Future me

"giving free rein to your emotions is an honest way to live" 

For this blog post I have decided to do a mood board. It focuses on my future and what I feel about my decision, as well as life in general.  As you can see, the board doesn't follow a specific color scheme or idea. I did this on purpose because at the moment the emotions I have towards my future are mixed. I know I'm excited to attend VT and pursue interior design. Interior design is something I have been passionate about for a long time and being able to go to a school that goes above and beyond for their students is something I value. Along with this, I believe environmental sustainability is very important in this study, as well as everyone's future. Being energy sufficient and reducing environmental impact will be an essential part of my design approach. However, I am someone who travels a lot and being able to do that in my future as a job would be INSANE. I am obsessed with the mountains (I'm going to Banff this summer!!! whoop whoop) and hiking in general, but I am also obsessed with musical festivals. Being able to go from one to another throughout my life would be perfect. That's why my mood board has a lot of random pictures in it. I'm just very excited to see what the next four years are like for me and overall I know my future will be awesome no matter the amount of mixed emotions I have.

side note: This year has been a struggle but thanks friends for reading my blogs and writing nice comments. XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Whitty Whitman;)

Step 1

• From pg. 3: I think that it's very interesting how Whitman's (infatuation? admiration?) for Lincoln is reflected in his poetry. When I saw that he begins, and continues, an imaginary conversation with Lincoln in this Journal, I thought of the Lincoln-like values he includes in his conversations with readers in Leaves of Grass. We see Whitman being very 'liberal' in his views towards African American's and Women, often being inclusive towards them in his poetry; equals to his white/male audience. This is consistent with Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation and declared war on the South. 
• From pg. 4: I saw two or three words that stood out to me when looking at this page on religion; "eternal", "conscience", and "philosophy". I think that on this page on religion, Whitman is brainstorming and jotting down diction to relate that sentiment , such as "eternal" and "conscience", which have connotations with broad and complex ideas (time, the soul) and strengthen his purpose of relating something as large as the universe to the reader.
• From pg. 5: This page just seems like a short poem scribbled down. The pages like this in the notebook reveal that Whitman was probably always thinking of subjects for his poetry, writing his ideas down wherever he was, even on the move. I see the word "libertad" (freedom in Spanish), and again themes of democracy and rights are touched on by Whitman on this page. By him using this Spanish word could be him expanding his work to everyone, showing he cares for everyone. 
• From pgs. 6- 10: On these pages Whitman seems to continue brainstorming a single larger poem on the idea of "libertad". I can't tell if the website only contains parts of each of the pages because it seems like he is only writing a short three to four lines of text on each. This would mean he would fill up a whole notebook pretty quickly. There are quite a few words crossed out and revisions made, leading me to think that he was in fact trying to write a poem. Also, I first thought that the stamps were a part of the original journal but then i saw that they say Library of Congress on them.
• From pgs. 11 -15: First, after looking at these pages I find it interesting that Whitman likes to draw as well as write poetry, and I wonder if he ever combined the two at once, or made drawings in consideration of his poems. The self-portrait on page 11 looks a bit exaggerated in the sense that Whitman looks too much like a philosopher, an idealized "great" poet if I had to imagine what one looked like. In his poetry, Whitman likes to think of himself a lot, so this could be a portrait to go with a poem or it could just reflect his large ego/concerns for himself that I think he has. The sketches on pages 12,13, and 14 were done quickly and with little detail, all of them again looking like representations of Whitman.

