homework 3/27

No Name Woman

i believe that the theme of No Name Woman is to take responsibility for one's actions and deal with the consequences of those actions. the setting seems to play a major role in developing the theme. this story about the no name woman takes place in rural China. it is discussed in the story that the people of China hold honor in high regard and if someone disgraces themselves they are shunned and considered an outsider. however, the Chinese place a high regard on family. even if a family member is shunned, the family still looks out for them, although they are treated like an outcast. this seems to lend itself to a sense of responsibility for the Chinese to do the right thing and to be responsible.

Battle Royal

the main theme of this story is to persevere through discrimination. the setting of this story is sometime in the early 1900's when blacks and whites were still segregated. the narrator, a black boy, remembers when he had graduated and was asked to give a speech for a group of distinguished white men in the community. the narrator has to overcome racism and mockery in order to deliver his speech. the point of view, told in 1st person as a memory of the narrators, helps to confirm the fact that he has indeed persevered through discrimination.

Homework 3/25

How to date a browngirl, blackgirl, whitegirl, or halfie

this story takes place in a new jersey urban neighborhood. it is told from the point of view of a young hispanic boy giving a tutorial so to speak of what to do when you have girls from different neighborhoods and of different races over. he gives advice as to what to do before they come over such as "clear the government cheese from the refrigerator" and to take down pictures of his family. he gives specific advice depending on where the girl is from or her race. for example, the narrator states "if the girl's from around the way, take her to El Cibao for dinner...Let her correct you if she's Latina and amaze her if she's black. If she's not from around the way, Wendy's will do.

No Name Woman

In this story the narrator, a chinese american, remembers a story her mother told her about a sister her father once had. the sister had commited adultery while her husband was out of the country. the sister became pregnant, and, after being humilitated by the village, committed suicide just hours after the baby was born. the narrator begins to dissect the story that was told to her and analyze why certain details of the story were left out or why she still does not know the sisters name.

Becky

this story is about a white woman who had two black sons. the communityin which she lived in shunned her and forced her out of the town but the railroad boss said that she could live in a small area between the railroad and the road. she hid away from the world and people would leave things for her like prayers, papers, and food. people began noticing a second black son in addition to the first. no one knew who the father was and no one ever told.

one phrase that i did not understand was repeated throughout the story: "the pines whisper to Jesus".

Battle Royal

in this story, the main character begins by telling us about his grandfather and his last words. the narrator gives a speech at his graduation and is invited to give his speech at a gathering of the town's leading citizens. when he arrives at the hotel to give his speech, he is told to take part in a battle royal. he describes how at first they were all blindfolded and fought each other. then, only two were left to fight, the narrator and the biggest boy of the others. they fought for several minutes and endured shouts from the crowd. then the narrator was knocked out of the fight. then all of the boys were told to fight for "money" on a rug. instead, the money and rug was electrified and everytime one of the boys would touch the rug, they would be shocked. after this the boys were sent off except for the narrator. he was told to give his speech to the drunken and unruly guests in the audience. when he was finished, he was given a briefcase with a scholarship to the state college for Negroes. at the very end of the story, the narrator says he has a dream of his grandfather telling him to look inside the briefcase and to read the letter inside. the letter said "to whom it may concern. keep this nigger-boy running". he then wakes up, hearing his grandfathers laughter. he says that he has this dream for years afterwards.

America

in this poem, the narrator tells how america can be a place of hatred and bitterness. but despite this, he/she loves and adores america because it is a wonderful place where he/she doesnt feel afraid.

If We Must Die

in this poem, the narrator tells how they do no wish to die like pigs, with hungry dogs barking at them. instead he wishes to die nobly, so that he does not die in vain.

Research

A.) the information i found helped to understand the poem a little bit better. i had not really seen what a ball turret looked like, so knowing that helped clear up some of the meaning in the poem.

B.) Jarrell enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps but failed his flying test, so instead worked as a control tower operator. this helps give an insight as to why Jarrell may have written this poem.

Freewrite

A.)war - bloody, deadly, dirty, unfair, bleak gray color, the sound of bombs whistling through the air and then exploding, the screams of people being wounded and killed,
gunner - soldier, ammunition, battleship or fighter plane
attack - defend, no mercy, kill

B.) my strongest associations with WWII are the German death camps, Pearl Harbor, the Normandy invasion, and the dropping of the atomic bombs.

Homework 3/20

The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner

this is a short poem about a gunner on a fighter plane during WWII. the first two lines, i didnt really understand very well. starting on the third line, he says that 6 miles above the ground he was awoken from sleep by anti-aircraft fire. i thought that the last line was very blunt. the gunner does not live through the fight and when the airplane is on the ground, his body and blood were washed out of the turret with a hose.

Homework 3/18

The Soldier

this poem is about a young man about to go off to war. he is a very patriotic person who thinks that it would be an honor to die for his country. he seems to not be worried about dying though. he is telling someone that if he should die, to think about what he has written.

Anthem for Doomed Youth

this poem is another about war. the tone seems to be one that is against war because it refers to soldiers as cattle. it also seems to condemn the soldiers who participate in the war before they even fight because in the title it calls the soldiers a "doomed youth".

Dulce et decorum Est

this poem is about an experience of someone from WWI. it describes marching forward until ragged only to be forced to turn back becuase of attack from the enemy. when they are hit with poison gas, all but one person gets their gas mask on in time. he describes having to watch his friend die and walk back with his rotting and stinking body in the wagon. after telling this, he says that the old saying of "it is sweet and fitting to die for one's country" is a lie.

Glory of Women

the first stanza of this poem describes how Brititsh women feel about their soldiers. they love heros, their chivalrous ways, and stories of bravery and danger. second stanza changes direction and describes a german soldiers mother knitting socks for her son. but her son is already dead on the battlefield.

