The Question for 12/12

The movie On the Waterfront is an exceptional movie about a man named Terry and his involvement with the mob. When it comes to traitors and whistleblowers there is a distinct difference. A whistle blower works for the larger society while a traitor works selfishly. In the film, Terry, is ethically challenged on if he should “tattle” on the mob. Eventually he does just that and he is seen as a “whistle blower.”The characters beliefs are generally the same. A snitch is a snitch and there is no difference. Terry in the beginning of the movie would never dream of telling on the mob because the general idea was that anyone who gave information, no matter who it helped, was a traitor in the highest degree. Through the movie, though, we see that his beliefs change and, by the end, he knows that you are not a traitor if you help a larger, innocent society. Some characters, the ones who lead him to this decision, Edy and the Priest, always believe that a traitor and whistle blower are two very different things. The Mob characters always believe that any information given about the society was traitor behavior and was punishable by death. And finally, the views of the larger society. In the beginning no one was willing to talk because of their fear for themselves and for that, we can call them traitors to the greater good. They refused to protect the innocent, and by being faithful to the mob, they hust society. By the end, though, they realized that, if it protected the citizens and the larger group by giving information, it wasn’t treachery, it was protection.
I believe that anytime the innocent are being persecuted and information is given, the person is completely safe from the title of “traitor.” I believe that you are a traitor if you give information of protection to the ones trying to hurt something. In war (sorry, couldn’t think of a better example) if you give information to the other side, if both sides are fighting equally, it can be considered treachery. More importantly, I believe that whistle blowers are anyone trying to help those who have done nothing wrong. The difference between a traitor and a whistle blower is essentially this; when you “tattle” to help the wrongly persecuted you are a whistle blower, but if you are merely trying to win something by giving information, you can be called a traitor.

Post 3 of Outside reading

Much was revealed about David in my third reading and we now see his life in phases. In his novel Mr. Sedaris has written his life in phases so we can learn about one phase and then move onto the next. I find this interesting because we can see the characteristics that stick with him through these phases. For example, his interest in men is very prominent in the chapters I have read lately and this interest does not fade out. He does change though, my reading starts as he participates in a play and ends with him hitchhiking back to his college. His prejudice though does remain, “How was it that I was important and they were not? There had to be something that separated us” (109). He still views himself as God’s gift to creation but, I think it adds to his writing style; satirical and obnoxious. Mr. Sedaris continues his feeling in his writing that everything is new to him. As he learns new things and meets new people he puts himself above these things and wonders why his family is so accepting, “’Whore’ I whispered. ‘That lady is a whore.’ I wasn’t sure what reaction I was after, but shock would have done quite nicely. Instead, my mother said, ‘Well then, we should probably offer her a drink’” (117). David describes his life as chaotic and wild. As he hitchhikes, due to no rides from his parents, the people he meets are odd. At one point he ad gotten a ride from a man named Randolph who believed in “…the enforced sterilization of redheads” (126). Using hitchhiking he travels the country and comes back again.
Women remain a topic he uses for themes. Women remain the mystery in his life, “Lisa returned in an agitated state, asking my parents if she might use the station wagon” (111). He also continues to use his family as a theme for families are only functional in fairytales. “Woken by the noise, my father wandered up from the basement… His approach generally marked the end of the party” (118). His family works together because they lie and are all poised to hear lies and let them go. David is an avid liar as well. He uses his lies as a way to tell show that the truth gets you nowhere. “I hadn’t planned on lying, but it seemed a good move to embellish my stories” (131).

