Category Archives: English 11

How Is One’s Identity Defined By Another – Profession

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Male nurses

My personal connection did not necessary affect me per say but it did alter my views stereotypical job occupations. Once when I was 12, I experienced someone asking a male nurse in a hospital “why are you a nurse? Why not a doctor? I mean, it is kind of weird being a nurse and male” The next day, I told this to one of my mom’s friends and she replied with: “we put labels on jobs because that is how it’s always been. Doctors were usually male, nurses were female and if one “goes” into the other, it’s strange” (Magda Richards). After, I went to my room and questioned why I want to be an astronomer; I ended up changing my mind to becoming a teacher. As if individuals wanting to go into medicine have to be either, if male, a doctor and if female, a nurse; “Male nurses have been viewed as “less masculine,” notes a study in the American Journal of Men’s Health in November 2011” (Kate Lunau). Not fitting the stereotypical gender that fits a job position will play with one’s dignity which will eventually make one question why they went into a profession where there is obvious occupational segregation present.

How Is One’s Identity Defined By Another – Profession

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“The rich are different – and not in a good way, studies suggest”

An article written on August 10th, 2011 by Brian Alexander says that the rich are different and not in a good way; “The experiences that one encounters makes us either “less empathetic, less altruistic, and generally more selfish” (Brian Alexander). The people who are already rich or have a high-paying/successful job are less likely to have to deal with debt and defaults but does that mean that they are less likely to suffer from stress? Not necessarily. Psychologist and social scientist Dacher Keltner and his team have done 12 separate studies calculating one’s empathy and social behavior in every way and found that people to be less successful are the ones to show more compassion and “prosocial behavior” which is any action intended to help others. Research shows that the “rich” focus only on earning which steers them down the less prosocial path. If you are rich, you are looked upon differently. Lower income people have to depend on others for survival. That must play a role in what they consider themselves as (less important, unsuccessful?)

Alexander, Brian. “The Rich Are Different — and Not in a Good Way, Studies Suggest.” NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal News Group, 10 Aug. 2011. Web. 11 Jan. 2017. <http://www.nbcnews.com/id/44084236/ns/health-behavior/t/rich-are-different-not-good-way-studies-suggest/#.WHXA0moiwqM>.

How Is One’s Identity Defined By Another – Profession

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               Based on a true story, The Pursuit Of Happyness (yes, with a “Y”) is a movie screen played by Steven Conrad. It consists of a man named Christopher Gardner who ends up becoming homeless due to his decision of investing all of his life savings on devices known as the “Bone Density scanner”. He then tries to sell them to doctors but he is unsuccessful which causes him to lose everything including his wife leaving him and him losing his home. Life for Chris is a disaster as he tries to find a steady job. As soon as he does, the job comes with a catch being: before he can receive pay, he needs to go through 6 months of training AND sell his devices at the same time. Going into a job interview looking like a typical bum but he wins over the people with his incredible charm and talent for presentations. Chris Gardner ends up selling a minority stake in his brokerage firm in a multi-million dollar deal. The movie breaks the stereotype that all homeless people are in the position they are in because of drugs, alcohol or maybe because they are just plain lazy. People treat famous/wealthy/successful people with more respect than regular folk. They hope some of that success, wealth, or fame will “rub off” on them. Basically, they believe the other person is better than them because of how must value their belongings have.

The Pursuit of Happyness. Dir. Gabriele Muccino. Prod. Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch, James Lassiter, and Will Smith. By Steve Conrad. Perf. Will Smith, Jaden Smith. Sony Pictures Entertainment, 2006. DVD.

2 reasons why sports teams will not change their offensive mascots

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Take a quick look at the Chicago Blackhawks, Cleveland Indians, Edmonton Eskimos, Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Redskins, and tell me what they all have in common (they all show some stereotypical figure of a Native American). Oh and they all are either “red skinned” or are wearing feather’s on their heads. 041614-nfl-change-the-mascot2-pi-mp_vadapt_980_high_88         Looking back at the history, the only way one Native American could wear feather’s on their heads is by doing a “brave deed”, like fighting off a bear or going up against the enemy so could that mean that these sports teams are actually trying to symbolize that all Native American’s use aggression towards something that they want? Although that cannot be considered right because that is just one’s opinion, right? Looking at a more specific example is the sports team “Washington redskins”; “Redskins” in modern dictionaries of American English are labeled “usually offensive”, “disparaging”, “insulting”, or “taboo” towards Native Americans (Wikipedia). So… why in the hell are they still called that?!?

One argues that “an Indian from the State of Montana created that logo, and did it the right way.”– Don Wetzel.

  1. It was originally a Native American that created the logo long, long ago so it is okay!

Wrong! One cannot go back in time and ask that Native why he decided to call the sports team that; but, I guarantee that he felt proud being called a “redskin” because that is what everyone called them that and it was considered “normal” at the time. That does not mean it is okay now!

It is amazing how far one will go to keep their name

2) A Washington Post poll that surveyed 504 Native American adults and asked, “As a Native American, do you find that name (redskin) offensive, or doesn’t it bother you?” – Prakash, Nidhi. Apparently,

“Ninety percent of respondents said the name “does not bother” them. The Post also surveyed 340 self-identifying Native    Americans about whether they thought the word “Redskin” is disrespectful: 73% said they didn’t.” – Prakash, Nidhi.

       I bet there are several African Americans that are okay with being called the “N” word or a Chinese person being called the “C” word, does that mean it is okay to continue calling them that?!? NO! There were still 10% of Native American’s that found it offensive on the Washington Post and another 27% found it offensive on the Post poll. One might just jump on the bandwagon because if they feel pressured to do so.

