Writing on Short Fiction & Literature - From Plays to Culture: A College Critique

The Way Michael Phelps Warms Up

Recently this fall many different media sources have released pictures of 14 time Olympic gold swimmer Michael Phelps smoking marijuana out of a bong (a glass pipe which is used to smoke tobacco or other substances). News of the World, a United Kingdom based news company, was one of the first to launch the shot. This photograph displayed on the front page, read: “What a Dope”. The media has severely blown this out of proportion by portraying an American hero as the bad guy. Prominent figures in our society have smoked pot, including President Obama and many other celebrities, musicians and politicians.

            On November 6, weeks after the Beijing games, Phelps surprised students at the University of South Carolina in Columbia by showing up unannounced at a house party. He was apparently visiting Jordan Matthews, a girl he was secretly seeing, who attends the college. At the party he was supposedly consuming large quantities of alcohol, both beer and liquor. When a guy offered Phelps a glass bong, he took it without hesitation and it appeared as if it was not his first time, positioning himself and smoking out of it correctly. Phelps later took back his statement of apology saying: “It turns out I’m not so stupid and I didn’t make a huge mistake. I’m not sorry I smoked marijuana and there’s a pretty good chance I’ll do it again. Hey, do you want to hear me say ‘roll a fat one’ in Japanese? I’m Rosetta Stoned! ”Sources of news companies say he was the life of the party, being loud and obnoxious, hanging on girls throughout the night. The girls wanted him and the guys wanted to be his best friend. The picture of him was taken by a random spectator and it’s not clear why he leaked it to the press. After Phelps hit the bong, he became somewhat paranoid and left the party quickly. For the rest of the week Phelps continued to party in the city of Columbia, going around to more bars and house parties in the area.

            Personally, he sounds like a fairly normal 23 year-old guy. I believe virtually every person around that age has experimented with illegal substances or has done something underage. The media has accused him of being the antagonist for smoking pot. What? I guess winning 14 gold medals, just does not matter to the media. Yes, pot is illegal but it does not give them the right to call him out as a criminal. Look at all the celebrities, musicians and political figures who have admitted to smoking pot. President Obama smoked pot; Bill Clinton, Robert Downey Jr., Matthew McConaughey, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, and John Lennon. The list could go on. All of these people were and are well accomplished people in our culture. From this incident regarding Phelps and marijuana, there has been much speculation on legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana in the United States. Medical marijuana activists have been talking to media companies about actions to be put in motion to try and pass bills to make it legal for medicinal purposes. Marijuana is already decriminalized in 13 states, making it somewhat of an active subject to discuss. Maybe marijuana does not affect athletes, maybe it does? This is a question that will take awhile to answer. Although Phelps did smoke pot, I believe its not as bad as baseball players cheating by taking performance enhancing drugs to break records such as Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro, and Mark McGuire.

            Now since this story has been broadcasted around the world, many people will have to think about how they feel about the whole pot scandal with Michael Phelps. I encourage America to take it easy on the 14 gold medalist. He is only human. Marijuana will remain illegal for some time, but we must look into decriminalizing it to keep our focus on more important things regarding the social order such as children abuse, murder, and other dangerous crimes.





Works Citied

News of the World. 2 Jan. 2009. News Group Newspapers Ltd. 5 Feb. 2009             http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/150832/14-times-Olympic-gold medal-           winner-Michael-Phelps-caught-with-bong-cannabis-pipe.html.

Picture

1.) Google images: search Michael Phelps

Political Corruption

In Jeff Coen and Rick Pearson’s article published in a Chicago newspaper, “Blagojevich Arrested on Federal Charges” the two reporters describe the charges placed on the Illinois governor as well as the serious consequences and effects it will have on politics today. Although this article is informative and factual, to me it seems like there are some small tactics used by Coen and Pearson to sway the reader’s opinion of the situation. The obscure forms of bias used in the article, I know personally, will affect the war a person reads future articles about this subject because they helped me form my opinions on the issue.

            Illinois governor Blagojevich was recently charged with attempting to sell/trade the vacant U.S. Senate seat left by President Barack Obama. The attempt was made in order to gain “financial benefits for the governor and his wife,” reported the article. This incident has shocked the public as well as other political figures and has had somewhat of a negative effect on President Obama, due to speculation of his knowing of Blagojevich’s plan. The Illinois governor and his chief of staff John Harris were arrested December ninth by the FBI after evidence came about of their plans and investigation continue to find the truth in the fraudulent situation.

            While reading this article I very quickly formed an opinion based on what I thought was strict, factual information. Being that it is a news article everything presented in the article was correct, but the war in which it was presented definitely seemed to have an effect on how I read it. After introducing the point of the article in the first sentence the reporters followed it up finishing the paragraph with a quote from an attorney claiming it is a “staggering level of corruption” (Pearson). By starting the entire article with a statement from someone, of authority, who already has an opinion on the subject will always sway the opinion of the person reading. It had an effect on me. When a person is learning about something for the first time it is likely that they will take the same side as the person sharing and although this news article does not have extremely obvious bias ideas, they way the information is presented influences a person’s opinion.

            The issue presented in the article by Coen and Pearson is very important to the American public. It is an issue that shows corruption in our government and will play out by showing us how political figures of power deal with such instances. Although this was a news article delivering information, it still had a way of affecting the opinion of the reader by the way in which the conflict was presented.

Works Cited

Coen, Jeff, and Rick Pearson. “Blagojevich Arrested on Federal Charges.” 9 Dec. 2008. 9 Feb. 2009. ddddddhttp://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/12/source-feds-take-gov-blagojevish-into-ddddddcustody.html.

Figure1 ggggo<http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://weblogs.cltv.com/news/opinion/mcclendon/agojevich.jpg&imgrefurl=http://weblogs.cltv.com/news/opinion/mcclendon/blagojevich/&usg=__yC7HhR;;;;;;;;;;;;nAR3XSO18FktRYFKONm60=&h=2102&w=1400&sz=102&hl=en&start=3&um=1&tbnid=wtiKJ53ZiGyGM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=100&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dblagojevich%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%;;;;;;;;;;3DN%26um%3D1>.

Figure 2 <http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://starcasm.net/wp-nnnnnncontent/uploads/2009/01/blagojevich_ice_cream.jpg&imgrefurl=http://starcasm.net/archives/cnategoy/politicians/rod-blagojevich oooooopoliticians&usg=__5GrxLsuY0e1YX3NA2Nzp8sfOb9E=&h=427&w=356&sz=87&hl=en&start=118ooooooo&um=1&tbnid=rWsiPT2tNUWGvM:&tbnh=126&tbnw=105&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dblagojevichooooooo%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D100%26um%3D1>.

Figure 3 <http://z.about.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/A/Y/2/obama-successor-tt090102.gif>.

Bong….What’s Wrong?

February 3, 2009

Comp.2

J. Blackburn

            In “Phelps used poor judgment, but he was just being a kid” by Austin Murphy. Michael Phelps was strongly criticized for his acts that were recently introduced to the public. He was photographed smoking a water bong at a frat party in South Carolina. Phelps’s situation has been blown way out of proportion and should not be so frowned upon by the media. His recent performances at the Olympic games proved Phelps has his priorities straight.

            Murphy speaks extremely condescending of smoking marijuana through out this article. He blames Phelps’s actions on his youth, he is just 23. Murphy feels this incident may cause some drawbacks for Phelps, but will pass in time. Phelps has been in trouble with the law before, a DUI in 2004 that put him on 18 months of probation. So this may not be such a large surprise to the public as it is being construed to be. Murphy speaks of many college swimmers schedule, consisting of rigorous training during the season followed by a time to let lose and party. Murphy speaks of Phelps’s potential

future of becoming a figure like Babe Ruth, known for partying and being surrounded by women.

            The media has already spent too much time and energy on Michael Phelps current situation.   He may be the best swimmer known to man, but he is still a normal 23 year old in most aspects of life. Phelps trains harder then most people ever will for anything in their life and may need some time to cut lose from time to time. Marijuana is a substance that is none addictive and far less intoxicating then alcohol; it’s a substance that should be legal. Phelps’s actions show that he has his career completely under control.

                As a role model Phelps is held to a higher standard then the average citizen, however he is not perfect and is still going to make mistakes like any other 23 year old. As parents, they are responsible for the way their children are raised and their moral values; it should not be a famous athlete. This incident has been blown out of proportion and will pass in time.

