Balzac...

3) There are many ironies present in the story. Choose one major irony and explain how/why the irony shapes the meaning of the story.

Dai Sijie's Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress illustrates the journey of two city slickers adapting to the secluded environment of Phoenix Mountain. Luo and the narrator, are apart of the "Cultural Revolution", in which Chairman Mao dictates the people of China. He enforces ludicrous laws and it just so happens Luo and the narrator were in violation of them. In the deepest of ironies, Luo and the narrator are sent to the rural hillside to be re-educated, yet they end up re-educating the locals. Using love and revenge as motives, they infiltrate the foreign environment with their beliefs.

The alarm clock with the phoenix had a profound affect on the village, especially the village headman. The new method of telling time captivated the headman from the start. "The village headman would pace to and fro, smoking his bamboo pipe... all the while keeping a watchful eye on the clock. At nine o'clock sharp he would give a long piercing whistle to summon the villagers to work in the fields." Lackadaisical attitude and the need for rebellion necessitates Luo and the narrator setting the clocks backward. "The sheer audacity of our trick did a lot to temper our resentment against the former opium growers who, now that they had been converted into "poor peasants" by the Communist regime, were in charge of our re-education." Bitter about being cut off from society, the two friends seek revenge in the only way they know how. They take it out on the locals.

Other objects of their culturalization are storytelling and the Little Seamstress. Luo's and the narrator's love for both compel them to do all sorts of insane things. They go against all guidelines of friendship and steal the forbidden books from Four-Eyes. The guileful deed is complimented with a disturbing remark. "We were so elated!" Luo is probably most happy because he is the one that gets the pleasure of relaying Balzac's stories to the Little Seamstress, and he gets her pleasure. His friend was not to be outdone, though. "The deal we had made was that I would give him our copy of Ursule Mirouet, but upon reflection I decided to extend his reward to include the book I treasure most of all--Jean Christophe..." The narrator is giving away his most prized possession, in hopes of gaining her love. Caught up in the race for love, they fail to read between the lines. "She said she learnt one thing from Balzac: that a woman's beauty is a treasure beyond price."

It is most unfortunate that these informal heroes lost the girl and their books, but at least they educated someone. Even if it was only one.

test

Shakespeare's tragic vision in Othello is one that people can relate to today. People are out to fulfill their lives how they want them to be lived. There is no line to draw when it comes to human desire. Desires are the focus and motivation of everyone's mindset. Othello is no different. Othello's emotional discharge of desire brings about Iago's, Emilia's, Roderigo's, and Desdemona's premature fate.

Othello's most pertinent influence is on Iago. Although Iago is the puppet master, his hatred and jealousy for Othello fuel his ingenious plan. Iago's whole-hearted devotion to his plan quickly spreads the fatal elements of love, hate, and revenge. Roderigo and Cassio were victims of the plan. "I have rubb'd this young quat almost to the sense,/ And he grows angry. Now, whether he kill Cassio,/ Or Cassio him, or each do kill the other,/ Every way makes my gain." Love and money got involved, and like any good tragedy one person drew the short straw and another pulled the shorter straw. Iago's selfish love for Emilia is the reason for their deaths. Desdemona's love for Othello was quite the opposite. Desdemona was not only willing to die for her man, but she did so with out any regrets. "A guiltless death I die." Desdemona was the only one who truly loved Othello, making the play all that much more of a romantic tragedy and an appropriate ending.

the evil conundrum

What is evil?
rapists
murderers
arsonists
pedofiles
terrorists
politicians

One's level of evil is determined by what one was taught. As children we mimic the actions of others. To a certain degree we take these actions with us for the rest of our lives. People are born neutral, so although a murderer might not have grown up around other murderers, there is some violence or disturbance in his past causing him to kill. Evil is contagious. The cycle can often be repeated, so if you have not already figured it out, stay away from rapists, murderers, arsonists, pedofiles, terrorists, and politicians.

My evilness:


How evil are you?

love

what makes love so complex?

"i don't know. i have never loved"....... this is what i could say. but everyone has loved. the thing that makes love so complicated is there are different degrees and types of it. We love cars, nature, our brothers, waking up in our own bed, waking up in someone else's, singing, playing, shoes, waterskiing, being lazy, sneakiing out, and roller coasters. When you put it all into perspective, the thing that frightens people most is that they can become so attached to something. i am willing to bet that 99% of suicides can be blamed on love or lack there of. we need to have something to love and we need to be loved in order to live. Love is not only an asset, but also a weakness. by nature, humans enjoy being the best, the top dog, and love is the only thing that stands in our way.

selfish and irresponsible devil children

The biggest challenge for teenagers is learning how to be unselfish. We are all caught up in our own schedules. We zone out when our parents tell us to run the smallest errand for them. The sad part of this is we remember when it is too late. Our parents are already disappointed (or worse don't care). We as teenagers may hear our parents yelling at us because:

• we forgot to mail some really important package that had to be across the country today
• we have fallen asleep in the shower (yes, blame me for GA's drought)
• we left the milk out all night long
• we didn't put the clothes in the dryer
• we forgot to call our grandparents back
• we didn't do the dishes
• we have missed too many days of school already
• we haven't given much thought to college or our future in general

but we never really listen to them. After our memory has failed us or or selective hearing has succeeded, we franticly search for an excuse that will satisfy the fire breathing dragon. Ocassionally we pull some weak excuse out our ass, but it never hits. The only excuse that will justify our behavior, our parents won't accept. We are teenagers and we are selfish by nature.

retirement is bliss

My immediate family is small, just me and my mom. Pretty boring.

My mom's parents are some of the most interesting people in my family. My grandma moved from New Jersey to Florida about 5 years ago. She moved into a gated community and has been enjoying retirement. She is not, however, like her old lady neighbors who she plays dominos with. My grandma's free spirit and sailor's mouth often surprise people. She is in her late 50's early 60's (no one really knows because she won't tell us). She still enjoys being active, riding her bike daily, down the road 1/2 mile to the beach. Recently though, she has taken to complaining that it's too hot in Florida. She has mentioned wanting to move back north. My grandma does whatever she wants, but at the same time manages her money well. She owns rental property in New Jersey. I suppose this is how she can afford to spoil her grandchildren. I remember the days when i was spoiled by her. I got to go to Toys R' Us and pick out whatever I wanted. Then i got older and less cute and the cash flow started decreasing. My two toddler cousins better live it up now because pretty soon they will be in the same boat.

My grandpa like my grandma owns rental property in New Jersey. He lives in Randolph, NJ with his wife. He is a semi-retired man at the age of 61. He still does handy work around his house. Whatever you do do not get roped in to helping him out. He is the Most Stubborn Man Alive. It is his way or the highway. You have no opinion when you are working with him. You just shut up and do what he tells you. He is proud of his work ethic and his old fashioned mentality(he made me drink straight vinegar as a cure for my sore throat).

I respect both of my grandparents' lifestyles, but when I retire I would much rather live the relaxed life that my grandma has.

what you know

I know/understand...Oedipus and Harold Crick were noble in accepting their fate.

I doubt... there is a real answer to fate or free will. It is all about human perception. Believing in free will is your fate, and believing in fate is your free will.

I wonder... what the ratio of purples to silvers was in the bag of fate. I know Ms. Williams believes we want to know because we are curious, but what if it is our fate to know?