Raisen in the Sun Question Response

1. Why didn’t Beneatha want to be a doctor anymore? Because her brother gave all the money away, leaving her with none.
2. How did Asagai define “idealists” and “realists”? He says idealists are thinkers who can do more then the normal, and realists are those who can only do a circle of things and nothing more.
3. What does Asagai ask Beneatha to do? Asks her to go to Africa with her.
4. What fault does Mama find with herself? That she and Walter aim to high in goals and always come out with nothing.
5. What solution does Walter have? Take the money Londner offered for staying out of the new house.
6. Why didn’t Walter take the money Lindner offered? Because he realized that it was best for his family to take the house and live in it, rather then giving up and staying in the small apartment, he sort of awakened the good in him for his family.
7.  What metaphorical significance does the small plant have for the Youngers? It seems like the plant is sort of saying they have a second chance if the plant can keep growing, they too can keep growing and getting stronger day by day.

Response to questions

Act I Scene One
1. Why did Walter ask Ruth what was wrong with her? Because she was mad when he asked about the money.
2. Why was Ruth upset when Walter gave Travis the money? Because Walter was treating it like they had loads of money.
3. Who are Willy and Bobo? The people Walter wants to open up a liquor store with.
4. Walter said, “Damn my eggs . . . damn all the eggs that ever was!” Why? Because he’s mad no one seems to listen to him about what he wants.
5. Who is Beneatha? Walter’s sister.
6. Why was Mama getting a check for $10,000? Because her husband died.
7. Why did Beneatha say she wouldn’t marry George? Because he’s the rich snooty type, very shallow.
8. What was Beneatha’s attitude towards God? Says he doesn’t exist, if he did then things would be going better.
9. What happened to Ruth at the end of Act I Scene One? She faints.

Raisen in the Sun Response

The little boy, he seems to have a lot of feelings no one notices, he’s kind of stressed full of being kind of tossed around and not always there, he seems to feel uneasy but plays it happy for others since he doesn’t quite know all that’s going on. In the end, he gets what he wants, a house with his family.

Mama, she is the one who wants their lives to be better. She has very little greed, if any, and is just trying to make their lives better. She wishes her son was a little more helpful, and wants the best for his wife and her own daughter. She ends up happy with her son’s decision in the end, and gets what’s best, the best for the family.

Sister, she’s wanting to be a doctor but is very indecisive and wants to do everything at once. She has mixed feelings about the whole situation and has problems with what her brother is wanting to do. She feels for the family, but really wants to exceed as a doctor and learn more about everything. In the end I think she’s satisfied with getting a new home, though less accomplished with her own feelings in what she really wants.

Our Racist, Sexist selves response.

1. Why did the author think the U of Chicago test revealed that he was racist?  Is he right? He thought he was racist because he hesitated more with white people rather then the black people. No, I don’t think he’s right.
2. Do these tests measure “unconscious” racism?  Why do you think so? No, because it’s more a game, you’ll shoot when you see a gun, and hesitate if you can or can’t see it.
3. Why does the author think that sexism may be harder to fight than racism?  What research suggests this? Because sexism was around longer then racism in many cultures and in many has in a sense stayed that way.
4. Paraphrase this quote: The challenge for women competing in politics or business is less misogyny than unconscious sexism: Americans don’t hate women, but they do frequently stereotype them as warm and friendly, creating a mismatch with the stereotype we hold of leaders as tough and strong. It seems like he’s trying to say that women are seen as those people who just do everything without putting up a fight and will do what asked and can’t take a head in politics and roles where they have to be powerful, or a leader. 
5. What is the real problem women face according to the author?  What do you think? They face the problem of trying to be seen as able to do the same things men can do rather then seen as the people who can only do one set of things and aren’t mean to be leaders. I think they face the fact that men are afraid to lose their power, and although it may not seem like that, they seem to want to keep it subconsciously as it’s been for hundreds of years.
6. How can this problem be confronted according to the author?  What do you think? Yes it can, as more female figures are slowly beginning to stand up more and take a role in society they begin to make impact. I think women just need to stand up for themselves more as much as they can.

48 Laws of Power.

Law 1

Never Outshine the Master.

This law, to me, seems very truthful in trying to gain power. You’re never born into power, you must raise to it over time, and it can take much time. For this law, it seems easiest to obtain power, by the simple task of being more dull, less interesting, to those above you makes you into a person people trust because you seem a little less uneducated, less of a problem. And no harm is really done in this law, no physical harm at least. If you are affected by the fact that people look down on you because your ruler is an idiot and you must be ten times as dumb, in order to keep power you must not feel as jealous as you would like or power is not meant to be yours. If you can keep this up though, it seems as though since no harm is truly done it is the easiest first step to rise up to power.

Shakespeare

Why do we teach Macbeth and Shakespeare at all? What are your experiences learning Shakespeare? What worked and what didn’t?

The reason teachers teach Shakespeare is  because he has such a large influence on many things we have today, that it’s good to go back to the beginning and learn about him and what he started. My Experiences with Shakespeare is that I first learned what Romeo and Juliet was, having only read spoofs before the actual Shakespeare novel itself. What worked well was taking it a little at a time, not trying to take the whole book in at once. Also acting it out, or watching the movie helped as well to see visually what was going on if it was confusing to read as Shakespeare’s work often is complicated to read, getting the actions, where they are, the movement and such. I always thought it was good when we had a movie to go along with it, or acted it out.

