Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Good Old Desk Journal 9/5/12

S- His dependable Desk.
N- A person who works at a desk from 9-5. He really likes his desk and job.
A- People who listen to rock music, or people who have desks or desk jobs.
P- His desk is dependable. Things that never change are comforting.

I think the song compares God to something very dependable and something always there.
3 examples:
1. "Such a comfort to know its got no place to go"
2. "Never once heard it cry."
3. A giant of all times"

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

The Pinch of Poverty Journal 9/3/12

S- The subject of the painting is poverty.
N- The narrator has a bias because he sees poverty a lot and so he knows what it looks like, whereas other people don't see it often. He may have been in poverty.
A- For the people not in poverty. Directed towards middle to upper class who don't see poverty and what it is like.
P- To show the truth about poverty and the desperation and hope of those in it.

I think the title means that the painting is just a little of what poverty really is. "Pinch" in a cookbook means a very small amount. So maybe the artist wanted to show that this was only the "tip of the iceberg", or just the beginning of poverty.

Artistic elements:
1. The flowers are bright, maybe like a metaphor to hope of selling and getting money.
2. The way the artist placed the people shows that the children are dependent on the mother. The boy leans on his mother and the baby is being held by her.

Monday, August 20, 2012

8/20/12 Culture

I define culture as how a person lives day to say including how they speak, eat, dress, act, work, and pass time. I think it is extrinsic because you learn how others act and you act like them. You can change culture based on where in the world you live by changing how you dress and speak and interact with others. Culture explains how one person goes about their life and the aspects of how they and the group of people act individually and together.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Journal Entry 8/17/12

Three Facts:
1. There are three people in the painting.
2. The little boy is wearing blue jeans.
3. The seats on the chairs are green.
Three Claims:
1. The three people are talking about the boy running away
2. The shortness of the boy symbolizes his innocence
3. The largeness of the cop shows authority

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Pygmalion Journal Entry 2

Throughout the second half of the book, Higgins complains about how Eliza complains about being treated well. I definitely do see both Eliza's and Higgins' side of the story. For Eliza, she was never used to being treated like a lady. She was used to being treated like a low flower girl, which she was. When she was brought into Higgins' care, she began to be treated like a lady, as every girl should be treated. When Eliza began to be treated as such a lady, she began to get expectations as how she should be treated. When these weren't done in such a way that she liked, she claimed that she was being treated badly.
On Higgins' side, not every word that he said should've offended Eliza. I understand that he wasn't really tyring to offend Eliza or make her feel bad. That was just Higgins' nature. He seemed very outspoke and hot-headed. If Higgins' got mad I would not want to be in the room with him.
One question I have is how is Freddy so in love with Eliza when he has never even really met her. Sure he might've seen her a couple times in the street or in Higgins' office, but I don't remember him every getting to know Eliza.
When they kiss after Liza has stormed out of Higgins' building, it says that Liza is  hungry for comfort. Isn't that the only reason why she is kissing him? Becuase she needs comforting? I don't understand how their love blossoms, after never really having many conversations and suddenly their kissing, which is one thing, but then saying that their in love is another. Do people just fall in love the first time they see somebody? I figure the author just needed Liza to go to something and a quick love story would do.
One question that popped into my mind, was why out of all the places she could go, did Liza go to Higgins' mother? Doesn't she know that that would be a quicker place for Higgins to find her than a hotel or another place? I'm guessing she felt welcomed and warm there, though I don't quite understand why.

Pygmalion Journal Entry 1

I thought the main characters were going to be the lady and Clara. The beginning of the book was focusing a lot on those two. But then it shifted its focus on the Flower Girl, so I found out it was about her. The first few pages were hard to tell what th ebook would be about, but I guess it just took a while to start up. I tried to guess at the plot and what would happen, but I had no guesses that were even close to what ended up happening. I predicted that perhaps the Lady and Clara take the Flower Girl home since she doesn't seem to be well off. But that was not correct.
One thing I don't like about the beginning is how the author introduces the character but not with their name. Then later on he uses the character's name. When the book first said "Eliza" I thought they were introducing yet another character, since I hadn't rememebered an "Eliza". I was confused when they stopped talking about "The Flower Girl". Maybe I didn't catch the first time the author tried to use the name better, but that was very confusing and I think could've been done a little smoother.
Another thing that I found confusing was when the author tried to write as the Flower Girl spoke. I couldn't even begin to guess what she was saying, even after trying to read it four or five times. "Ow, eez ye-ooa san, is e?" What is that? I know the author used it for emphasis on the girl's dialect, and was a good technique, but i was still confused on what she was trying to say. Maybe if it was a little easier to understand I would fine the technique a little more helpful.

The Pearl Journal Entry 2

One continuous thing I noticed about the writing was the way the author kept saying that Kino's outside was "hardening" - almost like a pearl would. The outside of the grain of sand, like explained in the book, would continue to get harder and harder until it was a pearl. I think the author was trying to draw a deeper connection of Kino and the pearl. Obviously there was a connection because he owned the pearl and he found it, but I think there was a connection, as if when the pearl was showing its evil, Kino also showed his evil. He was killing people and working as a "wild animal" and "machine" as if he didn't have feelings about what he was doing, like the pearl might. And even in the end it said that Kino and Juana had no emotion on their faces. You would think they would since they had just lost their only child.
One question I asked myself while reading the second half was why would the "dark people" kill them for the pearl? Would just stealing it be so bad? And then I thought that maybe they wanted to kill Kino for killing one of the other "dark people" back in the brush house village. And also, who were these people? Were they the pearl buyers trying to get the pearl for free? That would make sense. Or were they jealous neighbors? Though I don't think the neighbors would want to shed blood of Kino for the pearl. I was thinkinging maybe some people who worked for the one person who bought pearls were involved. Since the book said that really only one person had bought the pearls but had many faces, the dark people could be working for him.
Honestly the ending left me a little confused. Where do Kino and Juana live once they get home? Are the neighbors welcoming? Kino and Juana did just leave without notice. I even think that some neighbors thought that Kino and Juana had died. And did they find out that Kino was the one that murdered the man by the beach? The book never even spoke that the village found the body. Did they? You would think that a dead body would be pretty suspicious in a village. I could be wrong.