The Lottery

                The Lottery is a short story written by Shirley Jackson about a town and its Lottery of sorts. It begins with explaining the activities of the town itself, the preparation for the lottery mostly. Afterwards, it goes into detail about the box for the lottery itself, about how its worn and broken yet they aren’t changing it. The feeling of this whole scene is fairly harmless and calm, designed to be uneventful to keep the reader unexpected for the end.

                After this scene is done, names are called for the lottery, in a very dull scene where almost nothing else happens besides names being called and people collecting their tickets. After this scene has concluded, one of the townspeople receive a ticket that decides that his family are the next candidates for the lottry. His whole family picks up a ticket and his daughter receives the winning ticket, a blank paper with a black dot in the middle. Her prize is she gets stoned to death. The feeling of this scene is meant to shock or surprise the reader because of how unexpected it is supposed to be.

War Horse Movie Review

            War Horse is an interesting movie based on a novel by Michael Morpurgo and directed by Steven Spielberg. The movie stars a previously unknown Jeremy Irvine (Albert Narracott) r in the role of a young, naive farm hand and the son of an aging, troubled father, Ted Narracott (Peter Mullen), and a compassionate soldier, Tome Hiddleston (Captain James Nicholls). As well as the centerpiece of the whole movie, Joey (Horse), who was well directed from start to end, convincing the audience with his realistic reactions. The movie itself is centered during World War One, and is made with the running themes of hope, tragedy, friendship and even determination. These themes help build the movie in multiple ways, as either an emotional joyride or a cliched recreation of past stories.

            The movie starts in the rolling hills of Dartmoor, England. A half-thoroughbred foal is born to the astonishment of a young, optimistic farm hand, Albert Narracott. An auction held at the town of Devon soon finds the young foal, to be named Joey, in the hands of the thankful Albert Narracott, after he was bought by an aging alcoholic, Ted Narracott, Albert Narracot’ father. Despite the dismay it brought his loving mother, Rose Narracott (Emily Watson), Albert is determined to raise him properly. Yet, a war if epic proportions is at Europe’s throat, and Joey soon finds himself in the hands of a caring soldier, Captain James Nicholls, with enemies and friends at every turn.

            The movie has multiple positives and negatives. The acting, for the most part, is very well done. Even those with less than 10 minutes of screen time were acted well. However, I have some concerns with Jeremy Irvine’s performance. Jeremy Irvine acted as a man undaunted by the challenges of war. This is common; however, Irvine made it seem the trifles of war were needless to him, as if he is some inhuman god, never feeling the sadness that most expect or acting scared while in danger. His sadness in some scenes though is well played and well directed. Fortunately, the powerful sound effects as well as the absorbing set designs make up for his only slightly above average performance. The sound effects were incredibly realistic, even managing to add suspense and emotion to a scene almost by itself. Those sounds also partner well with the set design. The set itself is well done and well thought of, wrapping multiple colors into either a world of vibrancy or drabness, using the picturesque hills of Dartmoor to its advantage. These settings set the emotion of the movie well, and the fascinating similarities to real-life scenarios can only add to the movie.

            Overall, I recommend this movie, but not as one that you must watch. The story can sometimes be unfocused, not properly building up certain characters before they discard them or reuse them for brief moments. The music can sometimes be rammed into the scene, trying to add emotion in a way that can be seen as pretentious. It also seems that the movie’s theme of hope is too great, never once thinking of what happens if they lost that hope. Despite all these concerns, it still poses as a dramatic, fast-moving family movie which can be enjoyed by many. If you love watching dramatic, pacy movies, then this would be a joy for you.

