Sunday, September 27, 2009
Reflection #5
That is not a good idea to let the students to study in an environment that is full of ads. What do students do in the school? They come for their education, not for to know the names of products that belong the companies which have supported the school. Except the knowledge, the ads are the most possible things that the student can touch in school. Those companies got the right to put ads in the school area as they have supported the school financial, which can say, by their way, benefits for the education of the students. Then, here comes my question: who is benefiting whom by this situation really, and who gets more benefit? The companies benefit the students, or the students benefit those companies? Or they just use each other to get the benefits they want? Hard to tell.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Reflection #4
In the essay of George F. Will that we have read this week, I thought a lot. Especially the last words he has in the essay: “Cherry Garcia. It’s a choice.” Not only in the part of using the energy in our earth, but also the other parts of our life, we always face many choices and we have to make many decisions—we have to choose some from the many. We want the best things for us, so we always want to make the best choice to let us to meet the gold. But in fact, in my opinion, we do not always make the right decision to do the beat of us. We all know what is good for us, and we always can say about the “right” way to reach the best, but to reach the best is not happen so often. We know how to do, but the temptations are too many so that we are kind of lost and don’t know what to do. Knowing something is easier than talking about something; talking about something is easier than putting something into actions.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Reflection #3
I think the purpose we go to the college is being taught and getting some kind of knowledge, not being indoctrinated with some kind of believing. We come to the college, and then we get the knowledge. We use the knowledge to think about the world which we are living in; then we find out the believing that we want to be in. So, for me, the teachers should not indoctrinate the ideas they have to us; they can tell, but not to make us to believe those points of views. What we need from the teachers are the ways of studying, the senses of knowing something, the direction of finding out our believing. As being college students, we don’t really need the teachers to tell us what to do and how to do for everything. You may believe what the teacher tells you when you were in the high school, but as a college student, I think we have to learn about doubting things. We are in the age that we have to think more about things than to accept things. That said, in a classroom, the teacher should know what to teach the student is the best, and the students should clear about their needs and choose the parts which are good for them.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Reflection #2
In Wednesday’s class, we had a discussion of the freedom of speech in the college. In my opinion, we should take the freedom of speech under the rules that the college request the students to obey. We have the freedom of speech, but that doesn’t mean we can say anything we want to say. Something just can’t be spoken out as they are not the language we can use in the class. Although different people have their different opinion of the same thing, we should think about the others before we speak out something. Without thinking, we may say something that is hurting the others or against the rules about speech in the college. For me, the freedom of speech is basing on the thoughts we have already taken; so I think it’s really important that to think before to say something.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Reflaction 1
What will you think of when you see a flag of a country? I will think of the country that does this flag belong to. For me, a flag is the sign of a country, and it is standing for its own country. People should take as much respect to the flag as its country.
After I have read the essay “Why Flag-burning Should Not Be Permitted”, I agree with Luke Saginaw has said: “Yes, it is only a piece of cloth, and it may even been manufactured in China, but it is something that people have literally died for, literally died for.”
As I have said, the flag of a country is a sign of this country, and people really have literally died for it—not a piece of cloth, but the country that it stands for.
The flag of a country, for my own opinion, is just like the picture of a person. When someone does burn your picture, it does not take the respect to you, and it does not only sorry for a piece of paper.
After I have read the essay “Why Flag-burning Should Not Be Permitted”, I agree with Luke Saginaw has said: “Yes, it is only a piece of cloth, and it may even been manufactured in China, but it is something that people have literally died for, literally died for.”
As I have said, the flag of a country is a sign of this country, and people really have literally died for it—not a piece of cloth, but the country that it stands for.
The flag of a country, for my own opinion, is just like the picture of a person. When someone does burn your picture, it does not take the respect to you, and it does not only sorry for a piece of paper.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Essay #5: The Words of Mark Twain
The truth can never be covered by the misunderstandings and the predicaments. After the rains of distress, the shining of the sun will still come out and warm our hearts. In the essay of Kaplan, he used the words to tell us that the novel Advance of Huckleberry Finn, which has been written by Mark Twain, is a great book that just like the truth in the world and the sunshine after rains. Although at first, this book has met lots of denial and questioned, its valuable meaning for the literature and the society has been sure today.
In the essay, Kaplan has written that: “For Mencken, Mark Twain was ‘the true father of our national literature, the first genuinely American artist of the blood royal” (P. 375). He also wrote that: “By elevating Huck’s vernacular speech to the level of literature, Mark Twain advanced a cultural as well as literary revolution” (P. 375). At the beginning time of this book has been published, it is an arguable and questionable novel. As it has a black slave character Jim, the words that Mark Twain used for Jim’s words were “rough”, “coarse”, and “inelegant”; also the repeating “N” words. That’s a special point of this novel. Although those words are “rough”, “coarse”, and “inelegant”, without those words, the value of this book I think would be cat to a half. I think those words are a main thing for this book. If Mark Twain didn’t use those words, the character Jim can’t be showed out so perfectly. Jim is a slave; he didn’t know how to use the “nice” English words as he has got poor or no education. So I think those words showed out the nature of Jim. On the other hand, I don’t think the “N” word, which has been repeating so many times in this book, is not being mean to the black people in the society. It is a negative word, and Mark Twain just used this negative word to show something positive from Jim, and also make the positive characters became more positive. For the literary, this book used satire to show out the ideas of Mark Twain in a new and different way at that time. And for the society, the characters Jim and Huck just used their story to tell people what the “human beings” should be. Just like Kaplan said. This book is a “revolution” of not only the literary, but also the society at that time.
