Curiosity in Pandora and Orphan Boy

Curiosity is the underlying theme in the Greek and African myths, Pandora's Box and Orphan Boy, because they both portray how curiosity can unleash negativity and change the entire world. In Pandora's Box, Pandora receives a box from Zeus, and can’t resist opening it. The world is changed because all pain and suffering is released. In Orphan Boy, an old man receives help from a magical boy, but betrays his trust by spying on him. The boy abandons him, causing drought and famine. In both of these myths, curiosity is shown in a negative light, but curiosity has also led to discovery of technology and medicine, saving people’s lives.

(http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/19090000/19090675.JPG
http://media.photobucket.com/image/pandora/Pandora01/Pandora-1.jpg)

My Name

My name is like my own, individual brand of sticky glue. Initially, the brand name catches the attention of a passerby at a market or store. Only catching a glimpse of a few letters, they are intrigued. They must buy that glue. The customer realizes that it may come in handy someday. They purchase it. Not entirely satisfied by the glue, they chuck it into an old cupboard of pointless objects. The next day, they casually visit the market once again, and they catch a glance of this brand of glue that is perfect for their faltering chair. They try out the glue at home, and it is sturdy and tough. Eventually they run out of that glue, and now have to go and purchase something for the little chip on the coffee table. They remembered that old, forgotten glue, and pull it out of the reject cupboard. Instead of wasting time searching for more glue, they use the old one. Although it wasn’t great, it did hold things together.

If you still haven’t guessed, my name is that innocent, little, reject glue. My sister was the broken chair, who was secured by the best glue, and I was the coffee table, being held together by the discarded one. My parents were searching for a name for my older sister, and they came across mine, but they chucked it aside for the new one they had found for her. Once I was born, they settled for the name that was chucked aside.

I am not declaring that I hate my name, but sometimes it doesn’t quite express me. In Hebrew and Latin it means grace, in Japanese it signifies an apricot, and in Sanskrit it means grain. I am by no means graceful, I am not quite fond of apricots, and I am quite certain I am not a grain.
My name is like a perfectly fitted dress, but unlike anything else, this dress transforms as I do. As I am very leisurely and gradually growing up, this dress alters with me. It has become all the times my mother has shrieked my name for me to tidy my room, and my big sister squealing at me when I “accidently” wore her favourite shirt.

My sister’s name is simple, short, and like nothing you have ever heard. It flows nicely, and any nickname it has, is longer. It is only 3 words, and two of them are vowels. It can be nicknames for other names, but nothing can be a nickname for it. Her name is Lua.

My name may have seemed like the old, unwanted glue, but it is not my identity, I am its identity. It is my yellow Livestrong band that once on, never comes off. It is actually a common name, Anna, but with an interesting twist from the suffix. Many people tend to pronounce it improperly. My name has been like a veil, protecting me from feeling any frustration. I have gone through entire years allowing people to say it wrong, but as long as I know, deep down, my name, and my identity, nothing can thwart me. My name is me, but I am it. Every day, and every night I am Anissa. My name has stuck with me through thick and thin, and it will never abandon me, no matter what.

(http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/multipurpose-glues-1.jpg)

Common Themes Of Creation Myths

Common Creation Myth Themes

Throughout time, various countries have each developed a distinct representation for the evolution of mankind. Chaos, supreme creators, and separation are the three elements that unite the Egyptian, Maori, and Chinese cultures. In the Egyptian and Maori myths, originally there was a void of nothingness. The Chinese assumed that the universe was initially shaped as a cosmic egg, but within it was nothing. From these voids of nothing came the supreme creators. The Egyptians believed their creator, Atum, materialized from the chaos, and gave birth to the gods, earth, and sky. In the Maori myth, instead of giving birth to the earth and sky, the two first beings were the earth and sky. The Chinese believed that their creator, Phan Ku, came out of the cosmic egg, and fashioned our universe with his chisel. In each creation myth there seemed to be some kind of separation that was crucial for the development of the earth. In the Egyptian creation myth, the earth and sky were separated because of their love for their creator, who wanted to form the earth. The Maoris also believed that the earth and the sky were disjoined, but only because their children pushed them apart for more room. In order to complete the Earth, the Chinese say that Phan Ku needed to die and use his body to finish the landscape. Mankind then lost him, which is the justification for human suffering. From these connections it evidently appears as though in creation myths people used to think alike, even though nowadays we are such individuals. I think that the myths have endured throughout time because they help explain the formation of the world and human nature, answering the questions humans have always been seeking.