Step 2 

• From pg. 3: Before writing my original observation for this page I had read that he was beginning a conversation with Lincoln. Still, the fact that Whitman "clammers on top of a bus" to get a look at the president-elect strengthens my idea that many of the values he writes about in his poems (democracy, freedom, the soul) were inspired by or taken from Lincoln. This also reveals the purpose behind Whitman wanting to keep a notebook, he is using it to record a conversation with Lincoln to come back to later and incorporate into his poems. Also, that stamp is the stamp of the Library of Congress.
• From pg. 4: On this page, the notes revel that Whitman is concerned with making an imagined, inclusive, religion and that it makes it's way into his poems in the form of a four sided religion. Whitman wanted to create an inclusive religion so as to avoid the conflict that he saw within the Union, but at the same time he didn't want to minimize   he need for abolition of slavery. The information from the notes on this page is  reflected in Whitman's poetry, where he preaches a universal suffrage/brotherhood of democratic rights and society, but takes stances on rights for African American's and women that go against a large part of societies views. Thus, the jotting down of things like "I surround all, and dare not make a single exclusion." 
• From pgs. 5-10:  I was right in my original observation to guess that the word libertad was important to this page and was intended to mean freedom. The notes theorize that Whitman's purpose for using the Spanish term for freedom rather than just "freedom" was to imply that freedom is not only an American ideal, but a global one (i.e. a global brotherhood). The "libertad" becomes a storm-tossed ship in pages 7,8,9,10, representing the struggles of both the union (and the world; Does the Queen of England represent a thousand years?) that Whitman sees as preventing the rise of democracy and freedom. These series of pages seem to be Whitman going through his process of creating a poem, with all of the themes we discussed in class present. 
• From pgs. 11-15: After reading the notes I learned that Whitman himself didn't actually draw these sketches. This reveals that Whitman's close acquaintances, those who drew the portraits of him, actually did see him in the way he presents himself through his poetry; a very philosophical and wise man. I thought it was funny that they caricatured this on page 14 and drew him with an overly large top-hat. The fact that he passed his notebook round makes me ask the question, How much was Whitman influenced by those around him in making his poetry? because before I had assumed he was doing everything on his own.

The American Dream

In the 1920s, the American dream became the acquisition of material things. That was best exemplified by the novel The Great Gatsby. Its author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, defined the aspirations of the age. From the 1920s, where how much you worked and made was the foundation of the American Dream, this generation is known to have truly lost any sense of work ethic. Many think we are complacent and self-absorbed itinerants who would rather work on “their individual style”, and experience life from the lawn of an amphitheater or in the crowd at a protest than actually contributing anything meaningful or worthwhile. Millennials today expect the "American Dream" to come easier now that we have advanced technologically and economically.

However, I believe what could be happening is that every generation has a new "American Dream". I mean society is constantly changing, which means what people ultimately value is changing as well. the American dream of the 1920’s was epitomized and fulfilled by the supper rich such as Gatsby and Tom, and those who make a penny at the expense of others. Examine the Millennial generation today and you will certainly find the determination to succeed that we see in Nick, Gatsby, and others. However, while we still dream of the successfulness of being uber rich, many of us would just as quickly say that owning an apartment in California with two other friends while each try to fulfil their acting careers is equally so, no matter the amount of wealth. This brings up the next point, which is that because my generation seems to be softening our defining success by monetary wealth, as our parents did, then what do we need to have to be successful?

I think today millennials are starting to stray away from the notion that money is true happiness, and have turned to nature and living an adventurous life being the true dream. Now that social media is the center point of many kids lives they are exposed to the beauty of traveling and seeing impeccable views through other peoples experiences. For example, people on Instagram like Emelina, Jack Morris, and Jay Alvarrez, are becoming the dream for traveling the world and going on adventures. These people don't necessarily have a lot of money or monetary value, yet I, and clearly many others, say they are successful because they have these experiences.

I find people today want more in life than a stable job and family. People want to explore what's around them and want to take risks. The "American Dream" is not a set thing that everyone wants to strive for. And generation after generation this dream is forming into something more tangible and exciting. It might be easier to obtain than the dream in the 1920s, but that just means more people can be happy and feel their lives were worthwhile. 

IOC Practice

I know you didn't want us to miss this one, but sadly I have. ( I am using my Freebie)

Nothing really matters (?)...

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

-  This translation is the least descriptive of the four. It is very simplistic diction and doesn't paint a very good image for the reader. All we know as readers was the fact he was sleeping restlessly and when he woke up he was a big bug. It sounded more like a statement than a description of what happened. The second thing I took notice of was the fact his name was spelled differently than any of the other translations. This could be done with the intention of making Gregory more of a child than an adult, or the fact "gregory" is more of an American name than "Gregor",  but what I found through this was that this translation was probably less reliable than any of the others. This one reminds me most of the Stranger, because it is so short, like most of the syntax found in the Stranger.