At the beginning time of the Advance of Huckleberry Finn having been published, it met lots of difficult. In this essay Kaplan gave the example of: “The reasons variously given were that the book was ‘immoral and sacrilegious,’ put ‘wrong ideas in youngsters’ heads,’ and set ‘a bad example.’”(P. 376) I think library committees had those ideas for this novel at that time was because they thought this novel was just a “bed time story” book. They thought this book was not a good one as a bed time story. In fact, the Advance of Huckleberry Finn is not a story for little children. It has other deeper meanings but not only telling the story of Huck and Jim. I think to start to read this novel, we should have to reach some level of understandings of race, gender, and the structure of the society at that time. Maybe this is not a good story to teach the little children to have behaviors for race people and different genders, but this is a good novel to tell the people what is a real human being should be and the line or way to determine a “human being”.
In the essay, Kaplan said:
No one who responds to its hero’s internal struggles over right and wrong, freedom and slavery, humanity and racism, will ever again be certain that what appear to be “clear dictates of moral reason are not merely the engrained customary beliefs” of a particular place and time. The questions that Huck and Jim pose go to the very heart of the society contract and our faith in public opinion as a guide to conduct. (P. 377)
When people forced on the “N” words or the racism actions of the other characters, they thought this was a book that has poor moral—because those were not the things which are positive for the society’s future. In my opinions, those are not the main things Mark Twain wanted to show in this novel. Mark Twain wanted to tell the freedom of race people, the “wrong” behaviors of humans, and the humanity. And those negative things just Mark used to show out the positive ideas, and also make them be deeper to in the minds of the readers.
In the essay, Kaplan has written that: “For Mencken, Mark Twain was ‘the true father of our national literature, the first genuinely American artist of the blood royal” (P. 375). He also wrote that: “By elevating Huck’s vernacular speech to the level of literature, Mark Twain advanced a cultural as well as literary revolution” (P. 375). At the beginning time of this book has been published, it is an arguable and questionable novel. As it has a black slave character Jim, the words that Mark Twain used for Jim’s words were “rough”, “coarse”, and “inelegant”; also the repeating “N” words. That’s a special point of this novel. Although those words are “rough”, “coarse”, and “inelegant”, without those words, the value of this book I think would be cat to a half. I think those words are a main thing for this book. If Mark Twain didn’t use those words, the character Jim can’t be showed out so perfectly. Jim is a slave; he didn’t know how to use the “nice” English words as he has got poor or no education. So I think those words showed out the nature of Jim. On the other hand, I don’t think the “N” word, which has been repeating so many times in this book, is not being mean to the black people in the society. It is a negative word, and Mark Twain just used this negative word to show something positive from Jim, and also make the positive characters became more positive. For the literary, this book used satire to show out the ideas of Mark Twain in a new and different way at that time. And for the society, the characters Jim and Huck just used their story to tell people what the “human beings” should be. Just like Kaplan said. This book is a “revolution” of not only the literary, but also the society at that time.
At the beginning time of the Advance of Huckleberry Finn having been published, it met lots of difficult. In this essay Kaplan gave the example of: “The reasons variously given were that the book was ‘immoral and sacrilegious,’ put ‘wrong ideas in youngsters’ heads,’ and set ‘a bad example.’”(P. 376) I think library committees had those ideas for this novel at that time was because they thought this novel was just a “bed time story” book. They thought this book was not a good one as a bed time story. In fact, the Advance of Huckleberry Finn is not a story for little children. It has other deeper meanings but not only telling the story of Huck and Jim. I think to start to read this novel, we should have to reach some level of understandings of race, gender, and the structure of the society at that time. Maybe this is not a good story to teach the little children to have behaviors for race people and different genders, but this is a good novel to tell the people what is a real human being should be and the line or way to determine a “human being”.
In the essay, Kaplan said:
No one who responds to its hero’s internal struggles over right and wrong, freedom and slavery, humanity and racism, will ever again be certain that what appear to be “clear dictates of moral reason are not merely the engrained customary beliefs” of a particular place and time. The questions that Huck and Jim pose go to the very heart of the society contract and our faith in public opinion as a guide to conduct. (P. 377)
When people forced on the “N” words or the racism actions of the other characters, they thought this was a book that has poor moral—because those were not the things which are positive for the society’s future. In my opinions, those are not the main things Mark Twain wanted to show in this novel. Mark Twain wanted to tell the freedom of race people, the “wrong” behaviors of humans, and the humanity. And those negative things just Mark used to show out the positive ideas, and also make them be deeper to in the minds of the readers.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Blog #10: Essay #5
The truth can never be covered by the misunderstandings and the predicaments. After the rains of distress, the shining of the sun will still come out and warm our hearts. In the essay of Kaplan, he used the words to tell us that the novel Advance of Huckleberry Finn, which has been written by Mark Twain, is a great book that just like the truth in the world and the sunshine after rains. Although at first, this book has met lots of denial and questioned, its valuable meaning for the literature and the society has been sure today.