(http://faraday.fc.up.pt/cfp/Members/paccetti/black_hole_milkyway.jpg

http://www.edvard-munch.com/Paintings/love/separation_3.jpg)

Picture and Quote Explanation

Explanation for Picture

The dark silhouette of the lonesome man is visible on the beach, with footprints in the sand showing where he had originally come from. The sky is enshrouding him like a blanket. There is nothing in front of him, yet he continues on in his way. To me it symbolizes life's journey. We continue on, not certain about what will transpire. Sometimes we are alone, but it can’t hinder us. No obstacle should prevent us from continuing.

Explanation for Quote

This quote specifically seized my attention, because it shows the free will of mankind, and the choices we make. Throughout our lives we make decisions, and continue on in our journey of life. To be an individual, we need to pursue our own paths and not follow everyone else. We must be unbound and limitless. We should be unrestrained like the wind. Nothing should ever thwart us from fulfilling our dreams. Our journeys are never ending.

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/emeraldrose/2624042642/)

Giver Fishbowl Extension

Today in class we needed to write or expand on our fishbowl (discussion) that we had during class, which was based on The Giver. We came up with a few questions that were broken up into two sections. One was Stirring, and the other was Releasing. Below I will write what I feel about the two subjects. (I have already read the book, so don’t read on if you haven’t!)

Stirrings
I think that Stirrings are the beginning of puberty. Jonas felt the need to be with Fiona, which, from what I heard, seems to be the signs of the beginning of adolescence. Along with adolescence comes a connection with different people, which could lead to marriage and children.

Now that I think about it, it seems to also be connected to the Octo-mom. America has given her the free will to have children. This has stirred up many different things. She is getting a considerable amount of attention, and people have questioned how much the government should be involved in these kinds of issues.

Then you can look at the China one-child policy. Everything is controlled, and people are unhappy. The government still appears content that everything is in order.

Now look at “Jonas’s community”. Unlike in the US, everything is controlled. They can only have two children (one boy and one girl). Unlike China, everyone is content. I think this is because they don’t know a life with a free will. Everything in their existence has been robotic. The Committee of Elders controls everything so all is in order. They give people pills in order to prevent any problems in the community, where people fall in love. They match people a partner who they will be capable of living a normal, average life with. There is no real love shown between them or the children. Everything is set up in their town to The Committee’s idea of perfect. There won’t be divorce or any controversy whatsoever.

Another one of the questions was whether or not they had privacy of their dreams and thoughts. It depends on how you look at it. I don’t think that anyone can read their minds or anything, but they have to share their dreams and feelings. Then again, they could easily lie…I am undecided.

Release
I know for a fact that releasing is killing.
I read the book in second grade, so my memory is literally as clear as mud. What I do remember is that the way they killed the new children were by sticking some kind of needle in their heads…ugh!
People are wondering why there is releasing. I am still a bit hazy on the subject, but I think that it is because The Committee of Elders wants to keep order in the town. If people knew that they would eventually die, they wouldn’t be as happy about Release at all. To them it seems as if Release is a time of joy and happiness. If they knew, I think there could be a little bit of chaos in the town. People might start questioning whether or not they could trust the Committee. They could attempt to escape.
Another thing I was wondering is what happens to the people that already know what releasing is, like The Committee of Elders, The Nurturers, and actual Releasers. Are they Released, and if yes, are they joyous too?

The question that I asked during class was whether or not anyone dies outside of the Releasing room. By that, I mean could they have a heart attack, disease, old age, etc.
After having time to ponder on this subject, I have decided that everything is so controlled, that it might be impossible for that to happen. Think about it. Everything is so controlled that there couldn’t possibly be diseases. They don’t allow other people to come to their community, so no illness could be carried over. Also, they don’t even know what death is, so there couldn’t be suicide.
Then again, someone could accidentally fall or trip, or even choke…once again, I am really puzzled.

Hopefully when I reread The Giver, these questions will be answered!

thank you

Octo-mom or China Policy???

Today in humanities class my teacher had created a continuum. On one side there was the Octo-mom, and on the other side there was the China One-Child Policy. He passed out sticky notes to everyone, and told us to put it somewhere on the continuum and write why we placed it in that particular spot.

Octo-mom----------------------x---------------------One child policy

As you may have guessed, based on my previous post, I don't agree with either of them. It was required to put it somewhere, so I placed it right in the middle. I don't think they have created an effective solution because there should definitely be a balance.

