Television

It's crazier to think how far the media has come since the invention of the television. How celebrities are able to control the masses just by announcing which brand of shoe they like to wear the best. This has become more common with the surge of reality shows. One example, would be "The Hills" starring a rich from the valley that is suppose to be pursuing a job in fashion. I think that it is great that she has her own show and she is trying to make a name for herself in the fashion world. However, she should not respected as a role , because I'm pretty sure she never had to work hard to get where she is and in fact everything was handed to her. This show is so highly regarded and young s want to forget their education and try to be just like her. Well good luck, because the chances of that actually happening are slim to none.

Tiger Athlettics

I want to take some time and talk about all the different sports at the University of Memphis. Most students probably have no idea that this college offers sports like rifle or even tennis, and i consider tennis to be a household sport. I guess if you are not football, baseball, or basketball then no one cares about you sport does at the end of the season. Which is very frustrating because when you go to other university in the SEC and witness some many fans supporting the little sports of the campus, well that helps the confidence of that sport. Currently our woman's soccer team is one of the best in the nation and there fan totals have steadily increase. However, that's from other athletes, family and friends. I know that every fan at the FedEx Forum is not a cousin or a best-friend to any of those players, yet they still show their full support. Why can we not do that for every sport, it is time for a change.

Harrison Bergeron

Jordan Smith
Mrs. Sumner-Winter
Literary Heritage
9-28-09

Study Questions

The country reached equality due to the changing of certain Amendments in the constitution. American democracy and capitalism are not dead nor has soviet-style totalitarianism succeed in taking over. I believe it creates a fresh start for a lot of people, allowing them to reach new levels, heights they always assume to be unreachable, yet they continue to be treated as controlled beings.

There shouldn’t be a system in the world that can allow for the sort of tyranny that is displayed in the story. A just system would not cause such factors either. It seems that Vonnegut is trying to demonstrate that humans can be organized by media attention. I think a major part of this would be greed, because everyone wants power, which leads to envy and doing whatever it takes to accomplish their goals. Queenie and the other girls did what was normal for them, because they were program to see things that way, so if you believe that you should have complete control over others, and then it can become an attainable goal. That individual’s believe what everyone those in power say is true. Well im not sure about Rosie O’Donnell, but I know that Oprah’s popularity is incomparable. There are some many people in this country that worship Oprah’s every word, from which books to read and buy each month to which is a better color. Black or grey? It’s scary to think that just from being a household name that you can hold so much influence over people’s decisions. I think that they are role models, because they are so confident in themselves, that it actually attracts others. That has to be the only way to explain it because you cannot explain why a person of Rosie O’Donnell’s stature would be able to have influence. There is no way that she has gone threw a life changing experience, and even if she did, what makes her different from the everyday American. Everything is derived around marketing and if a Barbie doll looks more like a human, then little girls are going to want to look more like that doll which they idolize. Obviously we all go through trends or “fads” during out schooling and it is mostly due to peer pressure. If certain kids resemble what is shown on television then that most be the thing to do or wear. I honestly think that practices that include everyone regardless of skill level are good to a certain point. It is good at establishing the feeling of belonging. If you single the weak out, then they walk around believing they are weak.

The agents are there to make sure that everyone abides by the rules that are set in place, which means anyone out of line needs to be punished. One process would be if someone was given power and they were to misuse that power and become a tyrant.

I would like to think that the author was parodying the part of “freedom of speech”. Those handicaps take away from people being able to think for themselves. Well, allowing for all individuals to have one voice represents a lot about equality.

Any sort of reform is going to produce tension among the citizens, if people do not like where they are being placed, then they speak out, which leads to a movement. Basically the government in this story is forcing equality among the citizens, well that can either work two ways, one way being the story and the other being f Harrison Bergeron influenced more people.

That it is alright to be normal and you do not have to be super to be in control over any matters.

George is described as being quite intelligent and having an understanding on situations and can develop an accurate opinion on matters. However, Hazel is shown as having a barely normal brain pattern and seen being slightly clueless, to the point that she envies the transmitter in George’s ear. They live the typical life of a husband and wife that sit together and watch television after a long day of work. I believe he’s getting at the everyday family. When you watch or see so many things during the day, you’re bound to hear an assortment of sounds, and that’s kind of how it is in George’s ear. He goes from hearing a glass break to a car accident.

Harrison is a threat to society because he is a genius, at the age of fourteen. He was forced to wear ear-phones so the noise amplified in his ear, wore glasses to mess up his vision, had black caps on his teeth so that he would seem uglier, and he had weight forced on him.

I think he was going to the main source of where people got all there information, the most watched program on television. I think he was trying to show people that he was not the villain but instead one of them, just someone that had seen past the lies of the government.

His actions are similar to Sammy’s, however, greater because he is trying to urge an entire nation to rise up and think for themselves opposed to doing the right thing to protect the pride of a few girls. The young are able to continue to dream and use their imagination and do not believe they should be locked up physically and mentally. It translates to a country going down.

Harrison is telling them that he will make more established than they are now, as long as they stand up and perform now, and turn away from what is scripted for them. That everyone is beautiful in a way and they shouldn’t have to cover that up from others.

