The Dumbest Generation

I think the article points out some very serious concerns about my young generation, but I also think some of the examples are very far fetched and don’t accurately the whole generation. I think there are many more students who do very well in school and study hard and get good grades. There may be more distractions as students nowadays but there are also more resources. Kids didn’t used to be able to do Internet research and able to look things up in minutes rather than go to the library and have to make a day of it. Today we also have the ability to type papers on computers making them much faster than writing a research paper with just a piece of lined paper and a pencil. I also have friends, including myself, who are able to do their homework with their myspace or facebook page up and do fine with splitting up time for both social life and schoolwork. Kids also ask the question, “When will I use this when I grow up?. If a student does not feel like the subject truly matters or affects them, then they are certainly not going to try as hard at it as a subject they feel matters. There are a lot of things that go into how a kid does in school today. You cannot count out the whole generation just because it seems like there are more distractions today.

Tocqueville questions

2. Why does a society devoted to equal opportunity weaken each individual?

A society devoted to equal opportunity usually weakens the individual. This happens because there is such a huge push for everyone to be equal that many of the people at the top are pushed down to level the playing field. Alexis De Tocqueville expresses this in his writing when he writes, “The same equality which allows each man to entertain vast hopes makes each man by himself weak” In this quote Tocqueville is stating how the same equality that makes man free to do what he wants also makes him weak because every man has the ability to do the same and compete with him. The competition of equality is what makes the single man weak. Because with competition comes failure.

5. Does Tocqueville think Americans are restless because they don’t know what they want or because what they want is not attainable.

I believe that Tocqueville thinks Americans are restless because they what they want is not always attainable. They fear that they may never be able to get everything that they want. Tocqueville exemplifies this in his writing when he states,” Americans cleave to the things of this world as if assured that they will never die, and yet are in such a rush to snatch any that come within their reach, as if expecting to stop living before they have relished them.” In this quote, Tocqueville is expressing how Americans never are content and will always continue to want the next thing and the next thing in fear that they will never have what they want or what they need.

Revolutionaries vs Aristocracy

Compare the behavior of the empowered peasants to the behavior of the previous ruling class. How do they (the revolutionaries and aristocracy) deal with personal appeals. Remember the Marquis and think of the treatment of Darnay’s arguments.

The behavior of the ruling peasants is not that different from the previous ruling class. Both powers are very cruel and killed many people. The ruling power that was previously in power was very cruel and left many to starve and die. The new empowered peasants say they are for the people but yet they are killing many people now. If you look at the Marquis and when he was previously in power you see that he is not very understanding and not willing to listen to the peasants’ pleas. The empowered peasants are also similar because they did not listen to Darnay’s arguments and went back and captured him.

Questions on Tale Of Two Cities

1. For how long has the man in Jarvis Lorry’s thoughts been buried?
- His thoughts have been buried for eighteen years.

2. What else do we know of this man who has been “buried”?
- We know that he is a banker from Tellsons Bank, which is in London, England. He is on his way to Paris on business.

3. What are the two conditions concerning Dr. Manette?
- He is very old and sick and he hasn’t been in the real world for a long time and doesn’t know who his daughter is.

4. Who are the proprietors of the wine-shop?
- The owners of the wine shop are Monsieur and Madame Defarge.

5. Why does Defarge show Dr. Manette to the “Jacques”?
-It means he will show him to

6. What is Dr. Manette doing when they enter his room?
-He is making woman’s shoes of the popular style even though he has never seen them before.

7. What does Dr. Manette say his name is? What is the significance of what he says?
- He says One hundred and Five, North Tower.

Do we care what people think of us and can we control it?

I know from my own experiences, that we as humans are self-conscious. Most of us care about what others think about us. Why do we? It is just natural human instinct to want people to like us which means we care about what they think of us. We all want to be liked and wanted which is why we strive out for friends. In order to get friends you need to have people who think highly of you and want you around.
People can easily control what others think about them. We can control the way we dress, what we say, or the way we act. One example of the way we control what people think about us is that you can dress in popular clothing styles to make people think you are cool or to fit in with a group.
There are also things we can’t control though. One thing we cannot control is our talent. We can obviously not all be star athletes. But usually people have at least one thing they are really good at and sometimes influence the people we make friends with.

