The Cat in the Hat [Evaluative Essay]

Who cares about the Cat in the Hat? It's all about the fish in the pot! xD Throughout the book, this fish is pushed to show its true colors when a certain cat wearing a white and red striped hat barges into the household of Sally and the narrator and insists on having some fun. The fish however objects to this idea and believes it is unacceptable to have a strange cat over and mess around when the kids' mother is away from the house running some apparently necessary errands. I mean, what fish would like a cat coming into their house? Don't cats sometimes eat fish? Ha, this is probably why the fish wanted the cat to leave. But anyways, the fish was trying to protect itself and keep any trouble away from the house while the mother is away. This obviously shows that the fish is dominated by the superego.

Superego is basically the part of the personality that is conscious and well aware of our actions and the consequences of our actions. The fish shows this side of him consistently throughout the book starting from when the cat enters the house to when the cat is leaving. At first, when the cat comes in saying that he brought things that they could have fun with, the fish is telling the kids to tell the cat that he should leave and he shouldn't be here while their mother is away. This shows that the fish is well aware that they'd be in trouble if the kids' mother came home to a huge mess and a stranger. Fun should not be had while the mother is gone. The fact that the fish is telling the kids to make the cat go away shows that he is really authoritative and demanding. He is often found saying, "I do not like it, I do not like it one bit," and "No, no, no..." When the fish is saying these things, he is trying prevent the kids from having fun while their mom is away since their mother would  be upset. I suppose it would be okay if there mother was there, but the fact that she isn't makes it no fun since they are doing the wrong thing.

The looks that the fish often gives are rather angry and/or worried. The fish always seems to be seen shaking its fin at the cat. On page 29, the fish says to the cat, "Look at this house...you shook up our house...you get out of this house." This shows of the fish's disapproval of the cat's actions and is trying really hard to get the cat out of the house since the cat isn't supposed to be there in the first place. However, at the end of the story, the fish is seen smiling when the cat comes back to clean up the mess he created. The fish smiling shows that he approves of the responsibility the cat took to tidy up after himself which is the right thing. Basically, the fish is trying to persuade the kids to do the right thing. The right thing in this case is listening to their mother.

The fish can not be the id whatsoever, because he is not allowing the kids to have fun. The id is "...based on our pleasure principle....wants whatever feels good at the time, with no consideration for the other circumstances of the situation." The fish is always thinking about how the kids' mother would be upset if they had fun and so this is showing that the fish does have consideration for others and is thinking of how others would be feeling. 

The fish cannot be the ego either because it's "...the part of the personality that maintains a balance between our impulses and our conscience." If the fish truly was an ego, it would have let the kids have fun at an reasonable level and have them clean up at the end. Neither of this happen which means the the fish is superego. 

Blog #2 [Persepolis]

"Every situation has an opportunity for laughs." (p.97) Give some examples of how the ordinary citizens of Iran enjoy a life despite the oppressive regime. What made you laugh? How does Satrapi add comic relief? How are these scenes relevant to the story as a whole?
Although there was a lot of tension from the oppressive regime, the citizens were still able to enjoy themselves. They carried on with their lives as if nothing was going on. Of course, they were still very cautious. For instance, Marji's family continued having their get togethers with the family and still went to parties that people invited them to. On page 106, it is said that, "in sprite of all the dangers, the parties went on. 'Without them it wouldn't be psychologically bearable.' some said. 'Without parties, we might as well just bury ourselves now,' added the others." So I guess parties were one of the most rebellious things they could do so that they could live like normal people. In order for Marji's family to carry on wth their ordinary everyday lives while still being precautious, Marji's mother would put up black curtains to protect themselves from the neighbors who were "devoted to the new regime." What made me laugh was when Marji's grandma told the police that she had diabetes and had to go into the house for some syrup and one of the men said "Diabetes, just like my mother!" xD Satrapi puts little funny comments here and there to ease the tension of the Islamic Revolution and the war. These scenes are revelant because it helps the characters get away from their predicament. It also makes the book more enjoyable.

