Uncontrollable Personalities

Julie Zook

Mrs. Burnett

12 AP English

30 March 2012

Uncontrollable Personalities

            Everyone has many personalities that change from stress or excitement.  Nobody is completely good or totally bad.  Everyone is just a mix of personalities that occur from past or present events.  However, some people have no choice over how they are feeling.  They have gone through a large amount of trauma and they changed mentally.  In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Jekyll has difficulty in his choice between Jekyll and Hyde.  Jekyll originally created an experiment in order to purify his good side from the bad side.  By doing this, he essentially frees his dark side up to the point where he has no control of himself.  Jekyll can be transformed into Hyde at any time and without any notice.  When Jekyll is himself, he seems moral to society.  Jekyll is a good person but by turning into Hyde, he is able to do what he wants without the consequences.  Jekyll suffers by being known as a good person so people expect him to do the right thing by participating in charity work.  Hyde has to put up with having no control over his own actions.  Everyone has more than one human nature but most people are able to control them.  I think that this dilemma is common but not towards every man.  The people that were able to fight for our country did not all come back the same way they left.  All of the past memories from war comes back with post traumatic stress.  The soldiers are not used to coming back to their normal life where they don’t have to worry about getting hurt.  They still are afraid when there are loud noises or when it’s too dark to see anything. Also, there are many people that suffer from a mental illness.  If someone gets into an accident and has a brain injury or just has a stroke, their whole life can change in an instant.  They do not have the same personality as they did before anything bad happened to them.  Even the medications they have to take can make them act differently.  If something goes wrong in the past it can affect the future.  Children that are abused are affected later in life.  Their personality changed because of the situations that they had to live in.  So, even though everyone has different personalities, sometimes there are reasons why we do not have any control over them.  

What Freedom Means

Julie Zook

Mrs. Burnett

12 AP English

26 February 2012

What Freedom Means

            The dictionary defines freedom as “The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.”  However, this definition doesn’t define everyone’s use of the word.  Freedom has various definitions depending on where a person is from.  The people that already have their freedom take it for granted or demand more while others are still fighting in order to receive it.  Virginia Woolf describes freedom in A Room of One’s Own simply as having the “freedom to think of things in themselves.”  It is acquired by voicing your own opinions about certain ideas.  In the past, women that shared their ideas through writing did not have their own freedoms.  Women were abused since they were writing instead of doing what they were supposed to be doing.  Now, people are still limited in their amounts of freedom.  The United States fought many wars in order to become a free country.  The success of winning those wars let Americans have the freedoms that other countries are lacking.  Americans can do what they want with their lives and marry who they want.  We don’t have to do something just because someone tells us to do it.  Other countries have to wear a certain type of clothes and have arranged marriages.  They have to go into the military without any choice in the matter.  The characters in A Thousand Splendid Suns were limited in their own choices.  Miriam had to marry Rasheed even though she never wanted to.  The Taliban created strict rules that limited the freedoms that women have.  Their life became so much harder since men controlled them and they were unable to escape without a man.  The characters were not allowed to participate in many activities for entertainment.  In the real world, Hitler took away freedoms from the Jews and made them go through concentration camps where they worked themselves to death.  We should be very thankful to live in America with all of our freedoms.    

           

The Reality of Relationships

Julie Zook

Mrs. Burnett

12 AP English

26 January 2012

The Reality of Relationships

            One of the Socratic Seminar questions for A Thousand Splendid Suns is about the relationships between the characters.  Question ten shows the differences between being protective and being possessive.  Being protective helps make a good relationship because it means that the couple cares about each other and would do anything in order to help out and defend that person.  However, if a person is too protective then they eventually become possessive.  The relationship goes wrong if a partner is putting many limitations on the other person just because they are afraid they might meet someone else.  In the novel, Rasheed is very protective over women.  Before his marriage begins, he courts girls and acts nice but it is just for show.  When they are wed, he sets new rules on the girls that take away their freedoms.  The women have to do chores around the house and have to wear a burqa whether they like it or not.  Rasheed makes the women hide in that clothing so other men are not able to see them.  He does not allow his wives to go out unless he is with them.  On the other hand, Tariq protects Laila as much as he can.  He fought a bully for her so she would never be bothered by him again.  When the war became extremely bad, Tarqi wanted to buy a gun in order to protect her from harm.  In the real world, relationships can be just like the ones the characters are going through.  Some guys protect by serving in the military and fighting for a bully.  Also, they hold a girl’s hand if there is ice on the ground so she won’t fall.  Other guys make up their own rules in order to limit the number of people a girl sees.  They are so anxious about someone cheating on them that they will try to stop that problem by being possessive about it.  The girl would not be allowed to talk to other guys and the guy would go through text messages to make sure that nothing is happening between anyone else.  I think that people would be able to have strong relationships if they are somewhere in between being protective and possessed.  The partner needs to know that there is someone that is going to protect her and help her out if there is any trouble.  However, some people do cheat on others in many different ways but the partner usually finds out about it.  If they can’t trust each other then the relationship is over.

