Blog #15 (AKA The End)

I am going to be writing a poem because this is what I know best, or think to know LOL

It was a future for me!

Now, it is all a dream

No smiles from them

Hugs are forbidden 

My path is hidden

Where can days lead me

Once, home with my eyes I could see

Family, friends and them who past

All forgotten with this new home I breath

Today, writes a new future for me

I stand tall and sharp 

No tears! No soft heart!

Waiting for the time to pass back

Maybe, my dream will come at least

In war, no peace.

Darkness with the sun like a glass

Empty, but half full with hatred and slaughter

I breath air cold as home

the word that I can't use alone

home is a memory to me

I shake my head back to reality

Awake my being to succeed 

I give myself  a push

Start strong to end strong, I see. 

Tomorrow, decisions will come to ask me

Where my future will be?

 I was a girl with dreams 

Now, goals and achievements 

My life can only be.

Blog #14

FREEBIE

Blog #13

So, the American Dream .. mmm..

To me the American Dream is the definition of the desired life after the disruption of a past one. I know it sounds weird, but for me America was the dream I am living after three years of constant war and death in Syria. I think what I am living through today is similar to what Americans were living through after World War I. At last, the war is over and we can live in peace. No more waking up to bomb attacks and gun shootings in the middle of the night. Another chance to live normally.  

A chance to be who you were before war. Maybe even better. The opportunity to give life another try. Maybe this time, I will go to college, school, or work. I will become as successful as I ever desired.

To me wealth is not just green paper with pictures and symbols. To me wealth is seeing my friends and family in best shape everyday. Wealth is being able to walk on both of my legs feeling as healthy as I can be. Happiness and love are wealth. I think I am rich enough.

American's value wealth and work to serve their dreams and needs. In the United States, life is based on how hard you work and the more time you put into your job, school and life the more successful you are.  Every American has a similar goal in life. Goals revolve around the idea of getting to the top. More success, more money. Americans want to be successful and wealthy to fulfill that American Dream that must immigrants want.  

Furthermore, being an American/Syrian teenager I have my own future goals and dreams. The normal finish high school and go to college kind of dreams. For me, this idea and set goals within society are okay because I see the logic behind these goals. However, some people desire different paths that might not require high school or college. In that situation, people might call it failing. Others will call it free will. In my opinion, what ever pleases a person and makes them satisfied with their lives is the "American Dream"

I want to be the person that I have always been, while developing new skills and becoming a better human being, My goals involve hard work and patients because nothing comes easy. My "American Dream" is making reality worth living.

Blog #12

#1:As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.

the use of syntax with showing the reader a normal start with a surprising reality

use of imagery twice in this sentence 

the use of "uneasy" instead of "difficult"

diction "gigantic" and "insect" seems formal 

#2:Gregory Samsa woke from uneasy dreams one morning to find himself changed into a giant bug.

the use of syntax with "woke from" and "to find" 

the use of "uneasy" again

the use of "morning"

diction: "giant bug" simplistic 

#3:When Gregor Samsa awoke from troubled dreams one morning he found he had been transformed in his bed into an enormous bug.

the use of "troubled dreams" nightmares?

the use of second person "he found"

the detailed description "in his bed"

#4:One morning, upon awakening from agitated dreams, Gregor Samsa found himself, in his bed, transformed into a monstrous vermin.

listing with the actions that are happening

diction: "upon awaking" and "monstrous vermin"

Response to the question:

The first translation, makes the reader think with the use of syntax that Gregor Samsa is having a normal day until he awoke to discover his transformation. Also, that translation uses scientific language to describe his transformation, "gigantic insect." in the second translation, the translator chose to use imagery in the translation by structuring the sentence in a way that made the reader feel like Gregor Samsa did something wrong that caused his transformation. In addition, the third translation, the translator uses second person to refer back to Gregor, which allowed more connection between the reader and the narrator and the translator uses detailed imagery to help strengthen that connection. Furthermore, the forth translation uses listing, which keeps the reader anxious to discover what is going to happen next. Also, keeps the reader's thoughts busy thinking.

Looking at each translation, the first translation is the most effective to me because the use of syntax made it more surprising and interesting. As well, the use of listing in the forth translation was extremely effective because it made the reader think more about the event.