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

- I thought this translation was more detailed and we as readers now know what he looks like but with no connotation to influence the reader into thinking it was bad or good. the sentence is very smooth and easy to read. By starting out the sentence with the word 'when' this already alludes the reader into believing something was going to happen to Gregor. The words 'troubled dreams' provides a constructive image of what his dreams were like. This makes the reader picture Gregor in bed restlessly sleeping. This sentence structure uses a cause and effect structure type, by giving a reason for him turning into a bug. Lastly, I noticed there was no coma after the word 'morning' and although it didn't impact the sentence that much it made me think that this person was trying to sound as close to the original as possible. 

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

- Like the translation above, this one provided enough detail for the reader to paint a picture of a man moving around in bed with a troubled look on his face. The word 'gigantic' also helped in making an image in my head because it is such a strong word choice. I thought the use of the word 'insect' rather than the word bug added more formality to the sentence. The sentence again flows well, but this time I feel it flows more as an active description of when he awoke. When I read this translation I felt a more uneasiness for Gregor. The words 'found himself' make it seem like he was lost and he was now just coming back into his true form. 

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

- This is the most descriptive translation out of the four, and it is also the most formal. This is shown through the use of the words 'agitated', 'monstrous', 'transformed', and 'vermin'. What caught my eye was the use of the word 'vermin', because it is the most specific and it makes the reader picture a hideous bug instead of something less vile. This portrayed the transformation as something bad. The next word that caught my eye was 'monstrous' and this is because monstrous sounds like something mean and ugly, not big, which evokes the feeling that this transformation is bad. The use of commas made the sentence choppier than the rest and harder to read. It made it into a much longer sentence and it is very disliking. 

QUESTION ANALYSIS 

As we see in all writing small, simplistic words can have a huge impact on the meaning of a sentence, or the feeling it evokes in the readers. In the translations above, a shift in a single word leads readers to interpret one author’s translation differently than another. When the diction is simplistic, as seen in words like “woke” and “bug” in the first translation, the resulting simple syntax and imagery leads readers to interpret the sentence as statement-like, and a picture is  very hard to form in the mind. The author (who makes the statement from a third-person POV) appears detached from the action. Thus, the meaning readers draw from the first translation is that Gregory’s transformation doesn't have much of an impact. Oppositely, we see the word-choice in the second and third translations, where prepositional clauses like “as” and “when” are used, creating an active description of Gregor’s transformation. This could make the reader feel like the transformation means more than it really does.
      I would say that, in the different choices of diction, syntax, and imagery within the translations above, the most effective is the third translation. This is because its diction is descriptive but does not bear any strong connotations that will influence us. Also, its syntax and structure read well. However, this exercise, as well as the article “Lost in Translation”, highlights the difficulty of translating a text and two consequences of there being a variety of translations. The first is positive and that is because we must always assume ‘our’ translation is different from others, we will more consistently look for bias. The second is from “Lost in Translation” and is negative. It shows that the first line can influence how we interpret tone in the rest of the book. So, different translations, like the fourth one portraying Gregor’s transformation as negative, can lead to readers interpreting the entire story differently. 

Never Let Me Go

* Visual Characteristics: The viewers eye is first drawn to the focal point of the cover, the young girl. The artist achieves this through use of contrast, making her shirt a red compared to the varying values of green we see in the background. She is sitting with her head and her eyes cast downward, She is situated in a well lit-area, with her close proximity to objects such as ferns and moss-covered rocks giving the feeling that she is nestled amongst them (In the woods?!!!!ohhhh scary). To the sides of her and into the background the image recedes from brighter greens into darker shades of green and black.

*Intended Effect: By making the girl the focal point through contrast the artist wants to draw attention to her relationship to the rest of the image. When the viewer's eye settles on her downcast head and eyes, we are given a feeling of her being lost in thought. The purposeful decisions made in terms of where she sits and the background achieve the most important message being communicated, isolation. The woods was picked for a specific reason as well. After reading the book the woods symbolize a very scary part in their childhood, and having her placed here, with sunlight beating down on her shows she truly is alone. Overall, this girl is likely intended to be Kathy and the artist wants to communicate that she is alone. 

