In this article Joan Didion explains how self-respect is greatly influenced by discipline and being able to accept yourself even when others do not. She does a good job to support her points, however I think she is blurring the line between self-respect and self-confidence. In my opinion, self-confidence is much more vulnerable to influence from others than self-respect is. Respecting oneself is how your treat yourself depending on what you believe is deserved and and the level self worth.
Didion's "big idea" seems to arise from when she supposedly had minimal self-respect from not making it into her fraternity. She focuses on the idea that in order to achieve self-respect, there must be discipline, as in to not discourage oneself (I feel this statement is more relatable to self confidence).
There are two statements saying "people with self respect have the courage of their mistakes" and " the willingness to accept responsibilities for one's own life -- is the source from which self respect springs", which I truly agree with.
Is there a real definition of self-respect? Because all people will have a different perspective on what it is by reflecting on their own lives.
Can self respect be influenced by others (as Didion stated) or is it solely based on how you accept your failures and accomplishments?
YEE YEE YEE. so thats what i think :) goodnightt everybodyy
love stooph
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
chapter 15-21 response
What is the tragedy in chapter 19? Do you sympathize for Billy Budd? Why or why not?
Captain Vere is having a discussion with Claggart as he accuses Billy of conspiracy. Captain Vere, doubts his claims and demands evidence. They decide to call Billy in to confront him; and from past experiences the reader knows that in tense situations, he has the tendency to stutter. After listening to all the accusations, Billy is speechless and reverts to violence, throwing a fatal blow to Claggarts face.
Similar to the incident with Red Whiskers, he acted on impulse. This violent side to him seemed to appear from his character when he felt wronged. As perfect as he may be appearance wise, Billy definitely struggles mentally. I sympathize Billy for the fact that people despise him without a solid reason to, and even creates false accusations in order to make Billy's life worse. However, I feel that Billy, or anyone for his age, should act so recklessly even though he knew it was false, as did Captain Vere. His actions were too rash. Billy does not look too innocent now, by more primal and imprudent.
Is justice served for Billy Budd? Why or why not? Who is to be thanked or blamed for the decisions of the court?
Justice is definitely not served, not only because killing someone as a punishment doesn't really solve anything, but also becasue both Claggart and Billy were at fault for their own deaths. Firstly, if it were not for Claggart's bad impressions as well as the need to punish Billy (from hearing false rumors), Billy would not have striked him. Secondly, Billy claims that Claggart always treated him with nothing but praises and friendly behaviour. Even with Dansker at his side warning Billy to be more aware of Claggart's attitude, his advice was ignored, Billy felt he had no reason to suspect Claggart of anything. He is completely oblivious, and his violent outbreak was not going assist him in any way either. They are both responsible for their own death.
Captain Vere is having a discussion with Claggart as he accuses Billy of conspiracy. Captain Vere, doubts his claims and demands evidence. They decide to call Billy in to confront him; and from past experiences the reader knows that in tense situations, he has the tendency to stutter. After listening to all the accusations, Billy is speechless and reverts to violence, throwing a fatal blow to Claggarts face.
Similar to the incident with Red Whiskers, he acted on impulse. This violent side to him seemed to appear from his character when he felt wronged. As perfect as he may be appearance wise, Billy definitely struggles mentally. I sympathize Billy for the fact that people despise him without a solid reason to, and even creates false accusations in order to make Billy's life worse. However, I feel that Billy, or anyone for his age, should act so recklessly even though he knew it was false, as did Captain Vere. His actions were too rash. Billy does not look too innocent now, by more primal and imprudent.
Is justice served for Billy Budd? Why or why not? Who is to be thanked or blamed for the decisions of the court?
