Blog #6 assignment

I was excited about this class from the beginning and so far i'm satisfied with how it works. I enjoy the idea of having to write blogs, where we get to share our thoughts and ideas with the rest of the class. We receive criticism to understand what we should improve on and what our strong points are. Personally, I get to learn new things from reading my classmates' blogs and get ideas on how I should write. I prefer having blogs than papers because they seem more exciting and easier. We get to speak our mind. Doing group work also helps because we get to share our ideas and discuss them. I think my notes, the blogs, and group work helped me get a good grade on the midterm. I feel good about this class and look forward to reading more stories. Thanks to Prof. Luke for doing a great job in making sure the class understands the assignments and keeping a limit on the workload (hahaha).

Assignment #5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVrRI2cH3TI&feature=related

First and foremost, I chose this song because I like the 'Bachata' genre and the group that sings it, Aventura. They are the most famous bachata group right now, with their songs reaching high levels and breaking records. I also chose this song because I always see or hear about people being heartbroken. They either get cheated on or the person they like doesn't realize what they feel for them. I can't say I experienced it, but it sucks to see what humans do to each other. People fall in love and end up heartbroken. This song talks about a guy who proposes to his girlfriend but she turns him down. Ever since, he doesn't want to know anything about love, anything related to it. He doesn't understand cupid, saying he mismatched his couple. He doesn't want any dates, staying away from moments that can hurt him. At the end, he says goodbye to love, saying he doesn't need it in his life.

I believe a lot of people think they can't find love and eventually "give up". Just because ONE person failed, it doesn't mean the rest will. People just have to be themselves and be sure of what they want. Things don't come to us, we have to look for them. I believe everyone has love in one way or another, either from their significant other or family. Regardless who you receive love from, you're still loved.

P.S. For the guys who don't understand, sorry! I'll try to find a translation ...

"Assignment #4--Criticism."

"The Chrysanthemums" focuses on gender criticism. Henry Allen has a ranch with a garden in it, which his wife, Elisa Allen, spends most of her time on. He ignores her most of the time, thus leading her to think of the flowers in the garden as her children. She puts a lot of time and effort in them, leading her husband to telling her she has a gift with things. Although he doesn't pay much attention to her, he stills acknowledges her work and congratulates her. His actions lead her to meet new people. A man on a wagon came by the ranch to buy a few things. Elisa always had her gardening gloves on, but this time she took them off. That's a symbol of her wanting to meet new people, seeing her husband denigrates her. She and the man seem to flirt a little. The man seemed to have left a good impression, making Elisa stand in front of her fence, watching him leave and uttering a few words. She snaps out of it, making sure no one is around listening to what she had said. This shows her interest in him because he makes her feel good about herself. Her husband doesn't do that, leading her to explore new things.

Blog #3 Assignment : Option A

"The Things They Carried" had many interesting characters. My personal favorite was Kiowa, who was a devout Baptist. He carried an illustrated New Testament that had been presented to him by his father who taught Sunday school in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He also carried his distrust of a white man, his grandfather's old hunting hatchet, as a hedge against bad times. He also carried a pair of moccasins for silence. He seems to be a flat character, not having feelings someone might expect. He describes Ted Lavender's death as watching a rock fall. He describes every event but not feeling any grief at all. It's as if he expects death any minute, being he's in the middle of a war and is experiencing the deaths of his partners. He wishes he had the sympathy Jimmy Cross had, but he just couldn't change his way of being. It's ironic how religious he is, yet doesn't feel any grief for the death of his friend.