Fundamentals of Writing 4
Interest level: 2/5 Well...what to say...it was really easy! Doing some capitalization and punctuation isn't so interesting and it sure is pretty boring!
Difficulty level: 2/5 I didn't have any difficulties doing this course. Just a few mistakes but overall it was simple.
What I learned: Nothing
Comments: I guess this course is only useful to those who do not write english at all. For me, it was not as useful. I felt like if I was wasting my time doing it.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Final Writing Test
This world is bitter and cold. Around all our common faiths, humans tend to be outrageous and full of hatred towards each other. We do not always fulfill our desires and we realize, as time goes by, that life can blow our expectations away. This deception can be very harsh to some of us and may lead us to sadness.
In the well known play a Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, the author –Tennessee Williams- brings an interesting viewpoint on family issue and in extension, humans’ issues. The play enlightens the crisis of a Southern Family, in the middle of the 1950’s and takes place in Mississippi. We see the chaotic relationship of a married couple, Maggie and Brick Pollitt, who is terribly shocked by the death of his close friend Skipper. Because of this tragedy, he falls into a serious alcohol dependency. All the Pollitts are patiently waiting for Big Daddy to die of his cancer so they can touch his heritage. Of course, Big Daddy does not know the existence of his cancer. Everybody lied to him and tries to look as best as possible to receive the share of his gigantic fortune.
Mendacity, a word Brick uses frequently to express his disgust and aversion with the world, is the theme of the play. Throughout the scenes, we clearly see how egotistical and individualist everyone is. They are all looking to satisfy their personal interests, not caring about others. They are all lying to Big Daddy just to achieve their own goals and ambitions. Only Brick seems aware of this miserable truth; that is the reason why he is living in a certain reclusion from the others, being indifferent and apathetic about what is going on around him. He prefers not to be part of this self-centered mentality.
The play also illustrates the uncertainty of our existence. Every character seems to be searching for an ideal to believe in. This quest of an idyllic existence provides them false illusions and has an effect on their personality. Maggie wishes to have a perfect marriage, it does not work and she is sad because of that. Brick wishes to be happy and in peace with himself but he can not. Instead, he drinks. Big Daddy desires to stay the mighty man he once and refuse to let the time age him. He will eventually face the reality and become extremely depressed and cheerless.
In conclusion, the play a Cat on a Hot Tin Roof expresses the sordid tensions between the lies and the individualistic mind state of human beings. It brilliantly shows how people simply think about themselves and how corrupted we all really are when it comes to our own good. We can also see how our ideals can have a huge impact on our personality and on our life. Sometimes, like in the play, ideals can negatively affect us and lead us to sorrow and unhappiness.
489 words
In the well known play a Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, the author –Tennessee Williams- brings an interesting viewpoint on family issue and in extension, humans’ issues. The play enlightens the crisis of a Southern Family, in the middle of the 1950’s and takes place in Mississippi. We see the chaotic relationship of a married couple, Maggie and Brick Pollitt, who is terribly shocked by the death of his close friend Skipper. Because of this tragedy, he falls into a serious alcohol dependency. All the Pollitts are patiently waiting for Big Daddy to die of his cancer so they can touch his heritage. Of course, Big Daddy does not know the existence of his cancer. Everybody lied to him and tries to look as best as possible to receive the share of his gigantic fortune.
Mendacity, a word Brick uses frequently to express his disgust and aversion with the world, is the theme of the play. Throughout the scenes, we clearly see how egotistical and individualist everyone is. They are all looking to satisfy their personal interests, not caring about others. They are all lying to Big Daddy just to achieve their own goals and ambitions. Only Brick seems aware of this miserable truth; that is the reason why he is living in a certain reclusion from the others, being indifferent and apathetic about what is going on around him. He prefers not to be part of this self-centered mentality.
The play also illustrates the uncertainty of our existence. Every character seems to be searching for an ideal to believe in. This quest of an idyllic existence provides them false illusions and has an effect on their personality. Maggie wishes to have a perfect marriage, it does not work and she is sad because of that. Brick wishes to be happy and in peace with himself but he can not. Instead, he drinks. Big Daddy desires to stay the mighty man he once and refuse to let the time age him. He will eventually face the reality and become extremely depressed and cheerless.
In conclusion, the play a Cat on a Hot Tin Roof expresses the sordid tensions between the lies and the individualistic mind state of human beings. It brilliantly shows how people simply think about themselves and how corrupted we all really are when it comes to our own good. We can also see how our ideals can have a huge impact on our personality and on our life. Sometimes, like in the play, ideals can negatively affect us and lead us to sorrow and unhappiness.
