Tuesday Write #8

Fear

The characters in both Lost and Lord of the Flies have manifested fear all around them on the island. A monster or beast is created in both Lost and Lord of the Flies. These beasts/monsters represents greed, evil, and hatred, in which the characters fear. Both Locke and Simon encounter the beast/monster alone and see the truth, for Locke his encounter with the monster isn’t revealed however, seeing the truth of the beast ultimately leads to Simon's death. Another form of fear is shown on the island involving Jack, from Lost, and Ralph, from Lord of the Flies, this is the fear of not being rescued. Both Jack and Ralph are uneasy at the thought of never being rescued, however Jack makes this issue evident to the group but turns it around to motivate the group to make plans of survival, and be realistic. Unlike Ralph, who gives the boys hope of being rescued and shuts down discussion about not being rescued. Fear is also used as a tactic for manipulation. Both Annalucia, from Lost, and Jack, from Lord of the Flies, strike fear into the group in order to achieve what they want. Annalucia uses fear by attacking someone on the island, and saying it was one of the ‘others’ that the group fears, in order to get to the guns and find people willing to participate in the army she wants to create. Jack uses fear on the island in order to manipulate the boys by making Ralph look inadequate to protect the group from the ‘beast’, and provide them with food. Naturally gave the boys feelings of perturbation and join Jacks group, which was the exact power that Jack lusted over. Fear is a very evident and recurring theme in both  Lost and Lord of the Flies and is tied into many different aspects of the novel and show.

This is Jacks tribe that severed from Ralph, due to fear instigated by Jack from Lord of the Flies

Book Review

Kristin Cammorata

10/24/13

period A

The Fault In Our Stars

Hazel thought she was in for another day at support group, the same boring routine of sitting in the quiet circle and not paying attention.That was until she met Augustus Waters, the confident, witty and intellectual ex-basketball player and amputee.

John Green's, The Fault in our Stars, is narrated by sixteen year old Hazel Grace Lancaster who has stage four thyroid cancer. Most of Hazels time is spent at home with her mom and dad.Until, Hazel meets Augustus when he comes to support group with his friend Issac. Hazel and Augustus have immediate chemistry, and bond over the book, An Imperial Affliction. Hazel subsequently falls in love with Augustus, but doesn't want to hurt him. However, this novel follows Hazel and Augustus’ relationship and where it takes them.

I found this book to be an amazing read. Most novels that are about a teenage romance are predictable and unrealistic. However, I found this book to have a great  balance between focusing on Hazel and Augustus’ relationship and keeping everything realistic when it came to obstacles of cancer. Green has created interesting characters that keep you thinking throughout the novel.The Fault in our Stars, is very well written, from the vocabulary, to the emotions that Green is able to portray in his writing. Green is able to take a simple statement and make it into something meaningful, “ I’m in love with you, and i know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and we’re all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor returns to dust, and i know the sun will swallow the only earth we’ll ever have,and I am in love with you” (Green 153).

One problem, if any, that I had in this book was that it could be hard to relate to the main characters of the novel, because they didn’t seem sixteen years old. Hazel and Augustus handle their relationship, and cancer like adults. They are very mature and intellectual  unlike most sixteen year olds. For example, most sixteen year olds couldn’t put together such a thought provoking sentence like this,”I think that the universe is improbably biased toward the consciousness, that it rewards intelligence in part because the universe enjoys its elegance being observed”(Green 223). I think that Green portrays himself, more than two teenagers in his novel. All his characters, from Hazel’s parents to Isaac, are very similar in that at all times they have intellectual, sophisticated conversations, and it is evident that Green is putting himself into the story.The most realatable character is Isaac, because it is evident that he is upset over losing his eyesight, and it shows true emotion, like any other person would be going through in that moment, and it allows you to feel,and give sympathy for the character.

Green depicts an interesting,and emotional book that forces you to become enthralled in the characters life, and continue reading. Many young adults can relate to the themes of love, loss, and hardship posed in this well written novel.