Translation is difficult because you can never get the exact meaning from the text. For example, when I had to translate my poem for the International Festival last year, I could not translate word by word because the poem would sound horrible; therefore, I had to change certain words and the structure of certain sentences to make it sound appealing.

The more literal the translation is the less effective kit becomes because languages cannot be translated exactly. Therefore, translations require changes with word choice to make the translated text fit the language.

Blog #11

Self Grade:

A: 7 include comments on the text and show understanding of the context and plot

B: 7 explain and reference the diction and how it effects the reader. Also, I talk about the literary elements within the extract?

C: 3 somewhat organized. I feel like I went back and forth with my structure too much.

D: 3 most of what I said made sense, but because I was nerves I had bad grammar. Sorry :/

Passage Analyzed:

Blog post #9

 

  Link to TED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/isabelle_allende_how_to_live_passionately_no_matter_your_age

This TED talk was about a passionate novelist called Isabel Allende. She writes stories of passion, love and life. In her TED talk, she talks about aging and loving who you are regardless of what age you are. She starts the talk talking about her own family and then moves on talk about great powerful women who age was not a barrier between them and making a difference in their community or the world. 

Allende's point of this talk was to open the eyes of the viewer to the importance of life and to love your body and self no matter what age you were. She mentions the idea of aging being determined by society (example: Medicare is given to people at the age of 65 years old). The age of 65 is seen as the period where the human starts aging; however, Allende argues that we start aging from the minute we are born. The only part of us that does not age is our soul and spirit. 

Allende says that we might look old but our spirit is still younger than we are. Allende mentions the things that she has gained by becoming older. She says that she has gained freedom of judgment that she does not worry about being accepted anymore. She is secure in her own skin. She does not have to please anyone other than herself. 

Next, she quotes "I’m aware that before, death was in the neighborhood. Now, it's next door, or in my house." this quote remind me of myself before the civil war in Syria. Before the war, I always thought of death being part of my far future. Death being the ending. I thought that I would not face death until 60 years. However, I realized that death was closer than I thought and life is short. As Allende said we should be passionate about our lives at whatever age we are at. 

Allende being a novelist about passion and living your life gives her credential to talk about life and how to live it. She is 76 and has great experience in life as a novelist. She has spent her life living to fulfill her wants and dreams.

The argument that Allende presents is logical because we all fear of getting old and losing interest in life and what it has to offer. Allende supports the idea of losing parts of our health as we grow older but our brains are still filled with life. She supports her argument with older women who did not allow age to defeat their passion for life and love, such as Grace Dammann, she has been in a wheelchair for 6 years after a car accident. Grace says that in her mind she is not disabled and she still is surfing in the ocean. 

The weaknesses of this argument is that life is not always as equal for everybody and sometimes we face problems that require us to be more focused and worried. Overall, Allende's argument was strong and interesting because of her being at the age of 76 and loving every part of her being. Also, the examples and quotes that she mentions make you feel more understanding and can relate to what she is arguing easily.     

Blog Post #8

Question #4:

In the movie Double Identity, each character is driven by a motive. The power of love, money and hope. Each character has his/her own wants of their actions. The movie shows how desire creates a different "you". As seen in Macbeth and Double Identity, the desire for something pushes us to do something beyond our being.

 For example, the character Walter is pushed into planning a crime with no desire but love. Walter feels bad for the daughter of the man he murders after he discovers that Barbara was part of her husband's wife's murder; however, it was too late because he had already been a part of the murder and their is no going back. When Walter tries to be a hero, he realizes how deep he has gone with his actions and what the cost of his love to Barbara was.

In the movie, there are no heroes or villeins. The characters are pushed by their motives. Walter wanted love and that love costed him lives of human beings. Also, Barbara wanted money and that desire pushed her towards her actions.

To be hero you most put people ahead of yourself. When I think of a hero, I see my mother because she symbolizes what a true hero looks like. However, in Double Identity, I do not see that kind of character who gives up his desires for the sake of others.

In conclusion, in my mind, there are no heroes in Double Identity. Only characters who are driven by their desires.