Whether as a whole or in slices, one fruit stands above the rest in social status. (Matched only by the banana as the universal slipping agent). The apple is eaten in a multitude of ways. Even its core is given a distinctive shape by illustrators. It is connected, somehow, to teachers and often found in preschools where the children recite verbatim "A is for apple". It can be sliced up for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. For dessert (and breakfast too): add brown sugar and the heat from cooking and you create the delicious baked apple. Whether on a teacher's desk, or depicted in the mouth of a pig during a medieval feast, the apple is an example of quintessentiality.
Showing posts with label Commonplace entries 4. April. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Commonplace entries 4. April. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Monday, April 16, 2007
Poisonwood Bible entry: Exodus
In class we discussed one of the closing chapters of the Poisonwood Bible: Exodus. The chapter is different than the preceding ones in that it spans many years of the Price girl's lives, rather than focusing on one or two months as the other chapters did.
Orleanna, Leah, Rachel, and Adah flee the village (and Nathan) after witnessing the death of Ruth May. Their journey is a tough one and they almost don't make it. The family separates: Rachel flies away with Mr. Axelroot, Leah stays with Anatole, and Orleana and Adah go back to America. The story continues from the viewpoints of the three remaining children, though they are separated. Leah and Anatole raise a family, and Anatole gets arrested twice. Rachel recieves a hotel in the middle of the Congo (called "The Equatorial") and ends up never marrying, and Adah gets an education and becomes a medical researcher (plus loses her limp).
The main idea of this chapter was change. Starting from the change of location, the three remaining Price girls go through some drastic changes.
Another main idea was the idea of forgiveness. Each of the remaining family members feel guilty in some way for Ruth May's death (well Rachel feels the least guilt). However they all try to recover in different ways (though Orleanna seems to have recovered the least).
We also find out that Nathan died while trying another fruitless attempt to promote Christianity in Kilanga. I think "good riddence" however I cannot help but wonder what was going through Nathan's head as he was burned to death. I wonder if he ever received the realization that Christianity or at least his method of teaching it was not going to work in the Congo, or if he was defiant even in death.
Orleanna, Leah, Rachel, and Adah flee the village (and Nathan) after witnessing the death of Ruth May. Their journey is a tough one and they almost don't make it. The family separates: Rachel flies away with Mr. Axelroot, Leah stays with Anatole, and Orleana and Adah go back to America. The story continues from the viewpoints of the three remaining children, though they are separated. Leah and Anatole raise a family, and Anatole gets arrested twice. Rachel recieves a hotel in the middle of the Congo (called "The Equatorial") and ends up never marrying, and Adah gets an education and becomes a medical researcher (plus loses her limp).
The main idea of this chapter was change. Starting from the change of location, the three remaining Price girls go through some drastic changes.
Another main idea was the idea of forgiveness. Each of the remaining family members feel guilty in some way for Ruth May's death (well Rachel feels the least guilt). However they all try to recover in different ways (though Orleanna seems to have recovered the least).
We also find out that Nathan died while trying another fruitless attempt to promote Christianity in Kilanga. I think "good riddence" however I cannot help but wonder what was going through Nathan's head as he was burned to death. I wonder if he ever received the realization that Christianity or at least his method of teaching it was not going to work in the Congo, or if he was defiant even in death.
Monday, April 9, 2007
PB entry: The log that broke the camel's back
The well known saying is "The straw that broke the camel's back". Why do I say "log"? Well, when you look at the great turning point that is Ruth May's death in Bel and the serpent, it's pretty obvious that it is no mere straw that forces the Price family (sans Nathan), around the corner. Hence the log.
