perfectly happy where it is, and probably will not give the other two seeds another thought. The second seed sees where he would like to be and maybe where he might end up one day but also sees the third seed. The seed who, by no fault of his own, was thrown into a place where he is going to die a miserable and slow death, no matter what is done. 

This is a analogy on a much less dramatic scale but at the same time very exact to how our lives work. We have no control over where we born, what kind of family we have, or what kind of life we are born into. We could be born into a middle class American family and never have to worry about going hungry for a day while we have people on the other side of the world that are dying of hunger and malnourishment and it is through no fault of their own. Yet we have the audacity to say that our resources are too scares and we have to preserve them for the rest of our own nation and the other fortunate people of the world, while the majority of the population is starving. 

Given that the world does have a limited supply of resources, I am not advocating that the rich countries give up all their resources to the point of impoverishment, but the rich countries of the world should start to reconsider what is more important… a new line of luxury cars or the possible schools that could be built in the East?

2.4 Chapters 8 & 9- The Great Gatsby

"The touch of a cluster of leaves revolved it slowly, tracing, like the leg of compass, a thin red circle in the water."

            The author is presenting the moment of revealing Gatsby’s death with serenity and a bit of peacefulness. The leaves are symbolic for the end of a life; they have fallen off the tree into the water where Gatsby lay dead. The comparison to a compass leg is used to also create a sense of peacefulness in the moment, which is otherwise grim and depressing. The peacefulness is present because the writer wants us, the reader, to feel a peace with Gatsby’s death. (82 words)

"It was after we started with Gatsby toward the house that the gardener saw Wilson’s body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete."

            The main part of this statement is the very end, “and the holocaust was complete.” A holocaust is, by definition, a mass killing. However, in this case only three people have died, one not even being is this scene. The use of the word holocaust is used because upon hearing that word, people automatically think of The Holocaust that happened where millions of people died. The emotions of sorrow and sadness associated with The Holocaust are transported to the readers mind when they are reading about this final scene. (89 words)

"I have an idea that Gatsby himself didn’t believe it would come, and perhaps he no longer cared. If that was true he must have felt that he had lost the old warm world, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream."

            Nick is expressing how he believes Gatsby felt the night he died, after knowing that he has lost the love of his life, the only thing he ever wanted in life, the reason that he made himself the person that he was when he died. According to Nick, Gatsby lost the old warm world meaning anything that was comforting to him in creating any pleasure and comfort in his life was gone completely. Gatsby also, in Nick’s opinion, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream referring to Daisy. Gatsby spent his entire life chasing after one girl. He created his life, he become important, he made himself the man he was all to get Daisy to be with him and once he realized that Daisy was gone for ever, he lost all hope in life. Gatsby had nothing to live for because he had built his entire life in the hopes that one day he could get Daisy back but after that had come and pass without falling into place, the world became cold and lonely and hard. (182 words)

"Gatsby’s house was still empty when I left — the grass on his lawn had grown as long as mine."

            Nick, while returning to Gatsby’s house after Gatsby’s death, noticed the grass in front of his house. At the beginning of the book Gatsby and Nick bump head about the length of the grass. The author uses this as a reference to bring back the memory of the days before we knew who Gatsby really was, when he was still a mysterious, secretive, seemingly perfect human with everything he could ever want. (72 words)

"I thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. … He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night."

            Nick is reflecting on Gatsby’s love with Daisy, he would always watch her green light at the end of the dock where she lived. The first moment the Gatsby saw her light, he was probably mesmerized and amazed that she seemed so close to his grasp, yet at the same time, the fact that the light was far off and not accessible from where he was represents how she would always stay, which is set apart. Its almost as if in the blackness of night her light shone to Gatsby just like in his world the only thing he could see was Daisy, everything else that he had or anything great that was in front of him was nothing but a blur of blackness, an abyss because the only thing he cared about, the only thin he could see was Daisy, as she shone for him. (146 words)

2.3 Best in Class

According to the writer, Margaret Talbot, the concept of declaring a valedictorian is outdated and more harmful than it is helpful.

Primarily, the valedictorian designation system has created problems between competitors some of which are ending in lawsuits and unnecessary stresses on the students. The parents and the students themselves of these court cases are so driven by the insensitive to get valedictorian that they let high school slip by them. Furthermore, it ends up causing a great amount of stress towards a concept and title that eventually will fade away and mean nothing.