Discuss the role and importance of religion in Persepolis. How does religion define certain characters in the book, and affect the way they interact with each other? Is the author making a social commentary on religion, and in particular on fundamentalism? What do you think Satrapi is saying about religion's effect on the individual and society?
Ever since the Islamic Revolution, religion has become something very important in Iran. People are thought of very highly if they dress appropriately to show their obedience to the new regime. If people did not dress accordingly, they are considered rebellious and are unrespected and get into a great deal of trouble. For example, when Marji went to buy her tapes on Ghandi Avenue, she wore a denim jacket with a Michael Jackson button, tight jeans, and sneakers. The guardians caught up with her and started badgering her. The guardians were of course very religious and wore the veils that they were supposed to. It shows that people who are more religious somehow have a greater amount of power. I do believe that the author is making a social commentary on religion and fundamentalism. If people don't follow the religion they are excluded from society and looked down upon. To me, it's not very fair that the modern people that follow ideology are treated so poorly. It seems like they should be treated better since they are actually trying to be their own person and an individual. But I suppose that's how it's meant to be in Iran during the Islamic Revolution.

What kinds of captivity and freedom does the author explore in Persepolis? What stifles or prevents people from being completely free? How do they circumvent and defy the rules imposed on them and attempt to live ordinary lives despite revolution and war? Give some examples of their small acts of rebellion.
There were several things in Iran that restricted people from having their complete freedom. Things such as the veil prevented women from being free. The veil was used to cover up hair so they wouldn't attract men. I'm not entirely sure how hair would attract men...but suuuure. If any hair is unveiled, women were considered as whores. The citizens of Iran were also prohibited from consuming alcohol and having parties. People defied these rules by throwing secret parties. They had alcohol available during parties and it was provided by Marji's uncle who was a vintner. I found it interesting how the citizens were so determined to not let the revolution and war effect their freedom...which included partying.

Blog #1 [Persepolis]

Written as a memoir, is Persepolis more powerful than if Satrapi had fictionalized the story? Why or why not? Compare this book to other memoirs you have read. What are the benefits and drawbacks of memoirs?
Persepolis is a much more powerful graphic novel since it is not fictionalized, it was drawn from experience. Experience is real thus more believable. If it were a fiction story, it would be harder to believe. Memoirs shows us what people really go through in their life. Fictional stories are imaginative and tend to be exaggerated. I don't exactly remember ever reading a memoir before Persepolis, but I can sure tell the difference from what is real and fake. Memoirs are stronger and it's actually meaningful to the reader and the author. Memoirs are a great account of the author's life and it can be really detailed and described since they lived through it all. The benefits of memoirs are that it is more captivating and heartfelt. You would be able to actually feel the emotions of what's going on in the story. The drawbacks of it is that if it isn't specific enough, readers wouldn't understand what is going on so they'd make up the parts that seem to be missing. In the end, they wouldn't know what exactly happened, and the story would be off.


How is Persepolis organized and structured? What has Satrapi chosen to emphasize in her childhood? How is the passage of time presented? Describe Satrapi's drawings. How do the drawings add to the narrative of the story?
Persepolis is organized as a comic but it is much longer than a typical comic book. It is of course read like any comic book: left to right, top to bottom. Simple enough, right? It's basically a novel with lots of pictures. Less words to read and less complicated than an actual word for word novel with no illustrations whatsoever. In Persepolis, Satrapi has chosen to emphasize the life she had while living during the Islamic Revolution in the year 1979. It's mostly of course told in her perspective and the hardships she went through as a child. Satrapi's drawings are very dark and in black and white in order to give off a stronger message from the pictures. There are all different type of panels such as close up, long shots, and etc. All the people have some sort of facial expression that give up a type of emotions. Words aren't even needed to explain how people are feeling. Like on page 48, in one of the panels, Marji's mother was glaring at Marji since she did something she shouldn't have done. It didn't say that she was glaring, but the jagged lines coming from her mother's eyes to Marji showed that she was staring angrily at her daughter. Images narrate the story better than words can since "one picture says a thousand words". The images give off the feelings that cannot be expressed using words. The pictures, like Erin said explains more than words do. The illustrations pratically tell the story itself.

Describe the writer's voice. Is it appealing? Which aspects of Marji's character do you identify with or like the most, the least? Did your reaction to the little girl affect your reading experience.
Satrapi speaks with a lot of confidence within the book which makes it very appealing. I'd say that Marji talks with quite a bit of spunk and doesn't really think about what she is going to say before she says it. For example, going back to page 48, Laly's father was supposedly "on a trip" and Marji blurted out "Don't you know that when they keep saying someone is on a trip it really means he is dead?" By looking at the pictures, you can tell that Laly was very upset over this. Marji gets people upset very easily because of the things she says without thinking. I like the most that Marji is a go-getter. She knows what she wants and she tries very hard to go for it. Such as when she wanted to be a prophet. Although her teacher and classmates mocked her believing that wasn't a reasonable 'career' choice, she still strived to become what. She doesn't let others get to her so I'd say she is very strong which I like. In a way, my reaction to Marji made me think she was just a little punk. But that only makes reading the novel more fun. If the characters are too goody-two shoes, the novel would be boring to read.