In my previous post I talked about how I felt about the Octo-mom. She doesn’t have the financial ability to care for all her children properly.

In the post before that, I wrote that I felt as if the One Child Policy in China was unjust, because it is against human rights, and everyone should have a free will.

In my previous post I also mentioned that instead of restricting the amount of children, or allowing people to have fourteen, the government should educate people on the realistic problems they might face if they have children. It would be good if it was a mandatory course for young adults or even teens. They should learn about the pros and cons before making a decision that could throw their own and their children’s lives in the gutter.

One of the reasons that I feel the Octo-mom’s situation was out of hand was because she got a bit out of control with artificial reproduction. The doctor should have learnt about her past and ensured that she went through counseling and determining if having more children was fair. They needed to know whether or not she was considering the fate of her other six children.

I noticed that the one child policy in China is mainly used in the cities of China instead of the villages. That is why the population is still so big. Instead of restricting the rural areas from the birth education, they should also include them and educate them too.

Restricting the amount of child birth or allowing people to go, well, overboard are both not the answer. We need to educate people of all nationalities about the after effects of child birth.

Children for the Wealthy?

As seen above, my headline for today’s humanities class is 'Children for the wealthy?'

I gave it this name because today in class we read an article about an American woman who recently gave birth to eight children.

Normally, I wouldn’t have a problem with a person having eight children, because they wouldn’t have control, but the controversial thing is that she had already given birth to six other children prior to the eight.

So, the situation is basically 14 infants living in their divorced, unemployed, mother’s 3 bedroom house.

I think you understand the dilemma.

Now, as I touched on above, this woman obviously doesn’t have the financial ability to care for all of her children. It already cost her hundreds of thousands of dollars for their birth, and now she is expected to pay so much just to support them?

Facts:
She already had 6 children, but used vitro fertilization in order to conceive more.
For their first year of life, one child will need roughly $9, 171. For 8 children it will cost her $73,368.
To support all of her children from birth till high school, it will cost her $1,375,408.
For diapers for 8 babies it will cost $7,000 per year.
For their college it will cost her $700,000.

This sparked up a discussion in our class, which eventually led to a fishbowl.

(A fishbowl is basically a discussion)

During the fishbowl, we expressed our feelings about what the government should do about this.

In my previous post I talked about the one-child policy in China, and how I felt it is unjust. During the fishbowl, people began talking about how the government should decide whether or not the amount of children a person should be allowed to give birth to should be based on how much money they make financially.
This is absurd!

In China, the same thing seems to be occurring, which is discrimination.

China-
Boys are allowed to be kept, but not girls, during the second birth.
Also, only the richer families could have more children, and pay off the fine!

What we are suggesting for the world-
Richer families should be allowed to have more children.

Notice a pattern?

This brings me back to my headline: ‘Children for the wealthy?’

It is my strong opinion that the amount of money that one makes should have NO effect, whatsoever on the amount of children they are allowed to have.

You may be thinking that the amount of resources in the world may cause us to feel as if we need to control child birth. As I mentioned in my previous blog: THIS SHOULDN’T BE AN ISSUE!!!

If the world worked together or made an attempt at unity, I wouldn’t even need to write any of this. The resources would be taken care of, and there would be no real issues on that subject.

In the article on the ‘woman with the 14 children’, it mentioned that she had been OBSESSED with having children from a young age. She already had 6 and got vitro fertilization in order to conceive more.
It is a FACT that many people in the world would not feel the urge to have this many children.

People have different personalities. Some want 14 children, and some don’t want any.

If the government is worried about people having too many children, maybe instead of making that kind of policy, they could invest more in educating youth on this subject. They could possibly take courses in order to learn about the difficulties of having more children, and they could use that knowledge in their lives in the future!

Since this woman didn’t have children naturally, this is a real issue. Before she had the fertilization, they should put her through rigorous counseling and made her think through this decision. The health care professionals needed to ensure that she was capable of providing her first six children care physically, emotionally, and financially before considering the fertilization again.

China's one-child policy...Just or not?!

Today in humanities class we just had a discussion about the one child policy in China. Above is my headline for the class, ‘China’s one-child policy…Just or not?!’ I named it this, because during class we all talked about what we felt on the subject and whether it is right or wrong.

After having more time to think about it, I have decided that I truly don’t feel that it is a just law…for many reasons.

My first reason is that it goes against human rights. Don’t we all have a free will? Not deciding how many children you have isn’t free will. You are being restrained, and have no say in how you decide to live your life. That is definitely unjust.

