Harrison Bergeron

This story was very interesting. It was a little difficult to read, but interesting non the less. This story is about a world that is controlled. Every facet of life is controlled by the government because everybody is equal in the society. One example is, people who were naturally stronger got weights put on them while people who are more intelligent have noise making devices in their ears to disrupt their thinking. The people who are under control by the government have no idea they are being controlled. The government creates a false reality that everybody lives under. In the story Harrison was different from everyone else. People were surprised when they saw him and so was the government. In the end Harrison is murdered because he cannot be allowed to live. This shows that the government is scared of people who are different, people who are creative. Over all this story was great. It resembles stories like “1984” by George Orwell and “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley. The topics that are discussed in these books are interesting and should not be over looked.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, is a very interesting story. I found this story to be orientated towards older people. Love is something that everyone eventually goes through. In my opinion love is a beautiful feeling. It brings out the best in people. Love is the only thing that allows you to care more about somebody else other than yourself. The story is a conversation between two couples. Both couples love each other. But the love that each couple has is very different. Mel and Terri love each other and act like they have been in abusive relationships prior to meeting. Nick and Laura on the other hand show a more passionate type of love. Terri talks about her previous relationship. She was abused by a man. She tells everyone that his abuse was out of love. Her words were very surprising because I would never think about laying a hand on the person I love. Terri says that the form of live her ex shows is a very extreme form of love. I can understand what she is saying, but love shouldn't justify abuse (no matter what gender) . This story really makes you wonder and set your own definition of love. The author writes this story very very well. I feel like I am actually a part of the conversation. I almost feel like contributing to the conversation.

This song reminds me of the song "Love Song" by The Cure

True Love

One of the stories that I was really interested in was True Love by Sharon Olds. It was interesting how she used metaphors in her story. The story is about a woman in love and she describes her feelings for the man she is in love with deeply throughout the story. She uses some of the metaphors in the story to portray her feelings about love. For example " I know where you are with my eyes closed, we are bound to each other with huge invisible threads." This line shows how this woman felt about her lover. Another line that was interesting was the last line of the story. It says " I quietly call to you and you come and hold my hand and I say I cannot see beyond it, I cannot see beyond it". This quote confused me. What exactly is she saying? I believe that she cannot see past the moment she is in. The moment she holds her lovers hand she is immediately fixated and cannot think. She is saying that she cannot control the moment. For example, when a guy falls in love with a girl. When you are in the moment with a girl you like, you let things happen automatically. You can't control the situation. I think we can all relate one way or another to this poem.

Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night

This story really changed my view of death. Death is a natural occurrence that will happen to everybody who lives. This poem was about a son who was with his father's deathbed. The son (who is the narrator) urges his father to continue living. The flow and pace of the poem made me feel like I was in locker room before the Super Bowl. The son mentions three types of men. Men who lived out life and either regretted it or wanted to fight in order to do better things. The son mentions wise men. The wise man lived his life well and wants to live on because there are still people who need to be taught. The son also mentions men who lived life without doing anything special. The son says that these men need to fight on so that they can make an impact. Finally the son mentions men who are vein. He even urges them to fight on. It is not clear what the son thinks of his father. He puts out these examples so that he can decide for himself. So that the reader can decide. All of the examples had one thing in common, to fight. The overall message of this poem was great. It is inspiring and uplifting. I honestly recommend this poem to anybody.

The Use of Force

This story was about a Doctor who was examining a little girl. But the girl did not want the Doctor to examine her. The Doctor asks the little girl to open her mouth but she doesn't. Later the Doctor accomplishes goal. He finds out that the little girl had a sore throat. The funny thing about this story is that the girl fights the doctor and won't let him examine her. Perhaps the girl had a bad experience with a doctor. The author's message is clear in this story. People must be forced to do things, including simple tasks. I think the author is right on.

Eng 122 In-Class Blog Prompt

My research topic was about the benefits of therapeutic cloning and how it should be regulated. The research paper was very informative but it was difficult to write. This presented a great difficulty because I had to take a look at my own morals. The biggest issue with therapeutic cloning is the definition of life. What makes a pre-embryo human? Can or should we consider a pre-embryo human? When I searched the online databases for the different viewpoints I stumbled across many good arguments on both sides. When I gathered the necessary information I decided to choose to support therapeutic cloning. The most challenging part of writing my research paper was choosing a side. One thing I learned from the research paper was the process in which therapeutic cloning was conducted. Therapeutic cloning is a very complex biomedical treatment. The procedures involved in therapeutic cloning include electro shocks to the blastocyst, a form of a pre-embryo. I also learned of the advancements in therapeutic cloning research. One of the new advancements is that stem cells are being used on experimental rats to treat diseases like arthritis. Stem cells play an important role in therapeutic cloning research because stem cells can be molded into any kind of cell. One example is that stem cells could be turned into nerve cells and potentially full organs. The prospects of this new scientific discovery are great, but where do we obtain stem cells? These stem cells are found in pre-embryo’s that scientist can clone. The real issue is if you think a blastocyst (pre-embryo) is considered a human or not. I chose to say no because a blastocyst doesn’t speak or think. A plant is a living thing and plants are manipulated every day. Life is life, but not everything is human.

Analysis of "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S Eliot

Responce to Blog Prompt #1

I believe that the the poem was neither a marriage proposal nor a a sexual proposition. I can understand why it can be seen this way. The poem startsout with "cheap hotels" and old dirty restaurants, but nearing the end of the poem it leans toward in-decision. He might be telling the reader that his living conditions and his physical apearance is causing him to stay quiet about his love. Prufrock is stating his low self-esteem because of loves that he has had in the past. Fro example " Do I dare" is repeated and clearly shows hesitation from his part because of his past.

Responce to Blog Prompt #2

Prufrock is simply afraid forcing something to happen. He may believe in destiny, that if things don't happen they weren't meant to be. Hollis says that Prufrock does not act on his desires because of his self doubt. This is true because Prufrock has a low self esteem. In the poem Prufrock is described an older man who is begining to bald. Knowing that his physical appearence won't help him out, Prufrock decides not to act. He decides not to "disturb the universe". Waldoff's essay argues that Prufrock is not forcing the issue because of his experiances with rejection.