Here's how it happened. Leah talked about how Jesus got voted out as the "tribe religeous figure", however Nathan refuses to give up even though none of the village leaders really likes him. I suppose that it was bound to happen that Tata Kvudundu (or however you spell it) decided to leave snakes by the beds of the Price Family and, you guessed it, killed Ruth May as a result. It could have been anybody, but it was Ruth May that was killed. It was probably part plot device since her death would have had the biggest impact on the rest of the family emotionally, but it also yet again points out Nathan's ignorance. He just couldn't face the facts that he was not welcome in the village and now has suffered a loss. Yet he still suprisingly, and rather shockingly, seems oblivious to the rest of his family's sadness. I was kind of hoping for Nathan to change back to how he was at some point, but it looks like it is not going to happen. Ever.
Here's how it happened. Leah talked about how Jesus got voted out as the "tribe religeous figure", however Nathan refuses to give up even though none of the village leaders really likes him. I suppose that it was bound to happen that Tata Kvudundu (or however you spell it) decided to leave snakes by the beds of the Price Family and, you guessed it, killed Ruth May as a result. It could have been anybody, but it was Ruth May that was killed. It was probably part plot device since her death would have had the biggest impact on the rest of the family emotionally, but it also yet again points out Nathan's ignorance. He just couldn't face the facts that he was not welcome in the village and now has suffered a loss. Yet he still suprisingly, and rather shockingly, seems oblivious to the rest of his family's sadness. I was kind of hoping for Nathan to change back to how he was at some point, but it looks like it is not going to happen. Ever.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
SAT practice essay #2:
Well, we did another practice essay in class last week. The question was: Do people spend too much time on learning practical skills? So here was my essay, done in 25 minutes.
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Do people spend too much time on learning practical skills? That is a thought provoking question, however if you define “practical” as “useful” then the fact is that there is no such thing as an impractical skill. No matter what it is, any skill that is commonly taught in schools is useful in one way or another.
We go to school to get an education, to learn, that is a given. However, sometimes we may see certain skills that we learn at school as being impractical to our lives in the future. Although this may be true, while you may think of a course such as…say, calculus, as being something that you may never see again, a person aspiring to be a mathematician would use that same skill all the time in their future lives. In school, you are provided with general skills, in the form of courses, which prepare oneself for a multitude of possible fields as well as promote versatility. When you choose a major in college, courses are given to you to conform to your field of study. It is after that that, yes, you may never have to use unnecessary skills again. However that is not to say that no one skill is not frequently used by everyone in society.
It is a fact that different people will find different skills impractical. However there is no taught skill that everyone agrees is unnecessary. If there was one, then it wouldn’t be taught. Wheat we as students are required to decide is what skills are practical to us. Thus since everyone thinks and does differently, there is no skill that is completely impractical. Ergo, if you are trying to cover all possibilities in the teaching of skills, it is impossible to spend too much time on practical, or useful, skills. And you never know when even the most situational skill could save your life someday.
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Ok, I found out that hypotheticallity is not the best way to go on these essays. It's too bad though, I could hypotheticate myself out the window behind me (If there was one). Oh well, that's something I need to work on.
************************************
Do people spend too much time on learning practical skills? That is a thought provoking question, however if you define “practical” as “useful” then the fact is that there is no such thing as an impractical skill. No matter what it is, any skill that is commonly taught in schools is useful in one way or another.
We go to school to get an education, to learn, that is a given. However, sometimes we may see certain skills that we learn at school as being impractical to our lives in the future. Although this may be true, while you may think of a course such as…say, calculus, as being something that you may never see again, a person aspiring to be a mathematician would use that same skill all the time in their future lives. In school, you are provided with general skills, in the form of courses, which prepare oneself for a multitude of possible fields as well as promote versatility. When you choose a major in college, courses are given to you to conform to your field of study. It is after that that, yes, you may never have to use unnecessary skills again. However that is not to say that no one skill is not frequently used by everyone in society.
It is a fact that different people will find different skills impractical. However there is no taught skill that everyone agrees is unnecessary. If there was one, then it wouldn’t be taught. Wheat we as students are required to decide is what skills are practical to us. Thus since everyone thinks and does differently, there is no skill that is completely impractical. Ergo, if you are trying to cover all possibilities in the teaching of skills, it is impossible to spend too much time on practical, or useful, skills. And you never know when even the most situational skill could save your life someday.