In the essay, Kaplan has written that: “For Mencken, Mark Twain was ‘the true father of our national literature, the first genuinely American artist of the blood royal” (P. 375). He also wrote that: “By elevating Huck’s vernacular speech to the level of literature, Mark Twain advanced a cultural as well as literary revolution” (P. 375). At the beginning time of this book has been published, it is an arguable and questionable novel. As it has a black slave character Jim, the words that Mark Twain used for Jim’s words were “rough”, “coarse”, and “inelegant”; also the repeating “N” words. That’s a special point of this novel. Although those words are “rough”, “coarse”, and “inelegant”, without those words, the value of this book I think would be cat to a half. I think those words are a main thing for this book. If Mark Twain didn’t use those words, the character Jim can’t be showed out so perfectly. Jim is a slave; he didn’t know how to use the “nice” English words as he has got poor or no education. So I think those words showed out the nature of Jim. On the other hand, I don’t think the “N” word, which has been repeating so many times in this book, is not being mean to the black people in the society. It is a negative word, and Mark Twain just used this negative word to show something positive from Jim, and also make the positive characters became more positive. For the literary, this book used satire to show out the ideas of Mark Twain in a new and different way at that time. And for the society, the characters Jim and Huck just used their story to tell people what the “human beings” should be. Just like Kaplan said. This book is a “revolution” of not only the literary, but also the society at that time.
In the essay, Kaplan has written that: “For Mencken, Mark Twain was ‘the true father of our national literature, the first genuinely American artist of the blood royal” (P. 375). He also wrote that: “By elevating Huck’s vernacular speech to the level of literature, Mark Twain advanced a cultural as well as literary revolution” (P. 375). At the beginning time of this book has been published, it is an arguable and questionable novel. As it has a black slave character Jim, the words that Mark Twain used for Jim’s words were “rough”, “coarse”, and “inelegant”; also the repeating “N” words. That’s a special point of this novel. Although those words are “rough”, “coarse”, and “inelegant”, without those words, the value of this book I think would be cat to a half. I think those words are a main thing for this book. If Mark Twain didn’t use those words, the character Jim can’t be showed out so perfectly. Jim is a slave; he didn’t know how to use the “nice” English words as he has got poor or no education. So I think those words showed out the nature of Jim. On the other hand, I don’t think the “N” word, which has been repeating so many times in this book, is not being mean to the black people in the society. It is a negative word, and Mark Twain just used this negative word to show something positive from Jim, and also make the positive characters became more positive. For the literary, this book used satire to show out the ideas of Mark Twain in a new and different way at that time. And for the society, the characters Jim and Huck just used their story to tell people what the “human beings” should be. Just like Kaplan said. This book is a “revolution” of not only the literary, but also the society at that time.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Blog #9
At first when I have heard about the “black face” picture has been posted on a blog in the class, the only thing I could think of is our new president. I was not sure about this incident is positive or negative, because I don’t know the reason why that person has posted the “black face” picture on his blog. Maybe he wanted to support Obama, maybe he is racist, or maybe he just wanted to have fun and noting to do with the black people.
After I have read his blog, I can’t say he is racist. As most of his blog writings are pointing to the president Obama, not to the black people. Maybe he did that just wants to show he is standing at the racist side, or maybe he just don’t like Obama. He said he is not racist, and then who has the right to say he is racist. Some people act like they are racist, but they are not. On the other hand, some people act like they love all the races, but in fact, they are racist. So for me, I think it is hard to say a person is racist or not.
Since Obama has become the new president, lots of people set the equal notation between Obama and the black people. I don’t think that’s right. One person can’t stand for a whole a race, although he is a president.
After I have read his blog, I can’t say he is racist. As most of his blog writings are pointing to the president Obama, not to the black people. Maybe he did that just wants to show he is standing at the racist side, or maybe he just don’t like Obama. He said he is not racist, and then who has the right to say he is racist. Some people act like they are racist, but they are not. On the other hand, some people act like they love all the races, but in fact, they are racist. So for me, I think it is hard to say a person is racist or not.
Since Obama has become the new president, lots of people set the equal notation between Obama and the black people. I don’t think that’s right. One person can’t stand for a whole a race, although he is a president.
Friday, April 17, 2009
The graet friendship
I am so sorry that I have posted this essay so late. I have met some problems when I was posting the essay to the blog. This is not the final jib of my essay. I know it has some places that may not make sense, but I can't say it out! If you can piont it out for me, I will be thankful!
Here is my eaasy:
We can have a lot of friendships through our lives, and there are lots of reasons that make one another person become friends with us—maybe because of getting together for a long time; maybe because he of she is fun and friendly so you want to become a friend of him or her; or maybe because of money. No matter what reasons made you to become friends with the others, you made the relationship called “friendship” with the others. Unlike the normal “friendship” in our life, in the book Adventure of Huckleberry Finn I found a great friendship between a white boy Huck and a black slave Jim.
In the book Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, Huck lives in the house of Ms. Widow and gets the beginning of the “normal” life. As Huck is boy who loves freedom and doesn’t want to in the fetter of “civilization”, he runs away from Ms. Widow and his pap. On the way of his escaping he meets Jim, who is an escaped slave; Huck, who is a really warm-heart boy, wants to help Jim, so they become companions on the way of their adventure. And their great friendship is found in this wonderful and exciting adventure.
In the friendship between them, we can see that they protect each other, they trust each other, and the most important thing is they treat each other equally. In their friendship, there are no “homeless” boy and running away slave, no white and black; it only has Huck and Jim.
In the adventure, they are treated equally. In Jim’s mind Huck is a smart kid that needs love and freedom, and in Huck’s mind Jim is a person who has a strong wanted of the freedom as he does. I think Jim for Huck is a friend that likes a father. Although Huck has done a lot of amazing things, he is still a child, he still needs someone to love him and care him. These things that Huck wants, Jim did them for Huck. Jim tells the things he knows to Huck; in order to protect Huck not falling into the river, Jim let Huck be saved behind him. Those are small things, but it can show that Jim protects and loves Huck just like a child of his. On the other hand, in order to let Jim’s dream, also his dream, come true, Huck does everything to save Jim from the people who are finding the running away slave or wanting to sale Jim. He lied to the people to save Jim.
