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Sunday, September 30, 2012
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
"Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain" Response #4 Critical Writing
In Mitford's essay on the process of enbalming, she makes the reasonable assumption that most Americans do not know what it takes to make a body ready for a funeral. She firmly believes that the process of enbalming is revolting and disrespectful of the dead and if Americans knew the process they would not agree with it. She portrays the enbalmers as shadowy, deceptive figures not to be trusted.
Mitford assumes that most Americans are ignorant of enbalming. In paragraph four Mitford critiques the ignorance of Americans saying "Americans...each year pay hundreds of millions of dollars [for enbalming]...Not one in ten thousand has any idea of what actually takes place." This argument is a fair one; funerals are expensive and when one pays for something expensive, one usually tends to research it.
Mitford portrays the enbalmers in a negative light. In the final paragraph, she sums up the job: "He has relieved the family of every detail, he has revamped the corpse to look like a living doll...he has put on a well-oiled performance in which the concept of death has played no part whatsoever." Her grotesque details of the process itself and her repetivie mention of the enbalmer's having "intestinal fortitude" make the reader sick to their stomach.
Mitford assumes that most Americans are ignorant of enbalming. In paragraph four Mitford critiques the ignorance of Americans saying "Americans...each year pay hundreds of millions of dollars [for enbalming]...Not one in ten thousand has any idea of what actually takes place." This argument is a fair one; funerals are expensive and when one pays for something expensive, one usually tends to research it.
Mitford portrays the enbalmers in a negative light. In the final paragraph, she sums up the job: "He has relieved the family of every detail, he has revamped the corpse to look like a living doll...he has put on a well-oiled performance in which the concept of death has played no part whatsoever." Her grotesque details of the process itself and her repetivie mention of the enbalmer's having "intestinal fortitude" make the reader sick to their stomach.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Statement Inspiration Essay
Handwritten Letters (Inspired by "Electronic mail provides a form of communication that letters and telephone don't") Note: Following the images there is a verbatim transcript for easier readability.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Structural Element of "The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society"
The structural element of "The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society" that jumped out most to me was the testimonies and real-life stories of illiterate people. The testimonies make the story more accessible to the reader and really give the reader a good kick in the mouth. For example in paragraph 22, the writer tells the story of "A women in detroit [who] brought home a gallon of Crisco for her children's dinner. She thought that she had bought the chicken that was pictured on the label. She had enough Crisco now to last a year- but no more money to go back and buy the food for dinner." This real-life example makes the problem of illiteracy personal to the reader. It shows that there are people behind the statistics. Besides telling the story of people, Kozol also occasionally uses there direct words as in paragraph 15 where he quotes a woman in Washington DC as saying "We signed things we didn't know what they were." These voices and stories are sprinkled throughout the passage and were the most striking and powerful thing about the writing. It is one thing to talk of statistics, it is another thing entirely to show the people whose lives are affected.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Psychology!
For about a year I have gone between different things I've wanted to major in. I went from being interested in political science to engineering to architecture and over the summer I appear to have settled on psychology.
People have always been very fascinating to me. When I was younger I would always wonder why people would do certain things and lately I've been trying more and more to discover why I do certain things. At the root of psychology is the very question: "Why do people do what they do?" My grandmother, uncle and aunt are all psychologists so perhaps I have a gene for it and I've always loved to listen to people talk and try and help them with their problems.
Another thing that I've always loved are dreams. I am a firm believer that all dreams do have significance, however the meaning isn't always apparent or enlightening in the moment. I keep a dream diary and I've tried to lucid dream before but only accomplished complete dominance of the dream once. For those who don't know lucid dreaming is when you are fully aware that you are dreaming while you are dreaming. Some lucid dreamers can manipulate their environments, people, physics etc.