Life of Pi Response

If Life of Pi were to be read in class I believe it would work well with students. More so, it would fit well with a psychology class specifically because of the depth Pi often goes into while talking about what goes on through his mind and the odd, different thoughts he has being stuck on a boat with a Tiger. The more violent side that he shows, and how he’s knowledgeable about many things. There are many things in this book that I find interesting and that might fit different people in classes multiple ways. There are parts that are a little morbid, descriptions of people dying, the blood, many rather indescribable things that Pi has to go through. His emotions have a huge effect on people. The way he explains his suffering, at how at many points he just wanted to give it up and surrender life to the Tiger, who, in response was a good companion most of the time. He was able to train the Tiger to respond to his whistle.

My favorite part of the book was towards the end, but I think it would be the most interesting and scary part in the book. Pi is on the mysterious island covered with seaweed and algae, along with, mysteriously enough, meerkats. Hundreds of meerkats. During the day the meerkats run about and hunt salt water fish that come up dead in pools of mysterious fresh water. This was the most thrilling part of the book, the mystery of the island, but Pi is just happy to be on land. He finally decides on the island to sleep in a tree, and at night the meerkats join him in the tree, along with every other tree, which in itself is mysterious because usually meerkats are ground dwelling creatures.  Pi comes to discover that the island is carnivorous, luring the salt water fish into fresh water and digesting them, as the trees are also the same, waiting for some creature to die and then devouring it. Pi was able to discover this eerie fact after one, finding human teeth in tree leaves, and two, stepping on the seaweed and algae and night only to discover it had become acid to the touch.

It was such a great part of the book, that entire part, it just kept me reading and reading, I wanted to know more about this island that was unusually placed in the Pacific and covered with Meerkats found in Africa.
There’s also  the part where Pi has been blinded for a momentary time,  and runs into another life form who talks to him, until the two are able to meet and touch boats. Pi soon finds out this other person only wished to eat Pi, and Pi is almost about to get killed with the Tiger saves his life and devours the human. Although Pi is mortified, he is happy he is saved.
He says it multiple time sin the book he couldn’t have survived the trip without the tiger being there, and I think the odd friendship between a dangerous tiger and a human is so entertaining in itself this book could easily fit any class, since it has a little bit of everything people can appreciate in a book.

I’m glad I was able to read this book through class, and I hope to buy it as well, I liked it that much. Crazy, huh?

The Dumbing of America

1. What is the author (Jacobs) trying to convince you is true. Quote one sentence in which she clearly states what she believes.
She’s trying to convince us that we are getting dumber as we progress. “Dumbness, to paraphrase the late senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, has been steadily defined downward for several decades, by a combination of heretofore irresistible forces.”

2. Why evidence does the author give to prove that America is dumber than before? How does baby Einstein prove we’re getting dumber? She says that the basic facts that’d you think people would know, many people don’t even quite grasp.

3. What does Jacobs believe caused dumbness?
Things such as video games and videos in general, instead of reading texts like books or newpapers.

4. What does the author mean by “anti-intellectualism?” What is it? What causes it?
She’s saying it’s what we’re suffering, it is the ‘darker side’ of a country. The decline of good education and such.

5. What is the “erosion of general knowledge?”
Things most people should, and used to know no longer be taught and learned.

6. Summarize the 2nd to last paragraph (” That leads us to the third and final factor”). She’s saying it’s not always lack of knowledge that causes us stupidity, but that fact that we have few ways to get that knowledge if we wished to know it.

7. Is she right? Explain with evidence from your own life.
Maybe, maybe not. I’m a little naïve on many subjects myself, definitely not the brightest banana in the bunch but I can see that maybe it’s all about how you deal with it. If you want to know the knowledge you’ll learn it, and want to learn it, but then there are some people who really don’t care and are content with the way things are, and just get the title ‘Stupid’ or not knowledgeable. So, the way I see it, it all depends on if you want to learn and know the facts or not.

Persuasive Writing

The idea of getting rid of snacks seems terrible. There are many reasons that the snacks are good for us, any time of the day. Even this morning that I’m writing this, I’d probably feel ill if not for the snack machines in the sac, the pop machines as well that supplied me with juice. The snacks are there to make good lunch goods, maybe even breakfast. I can understand doing something such as changing the food within it, possibly thinking of putting healthier snacks, but changing it all together and getting rid of everything thing in the snack machine is just to much. It’s nice, easy, cheap food to get for someone who maybe just doesn’t want to wait in a long line to buy lunch or grab a snack, the machine is filled with a variety of snacks everyone can enjoy and makes it easy to eat a breakfast when you’re in a hurry in the morning and maybe hadn’t gotten breakfast on your way out of the house. Getting rid of it would damage this, and could leave kids more grumpy, or sick feeling in the morning and less prepared for the classes ahead, thus being why I object to getting rid of the snack machines.

WASL

1. I think they want us to take the WASL because they feel that the WASL is the ultimate test for us that will judge our knowledge that we have learned over the years. It’s a challenge because it tests all we know at once rather then one subject at a time.

2. Good is that we get out of class, or at least our classes are shorter and we use up time doing nothing. Bad is the fact that it’s a test, and tests are stressful and take up a lot of time of which I would much prefer to be doing classwork rather then taking a big important test.

3. The goals of the WASL could be tested otherwise by having a teacher’s giving us a test, rather then the state, that filled all our subjects and taking it for one whole class day, and maybe some others at the end. That would make it easier then feeling we’re being tested by the state.