Reflection Essay [Feed Project]

"If you were to have your own personal feed, what would it contain?" Wow, now that wasn't exactly the easiest question for me to answer since I'd have to try to figure out the type of person I am and the type of things I'm interested in. So when we were assigned this project and we were told that we'd be showing what we liked I was like "I don't know what I like." Ehh, lie. Of course I know what I like. And that is food. =D

My feed contains lots of advertisements involving food because I love food. We need it to survive, no duh, so I should at least be munching and chowing down on some meal that I'd actually enjoy. Eating delicious food is very important to me. It has to appeal to my taste buds or else I won't eat it. I'm a very picky eater too...which is a problem. But no, that does not mean I'm anorexic. =) I'm a huge fan of convenience, therefore I enjoy eating fast food every now and then. It's fatty, but oh so good, I mean c'mon. Who wouldn't love it? xD

So in America, there are tons of fast food restuarants. Or should I say fat food restuarants. We Americans love fast food since it comes to us so rapidly...or do we go to it rapidly? Well there is pizza deliverly, but if we want some McDonald's, might as well get those fat legs moving. All these fast food restuarants are turning us into some fat and lazy people. America is pretty much labeled as the fattest country in the world. Pretty disappointing. Part of the blame is put on the size of the food at these restuarants. I heard through the grapevine that a size small drink in America is about a size large drink in France. What the hell! That's some effing crazy shit. O.o

Technology use, consumerism or anti-consumerism impacts our society in many different ways. Like anything else, the impact is both positive and negative. The positive thing is that we become smarter when it comes to how to use technology. Another positive is that we know what is it that we need to buy. Sure it would be great to buy all the things we want. But, do we necessarily need it? No. We learn to have our limits and are able to say no to ourselves...or um...sometimes it's our parents that say no to us. >.< The negatives are of course we rely on technology way too much resulting in our laziness and we may spend too much money cause we buy things we want more than what we actually need. It's always okay to resist this.

Media, consumerism, and popular culture doesn't really influence me that much. Sure I may see what people have/want and what the latest trends are, but I truly don't care. I'm more focused on what I want and need. So it's really no big deal to me. However, technology does influence me a lot. I mean, even right now I'm using a computer to type all this out. It just makes a whole lot easier. And once again, I LOVE convenience. This does eventually lead me into wanting to buy more technology since it's all so damn cool! xD They mold us, but not as much as we mold them. Some people allow these things to influence us while others do not. It really depends on the person. However, we do mold these things because they try to see what celebrities we like, what kinds of things we are into and etc. They use this information to create products that we would like and need.

Technology and media kind of lets me increase more on my interests (if you understand what I mean). I see all these new things and in my mind I'm like "Oh, something new. I'm kind of bored of this same stuff...so might as well." I kinda figure that in the end, I'm not really different from any one else. Sure I am my own person but I will always share the same interests as other people.

In the world of Feed, you are really nothing without the feed. You need the feed to do all the basic things such as buying products and communicating with others. Knowing how to read and write does you no good in a world that has forgotten all that and is just relying on technology. Not having the feed will just end up in alienation and isolation and I'm pretty sure no one wants to feel that. Who would ever want to be left out and alone in the world?

Visual Essay [Feed]

Technology is a huge theme in the novel Feed. Basically everything was revolved around technology since the people were so dependent on the feed that allowed them to do everything they wanted. The feed gave them functions such as allowing them to chat with people in their heads, order desirable products, look up words they don't understand, and much much more.