******************************************
Ok, I found out that hypotheticallity is not the best way to go on these essays. It's too bad though, I could hypotheticate myself out the window behind me (If there was one). Oh well, that's something I need to work on.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Dvorak American String Quartet
(Before I begin I would like to mention that I reeeeeeeally hate mac keyboards. And the mouse doesn't have a scroll wheel either. I disagree with anyone that says macs are user friendly, seriously.)
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String quartet No.12 (more popularly known as American) was written in 1983 by the Czech composer Antonin Dvorak. The American string quartet was inspired, as its nickname suggests, by the composer's time in America, where he taught music in New York and spent the summers in Spillville, Iowa. Dvorak once said: "As for my new Symphony, the F major String Quartet and the Quintet (composed here in Spillville) -- I should never have written these works 'just so' if I hadn't seen America."
Anyway, below is a video of the 1st movement of the American string quartet. The piece itself is very famous (you people might also recognise it as being in the movie that we watched in class the other day). I'm not so good at describing music so without further adieu:
(TURN OFF THE BACKGROUND MUSIC BEFORE WATCHING)
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String quartet No.12 (more popularly known as American) was written in 1983 by the Czech composer Antonin Dvorak. The American string quartet was inspired, as its nickname suggests, by the composer's time in America, where he taught music in New York and spent the summers in Spillville, Iowa. Dvorak once said: "As for my new Symphony, the F major String Quartet and the Quintet (composed here in Spillville) -- I should never have written these works 'just so' if I hadn't seen America."
Anyway, below is a video of the 1st movement of the American string quartet. The piece itself is very famous (you people might also recognise it as being in the movie that we watched in class the other day). I'm not so good at describing music so without further adieu:
(TURN OFF THE BACKGROUND MUSIC BEFORE WATCHING)
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
PB Passage response
"Until that moment I'd always believed I could still go home and pretend the Congo never happened. The misery, the hunt, the ants, the embarrassments of all we saw and endured--those were just stories I would tell someday with a laugh and a toss of my hair, when Africa was faraway and make-believe like the people in history books... ...Never imagined I would be a girl they'd duck their eyes from and whisper about as tragic, for having suffered such a loss." (Kingsolver, 367)
(This whole thing is a spoiler, highlight to read)
It is Rachel that is narrating here. I think that this is a turning point in the book.
First I'll be blunt: Ruth May dies. A snake kills her.
Now I think that we have gone around the corner and will now proceed to spiral towards the end, with this one event completing the changes that we have started to see for all the narrating characters in one fell swoop. Rachel, for one, now realizes that she will no longer be able to believe that the Congo was all a dream. The tragedy of death now marks them for the rest of thier lives. In this quote, and also in Leah's conclusion narration of "Bel and the Serpent", I think that both of their voices have evolved to be more like that of Orleanna. Since Orleanna's narrations are written as if the events of the Congo happened in the past, I think this could mean that this tragedy affected all the Price girls similarily.
(End spoilers, and also end of post)
(This whole thing is a spoiler, highlight to read)
It is Rachel that is narrating here. I think that this is a turning point in the book.
First I'll be blunt: Ruth May dies. A snake kills her.
Now I think that we have gone around the corner and will now proceed to spiral towards the end, with this one event completing the changes that we have started to see for all the narrating characters in one fell swoop. Rachel, for one, now realizes that she will no longer be able to believe that the Congo was all a dream. The tragedy of death now marks them for the rest of thier lives. In this quote, and also in Leah's conclusion narration of "Bel and the Serpent", I think that both of their voices have evolved to be more like that of Orleanna. Since Orleanna's narrations are written as if the events of the Congo happened in the past, I think this could mean that this tragedy affected all the Price girls similarily.
(End spoilers, and also end of post)
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