      There is still small population of people that find sport teams logos offensive (not only including the Native American population) and I think they should change it.

Prakash, Nidhi. “Leaders Hit Back at Washington Post Poll Saying Most Native Americans Don’t Mind the Word “Redskins”” Fusion. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2016. <http://fusion.net/story/304011/redskins-offensive-native-americans/>.

Picture: Foxsports. “Study: Teams with Native American Mascots End up Losing Millions.” FOX Sports. N.p., 16 Apr. 2014. Web. 15 Dec. 2016. <http://www.foxsports.com/buzzer/story/native-american-mascots-cost-chiefs-redskins-braves-and-indians-millions-study-says-041614>.

What is the meaning of life? – Tomorrow, tomorrow, and tomorrow

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fallingoutofbed1_600x400

The meaning of life means something completely different to each individual and there are multiple ways to question it. William Shakespeare was an “English poet, playwright, and actor” (Wikipedia) who wrote a play named Macbeth back in 1606. The play includes a speech, “Tomorrow, tomorrow, and tomorrow,” that is said after Macbeth (the main character) finds out his wife died. This poem usually makes people question the definition of life in an unfavorable way because of how it expresses Macbeth’s emotions after the whole situation happened. In addition, the denotation of life could either be negative or positive; it is what everyone make it up to be.

Shakespeare says that “life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player” (Shakespeare, Line 6) hence symbolizing that a person could be considered “alive” but only as a tale portrayal of a former self. Furthermore, existence is boring, it is ongoing, and it “creeps in this petty pace from day to day,” (Shakespeare, Line 2) just slowly passing without purpose or reason. Additionally, Shakespeare compares life to a tale: “Is a tale, told by an idiot” (Shakespeare, Line 6) hinting that all people are fools living in a dream like story that is too long to bear. Ultimately, the meaning of life is to have no meaning; it passes by too quick and beings are not fully admiring it, so why bother?

To sum up, one can argue that Macbeth, potentially even Shakespeare if that is the case, had many sides to his personally; one of them being quite negative where he thinks life is worthless. It is said without a doubt, one cannot define the meaning of life in one short blog post. It takes till old age to answer this question and one might not ever even answer it if that is what is believed.

Websites:

For photo – Garner, Meg. “Getting Out of Bed Got You Down?” TheStreet. N.p., 30 July 2015. Web. 08 Dec. 2016. <https://www.thestreet.com/story/13238864/1/getting-out-of-the-bed-got-you-down-this-will-jumpstart-your-day.html>.            

Info – “William Shakespeare.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare>.            

-Shakespeare, Wiliam. “Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow.” Macbeth. N.p.: n.p., 1606. N. pag. Print.                                                                               

 

Macbeth: Why do people do evil knowing it is evil?

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good_versus_evil_by_curuaControl, authority, influence, dominance, mastery, sway are all synonyms for the same word: power.

People are ruthless beings that crave all the power they can obtain and in the most minimal amount of time possible. Macbeth is a play written by the playwright William Shakespeare about a tragic hero named Macbeth who receives prophecies from three witches which then, drives him to wanting all the power he can gain.

Macbeth loves the feeling of having power; if he did not, (spoiler) he would not have never killed the king, period. Certainly, he was influenced by his wife but, putting that aside, humans have learned to control themselves in the time of need which Macbeth did not. For his benefit, he kills the king,” I have done the deed” (Act 2, Scene 2), and gets crowned “Thane of Cawdor”. Words like king, prince, thane, are all similar in that: kings, princes, thanes want to continue to expand throughout their lands, their influential factors of persuasion.

Play begins and Macbeth gets a hold of the title “Thane of Glamis”, by which he has killed Macdonwald (the old Thane of Cawdor – a traitor to the king). Not unhappy, he meets three witches. Unforeseen by Macbeth nor Banquo,”All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor” (Act 1, scene 3, page 3) says the second witch which, instigates Macbeth’s ambition and epic ruination – as if one would not simply ignore prophecies given by three witches, sent by the devil.

Malcom is prince of Cumberland and is seen as a potential threat to Macbeth; Macbeth now wants all the power he can obtain: “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step, on which I must fall down, or else o’erleap,
[…] Let not light see my black and deep desires” (Act 1, Scene 5, Lines 50-3). To become as high up as Malcom, he is either going to have to “o’erleap” the prince or might as well give up; obviously, is it not one of Macbeth’s options (as Lady Macbeth made clear). If one must do evil in order to acquire power, why not do it? For the most part, people will agree that killing is an act of evil; therefore, do it if all it does is create unnecessary chaos (sarcasm).

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Humans: Good or Evil?

 

 

 

 

Do I think that men are more cruel than women?

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stereotypes

“Come, you spirits

That tend on mortal thought, unsex me here,

And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full

Of direst cruelty” Macbeth.

 

 

Why is it men that are cruel? Why couldn’t the question “Are women more cruel than men”?

I do not believe stereotypes should exist, period, but this would be one of them; do I think that men are more cruel than women? It’s like saying “All women are beautiful humans that are naturally all good on the inside” because that is not the case AT ALL. Looking at the most evil women in history, there were 2 that I found interesting. Mary I of England and Myra Hindley.

Mary – also known as Bloody Mary – killed thousands of Protestants when attempting to restore Catholicism to England during her reign. Why? Because she was extremely cruel.

“Myra Hindley is considered the most evil woman in British history. Along with her partner Ian Brady […] kidnapped, sexually tortured and murdered five children and teenagers.” (www2.goliath.com) Why? Because she was extremely cruel.

There are many more and there are just as many cruel women in the world as there as men. Characterises define all people differently, being cruel is one of them.