489 words
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Writing Journal
Amélie and I decided to write about a very captivating poem from A.E. Housman (1859-1936) named When I was one-and-twenty. It’s the story of a young man who talks about the meeting he once had with a very wise man. He tells the advices that the man has given him when he was a year younger. The wise man told him that material things can be given away; that his possessions are not necessarily what lead to happiness, but the most important thing in life is freedom. The young man did not pay any attention to the wise man but, at the end of the poem, confesses how much true and meaningful were these advices.
We do agree with the wise man’s mentality. Material possession is after all just stuff. It does not make you happy and neither does it defines who you really are as a human being. Happiness is what you feel deep inside you, your emotions, and your perception of things around you. To quote Brad Pitt in a famous movie - Fight Club - (great blockbuster by the way!): ‘‘The things you own end up owning you.’’ This quote is very significant because it brilliantly explains how the materialistic mind will only make you confined to live in an inexistent world, where stuff is more important than sensitivity. Don’t fall into a sinister world, completely lost in oblivion. Keep on sight your values, your ideals and above all, your freedom.
Our favourite part of the poem is: ‘‘But I was one-and-twenty, no use to talk to me.’’ Why? (We know you you’d ask us that question!) Well, nowadays, young people always trend to ignore some clever words from the oldest because they do not think it applies to their reality; they are young and the only good advices in life is what they will experience themselves later on. We are so unkind!
When the poem was written, this issue about generation conflict was already of actuality. It hasn’t changed much since these years. It makes us realize that respect is a virtue that is losing more and more of its significance.
In conclusion, life is a constant learning progress and we should, whatever our age, listen to the counsels people give to us. It is our responsibility to choose the advices that will guide us through life. The moral of this poem is to listen to what others have to say to you, especially older people. They have more life experience and can only make you learn from their previous mistakes. We must never forget that they once were, themselves, one-and-twenty.
We do agree with the wise man’s mentality. Material possession is after all just stuff. It does not make you happy and neither does it defines who you really are as a human being. Happiness is what you feel deep inside you, your emotions, and your perception of things around you. To quote Brad Pitt in a famous movie - Fight Club - (great blockbuster by the way!): ‘‘The things you own end up owning you.’’ This quote is very significant because it brilliantly explains how the materialistic mind will only make you confined to live in an inexistent world, where stuff is more important than sensitivity. Don’t fall into a sinister world, completely lost in oblivion. Keep on sight your values, your ideals and above all, your freedom.
Our favourite part of the poem is: ‘‘But I was one-and-twenty, no use to talk to me.’’ Why? (We know you you’d ask us that question!) Well, nowadays, young people always trend to ignore some clever words from the oldest because they do not think it applies to their reality; they are young and the only good advices in life is what they will experience themselves later on. We are so unkind!
When the poem was written, this issue about generation conflict was already of actuality. It hasn’t changed much since these years. It makes us realize that respect is a virtue that is losing more and more of its significance.
In conclusion, life is a constant learning progress and we should, whatever our age, listen to the counsels people give to us. It is our responsibility to choose the advices that will guide us through life. The moral of this poem is to listen to what others have to say to you, especially older people. They have more life experience and can only make you learn from their previous mistakes. We must never forget that they once were, themselves, one-and-twenty.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Mid-term Writing Test
Part A. Short-answer questions
1-What is Louis Mallard’s opinion of marriage?
Her view on marriage doesn't seems very good. She looks at marriage like a real burden. "There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature."
2-How does she feel about her future as a widow?
For Louise Mallard, being a widow means freedom. She doesn't really know why...but she somehow feels good about her situation. ''There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself.''
3-Why is there so much description of what is outside the window when Louise is alone in her room?
It seems to me that the long portrayal of what is outside the window symbolizes Louise's new life: a free and peaceful one. Like I explained in the previous answer, Louise now feels liberated and her life suddenly changes to a ''slower'' pace. She will have all the time she wants to contemplate and do what she wants in life.
4-Explain how Louise can feel joy and sadness at the same time?
Louise's emotions are confused, bewildered because she is not really sure if she was in love with her husband M. Mallard. ''And yet she had loved him--sometimes. Often she had not.'' Her sadness is easily comprehensible (we imagine she has been with him for a long time) but so is her joy, a true sensation of freedom!
Part B. Development question
Since the beginning of time, an attraction has always existed between the two sexes. That desirability led some of us to marriage! But sometimes, love is like dust, it fades away with times. In the short story “The Story of An Hour” from Kate Chopin, the author brings a subjective viewpoint of what marriage means. She does it in a very ironic way. In the story, we can clearly see the negative sides of marriage. It goes under the skin of a married wife and her perception of marriage. After the wedding, life might not be the same. There is a lost of freedom because, in one way or another, you have to accept the other person’s opinion, his judgment, his values and his needs. You are confined to live with someone and to compromise on a lot of things.