Question 2

The four main characters, Joe, Kate, Ann, and Chris all make a series of choices of actions whether they benefit family or society. Many examples arise like Chris inviting Ann to stay and Ann deciding to come, but I think the most interesting choice was that of Joe’s. The play gives us background knowledge that Joe sent out faulty airplane parts and blamed it on his partner. The faulty parts killed 21 men and Joe, when prosecuted, blamed a partner and his partner went to jail. For Joe money has always been important and money hurting more than helping is a prominent theme throughout the play. Joe claims, “Chris… Chris I did it for you, it was a chance I took for you. I’m sixty-one years old, when would I have another chance to make something for you” (70). Joe tells us that he only sent out bad parts for his family, he only sent them out so that his family could be successful. In this situation Joe did something for his family’s benefit and not for the benefit of society. Another interesting decision was Chris’s when he found out the truth about his father. He doesn’t know if he should do the right thing and report the truth to authorities or if he should keep it within his family. He ultimately decides, “What? Do I raise the dead when I put him behind bars? Then what’ll I do it for? We used to shoot a man who acted like a dog, but honor was real there, you were protecting something” (81). Chris was stuck between his family and what was right, although, we never really find out his decision because his dad kills himself shortly after.
In my opinion this play was very interesting in its discussion of morals and ethics. I think, for the mast part, one needs to look out for the greater good. I think the needs of society should outweigh family needs if the family made a mistake and hurt the society. Family needs are important, though, and I think that they can come before society needs in emergencies and when the family is innocent of something society is trying them against. Society needs are most important though. If society has a murderer on the loose, for example, and they are in your family, society needs you to reveal the murderer and you should. If society has a standard that is doable and a family will not comply, this is another example of where a society need would require you to put it above a family moral or ethic.

Post #2

Naked is developing into a ridiculous humor following the path of his life through his child and teen years. In my first reading David Sedaris, the writer, is a princess of a young boy and he thinks the world was made for him. In my second reading David develops into an overly prejudiced boy but, he can see the prejudice in others make and makes a point of showing it. “’…little fudge-colored girl put her hand on my cheek and said, ‘Oh,’ she said, ‘I wish I could be white and pretty like you.’ She paused…though she were posing for a portrait the federal government might use on a stamp commemorating gallantry” (82). In this we see that he sees prejudice and makes a mockery of people who voice prejudice. Davis is developing into a more independent boy though and he is moving away from hiding under his parents’ wing. His family is still depicted as psycho but now he is more a part of the chaos and now not only the women are crazy. “..sent me newspaper clippings detailing the tragic slaying of joggers and vacationing tourists. ‘This could be you!’ he wrote in the margins” (51). This speaks to his father and it shows the chaotic nature of his whole family. The book is also interesting because every chapter starts a different idea and it skips around in his life. The ideas of the chapters are generally controversial topics from being gay to people with mental disorders. These ideas are generally thought of as bad as well. Mr. Sedaris is also able to turn a small event into a catastrophe.
Themes in the novel are interesting. One topic is cats. The theme about them is that cats are negativity and they circle around bad things. “’You killed me,’ the cat said, pointing at mother with its flattened paw” (50). Cats seem to bring problems and slight conflict to help make problems within the family. Another theme is that bad things or things that are associated with bad things are good within his family. One example is smoking. David and his family are all avid smokers but smoking is associated with those in a mental hospital. Cigarettes in the outside world are bad but in his family they are wonderful. Another topic discussed in the novel is women. Women in David’s story represent the mystery and bring the discovery, they are to be respected but also feared. “She’d looked into the face of something horrible, and I wanted to know what that felt like” (74). He sees women develop and he is intrigued by it. Mr. Sedaris also has a wonderful way of developing his own character as he describes and learns about his family.

Quarter 2 outside reading post #1

The book Naked by David Sedaris is and autobiography of his life. The book is basically a joke and Mr. Sedaris is telling us a funny story that we want to hear, designed to make us say, “Well at least I’m better than that.” His book so far revolves around himself growing up. Mr. Sedaris is a natural comedian but he has a very dry humor and that is reflected greatly in his writing. He starts out describing his family and his life and he is strangely in love with himself. His childhood was sheltered as he was the only boy in the family and looking back he describes himself in a horribly ignorant way with a slight twist so we feel he is joking but then again… “…servants, several of whom are extraordinarily claver despite their crooked teeth and lack of breeding” (4). He also paints an interesting family life. With the book starting out with him reflecting on his childhood we see that, as a child, everything was below him. He also paints a disturbing portrait of women in his family, “Rather than improve her social standing, she chose to spit out children, each one filthier than the last” (8). He also says his sisters go missing, an event that never happened, but shows his self-centeredness in a bright light. Even further than that, his family is dysfunctional except his dad and we see his grandmother become a disturbance in the family.
Some interesting themes in the book are that money buys happiness. He believed as a child that with money came his ability to smile. One theme was women. Women were not to be placed on his level but there is an undercurrent that suggests awe towards them, “All I want is to be friends…” (44). This he says after a girl intimidates him. Another is that with perseverance anything can be accomplished. As a teen he had a twitching disorder or OCD and by about page 50 he gets over it with hard work and cigarettes, which interestingly enough are good. We see that good and bad are turned around in this book. “…cigarettes that calm me… giving me something to do with my hands and mouth. It’s as if I was born to smoke” (22). David as the author seems to struggle with the ways his life went as a child though in the child’s perspective he was very happy and we see this ethical dilemma played out as he writes.

