Over the course of my 8th grade year, this blog has served the purpose of a lot of stuff (and to save the trees!). It is an interesting way to reflect on books that I've read, and also helped me look at books in a certain way, wether it be philosophical or in a social action lens.
I think I learned a lot about how I think by creating and using this blog. It allowed, I think, more freedom in a targeted area. Instead of just making us write a short story or whatever in our notebook or as a story, we were allowed to write our own way about what we were reading (something we'd WANT to write about), but targeting a specific thinking style (Social action, philosophical, etc.), and I think that made me think about how I think normally as a person.
I think an advantage of writing on a blog is it's faster, for one. I also like the freedom of being able to write a bit more freely and loosely than more "traditional" styles like I think is typical of notebook writing or storywriting. The only real disadvantage that I could see is WHEN we could do it- in school in a notebook is better than at home, I feel. I also think another advantage is that people do try to show their good qualities online, but even some of the qualities they don't want to show also appear in their writing. A lot of a person can be discovered by their writing, and I think the experience of this blog helped me realize that.
Personally, I don't think that I write anything that I couldn't say to another person normally, but I don't always think that's a good thing. Sometimes I think that it's not always bad to express yourself more in writing then you would in front of a person- I think that writing is a way to get feelings across in a less confrontational way, a way that is less mean and harmful to others' feelings.
I think blogs are a cool, more modern, aspect of an ELA class in the 21st century. I feel like I had a lot of fun doing this, even if it was only because I had to do it for school. I don't think I would continue doing this if I didn't have to, because I don't think I need to do it for anything else- I can't think of anything anyways.
It was totally cool to be able to have this experience, and I'm sure it will help me at some point in the future (as most school experiences do, after all).
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Monday, June 9, 2014
Philosophical Blog Post for "The Matrix" [EXTRA CREDIT]
The movie "The Matrix" is about humans in the future who believe they live in a real world, but it it actually a fake world,created by the Matrix. In the real world, which only a few people know about, there is a struggle for freedom between the humans, essentially rebels, and the AI, which controls machines. Throughout the movie, many things connected to the idea of freedom, some more obvious than others. These parts of the movie were expressed by many of the quotes we learned in class.
There were many parts in the movie where the idea of freedom came into play. For example, most humans, who believe they live in the normal world, are actually trapped by the machines in order to use the humans as a source of energy. The humans outside of the Matrix want to free the humans from slavery and a fake life. These both connect to freedom because the humans are caught believing that they are free when they actually aren't, and the humans outside of the Matrix need to free them. This also relates to a quote we learned in class, "You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom. You can only be free if I am free" - Clarence Darrow. This relates to the situation in the film because even the people outside of the Matrix aren't really free- they're still in constant danger from machines looking to destroy them, and so they can't do all that much, but if they were able to free the other humans from the Matrix, they would be able to destroy the machines and be free from their rule.
Another part of the Movie where freedom is very evident is inside the fake world of the Matrix. Even though it might seem normal and fair, it is still controlled by "Agents", which are "people" in the Matrix with exceptional abilities that are unnatural. For instance, close to the start of the movie, Thomas, the main character, is taken to prison by Agents for commiting numerous computer crimes, but the Agents restrict his freedom beyond legality- not allowing Thomas to use his phone call, which you are supposed to have to give according to the law. In this way, this part of the movie connects back to freedom because inside the Matrix, freedom still isn't a given, the Agents keep a tight hold on even the fake people inside the Matrix. A quote that we learned in class that relates to this is "None are so hopelessly enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free" - Goethe. This relates to this part in the movie because the humans inside the matrix, who usually think they're free only realize that they're controlled more than they had thought once something happens to them. They believe they're free inside the Matrix until something or other happens and they realize that they have less control over their life than they thought. This is exactly what happened to Thomas in the film. Thomas is thinking he's free when he's controlled even inside the Matrix.
Freedom in "The Matrix" is a very important idea. Wether it's believing that they are free, or trying to free others, or faking freedom for someone, freedom is very prevelent in the film. When watching the film, I was enticed to consider some freedom questions, because of the nature of the film, which I think makes people ask questions. One question I had was "Can fake freedom, freedom you think you have, be real freedom for you, as long as you believe your fake freedom is what freedom is?" I aksed this because in the film, most humans live a normal life in the 1990's, doing everyday things and getting on with their life. That is the freedom they've known for their entire life, but, of course, it isn't real freedom. This is just one of many interesting questions. For this one, I think fake freedom can be a real freedom, because even though it was a fake freedom, the normal people could still think they were doing everything on their own impulse, because nothing else showed otherwise- so as long as they believed their "freedom" was real freedom, it was essentially their belif of freedom, no matter how twisted and false it was in the real world. Overall, the idea of freedom and the nature of the film raised many questions about freedom.