Freedom or Survival

When asked the question, which is more important, freedom or survival, the answer is simple. It is freedom because without freedom you are not really alive. Without freedom it makes it harder to truly enjoy life and makes it harder to find a reason to live. The state of New Hampshire even had a saying that said “Live Free or Die”. With freedom you have the ability to have self-determination. Without freedom you may still be alive but you do not have the ability to determine things for yourself. I know that freedom is especially important to me. Without it I wouldn’t be able to make my own decisions for myself or have my own identity. My freedom gives me the ability to vote for who I want, say what I want, or be who I want to be. Another famous quote is “Give me liberty or give me death” by Patrick Henry. He said this when the colonies were on the verge of war against England and fighting for their freedom. I know that I, as well as many other Americans, am willing to fight for my freedom and rights. Another reason that freedom is more important is that without freedom your likelihood of surviving long is not so great. You are more likely to live a more healthy and satisfying life with freedom than you are with just surviving.

War

War is never a good thing, but it is sometimes necessary. Sometimes countries are forced to go to war because they need to do so in order to protect the country because they have been threaten. But other times war can be bad. If countries just go to war in order to take land and resources it can be very bad and sometimes meaningless. An example of that was Nazi Germany who continued to go after more and more land even though there was no need or reason for it other than the fact of wanting to take over all of Europe and the world. But sometimes war is inevitable. One example of that is when the United States was attacked on September 11^th. Not only was our security threatened but there was also huge support by the people for us to go to war. A way we could stop more senseless acts of war is to try and figure out the real reason of why we are fighting and if it is a legitimate reason to go to war. Now obviously this is an easier thing to say than do when you have two countries at each others neck. But in the end, never is there a time when war is a good thing. People dying and being killed could never be a good thing. But there are going to be times now and in the future where there will be no other choice but to go to war.

Why Do We Have Frends?

Why do we have friends? We have friends because everyone needs someone to talk to and someone to be able to love. If we didn't have friends we would be lonely and not very happy in general. But if you have a friend you have someone to make you happy and someone who you can make happy. What makes a friend? A friend is someone who will stand up for you or pick you up when you are down. Another good example of a friend is someone you can have fun with and have that same interests with. And if you have the same interests then that means you will most likely do similar things which will make you even more attached to them. Overall, every human needs someone to rely on, love, and some to be there for them when they need them. And all of those things are the reason why we have friends.

Where do you belong?

Where do you belong? I feel like belong in a place where I love people and people love me. Whether that means with your family, your school, or your neighborhood. But I think it ultimately means that you are comfortable where you are and have people who care about you where you are. There are some places where I feel like I don't belong simply because of my race or religion. Not because people have said anything to make me feel uncomfortable but because there are stereotypes that go along with certain places. Such as white people don't belong in the "ghetto". This is often said and thought of when people see whites in the ghetto. It can make me uncomfortable sometimes when I'm with my friends in these areas. Another place I feel like I don't belong is a church because I'm Jewish and I feel like our beliefs can sometimes make a barrier. But overall the difference between belonging somewhere and not is where you feel comfortable.

Dreams

Why do some dreams fail? Well I think one big reason why dreams fail is because some are realistic and some arn't. For example, one dream that is not so realistic is to become a billionaire. Even though it is possible it is highly unlikely and most people do not do it. One dream that could be a little more realistic is to get an A on a test or graduate from college. Another reason why dreams could fail is because people do not have the money to dot hose dreams. Such as in the book of mice and men when Lennie and George talk about how they want to own a farm and "live off the fat of the land". But in a sense they knew this dream was never reachable but they used it to keep them going and keep them form not loosing hope.

Favorite Character

Who was your favorite character in the book OF MICE AND MEN and why?

