Over the past nine weeks I have been introduced to many radical thoughts through the books I have read not only on my own time, but for class. Aldous Huxley's Brave New World opened my eyes to the fact that our society today is quickly spiraling downward into a valueless abyss much like that portayed in BNW. By pointing this truth out to me, Huxley's book has helped me to notice every instance of traditional values being stripped from the media. Dan Brown's Angels and Demons not only introduced me to many artworks and destinations previously unknown, but also thrilled me with the way it weaved historical significance into every twist and turn in the story.
Although I found "inking my thinking" difficult, I have to admit that I came to a better understanding of the underlying meanings of the stories I read by coming up with information and questions to write in my journal. I will definitely use the skills I learned by "inking my thinking" in the future.
In the future I plan to expand on my historical knowledge by reading other works by Dan Brown as well as having a good mixture of other reads by various authors.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
1st Quarter Annotated Reading List
Brown, Dan. Angels and Demons. London: Corgi, 2009. Print.
Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbologist, receives a mysterious phone call along with a fax picturing a gruesome murder of an important scientist, Leonardo Vetra. Upon agreeing to use his knowledge to assist in solving the murder, Langdon is flown to a scientific haven, CERN, in Switzerland. As Langdon examines a brand burned into Vetra's chest, he soon sees the ambigram of the ancient secret society, the Illuminati. After a trip to Vetra's lab accompanied by Vetra's daughter, Vittoria and CERN's director, Maximilian Kohler, Langdon learns that he's in for much more than a simple murder mystery. Vetra's work on antimatter, an extremely explosive nuclear power, has put Vatican City in extreme danger. When Robert and Vittoria arrive in Vatican City to retrieve the antimatter, they're suddenly sucked into a whirlwind of kidnapped Cardinals, broken traditions, and ancient secret societies coming back with a vengeance. (3 books)
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006. Print
Huxley's Brave New World gives a thrilling sneak peek into the future of humanity in Huxley's own mind. With a society insistent on ubiquitous pleasure and a savage reservation based on a mixture of "old world" religions, Huxley's depiction of the inevitable future is grim and hopeless. However, there are rare individualistic souls in the society that intends to turn their unethical culture around. (2 books)
BNW articles on tab=1 book
Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbologist, receives a mysterious phone call along with a fax picturing a gruesome murder of an important scientist, Leonardo Vetra. Upon agreeing to use his knowledge to assist in solving the murder, Langdon is flown to a scientific haven, CERN, in Switzerland. As Langdon examines a brand burned into Vetra's chest, he soon sees the ambigram of the ancient secret society, the Illuminati. After a trip to Vetra's lab accompanied by Vetra's daughter, Vittoria and CERN's director, Maximilian Kohler, Langdon learns that he's in for much more than a simple murder mystery. Vetra's work on antimatter, an extremely explosive nuclear power, has put Vatican City in extreme danger. When Robert and Vittoria arrive in Vatican City to retrieve the antimatter, they're suddenly sucked into a whirlwind of kidnapped Cardinals, broken traditions, and ancient secret societies coming back with a vengeance. (3 books)
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006. Print
Huxley's Brave New World gives a thrilling sneak peek into the future of humanity in Huxley's own mind. With a society insistent on ubiquitous pleasure and a savage reservation based on a mixture of "old world" religions, Huxley's depiction of the inevitable future is grim and hopeless. However, there are rare individualistic souls in the society that intends to turn their unethical culture around. (2 books)
BNW articles on tab=1 book
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Ad Analysis
The ad I chose is a Smart Water ad starring New England Patriots quaterback Tom Brady. By having Tom Brady endorse Smart Water, the company intends to persuade viewers, most likely those who find Tom Brady attractive or who idolize him as a great football player, to drink Smart Water. This ad utilizes the rhetorical tools of ethos, pathos and logos to persuade people to buy Smart Water.