The Differences of Morals in Societies

Julie Zook

Mrs. Burnett

12 AP English

27 December 2011

The Differences of Morals in Societies

            There are many controversies over what is considered moral.  Societies have different opinions over what is right and wrong.  Normal traditions in one society could be barbaric to others.  There is no one correct answer about what is right.  In different parts of the world, people live the lifestyles they do according to customs; however, their everyday viewpoints can be perceived wrong when compared to other areas.

            The everyday life in America seems normal to the people that participate in it.  If people find out that other areas in the world are doing something different, people perceive it as wrong.  However, everyone is right depending on their societies.  In China, families are allowed to have only one child.  The increasing population in that area made the government create a law that limited the amount of children.  Compared to other societies, this seems odd.  Families in other places can have as many children as they want. 

            The people that live in America have so many freedoms that they find it hard to believe that others do not.  Waiting in lines to go on rides makes Americans impatient while other people have to wait just to get food in order to survive.  Most people are close to starvation and they have to live day to day just to get what they need to live.  Americans have a large variety of food that is very easy to obtain.  We do not have to hunt or wait to get the necessities for life.

            There are many diseases that are widespread in other countries.  We are lucky to have shots to get rid of most illnesses but others are not able to obtain these shots.  Even though America has more freedom, that does not mean that everything we are doing is correct.  Other societies have disagreements with the way we live our everyday lives.  There is no right tradition that is being used throughout the world.  Something is only right in that society and not in others. 

            In the novel, Things Fall Apart, Nwoye was taught to live his life according to the traditions of his tribe.  His father tried to influence him to become a better man.  Okonkwo was looked up to in his tribe because he followed the traditions as best as he could.  Nwoye noticed some traditions that he disliked about his tribe.  The traditions were considered correct according to everyone in the tribe but he didn’t feel that way.  He decided to follow different traditions by becoming a Christian.  

            Even though there are different traditions, they are correct based on the society that people live in.  Most societies do not have the same customs as others.  However, there are still some similarities between societies.  Some areas would only do part of the customs of others.  So, customs are moral depending on where people live.

Comparing Power and Desire

Julie Zook

Mrs. Burnett

12 AP English

27 November 2011

Comparing Power and Desire

            Power and desire are usually the qualities that a person needs in order to become a great leader.  However, that is always not the case because normal people can use it to their own advantage.  The way people use power and desire usually has a positive effect on the world.  However, some people can use it in a negative way and not even realize it.  I think that as long as a person uses power and desire to help others they should be allowed to use it to their advantage to change the world.  A good Socratic Seminar question that is about these two qualities is number twenty-nine for Wuthering Heights.  Desire and power are separated among the characters.  None of them have both characteristics at the same time and they cannot be satisfied with both.  Heathcliff’s desire is being used when he is with Catherine at childhood.  However, Heathcliff loses it when he gains power from money and owning the estate.  Edgar does the same thing by using his desire to marry Catherine and losing his power because Catherine thinks for herself.  In the real world, power and desire are being used together so people can achieve their goals.  From workers to leaders, both of these qualities are needed to be successful in what people want.  Some families do not have any members that get a higher education by completing high school and attending college.  The first person in their family that achieves this has the desire to get good grades and finish school.  By spending their time wisely, they can work to make enough money to go to college.  They can use the desire to achieve their goals and have power when they are finished.  Their family is going to look up to them for being the first one to achieve this goal.  Also, desire and power can create big differences in the world.  Wars have made a great impact on everyone and the United States would not have the freedom it has without the veterans who risked their lives to fight for it.  The troops are just normal people that have the desire to help others and the power to complete all of the training that is required.  Without the relationship between desire and power, the United States would not be the way it is today.  As you can see, the above examples use power and desire in a positive way but it is not good all of the time.  Dictators pretend that they are very nice and likable by using propaganda to influence others to vote for them.  They can gain power over their own people and force others to like them by taking away the people’s wants and needs.  When the people have their desires taken away, the dictator receives more power by being needed to fix everything when they are really making it worse.  Therefore, being responsible and using these qualities to the advantage of others can help make the world a better place but using them incorrectly can make everything go wrong.   