            The court cases resulting from poorly designated valedictorians normally represent both parties as greedy and power hungry when in reality that might not be how they truly are. The differences between the GPAs of students differ by less than a full point. However this is still enough to push you up and over or drag you under.

            The author suggests that a better, more efficient way of giving the title “valedictorian” is done through allowing the top fifteen percent of students in their class be dubbed the valedictorian. Supposedly this will dilute some of the intense competition between students. But this is where Talbot’s opinion and my own differ.

            The system put in place is put there to be an insensitive to work hard and get to the top. One of the students took a class that was considered too easy for him in order to be the competitor with the highest number of credits. This was greatly frowned upon however it should be considered fair. Not only did he show intelligence in being one of the top performers at his school, he showed his common sense and determination to be number one. He sought the council of his councilor first and therefore should be rewarded with his efforts to be first. Students like this would not exist if there was no incentive through high school other than to get by.

            One of the valedictorians talked about how in college nobody really cared that she was top of her class, in fact, it was never brought up! Students are given the impression that obtaining this title gives them much more than just a ride to college. Granted yes, a free ride to college is great incentive to study and work hard, however that really is the extent of things you receive from this title. In college so many people can be valedictorian that it would be very conceded to try and brag about it.

A suggestion was made saying that have a top percentage be the valedictorian as opposed to just one person. However this poses the issue of a lack of motivation. Even thought a student will not get even close to valedictorian, the motivation to get their grades up to a certain point ot be above the middle line, or to be above average, or even to be top of the class is due to the system we have in place. To take that away or to alter is dramatically would create a ripple into the patterns of students resulting in a lack of motivation.

In conclusion the system of valedictorians is a fair right, the rules should be laid out more plainly to keep honest people honest and to keep looser from trying to obtain what is not theirs.

2.2 Chapters 6-7 The Great Gatsby

 

>>“But his heart was in a constant, turbulent riot. The most grotesque and fantastic conceits haunted him in his bed at night.”

            Talking about Gatsby, the author describes the heart as in constant turbulent riot, something that here means ever-present, unsettling feeling or uneasiness. Previously in the book the author eludes to Gatsby as some mystical inhuman person who has no emotion and has life all together, but simple wants a girl he was with once. Now the author paints a new picture of the old Gatsby, one of insecurities and of a conscious that brings things to his mind to torment him as he tries to sleep. The painted picture represents a normal human being, not some super human who thinks he is right and perfect and has an amazing life. (words 110)

>>“I felt an unpleasantness in the air, a pervading harshness that hadn’t been there before.”

            Nick is describing the atmosphere found at Gatsby’s party following Tom’s surprise visit. There was a change in the winds when Tom found out that his girl and Gatsby knew each other. He was eager to see if there was anything more to their relationship than what they had already lead on. His new knowledge created a tension in the air and almost a spirit of anticipation. The anticipation of if Tom is going to realize that Daisy and Gatsby have chemistry together. The author stresses the intensity of this party is obviously present to the participating parties of this love triangle. Each member is hiding something or is trying to find something out and almost all the cards are out on the table. We are supposed to get the idea and the feeling that this party is an extremely awkward place for Nick to be. (words 146)

>>“He looked around him wildly, as if the past were lurking here in the shadow of his house, just out of reach of his hand.”

            Gatsby is in the middle of an attempted reality check with Nick. While discussing Gatsby’s idea that he can recreate the past, he pauses and looks around himself wildly according to the author. We are supposed to get a picture of how deeply devoted Gatsby is to this idea that he can have Daisy exactly like he did in the past. The word wildly gives us a snapshot of not only his physical stance but also a screenshot of what is going on in his head. He wildly wants to bring back the past and make it real again and he looks around himself wildly to see if there is any piece of the past around him that he can use to prove his point to Nick. (words 127)

>>“Their eyes met, and they stared together at each other, alone in space. With an effort she glanced down at the table.”

            This is yet another one of Daisy and Gatsby’s moments that show the readers just how deeply the feel about each other. “Their eye meet” is often used in a romantic setting, describing lovers. They are ‘alone in space,’ which also is another saying often associated with romance. They are deeply staring into each other’s eyes, not wanting to look away. Daisy has to put forth an effort to look down to try not to make it too painfully obvious to her husband that she and Gatsby are romantically involved. (words 90)

 >>“She looked at Tom, alarmed now, but he insisted with magnanimous scorn.”              