At first glance, the viewer may not notice the scenery of the football field or may not even see the giant helicopter hovering in the background. The first thing noticed by most women is a well-dressed Tom Brady running with a briefcase in his hand. This is a play on the emotions of most women who find hunky quarterbacks attractive. The company who makes Smart Water knew that by putting someone as attractive to women as Tom Brady, the ad would attract the attention of the women and keep them interested in what Tom Brady wants them to buy. But the sexual appeal of the athlete is just the beginning of the effect of pathos in this ad.
Men who believe Tom Brady to be an excellent football player may feel envy and jealousy towards the athlete. The makers of Smart Water intended for the viewer to think, If Tom Brady is an amazing athlete and drinks Smart Water, that must mean that if I drink Smart Water I'll be a great athelte too! By choosing an active, famous athlete to endorse their water rather than some television star or supermodel, the company pushed for the viewers to think that Smart Water will keep you as healthy as an NFL quaterback rather than the water making you a good actor. Tom Brady's clothing is a hint toward the fact that he believes that the Smart Water helps him in everyday life as well as on the field. This appeals to the everyday person because not every person who views this ad is going to be an athlete, they're going to be everyday working-class people.
At first glance, the viewer may not notice the scenery of the football field or may not even see the giant helicopter hovering in the background. The first thing noticed by most women is a well-dressed Tom Brady running with a briefcase in his hand. This is a play on the emotions of most women who find hunky quarterbacks attractive. The company who makes Smart Water knew that by putting someone as attractive to women as Tom Brady, the ad would attract the attention of the women and keep them interested in what Tom Brady wants them to buy. But the sexual appeal of the athlete is just the beginning of the effect of pathos in this ad.
Men who believe Tom Brady to be an excellent football player may feel envy and jealousy towards the athlete. The makers of Smart Water intended for the viewer to think, If Tom Brady is an amazing athlete and drinks Smart Water, that must mean that if I drink Smart Water I'll be a great athelte too! By choosing an active, famous athlete to endorse their water rather than some television star or supermodel, the company pushed for the viewers to think that Smart Water will keep you as healthy as an NFL quaterback rather than the water making you a good actor. Tom Brady's clothing is a hint toward the fact that he believes that the Smart Water helps him in everyday life as well as on the field. This appeals to the everyday person because not every person who views this ad is going to be an athlete, they're going to be everyday working-class people.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Pride and Prejudice...And Vampires?
From the very beginning, the similarities between Pride and Prejudice and Twilight are impossible to miss. Although they were written about two hundred years apart, the resemblances between the two are nearly impervious to overlook. In fact, Stephenie Meyer, the writer of the Twilight Saga,
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Selfishness Comes With a Cost
As I read Guy de Maupassant's The Necklace, I couldn't help but notice how greedy Madame Loisel was being about her financial situation. Although she was not born into an overly wealthy family, she was not born into a dirt-poor family either. And despite her husband's efforts to make her happy, nothing was ever good enough for her. She was convinced that she deserved the finest of everything and that she was "born for every delicacy and luxury." Although her selfishness may have bought her a night of admiration, her rush to escape before being seen in the modest clothes of her everyday life proved to put a damper on her capability of acquiring the luxurious items she desired. I believe the lesson this story strives to teach is to be happy with the life you have, because it could always be worse.
Madame Loisel spent her days at home wallowing in self-pity. She was insulted and embarrassed by her poor house, her ugly curtains, worn chairs, and unsatisfactory furniture. Tortured by the displeasing features of her own home, Madame Loisel fantasizes about a fancier house. Having a richer friend, Madame Forestier, from her old school days, Madame Loisel knows how a proper home should look, but is too embarrassed to ever visit her dear friend.
