One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest #2

The conflict between Big Nurse and McMurphy is in full swing at the end of "Part One." Who is getting the best of their rivalry at this point? Why do you say that (specific evidence)?
At this point, McMurphy is winning the war between Big Nurse and himself. There is quite a bit of failure and success on his part in this battle, but by the end of our second reading, he seems to be consistently getting the nurse's goat and gaining a positive reputation with his fellow patients.

What is your perception of the Chief at this point in the story? Why? And how has the presence of McMurphy changed the Chief's character or his narration (be specific)?

Chief cannot be trusted because of his mental state. His narration is obviously effected by his illness and, thus, must be taken with a grain of salt. I doubt that he intentionally warps reality, but his descriptions are clearly blown out of proportions and sometimes seem like they're from another world. He's negatively influenced by McMurphy's presence because his admiration for  McMurphy causes him to exaggerate even more in  McMurphy's favor. 

Who are you rooting for at this point in the story and why?

I am rooting for McMurphy because I think he has a good heart. The actions he has taken may not have been the same that I would have taken, but his end goal is to defeat the Big Nurse who is clearly not helping any one in the Combine. I do believe that the narration of this story is unreliable because of Chief's mental state, but since I have no clear idea of what the Big Nurse's motives are, I cannot support her cruelty.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest #1

Based on the first reading, I feel it's safe to conclude that the nurse is the obvious villain. She seems to have no heart as she tortures her patients for minuscule offenses. At one point, it's it's explained that the Big Nurse finds joy in "fixing" her patients; "The ward is a factory for the Combine. It's for fixing up mistakes made in the neighborhoods and in theschools and in the churches, the hospital is. When a completed product goes back out into society, all fixed up good as new, better than new sometimes, it brings joy to the Big Nurse's heart...." (40). It is clear that her definition of "fixing" these people includes numerous forms of cruelty and abuse.

McMurphy is an antihero in my eyes. He seeks to disrupt the cruel routine of the Big Nurse by stirring up trouble in the Combine. While he method of improving his living conditions causes much unnecessary trouble, his intentions are to help others.

I don't believe there's any true hero at this point. Chief is solely an innocent bystander.

The Great Gatsby #3

1. What moral can be derived from the fact that no one attended Gatsby’s funeral?
The stark attendance at Jay Gatsby’s goes to show how much of an impact Gatsby had on the lives of those in his community. He was known only for festivities and entertainment. However, because he did no more than host grand parties, no one knew him for his valuable character. His entire life revolved around partying, so his guests refused to take part in a serious occasion relating to him. He also failed to build lasting relationships with those around him during his lifetime, so he had no friends to mourn his death. The moral that can be drawn from this is that the purpose of one’s actions during life is reflected in their legacy after death. Due to the fact that Gatsby was entirely focused on impressing Daisy during his life, no one else remembered or valued his existence after his death.
2. Why did Gatsby choose for such seemingly minor characters to have such a large role in the conclusion of this book?
Characters such as Myrtle and her husband were very much necessary in this book. Their insignificance alone played a role. Throughout the book, we are we led on to believe that they are simply filler characters present to make Tom’s character more interesting. In the end, however, Fitzgerald shocks the audience as he kills Myrtle and Gatsby through murders. This, too, proves a moral because it shows how major minor actions can be. Misunderstandings and small actions can have large effects regardless of the intentions of those involved.
3. How do Daisy’s actions in the finale of the book affect the audience’s final opinions of her?
Fitzgerald causes the audience to have mixed feelings about Daisy during the course of the story. In the end, Daisy’s murder of Myrtle causes her own lover to be killed my Myrtle’s husband. Besides this selfish act, she then goes on to forego Gatsby’s funeral. Regardless of whether guilt or pure self-absorption was the motive behind her absence, this shows her true character. Finally, the audience on a sour note in regards to Daisy because of her poor character that finally emerges in its entirety.
4. Does Gatsby ever reach the ‘green light’?
The answer to this depends on what the ‘green light’ represents. Due to its location on Daisy’s dock, it can be inferred that the light has something to do with Daisy. Some people believe that green represents hope and prosperity. Others believe it stands for evil or envy. I don’t believe that Gatsby was envious of Tom and his life. After his re-connection with Daisy, he proves to her much better than Tom he actually was, so I believe he was simply longing to be with Daisy. However, I choose to side with the idea that the green represents hope. Gatsby continued to be hopeful in his quest to win Daisy back. His reaching motion further shows how he was ‘reaching’ for a life with her. He did reach his goal of winning her back as she confessed her love for him. However, his death prior to the permanent reunification of them leads me to believe that he never did fully reach his goal.