     The truth has just come out and Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby are all emotionally stressed. The moment is full of heat and anger. Daisy is just now realizing how her words have affected her husband. Now she chooses to worry about his reactions. She becomes alarmed when he sends her and Gatsby off in his car alone. The author uses this moment to communicate the anger and hurt Tom is feeling by using the word “magnanimous.” Which is nothing but a big word for great or big. The hurt Tom feels because of his wife’s words encourage him to send her off alone with her supposed long term lover. (words 109)

2.1 Commencement Speech at Mount Holyoke College

Perfection is a stressful word. There are people in our world who believe they have to live up to the standard of perfection placed in front of them by other people in their life when it really does not matter. The writer expresses this in her commencement speech. The main idea behind her speech is that nobody is perfect. The writer was constantly caught up in trying to be perfect however she soon found out that that was not possible. She begins talking about her past and how she was used to constantly being perfect. Using an analogy, she compares the burden of trying to be perfect to a backpack full of bricks. The constant thoughts of trying to be perfect and trying to please everyone around soon became too much for her to handle. There was no way she could do it, and for the first time she was realizing this. She wants to put the burden down and take off her backpack.

            The writer asks her readers if they feel any similarly with how she felt in the pressure of trying to achieve perfection, and beings to write about different ways of doing that. But the question here is, is being a perfectionist that bad?

            No, it’s not, but there is a fine line.  As humans we are all in search for the same thing: happiness in life. This happiness looks different for each person but in some form or another we want to be happy with the aspects of our life. Searching for this happiness is not wrong though. It has to be about you.

            To align the writer’s thoughts and my own, your focus has to be yourself and what you truly need. Most choices you make should be a reflection of what you want or what will better yourself.  The writer tells the reader to think back to first grade, when you could hear your own thoughts. That truly is the best time of your life, and unfortunately as first graders we are very unaware of that. The best thing you can do for yourself is to forget finding perfection and embrace yourself. Granted this is much easier said that actually achieved. But the key to it is looking at perfection and happiness. Compare them to another and decide if torturing yourself for years and years to come to try to achieve something inevitable unobtainable is worth more than experiencing your life with enjoyment and embracing what you do have and what you can actually achieve.

            Being a perfectionist is stressful, and eventually it will only lead to unhappiness because of the mentality you accumulate with the search for perfection. This mentality of “it is never enough” will eventually destroy you and how you perceive yourself. It is also dangerous because never being able to accept one thing about you will lead to the disappointment of things about yourself that are already wonderful how they are. The best thing you can do is what the writer says; lay down the burden labeled perfection.

The Great Gatsby Chapters 4-5

“….And a whole clan named Blackbuck, who always gathered in a corner and flipped up their noses like goats at whosoever came near.”

            In listing the guests who attended Gatsby’s party, the Blackbuck family was listed and we are given a description of their character as a group. To say people “gather in a corner” gives the impression that they are exclusive, superior, better than their company around them. We are supposed to get the message that the Blackbuck family thinks they are too good to associate with the rest of the people at the party. The author then goes a step further to say that they “flipped up their noses like goats at whosoever came near.” For one to stick up their nose at someone, is an action for showing superiority, or that they are better than someone else. The overall impression we get about the Blackburn family is that they think they are too good for the rest of the people at Gatsby’s party. (143 words.)

“What day would suit you?” he corrected me quickly. “I don’t want to put you to any trouble, you see.”

            Gatsby has asked Nick to invite Daisy to tea, and they are discussing the date. The author puts emphasis on the word “you” when Gatsby is responding to Nick’s asking of what day he would like to meet. In this conversation we see a glimpse of how desperate Gatsby truly is. Of course to maintain his appearance and persona, he acts like it is not very important, but inside he really is desperately seeking to reconnect with Daisy. Saying he “corrected me quickly,” Nick is showing us the nervousness and almost an obsession with making sure Gatsby sees Daisy, without seeming desperate. (102 words)

“So I thought you ought to know something about me. I didn’t want you to think I was just some nobody. You see, I usually find myself among strangers because I drift here and there trying to forget the sad thing that happened to me.”