The other thing I like about psychology is that it analyzes emotions not only by themselves but also how they relate to actions; two people may feel a similar way and be in a similar circumstance but emotions and feelings have various effects on each individual. Personally I'm someone who is motivated by guilt a lot at times so I'm curious about why it is that I feel that guilt.
Psychology is by no means a black and white field. There are tons of theories that are highly controversial and while there is truth to almost every theory they don't always apply because each individual is unique. I like this because unlike math or physics, psychology is intentionally subjective and better adapts to the real world.
Once I started considering psychology as a major, I started to look at career paths, graduate school etc. There are 3 main types of psychologists: 1) the researchers (do psychological experiments) 2) the applied psychologists (make suggestions to companies based on research) 3) Clinical psychologists (classic cliche image). In order to practice clinical psychology (which I think I'm interested in) the best chances are to take two years of graduate school for a masters degree and then four years of doctoral to attain the Doctorate of psychology (Psy. D) this is all in addition to a BA (4 years) in a psychology-related topic or a health-related topic. 10 more years of school might sound daunting to some of my peers but I thoroughly enjoy learning and there's always room for a gap year. Who knows where I'll end up in 11 years? If anything going straight through the ten years is probably the least likely outcome as I want to be married and have some children somewhere in there. The Psy. D would allow me to do my own research, practice psychology, teach, write (something else I love to do) and recommend people for psychiatrists (the ones who prescribe medication). I believe that the earnings would be enough for me to live a comfortable life even with family, keep me interested in what I was doing, allow me to travel every now and then and most importantly feel as though my life was purposeful and spent helping people. Who knows if that's where I'll end up. That's the beauty of life, it can take you some many different directions :)
-E.
People have always been very fascinating to me. When I was younger I would always wonder why people would do certain things and lately I've been trying more and more to discover why I do certain things. At the root of psychology is the very question: "Why do people do what they do?" My grandmother, uncle and aunt are all psychologists so perhaps I have a gene for it and I've always loved to listen to people talk and try and help them with their problems.
Another thing that I've always loved are dreams. I am a firm believer that all dreams do have significance, however the meaning isn't always apparent or enlightening in the moment. I keep a dream diary and I've tried to lucid dream before but only accomplished complete dominance of the dream once. For those who don't know lucid dreaming is when you are fully aware that you are dreaming while you are dreaming. Some lucid dreamers can manipulate their environments, people, physics etc.
The other thing I like about psychology is that it analyzes emotions not only by themselves but also how they relate to actions; two people may feel a similar way and be in a similar circumstance but emotions and feelings have various effects on each individual. Personally I'm someone who is motivated by guilt a lot at times so I'm curious about why it is that I feel that guilt.
Psychology is by no means a black and white field. There are tons of theories that are highly controversial and while there is truth to almost every theory they don't always apply because each individual is unique. I like this because unlike math or physics, psychology is intentionally subjective and better adapts to the real world.
Once I started considering psychology as a major, I started to look at career paths, graduate school etc. There are 3 main types of psychologists: 1) the researchers (do psychological experiments) 2) the applied psychologists (make suggestions to companies based on research) 3) Clinical psychologists (classic cliche image). In order to practice clinical psychology (which I think I'm interested in) the best chances are to take two years of graduate school for a masters degree and then four years of doctoral to attain the Doctorate of psychology (Psy. D) this is all in addition to a BA (4 years) in a psychology-related topic or a health-related topic. 10 more years of school might sound daunting to some of my peers but I thoroughly enjoy learning and there's always room for a gap year. Who knows where I'll end up in 11 years? If anything going straight through the ten years is probably the least likely outcome as I want to be married and have some children somewhere in there. The Psy. D would allow me to do my own research, practice psychology, teach, write (something else I love to do) and recommend people for psychiatrists (the ones who prescribe medication). I believe that the earnings would be enough for me to live a comfortable life even with family, keep me interested in what I was doing, allow me to travel every now and then and most importantly feel as though my life was purposeful and spent helping people. Who knows if that's where I'll end up. That's the beauty of life, it can take you some many different directions :)
-E.