Super Performance

She had it all. After becoming a finalist on American Idol, Americas hit TV show discovering up and coming singers, there was no stopping Jennifer Hudson. Simon was skeptical about her future, but she would go on to prove him otherwise. Her next stop: the Oscars, which she won for best supporting actress for her performance in Dreamgirls. However, tragedy would strike, and Jennifer’s world would be turned upside down. The article “Jennifer Hudson Delivers on Super Bowl Stage” recounts Jennifer’s emotional return to the spotlight, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE-7YqwZZ4o. The author’s straightforward facts and sympathy for the singer really made the article enjoyable to read.

            Jennifer Hudson has pretty much stayed out of sight from the media since last October when her mother, brother, and nephew were killed in their Chicago home. Jennifer returned to the spotlight with the most coveted honor of singing the national anthem at the Super Bowl. Hudson belted out those famous lyrics with such great emotion and passion. After receiving a standing ovation, she came off the stage asking how she did. “Touchdown” was the response (Hudson Delivers). Jennifer was praised by Faith Hill who sang “America the Beautiful” and costar Jamie Foxx. Everyone knew the emotion behind the performance and praised her for being
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 2 such a strong girl.

            The author of this article really shows, compassion toward Jennifer and acknowledges her bravery. Throughout the article numerous quotes such as “Hudson looked relieved when she was through” points at how hard it must have been to perform in the spotlight. The author also shows how everyone was touched by her performance. Costar Jamie Foxx replied “Amazing. It brought tears to my eyes” (Hudson Delivers). In this article, Jennifer is portrayed as such a strong woman. It would be so hard to come back to a national setting and perform after such a terrible tragedy. Her story really makes you think about what you would have done in her situation. If I had to perform in front of millions of people after three of my family members died I don’t think I could have done it. Hudson sang with such emotion it was truly a triumphant return to the spotlight for the Oscar winner.

            The article describes in great detail the setting of what was taking place. In case someone missed the performance, they would be able to understand what was taking place by reading the article. Also, the author illustrates the significance of Jennifer’s performance. “This was such an important performance, because it’s the first time everyone has seen Jennifer” (Hudson Delivers). Being able to sing at the Super Bowl, the national anthem, is such an honor, and throughout the article Jennifer is depicted as a “strong girl, of faith” (Hudson Delivers).

            Hudson’s performance is being compared to Whitney Houston’s production of the national anthem several years ago. And she rightfully should be. Hudson sang with such passion just about everybody was fighting back tears at the end of the song. The author really praises and sympathizes with Hudson while providing and enlightening account of her comeback. Hudson’s performance is one that will go down in history as truly remarkable.

Works Cited

Figure 1.
http://www.mtv.com/shared/promoimages/bands/h/hudson_jennifer/superbowl_anthem_2009/alt_020209/281x211.jpg

Figure 2. http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/080205/idol_auditions/jennifer-hudson_l.jpg

"Hudson delivers on Super Bowl Stage." The Washington Times 2 February 2009 4 Feb
2009 <http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/02/jennifer-hudson-
delivers-super-bowl-stage/>.

"First White Flag of 22 Years"

Alison Jones’ article, “Action Needed to Leverage Surrender of LRA Commander Into Chance for Peace” discusses the surrender of a top official of the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) rebel army of northern Uganda. More importantly, it talks about the repercussions of this action on the peace process of the war in Uganda. This article characterizes the Ugandan army and the LRA while allowing for a reader response approach to this illustration, yet it leaves out the important historical perspective into this deadly controversy.

For the past twenty-two years Uganda has been subject to attacks by the rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Recently they have moved to the neighboring countries of Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This group is responsible for countless atrocities including an attack earlier this month on a Congolese village that left at least 100 bodies behind. As this article states after many failed peace negotiations, the Ugandan government launched a military offensive, Operation Lighting Thunder, towards the LRA insurgency beginning in the middle of December. This attack played a large role in the surrender of Okot Odhiambo, second in command of the LRA. On the other hand, this attack has also endangered the women and children forced into the rebel ranks and the all the civilians in the unprotected regions. Ronan, a senior analyst of ResolveUganda, believes Odhiambo’s surrender comes at an extremely high price. With the surrender of Odhiambo along with the forty-five rebel soldiers and ten abductees, international authorities hope to lure the LRA leader Joseph Kony out of hiding. This war wages on, but this surrender sheds some hope for the future.

            The article characterizes the Ugandan military unit very well. By pointing out the destruction of Operation Lightening Thunder it begins to reveal that there is no definite “good” or “bad” side in this catastrophic conflict. This piece exposes the ugly truth that both sides of the conflict cause and endure much causality.

            One way to critically view this article is from the reader response approach.   This article is just a small part of the tangled story of Uganda and this war. Therefore, it leaves us with an unanswered ending, allowing the reader to imagine what is in store for the country next and to follow up on the outcome of these surrenders. It also begs the question of who is good and who is bad in this complicated conflict, leaving it up to the reader’s discretion.

            Unfortunately, this article failed to look closer at the culture and history of Uganda. A more thorough account would have mentioned a little bit about the different forms of justice and punishment in the Ugandan culture and how that affected Odhiambo’s surrender.

            Although the main idea of the article is the surrender of the LRA official and fighters, the subtext pushes the idea of using it as leverage to force Joseph Kony out of hiding. The article states, “what comes next is what really matters” insinuating that this could be another large step towards peace in Uganda and the surrounding countries.

            Alison Jones presents the material in what I believe is the least bias way possible by acknowledging the atrocities both sides have caused throughout this war. Also, this article leaves the reader anticipating the next update of the conflict. Even though Odhiambo has surrendered progress still needs to be made in order to prevent the death of many innocent people and help improve the lives of the Ugandan citizens.

Works Cited

Jones, Alison. "Action Needed to Leverage Surrender of LRA Commander Into Chance for Peace." ResolveUganda. 28 Jan 2009. 4 Feb 2009. http://www.resolveuganda.org/node/790

“LRA picture” http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2007/11/16/LRA2.jpg

“Resolve Uganda” http://www.resolveuganda.org/

“Ugandan Flag picture” http://pollybanks.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/cheap-calling-to-uganda-flag.jpg

Ashton Kutcher Death Threat

Paragraph. Twitter Death Threat

                  News Story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRSIc0GP58o

            In the article “Ashton Kutcher ‘Tweets’ his domestic grievances” from CBS, Ashton Kutcher has been accused of using the popular social website known as “Twitter” to make an indirect death threat towards his neighbor, due to the housing construction taking place next door at around 7 a.m. On the website Kutcher apparently said “I’m gonna kill my neighbor!” among other explicit phrases offered the morning of. Obviously, this could technically be issued a death threat, however the actor obviously did not mean for it to be taken literally. The author of this article uses several literary devices including foils and subplots to examine this incident involving Kutcher and his neighbor. The author has managed to use Ashton’s celebrity status as a means of writing this seemingly pointless article.

            At 7 in the morning Ashton Kutcher and his wife Demi Moore were woken to the sound of hammers working construction on his neighbor’s next-door home. Annoyed, Kutcher went to the website Twitter and began blogging his frustrations to whoever was willing to listen. On the site, Kutcher said phrases such as ““Holy moly I’m gonna lose it!” “This [expletive] clown has another thing coming!” and “I’m gonna kill my neighbor!””(CBS.com) Ashton Kutcher was later informed that his neighbor had put up with construction that was done on Ashton’s 3 million dollar mansion earlier that year. (E!News.com) He was also informed that California law allowed such hammering and nailing to be done at this time. (E! News.com) Kutcher later issued an apology via Twitter to his neighbor, a screenwriter named Bruce Goldsmith.

            The reason I chose this article because it defines what an act of literary fiction can be. My main argument to that statement is that by no means can one honestly think that when Ashton Kutcher blogged, “I’m gonna kill my neighbor!” that the actor really meant it. In the legal system you could technically be charged for that threat, however it would be unreasonable taken out of a context like this one. Making the threat even more unrealistic is the fact that Ashton Kutcher is a wealthy actor who just recently spent 3 million dollars on a new mansion and whom has a family to support. Would one of Hollywood’s best paid actors really risk losing it all over construction differences? I find that hard to believe. Another sort of fiction in this article occurs when Kutcher is quoted as saying “It’s a joke; I can’t believe your making it news.” If what Kutcher says here is really true then the whole written article can be deemed an act of fiction as well.