Green, John. The Fault in Our Stars.Dutton Books. 2012

Implicit Associations

              What stood out to me in Malcolm Gladwells' writing was how true everything he wrote about was. From how we pick a leader to our subconscious bias on things like race, religion, and sexuality. What I take away from his writing is how much these subconscious bias' can affect our decisions. These implicit feelings can alter how you view a person, and treat them, whether its a job interview, or even passing them on the street. We should take this chapter , that Gladwell wrote, into consideration during our discussion of leadership because he talks about the, 'Warren Harding Error'. The 'Warren Harding Error' explains that naturally, and sometimes subconsciously, people choose leaders, like Harding, because they look attractive and kind, like a leader people want, and don't bother to look closer because, they are blinded by this implicit bias that that is what a leader should look like. I think that people can become aware of their unconscious biases, however i don't think that these biases can be undone. I think that even if you work diminish this bias, there will still be that small part of you, even one that you may not be aware of, that has a preconceived idea of things, that will always be there. Besides physical attractiveness, in a leader people look for someone who is, open-minded, kind-hearted, trustworthy, and intelligent. These qualities make people feel safe, and like they can depend on that person to make 'good' or moral choices. The implicit tests I took were the; race test, gender test, and the sexuality test. According to the race test, I have a, moderate automatic preference for light skin compared to dark skin. I was not completely surprised about my result for this test because as Gladwell says," We live in North America, where we are surrounded day to day with cultural messages linking white with good." For the gender test my result showed that I have a strong association of male with career and female with family. I was slightly surprised with my result for this test considering my mom has been working and providing for me and my sister my whole life. I also took the sexuality test which showed that I have a strong automatic preference for gay people compared to straight people. I was not surprised by my result for this test because there are multiple gay people in my family.

Implicit Associations Test: Race

Implicit Associations Test: Gender

https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/

Tuesday Write #1

                               Is reality TV harmful?  

A good portion of reality TV is harmful. Some may argue that its just a simple form of entertainment, but they don't realize that the subconscious is taking in these shows and making people think its okay to act like that. Most reality TV, isn't even reality. Shows like, The Real Housewives, have scripted fights and gossiping, or are edited to make it look more dramatic. Reality TV also demonstrates bad parenting. Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, is a perfect example of bad parenting. Alana's (Honey Boo Boo) mother spoils her and lets her do whatever she wants, like eat junk food, and Alana has horrible manners and doesn't listen. Most of the time there are subtitles for whatever the family says, because you cant understand them. Another reason reality TV is harmful is because, it demonstrates petty fighting and drama. Shows like, Jersey Shore, and again, The Real House Wives, show people getting into verbal and physical fights over small things. It shows kids and even adults, that if you don't get what you want , its okay to scream in someones face and gossip behind their back. 

Some may argue that its nice to watch something that doesn't require thought, and you can just shut off your brain and relax. Even if it may make you feel better about your life for the moment, it doesn't offer you anything valuable. You could watch a show like, New Girl, which doesn't require any thought, and you wont be supporting a show like, The Real Housewives, or Jersey Shore. There are also some good motivating shows like, The Biggest Loser and American Idol. Those shows make a difference, but for the most part, reality TV is just cheap entertainment that is a horrible influence on society.

                                                                                        The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo

The Biggest Loser

Jersey Shore

Introduction

       Hey! My name is Kristin Cammorata and this is my first blog entry of the year. I am 15 years old and I live with my mom, my sister and my two cats. This year I hope to improve my writing by expanding my vocabulary, to help the reader visualize what I'm saying.

        I love to read, listen to music, draw, and hang out with my friends. Listening to music is one of my favorite things because music is a very personal thing to me and it makes me happy. I also love animals. My favorite book is The Perks of being a Wallflower because I think it's very relatable.

         The last thing I'm going to tell you about is my favorite quote. I think that's its important to do what makes you happy in life, and not to settle for something. I think you should always love what your doing and if you don't, then change what your doing.