In that time, black color and white color people just like the insects on the earth and the birds in the sky. They have been treated that they must live in two total different worlds—one has the right to give orders, and the other one only has the right to follow the orders. But this “theory” does work on Jim and Huck. Jim gets the courage to catch the freedom from Huck, and Huck also gets the sense of “human being” from Jim. Jim is a person that wants to escape the slave life, but also on the other hand, he can’t break through the “slave sense” in his mind. Huck gives Jim the courage! Huck does everything to let Jim gets the freedom he wants to have, and Jim step by step has the sure of fighting for his freedom. Also on the way of adventure, Huck heard lots of things from Jim—Jim’s life, Jim’s family, Jim’s dreams. Every little thing that Jim has told Huck let Huck realizes that black and white is not so difference as he has seen in the world. The black people also have the life as the white people have, and the only difference is just the position they have been put by the society. The blacks also human beings, they are the same as the whites.
In our world, we have been deposited so many senses about what we should do and what we should not do. Those senses limit our way of thinking about this world, because not all of them are correctly telling us the things we should do and should not do. In the friendship between Huck and Jim, we can see that if we throw out some “useless” senses, we can have a more wonderful life.
Here is my eaasy:
We can have a lot of friendships through our lives, and there are lots of reasons that make one another person become friends with us—maybe because of getting together for a long time; maybe because he of she is fun and friendly so you want to become a friend of him or her; or maybe because of money. No matter what reasons made you to become friends with the others, you made the relationship called “friendship” with the others. Unlike the normal “friendship” in our life, in the book Adventure of Huckleberry Finn I found a great friendship between a white boy Huck and a black slave Jim.
In the book Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, Huck lives in the house of Ms. Widow and gets the beginning of the “normal” life. As Huck is boy who loves freedom and doesn’t want to in the fetter of “civilization”, he runs away from Ms. Widow and his pap. On the way of his escaping he meets Jim, who is an escaped slave; Huck, who is a really warm-heart boy, wants to help Jim, so they become companions on the way of their adventure. And their great friendship is found in this wonderful and exciting adventure.
In the friendship between them, we can see that they protect each other, they trust each other, and the most important thing is they treat each other equally. In their friendship, there are no “homeless” boy and running away slave, no white and black; it only has Huck and Jim.
In the adventure, they are treated equally. In Jim’s mind Huck is a smart kid that needs love and freedom, and in Huck’s mind Jim is a person who has a strong wanted of the freedom as he does. I think Jim for Huck is a friend that likes a father. Although Huck has done a lot of amazing things, he is still a child, he still needs someone to love him and care him. These things that Huck wants, Jim did them for Huck. Jim tells the things he knows to Huck; in order to protect Huck not falling into the river, Jim let Huck be saved behind him. Those are small things, but it can show that Jim protects and loves Huck just like a child of his. On the other hand, in order to let Jim’s dream, also his dream, come true, Huck does everything to save Jim from the people who are finding the running away slave or wanting to sale Jim. He lied to the people to save Jim.
In that time, black color and white color people just like the insects on the earth and the birds in the sky. They have been treated that they must live in two total different worlds—one has the right to give orders, and the other one only has the right to follow the orders. But this “theory” does work on Jim and Huck. Jim gets the courage to catch the freedom from Huck, and Huck also gets the sense of “human being” from Jim. Jim is a person that wants to escape the slave life, but also on the other hand, he can’t break through the “slave sense” in his mind. Huck gives Jim the courage! Huck does everything to let Jim gets the freedom he wants to have, and Jim step by step has the sure of fighting for his freedom. Also on the way of adventure, Huck heard lots of things from Jim—Jim’s life, Jim’s family, Jim’s dreams. Every little thing that Jim has told Huck let Huck realizes that black and white is not so difference as he has seen in the world. The black people also have the life as the white people have, and the only difference is just the position they have been put by the society. The blacks also human beings, they are the same as the whites.
In our world, we have been deposited so many senses about what we should do and what we should not do. Those senses limit our way of thinking about this world, because not all of them are correctly telling us the things we should do and should not do. In the friendship between Huck and Jim, we can see that if we throw out some “useless” senses, we can have a more wonderful life.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Blog #8
For me, Huck is a really “true” human being. He can be true to face the other people and also to himself. He wants freedom, so he does everything fight for his freedom. He like to help people, so he uses every way he can use to survive and protect the people need to be helped. In my opinion, Huck has kept growing in his adventure. He has learned lots of things that he thought he can’t learn in the books. He gets to know more about the human beings, and he also has become more human beings. As he has his adventure with Jim, the things Jim told him make him has his “special” idea about white people and black people. At the beginning of his adventure, Jim for Huck is just a slaver who needs Huck’s help to run away. But on the way of his adventure, Huck finds that Jim is not only a slaver for the white people, Jim is also a human being as he does. When Jim told the stories about his life and his family, Huck gets more and more ideas about the race, about becoming a human being, and about the world they live in. Jim becomes more and more like a friend for Huck through the adventure, and Huck also tries his best to survive and protect Jim.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
The video
About this video, I don’t think that’s really whose false. I don’t mean that the policeman has done the right thing to Moats’s family; but for sometimes in the special situation, there are not many chances to allow us to think more. Both of them have their own positions to stand for: the policeman must to stop the car and do some general work, and on the other side, the Moats family was in hurry to see their family member for last time. Both of them have their own unhappy about this situation happened and the fears in their mind. When a human being has fears in mind, it would be a normal action that to do something to protect itself. For the policeman, he saw the black people not stopped for the red line, he might have fear of thinking about to fight with the crime; so he just use his rights and powers that a policeman should have to protect himself. On the other hand, for the Moats family, they were afraid of having no chance to see the old sick mother; so they use anger to protect themselves. In fact, which I think, it could have a better ending for this story. If both of them can step back one step for each other and to let the things to make a deal. The policeman may follow Moats to get into the hospital to check if the words Moats said was true, and also Moats may have more patience to explain his situation. It can’t be so complex and have a so sorry ending.
