In Rules for Writers Chapter 52 by Diana Hacker the main idea is supporting a thesis when writing MLA style papers. First you want to develop your thesis by gathering all of your evidence and considering all possible arguments and turning it into one sentence of your main idea. Then, you want to organize your evidence by starting with an informal rough draft to gather your ideas without getting caught up in the complexity of them, then you can move onto a formal outline. Next, you want to use sources to back up your information in support of your thesis. A good way to do this is by explaining terms or concepts by quoting or paraphrasing a source, supporting claims using factual information, using experts knowledge on your argument, and acknowledge arguments against your own.
This is helpful because it's always important to write a good thesis, it is something I need to work on. Your thesis is like your contract with your reader telling them that this is what I'm going to be writing about, if you don't have a strong thesis you might not have a strong paper. It's important to show evidence of your thesis and to stay on topic, this information is helpful because I need to generate all ideas before I just start writing, and gather research to build my thesis so that I know it is strong.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
All I Asking For Is My Body
Makot is a rich boy who lives in a filipino camp, but is actually Japanese. He plays with younger kids and kids his age always make fun of him. Makot's parents apparently are not the best people. They are very rich, and don't have the best manners. They were different. Kiyoshi described how different they were, and Makot's mother laughed at him because he was being polite. It was as if she had never heard anyone say thank you before.
I do feel sorry for Makot because it is obvious that his parents are not modeling the best behavior. It's hard especially as a child to fit in when your parents do not model appropriate social behavior. I think Makot uses his money to buy the little kids friendship and he wins control over them. He copes with his feelings by bossing little kids around and rewarding them with prizes instead of an actual friendship, which might be what his parents did to him. Makots parents might be replacing love with money.
I do feel sorry for Makot because it is obvious that his parents are not modeling the best behavior. It's hard especially as a child to fit in when your parents do not model appropriate social behavior. I think Makot uses his money to buy the little kids friendship and he wins control over them. He copes with his feelings by bossing little kids around and rewarding them with prizes instead of an actual friendship, which might be what his parents did to him. Makots parents might be replacing love with money.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Understanding
The importance of forgiveness for Victor in Smoke Signals was the act of understanding. I believe that he couldn't forgive his father because he didn't understand why he did the things he did, why he abused him, and abandoned him. He probably blamed himself to a certain extent and he a lot of hatred toward his father. He also realized in the end that forgiving him freed him of everything that was holding him back in growth and in life.
When Arnold became an alcoholic after saving Thomas's life from the fire, it didn't really make sense. He had just saved someone's life and instead of acting like a hero he was acting like a failure. Once Victor realized that his father is the one that started the fire by lighting a firework he understood that his father had to live with all that guilt of being responsible for the death of two people for all of those years. He not only had to live with the guilt, but he was praised for it. Guilt is one of the worst things a person could feel and I think that once it all made sense to Victor and he had all the answers he then was able to finally take the next step and forgive his father.
Victor seemed depressed in the movie, he was distant and he shut down emotionally. This is probably due to his fathers actions and the fact that he blamed himself in some way. When your parents have no self worth, usually your kids won't either because they internalize it. Children want to believe the best in their parents and sometimes that means that they're being blindsided by the truth. Victor didn't show that he blamed himself, he showed nothing but hatred toward his father. He also probably felt like he was never good enough because of the way his father treated him that day in the truck, and he might feel like if he were better than he would have stayed. This was what the unknown did to Victor before he knew the truth.
Finally, when Victor was able to forgive his father it freed him of all his shortcomings. He was able to move on with his life and start focusing on himself as a person rather than trying to figure out his past childhood. It was like closure for Victor, he finally got that none of it was his fault. He understood that his father didn't just make bad choices because he wanted to but something severe actually happened to him that I'm sure no one could ever imagine having happened to them. Although, it doesn't excuse his behavior it makes sense of it all and perhaps if Victor can forgive him, he can forgive himself as well.
Forgiveness is extremely important because if you can forgive someone than you can move on and you don't have to hold on to that disappointment, hurt, and pain. I do believe in second chances and everyone should get one. In Victor's case it took understanding in order for him to forgive. You can't truly forgive someone if you don't know precisely what it is your forgiving them for. It was better for everyone in the end when the truth came out and Victor found an understanding and meaning of his life through forgiveness.
When Arnold became an alcoholic after saving Thomas's life from the fire, it didn't really make sense. He had just saved someone's life and instead of acting like a hero he was acting like a failure. Once Victor realized that his father is the one that started the fire by lighting a firework he understood that his father had to live with all that guilt of being responsible for the death of two people for all of those years. He not only had to live with the guilt, but he was praised for it. Guilt is one of the worst things a person could feel and I think that once it all made sense to Victor and he had all the answers he then was able to finally take the next step and forgive his father.
Victor seemed depressed in the movie, he was distant and he shut down emotionally. This is probably due to his fathers actions and the fact that he blamed himself in some way. When your parents have no self worth, usually your kids won't either because they internalize it. Children want to believe the best in their parents and sometimes that means that they're being blindsided by the truth. Victor didn't show that he blamed himself, he showed nothing but hatred toward his father. He also probably felt like he was never good enough because of the way his father treated him that day in the truck, and he might feel like if he were better than he would have stayed. This was what the unknown did to Victor before he knew the truth.
Finally, when Victor was able to forgive his father it freed him of all his shortcomings. He was able to move on with his life and start focusing on himself as a person rather than trying to figure out his past childhood. It was like closure for Victor, he finally got that none of it was his fault. He understood that his father didn't just make bad choices because he wanted to but something severe actually happened to him that I'm sure no one could ever imagine having happened to them. Although, it doesn't excuse his behavior it makes sense of it all and perhaps if Victor can forgive him, he can forgive himself as well.
Forgiveness is extremely important because if you can forgive someone than you can move on and you don't have to hold on to that disappointment, hurt, and pain. I do believe in second chances and everyone should get one. In Victor's case it took understanding in order for him to forgive. You can't truly forgive someone if you don't know precisely what it is your forgiving them for. It was better for everyone in the end when the truth came out and Victor found an understanding and meaning of his life through forgiveness.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
This is What it Means to say Phoenix, Arizona
I liked the story better because I could focus just on the story. I wasn't trying to figure anything out, I knew who the characters were. I knew what they looked like and how they acted from the movie so the story made it really clear and I felt more emotionally attached to the characters. It was almost as if it seemed more real.
One difference that was interesting was how Thomas's parents didn't die in the fire. In the story his father died in the military and his mother died giving birth to him. I like the way Thomas talks he comes across as really wise, like how he says "She took her last breath" when he was talking about her giving birth to him with her last breath, it's beautiful. Thomas is my favorite character. When they dismissed the way Thomas's parents died in the fire and changed it it's like they took away the whole meaning of the movie.
One difference that was interesting was how Thomas's parents didn't die in the fire. In the story his father died in the military and his mother died giving birth to him. I like the way Thomas talks he comes across as really wise, like how he says "She took her last breath" when he was talking about her giving birth to him with her last breath, it's beautiful. Thomas is my favorite character. When they dismissed the way Thomas's parents died in the fire and changed it it's like they took away the whole meaning of the movie.
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