            Throughout the article I was able to find some good uses of foils and subplots. The main foil, or minor character that helps us know more about the main character (in this case Kutcher), is wife Demi Moore whom is shown to have also posted remarks on Twitter attempting to calm down her husband. She posted three remarks including “Baby keep it together there should only be about another 5 months of this.” (CBS.com) This is also a technique of irony as his wife is acting more like his mother, which is comedic considering the age difference between the two. Ashton is in his mid twenties while Demi is in her mid forties. The interaction between the couple can also be viewed as a subplot that introduces us further into Ashton’s personality.

            Ashton Kutcher has proven through this website that people really do care about celebrities social lives as this seemingly miniscule situation has gotten media acclaim. I have proven that many contexts of this article, and perhaps the article as a whole, is fictionist. The author’s use of foils, irony, and subplots invites us deeper into our interpretation of this article. As a society we seem to put too much weight on these silly situations that only get attention because the person involved is famous. People should stop caring so much about every aspect of the lives of celebrities.





Works Cited

“Ashton Kutcher ‘Tweets’ His Domestic Grievances” CBS. 2009. Entertainment

            News. 29 Jan. 2009. <0.http://www.cbs2.com>

“Ashton Kutcher Pledges Neighborly Tolerance.” E!News. 2009.E! Online. 30 Jan.

            2009. <www.eonline.com>



Figure 1.

<http://images.celeb9.com/blog/wp-        content/uploads/2009/02/ashton_kutcher.jpg>

Figure 2.

            <http://hotholliwood.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/ashton_kutcher300.jpg

"Why Ron Paul's Answer Terrifies Them"

Articles, short stories, and other types of literature can affect how we sometimes think. In the article, “Why Ron Paul’s Answer Terrifies Them” by Jacob G. Hornberger is one that tries to make other people look at Ron Paul in a different light. Hornberger gives us his idea of how important people and even at times our most trusted news stations present Ron Paul to the public.

Ron Paul was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Upon graduating from Gettysburg College, where he served as pledge class president of Lambda Chi Alpha, and the Duke University School of Medicine, he joined the United States Air Force where he served as a flight surgeon. In 1968 him and his wife Carol moved to Texas where he began his own practice of being a specialist in obstetrics, or gynecology. Him and his wife later became proud parents to five children. Although that’s good, what makes him a prime candidate for office are the positions he has obtained throughout his life. He has served in Congress, on the House Banking committee, on the House Financial committee, the Gold Commission, the International Relations committee, and the Joint Economic committee (Hornberger, par. 1).

In the article Hornberger writes about how important people have presented Ron Paul in a bad light. One example is of the event where John Gibson and Michelle Malkin come up with a warped conclusion to what Ron Paul had said. He says that not only was this one example, but that there where many more instances. These occurred among Republicans where they claimed that Ron Paul blamed America for the terriost attacks and how they know that if Ron Paul was elected, then he would get rid of respect to big-government, pro-empire, inventionist foreign policy that many of them have supported for years.
Hornberger also states that many respected news stations have put Ron Paul in a bad light. In Ron Paul’s 2008 campaign alone had several record-breaking events. He had the highest rate of military contribution and was the number-one web search term. Although he led all of the other candidates in YouTube subscriptions, traditional media largely ignored him. In at least one incident FOX News did not invite him to a GOP debate featuring all of the other presidential candidates at the time. The only exception was when CNN’s Glenn Beck interviewed Ron Paul for the full hour of his show. Though projections of 2008 Republican delegate counts varied widely, his count was consistently third among the top three candidates remaining after Super Tuesday (Hornberger, par. 4).

So as you can see people can make you see another way just by adding their perspective on a topic, just like as in this article by Hornberger. The next time you read something I encourage you to not only look at the way they say it, but to also look behind to what they truly are trying to do or say.

Works Cited
Hornberger, Jacob G. "Why Ron Paul's Answer Terrifies Them." 23 May 2007. 09 Feb. 2009 <http://www.fff.org/comment/com0705i.asp>.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://blogs.chron.com/txpotomac/Ron%2520Paul.jpg&imgrefurl=http://blogs.chron.com/txpotomac/2008/02/14th_district_congressional_ca_1.html&usg=__C1KoznSb_7MQo2pcgmfsl6p3TXM=&h=327&w=300&sz=18&hl=en&start=4&um=1&tbnid=7ZhI0xxyxKV8nM:&tbnh=118&tbnw=108&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dron%2Bpaul%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den-us%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

End to the War on Terror?

            On January 23, 2009, The Washington Post’s front page story was headlined: “Bush’s War on Terror Comes to a Sudden End.” Dana Priest, Washington Post staff writer, concludes that with the election of Barack Obama, the United States has turned the page: not just in history, but on the War on Terror. With the stroke of a pen, the War on Terror “was halted by executive order in the Oval Office” (Priest 1). President Obama has ordered the closing of the military’s Guantanomo Bay and the CIA’s secret overseas prisons around the globe. According to the Washington Post, the President has also taken the moral high ground: following the Geneva Convention. Is this the end of what former President George W. Bush called the “War on Terror?” According to popular belief, the last eight years have been an utter failure, right? But wait, we haven’t been attacked since 9/11! We should in fact follow the leadership from that “evil George W Bush.”

            The first executive order President Obama signed was to have Guantanamo Bay shut down by the end of the year. Guantanamo Bay was established after the September 11th terrorist attack as a detention facility for people deemed “enemy combatants.” The primary purpose of the facility was to hold suspected terrorists. Like Guantanamo Bay, the CIA set up numerous other secret prisons around the world where the US could interrogate terrorist suspects with enhanced techniques such as waterboarding, sleep deprivation, isolation, and other fear tactics that many people deem controversial. The most infamous known case is that of Abu Ghraib. At Abu Ghraib, soldiers, most notably Specialist Charles Graner and fiancé Lynndie England, posed in pictures with hooded and naked detainees.   The detainees were forced to do egregious actions ranging from being sodomized with a baton to urinating on each other. When the public discovered the grotesque images, they were outraged. How can America, whose foundation lies on its moral high ground, be involved with such sick atrocities? And if it’s happening at Abu Ghraib, then it’s probably happening at Guantanamo and other secret prisons. In her article, Dana Priest continuously stresses America’s double standard. How can America and in particular George W. Bush declare a “War on Terrorism” when we ourselves are guilty of terrorist activity? Priest reminds us that we now have Obama. She points to the language of his Inaugural Address:

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals…And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you (Priest 2).

            It is obvious that Washington Post staff writer, Dana Priest, is no fan of former President George W. Bush. She makes this clear in her language and disdain for the last eight years. Priest repeatedly tells of the abuses at some of the secret prisons such as “extreme sleep and sensory deprivation, waterboarding, and sexual humiliation” (Priest 1). Priest is right in one respect, what happened at Abu Ghraib and other secret prisons is appalling and it is good that those soldiers are being prosecuted for war crimes. But too imply that America is living a double standard and is itself guilty of terrorism is ludicrous. There are such few reports of American soldiers abusing detainees, and to say our nation is guilty of terrorism is a huge dishonor to the many men and women who have died, heroically fighting for our freedom. Furthermore, Priest argues that the only reason President Bush was able to continue the tactics employed against Al-Qaeda was because “at the time, there was a consensus in Congress and among the public that the United States would be attacked again and that the government should do whatever means necessary to thwart the threat” (Priest 1). Her argument is irresponsible. So since we haven’t been attacked for over seven years, the President should not longer “thwart the threat?” The President takes an oath to protect the American people, and he or she must always do whatever means necessary to do so. Priest gives President Bush no credit for fulfilling his oath of office: to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.

            Is “Bush’s War on Terror” really coming to an end? Perhaps that is up to President Obama.   Guantanamo Bay, enhanced interrogation, and terrorist surveillance were all ways President Bush kept America safe for last eight years. If President Obama continues to do away with these techniques, then we could be living in fear for the next four years.

Works Cited

"Bush Ground Zero."

Http://www.picsearch.com/search.cgi?q=bush+ground+zero&cols=5&thumbs=20&t=fhw0J33naYQlkrnV1GqSZy4cJjHdcoEZCpjBEJKq5Yk%253D. Pic Search.

Priest, Dana. "Bush's 'War' on Terror Comes to a Sudden End." The Washington Post 23 Jan.
             2009: 1-2.

The Explanation of the Catbird Seat

            The Catbird Seat, by James Thurber is a humorous story with a surprising ending. In this story we see Thurber’s use of humor along with his ability to have a good plot. The Catbird Seat is one of many of James Thurber’s works. I really like Thurber’s plot in this story, but like every author Thurber’s work should be evaluated to look into his style of writing. I will proceed to evaluate his plot, climax, and ending after giving you a short summary of the story.

