Blog #6 assignment

So far, I like the style of this class. Actually, I am really not good at writing due to the lower level of English skill I have. First of all, I have to say that I like this Blog rather than writing more paper that I have to write in formal format. I felt more comfortable when I was answering the question in the Blog. Because I knew other classmates would read my Blog, I desire to choose something that would be very interesting for others in order to catch their more attention and show how many hard work I have paid on the assignment. But most of time, I would write what I have been known and have been understood. During the process of reading classmates’ Blogs, it helped me understand the text and article easier. Again, my English level is so low that I actually could not get and take much useful information and notes about the text by only discussing in the class. However, by using this Blog, everybody wrote down their points about the questions or text so that I could read it and use more time to understand both what questions and text concern about.

When I was known I have to write ten Blog assignments, I thought I would drop this course because I thought it would be too much work for me in this course and I could not handle it. However, when I finished the first, second and third blog, I totally changed my mind because the Blog assignments were not that difficult as I thought if I paid attention on the discussion in class. I realized that Blog assignments were easier than the papers I have written in ENG101 but much helpful for improving my English skill. Overall, the Blog in this ENG102 course makes the class much active and not that boring and difficult comparing with the regular five-papers-assignment ENG class.

Assignment #5

"I Believe I Can Fly" is a 1996 song by R&B singer R. Kelly. The song was written, produced and performed by R. Kelly. It was featured in the 1996 motion picture Space Jam. It is also the first English song in my life and is always my favorite song. When I was ten years old, I have not yet learned English in my native country. I don’t even know what the song was meaning about; however, I was deeply moved by the melody of this song. The song was filled with an attitude with positive and optimistic which make me feel hopeful about my future. “I believe I can fly, I believe I can touch the sky” was so meaningful for my school life because I always thought nothing is impossible as long as I have paid my effort. This song is just like a belief that always encourages me to face both good and hard time in my life.

I Believe I Can Fly - R. Kelly

I used to think that I could not go on

And life was nothing but an awful song

But now I know the meaning of true love

I'm leaning on the everlasting arms

If I can see it, then I can do it

If I just believe it, there's nothing to it

I believe I can fly

I believe I can touch the sky

I think about it every night and day

Spread my wings and fly away

I believe I can soar

I see me running through that open door

I believe I can fly

I believe I can fly

I believe I can fly

See I was on the verge of breaking down

Sometimes silence can seem so loud

There are miracles in life I must achieve

But first I know it starts inside of me, oh

If I can see it, then I can be it

If I just believe it, there's nothing to it

I believe I can fly

I believe I can touch the sky

I think about it every night and day

Spread my wings and fly away

I believe I can soar

I see me running through that open door

I believe I can fly

I believe I can fly

I believe I can fly

Hey, cuz I believe in me, oh

If I can see it, then I can do it

If I just believe it, there's nothing to it

I believe I can fly

I believe I can touch the sky

I think about it every night and day

Spread my wings and fly away

I believe I can soar

I see me running through that open door

I believe I can fly

I believe I can fly

I believe I can fly

Hey, if I just spread my wings

I can fly

I can fly

I can fly, hey

If I just spread my wings

I can fly

Fly-eye-eye

Assignment #4--Criticism

Gender criticism, sometimes called feminist critics examines how sexual identity influences the creation and reception literary works. The story of “The Chrysanthemums” is best applied by the gender criticism. John Steinbeck, the author of “The chrysanthemums,” maintains an appealing sympathy for the poor and downtrodden, the lonely and dispossessed throughout his written. In order words, the lonely and dispossessed have been appeared by the female character he wrote.

In the story of “The Chrysanthemums,” main character Elisa Allen was eager and mature and handsome; even her work with the scissors was over-eager, over-powerful. These things seemed not too much showed by a female when the culture has been so completely dominated by men that literature is full of unexamined “male-produced” assumptions. Woman was always considered inside a household while man was outside and controlled the household that we can see from the life style of Lisa Allen and her husband. In addition, when the traveling man lied about a lady needed some nice chrysanthemums for her garden, Lisa’s eyes grew alert and eager. At that time, Lisa Allen found that she could have some kinds of value in her life and that value would make her feel that she was winning recognition from other or from the society. John Steinbeck consciously tried to show that woman’s abilities could earn more value from the whole society. He also tries to correct the imbalance status between man and woman. However, the ending of the story is Lisa Allen realized she was being lied by the travel man; also she relaxed limply in the seat and was crying weakly-like an old woman. Lisa Allen had lost all her confidence due to the reality that she was nothing for traveling man except her money. She felt that she just a doll controlled by that traveling man.

Overall, the story implied that the social force of imbalance between man and woman did not change. Woman still was less respect and status than man during the time of such a male dominated world.

Blog #3 Assingment: Option A

In the story of “The Things They Carried,” there are several interesting characters and they have different personalities and play various roles. The most interesting character for me is Henry Dobbins who was a big man. Because he is such a big man, he carries extra rations. The things he carried such as “M-60 which weighed 23 pounds unloaded, but which was almost always loaded and between 10 and 15 pounds of ammunition draped in belts across his chest and shoulders, (395)” is heavier than the things carried by others. In this point, Henry Dobbins was not only just a big man in the story, but also a responsible person who carried the heaviest thing for the team. He likes to eat that he carried canned peaches in heavy syrup over pound cake in his extra rations which seems not related to the team but is important for him. In addition, “Henry Dobbins carried his girlfriend’s pantyhose wrapped around his neck as a comforter, (396)” the reason he carried his girlfriend’s pantyhose is that this pantyhose a kind of symbol that Henry Dobbins was missing and do not want to leave his girlfriend. Henry Dobbins was an optimist in the war though he and his comrade in arms were kicking corpse and cutting off thumbs. “Cut, said Henry Dobbins” and “They made themselves laugh (401)” shows Henry was optimistic and tried to encourage his team after Ted Lavender’s death.

Henry Dobbins in Tim O’ Brien’s story is a flat character because he only reveals two personality traits which did not change during the course of the story. Henry Dobbins shows us a character of responsibility and optimist which remain throughout the story; the big man was responsible for the heaviest thing that is what we can see from beginning of the story and did not change at the end of story. I choose Henry Dobbins because he was a positive character in the story. Though the story is not much about him, he represented a character with responsibility and optimism for his tasks during facing the cruel war. His personalities are what I have to study for my future life since I am still a student now and do not have any heavy burden of life. I could draw inspiration about how to handle the stressful life in future from Henry Dobbins’ positive attitudes when he was facing the war.