Technology has evolved greatly over the many decades and it's continuing to evolve. Many people today rely on technology frequently. New types of technology are always developed to make life a whole lot easier for us and when we see all the features on a brand new cell phone or something, we can't help but want it. I mean, who DOESN'T like internet access, a mp3 player and more right at their fingertips. Thanks to today's advanced technology, we really DO have the whole world in our hands. Information comes right at us as fast as lighting through all this technology. Due to using this type of technology such as laptops and cellphones, we might as well forget about writing. We can just throw away the all the paper and pens in the world since we can easily type things to each other using all this internet slang such as numbers to substitute for words or getting rid of certain letters in words since it was silent in the actual pronounciation. The world has become smaller due to technology. We can now communicate all around the world using the the internet. That surely is a plus and I'm sure we can all agree that we love that fact. Let's save some airplane mileage. :)

To be honest, I've been influenced ALOT by technology over my lifetime. In a way, it has made me lazy. America has become fat, lazy, and maybe even a bit unintelligent thanks to our frequent use of technology. So much money is being spent trying to improve technology to the point where we don't even care how our world is being affected.  Our environment is being destroyed to build these new factories so we can continue developing our technology that never seems to be enough. However, our technology use DOES make us even more intelligent because it allows us to learn more about how to develop the technology in the first place. In the end, it's both a positive and negative thing.

I wouldn't exactly say that the media influenced me or anything. It's more like, when I see friends and family have it, I want it. No, I am not conforming. It's just that I see people I know use technology and it just seems more convenient.  I like to live my life easily and enjoyable. However, I don't mind the struggle, since we all learn something from it.

We literally have the world in our hands thanks to the ability to communicate with each other and pass on information quickly.

We might as well get rid of all the writing materials in the world since we can use inventions such as laptops and computers to make life easier. In addition, our fingers won't get our fingers all cramped up from holding a pencil. Ha. :) We might as well get rid of all the writing materials in the world since we can use inventions such as laptops and computers to make life easier. In addition, our fingers won't get our fingers all cramped up from holding a pencil. Ha. :)

Really? No intelligent life here? Well isn't that pretty sad?

Stupid People [Blog #2]

Isn't it creepy how well the feed knows what we want before we even want it? Coincidence much? Maybe, but not really. The feed has been implanted in people's brains for pretty much as long as they have lived, so the corporations have been able to learn about everyone's personality so they can wisely choose the products they want to advertise to the consumers in order for them to be more likely to buy them. Like Violet said, "...it's all streamlining our personalities so we're easier to sell to...you get ads based on what you're supposedly like. They try to figure out who you are, and to make you conform to one of their types for easy marketing." (p.80-81). That's basically what companies do today to advertise their products. The only difference is that we have no feed or some sort of technology stalker. I'm not entirely sure what marketing tactics people today use, but the aim of products are based off age, gender, interests, and etc. If I had the feed on me, fun electronics such as laptops and mp3 players would be advertised. I'd fall under the teenage girl group, so obviously I'd also get ads having to do with girly products such as clothing and shoes. However, that'd be extremely overwhelming. If I had the feed, I'd M-chat whenever it's necessary. For instance, I'd M-chat if I were far away from the person that I wanted to talk to. I find it really peculiar to M-chat with someone right next to you. Chatting using the feed would surely terminate modern day communication. We talk, type, write, read, and etc, but if we ALWAYS M-chatted, we would lose this type of communication. When Violet pulled out a pen and paper to write in order to show Titus the dead languages, he was seriously surprised. He said "You write? With a pen?" (p.65). Like oh wow...seriously? They rely so much on the feed to communicate with others, they don't even write anymore? This is also like when the teens were hacked and they found it really strange to talk to each other and they COULDN'T talk to each other...like...WTF?! Weird much? Yeah...

The phrase "We enter a time of calamity" (p.30) was constantly repeated when they Titus and his friends excluding Loga got hacked at the club. What does this mean? Well, ever since the feed was created and implanted into individuals, people have grown dependent on the feed. For example, they use the feed to look up words they don't understand on their feed. Sure, this is a good thing to have. Like, a dictionary right at your fingertips, but it just shows that they aren't very knowledgable. They are now a bunch of stupid people due to the feed. In addition, when they go to school, they just learn how to use their feed and nothing at all about the history of the world or anything we learn about in schools today. Basically, their futuristic world is coming to a end and has become disasterous due to all the stupid people in the world as a result of the feed.

One of the only other people in the book that do not depend on the feed so much aside from Violet is her father. Her father is a professor that teaches/studies the dead languages. He most likely wants to study the dead languages since he wants to preserve the language. People in Feed talk with a lot of slang -- a very simple language. On the other hand, Violet's father talks like this: "It is a fine pleasure to meet you and make your acquaintance" (p. 135-136). Oh my goodness, there actually ARE some intelligent people in Feed! He for one does not use words like "unit", "meg", and etc...like someone else's father...*AHEM* Titus's. Thank goodness for having someone to preserve the culture we have grown to love today.