Some mistake can be forgiven by only saying “sorry”, but the others can’t. For this story, I only can say that the policeman just did a mistake that belong to the second one; so people blamed and scolded him, although that’s not all his false.
Life is always like that, the people meat in the wrong situation at the wrong time with dealing with the wrong thing; and then the regretting happen.
Some mistake can be forgiven by only saying “sorry”, but the others can’t. For this story, I only can say that the policeman just did a mistake that belong to the second one; so people blamed and scolded him, although that’s not all his false.
Life is always like that, the people meat in the wrong situation at the wrong time with dealing with the wrong thing; and then the regretting happen.
Blog #7
Satire is a way to show the ideas of the authors that is about ridiculing someone’s foolish, abuses, or personal ideas which is against the authors’ ideas. In a satire, the writers always use irony, comparing, or derision as a way to show out their thoughts, and they want the readers have thoughts after read their words. I don’t really know an example of English satire article, but I know a lot of example in Chinese. I think one the most famous examples is 阿Q正傳 (The True Story of Ah Q) by 鲁迅（Lu, Xun）. This is a story about a man named Ah Q. He is a man that has the similar character as Jim. He always thinks things in positive, no matter that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I think the daily show should be a good example of satire. Because in the show, the actors use exaggerative way to show the true life for us, and to let us to think about the lives we have. After watched the shows, we not only got fun from them, but also got some thoughts that we didn’t think about before. I think the meaning of satire is this—we can have fun from it, but at the same time, we also have new ideas or new visions for the life, for the world we are living in.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Blog #6
It is a little hard for me to understand the characterization of Jim, and here is some of my understanding of Jim. I think he is kind of a guide of Huck; he leaded Huck and open Huck’s eye to see a world that Huck has never seen. He is not only showing the life of slavery to Huck, but also the readers. We are not in the story, but we also can get the massage from him. I think Jim is kind of like the characters in the minstrel show. He has the things that a black slave should has—deeply believing in the life they have, but also having the wanted to run away from it. He is warm-heart, and he is a very loyal friend for Huck, just like a father. He made Huck know a lot and learn a lot.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Blog #5
The US is a big “family” as it has different races of people in it--different cultures and structures seem across together in this society, but they also seem like repelling each other. In culture which be created within this complicated relationship of the races, a word is amazing me—color people. Although in today’s society, lots people speak for the different races, but I believe, there are still some people deeply and surely think that there are only two kind of people in this word—the whites and the colors. I did not have the experiment that someone treated me badly as I am a Chinese, but I did hear the news that some people have been treated badly as they are the color people. I also have heard two color people talking about the race. One of them is native Indian, and the other one is a black people. From the talking between them I can feel that they don’t think the white people treated them equally, and the native Indian even still thought that the white people are evil. I know the confliction between two races should have some reasons are from the history. But things have gone is gone, why we can’t build the family that we now have get together?
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
That's My Job
This is a chance that god gave me to understand the meaning of “the sweetest burden”, and also let me to know and see what I used to be and what I should be…
I did not know anything about a “family”, because I am the only child in my family. My parents did every thing in our family life: they paid the bills for everyday used, they brought the food for all meals, and they decided what to do and where to go in a weekend and so on. I even didn’t know how much my school fee was, as my parents would pay for it, and that was nothing with my business. The things I did for my family were poor. Might be for some weekend, I helped a little to clean up the house; might be in some day, I helped my mother to carry some food on the way back home from the market. For the most of time, I just did my own things—read some funny books, did the homework, shopped with my friends, or had a day dreaming in my bedroom. My parents took a good care of my life, and I did not have to worry about anything.
But things have changed since we immigrated to the United States. As my parents only knew a little big of English, and they couldn’t communicate with the other people normally, the “family” things turned in to my life. Day by day, I began to understand that a “family” is not easy to take care of. Although I don’t have to do the whole household by my own, the other family things keep my busy. I have to keep the entire bill due days in mind in order to keep all the things working in home; I have to go shop the food in the list my mother gave me so that my mom can cook for the lunch and dinner. If my parents have a decision to go somewhere in the weekend, sometimes I should be the driver so that we couldn’t get lost. Also I have to know my fee for schools, not only study. That’s a big changing in my life; I was from doing a little thing for home to become to do the most of things for home. I am busy now; almost as busy as my parents used to be. I do not only have to take care of my own life, but also the life of my family—of my parents.
Changing from a person who was taken care by somebody to a person who has to take care of someone make me think a lot.