Justice is definitely not served, not only because killing someone as a punishment doesn't really solve anything, but also becasue both Claggart and Billy were at fault for their own deaths. Firstly, if it were not for Claggart's bad impressions as well as the need to punish Billy (from hearing false rumors), Billy would not have striked him. Secondly, Billy claims that Claggart always treated him with nothing but praises and friendly behaviour. Even with Dansker at his side warning Billy to be more aware of Claggart's attitude, his advice was ignored, Billy felt he had no reason to suspect Claggart of anything. He is completely oblivious, and his violent outbreak was not going assist him in any way either. They are both responsible for their own death.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
chapter 8-14 response
6. What characteristic of Billy's leads him to the forechains? Is this character a strength or weakness?
Billy is awakened by one of the afterguradsman during the middle of the night. Without much of a second thought of whom it may be or why he may be waking Billy up. Billy obediently meets the guardsman where he was instructed to. As mentioned before, one of Billy's biggest weaknesses is that he is naive and often oblivious to the true motives of other people. For example, in this situation, the guardsman is attempting to corrupt Billy and even offers him money. As questionable as it may be to the reader for the reason behind the guardsman's action, Billy does not even recognize the fact that this man is trying to get Billy into trouble. His innocence/naivety/obliviousness is a really big obstacle for Billy, even when the forecastlemen arrive, he does not explain to them the situation that has just happened because he does not want to "tell on" the guardsman, so he can protect him from getting into trouble.This characteristic is definitely a weakness.
7. Discuss the spilled soup as a revelation into Claggart's character and motivation.
Claggart was definitely unpleased when he saw Billy spill the soup on the recently cleaned deck. Claggart's attitude towards Billy is an example of dramatic irony, as Billy, even when warned by the Dansker, believes that Claggart favors him and praises him when they pass each other. The Dansker can read Claggart quite well, and cautions Billy that he is planning something evil against him. Claggart complimented Billy "Handsomely done, my lad! And handsome is as handsome did it, too!" as he passed by the spilt soup, however, his expressions quickly change into a bitter and unpleased face, even scaring a drummer boy causing him to spill his soup. The reasoning behind Claggart's hatred for Billy is envy. He is jealous of Billy's goodness and his appearance, and this jealousy is what feeds his strong animosity towards him. Later, Squeak reports to Claggart that Billy has been talking behind his back, and falsely accusing Billy's dislike towards Claggart. Obviously, Claggart would not defend Billy, so he almost encourages what Squeak says and takes every word as he truth. In Claggart's mind, because of Billy's apparent attitude, this calls for revenge.
I chose this photo of the devil because the devil and Claggart have a very similar characteristic, which is that they feed their hatred (for Billy/God) because of jealousy.
Billy is awakened by one of the afterguradsman during the middle of the night. Without much of a second thought of whom it may be or why he may be waking Billy up. Billy obediently meets the guardsman where he was instructed to. As mentioned before, one of Billy's biggest weaknesses is that he is naive and often oblivious to the true motives of other people. For example, in this situation, the guardsman is attempting to corrupt Billy and even offers him money. As questionable as it may be to the reader for the reason behind the guardsman's action, Billy does not even recognize the fact that this man is trying to get Billy into trouble. His innocence/naivety/obliviousness is a really big obstacle for Billy, even when the forecastlemen arrive, he does not explain to them the situation that has just happened because he does not want to "tell on" the guardsman, so he can protect him from getting into trouble.This characteristic is definitely a weakness.
7. Discuss the spilled soup as a revelation into Claggart's character and motivation.
Claggart was definitely unpleased when he saw Billy spill the soup on the recently cleaned deck. Claggart's attitude towards Billy is an example of dramatic irony, as Billy, even when warned by the Dansker, believes that Claggart favors him and praises him when they pass each other. The Dansker can read Claggart quite well, and cautions Billy that he is planning something evil against him. Claggart complimented Billy "Handsomely done, my lad! And handsome is as handsome did it, too!" as he passed by the spilt soup, however, his expressions quickly change into a bitter and unpleased face, even scaring a drummer boy causing him to spill his soup. The reasoning behind Claggart's hatred for Billy is envy. He is jealous of Billy's goodness and his appearance, and this jealousy is what feeds his strong animosity towards him. Later, Squeak reports to Claggart that Billy has been talking behind his back, and falsely accusing Billy's dislike towards Claggart. Obviously, Claggart would not defend Billy, so he almost encourages what Squeak says and takes every word as he truth. In Claggart's mind, because of Billy's apparent attitude, this calls for revenge.