E. Takes a Shot at "Greasy Lake"
"Greasy Lake" by T.C. Boyle reads more like a nightmare than an account of failed teenage rebellion. The exaggerated descriptions and depictions add to the feel that the author is in over his head when it comes to being bad.
The diction while describing the scenery adds to the ominous surreal tone. For example the author drops his keys "in the dark, rank, mysterious nighttime grass of Greasy Lake." Later when the author is running away from his immoral decision to attack a girl he describes the terrain as "feculent undergrowth at the lake's edge, insects flying up in my face, weeds whipping, frogs and snakes and red-eyed turtles splashing off into the night: I was already ankle-deep in muck and tepid water and still going strong." It would appear that every living and non-living object in the area has turned against the author much like it would in a dream. The objects are described the way they are because of the guilt the author feels. It as if the author made a questionable decision because he was in a dream-like trance and now he cannot wake up from this nightmare where every object scorns him for his choice.
The narrator and his friends are clearly out of their element and attempting things that are out of character. In the first paragraph the narrator even admits that his group "struck elaborate poses to show that we didn't give a shit about anything." You can't buy cool. It's something some people have and others just don't and nothing they attempt from "striking elaborate poses," drinking "gin and grape juice" or throwing "two dozen raw eggs at mailboxes and hitchhikers" will change their status. In the end they aren't fully committed to it anyhow because when the going gets tough they run away from their nightmarish experience.
It is not until this experience at greasy lake does the author realize the error in his ways and the consequences of his actions: "I contemplated suicide...scraped the recesses of my brain for some sort of excuse to give my parents...then I thought of the dead man. He was probably the only person worse off on the planet than I was...My car was wrecked; he was dead" Our teenage rebel reals that he is lucky to have lived and he wants out of this world he saw a glimpse of. He deeply is ashamed of his actions and fears the consequences, but is happy he was given a second chance. When the girls offer to party with him at the end he blows them off because he has learned his lesson.
The author shows the consequences of acting out of character through his experiences at "Greasy Lake."
The diction while describing the scenery adds to the ominous surreal tone. For example the author drops his keys "in the dark, rank, mysterious nighttime grass of Greasy Lake." Later when the author is running away from his immoral decision to attack a girl he describes the terrain as "feculent undergrowth at the lake's edge, insects flying up in my face, weeds whipping, frogs and snakes and red-eyed turtles splashing off into the night: I was already ankle-deep in muck and tepid water and still going strong." It would appear that every living and non-living object in the area has turned against the author much like it would in a dream. The objects are described the way they are because of the guilt the author feels. It as if the author made a questionable decision because he was in a dream-like trance and now he cannot wake up from this nightmare where every object scorns him for his choice.
The narrator and his friends are clearly out of their element and attempting things that are out of character. In the first paragraph the narrator even admits that his group "struck elaborate poses to show that we didn't give a shit about anything." You can't buy cool. It's something some people have and others just don't and nothing they attempt from "striking elaborate poses," drinking "gin and grape juice" or throwing "two dozen raw eggs at mailboxes and hitchhikers" will change their status. In the end they aren't fully committed to it anyhow because when the going gets tough they run away from their nightmarish experience.
It is not until this experience at greasy lake does the author realize the error in his ways and the consequences of his actions: "I contemplated suicide...scraped the recesses of my brain for some sort of excuse to give my parents...then I thought of the dead man. He was probably the only person worse off on the planet than I was...My car was wrecked; he was dead" Our teenage rebel reals that he is lucky to have lived and he wants out of this world he saw a glimpse of. He deeply is ashamed of his actions and fears the consequences, but is happy he was given a second chance. When the girls offer to party with him at the end he blows them off because he has learned his lesson.
The author shows the consequences of acting out of character through his experiences at "Greasy Lake."
Monday, September 3, 2012
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