For this weeks post I choose to show a photo and tell the story behind it. In Afghanistan today American soldiers were involved in a firefight. The men had been occupying a strategic mountaintop in the Korengal Valley when they were attacked by Talban forces. Men raced to take cover and keep safe from the sudden onrush and, as one soldier, Kyle Stephenson put it, “We are very lucky we escaped without any wounded” (1). As the battle ensued many were taken off guard and forced to think and act quickly and intelligently. In a firefight one misstep can be the downfall.
The American forces were unscathed in the fight of firearms although the Taliban casualties remain unknown. This fight is an example of the American Forces ability to adapt and act quickly under pressure. General Max Sinkart commented, “Our Army is incredibly skilled, we can be ready for combat in a moments notice as we have seen today” (1).
As previously mentioned this fight went down in the Korengal Valley, one of the most war devastated areas in all of Afghanistan. The Valley is located in Eastern Afghanistan in the Kunar Province, the site of the heaviest fighting in the Afghan war. The firefight ended (for a reason not mentioned) and the daily life went back to normal. The picture shown is the scene after the fight. As the smoke left from the rifles rises up in the sky, the soldiers ironically take a smoking break.

Moore, John. "Pictures of the Day Oct. 28." 28 Oct. 2008 28 Oct 2008 .

MY PICTURE>..

Movie post

The article I found is reviewing a movie called “Stranded”, a documentary about how team spirit must remain intact in the face of a catastrophe. There is a narrator named Nando, a man who has lost his sister and mother does not give a very bright outlook for the future. The documentary remembers a plane crash in the Andes in 1972, and relives the struggles of the 16 survivors of the 42 who crashed. The movie is an in depth summary of the plane crash and is completely true. That fact makes the movie all the more chilling due to the horrible events and eventual cannibalism that takes place in the movie. When the plane crashed in the Valley of Tears glacier those on the plane (who survived) had to survive with anything they could do. At first the problem was food and the survivors had nowhere to turn but to the bodies of their friends and loved ones dead from the crash. One survivor describes it as “Things that I don’t think any animal is capable of doing- eating its own species”. The survivors not only were stranded but search parties had to be called off due to bad weather and so they had to go find civilization. The physical journey that the victims had to travel was over mountains and through treacherous conditions. Most of the movie is shot without much shadow. The vastness of the area they need to travel is amazing and most of the movie gives you a cynical dark view and you feel there isn’t much hope for the survivors.
“Mortal terror is outweighed by an overwhelming sense of wonder and personal discovery, as a ferocious will to live, not only for themselves but for one another, propels them to perform superhuman feats while exhausted and near starvation”. These people stuck on a mountain are a great lesson of human perseverance. The sheer will to live can make you do almost anything to survive. “Stranded” is a movie shot mostly in bluish black and white colors with faces and bodies usually blurred like in a blizzard. This may give a feeling of being lost, not quite being able to grasp at the real. The survivors decide to try and get to people because no help is coming. Their journey is hard but when they finally get to a small town you feel the end of the journey and almost want to cry. The survivors are airlifted out of the mountains and arrive home. As the movie ends you hear “no laws, just habits and practices accepted by the group.” The long movie draws to a close and we see the massage of togetherness has sewn itself into every part of this documentary.