I chose this photo of the devil because the devil and Claggart have a very similar characteristic, which is that they feed their hatred (for Billy/God) because of jealousy.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Lady of Shalott Personal Response
The Lady of Shalott focuses on a unilateral love story to break the Lady’s curse. In the poem, it does not give any details as to why or how she may have gotten cursed; however, the conclusion explains how she managed to escape from it. Though she is able to break free, tragedy and misfortune definitely overrules the majority of her life. As soon as she escapes to pursue her love, Sir Lancelot; she sang her last song “till her blood was frozen slowly, and her eyes were darkened wholly.” With elements such as love, the natural world and the supernatural play a central role as to why her death was tragic.
Love plays a crucial role in this poem, as it was the drive the Lady had that allowed her to break free from the curse that isolated her from the rest of the world. Being confined in a tower, her life was lonesome and the only way she could view the world was through a mirror. Sir Lancelot was the glimmer of hope the Lady had, he was her motivation to break away from the curse. However, not only did Sir Lancelot not share the same feelings as her, but their first encounter was when she was dead. At this sight, everyone in Camelot was in shock and fear upon seeing her body, but in spite of this; Lancelot comments on her “lovely face” followed by a benediction. Even though Lancelot gave her a blessing and complimented her, the blessing is not anything out of the ordinary, as it could be said to anyone, as well as strangers. Therefore By complimenting her, he was showing condolences for her and the Lady’s love for him was nothing but a unilateral love story.
The Lady is a prisoner of the world; she cannot experience the beauties of nature that surrounds her. Trees, rivers and flowers are significant and add to the theme of lively nature in contrast to the Lady’s isolated and forlorn life. In fact, the first two stanzas of the poem are dedicated to illustrate the environment around her. One may say she was more connected to the natural world than she was with human beings, however, the natural world was not the motive that made her escape the tower and curse. It was Sir Lancelot, a human being, therefore it can be inferred that this curse was not upon her since birth, as she still has emotions and connections with and for other beings.
The theme of the supernatural plays a fundamental role in this poem, adding mystery and magic to the Lady of Shalott’s life. The curse that is upon her rules her life and ultimately causes her death. The meaning of the poem is more effective without the explanation of her curse because it allows the reader to use their imagination and develop their own story of how she got cursed. The Lady is secluded from society and lives an isolated life, however, this is not the reason she weaves. It is symbolic of her skill, expression. It is her art. Her final piece of art before death was a carving she carved her name onto the boat, almost as if she wanted people to recognize her existence.
It was the Lady of Shalott’s choice to leave the tower to join the living world. Although Tennyson does not suggest or give any details of the origins of her curse, the reader must assume what happened to her. Without knowing this important detail, determining whether her death was indeed tragic or her way of breaking out of the tower and seeing the world for herself, is dependant on the reader’s perspective. Nevertheless, from the information presented in the poem, we can safely assume that her isolation from society and the world resulted in her loneliness. She died very tragically, lonely; and love, the natural world as well as the supernatural, was a constant force working against her.
EDITED BY: KRYSTAL AND OSMAN
EDITED BY: KRYSTAL AND OSMAN
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
CareBear 90210's Response
for response 1 id have to agree with Steph fully. I think that there is something more to Billy punching Red Whiskers and turning his hatred into love, im sure that we will see this concept again in the story.
for response 2 id have to disagree with Steph. I think that although his innocence is his greatest attribute, it is not Billy's weakness. To me Billy seems as the kind of person that can stand up for himself, as in the conflict between Billy and Red Whiskers.
-Carebears90210
for response 2 id have to disagree with Steph. I think that although his innocence is his greatest attribute, it is not Billy's weakness. To me Billy seems as the kind of person that can stand up for himself, as in the conflict between Billy and Red Whiskers.
-Carebears90210
Monday, September 13, 2010
Blog Response #1
http://carebears90210.tumblr.com/
The first response gave a lot of insight on what the narrator was trying to do with a third person narrative. It also helped me understand why the author decided to write this way as well. I really liked the response to the first question, it was well written.
Regarding the second response, because I also answered the same question, we both have completely different opinions on how Billy responded. I suppose one commonality we had in our posts were that we did not expect Billy to punch Red Whiskers back. I'm taking in the information from both our posts, but I don't think I quite agree with his post.