            Gatsby is giving insight as to why he has these extravagant parties, where he does not seem to be enjoying himself as one normally would. The author is describing him with his past. He has had a traumatic event happen, something that is unknown to the public this way Gatsby still maintains his mystical and secretive persona. We also see how he is self-conscious about what the community’s opinion on him is. He wants Nick to know that he is not a strange person, or a liar who makes up an exocentric stories. He deliberately takes time to say that he does not want Nick to think of him as some nobody. There we see his insecurities. (117 words)

“He lit Daisy’s cigarette from a trembling match, and sat down with her on a couch far across the room, where there was no light save what the gleaming floor bounced in from the hall.”

            Upon encountering Daisy for the first time in almost five years, Gatsby is extremely nervous, stressed and embarrassed. He lit Daisy’s cigarette as he was trembling with the match in his hand. He sat with her in a dark area of the room. The writer is showing us that Gatsby certainly has a weak spot for Daisy. Everything he does he is nervous, clumsy, awkward, etc. The elegance of the moment is reflected in the gleaming floor containing the light bouncing in from the halls. This moment is set up to continue moving thing in a romantic direction. (98 words)

“I looked once more at them and they looked back at me, remotely, possessed by intense life. They had forgotten me, but Daisy glanced up and held out her hand; Gatsby didn’t know me now at all.”

            The night is ending for Gatsby and Daisy. The connection between the two ex-lovers is very present. This was to the point of the two forgetting about Nick standing there. The author pushes the weight of this moment my using words like “remotely,” “glanced,” and “didn’t know me now.” The moment is important because it shows that both Gatsby and Daisy have a connection that is going to flourish throughout the rest of the story. (75 words)

Let Teenagers Try Adulthood

Let Teenagers Try Adulthood?

    The writer's opinion in this writing is simple that teenagers do not gain anything for living in the real world in high school. This is not logical, nor is it factual. High school is a place for teenagers to maneuver from being a child living for their parents, to a well off functioning adult who can support themselves. High school is not a safe or secure place for many teenagers however it is necessary to build the generations of society.

      The author expresses his beliefs that the society of today does not have cliques and is not built on a tower of popularity and achievement, however he is mistaken. High school has 'levels' based on what you are involved in and how well you exceed at them. This is the same in a work place. A successful worker who has it all together, is on the boss's good side, has the good looks, good family, etc, is going to get more attention than a worker who does mediocre work, is single, not outgoing, and not done anything notable. It is just how society works.

     To elaborate a little more on this subject, in high school the 9th and 10th graders are often put on a lower level because they are new in the school. Also because they have two groups of older upperclassmen above them, who have been there longer. This also is replicated in the real world. In union workplaces, those with seniority get first selection in shift time selection, vacation times, even job transfers. Learning young that adults have to respect those with seniority is a beneficial life application skill gained from high school.

      The students are not all that effect the author's opinion on high school, the teachers are faulted as well. It is stated that the teachers have had poor education and recruiting themselves, effects the intensity at which the curriculum affects the students. This is not fairly weighted between the two contestants. The intensity at which a students takes his or her studies is at their free will. Having a teacher who is well educated, meets each students' needs, and is capable of making any student comprehend the materials will make no difference than the teacher who does not care, if the student is going to put forth not effort regardless. The teachers are blamed when a student fails, for example the TAKS tests, when truly the students fail at their own fault. During the TAKS testing, if a student fails the teacher is getting blamed for poor teaching, consequently the student does fail the year however the teacher can be fired if too many students fail. Of course when a student is faced with growing up, maturing, hormones, and the need to be socially accepted they are going to put that first because it is more of a necessity in comparison to the need to be scholastically successful.

     The author states that because every 15 and 16 year old adolescent is capable to obtain "every real and virtual freedom of movement [associated] with adulthood"  he or she should be expected to be capable to obtain success in society. However he does not take everything into consideration. Simply because these freedoms and abilities are available does not mean each individual, 15 or 16 year old in America is mentally ready to handle them. It is statistically proven that men do not fully mature until they are in their mid 20s', how just is it to put someone who is 10 years from being fully mature into  a mature, adult like situation where they will destroy the paths for the rest of their adult lives? It is not. There is no way a teenager who has not fully matured, to take care of a job that supports themselves. Granted, yes there are many teenagers who DO support themselves at that age, but that is not the majority of the population or the upcoming generation. The freedom of movement could be thought of as the ability to drive. If anything this right should be moved up to the obtainment of a drivers license at 18 instead of 16, because of the obvious lack of maturity.

    In summery the author does not understand the benefits of high school that adolescents gain from the four year experience. High school is a necessary part of growing up and maturing and should stay implemented for the following generations.