I did not know anything about a “family”, because I am the only child in my family. My parents did every thing in our family life: they paid the bills for everyday used, they brought the food for all meals, and they decided what to do and where to go in a weekend and so on. I even didn’t know how much my school fee was, as my parents would pay for it, and that was nothing with my business. The things I did for my family were poor. Might be for some weekend, I helped a little to clean up the house; might be in some day, I helped my mother to carry some food on the way back home from the market. For the most of time, I just did my own things—read some funny books, did the homework, shopped with my friends, or had a day dreaming in my bedroom. My parents took a good care of my life, and I did not have to worry about anything.
But things have changed since we immigrated to the United States. As my parents only knew a little big of English, and they couldn’t communicate with the other people normally, the “family” things turned in to my life. Day by day, I began to understand that a “family” is not easy to take care of. Although I don’t have to do the whole household by my own, the other family things keep my busy. I have to keep the entire bill due days in mind in order to keep all the things working in home; I have to go shop the food in the list my mother gave me so that my mom can cook for the lunch and dinner. If my parents have a decision to go somewhere in the weekend, sometimes I should be the driver so that we couldn’t get lost. Also I have to know my fee for schools, not only study. That’s a big changing in my life; I was from doing a little thing for home to become to do the most of things for home. I am busy now; almost as busy as my parents used to be. I do not only have to take care of my own life, but also the life of my family—of my parents.
Changing from a person who was taken care by somebody to a person who has to take care of someone make me think a lot.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Blog #4
What is a good thing for the children’s development? To tell them to follow the rules of this world or to let them do whatever they want to do? Everyone knows that the feeling of to do things with a big freedom is wonderful. But how many of us have thought about that if that is a good thing or a bad thing? We can let the children to play or watch TV all the day; on the other hand, we also can have controlling for children to limit the freedom they think they should have. Which way you will choose if you are a parent? Some of the parents just thought that playing is good, it can let the kids learned something through the playing. What they did was sitting side to do their business and let the kids play games or eat lots of snacks while they are watching TV. But without the parents doing something to direct the kids, how the kids can learn something from “playing”. And also I don’t think those are not kinds of playing that the children can learn something. The parents should tell the children that this world is limited, is not totally free. If they couldn’t get this massage when they are kids, it only will bring more pains when they understand it older. So I don’t think to let the children too free is a good thing for their development.
Fat or Thin?
In today’s life, we are having too much criticism, and “become too fat” is one of the things we are criticizing crazily. I am not agreeing that become too fat is a good thing for the healthy and the body developing, but as we put too much attention on the words “too fat”, it becomes a sick of this society. Some people deeply believe that “fat” is totally bad for the human body; and “fat” also becomes a marker that not smart enough even stupid. The thinner you are, the more beautiful and smarter you have. But for the other kind of people they just think “to be fat” is the popular of this world. They don’t care how fat they are, and they don’t think become fat is “my false”--because this world is becoming “fatter and fatter”, there is nothing wrong to become fat. All the things are talking about “to be fat” and “to be thin”—to be normal or to be beautiful. Who even have thought that why we do care about become fat or thin? Just only because of the ideas of this world, because you care how the others look at you? Where is the “healthy” we wanted and needed to talk about at the beginning? My thought is that because we put too much criticism on “become fat”, we began to transfer our attention from “health” to “how the other people look at me”. It separates the people to go to two extreme directions. We should back to the point that we began to discuss the problem to become fat; and only if we do that we correct the “sick”—some people wanted to become thin is because hate fat, and some people don’t care to become fat is because the world wants them to become fat.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Blog #3
In this video, there are two kinds of total different lives of two children. One is living in a big house, and he goes to school to get his education. The other one is living in a small dark and dirty place, and he have to work every day and have no chance to get education. The music of this video very fits the plot. The music is lively, but in the music there is a heavy tempo with the song. It seems like to tell the people to think about the life—when we are in the good environment, have we ever thought about that it still has another opposite life in this world. I thought this is a compelling argument as it let us to have a chance to see a different kind of life that we never ever have a chance to experience it. The difference is so big that it makes me felt sad about it. For this video I thought it has made two kinds of appeals, one is telling us that we should be content the things we got and the lives we have; the other point wants us to pay attentions to the children who are having the unfair life, and also it wants us to help them.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Essay #2
The Power of Literacy
I still can remember that, when I was a child with no senses about reading and writing, my grandfather always kept telling me some words: “书中自有黄金屋，书中自有颜如玉。” (in the books, you can find the house which is made of gold, and also you can find the woman who is beauty.) These are the words from Chinese ancients. Because of my young age, I did not understand what my grandfather was talking about at the time. But I did begin to learn how to read as I wanted to find the golden house and beautiful woman in the books.
As I did not know the characters in the book, the first step I went to find the golden house and beautiful woman was “looking” at the book. In the early time I learned to read, I didn’t know the characters, so what I can do was “reading” the pictures in the picture book. I was busy at finding something. What was I looking for? Of course the golden house and the beautiful woman! Every time I found the house looked like made of gold and the woman like snow white and sleeping beauty, I always showed them to my grandfather and asked him if that’s the gold house and the beauty woman he has talked about. But every time I only got the same answer: they were golden houses and beautiful women, but they were not the house and woman he has told me. That was a confusing answer for me—it seemed I was right, and I also was wrong. I really couldn’t get the answer, but I began to get the shape of the world from the picture books I have read.
