One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest #1

Cuckoo's Nest has some very interesting characters included, such as the Big Nurse, McMurphy, and the Chief. These three play the parts of the villain, antihero, and hero. As of right now, I would place the Big Nurse as the villain of the story. She sets the rules and enforces them (with the black boys) and is the reason for fear that takes place in the story. Her power and reign is what keeps her title of villain in Cuckoo's Nest. McMurphy is clearly the antihero. As the main character, he's who we root for, but not who we agree with wholeheartedly. His actions seem to be to have a fine time, but he outsmarts the Big Nurse (again, the hero vs. the villain) and rebels against the careful system put in place at the institution. The paths he takes to get his way is not morally or socially acceptable, but he has alright intentions, making him the antihero of the novel. I feel that while it's not a clear cut yet, the Chief could end up to play the role of the hero. It just seems appropriate.

Great Gatsby 2

1. Meyer Wolfsheim's presence in the story lets the audience know of Gatsby's bootlegging past. It shows that Gatsby was once involved in illegal behavior, which could almost be a sense of foreshadowing. His current presence in the story suggests that Gatsby may still be a part of this type of behavior.
2. Throughout the story, we've seen Gatsby as this character that didn't seem real, but the backstory about Gatsby and Daisy makes him seem more human, with a heart and the capability to love and be hurt. This contributes to his development in that he doesn't seem as mysterious and makes him more of a round character with more emotions.
3. The rest of Gatsby's story shows the imperfections that existed in his life and probably still do. He didn't get all his money from his family, he had to work for it. His 'perfect' life that existed before doesn't now and helps show that he's a real character with real problems.
4. I think that this new information about Gatsby makes me like him more. People relate better when they find out that they aren't perfect and that they didn't have the best life. It also makes me feel for him when finding out about his story with Daisy; it shows his heart and human side.

Great Gatsby 1

I feel as though Nick, being the narrator of the story, is the hero of The Great Gatsby so far. He's the character that we, the audience, can relate to and feel as though he's on our side. As he mentions in Chapter 1, he's open-minded, a good listener, and tolerant. He's the character that the audience feels trust in and wants to go forward and succeed.
Gatsby is the character that the audience can identify as the antihero. Although he hasn't appeared much, his lack of presence makes us feel a little hesitant about his character. This may make him seem sly and hidden, as if he has hidden motives, but because we don't know much about him and has been put in dim light, he could be a positive character, and thus, the antihero.
Tom is the most clear choice for the villain. He's the perfect example of all the evil that exists in the story. He's arrogant and selfish, and through the examples of him cheating on Daisy, we can identify him as the villain, working against the positive motives of the hero.

Bua paintings

The style is animated, as if it's draw in a cartoon or comic book. It has very exaggerated moves to it. The tendencies of the artist is to overdo the colors and the lines with very definite colors and shapes.

Sixteen Military Wives- The Decemberists

This song is about how America is full of so many different positions, but no one gets to win all the time. America dictates what happens in the country, even if it's something that can't be controlled. America just wants to control everything and have power.

Race for the Prize- Flaming Lips

The theme of the song is ab the competition needed to survive in an academic world. These two scientists, or just regular people have to compete against each other to be the best, no matter what it takers. "Under the microscope, hope against hope" proves that "they're just humans with wives and children". The authors are trying to get across the point that in our world, we're all just humns, wanting the same goal, "the cure that is their prize", but they jus want to win. Our society is so trained to compete against each otr for the same goal, just to be the first. We're trained to win, "forging for the future".

JFK speech

"For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago."
This is an appeal to tradition because it's used to show that JFK is a real, whole man who believes in God. It appeals to the audience in that they think he's credible and 'feel' with him more. This is a tradition, because as he says, it's the same oath that they gave.
It works because it's true and they believe him.

Duck and Cover

Overt message- Duck and cover!
I believe that this is persuasion because there's no reason for it to be propaganda. It's being shown to children who aren't enemies or can make up their mind about real world events. It's simply being made informative. There's nothing hidden in it because it was trying to keep people safe as well as they can, meaning that there's no covert message.