When there is a rebellion the best way to silence it is to get rid of the leader and that is what the handicapper general did, she ended Harrison’s rebellion. Her name shows that she is the person that makes everyone else worse in an effort to make she seem better.
She is similar because when there is a problem and people are going against you own beliefs, then those things must never be tolerated.

I think she forgot what she was crying about because there was no one to tell her and she got distracted by surrounding matters.

Poems

In the poem "rites of passage" I tried to determine if their were any similarties from this and "A&P". The only thing that i could take from was how the author took time to fully describe each character in extreme detail, that it similar to what John Updike did in his story. In "The One Girl at the Boys' Party" it was kind of the opposite of Sammy's role in "A&P", she was the one girl singled out by the presence of only males. The author showed how she used math as a tool of constant calculation to determine everything around her. Then the follow of detail, once everyone exited the pool, was similar to how Sammy looked at Queenie and the others.

Perception

After watching the John Updike interview, I was able to perceive a few things differently. I never really understood the significance of Queenie's role other than she was the leader of the group and Sammy's interest. However, when Updike gave reasoning behind the items she purchased i was able to get a accurate assessment on her background as well. I alluded to the fact that Queenie was out of Sammy's league, but a person does not have to be from a great upbringing to be out of someone's reach. I also noticed after going back over everything that Sammy had the sense of trying to break away from the pack, and not being what is expected. Sammy wanted to stand tall for something in his life, therefore portrayed as their champion. It was great to how John Updike give his of the book, because it makes it much easier to see the story through his eyes.

Hero

The dictionary defines a hero as a person that is distinguished in courage and ability. A person that displays traits that is honorable. Many believe a hero to be someone that has done something incredible for another. Whether it is saving a person’s life or standing up for a truly just cause. I came past a story about a pilot from Indonesia named, Budi Soehardi, who founded a children’s home in one of the poorest places in Indonsia. His mission was to provide for children in need that had lost everything due to the recent civil war. He thought about the horrible conflict that many innocent refugees were in. He initially was scheduled to go on vacation from his airline duties but decided to do something of importance with his life. Soehardi took his wife and his family to Timor where he built an orphanage that started with four children and now has risen to providing 47 kids with education, food, and shelter. He was able to get donations from his friends and local business from other countries. This one man has been able to change the lives of a number of individuals of different ages, ranging from toddlers to college students. This is considered a self less act that demonstrates a true hero of courage and honor. Soehardi did not need a special power or have to wear a cape, but he needed determination and strong character. When compared to the main character from “A&P”, Sammy does not seem like much of a hero. A hero does not perform acts so that he can be noticed. The first time I read the story I believed Sammy to be a hero, because he stood up for other people and tried to protect their dignity. However, after Sammy stood up to his boss and made his decision towards quitting. He went to find the girl hoping they had witnessed his “heroic” act, but they did not and left. He then looks back into the window of the store and ponders on the mistake he has made. A true hero should not have any doubts on decisions of the past because; decisions are not made based on social status. It seems that Sammy cared more about impressing a few girls then actually standing for what is right. Therefore, reading the definition and hearing stories of individual that change the lives of others, it is hard to compare Sammy to hero “status”. Budi Soehardi did not care what his family would think about him wanting to take time away from his job to go to another country and helping refugees. In fact, his family showed their complete support and offered equal assistance. He knew that it would not be an easy task of simply getting food donated or providing shelter in a war torn country, but he did not care. This thought process is what makes heroes special, they do not care about the obstacles in their way, and they push them aside and continue to strive forward. He is truly my definition of a hero.

Homework pgs 6,8,19-20

Page 6

1. The Sun seems to be more analytical and the North Wind seems to be more focused on using strength.
2.Well the North wind wanted to use all his might by trying to blow the traveler's cloak off, which is not the best thing to do since if he is blowing at him then it makes the traveler colder. The traveler would want to keep his cloak tighter.
3. The Sun used his logic in order to get the travelers coat off. He thought out the best situation and used his wits in order to get the cloak off.
4. The human serves as a neutral participant, someone neither of them had influence on.
5. The moral is that it is not the strongest person that wins, but the one who is the most cunning.

Page 8

1. He uses two compound sentences to develop the dramatic situation, making the middle part of the story the exposition.
2. He was making an example of the tortoise explaining that why a living individual would want to be placed on a shrine when they can continue to live their life freely, I think that was the reason he asked the two officials that question.
3. He shows us that he would rather move to the beat of his drum, living a carefree lifestyle, then feel as if he was placed in a cage.

Page 19

1. I think the way he explains how the girls walk in and are near the bread isle, then he goes into saying that he's leaning upon a box of crackers. This helps with getting a real feel of the situation.
2. I don't think u can be less of a hero because you want to be noticed, I think its good that he will to put himself out there, which shows confidence.
3.I think the exposition is the sad when Queenie leads the pack holding a gray jar. heading towards Sammy.
4. I think as the story goes on, Sammy's feelings gradually progress because he has committed himself a little bit more.
5.
6. He quit because of how the manager decided to embarrass the girls, Sammy realized that he had enough.
7.
8. That its going to be tough, finding something different, he was satisfied with what he had but now its time to move on.
9. That even in the simplest job life can be difficult for everyone.