            The story begins with the main character, Mr. Martin, buying a pack of cigarettes. He makes sure that no one notices him. We then go through a flashback that begins to explain more about Mr. Martin. He is the head of the filing department of the “F & S” company, and is known for never drinking or smoking. A Mrs. Ulgine Barrows has come into the same workplace and has gotten on the good side of Mr. Fitweiler who is the current president of the company. Mr. Martin doesn’t like Mr. Barrows at all. He finds that she is very loud and goes around saying things like, “Are you lifting the oxcart out of the ditch?”, “Are you tearing up the pea patch?”, and “Are you sitting in the catbird seat?” These sayings drive Mr. Martin crazy because he doesn’t understand them at all. Mr. Fitweiler decides to make Mrs. Barrows special advisor and she begins to make changes in the company. Fearing that she will come into his department and make changes that he thinks unnecessary, Mr. Martin decides to “rub her out.” He devises a plan in which he will murder Mrs. Barrows. He begins his plan by taking a walk and going by her house, when she lets him in he looks for items around the house in which he can use as the murder weapon. Mrs. Barrows offers him a drink of scotch and soda and he accepts. He also lights one of the cigarettes that he bought. He then proceeds to talk bad about their boss Mr. Fitweiler and says that he is going to plant a bomb and blow up the company. Mrs. Barrows is outraged and asks him to leave.

            The next day at work Mrs. Barrows comes early and goes straight to Mr. Fitweiler to tell him Mr. Martins plan. Mr. Fitweiler is appalled and doesn’t believe her. He calls Mr. Martin into his office and informs him of Mrs. Barrow’s story. Mr. Fitweiler knows that Mr. Martin never drinks or smokes and would never even dream to plant a bomb. He then fires Mrs. Barrows and sends her to his psychiatrist. In the end the joke was on Mrs. Barrows and Mr. Martin’s department went unchanged.

            James Thurber’s plot in this story is very good. It is comical and quite clever. I like how it starts off with him buying a pack of cigarettes and blatantly states that Mr. Martin was known for never smoking. It makes the reader curious from the start and has them wondering what will happen next. Thurber could have made the middle of the story a little more clear, because I was confused at first, but it played out in the end. The ending was brilliant in my opinion; I never even saw it coming. The way Mr. Martin was acting like he was going to kill Mrs. Barrows at first and then leading her to believe that he was going to blow up the company was very entertaining. I was a little unsure of the climax in this story, but I believe it was when Mr. Martin was telling Mrs. Barrows about his plan to blow up the company and when he stuck his tongue out at her. It all made sense in the end. I thought it was very clever and that Thurber did a good job. Then ending was my favorite part in this story. It was witty and quite hysterical. The reader never even sees it coming. Thurber does a great job hiding his intention and keeps the reader guessing through out the entire story and then surprises everyone, especially when Mrs. Barrows realizes exactly what Mr. Martins plan was.

            The Catbird Seat was very well written in my opinion. It had a good plot, climax, and ending. Thurber has a gift for humor and keeping the reader involved. He is very well qualified and shows his intelligence through his writing. I would recommend this story to others and to also read more of Thurber’s works.

              Works Cited

Figure 1-http://sketchedout.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/catbirdseat.jpg

Thurber, James. The Catbird Seat.” Literature and the Writing Process. 8th edition. Ed. Robert                Funk. Susan X Day. Elizabeth McMahan. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc, 2007. 465-471.

Dancing Nancies

          One of The Dave Matthews Band’s most insightful songs is called “Dancing Nancies”. The song is powerful from the melody and wide variety of instruments, but also in the deep and intriguing message that it conveys. It expresses the idea that the past experiences of a person’s life, whether they are “life changing” or minute details, have the capability to impact the person that they currently are. The artist is trying to lead the reader to take into consideration the extraordinary possibilities in life and explore the person that you are.
          In life, we always ask ourselves the “what if” questions. What if I would have gone to another college? Or, what if my parents would have never met? There are many circumstances that could have transformed an individual’s life, and it can be difficult to grasp the idea that they could have been an entirely different person. A prime line in “Dancing Nancies” recites, “Don’t you ever wonder, maybe if things had been slightly different, you could be somebody else”, and it makes sense! If I had never come to visit Arkansas, which was completely on a whim, I could have gone somewhere else and would have never met all of my best friends that I know now. My experiences in life would have been dramatically changed in that one decision alone. In the song, the artist expresses a similar thought. He starts out by thinking of what type of individual he is at this point and it leads him to imagine about the alternative directions that could have influenced him to be a completely different character.

          The lyrics illustrate the image of an average twenty-three year old guy who is contemplating various outcomes, such as a millionaire in Bel Air to a parking lot attendant. “Dancing Nancies” embraces the inner conflict that people cannot change who they are and no matter how much they ask themselves “what if” questions, they are their own person. The song climaxes with him deciding not to dwell upon the perspective identities, but to be thankful for being himself. There is no reason for a person to worry about the experiences and decisions that they have made to form their identity because they can never take them back, that’s life.

          Dave Matthews Band songs speak out to a large variety of people that can interpret each line in a unique way. The literature can be so powerful and influential in the way that we see the world. In “Dancing Nancies”, the artist wants the reader to consider how crucial each event in their life could be and to be satisfied with their own reality.



                                                                     Works Cited

Matthews, Dave. "Dancing Nancies." Rec. 1 Mar. 1994. Recently. By Dave

Matthews Band. Steve Lillywhite, 1994.

Figure 1: http://www.frontrowking.com/concerts/Dave%20Matthews/dave_m3.jpg

Title.

There are some things that do not easily spark the senses of all people. These things are only clearly understood by the people who have experienced what is being illustrated, and by the people who understand the author’s background . This is the case in David Daul’s short story about a particular day fishing. When a fisherman reads “The Last Day”, by Daul, it enables their senses to be fully aroused. I will summarize and critique Daul’s fishing tale using biographical interpretation of the text.

The story begins with an exhaustive establishment of the setting. David uses more pronouns and descriptive sentences than one could use to describe Thanksgiving Day at Grandmother’s house. In short, we learn that the story takes place on the last day of a much anticipated fishing vacation set in the northern woods.

The two characters, whom are good pals, embark onto their last time fishing on this vacation. Any fisherman would know that the last day of a fishing trip is when the fisherman becomes most desperate and full of strong desire for catching “the big one”. Nevertheless, this was the case for these two fisherman.

Having not caught the desired fish, they are both still cherishing the wonders of being outside while pursuing their favorite leisure activity. This is where the story takes a turn for it’s latter half. There is no question in the mind of any fisherman what will proceed. One of the two men decide to call it quits, while the other continues to fish. After facing many obstacles in the time spent fishing alone, the remaining fisherman reaches the anticipated wages for his labor. He finally catches what the entire vacation was all about; the big one.

The story’s main message may be capable of being grasped by most. This message contained, simply put, a tale of two buddies that had a good fishin’ trip and caught a big fish. Underlying this main concept was a deep account of an angler’s message that was not understandable by most, not even most fisherman. Being a seasoned fisherman and having fished in the northern woods becomes essential to fully take hold of this story. Over and over again David Daul uses jargon and terminology much too difficult for most to understand. This is especially since he tries to strike every taste bud on the reader. One example of this is when he describes the fishing reel he used by saying, “reel that is geared for four pound test…this tiny setup was like battling a small twenty pound Chinook…” (Daul 2). Here he describes not only specifications about his equipment, but also a “Chinook”, which is a type of fish not commonly found in many places of North America. It becomes very obvious very soon that David Daul is not only a veteran fisherman, but an experienced angler of the geographic locations he describes. This is a picture of a 20 pound Chinook:

Having read this story through the filter of my own mind, I acknowledge that I am also a practiced fisherman who has fished many hours, and even in many places of the northern woods. I was able to understand all of David’s story, and interpret all of the major themes and topics. I was able to pull out the bit that I thought all audiences could understand, but because of my own sieve, I cannot be quite certain that all readers could actually come to grasp the message sent by this story. A further education of the topics, and even more, a similar experience with the events described becomes essential. The story consistently makes big assumptions about the reader, which may leave very large holes in the story to most.

Upon further research on David’s website, I found that David is a paraplegic stroke victim. The excessive detail and run-on sentences in his short story shows that David is a unique writer. For example;“Starting at 20 feet of water and a perfect wind and a direction that…” (Daul 1). As shown here, Daul uses more description and loose flow in his writing than most other writers.