People may say that a huge portion of the justification is because China will run out of resources. After thinking about this, I have decided that this doesn’t have to be a factor. If the world was one, and there was unity, everyone would help countries like China that would be in need.
Also, who says that whoever was born in China must live there for the rest of their lives. The world in an enormous place. Why can’t people spread their wings and live in another country, or even another continent? If this were to happen, then they wouldn’t need so many resources.

Another reason I feel the law is unjust is because it doesn’t support equality among men and women. I feel as though now we live in an era where men and women should be presented as equals. Apparently this doesn’t apply in Chinese politics!
If a family has a girl, and then another girl, they must give the second girl up.
If a family has a girl, and then a BOY, they may KEEP the BOY!!!
That is UNJUST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Men are NOT superior to women.

This has caused an imbalance between the amount of men and women in China. There are 117 men to every 100 women. Officials even estimate by 2020 there will be 30 million men known as ‘bare branches’, which won’t have or find a wife to marry.
I hope that if this does happen, it will straighten their views.

I also know the effects it has on the children, because while I lived in America, my friend, Isabel, was adopted from China. Her mother had too many children, and had to give her up. Although Isabel ended up with an extremely loving and caring family, who’s to say that all children will end up like her. They could become foster children, or end up with a bad family. Isabel still always wondered what her birth-mother was like.
It is just as difficult, if not more, on the children; their countries unjust law.

Also, who’s to say that if the law is abandoned that people will immediately begin having children. I think that the reason the baby boom was so drastic was because the people were encouraged to have children. Now that they know the problem, they may only have one or two. They aren’t crazy!

If this law were abandoned, so many problems would cease. There would be no more problems with children being abandoned (girls mainly) and put for adoption.

Even if China did run out of natural resources, at least it will make the world realize that we all need to work together in order to make the world a better place. There isn’t one country on earth that is indestructible.

Part 2: Shakespeare Sonnet 7

Hi everyone,

Now I am reinterpreting my Shakespeare Sonnet 7 response below. After watching the musical and acting versions of this sonnet my ideas have changed. (Not drawing…I was in that group)

After seeing the two versions, I am beginning to connect the sun's life more with human life.

Play: During the play, the person starting out as a baby (Mark) grew up with the sun (JiWoo) and died with the sun. This makes me think as if Shakespeare was not only writing about the cycle of the sun, but also about how human life is similar.

Musical: During the music, everyone started moving and playing their instruments loudly at noon, which to me was interpreted, once again, to human life. It was as if at that time in the day, which represents middle-aged, was the pinnacle, and most active time.

What these things made me think about:
When the sun starts the day by slowly rising into the sky, it is similar to human birth in some ways. It is like someone that is just born and is opening its eyes to a new world and discovering new things.
As the sun progresses higher and higher into the sky, it reminds me of going through, your toddler years, adolescence, and youth, until you finally reach middle-age.

"And having climb'd the steep-up heavenly hill, Resembling strong youth in his middle age.”
During the time of Shakespeare, the life expectancy of most people was roughly 40 years old. This means that people were considered middle-aged in their twenties. That would mean they were at their peak physically and mentally.
I think he means that the sun is in the middle of its journey through the sky, but is also at its highest point. It is showing that it is still strong, even though it is halfway through its "life”. This can also be said of the human condition during Shakespeare’s era.

As the sun makes its way back down through the sky, when he says “Like feeble age, he reeleth from the day, The eyes, 'fore duteous, now converted are From his low tract and look another way”, could possibly have a double meaning.

It could be talking about the sun, and how people’s attitudes altered towards the suns presence as it sets, and they become unimpressed.

It could also be talking about people: People’s lives change after they have passed “middle-age”. For some people it turns downhill, and they receive problems that naturally occur along with older age, that cause them to be less active, and sometimes, less significant. This is like the sun descending in the sky. It is moving lower and lower and lower…and lower.

For some people it also means that they have missed out on the opportunity of having children. “Unlook'd on diest, unless thou get a son.” Here I think Shakespeare means that if you don’t have a son, your life would have been meaningless. In the time of Shakespeare (which I believe was the 15-1600’s), you would be looked upon insignificantly once you died, unless you had a son who could carry on your name, or do something great.

I guess that this sonnet is both about the sun and people. It depends on who, and how you are interpreting it.

Thanks!