*Visual Characteristics: In this particular book cover, the viewer is drawn to the large white words on the page, as well as the boat right under them. Through the colors used, greens, browns, and blacks, the book seems to take on a gloomy/depressing feel. the boat seems to be washed up on shore, yet still attached to a wooded pole that disappears within the looming fog. 

*Intended Effect: The boat seems to represent isolation, just like in the one above. Through the color scheme and landscape, a feeling of being lost is present. The wooden pole abruptly going into the fog could represent how Kathy and all of the other clones are told only what will not hurt them, leaving them cut off from everything else, and providing a mysterious feeling for the viewer.  The open lake could also symbolize all of the knowledge and life Kathy and the others will never experience, due to them being tied to donations. Overall, the artist's purpose is likely to portray the dystopian-like outside world that stories from Never Let Me Go, such as the woods and the kids leaving the fence, seem to instigate.

*Visual Characteristics: The Artist for this cover used a monochromatic color scheme with the different shades of blue filling up the background of the page. Yet, if you look closely there is an outline of pine trees (THE WOODS!) and a sky. It is very simplistic, due to the wording and artwork created by black lines. Importantly, the artist chose to emphasize the words LET and GO. It is also important to point out that the body in the picture is outlined with barbwire. We can see as well that within the body there are four important bodily organs outlined. 

*Intended Effect: The artist purposefully outlined four of the most important organs in a human body, because it foreshadows the donations every clone in the book has to go through, and it just so happens to be that there are usually only four donations before the person 'completes'. The barbed wire symbolizes how Kathy's body, as well as the others are protected from cuts and bruises and the outside world. It is also noted that the word "Me" in the title of the book is strategically placed in the center of the body. Lastly, the color scheme drags in the feeling of creepiness and sadness. (this is the best one to drag an audience in). 

*Visual Characteristics: Starting off with the color scheme, light blues and pastel orange are used, which helps brighten the mood of the book. When a viewer first looks at the cover their eyes are drawn to the girl on the left side of the page, and the colors help draw this attention. the girl is facing away and her body seems to blend in with the background, which indicates rapid movement. 

*Intended Effect: The way the girl is drawn, where her body is blurred in the background and she is faced away, shows confusion and fleeting fear to the viewer. The blurred lines could also represent/foreshadow the rapid change Kathy and others endured from Hailsham to the Cottages. Overall the cover was intended to draw in readers. 

Similarities and Differences: 

After analyzing the four covers it was evident that Cover 1 was most similar to Cover 4, and Cover 2 was most similar to Cover 3. Cover 1 and cover 4 both include the female human form. However, in cover 1 the artist uses body posture to give the viewer a feeling of loneliness, while body posture is used in cover 4 to communicate rapid motion and confusion. Three covers have color-schemes with strong use of yellow, and cover 3 stands out from the group because it does not. Conceptually, covers 1 and 2 are linked by their artist's desires to create a lonely and isolated scene. Covers 1 and 3 both incorporate woods and this was intentionally done because on top of the color scheme being dark, in the book the woods symbolized fear and something dark as well. Finally, I think that covers 3 and 4 are abstractedly related in their use of specific visual elements to create confusion in the viewer. Cover 4 to create a sense of mystery and cover 3 to create a mystery that is intended to be shocking.

Close Examination: 

Cover 2:  Through the visual elements present in this cover I am drawn to the word "isolation" when viewing this. The thick mist, barren and gloomy landscape, and singular post that the boat is moored to, make me think of a dystopian environment, with the boat being the last remaining survivor, all alone. I think that the effectiveness of this imagery makes my initial reaction to it, and the one I have after reading, exactly the same. After finishing the book I believe the boat probably symbolizes Kathy, and the way she has been isolated from non-clone society and how by the end of the book she is the last of her friend group and is the last one to begin donations. The landscape in my mind represents all of the life and knowledge that Kathy will never be able to gain or experience, due to her being tied to the donations. The pole going abruptly into the fog could represent how her and others were cut off from the truth as well as the outside world. The perspective of this image makes the viewer feels as thought they've been placed in this world. If I was picking up the book for the first time, judging by the cover I would feel as if this book was depressing, as well as mysterious. I would have initially thought that it would be about someone never wanting to leave a place or a person. 