Understanding a bit of Daul’s life and approach he writes from helps to critique this short story in a biographical way. Overall, Daul’s story highlights things that are only relatable to the people who have actually experienced what is being told, and who have knowledge in the area of fishing. “The Last Day”, by David Daul, leaves behind those lacking acquaintance with these things. This short tale is told from a seasoned veteran, to seasoned veterans like myself, and I have critiqued it accordingly.

Works Cited

Daul, David. "The Last Day." A Series of Short Fishing Stories. 1 Feb. 2009 <http://www.outdoorsniagara.com/short_stories/last_day.htm>.

Image1 http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.indianheadlodge.com/images/scenic4.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.indianheadlodge.com/lake-of-the-woods-fishing/&usg=__-US6iahwIhSO9IMaaXznEd0OWe8=&h=450&w=600&sz=98&hl=en&start=35&tbnid=HqzFCcofpn22xM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dnorthern%2Bwoods%2Blake%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D18

Image 2 http://www.nicholasdean.com/Images/ConventionalChinook_04.gif

The Return of a Star

The first public appearance by Jennifer Hudson since her family was tragically murdered was on Sunday during the Superbowl when she sang the national anthem. “Hudson performs for the first time since Oct. slayings,” is an article by MSN TV News informing the readers of how Jennifer Hudson impressed everyone by her confidence and personal faith that day at the game. The author of this article used a literary device, such as foils, to express the character of Jennifer Hudson and her stride, like any other being, towards coming back into the picture and her love for the stage and performing.

Jennifer Hudson first appeared on TV as a finalist on American Idol: Season 3 and then won many awards for her amazing acting and voice in the movie, Dreamgirls. Jennifer Hudson was a rising star and on to great things and accomplishments, when on October 24, 2008 a tragic and unforgettable event occurred in her life. Her mother, Darnell Donerson, and her brother, Jason, were shot to death inside Donerson’s home and Hudson’s nephew, Julian King, was reported missing and later found dead due to multiple gunshot wounds (Msn.com). William Balfour, who is Hudson’s brother-in-law, was taken into custody later that day and is still in custody to this day. He has been charged with three counts of first degree murder, one count of home invasion, and has been denied bail (Msn.com).

From October to January there have been no signs or appearances by Jennifer Hudson, until February 1, 2009 when she sang the Star-Spangled Banner at Superbowl XLIII. This was her first public appearance and it was an emotional one. “She poured her heart out into the song and even brought the toughest football players to tears” (Msn.com).

Throughout this article, a few good foils or minor characters were found that help bring out Jennifer Hudson’s character. Faith Hill who sang with Jennifer before the national anthem says “She is a strong girl, a girl of faith.”(Msn.com) Faith Hill is a successful singer and a woman of faith as well. She didn’t lose her family, but she can relate to Hudson in the professional and religious way. Also, Ricky Minor who is the Super Bowl pre-game show producer says “she's in such a great place, with such great spirits and time can heal her wounds. She’s on fire right now and totally grounded."(Msn.com) Ricky Minor is also a successful man and knows what it takes to be great in the world and he knows how stressful this career can be. The public, friends, and her family agree with Faith Hill and Ricky Minor, and they want her to get through this bump in the road and succeed on in her life.

This article over Jennifer Hudson is an example of literature and this appearance at the Superbowl was a big deal for Jennifer Hudson. Jennifer Hudson is an entertainer which means she lives for the stage and for performing. However, “Hudson has yet to speak publicly about the slayings” (Msn.com). She is just like any other person in this world and she just needed the time to grieve over the losses in her life. She is a person of faith and has a strong belief in God and her decision to come back into the public was her moment to shine and she was ready to face the world.The author and everyone else supporting her want her to have a great life and get back on her feet and do well. The public believes in her and they just want what’s best for her and they want only positive things for her now.

Due to this article, it brings out the great image of Jennifer Hudson and the people who are around her and supporting her. It’s human nature to retreat after a personal tragedy. Jennifer Hudson took time off to grieve and reflect over the tragic losses in her life. With her tremendous will power and personal faith in God, she was able to rise above this tragedy and give the performance of a life time, which happened to be the most watched SuperBowl game ever (Msn.com). She is on the road to making a great recovery over the loss of her family and her foils and supporters are here to help her succeed in her career.

Works Cited

“Hudson performs for first time since Oct. slayings.” MSN TV NEWS. 1 February 2009.2009 Associated Press. 3 February 2009 <http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=350275>.

Image 1 < http://www.usmagazine.com/files/william-b.jpg>

Image 2 http://milk-mag.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/hudson-family.jpg

Image 3 < http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20090201/fbn-super-bowl-entertainment/images/03dd0605-1d85-42b5-ba61-23b8a8a1cf8a.jpg>

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE-7YqwZZ4o>

"The Lottery"

Title.

Paragraph.

The Roaring Twenties

    “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway is a short fictional story, set in the late twenties, about a young couple trying to decide whether or not to have an abortion. The couple sits at a train station in Spain discussing the situation over drinks. The twenties were a time of great fun with little responsibility. This story is the aftermath of a couple living that lifestyle. The woman in the story wants to turn their romantic relationship into a family, but the man does not want to leave his lifestyle. He subtly pressures her into getting the abortion by constantly repeating, “If you don’t want to you don’t have to. I wouldn’t have you do it if you didn’t want to” every time she returns an answer he does not like (Hemmingway 3321).

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/596039/hemingways_hills_like_white_elephants.html?cat=38

The story begins by describing the area around the train station: the hills, the trees, and the plains. Then the woman and a man start out in dialogue and order some drinks. The conversation gets more serious and the man starts explaining how easy the procedure is and how many people he knows that have done it successfully. She turns the conversation by saying, how much she thought the hills look like white elephants. They begin to discuss a drink that taste like licorice and the women states, “Everything tastes of licorice. Especially all the things you’ve waited so long for” (Hemmingway 3322). She begins to talk about the hills some more and the man says that the procedure is perfectly natural and that she would not mind it a bit. She just wants to know if they will be happy again after she gets the procedure, he assures her that they will. She finally concedes and states that she does not care about herself any longer and gives up. The man moves their bags closer to train and has a drink alone at the bar.

The story is implying that the young couple is discussing an abortion and that their free-living life has finally caught up with them. The man is thought to be a part of the lost generation after World War I. He seems as if he did not want to go against the status quo of a young American couple back then, so he wants to have the abortion saying, “I know you wouldn’t mind it, Jig. It’s really not anything” (Hemmingway 3322). He tries to fool her into conceding by saying how easy it is and how all of their relationship problems would be fixed by it, “That’s the only thing that bothers us. It’s the only thing that’s made us unhappy”(Hemmingway 3323).

http://www.gummyprint.com/blog/hills-like-white-elephants-literary-analysis/

The woman implies that she wants to settle down, have the child, and start a family. She is tired of living her empty life, saying that everything tastes the same now. She also describes the beautiful hills that look like white elephants behind the desolate valley. The desolate valley symbolizes her choice to have an abortion and to keep living her empty life. While the hills symbolize her choice against the abortion and to live a life of purpose and meaning. In the end she finally gives in spitefully, “Then I’ll do it. Because I don’t care about me” (Hemmingway 3323).

            The culture of the roaring twenties would have been to have the abortion. The man wanted to stick with the status quo and get the problem out of the way. The women, alternatively, wanted to go against the culture and leave her life of emptiness in the past and start a new one that is more meaningful. She also loved him and just wanted them to be happy again. When she saw the hills as white elephants it made her happy, because she was really thinking of her life with her child.



Bibliography

Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills Like White Elephants." Literature and the Writing Process.

8th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education Inc., 2007. 3321-25.

A Tragic Ending

Love conquers all. That’s what we hear over and over again growing up. Everyone longs for that one remarkable, extraordinary person to waltz into his or her life and steal his or her heart away for the rest of eternity, but is it truly possible that the power of love will stay strong enough to face any problem that moves in its way? Based on the short story “The Love of My Life” by T. Coraghessan Boyle, as strong as love might be, there is always something stronger tha t could come along and shatter it.