The Great Gatsby #2

1) Meyer Wolfsheim seems to develop Gatsby as an extremely mysterious character. Wolfsheim's less than reputable character leads the audience to question Gatsby's history. His presence also prevents the audience from definitely defining Gatsby as the hero of this story. The possibility of his dealings with Wolfsheim disqualify him as an "all around good guy".
2) After being made aware of the past between Gatsby and Daisy, the audience sides more with Gatsby. He is made to seem more relatable and the audience could even pity him for his unfortunate circumstances. There is still some mystery to Gatsby, but he is one step closer to seeming normal. Daisy becomes a bit of a villain after this, because it becomes clear that she chose Tom for money when she could have waited to have the true love of her life- Gatsby.
3) The rest of Gatsby's past further increases how relatable he is. Just as many Americans aspire to do, Gatsby supposedly gained his wealth and importance from a series of fortunate events involving hard work and good luck. He lived "the American Dream" as some people would say. His personality is similar to that of many men in America throughout social classes. He exhibits a bit of cockiness at times, but is also very determined to succeed. With the presence of Wolfsheim, however, there is still some mystery to his past.
4) Throughout these chapters, Gatsby begins to grow on me. I found him to be a bit odd in the previous chapters because of his peculiar behavior at his own parties and his mysterious past. However, as bits of his past have been revealed, he's grown on me and developed as a normal man. I still am uneasy about his history because of Wolfsheim, but he seems like a relatively trustworthy man at this point.

"Black Bottom Stomp"- Jelly Roll Morton

This song is clearly upbeat and lively as I imagine a Gatsby party would have been. The music is consistent in its tempo, but often shifts in rhythm and has many different parts to it. Similarly, Gatsby's parties maintained their speed and excitement throughout the night, but they shifted in the topics of conversations and events. I think this would have worked very well as a song being played at a Gatsby party, because regardless of the circumstances, it lightens the mood instantaneously and allows for guests to have a jolly time dancing and chatting the night away.

The Great Gatsby #1

From my first reading of The Great Gatsby, I have gathered that Nick and Gatsby are heroes, Jordan is an antihero, and Tom is a villain. From the very first page, Nick characterizes himself as a non-judgmental person by saying that he is  “inclined to reserve all judgments.” He later goes on to explain that he is also very honest. Both of these traits are perceived as being extremely important in our society, so the audience views him as the epitome of a hero. Gatsby is still somewhat of a mystery at this point. Little is known of him, but rumors are circulating about his past. However, the narrator portrays him in a relatively positive light, so the audience thinks of him as a good person. Unlike Nick, Jordan is not honest at all and is a known cheater. Yet, the narrator continues to characterize her positively for the most part. On page 45, he says that Jordan nods in "a cynical, melancholy way", but he never classifies her as being evil. Last, but not least, is Tom. Tom is the obvious villain in this story because of his physical state and personality. He takes advantage of his power and acts as if he owns the world. He, clearly, does not care about the well being of others and seeks to improve only his own life by pushing others down.

Bua Paintings

The style of these paintings is melancholy and twisted. The artist seems to look on these subjects with a sad eye that sees a view most people wouldn't typically see. The perspective is unusual and may misrepresent what the subjects were intending their actions to show (if they were real people). None of the people shown seem to be smiling or excited. They all seem very indifferent and bored.

"Sixteen Military Wives"- The Decemberists

This song is about different parts of American culture that are disappointing or overestimated. It starts out by addressing the idea that many men go to war, and very few men return home. It then goes on to show how many other parts of society seem to start out as large numbers, but only a very small percentage "survives" or actually makes a difference. The theme is people overestimate the actual success and capabilities of America. I believe this is shown  through the somewhat sarcastic chorus:

Cheer them on to their rivals
Cause America can, and America can't say no
And America dies, if America says it's so
It's so!