There were many parts in the movie where the idea of freedom came into play. For example, most humans, who believe they live in the normal world, are actually trapped by the machines in order to use the humans as a source of energy. The humans outside of the Matrix want to free the humans from slavery and a fake life. These both connect to freedom because the humans are caught believing that they are free when they actually aren't, and the humans outside of the Matrix need to free them. This also relates to a quote we learned in class, "You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom. You can only be free if I am free" - Clarence Darrow. This relates to the situation in the film because even the people outside of the Matrix aren't really free- they're still in constant danger from machines looking to destroy them, and so they can't do all that much, but if they were able to free the other humans from the Matrix, they would be able to destroy the machines and be free from their rule.
Another part of the Movie where freedom is very evident is inside the fake world of the Matrix. Even though it might seem normal and fair, it is still controlled by "Agents", which are "people" in the Matrix with exceptional abilities that are unnatural. For instance, close to the start of the movie, Thomas, the main character, is taken to prison by Agents for commiting numerous computer crimes, but the Agents restrict his freedom beyond legality- not allowing Thomas to use his phone call, which you are supposed to have to give according to the law. In this way, this part of the movie connects back to freedom because inside the Matrix, freedom still isn't a given, the Agents keep a tight hold on even the fake people inside the Matrix. A quote that we learned in class that relates to this is "None are so hopelessly enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free" - Goethe. This relates to this part in the movie because the humans inside the matrix, who usually think they're free only realize that they're controlled more than they had thought once something happens to them. They believe they're free inside the Matrix until something or other happens and they realize that they have less control over their life than they thought. This is exactly what happened to Thomas in the film. Thomas is thinking he's free when he's controlled even inside the Matrix.
Freedom in "The Matrix" is a very important idea. Wether it's believing that they are free, or trying to free others, or faking freedom for someone, freedom is very prevelent in the film. When watching the film, I was enticed to consider some freedom questions, because of the nature of the film, which I think makes people ask questions. One question I had was "Can fake freedom, freedom you think you have, be real freedom for you, as long as you believe your fake freedom is what freedom is?" I aksed this because in the film, most humans live a normal life in the 1990's, doing everyday things and getting on with their life. That is the freedom they've known for their entire life, but, of course, it isn't real freedom. This is just one of many interesting questions. For this one, I think fake freedom can be a real freedom, because even though it was a fake freedom, the normal people could still think they were doing everything on their own impulse, because nothing else showed otherwise- so as long as they believed their "freedom" was real freedom, it was essentially their belif of freedom, no matter how twisted and false it was in the real world. Overall, the idea of freedom and the nature of the film raised many questions about freedom.
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Philosophical Blog Post for "Life of Pi"
In Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Pi, the main character who is stranded in the Pacific after his boat sank crossing to Canada from India, has many things in his life that limit these freedoms. In order to survive, he has to remove the limitations on his freedoms.
There are many things that limit Pi's freedom in a lifeboat. First of all, there was fear. Pi was fearful of many things at first. One was Richard Parker, the Bengal Tiger also on the boat. In the text, he says "Richard Parker had risen and emerged... the hyena's end had come, and mine." This shows to the reader that Pi was very scared of Richard Parker, because he thought Richard Parker would kill him. This limited his freedom because he didn't want to be near Richard Parker.Another thing that limited his freedom was worry. Pi was worried about a lot of things on the boat, and that limited what he thought abou because he was worrying instead of thinking. In the text, he worries that he will never be saved or reach land. For example, he says "I was certain I wasn't alone. It was inconceivable that the Tsimtsum should sink without eliciting a peep of concern. Right now in Tokyo, in Panama City, in Madras, in Honolulu, why, even in Winnipeg, red lights were blinking on consoles, alarm bells were ringing..." This shows his worry for not being saved because he fantasizes about being saved, but he doesn't know that he will, so he worries if it will happen or not, and restricts his freedom because he isn't thinking about things he needs to think about to survive, but instead thinking about things he worries about. Pi fears a lot and worries about a lot. These two things greatly limited Pi's freedom while he didn't do anything about them.