Oil propaganda

1. The overt message is that oil is a very important resource in America and is crucial to our quality of life.
2. The covert message is that Americans need to support the oil companies, We know this because of the great emphasis on how great oil is in America and how oil makes America the best.
3. This is propaganda because the hidden message in the video is support oil companies.

Propaganda

1. The overt message says to eat less bread. We clearly know it because it states directly at the bottom, 'Eat less bread'. I have no idea why it says this, but it's clearly the overt message.
2. The covert message is that women should stay in the kitchen as they should be, making a part in the war in some small effort. We know this because of the placement of the pictures and words. The women with the bread is right next to 'victory', which implies its relevance to the war occurring at the time. The change of needing something to be done is the covert message they're trying to get through.
3. The way we can tell that this is propaganda is because there's a hidden message. There's something else that the picture is trying to get through and share about, without us actually realizing it.

"Clampdown" by the Clash

1. This song is about the economic and social issues at the time written in 1979. They talk a lot about 'working for the clampdown', which refers to a boss, upper class, or authority.
2. The music in the song is upbeat, which can symbolize a sense of rebellion within the songwriters. It almost sounds as if to say, 'you can't get me'.
3. The 'twisted' speech being taught to 'young believers' is part of deception and propaganda.

Quotes among quotes among quotes

975. Every event, once it has occurred, can be made to appear inevitable by a competent historian. LEE SIMONSONA (1888-1967).

It's the saying by George Santayana, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" that got me thinking about this quote by Simonsona. History repeats itself, and we, the current generation are supposed to be able to look at our past and figure out how to not repeat it. However, this quote is humorous because this perspective is saying that after time, history does repeat itself, but many convince us that it was impossible to occur to begin with.

Brave New World #3

1. Did the castes result as the government wanting this type of society, or did the government evolve to be like it is 'now' around a new caste system?
2. What is Huxley's direct perspective on John?
3. Why do both 1984 and Brave New World put such an emphasis on the variables of sex?

1984 #1

Those in the Party certainly try many ways to form equality and conformity. They control the history, language, jobs, and even the thoughts of those that live there in Oceania. By not allowing free thought, sex, or an expression of individuality, they're created a sense of conformity where everyone's the same. In the sense of free religion, relationships, and individual rights, there simply aren't any. The people that live there don't get to make the decision of who they're going to worship and believe in, who they can have sex with, and their rights just don't exist. They've created this sense of conformity through many concepts of the Party. They have the telescreen, which promotes propaganda of the Party and how the Thought Police monitor the people's thoughts, the Ministry of Truth, which alters the history of Oceania. I would say that in Oceania, so far, we see a dystopia. The Party is making attempts to create a happy, ideal world for the people to live in, but all they've done is restrict every right that men are born with. For example, Winston finds, "war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength", which we can put into our own perspective and look at ourselves. Our society, although it's certainly not a uptopia, recognizes war as unpeaceful, freedom as a right and privilege, and ignorance as a bad aspect. These meanings put forth by the Party show that their society is certainly not a utopia.

"Communist Utopia" by Thomas Hornug

1. The only aspect of this painting that really indicates communism are the eyes in the sky and the wall. communism is the idea of being censored and constantly watched. The eyes represent this because they're watching everything that happens.
2. The artist clearly doesn't approve of or support communism. The streets are all dark and dreary, which is represented by the dark gray colors. The trees don't have any leaves on them, which shows the absence and lack of freedom in that society. You can't see the face of the man: he's the same as everyone else, which is a goal of communism.
3. The title means that it's a utopia for the communists: the ones in power. In a world of communism, it's a perfect world: everyone and everything being watched and monitored.

**After discussing more in class, I understand the communism being more of an economic system and more ideas about the painting.