Cover 3: I personally believe that this cover was the best one because It is one, confusing but interesting and two, it best represents the book. The artists intentionally made the black lines form a body with four vital organs because it foreshadows the importance of Kathy and all of the other clones in the book. Once they reach a certain age they begin to transition into the 'donation' phase of their lives, where they have to donate vital organs to others, and four donations are the normal amount before completion, and four organs are pictured on the cover. the barbed wire that surrounds the body symbolizes how Kathy's body, as well as the others are protected from cuts and bruises and the outside world. It is also noted that the word "Me" in the title of the book is strategically placed in the center of the body. This could be because the artist wanted the viewers to relate to the book and place themselves in the body. If I was picking up the book for the first time the dark colors used and the barbed wire would make me believe the book was sad and deals with isolation. 

TED: Storytelling

IF A STORY MOVES YOU, ACT ON IT

 https://www.ted.com/talks/sisonke_msimang_if_a_story_moves_you_act_on_it/transcript

The title of this TED talk is quit misleading. Sisonke Msimang, the speaker, discusses three reasons on why stories are not as magical as they seem, and why they often get in the way of real action. The first reason she discusses is the way stories can create illusions of solidarity. People hear and read stories that create an illusion that they actually did what they read or that they are some how making an impact by listening to someone else's life. Unfortunately, by just sitting and reading or hearing isn't actually taking action, and many people fall into this trap. The second compelling argument deals with the protagonist and antagonist. Most people are drawn to the protagonist, due to them usually being the likable character, and in most cases the hero. Yet, the antagonist is the person you disregard, and throw under the bus because their morals or actions don't agree with what you believe. The antagonist stands for the things in life we don't want to confront or acknowledge. Msimang at this point in her talk told a story of her childhood about a kid stealing her bike, and then getting chased down and forced to apologize. She related this story to how she had too, for the first time in her life, stand and listen to the boy give an apology, when she knew the boy hated her and her statues, and how it was a hard lesson to learn that the messages we don't want to hear are the ones we need to hear most. Lastly, Msimang stated that stories are not always good because people normally forget to look at the bigger picture. She goes on to give a few examples of how people forget to link the narratives to meaning. In conclusion to her speech, she lists off a few ways society could make the world a better place, in the realm of  storytelling. Although, she believes storytelling has a lot of faults, she believes some of it can still be good.

Sisonke Msimang was able to get her point across through humor and personal stories. By using a form of pathos, Msimang is able to lighten up the mood of her talk. She begins her speech with some humor to drag the audience in, "...and it's the perfect talk. It's the talk that I would have given if I had been famous first." This gave way to laughter, leading her audience to listen in on what she was saying. She keeps with the humor through out her speech. It was found mostly in her stories, "So my bike was stolen while I was riding it...". Since she was able to make people laugh, she was able to connect with them and having a connection is one way to get people to like you and care about what you are saying. So, by using humor she could get her point across and have people take real notice and consideration. Another tool Msimang used to get her point across was logos. It's difficult to tell someone what they're doing has no real significance, but it's easier to tell them with facts. One specific example, was closer to the end, when she began to discuss the ways in which people have begun to trust stories instead of the media. she quotes, " only 10 percent of young adults under the age of 30 'place a lot of trust in the media'". Msimang believes this to be bad, because people should rely on credible facts that come from the media. Following this statement she goes on to say, "From my years as a social justice activist, I know very well that we need credible facts from media institutions combined with the powerful voices of storytellers. That's what pushes the needle forward in terms of social justice." This is a form of ethos, and it is another tool she used to persuade people on her views. By telling people of her life and how it relates to her topic, can convince someone that she is credible to discuss what she's talking about. 

I chose this TED talk because I saw another video of her talking on TED talks called "Mad at Mandela" and the way she spoke and what she talked about moved me and I thought she was very convincing.  Although this was a totally different discussion she was still able to drag me into what she was talking about, and once she was done giving her speech I understood why stories aren't as magical as they seem. Unfortunately, I'm quick to believe a lot of what people say without hard evidence, and I love fiction, but after listening to Msimang I should really start paying attention to the things that get overlooked. If you're reading this blog I highly recommend listening to it.