Feed [Blog #1]

"We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck." How does this sentence set up the novel?
This sentence sets up the novel Feed in several different ways. First off, it gives the reader a certain understanding of what time they are living in. In the year 2009, it is a huge deal to be able to go to the moon. For the teenagers to be able to travel to the moon in the first place, shows us that they are very advanced in technology. However, this novel makes it seem like an everyday thing by saying "...the moon is just like it always is, after your first few times there..." on page 4. It's hard to believe that they aren't excited about being on the moon, but its understandable since it's like a typical place to spend your time at. The moon for them is like the mall to us. These two places are like our hangouts. We go to the mall so frequently that it has become a very "sucky" thing to do nowadays. The teenagers of feed go to the moon frequently so now there is a lack of fun and therefore it "suck."


What do you notice about the language Anderson uses? What is his purpose for doing so? How is it effective?
The language used in Feed is very simplified and easy to comprehend. It's almost like the way teenagers today talk. There are phrases such as "was like" and "was all" used. There is slang in the book such as "meg", "youch", and "unit" as well. The purpose of Anderson writing like this is for us to perhaps  get a feel of the the kind of world they are living in. The slang is kind of futuristic since you don't hear these types of words often. "I'm so null, unit." More like "I'm so bored, dude." It is effective since in this time, those words aren't heard very often so it seems like the people of Feed are in a totally different time than us.

Titus states that Quendy is an economy model of Calista. How does this statement reflect Titus' viewpoint? What does this tell us about the relationship between Quendy and Calista?
On page 25, Titus said "...Quendy is just like a kind of broken, little economy model of Calista..." After reading that, it was kind of like "wow. harsh much?" Quendy is basically, the cheaper version of Calista that nobody wants. Titus sees Quendy as trying to follow after Calista since she wants to be more like her. The relationship that Quendy and Calista have with one of another is like a competition. Quendy's jealousy of Calista and Link was shown when she asked Titus on page 82, "Do you think Calista and Link are doing it?" When he said that they were, she called Link a pig and then said "I'm tired of just being the friendly one who everyone like steps all over." Calista acts as the leader and has no problem undermining people at all.

Paths

In life, we always come across problems. Of course, there are several different ways to deal with your problems. You always have options. Once you've understand and are well aware of what your options are, the next step you must take is choosing the path you want to go down. When your path is chosen, there is no turning back. You just keep on going and going.

What if you take a wrong turn? It's okay. It's not the end of the world because there are more roads to take once you've gone down your chosen path. You continuously have more options open to you.

What if you continue taking the wrong turn? Somewhere along the road, you just might run into someone. That someone would help lead you down the right path again since they are very knowledgable of the area.

Lets say you were riding a bike as you were going down your chosen path. You weren't being careful and you ran into a ditch and you fall off your bike. However, you're smart enough to figure out what your problem was and learned to fix it. In life, we all make mistakes, but once you find the fault, you fix it and learn from it.

Basically, we have many paths to go down. If you go down the wrong path, its alright, because you always learn from it. Eventually, you'll end up going down the right path -- whatever the right path might be.

Spring Break

Well Spring Break has officially arrived! yay!
Finally, a break from school, one of the most stressful things in my life. Well it's probably the most stressful thing in the majority of anyone's life. But what can you do? Spring break and I barely have any plans. How sad. =( I live a very boring life. Get a life? All the good ones are taken! NO! Ha. I kid. My life is not that bad. I have plenty to be grateful for. I'm extremely lucky to have all the people in my life and all the things in my life.
"The best things are intangible." hrm. Do you believe that? I do. Sure you can buy tangible items, but it will not completely satisfy you. At one point, that satisfaction will disappear. There are only "ideas" that will satisfy you wholly. Abstract ideas such as love. Here I go rambling again. x) I constantly jump from idea to idea. Oh well. That's just how random I can be. =)
This is it for the night.

Hrm..

This is some randomness. I'm typing just for the heck of it. Blah blah. This is not necessarily a blog...or is it? I have no idea. Well blogging is definitely better than writing some essays. I just feel like chilling since the end of 3rd quarter is near. 4th quarter is starting up which means there is 1/4 of the school year left. Yes, I can do math. Amazing, eh? Yay! Warmer weather too. How awesome is that? Finally! I'm tired of the snow and the cold. Bring on the sweltering sun and light breeze! =D I'm tired now...sooo fudge this for tonight. haha.