"Race for the Prize"- The Flaming Lips

Theme of the song: People often pursue their goals in life with such tenacity that they put the people and things they love at risk. The song says,
"Their's is to win
If it kills them
They're just humans
With wives and children."
This is repeated through out the song to push the idea that the goal in life is to win regardless of whatever consequences may follow. The tone of the lyrics and sound of the music seem to contradict each other. I think this is to show how pursuing goals may seem as if it is a good thing, but it truly harms those who try to hard.

Death Penalty Essays

Although I believe that neither Kroll nor Mencken is entirely opposed to the death penalty, they each had very different purposes for their essays and went about expressing their messages in completely different ways. I was more moved by Kroll's argument even though I am usually more influenced by essays like Mencken's that use logos as the primary mode of persuasion. The main aspect of Kroll's essay that won me over was his use of personal experience.  My personal bias led me to side with Kroll because I, too, think the death penalty is cruel. He focused in on his audience by nailing the pathos appeal. When he said, "When they brought Robert in, he was grim-faced, tired and ashen," it clearly speaks to the emotions of everyone. On the other hand, Mencken repeatedly glossed over the real issue by treating it as if it wasn't worth his time to address counterarguments.

Fallacies in Famous Speeches

Speech: JFK's "Inauguration Speech"

1) "If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich."
2) The fallacy is the confusion of correlation and causation. A society's inability to help the poor does not cause it to fail at saving the rich.
3) Although many famous speeches rely heavily on rhetoric or fallacies and do little to support arguments with true evidence,  the audiences they are geared toward do not always require great reasoning. The brain is wired to respond to statements that sound and/or look good, so even educated individuals are effected by the tricks of rhetoric.

Duck and Cover

Overt message: In case of a nuclear explosion, people should duck and cover their faces and necks to protect themselves from the blast and flying debris.

Covert message: America is prepared for emergencies and citizens should trust the government to protect them from anything and everything.

This is considered propaganda because it takes advantage of the repetition and bandwagon techniques. The video discusses the idea that everyone follows its instructions because it is the only way to stay safe. It also repeats the phrase "duck and cover" innumerable times to drill the routine into the audience's mind.

Destination Earth

Overt message: Oil and competition are what make the world go around.

Covert message: Capitalism and innovation have allowed America to become a prosperous nation.

This is propaganda because while this seems like a basic story about oil and competition, the entire video can be seen as a metaphor for America's fight for capitalism in the world. In the end, Ogg the Great was taken out of control and new, free businesses were created. Testimonial and repetition were used as forms of propaganda because the ideas of oil and competition were repeatedly stressed in the video and the space explorer was used as the major supporter of the American ideas of competition and oil.

Propaganda (World War II- 1941-1945)

Overt message: Eating less bread will lead to victory in World War II.
Covert message: Fulfilling one's domestic duties is patriotic.
The overt message in this propaganda is promoting the idea of eating less bread while the covert message suggests using domestic skills to cook other things in place of bread. The covert message in this case tells what needs to be done while the covert message explains how a woman should go about doing it. This goes to show that this is propaganda because the hidden purpose explains more than the obvious idea being advertised.

"Clampdown" by The Clash

This is about how a person is forced to conform to society as he or she grows up. This idea can be proven through the line, "We will teach our twisted speech to the young believers. On the word "clampdown" two hard beats emphasize the word. This musical element helps prove that the "clampdown" disrupts the smooth flowing life of an individual. This song is considered propaganda due to the fact it simply describes the clampdown throughout the song when, in reality, is forming a negative imagine of the clampdown in the listeners' minds.

Propaganda, Persuasion, Rhetoric, and Argument

The quotes from A-C that resonated with me were 11, 34, 80, and 168.

I chose to respond to quote #168. 

     In this quote, Thomas Carlyle explains that the media is crucial to the success of the government. In fact, he believes that the media is more important than any other estate in parliament. His point supports the theory that the actions the government may take are inconsequential if reporters are unable to gain public support for those specific actions through their stories. The publishers of current events are able to twist their stories in ways to persuade their audiences to support or disapprove of government activity. A reporter's rhetoric has more authority than actual government leaders because the advertisement and use specific wording can cause his audience to form certain opinions of happenings in parliament- regardless of what actually may have occurred. This quote struck a chord with me, because I now realize how the general population's view of government officials and their choices in modern America relies almost completely on media reports.