When her husband brings home an invitation to a ball, Madame Loisel is not as pleased as her husband hoped she would be. "I haven't a dress and so I can't go to this party. Give your invitation to some friend of yours whose wife will be turned out better than I shall," Madame Loisel tells her husband. And when she finally gets an appropriate dress, her next dilemma is being "utterly miserable at not having any jewels, not a single stone, to wear." Given the idea to borrow some from Madame Forestier, Madame Loisel rushes to her friend and leaves with a beautiful diamond necklace.
In her rush to leave the ball before any of the rich men and women saw her in her everyday clothes, Madame Loisel loses the diamond necklace. After searching for days, Monsieur and Madame Loisel are forced to go into debt to buy Madame Forestier an exact look-alike necklace worth four thousand francs. Madame Loisel was forced to live the life of a poor woman rather than living the life of an average woman as she had before. She was made to give up many of the luxuries of her life before to be sure that she and her husband had enough money to pay back their debts.
After ten years, the debt is finally paid off and Madame Loisel decides to tell Madame Forestier of the hardships she had to endure just to make sure that she got the necklace back. I'm sure Madame Loisel was quite surprised to learn that the original borrowed necklace was only imitation and worth five hundred francs at the most.
The selfishness Madame Loisel showed throughout the story reminded me a lot of how many people today are. In the world today, most people make a living the best way they can, but are never fully happy with the results of their hard work. No matter how much money they make, no matter how nice the clothes or furniture they buy, there is always someone with nicer things than them. And so there is a never-ending cycle of people constantly trying to "keep up with the Joneses."
After reading the ending of the story, I decided that it's better to be happy with what you are blessed to have than to make yourself miserable by wanting a life you can never have. I'm sure Madame Loisel would much prefer to have her life of blandness and modesty over the life she had inevitably inherited because of her greedy and selfish ways.
Madame Loisel spent her days at home wallowing in self-pity. She was insulted and embarrassed by her poor house, her ugly curtains, worn chairs, and unsatisfactory furniture. Tortured by the displeasing features of her own home, Madame Loisel fantasizes about a fancier house. Having a richer friend, Madame Forestier, from her old school days, Madame Loisel knows how a proper home should look, but is too embarrassed to ever visit her dear friend.
When her husband brings home an invitation to a ball, Madame Loisel is not as pleased as her husband hoped she would be. "I haven't a dress and so I can't go to this party. Give your invitation to some friend of yours whose wife will be turned out better than I shall," Madame Loisel tells her husband. And when she finally gets an appropriate dress, her next dilemma is being "utterly miserable at not having any jewels, not a single stone, to wear." Given the idea to borrow some from Madame Forestier, Madame Loisel rushes to her friend and leaves with a beautiful diamond necklace.
In her rush to leave the ball before any of the rich men and women saw her in her everyday clothes, Madame Loisel loses the diamond necklace. After searching for days, Monsieur and Madame Loisel are forced to go into debt to buy Madame Forestier an exact look-alike necklace worth four thousand francs. Madame Loisel was forced to live the life of a poor woman rather than living the life of an average woman as she had before. She was made to give up many of the luxuries of her life before to be sure that she and her husband had enough money to pay back their debts.
After ten years, the debt is finally paid off and Madame Loisel decides to tell Madame Forestier of the hardships she had to endure just to make sure that she got the necklace back. I'm sure Madame Loisel was quite surprised to learn that the original borrowed necklace was only imitation and worth five hundred francs at the most.
The selfishness Madame Loisel showed throughout the story reminded me a lot of how many people today are. In the world today, most people make a living the best way they can, but are never fully happy with the results of their hard work. No matter how much money they make, no matter how nice the clothes or furniture they buy, there is always someone with nicer things than them. And so there is a never-ending cycle of people constantly trying to "keep up with the Joneses."
After reading the ending of the story, I decided that it's better to be happy with what you are blessed to have than to make yourself miserable by wanting a life you can never have. I'm sure Madame Loisel would much prefer to have her life of blandness and modesty over the life she had inevitably inherited because of her greedy and selfish ways.
Friday, June 18, 2010
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