            In the story “The Love of My Life,” Boyle describes an extremely powerful love between two young teenagers named China and Jeremy. These two were inseparable, completely taken by love since the end of their junior year when they started dating, and they were not afraid to show it.   “They kissed whenever they met, no matter where or when, even if one of them had just stepped out of the room, because that was love, that was the way love was,” and they believed that nothing could put an end this incredible feeling (Boyle 422). After spring break of their senior, and after finding that China was pregnant, their problems began. They would be heading to two different top, ivy league schools in just a few, short months, and China was too frightened to tell anyone about the child. They came to the decision to go to school, and once the time came for the baby to be delivered, they would deal with it then. The night China’s water broke, she called Jeremy and they met at a motel between their two schools. After a long delivery Jeremy put the baby in the dumpster, as China has insisted on him doing, and they went back to their separate schools, only to be picked up by the police the next morning. After a long drawn out process of jail and house arrest, China and her family decided to place the blame on Jeremy by allowing everyone to think that China had believed she had a miscarriage, and Jeremy acted alone on dumping the breathing child into the dumpster. This enormous problem tore apart their once unbreakable love in just few short months.

            I feel that Boyle uses his story as an attempt to inform readers that no matter how much in love you believe you are, something could go terribly wrong, and you may never be capable of getting that love back. He begins “The Love of My Life” by painting a picture in the reader’s mind of how perfect the relationship is between these two people. He allows us to see and feel what Jeremy and China feel through what they say to each other and the words he uses to describe their love. “I love you,’ he told her, because he did, because there was no feeling like this, no triumph, no high- it was like being immortal and unconquerable, like floating. And a hundred times a day she said it too: ‘I love you. I love you’” (Boyles 420). Lines like these trigger the readers emotions and allow them to see what it is like to be in love, or remember it if they have once been in Jeremy and China’s shoes. As Boyle continues through the story the reader gains more insight to their relationship, and this is why it is heart breaking when China turns her back on Jeremy at the end to save her own future. This whole story is an emotional trigger. It allows the reader to feel the love and then feel the betrayal, which makes Boyle’s point clear: Love does not conquer all, it just cannot.

            “The Love of My Life” is an upsetting story that sends a disappointing message. Boyle uses the emotions of the reader to his advantage in order describe what he believes is the sad truth about love. This story can cause a reader’s thoughts on love to take a turn for the worst and lose the hope that he or she once had.



                                                                      Works Cited

Boyle, T. Coraghessan. “The Love of My Life.” Literature and the Writing Process. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River. Pearson Education Inc, 2007.

“Figure 1” http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/02/08/home/boyle.jpg

Secret Window: Secret Garden

One of the most respected and honored horror writers is the brilliant, Stephen King. One of his most popular stories is “Secret Window, Secret Garden,” which was even made in to a movie in 2004 starring Johnny Depp. After reading a summary, and hearing the points made about the plot, conflict, characters and foreshadowing in this story, any well educated person will want to run to the nearest bookstore to get their hands on this well-written book.

            In King’s story the setting is in the back woods of Maine; in a secluded house by the lake. The main character Mort is living there because his wife Amy, who had an affair with a real-estate agent named Ted, and him are in the middle of a divorce. Within the first line of the story there is already a shown conflict. A southern man by the name of John Shooter showed up on the doorstep of Morton Rainey accusing him of stealing his story called, “Secret Window, Secret Garden,” which is almost identical to Mort’s story, “Sowing Season” (241-250). These two characters have several more meetings where they argue about who wrote the story first. Mort had plagiarized once before in college, but he knew he didn’t do it before or since.

            The tension becomes more serious when Shooter starts to use threats and even kills Mort’s cat in the middle of the night (King 277). Then, someone burns down Mort and Amy’s house in the city, which conveniently held the magazine that Mort needed to prove to Shooter that he wrote the words first (King 282). Things got even worse when Shooter killed Tom Greenleaf, who was a witness to Shooter being in town, and Mort’s friend Greg Carstairs who was helping him investigate Shooter. Not to mention, he used tools from Mort’s tool shed to kill them to hook him to the deaths (King 336-337).

            By this point in the story, Mort completely breaks and when the climax is reached the reader finds out that there is no real John Shooter. It was Mort the whole time; he just had two different personalities, but in the end Mort doesn’t make it and the personality of John Shooter takes over. And the story ends with Amy arriving at his house in the country and “John Shooter” tries to kill her but is then shot by Fred Evans from the assurance company that helped them after the fire. (King 340-380).

            In King’s story, he does a very good job giving each character a personality. Mort is obviously someone having a hard time with life by the way he describes how he doesn’t keep up his house and sleeps over 16 hours of the day (255). John Shooter is described as being an ignorant hick with a lot of anger which plays in to the story very well. King also does a very good job of foreshadowing throughout the story. He often leads on to the fact that John Shooter does not exist. For example, Greg asks Tom Greenleaf about when he saw Mort and Shooter together and Tom says that “he was alone” when he saw him (King 321).

            The biggest thing in this story is conflict. One example of conflict would be man vs. man. This conflict arises between Mort and Amy, Mort and Ted (the guy Amy left him for), and before the reader knows the end of the story it could be considered between Mort and Shooter as well. The most prominent example of conflict in this story is man vs. himself. Mort literally fights himself against the personality that he has made out of guilt from plagiarizing in the past and the hatred he feels for his wife and Ted for ruining his marriage. Mort also subconsciously creates this character as a way to seek out the revenge he has wanted. What the reader finds out in the end is that Mort is fighting himself throughout the entire story; whether to seek revenge on the people that hurt him or to just go on trying to live life normally. In the end, he could no longer fight the inner personality and Mort surrendered himself to the identity of Shooter completely. (King)

            Stephen King’s short story “Secret Window, Secret Garden” is a story unlike any other of its kind. It is a story that has a very well-developed plot and a descriptive set of characters. It also has many different conflicts and twists that leave you on the edge of your seat and make the reader want to finish the book in just one sitting.







Works Cited

King, Stephen. “Secret Window, Secret Garden” Four Past Midnight. New York: Signet, 1991.

http://www.itusozluk.com/img.php/b301b6e8952c55f9044c3fa1f41c7aaa24814/secret+window

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/h0/h8.jp

"The Rocking-Horse Winner"

In his short story “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” D. H. Lawrence writes about greed, luck and money during the 1930’s. After a short synopsis of the story, you will read a critique about Lawrence’s work and how he gets into the minds of all the characters to prove his point: the want for money will only cause the desire for more and more money.

            Paul, a young boy, lived with his mom, two sisters and Basset, a gardener. His mother always griped about how they do not have enough money because they were constrained with bad luck. The young boy then one day tells his mother that he is full of luck, and that God told him so, thus leading to Paul riding his rocking-horse. Paul absolutely loved to ride his rocking-horse; he fantasized about horse races while he rode it. This gave him the power to predict which horse would win the next big race. One day, Paul’s Uncle, Oscar Cresswell, took him to the races, and Paul tells him what horse to bet money on, and that he knows that he will win. To the Uncles surprise, the boy was right. Oscar found out that Paul and Basset had been gambling their money for quite some time, joins them, and then later they all became filthy rich. Paul decided to give his earnings to his mother. She used to get the family out of debt and to send Paul to boarding school.

            When Paul returned in the summer, he went a little psycho while riding his horse. His mom wanted to send him to the beach so he can relax some, but Paul did not want to go until after the Derby, a big horse race; he insisted on staying. Later on, Paul got mentally and physically ill. However, although he was sick, he still rode his rocking-horse, and one night his mother caught him late in the night after coming home from a party while he was madly surging on the rocking-horse. He shouted the name of the horse that was to win the Derby, because he knew who would win.

            In the end of the story, Paul rants about how he can ride his horse until he knows who will win to his mother, and he tells her that he is lucky. Unfortunately, the boy died that night, leaving his fortune to his mother.

            The main issue throughout “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” is greed. The mother does not really show much emotion or care towards her kids, but rather worries more about money and her possessions. Her outer-shell showed compassionate motherly characteristics but “only she herself, and her children themselves, knew it was not so” (Lawrence 295). The mother based their financial mishaps on bad luck, because when you are lucky then you have money and when you are unlucky you do not have money. This in a way is true, but based on the mother and fathers taste to “live in style,” because of their greed, it is their fault that they are so un-wealthy and poor, not luck (Lawrence 295). If they were not so materialistic then perhaps the family would have money. Lawrence does an excellent job characterizing and defining how one another are related in the story. Although the story is short, one can really dig into the characters and see their true lives though Lawrence’s writing.