In the first two years of elementary school, I began to learn the pinyin and some Chinese characters; so at that time I kept going forward on the journey of finding the golden house and beauty woman by real “reading” the books—but it was reading the pinyin, not the characters. As I was reading the books by pinyin, I should guess the meanings of some words and sentences. At that time, I got lots of different kids of stories, like the Snow White, the Thumb Girl, and the Supper Telephone; I also got lots of rules of this world, like I should say “Good morning” to other people when I see them in the morning, I should say “Sorry” when I do soothing wrong, and also I should say “Thank you” when some one helps me. I have learned lots of truths, like the trees needs to water, the starts never fell down, and fishes can live without water. I also learned lots of things that told me how to become a human, like we will have happiness, but also sadness; I could be a winner, but also a loser; we have loved, but also hatred. In my world, the things became to have their own sign—good or bad, black or white. Although I got more and more things in my little head, one thing has never changed, I still wanted to know where the golden house and the beauty woman are. As liked the time I was reading the picture books, when I found some words sound like the golden house and beauty woman in pinyin, I kept asking my grandfather that: “Did I find the golden house and the beauty woman you have told me?” I still remember that my grandfather always kept smiling, and then he told me that the more books I have read, the closer I can get the answer I want to get. Here was not the end of the journey, I should keep going.
I just kept going on the journey to finding the things I wanted to get. Time went by, I got more and more characters of Chinese—I learned the meanings of them, I got the senses of them, and I had the ability to use them. Books became more fun and serious for me as I really could understand them, not by looking at and not by guessing.
I still can remember that, when I was a child with no senses about reading and writing, my grandfather always kept telling me some words: “书中自有黄金屋，书中自有颜如玉。” (in the books, you can find the house which is made of gold, and also you can find the woman who is beauty.) These are the words from Chinese ancients. Because of my young age, I did not understand what my grandfather was talking about at the time. But I did begin to learn how to read as I wanted to find the golden house and beautiful woman in the books.
As I did not know the characters in the book, the first step I went to find the golden house and beautiful woman was “looking” at the book. In the early time I learned to read, I didn’t know the characters, so what I can do was “reading” the pictures in the picture book. I was busy at finding something. What was I looking for? Of course the golden house and the beautiful woman! Every time I found the house looked like made of gold and the woman like snow white and sleeping beauty, I always showed them to my grandfather and asked him if that’s the gold house and the beauty woman he has talked about. But every time I only got the same answer: they were golden houses and beautiful women, but they were not the house and woman he has told me. That was a confusing answer for me—it seemed I was right, and I also was wrong. I really couldn’t get the answer, but I began to get the shape of the world from the picture books I have read.
In the first two years of elementary school, I began to learn the pinyin and some Chinese characters; so at that time I kept going forward on the journey of finding the golden house and beauty woman by real “reading” the books—but it was reading the pinyin, not the characters. As I was reading the books by pinyin, I should guess the meanings of some words and sentences. At that time, I got lots of different kids of stories, like the Snow White, the Thumb Girl, and the Supper Telephone; I also got lots of rules of this world, like I should say “Good morning” to other people when I see them in the morning, I should say “Sorry” when I do soothing wrong, and also I should say “Thank you” when some one helps me. I have learned lots of truths, like the trees needs to water, the starts never fell down, and fishes can live without water. I also learned lots of things that told me how to become a human, like we will have happiness, but also sadness; I could be a winner, but also a loser; we have loved, but also hatred. In my world, the things became to have their own sign—good or bad, black or white. Although I got more and more things in my little head, one thing has never changed, I still wanted to know where the golden house and the beauty woman are. As liked the time I was reading the picture books, when I found some words sound like the golden house and beauty woman in pinyin, I kept asking my grandfather that: “Did I find the golden house and the beauty woman you have told me?” I still remember that my grandfather always kept smiling, and then he told me that the more books I have read, the closer I can get the answer I want to get. Here was not the end of the journey, I should keep going.
I just kept going on the journey to finding the things I wanted to get. Time went by, I got more and more characters of Chinese—I learned the meanings of them, I got the senses of them, and I had the ability to use them. Books became more fun and serious for me as I really could understand them, not by looking at and not by guessing.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Bolg #2
We should have the freedom of speech and wearing clothes, but it never means that we can ignore other people’s feeling. To speak something and to wear some clothes are the ways that we show our thoughts out. For the video of “Obama t-shirt”, I think the school does not have the right to let the boy put off the t-shirt, as the boy just wanted to show his points about the fact that “Obama became the new president”. But the “Redneck” t-shirt was not showing a fact. It just showed a point of view that some people have—not all people think that is true. Also, the word “Redneck” may hurt someone’s feeling—which is not a part of the freedom of speech.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Blog #1
My favorite song is named 稻香 (the smile of rice). This is a Chinese song, and the singer is Jay Chou. The words in this song are telling people to love our own life and try our best to enjoy our life. We only have one change to live in this world. When our lives are done, everything is over. In the first year I have been in this country, I felt I have fallen dawn to the deepest point in my life. Luckily, people around me helped me up to move forward. Now two years pasted, and I learn a lot from my new life here. When the first time I heard this song, I fell in love with it. The spirit in this song is the spirit I need to move forward in my life.