"Don't You Want Me" by the Human League

1. The subject matter is the relationship between a man and a woman. A lot of it involves what the woman becomes after she meets him. The subject matter is the same for both perspectives.
2. The difference is that the man's perspective is a little more desperate and needy than the woman. The woman is more teasing and not actually wanting to be in the relationship as much as the guy. She's a little more independent than the guy.
The man thinks that he's responsible for everything that she's made successful. The woman thinks that without him, she would've gotten far anyways but needs time to live her own life, "But now I think it's time I lived my life on my own".
3. I side more with the girl because she's trying to be more independent but still caring for the guy. But, I also side with the guy because he feels like they should still feel for each other, after he was there for her for so long. I understand both points of view.

Brave New World #2

1. In the eyes of the government, what does a good citizen consist of?
Throughout reading Brave New World, you understand that there are many ideas of what the good characteristics of a citizen are in this society. I would say that someone who is consistently happy is the perfect idea of a great citizen. The goal of a utopia is to promote happiness and coercion among the people involved in the society. If happiness and equality is already promoted within the government, then the idea of a perfect person is someone who’s happy and eager to go along with the government. This also includes someone who’s perfectly conditioned to do what the government wishes, never rebelling against anything, which includes taking soma. All of this shows the main goal of the government, as shown, "And that," put in the Director sententiously, "that is the secret of happiness and virtue-liking what you've got to do. All conditioning aims at that: making people like their inescapable social destiny.""
2. Why do they let people go out on the reservation?
I would assume that the reason they let the people go out on the reservation is that it reinforces the happiness that the government has created for them. They only let the very smart, top Alphas go out there, and it's a matter of ethos. If these people go out and see the savages on the reservation, they're going to know that they were grateful for the life that was created for them in their utopia. If the most credible come back and tell the rest of the people and castes how bad of a place it was, they're just going to believe them. Also, the government allows them to go out on the reservation not only to let them look at how happy they really are, but to reinforce the power to the government and encourage more support than before.
3. Why does the story put such a great emphasis on sex and the relationships?
I believe that the author really wanted to show the differences between cultures. Like discussed in the novel, there was confusion as to what sex really meant: was it to reproduce, enjoy, or just have? It's something that doesn't just die down, it's a constant motif throughout the book. I think that the author included all of this discussion and debate to show his own views. Many cultures don't have the same values on sex as American society, especially at the time written, and his views were supposed to help enlighten others about other perspectives.

Othering

1-3: The overall tone of all three parts is death-like. Many words create this tone, such as dark, gloomy, trembled, tragic, formidable silence, dusk, grotesque, quivered, and deathlike.
4: The tone is of someone who's scared. The tone doesn't change a whole lot. I think the narrator does this to show the contrast between the two cultures.
Benefits of othering: Sometimes these companies manufacture these ideas of the others so their trades/exports suffer and the manufacturing company looks better.

Emic Perspectives

1. The emic perspective is a realistic point of view from the inside of the culture. Its benefits are knowing the real information and ways the culture does it. The etic perspective is the 'outisder' perspective, where there's no way in to the actual culture. There may be parts of information that the researcher learns, but this may not actually be true to the culture. Its benefits are being able to compare it to other cultures and the differences/similarities. I would say that emic is better because it's a way into the culture and the truth.
2. These rules exist so there's a way to determine that a piece of writing is an ethnography and to be able to to compare different ethnographies.

"Rain on the Scarecrow" by John Mellencamp

1. This song is about abuse within a family. There used to be someone for him, but now he doesn't have anyone or anything. There's no hope for the son; there's blood on the plow. The boy is stuck, like a scarecrow in the rain.
2. Abuse in families is a conflict of this song.
3. Mellencamp used the rainy scarecrow to symbolize physical and/or sexual abuse and a person that can't escape the problem.
4. There weren't many specific connotations and word choices that made the song what it was. But 'blood' was a word that showed pain and hurt in someone.
5. I think the author of the song is on the side that feels like there's no hope after abuse and that a person who's suffered from this past can't rise above it. We see the author more on the side of the abuser and the one abused.