Social Class Blog

Julie Zook

Mrs. Burnett

12 AP English

31 October 2011

Social Class

            Everyone wants to agree that people are treated equally but they know that it is not how the real world works.  Individuals are separated and put into groups based on different factors about them.  Even though I think it is unfair, everyone is discriminated against by other people who either know or are unaware they are doing it.  Question 27 in the Socratic Seminar for Wuthering Heights deals with social class and its affect.  I think the novel is a great example of the social class back then and in the present time.  Throughout Wuthering Heights, the characters are separated by their place in society.  The decisions of the characters are influenced because of this.  None of the characters are able to do what they want since they are held back.  They are taught to act the way their social class believes is appropriate.  Heathcliff is a character who is treated badly because he is considered as the lower class.  Everyone treats him like he is just a servant.  Catherine’s relationship with Heathcliff starts out well by becoming the best of friends while living together at Wuthering Heights.  Catherine didn’t care what her brother thought about him so they were always together.  Later, their relationship declined when Catherine went to the Thrushcross Grange and learned how to behave like a real lady.  Catherine began to act differently toward Heathcliff since she knows she is superior to him.  She decides to marry Edgar for social advancement even though she loves Heathcliff.  Catherine decides to be friends with Heathcliff when he gets higher up in society by gaining money.  The social class in the novel is just like today’s social class.  Just like Wuthering Heights, some people will marry only because their mate is considered higher than themselves.  They think they will live a better life with someone whom they can use rather than someone they love.  Some students will pick their friends because they think they are on the same social rank.  Not many people associate with friends that are way above or way below them.  In conclusion, the social class has an impact in the novel and it has the same affect in today’s society.

Monthly Blog on War

Julie Zook

Mrs. Burnett

12 AP English

30 September 2011

Monthly Blog on War

            There are many wars that have occurred throughout history.  Besides real wars, there are small wars that go unnoticed since most people are unaffected by them.  A good Socratic Seminar question for The Power of One is number three because a war-like diction is being used throughout Peekay’s life and in the world.  Peekay went to an Afrikaans boarding school during the Boer War and is treated as a soldier.  The students know that the British forced the Boers into concentration camps which make them believe they should torture Peekay.  Everyday, the Judge and his stormtroopers bully him by beating him up and call him a name that became his real name in the beginning of the novel.  Peekay is told by the Judge that Hitler would march him out to sea.  The effect of the war-like diction and imagery is very dramatic for Peekay.  Peekay found a way to camouflage by not crying but it made him figure out what his goal in life is.  I think the war-like diction was appropriate because he would have never made the decision to be the welterweight champion of the world if he didn’t have a reason to beat the Judge.  Even though Peekay changes as he gets older, the war-like diction continues.  He thought of the mines as if he was returning to the boarding school and the grizzly represents the Judge.  Peekay thought he beat the Judge because he was very successful at his job in the mine.  In today’s society, there are many events that relate to a war-like diction.  Since we are almost always at war, there are many things that prepare us.  There are commercials that are sponsored by different units in the war.  This way of advertising persuades people to become a soldier so they can fight for our country.  Like Peekay, there are schools as well as camps that help you prepare.  People are trained in boot camp how to survive the war.  They learn the commands and how to hold a gun properly.  Boot camp changes people and turns them into what they make them be with rigorous training and strict discipline.  No one realizes what they have to go through to become a soldier.  There are many examples of war-like diction in the real world and I think they help us become prepared for the future.  No one knows what lies ahead so we have to get ready for whatever is out there.  Even though 9/11 was unexpected, many people risked their lives to save others.   The soldiers are always ready to fight because they were prepared through the war-like diction.  In conclusion, war-like diction in the world and in the novel is used to prepare us for our journey in life.