The words of this song:
对这个世界如果你有太多的抱怨
If you have too many complains about this world
跌倒了 就不敢继续往前走
Once you fall down, you will lose your courage to go forward
为什么 人要这么的脆弱堕落
Why, people are always easy to be beaten
请你打开电视看看
Please turn on the TV and have a look at it
多少人为生命在努力 勇敢的走下去
There are lots of people are trying their best to move forward courageously for their lives
我们是不是该知足
We should be content with what we have now
珍惜一切就算没有拥有
We should treasure everything we own, even though we got nothing
还记得你说家是唯一的城堡
Still remember you have said that the home is your only castle
随着稻香河流继续奔跑
To follow the smell of rice and keep running with the river
微微笑小时候的梦我知道
Let’s have a smile; I knew the dream you had in your childhood
不要哭让萤火虫带著你逃跑
Don’t cry, let the fireflies carry you to run away
乡间的歌谣永远的依靠
The songs from countryside are the best dependence for you forever
回家吧回到最初的美好
Come back to home; come back to the wonderful you had at the beginning
不要这么容易就想放弃 就像我说的
Don’t give up so easily, just like I have said
追不到的梦想 换个梦不就得了
If you can’t catch the dream you want to, just change it
为自己的人生鲜艳上色
You should color you life with the most colorful paint
先把爱涂上喜欢的颜色
And first of all, to paint the “love” with your favorite color
笑一个吧 功成名就不是目的
Have a smile, to be successful is not the final goal of your life
让自己快乐快乐 这才叫做意义
The most meaningful thing you need to do is to let yourself have happiness
童年的纸飞机 现在终于飞回我手里
The paper airplane from childhood, now, it’s back to my hands
所谓的那快乐
Happiness is said that
赤脚在田里追蜻蜓追到累了
To pursue the dragonflies barefoot in the fields until you are tired
偷摘水果被蜜蜂给叮到怕了
To steal the fruit in the fruit field until you are afeard of be bitten by the bees
谁在偷笑呢
Who is tittering?
我靠着稻草人吹着风
I sit with the scarecrow and enjoy the wing coming to me
唱着歌睡着了
And I fell sleep while I am singing
哦哦~
Woo …午后吉它在虫鸣中更清脆
In the afternoon, the sounds of guitar become clearer when it’s with the sounds of insects
哦哦~
Woo…
阳光洒在路上就不怕心碎
With the sunshine sprinkle on the road, you can’t be afeard of your heart be broken any more
珍惜一切就算没有拥有
We should treasure everything we own, even though we got nothing
还记得你说家是唯一的城堡
Still remember you have said that the home is your only castle
随着稻香河流继续奔跑
To follow the smell of rice and keep running with the river
微微笑小时候的梦我知道
Let’s have a smile; I knew the dream you had in your childhood
不要哭让萤火虫带著你逃跑
Don’t cry, let the fireflies carry you to run away
乡间的歌谣永远的依靠
The songs from countryside are the best dependence for you forever
回家吧回到最初的美好
Come back to home; come back to the wonderful you have had at the beginning
You can listen the song from here:
The words of this song:
对这个世界如果你有太多的抱怨
If you have too many complains about this world
跌倒了 就不敢继续往前走
Once you fall down, you will lose your courage to go forward
为什么 人要这么的脆弱堕落
Why, people are always easy to be beaten
请你打开电视看看
Please turn on the TV and have a look at it
多少人为生命在努力 勇敢的走下去
There are lots of people are trying their best to move forward courageously for their lives
我们是不是该知足
We should be content with what we have now
珍惜一切就算没有拥有
We should treasure everything we own, even though we got nothing
还记得你说家是唯一的城堡
Still remember you have said that the home is your only castle
随着稻香河流继续奔跑
To follow the smell of rice and keep running with the river
微微笑小时候的梦我知道
Let’s have a smile; I knew the dream you had in your childhood
不要哭让萤火虫带著你逃跑
Don’t cry, let the fireflies carry you to run away
乡间的歌谣永远的依靠
The songs from countryside are the best dependence for you forever
回家吧回到最初的美好
Come back to home; come back to the wonderful you had at the beginning
不要这么容易就想放弃 就像我说的
Don’t give up so easily, just like I have said
追不到的梦想 换个梦不就得了
If you can’t catch the dream you want to, just change it
为自己的人生鲜艳上色
You should color you life with the most colorful paint
先把爱涂上喜欢的颜色
And first of all, to paint the “love” with your favorite color
笑一个吧 功成名就不是目的
Have a smile, to be successful is not the final goal of your life
让自己快乐快乐 这才叫做意义
The most meaningful thing you need to do is to let yourself have happiness
童年的纸飞机 现在终于飞回我手里
The paper airplane from childhood, now, it’s back to my hands
所谓的那快乐
Happiness is said that
赤脚在田里追蜻蜓追到累了
To pursue the dragonflies barefoot in the fields until you are tired
偷摘水果被蜜蜂给叮到怕了
To steal the fruit in the fruit field until you are afeard of be bitten by the bees
谁在偷笑呢
Who is tittering?
我靠着稻草人吹着风
I sit with the scarecrow and enjoy the wing coming to me
唱着歌睡着了
And I fell sleep while I am singing
哦哦~
Woo …午后吉它在虫鸣中更清脆
In the afternoon, the sounds of guitar become clearer when it’s with the sounds of insects
哦哦~
Woo…
阳光洒在路上就不怕心碎
With the sunshine sprinkle on the road, you can’t be afeard of your heart be broken any more
珍惜一切就算没有拥有
We should treasure everything we own, even though we got nothing
还记得你说家是唯一的城堡
Still remember you have said that the home is your only castle
随着稻香河流继续奔跑
To follow the smell of rice and keep running with the river
微微笑小时候的梦我知道
Let’s have a smile; I knew the dream you had in your childhood
不要哭让萤火虫带著你逃跑
Don’t cry, let the fireflies carry you to run away
乡间的歌谣永远的依靠
The songs from countryside are the best dependence for you forever
回家吧回到最初的美好
Come back to home; come back to the wonderful you have had at the beginning
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