            Paul knew that his mother did not love him, so he used his skill he possessed to try and earn his mother’s love. Paul only wanted to please his mom, but she was never happy. Even after he won all of this money for her, enough was never enough! She always wanted more and more money, “there must be more money! Oh-h-h; there must be more money” (Lawrence 302). All he wanted was his mom’s approval, but this was bound to never happen because of her greediness. Lawrence did an excellent job to prove his point at this part of the story. Even though Paul had died in the end, all the mother could think about was more money, and more possessions. There was no mourning, no compassion, or sorrow; just the greed for more money, as if Paul had not done enough.

Works Cited

Lawrence, D. H. “The Rocking-Horse Winner.” Literature and the Writing Process. Ed. Leah       Jewell. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. 2007. 294-305.

Picture 1 <http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL750/6035197/11811910/171961074.jpg>.

When The Bong Water Hits The Fan

The internet article “Reading The Pictures: The Real Moral Of The Phelps Bong Hit Photo? Don't Mess With The Sponsors.” By Michael Shaw explains how the picture of Michael Phelps smoking marijuana has affected the US media. The article explains that the photo of Phelps could lead to the corruption of the youth of the nation. Michael Phelps is looked up to by many Americans; the picture of him smoking cannabis could make the nation change their attitude about marijuana use.

Shaw’s article begins with a quote from Darryl Seibel, a United States Olympics Committee spokesperson, explaining that he is keeping in touch with Phelps’s sponsors and that the U.S.O.C. is going to expect better conduct from Phelps. The article goes on to explain that many successful and famous Americans are being put on the spotlight for smoking marijuana, such as Obama and Phelps. Shaw also explains that marijuana is not a banned substance in Olympic out of competition drug testing and Phelps has also never tested positive for any banned substances during a test. Shaw continues the article asking if photos like the one of Phelps smoking out of a bong will eventually lead to the corruption of America’s youth. Shaw also asks the question if it is socially offensive that Phelps corporate sponsors such as Kellogg's, Mazda, Subway, Visa and AT&T are depicting Michael Phelps, a pot smoker, as an “All-American” guy.

Shaw is trying to say that many famous people are being labeled as pot smokers and this might influence to people hearing about this. The public might change their attitude for marijuana use. Instead of labeling pot smokers as losers, people might think that if you smoke marijuana you can still be the greatest athlete in the world or even the President of the United States. Shaw is also saying that the picture of Michael Phelps smoking pot might make people look past all of the intense training Phelps puts into his sport. Shaw also proves this point by saying that all of Phelps’s sponsors spend millions of dollars to portray Phelps as an outstanding “All-American” person and at the same time the media is showing his scandalous pot smoking image all over the news. The same people that look up to Phelps will see him differently and how that affects his role models will not be known until the future.

Michael Phelps has been all over the news lately because of the picture released of him smoking out of a bong. The media shows Phelps as one of the best athletes in the world and now his weed smoking picture is being shown all over the news. Weather or not this will harm American society is unknown but the image of Michael Phelps smoking cannabis will surely change how people will view marijuana forever. Works Cited

Shaw, Michael. “Reading The Pictures: The Real Moral Of The Phelps Bong Hit Photo? Don’t Mess With The Sponsors.” 03/02/2009 9 Feb 2009 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-shaw/reading-the-pictures-emth_b_163393.html/

Seven Years in Tibet

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Generating an unbelievable amount of criticism and debate, Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” still stands as one of the most controversial, but memorable pieces of short fiction ever written.

      Figure 1                      Figure 2

Prior to the publication in The New Yorker in 1948, Jackson received hate mail regarding her story, along with negative criticism and hundreds of cancelation to the magazine. The readers who harshly criticized Jackson’s piece of fiction didn’t realize that she was making a statement; With a subtle but powerful use of symbolism and irony, Jackson creates a disturbing unknown society in which she reveals how wicked and hypocritical human nature can really be.

The story is set in a small village, where Jackson utilizes the setting, describing the morning of the 27th as “clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day”, like it was some sort of country paradise (118). The people who reside in the village have to participate in an annual event called the lottery, which always takes place on the same day, in every city, village, and town nearby. Jackson exerts Irony throughout the story, in that the lottery taking place is not an event worth winning. Baby, elder, grown man, teenage boy, or even a little girl, the individual whose name is drawn is agonizingly stoned to death by the entire town, friends and family included. Although every citizen is eligible to be drawn, Jackson uses a friendly tone to describe the social atmosphere before the lottery as if it was any other normal day in town, comparing the lottery to an event similar to the Halloween programs and square dances that take place in the village. As Mr. Summers, the head of the lottery, was about to begin the ceremony, Tessie Hutchinson showed up with a minute to spare, acting as if she had completely forgotten. One by one, each man of the house had to come up and draw a name from the black box that had been used for so long. As the drawing continues on, it ends up that Mrs. Hutchinson, the woman who showed late was the one to receive the prize of the lottery that day. As she tried to back away screaming, “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right”, every person she had grown to know and love, stoned her to death, showing the true underlying evil of human kind.

In this awakening piece of fiction, Jackson makes a statement through her disturbing story regarding evilness, hypocrisy, and weakness. At the start, Jackson’s tone makes the story seem so surreal mentioning that the women “Greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip”, acting as if it was any other day (118). She mentions that the men’s “jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed”, foreshadowing something rather than friendly perfection (118). Jackson portrays an indescribable evil that exudes for only one day in this perfect little village, where everyone knows everyone, and the people are friendly and kind. In a cunningly creative way, Jackson uses this story to imply that underneath perfection and friendly atmosphere, pure evil lie in the shadows of the town’s people. She also uses the protagonist, Mrs. Hutchinson, to show an individual who was taken in by hypocrisy. Hurrying into the square, she mentions that she “Clean forgot what day it was” to the town (119). It is highly doubtful that Mrs. Hutchinson accidently forgot about going to the lottery that day, because it has been on the same day for 77 years. I believe that she had had enough and she wasn’t the only one who showed indication and anxiety that the lottery should have been put to an immediate halt. When people told their loved ones to not be scared, when the men “grinned nervously”, or when Jackson mentions that Mrs. Delacroix’s couldn’t breathe as her husband hesitantly drew out of the black box, you feel a sense of wonder (120). Why in the world are they doing this? It is obvious they don’t feel comfortable with this cruel event, and it can’t be because the village actually thinks it would have a poor crop season without someone being brutally killed. It is because that is what the village has always known, and no resident would dare to stand up for themselves and demand a change. Jackson proves that every single person in that village can some way or other relate to our society, back in 1948 and now. It is disappointing and hypocritical, but Americans have no problem placing judgment on others, until they are judged. If it’s just standing on the side watching someone get beaten on the side of the road, or if it’s as small as flocking towards false gossip, or sacrificing your happiness for the sake of others, just as the villagers did. Americans are red handed.

Jackson uses symbolism between this villagers and our society. It may not have been intentional, but Jackson makes this amazing point in the story. In no way would we stone a human to death for some good corn, but our society does relate to the people in the village in numerous ways. Especially the thousands of readers who mocked in disapproval of her story proving that her theme in the story was valid. Although it is ironic that such a disturbing day is called the lottery, the true irony lies in that the readers blindly proved they were like the villagers after all.

Figure 1, http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/c0/c443.jpg

Figure 2, http://www.americanliterature.com/images/authors/sjackson.jpg

Figure 3, http://www.gs.cidsnet.de/englisch-online/Grundkurs3/s-jackson-lottery.jpg

Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery”. American Literature. http://www.amerianliterature.com