In the story, when Louise Mallard learns the "heartbreaking" news, her attitude changes entirely; she can now smell the refreshing air of liberty. “Free! Body and soul free!” We can imagine that the story takes place in the 20th century or so, because the way Louise seems delivered from her marriage’s chains, after her husband’s death, truly reflects the domination of the male gender over the female gender. So marriage might just be an illusion of happiness! It is certainly a cheerless morale that Chopin expresses throughout his short story.
The murky appearance of what marriage represents in Louise’s life is also shown when we learn that she perceives marriage as a crime. The death of her husband gives her back the missed life she has once lost. She is delighted about her new independence: “There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature.” So we understand that marriage is not the key to happiness, is not an inevitable source of joy but is more like a lost of freedom and perpetual obligations towards the other.
In conclusion, before getting married, think twice about what you truly wish in life. What do you want to do? Do you really want to be with this person? What does marriage means to you? Do you need to be married in order to be a happy individual? All of these important questions linger in our mind after reading the “The Story of An Hour”.
402 words.
1-What is Louis Mallard’s opinion of marriage?
Her view on marriage doesn't seems very good. She looks at marriage like a real burden. "There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature."
2-How does she feel about her future as a widow?
For Louise Mallard, being a widow means freedom. She doesn't really know why...but she somehow feels good about her situation. ''There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself.''
3-Why is there so much description of what is outside the window when Louise is alone in her room?
It seems to me that the long portrayal of what is outside the window symbolizes Louise's new life: a free and peaceful one. Like I explained in the previous answer, Louise now feels liberated and her life suddenly changes to a ''slower'' pace. She will have all the time she wants to contemplate and do what she wants in life.
4-Explain how Louise can feel joy and sadness at the same time?
Louise's emotions are confused, bewildered because she is not really sure if she was in love with her husband M. Mallard. ''And yet she had loved him--sometimes. Often she had not.'' Her sadness is easily comprehensible (we imagine she has been with him for a long time) but so is her joy, a true sensation of freedom!
Part B. Development question
Since the beginning of time, an attraction has always existed between the two sexes. That desirability led some of us to marriage! But sometimes, love is like dust, it fades away with times. In the short story “The Story of An Hour” from Kate Chopin, the author brings a subjective viewpoint of what marriage means. She does it in a very ironic way. In the story, we can clearly see the negative sides of marriage. It goes under the skin of a married wife and her perception of marriage. After the wedding, life might not be the same. There is a lost of freedom because, in one way or another, you have to accept the other person’s opinion, his judgment, his values and his needs. You are confined to live with someone and to compromise on a lot of things.
In the story, when Louise Mallard learns the "heartbreaking" news, her attitude changes entirely; she can now smell the refreshing air of liberty. “Free! Body and soul free!” We can imagine that the story takes place in the 20th century or so, because the way Louise seems delivered from her marriage’s chains, after her husband’s death, truly reflects the domination of the male gender over the female gender. So marriage might just be an illusion of happiness! It is certainly a cheerless morale that Chopin expresses throughout his short story.
The murky appearance of what marriage represents in Louise’s life is also shown when we learn that she perceives marriage as a crime. The death of her husband gives her back the missed life she has once lost. She is delighted about her new independence: “There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature.” So we understand that marriage is not the key to happiness, is not an inevitable source of joy but is more like a lost of freedom and perpetual obligations towards the other.
In conclusion, before getting married, think twice about what you truly wish in life. What do you want to do? Do you really want to be with this person? What does marriage means to you? Do you need to be married in order to be a happy individual? All of these important questions linger in our mind after reading the “The Story of An Hour”.
402 words.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
My Ideal Educational System
This text is suppose to talk about me. Let's ask ourselves first, who are we?
We are robots.
I've been tormented so many years about the meaning of life. What is life really? Do we know why we're there? We might be asking ourselves this question forever but the problem is, nobody is sure what to think about all this. I'm not sinister by saying this, I'm simply saying the sad truth. Maybe the best way to stop this gloomy spirit of mine is to just don't ask to myself these kinds of questions. The thing is, I can't stop myself. It helps me remember we are not just some sort of androids being control by some powerful brains. It helps me remember I am human, and if I truly am a human, I have a right of thoughts. People seem to forget that nowadays. My right of thoughts is the most important thing to me. I like to call it the pledge of subsistence. It helps me feel alive. It proves me I'm a human...a human, living...something. But what? That I don't know. Explaining the vanity of our life seems like a harsh task, well F*** yeah, it is! Who are we living for? What are we living? What is the purpose of humanity's existence? In our actual society, people do not think no more, people apply.