Shakespeare: Sonnet 7

Shakespeare: Sonnet 7

Lo! in the orient when the gracious light
Lifts up his burning head, each under eye
Doth homage to his new-appearing sight,
Serving with looks his sacred majesty;
And having climb'd the steep-up heavenly hill,
Resembling strong youth in his middle age,
yet mortal looks adore his beauty still,
Attending on his golden pilgrimage;
But when from highmost pitch, with weary car,
Like feeble age, he reeleth from the day,
The eyes, 'fore duteous, now converted are
From his low tract and look another way:
So thou, thyself out-going in thy noon,
Unlook'd on diest, unless thou get a son.

This is William Shakespeare's seventh sonnet. Today in class we were given this sonnet, and we needed to translate it into our own words. After looking up the word orient, I learnt that it meant east. In the poem it talks about gracious light from the orient, so it means the sun ascending into the sky. Once I knew that, I began interpreting it into my own words...

My Interpretation:

When the sun comes out from the east everybody turns and looks. They all show respect to the sun, and admire it. They are mesmerized  Since the sun came all the way up the sky, on a long journey, people acknowledge it as beautiful and strong. But, when the sun finally reaches the top of the sky, it turns frail, weak, and old, so it must go back down (set). Everyone whose eyes were once eager, are now uninterested, and turn away, carrying on with their lives. This concepts relates to the human condition. Everyone is on their way to old age and if they don't have a child, Shakespeare is suggesting their life will have been pointless, and they will die insignificantly (like the sun setting).

From Then To Now - Mesopotamian Evolution

Today in class we watched a video on the evolution from Mesopotamia, to what life is like now. It was a three minute video showing someone on Google Earth. They zoomed in on the middle East. As the video zoomed into the Middle East, a yellow map covered the countries, it represented a map as it would have looked in modern day Mesopotamia.

First it showed a plain map of Mesopotamia with not many details. It just said "The Ancient World" at the top and then it said things like Babylonia, Assyria, Egypt, the Persian Empire...etc. Then that map evolved into a geographical map that was filled with color. There was a key at the bottom that explained what each color was representing, but even when you zoomed in, you couldn't understand what it said.

After it showed the geographical map, it turned into a more modern form of the Middle East. Not only did it show all of the countries like Jordan, Turkey, Iran, Syria, and so on, but all of the capitals of the countries were put in their place, beside a red star. The map had evolved from modern day Mesopotamia, to the present.

My partner was Mitsu, and once we finished watching the video, we started to make a See-Think-Wonder chart in our writer's notebook.

Our See part of the chart had the most information, we randomly started writing the names of the places we saw on the map, and anything that we may have noticed that was close to Mesopotamia:

1. The Earth


2. Mesopotamia


3. Babylonia


4. Iraq


5. Iran


6. "The Ancient World


7. Egypt


8. Syria


9. Africa (close to the middle east)


10. Yellow and green (colors on the map)


11. Tehran


12. Baghdad


13. The Caspian Sea


14. Kuwait


15. The Persian Gulf


16. The Arabian Gulf


17. Jordan


18. Saudi Arabia


19. Masqat


20. Qatar


21. Abu Dhabi


22. Blue sea surrounding the world


23. The Black Sea


24. Uzbekistan


25. Afghanistan


26. Yerevan


27. Ankara


28. Red stars, (for the capitals)


29. Dark pink (on the map)


30. Memphis


31. Jerusalem


32. Dimashq


33. Al Iskandariyah


34. Hittite Empire


35. Bulgaria


36. Assyria


37. United Arab Emirates


38. Turkmenistan


39. Yellow border lines


40. Africa


41. Europe


42. Asia


43. Cairo


44. Key


45. Colors

After we finished the See section of the See-Think-Wonder Chart, we moved on to Think...it was not as long.

1. We think Cairo used to be called Memphis (not Memphis, Tennessee), because as we saw the map evolving, we noticed that Memphis stayed in the same place that Cairo used to be.


2. We think that the yellow color in the map stands for the dry, desert areas, and the green areas stand for the areas that have more greenery.

The last section was...Wonder. In this part we asked about various questions we had.

1. When did Mesopotamia evolve into the modern countries that now stand in its place?


2. How did Mesopotamia evolve into the modern countries that now stand in its place?


3. How much land did Mesopotamia cover?


4. What was that big turning point that caused modern Mesopotamia to be formed...was there a war?


5. Why did Memphis change into Cairo, was there an important reason?


6. In Mesopotamia, did everyone speak a different language, depending on where they lived, or was there a nationally spoken language?

After everyone in the class shared a bit of their information, class was over and it was lunch time. It was interesting how everyone had different observations, inferences, and questions.

Bye!!!