In order to survive, Pi had to rid himself of the limitations on his freedom. For example, he stopped being fearful of Richard Parker. To do this, he had to stop caring about what Richard Parker could do. In the text, he described his decision by saying "You might think I lost all hope at this part. I did. And as a result, I perked up and felt much better... With a tiger on board my life was over. That being settled, why not do something about my parched throat?" He overcomes his fear of Richard Parker by not caring that he's there, and trying to survive instead. He decides not to fear so that he doesn't have to be weak and dehydrated, because he thinks either way he will die. Pi also overcomes his worry about being saved. In the text, he says "I also spent hours observing him [Richard Parker] because it was a distraction. A tiger is a fascinating animal at any time, and all the more so when it is your sole companion. At first, looking out for a ship was something I did all the time, compulsively. But after a few weeks, five or six, I stopped doing it nearly entirely." Pi overcomes the worry that no one will save him and that no ships will come by distracting himself with other things, and this helps him not worry. Overall, Pi helps himself survive by not being fearful and not worrying about a lot.
Life of Pi is a book that has a lot of philosophical ideas built into it. I noticed a few were very prevelent. A big part of Pi's character is his beliefs. He believes in three religions, and also is a vegetarian. A good philosophical question that I thought of is "Should you go against your beliefs in order to survive?" This question comes up a lot in Life of Pi, for example when he has to eat fish, something he wouldn't normally do as a vegetarian, so he is very conflicted- Should he stay with his beliefs or help himself survive? Another question is "What is reality?" This comes up a lot in the book when Mr. Okamoto and Mr. Chiba talk to Pi about his first story, the book, and the second story, one he tells them without animals or "unbelievable" things. Mr. Okamoto and Mr. Chiba both think that Reality is only what people have seen with their eyes, so they do not believe Pi was with a Bengal Tiger on the lifeboat for so long. These two questions are but a few of the many philosophical questions raised in the book.
There are many things that limit Pi's freedom in a lifeboat. First of all, there was fear. Pi was fearful of many things at first. One was Richard Parker, the Bengal Tiger also on the boat. In the text, he says "Richard Parker had risen and emerged... the hyena's end had come, and mine." This shows to the reader that Pi was very scared of Richard Parker, because he thought Richard Parker would kill him. This limited his freedom because he didn't want to be near Richard Parker.Another thing that limited his freedom was worry. Pi was worried about a lot of things on the boat, and that limited what he thought abou because he was worrying instead of thinking. In the text, he worries that he will never be saved or reach land. For example, he says "I was certain I wasn't alone. It was inconceivable that the Tsimtsum should sink without eliciting a peep of concern. Right now in Tokyo, in Panama City, in Madras, in Honolulu, why, even in Winnipeg, red lights were blinking on consoles, alarm bells were ringing..." This shows his worry for not being saved because he fantasizes about being saved, but he doesn't know that he will, so he worries if it will happen or not, and restricts his freedom because he isn't thinking about things he needs to think about to survive, but instead thinking about things he worries about. Pi fears a lot and worries about a lot. These two things greatly limited Pi's freedom while he didn't do anything about them.
In order to survive, Pi had to rid himself of the limitations on his freedom. For example, he stopped being fearful of Richard Parker. To do this, he had to stop caring about what Richard Parker could do. In the text, he described his decision by saying "You might think I lost all hope at this part. I did. And as a result, I perked up and felt much better... With a tiger on board my life was over. That being settled, why not do something about my parched throat?" He overcomes his fear of Richard Parker by not caring that he's there, and trying to survive instead. He decides not to fear so that he doesn't have to be weak and dehydrated, because he thinks either way he will die. Pi also overcomes his worry about being saved. In the text, he says "I also spent hours observing him [Richard Parker] because it was a distraction. A tiger is a fascinating animal at any time, and all the more so when it is your sole companion. At first, looking out for a ship was something I did all the time, compulsively. But after a few weeks, five or six, I stopped doing it nearly entirely." Pi overcomes the worry that no one will save him and that no ships will come by distracting himself with other things, and this helps him not worry. Overall, Pi helps himself survive by not being fearful and not worrying about a lot.
Life of Pi is a book that has a lot of philosophical ideas built into it. I noticed a few were very prevelent. A big part of Pi's character is his beliefs. He believes in three religions, and also is a vegetarian. A good philosophical question that I thought of is "Should you go against your beliefs in order to survive?" This question comes up a lot in Life of Pi, for example when he has to eat fish, something he wouldn't normally do as a vegetarian, so he is very conflicted- Should he stay with his beliefs or help himself survive? Another question is "What is reality?" This comes up a lot in the book when Mr. Okamoto and Mr. Chiba talk to Pi about his first story, the book, and the second story, one he tells them without animals or "unbelievable" things. Mr. Okamoto and Mr. Chiba both think that Reality is only what people have seen with their eyes, so they do not believe Pi was with a Bengal Tiger on the lifeboat for so long. These two questions are but a few of the many philosophical questions raised in the book.
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