My favorite character in OF MICE AND MEN was George. I thought that he was very kind man and really did have a heart to take care f Lennie. And even though he could be a lot better of without Lennie he still took it upon himself to take care of him. I think it was rare in that day in age for people to take care of other people because everyone was looking out for themselves and didn’t try and help out other people because they maybe they didn’t have enough money or needed to find work for themselves. But George still helped out Lennie through the goodness of his heart. And I think in the end George really did love Lennie but it was just time for Lennie to go because he was time for him to go.

euthanasia

Define “euthanasia”. Then explain whether you agree or disagree with the practice and why.

Euthanasia is the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or an irreversible coma. I agree with euthanasia in some circumstances and disagree with it in other circumstances. I agree with it when an animal needs to be put out of its misery or when a human is in an irreversible coma. I think it is only right for them to stop the pain. I disagree with euthanasia if the person could be helped but they don’t want to be like a person who is mentally ill and just wants it to end. I don’t think that is appropriate because they could get help. I also disagree with the death penalty. I think that even though those people took innocent peoples lives away we should still treat a person’s life with respect because a life is precious and that they can just sit and rot in jail. I don’t think that we should be savage like and kill them. Overall, euthanasia can be a really good that helps people who are suffering or it can be a really bad thing if people do not use it wisely which is why I can agree with outlawing it because people take advantage of it.

1930s

If you thought life today was hard than you were wrong. Life today is a lot easier than it was back in the 1930s. Today we have a better economy even though we are in a recession and we have made great improvements in health care and technology.
In the 1930s America was in the middle of the Great Depression and not to mention the start of World War 2. Today we may have terrorist’s attacks but I can honestly say that we feel much safer than they did back then because we for the most part know when we are going to get food and that we can come home safe at night. In the 1930s people starved to death and World War 2 kept them on the edge of their seats. Today I think our nation is a lot more comfortable.

Romeo and Juliet Questions

“Love and insight is better than love at first sight.” Do you agree or disagree? Why?

I agree that love and insight is better than love at first sight. When you really know the person you love, you truly know them and love them for their own faults. But when you love someone at first sight I think its based more on physical attraction than it is on the person’s character or personality.

Was it wise of Friar Lawrence to give the potion to Juliet? Why or why not. In

I do not think it was wise for Friar Lawrence to give the potion to Juliet because I think he should of known that there were to many things that could go wrong with his plan and I think it would of been smarter of him to just tell Juliet to run away with Romeo.

Should Romeo have been punished for killing Tybalt? How should he have been punished? Explain why you think this.

I think Romeo should have definitely been punished for killing Tybalt. Tybalt was going to be punished for killing Mercutio so it makes since that Romeo should be punished for killing someone. And I think he was lucky to get the punishment he got instead of being killed which was what I thought was appropriate.

Who was ultimately responsible for all of the death that occurred in the play? Why?

I think the responsibility for the deaths in the play were both of the families’ parents. The Montague’s and Capulet’s could of easily just of been grown up about it and find a way to co-exist but because they were so immature they drove both of their children away and they ended up losing their lives for it.


Would you have lied to your whole family if you were in Juliet’s position? Why or why not?

I think I would of lied if I was in Juliet’s position because there was no way she could of told them she was in love with Romeo because they would have lost it and could really get mad at her or go after Romeo.

Romeo and Juliet Act 1

To start the first semester, my Language and Literature class has been reading Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet. I have always been interested in this very famous play and I was excited to find out that we were reading it.
After reading the first act, I was surprised to see how fast the play moves. The whole play only takes place over a time of five days. It was also surprising to see how quickly Romeo and Juliet fell in love. It was unbelievable to think that two people could fall in love and want to kiss each other before even introducing themselves to one another. And how could he forget about Rosaline so fast? He went from complaining about her every second and wanting to end his life because of her and in just one second he totally forgot about Rosaline and wanted to kiss Juliet.
Another thing that bothers me is the language. I mean of course we know it was written in old English but sometimes Shakespeare goes into such great detail that it seems over the top. But I still think the play was very well written and I enjoy reading it because the language does interest me.
Overall I have enjoyed reading this play so far and I cannot wait to read the rest of the play and see how it turns out.