Holden, Stephen. "Stranded: I've Come From a Plane THat Crashed In the Mountains." 22 Octobed 2008 23 Oct 2008 .

Outside reading

This week I found and article about a Chinese activist who won a rights prize. The award he won is called the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, an exceptionally prestigious award. Hu Jia is his name and he received this award from European Parliament for his critical thoughts and sayings about the Chinese Communist Party. Mr. Hu is a human rights activist and has been jailed for 3 and a half years for his critical writings on Chinese Government's Communism and Human Rights violations. China is unhappy about this award being given to their convict and said that this award will hurt the relations between China and Europe i na letter sent to the European Parliament.
“The European Parliament is sending out a signal of clear support to all those who support human rights in China.” Mr. Hu, who speaks his views clearly and without hesitation on some of the most important topics (i.e. AIDS and environmental protection), is even a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. The Chinese Government would be very upset but many believe that speaking out was what Hu Jia needed to do for the world. “Mr. Hu’s conviction in April was part of a nationwide crackdown against dissidents in what many human rights advocates considered a pre-Olympic silencing campaign”. When looking into the Chinese Government the people who are upset with Mr. Hu and those responsible for the vast majority of all Human Rights violations. If Mr. Hu should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize it could strain relations between China and the World though many seem to think rewarding free thought could be worth the tension.

Yardley, Jim. "Chinese Activist Wins Rights Prize." 23 October 2008 23 Oct 2008 .

Is Homer a Sexist?

Would Homer Be bonsidered a Sexist?

Homer’s treatment of women now may seen slightly sexist, but in the time period he was in, Homer was a feminist. He made his respect for women clear in his works, especially in The Odyssey. Homer shows his point of view through the nymph Calypso, a temptress who has captured Odysseus. When Hermes tells her she has to finally let Odysseus go, she flies into a rage. Calypso complains about the Gods being sexist. She whines about male gods being able to be with mortal women but not the other way around. This was how Homer portrayed his idea to people. He is saying that he doesn't agree with the inequality of relationships. He is saying that women should have just as much power in a relationship as men do. Also when Odysseus returns to Ithaca his home disguised as a beggar, he witnesses his wife tricking her suitors. Penelope has been portrayed as a weaker character who was dependant on her husband. Now though we see that she is intelligent and holds quite a bit of power over all of her suitors. Homer is portraying his view that women can be intelligent and have power.
Pallas Athena is another dominant female character in The Odyssey. Not only does she guide Odysseus through the entire poem, but she brings the peace of the end. A fight breaks out at the house of Odysseus' father as attempted revenge for killing the suitors. Athena then breaks into the fighting and orders a stop to the fighting. She tells Odysseus that war is not always the answer. He is depicting women as wise as we see this play out. In this instance the woman is indeed wiser than the man. Another example is when Odysseus shows up on an island and is helped by a princess. When he meets her he is naked. This fact humbles and lowers Odysseus to the woman. This is a very feminist idea of putting a man in the hands of a woman. Odysseus had no option but to trust a girl, implying his feminist ideas.

1st outside Reading

My first post I decided to relate to The Iliad and the theme of war and control. I found an article about the war in Iraq discussing the U.S. authority in Iraq. The U.S. wishes to extend our authority in Iraq past the end of this year while Iraq is fighting against this influence. Admiral Mike Mullen explains that the U.S. Staying is a good idea and that Iran is too involved in the issue. The U.S. believes that if we leave Iraq’s armies are not ready to protect their country and keep their country afloat. The Admiral believes that Iran has ulterior motives to getting the U.S. out of Iraq. He says Iraq is “running out of time” and that he is worried about Iraq not excepting this plan to have the U.S. staying in the country. The U.S. is still fighting for control in Iraq and we have plans to get more involved in the actions of Iraq.

Shanker, Thom. "Mullen Says Iraq "Running Out of Time" on Forces Accord." October 21, 2008 22 Oct 2008 .

The first post.

Hello. My name is Spenser and this is my second blog i have created. My first one got deleted along with my posts. I'm only slightly bitter. On a lighter note please feel free to follow my blog and comment when you can! :)