            /Jackson/SS/TheLottery.html

A Cry For Freedom

            In “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin paints a picture of a troubled woman being liberated by the thought of her husband’s death. Through her well-written story, Chopin weaves her insights by looking closely at female sexuality. Chopin’s piece is not just a story, but also a cry for freedom that is meant to capture any listener’s sympathy for women being held back from living for themselves.
            Kate Chopin’s story focuses on a distressed woman named Louise Mallard. Her sister, Josephine, tells Mrs. Mallard that her husband has been killed in a car accident. Louise mourns the loss of her husband, but soon comes to the realization that she is free to live her life out as she pleases. Chopin focuses this short story on Louise becoming so overjoyed with her independence and finding a fresh start to her life. Louise becomes alive realizing that now there is hope to live the rest of years as she would please. The story ends with Mr. Bradley Mallard surprisingly showing up to the house alive and Louise having heart failure not of shock, but of “joy,” as expressed by Chopin (227-228).
            Kate Chopin uses “The Story of an Hour,” to express the need for women to be liberated from oppression, as she did in many other works and in her life. Chopin was a feminist that surveyed the different aspects of female sexuality in the late 1800’s, a time of intense patriarchy. Her work sparked a movement for women, but only in later years. According to “Literature and the Writing Process,” by Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X Day, and Robert Funk Kate, Chopin was raised by all women and fought for the ideals of women’s self worth (222). Living in such a period of male domination, Chopin’s literature seems to be a window into the thoughts and beliefs of her personal life, clearly expressing the reason she wrote the pieces she did. “The Story an Hour,” is unmistakably a branch of this exploration, pleading for women to be liberated from male supremacy.
            Chopin uses Louise’s character to speak out against women’s oppression. When examining the character of Louise Mallard, readers can see the desperation and desire for freedom painted boldly by Chopin. Louise’s character states that while she loved her husband sometimes, when she thought he was dead, she was more excited about the years ahead to herself (228). This shows Chopin’s heart for women’s rights to live life the way they pleased, not just submissively following the dreams of her husband. For as she states, speaking of Louise’s new found liberty, “There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have the right to impose a private will upon their fellow-creature,”(228).
            Chopin also uses particular symbols throughout her story to express the needed freedom felt by the character of Louise. When Louise is gazing out the window thinking about the years to come, she notices the blue sky, the smell of the rain, and “the note of a distant song” (228). Chopin seems to use these symbols as an expression of joy and restless passion that has been caged inside of Louise, and more so, the common woman.
           Kate Chopin brilliantly wrote a short story that in very few words speaks out for a very large group of women. Though not received welcomingly at the time, Chopin’s piece is more than just a story, but a passionate argument for women still today to be treated equally in having the independence to choose a life, as they would see it. “The Story of an Hour,” will continue to be a bold inspiring story that voices for women a cry for freedom.

                                                           Works Cited

Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” Literature and the Writing Process. Ed. Elizabeth

McMahan, Susan X Day, and Robert Funk. 8th Edition. Upper Saddle River: Pretice, 2007. 222-228.

Katechopin.org. 2009. Kate Chopin International Society. 18 Feb. 2009

<www.katechopin.org>.

“Picture of Vote for Women Sign.” 18 Feb. 2009 <

http://www.lwvwa.org/snohomish/graphics/votes-women.jpg>.

“Picture of Women’s Rights Movement.” 22 Apr. 2009 <

http://www.albany.edu/~eb7540/women.jpg>.

“Picture of Women with Flags.” 22 Apr. 2009<

http://www.cortlandschools.org/eng8_3/images/suffragettes.jpg>.

“Picture of Kate Chopin.” 22 Apr. 2009 <

http://www.caneriverheritage.org/images/img_chopin2.gif>.

Wsu.edu. 1998. Washington State University. 22 Apr. 2009 <

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/chopin.

html>.

Swimming With Weeds

    This week the tabloid news of the world released photographs of Michael Phelps, the US 8 gold medalist winner in the 2008 Olympics, smoking through a bong. CNN brought this case up expressing legal terms and politically correct terms on what might happen to Phelps. This is not the first time that Phelps has been in trouble with the law and has had to make a public apology either. Smoking weed is illegal and as a figure head of so many children this kind of act should not be tolerated.

            November 6, 2008 as stated by a South Carolina Sheriff, Michael Phelps is being investigated for charges of smoking marijuana at a house party on the University of South Carolina campus. Phelps gave a public apology stating: "I'm 23 years old, and despite the successes I have had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner that people have come to expect from me," he said. "For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public -- it will not happen again." The United States Olympic Committee also gave a statement beyond his account stating that Phelps has to live up to high standards of responsibilities and accountabilities when he is in the face of media, and in this case he failed to fulfill those standards. Now Phelps has lost his contract with Kellogg’s, and may face legal confrontations.

This is not the first time Michael Phelps has stood up in front of America to give a public apology for his bad example upon the youth. In 2004, Phelps was arrested on charges of driving under the influence in Salisbury, Maryland. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months probation. He also issued an apology after that incident. Phelps is one of the 12 Olympic athletes who have signed the US anti-doping agency made for keeping drugs out of the professional games. Now that he has broken the contract that he signed he is also shown as a liar.

Some argue that Phelps has a hard life under the Media and just because he acted in a childish way does not mean he should be punished. Many also argue that with him smoking pot and still winning fourteen gold medals that it shows the youth that they can also be successful while doing drugs. This statement is partially true, but if the youth are raised in a secure household where parents talk to them about drug use and what it could to do them, they should not have to worry about their children getting involved. On the other side getting involved with drugs is very easy to do in the society of the United States. Drugs float along every aspect of life, whether its steroids or marijuana, and most will try some form of drugs before they are the age of 25. When at a party and under the influence of alcohol your judgments are not the same causing you to maybe to other illegal substances as Phelps did. Michael Phelps is just a number in this case file, he just happens to be a figure head of the youth, which makes what he did ten times worse than any “normal” American. Phelps has messed up twice now, but he will pay the price just like anyone else would. He may not serve jail time, but he has already lost one huge contract and more to come.

With great success comes great failure, and Michael Phelps has failed on his responsibilities. He is supposed to lead America in victory, not in shame. Marijuana is not legal and the use of it is prohibited by the government of the United States. Thus knowing the punishment he still chose to act in this manner, and it has blown up in the media as a top story. Now if Phelps can just keep his nose clean and not have a third incident he might not lose to much and be able to gain some of his trust back with his own people.



Works Cited

“Phelps suspended from competition, dropped by Kellogg.”CNN. Friday February 6, 2009. CNN. <http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/05/kellogg.phelps/index.html> “Phelps admits 'bad judgment' after marijuana-pipe photo.” CNN. Monday February 2, 2009.             CNN. <http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/01/michael.phelps.marijuana/> Figure 1. <http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/sports/photos/2008/06/18/phelps-swimming_584.jpg> Figure 2. <http://www.uslaw.com/pop/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/phelps_bong_pot.jpg>

Corrupt Symbols of the United States

In Nicholas Graham’s “Michael Phelps Bong Picture,” Graham goes into detail about the story of one of our nation’s heroes and his weak moment. Growing up, parents always tell their children that if they stay away from drugs, they would possibly grow up to be successful in life. They also tell them if they grew up and began doing drugs that they would be failures. Recently in the news, many influential people have been caught doing drugs or have admitted to it. Even role models in our society like professional athletes and presidents have been caught doing them. Now that younger people are seeing such role models doing drugs, they know that when if they grow up and do drugs their children could be as important as the president. They also see these important people doing drugs and might do it themselves to make themselves look cooler.

            Currently, the big uproar is over United States Olympian Michael Phelps. Phelps who “vaulted to international stardom during the 2008 Summer Olympics by winning a

Record eight gold medals in swimming,” (Huffington) was recently caught smoking marijuana from a water bong from a picture. Phelps evidentially was visiting his secret girl at the University of South Carolina (Huffington). Phelps immediately came out and apologized for his actions saying “I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. I'm 23 years old and despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen

again.(Huffington).” Though Phelps has tried to keep the picture from blowing out of proportion, the fact of the matter is he still smoked marijuana whether he meant to or not. People still see the image of Phelps smoking it whether he apologizes or not.

            Not only are athletes like Phelps being seen or confessing to doing drugs, but many presidents have been known to have done drugs also. Three recent presidents, Bill Clinton, George Bush, and current president Barrack Obama have confessed or been caught doing drugs. Clinton was accused of doing inhalants which isn’t that bad of a drug, but a drug many teens use. Bush and Obama, though, have confessed or been accused of doing cocaine, a stronger drug that many teens do not have access to. If it were just one president caught or accused of doing drugs, then some people might not see it as a big deal, but our last three presidents have all been known to do drugs. These are the people who are representing our country, yet they have broken some of the rules that they are against.

            Is this the path we want the United States to follow? Children see our leaders and role models smoking marijuana, snorting cocaine, or inhaling fumes. The United States should take a stand on this and have a higher penalty to doing these kind of acts. Then maybe the people that everyone looks up to on a consistent basis won’t go out and do these kinds of things. Children look up to these people for the future and now they begin to see people admit to abusing drugs at that age, so they may begin to try drugs as well. We’ve got to work as a nation to eliminate this problem and work for a better future or we will progressively continue to get worse.

Works Cited

            Graham, Nicholas. “Michael Phelps Bong Picture: Olympic Champion Caught Smoking Marijuana: UPDATED.” 31 January. 2009. Huffington Post. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/31/michael-phelps-bong-pictu_n_162842.html>