The first response gave a lot of insight on what the narrator was trying to do with a third person narrative. It also helped me understand why the author decided to write this way as well. I really liked the response to the first question, it was well written.
Regarding the second response, because I also answered the same question, we both have completely different opinions on how Billy responded. I suppose one commonality we had in our posts were that we did not expect Billy to punch Red Whiskers back. I'm taking in the information from both our posts, but I don't think I quite agree with his post.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
chapters 1-7 response
Examine the incident between Billy and Red Whiskers. What is the incident meant to do? Does it suggest something about Billy's character or just Red Whiskers?
With his good appearance and friendly nature, Billy is portrayed as a almost perfect character. This incident between Billy and "Red Whiskers" is meant to show the audience that as likable and innocent Billy may seem, he is physically powerful, and able to inflict pain using violence. His character is also slightly impulsive, "he gave the burly fool a terrible drubbing" (295) . As much as this sounds like a violent encounter from our perspective, this earns respect and love from "Red Whiskers". This can suggest the author is foreshadowing what will later on happen in the book due to Billy's use of violence. Red Whiskers is just a character used to show Billy's violent side of his almost perfect persona.
8. What is Billy's flaw? How important is this flaw in understanding his overall character? Has it altered your original evaluation of him? How?
Billy's greatest flaw is his innocence. Although it may not seem like one, what comes with this quality, comes gullibility, which can make him very vulnerable to any kind of influence, as well as evil ones. If he trusts everyone, there is no longer a border between good and evil and eventually he will have a psychological war with his conscience, not knowing which one is the "right choice". Some may not view this as a flaw because innocence is a large part of what make Billy so affable to the crew and the audience (of the book) alike, but if you weigh the differences, his innocence is more of a flaw, than what adds to his perfection.This has definitely altered my original evaluation of Billy because the novel does not focus on what is bad about him, but what is good. However, in all that perfection lies a giant hole in Billy's character which is how exposed he is to others' influences'.
[please ignore the fact that this is homer simpson]
i chose this image because Billy Budd is almost perfect in every way externally, he is lacking a lot mentally. He is simple-minded, does not have much experience with the world, has a limited amount of vocabulary and occasionally primitive.
With his good appearance and friendly nature, Billy is portrayed as a almost perfect character. This incident between Billy and "Red Whiskers" is meant to show the audience that as likable and innocent Billy may seem, he is physically powerful, and able to inflict pain using violence. His character is also slightly impulsive, "he gave the burly fool a terrible drubbing" (295) . As much as this sounds like a violent encounter from our perspective, this earns respect and love from "Red Whiskers". This can suggest the author is foreshadowing what will later on happen in the book due to Billy's use of violence. Red Whiskers is just a character used to show Billy's violent side of his almost perfect persona.
8. What is Billy's flaw? How important is this flaw in understanding his overall character? Has it altered your original evaluation of him? How?
Billy's greatest flaw is his innocence. Although it may not seem like one, what comes with this quality, comes gullibility, which can make him very vulnerable to any kind of influence, as well as evil ones. If he trusts everyone, there is no longer a border between good and evil and eventually he will have a psychological war with his conscience, not knowing which one is the "right choice". Some may not view this as a flaw because innocence is a large part of what make Billy so affable to the crew and the audience (of the book) alike, but if you weigh the differences, his innocence is more of a flaw, than what adds to his perfection.This has definitely altered my original evaluation of Billy because the novel does not focus on what is bad about him, but what is good. However, in all that perfection lies a giant hole in Billy's character which is how exposed he is to others' influences'.
[please ignore the fact that this is homer simpson]
i chose this image because Billy Budd is almost perfect in every way externally, he is lacking a lot mentally. He is simple-minded, does not have much experience with the world, has a limited amount of vocabulary and occasionally primitive.
Goals for English 20
This term, one of my goals for English 20 is to have my final first term report card mark to be higher than my mid term mark because i want to see that i have made progress and improved from what i started with. Another goal of mine is to improve my understanding and analysis of novels and poems. I don't want to rely on class discussions for me to understand a piece of literature.
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