They

in this poem, a bishop is telling a group of people that when the young men serving in the military come back, they will be very different from when they left. they have fought the "anit-christ" and challenged death. they will come back wounded and ailing.

Peer Review

Concerns about my paper:
i dont really have any concerns about my paper except to finish the conclusion of the paper.

Warm-up

• Identify the message of your poster as an imperative claim: Allow 18 year old adults to drink alcohol.
• Reflect on what made you choose this particular current issue. I chose this particular issue because it was one i actually had an idea about for a poster.
• Then justify your choice of imagery, colors and words in this poster. I felt that the image of the young marine would help to make the point because it brings a human element into the poster. The black marker didnt particularly have any significance but the red underline of the words vote, serve, and drink stress those points as something adults do.
• Consider the limitations of your media. What would you change about this poster if you were not constrained by the size, available materials and/or your drawing skills? Im not sure what i would change about the poster because i think it speaks for itself the way it is.

Topic Proposal Essay 2

1. Which object have you chosen? The object I have chosen is my own personal car, a 1991 Pontiac Firebird.

2. What would you say is the object’s surface message? In other words, what would you say is the object’s main purpose? The objects surface message or main purpose is to remind people of an American icon in muscle cars.

3. What additional, perhaps mixed, messages does this object reveal upon closer examination? Upon closer examination, one might find that through the years these cars have come to be synonymous with a redneck or country lifestyle.

4. Identify the features of the object that are crucial in your analysis. The key features of this object is the condition of the car, its appearance, and styling features.

5. Identify examples of important choices of design elements, such as but not limited to, words, color, and symbolism which help the designer get the main message across. Important choices in design elements include its aggressive styling, an interior that is plain yet bold and stylish, and its reputation for performance.

6. What is the intended audience for this object? How do you fit into it? The intended audience for this object are people who want a piece of history and enjoy American muscle cars. I fit into this because I have always been drawn to this vehicle by its design elements mentioned in number 5 as well as to prove the stereotypical persona of these vehicles wrong.



Thesis: Throughout its long history, the Firebird has endured many changes and stereotypes about it, but has remained a well-known name to American muscle car lovers.

The Politics of Design

Manifesto 2000

The designers who signed this manifesto sound disappointed at the public for always associating the message of the product they are trying to sell with the designers themselves. they want to refocus their attention to things they deem more important: environmental, social, and cultural issues.

Hysteria

Jeff Keedy expanded on the manifesto by saying that the public is getting hysterical over the work of the graphic designers becuase it is easy to blame commercial marketing for the many problems in the world. He agrees with the manifesto saying that it would be good for designers like himself to help solve the problems created by global capitalizism but it is hard to do so when the designers are part of the problem rather than the solution.

Light Unto the Wealth of Nations

this article shows how advertising and design have played a huge role in something that people once did for enjoyment and to celebrate the season. the marketing battle between companies has driven down the price for christmas decorations and the advertising campaigns have made it seem as though it is a neccessity to have these things. It has made it to the point that people are willing to pay to have someone professionally put decorations up on their house.

Are you ready for some unswooshing

The Blackspot sneaker idea is a bit absurd to me. Kalle Lasn's company Adbusters intends to make a shoe that rivals Nike and looks nearly identical to the retro Converse shoe. And at nearly the same price tag, the Blackspot sneaker will be slow to catch on with people. Lasn says he is not selling an idea, he is selling a product. while this is somewhat true, along with the product that he is selling is the idea that companies like Nike and Reebok need to change the way they do things.

Car Culture

A Prius-Hummer War Divides Oscarville

It was a little surprising that some of Hollywoods big names were arriving at the Vanity Fair Oscar party in the conservative Toyota Prius rather than the flashy Hummer H2. In a business that seems to flaunt extravagence and the "bigger is better" mentality, you had to realize there was an ulterior motive for the these celebrities to appear in the eco-friendly Prius over the gas guzzling H2. And there was. Although it would seem as though these celebrities were making an environmentally conscience decision to drive the Prius, its not so. The environmental group Global Green USA had recruited the majority of these people to show up in the Prius, most of them being loaner vehicles. This means that the only reason these celebrities showed up in the hybrid was to boost their image and make it seem as though they care about the environment when in fact they don't.

Women Giving Directions: Now It's Time for Female Designers

After reading this, I felt that the author was right that more women are responsible for the purchase of new vehicles yet are largely left out when it comes to design. It would make sense that if women usually had final say in the type of vehicle thats bought for the household that designers would try to better accomodate women's desires in cars. On the subject of having fewer female designers working for car companies, I think it is mostly to do with the interests of women. It is not that women can't or arent allowed to design other areas of a vehicle. It is that most women do not have an interest to design aspects of a vehicle other than the interior. As far as Volvo's YCC car, although it may take into account some things women may be looking for in a car, its target market is extremely limited. Yes, women are directly responsible for 50 percent of car sales, but not all women will be interested in the YCC and very few, if any, men will want it.

Car Makers Aim for the "Love It Or Hate It" Category

I think it's pretty obvious that the way a car looks tends to have a big impact on how well a car sells. the makers of the vehicles talked about in the article are betting that their vehicles are so ugly that people will want them in order to be different. To some people, however, it doesn't matter how ugly the car is, as long as it has some use and value to the buyer.

My Life, My Cadillac Escalade EXT

I thought that this story demonstrates perfectly how a vehicles "cool factor" can play a huge role into how desired a vehicle is. The girl stated that having an SUV or truck is cooler than having a little car because guys like girls that have SUV's or trucks and its gets everyone's attention.