They are robots.
We are robots.
Specialisation and application are the best way to kill creativity. I am evolving in an educational system based on application and specialisation… What are we learning in school? Not very more than equations and grammatical rules. In school, human beings are treated like robots: “a2 + b2 = c 2, add an “s” when the noun is plural.” These are simples’ step by step instruction that don’t need any intelligence to apply. We are no more than a machine.
In history, humans who changed the world with new theories or with new ideas were generally not merged from an “applicational” educational system. Why? Cause they were inventors, creators. “Inventer, c’est penser à coté”, said Albert Einstein. You can’t get something new without thinking of something you’ve never been asked to think before. Humans are capable of abstract thinking. This is the main difference between a man and a computer. Maybe we should start using our special ability.
In my ideal educational system, equations should be a support to comprehension. Comprehension should always be the main objective of education. Robots don’t understand, they can’t create new equations, they can’t do something else that what they are programmed for. Modern society is a robot society. You go to school to have a degree. Your degree is your software. With your software, you are able to do one thing: to apply. As long as you don’t get a new software, you will run the same codes. You are a machine. You are unable to do other things then to read your lines of codes. But there’s one thing you need to know, you are badly used; you are able of such great things. You’re not just another brick in the wall.
Specialisation leads to a degradation of creativity. People who create are not stick to their profession. They are able to pick ideas from other domains, to create links between different theories. Relations between different domains must be more open. By “opening gates”, we will increase curiosity and then, eventually, increase creativity. To encourage relationship between specialists will turn the specialists into some sort of a generalist of everything. They will be no more closed to the bucket and they will be able to have a generalist point of sight. I think encouraging intellectual relationship between human beings is the simplest way to increase the level of creativity.
With the world focused on cheap things from Asia, creativity is a must need to our society if we still want to exist in 50 years. Stop applying, think about it, and start creating, Mr. Robot, if you are still able to…
We are robots.
I've been tormented so many years about the meaning of life. What is life really? Do we know why we're there? We might be asking ourselves this question forever but the problem is, nobody is sure what to think about all this. I'm not sinister by saying this, I'm simply saying the sad truth. Maybe the best way to stop this gloomy spirit of mine is to just don't ask to myself these kinds of questions. The thing is, I can't stop myself. It helps me remember we are not just some sort of androids being control by some powerful brains. It helps me remember I am human, and if I truly am a human, I have a right of thoughts. People seem to forget that nowadays. My right of thoughts is the most important thing to me. I like to call it the pledge of subsistence. It helps me feel alive. It proves me I'm a human...a human, living...something. But what? That I don't know. Explaining the vanity of our life seems like a harsh task, well F*** yeah, it is! Who are we living for? What are we living? What is the purpose of humanity's existence? In our actual society, people do not think no more, people apply.
They are robots.
We are robots.
Specialisation and application are the best way to kill creativity. I am evolving in an educational system based on application and specialisation… What are we learning in school? Not very more than equations and grammatical rules. In school, human beings are treated like robots: “a2 + b2 = c 2, add an “s” when the noun is plural.” These are simples’ step by step instruction that don’t need any intelligence to apply. We are no more than a machine.
In history, humans who changed the world with new theories or with new ideas were generally not merged from an “applicational” educational system. Why? Cause they were inventors, creators. “Inventer, c’est penser à coté”, said Albert Einstein. You can’t get something new without thinking of something you’ve never been asked to think before. Humans are capable of abstract thinking. This is the main difference between a man and a computer. Maybe we should start using our special ability.
In my ideal educational system, equations should be a support to comprehension. Comprehension should always be the main objective of education. Robots don’t understand, they can’t create new equations, they can’t do something else that what they are programmed for. Modern society is a robot society. You go to school to have a degree. Your degree is your software. With your software, you are able to do one thing: to apply. As long as you don’t get a new software, you will run the same codes. You are a machine. You are unable to do other things then to read your lines of codes. But there’s one thing you need to know, you are badly used; you are able of such great things. You’re not just another brick in the wall.
Specialisation leads to a degradation of creativity. People who create are not stick to their profession. They are able to pick ideas from other domains, to create links between different theories. Relations between different domains must be more open. By “opening gates”, we will increase curiosity and then, eventually, increase creativity. To encourage relationship between specialists will turn the specialists into some sort of a generalist of everything. They will be no more closed to the bucket and they will be able to have a generalist point of sight. I think encouraging intellectual relationship between human beings is the simplest way to increase the level of creativity.
With the world focused on cheap things from Asia, creativity is a must need to our society if we still want to exist in 50 years. Stop applying, think about it, and start creating, Mr. Robot, if you are still able to…
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)