Warhorse Movie Summary

                In the movie Warhorse, a half thoroughbred foal is born in the hills of England and is sold for 20 guineas to Ted Narracott after he outbid his landlord, Lyons. Despite not being a work horse, Albert Narracott, Ted Narracott’s son, manages to make him plow a rocky field, which would allow them to pay the rent. However, their crops fail to grow and Ted sells Joey, the throughbred horse, to Captain Nichols, despite Rosie, Ted’s wife, and Albert’s protests. Joey is taken to a military emplacement and is introduced to a horse named Topthorn, who he becomes close to. However, the cavalry regiment is disbanded after most of the soldiers had been killed, including Captain Nichols, during a suprise attack on a German camp. Both Joey and Topthorn survive the attack but they are both captured by German forces, and then made to pull ambulances under the supervision of brothers Michael and Gunther. Michael, who is 14 years old, is soon told he would be marching to the frontlines while Gunther will stay and tend to the horses. This does not bode well for Gunther and he kidnaps Michael while he is marching and both of them desert. They flee to a windmill where both of them try to get some sleep. They are soon captured and executed by German forces. Joey and Topthorn, both still in the windmill, are found by the owner’s daughter, a girl named Emilie. She shows them to her grandfather, who is only known as grand-pere throughout the movie, and she is allowed to keep them. Soon, German forces raid the farm and take all jams as well as the fruits, leaving Emilie and her grandfather broke. Despite a bone disease Emilie has where they break easily, her grandfather eventually lets her ride Joey. She somehow rides them straight into German forces, where they seize ownership of the horses. They are delegated to a german man named Heiglemann, who has genuine care for them. However, they are made to pull artillery, which nearly kills them, Topthorn being exhausted despite not pulling. The artillery is fired into the trenches where we see that Albert, his friend Andrew, and his acquaintance, David Lyons, are. They are soon sent over the top and into no-man’s-land, where they all survive the initial charge. Albert enters the trench, and sees that german forces have been killed because of the gas attacks. Andrew soon comes after, yet David was wounded so he is left outside. They survey the area but a gas attack soon takes place, killing Andrew. Heiglemann, during this time, is seen trying to pull Topthorn and Joey with German forces. However, Topthorn is too exhausted and lays down, shortly before dying. Heiglemann tells Joey to run while he is being taken away by German soldiers. Joey is chased by a tank he escapes by jumping over and runs into the german trenches, where he is soon  caught into the barbed wire and left in no-man’s-land. Eventually, both the British and German forces see the horse and a respresentative of both sides comes to help the horse. Colin, of the British, and Peter, of the Germans, both help the horse free from the wire and then toss a coin to see who will get the horse. Colin wins and is brough back to British territory. In this same area, we see Albert who has had his eyes damaged after a gas attack.  Joey is brought to a doctor in the area but the doctor says he can’t do anything for him. Joey is then almost executed but Albert starts calling him, with a whistle, for no apparent reason and the execution is cancelled after Albert proves Joey is his horse. Despite support for Albert, Joey is put on auction. Alberts friends gather money to buy Joey back but they’re outbid by a random rich person. However, grand-pere makes a comeback with a bid of 100 in currency. Joey then argues with grand-pere for his horse back, and eventually wins. The last scene is a sunset and Joey returning to his family and returning his father’s regimental pennant.

Overall, the themes in the movie relate to loyalty and friendship. War is a big factor but it is mainly used to show how important the themes of loyalty and friendship are. So, in the end it is about the friendship Joey and Albert share, as well as the loyalty all the characters showed to their loved ones.

Reflection

This unit LB, we mostly talked about either argumentative essays or debates. I learnt a lot about argumentative essays, I had adequate information beforehand, but now I know about different formats, the thesis statement and how it can be structured. I have also learnt that citation in my essays is very important. I have also learnt, in debates, to be expressive in what I say as well as making sure to keep track of what my opponents say.

Overall, I think I learnt a lot in these past several weeks. I feel much more capable in my ability to write argumentative essay, as well as debating, which I am quite proud of. However, I felt I was mostly relying on past knowledge mixed with a little new knowledge, instead of  being entranced by an influx of new knowledge. In the end, I’m still happy with what I've learnt and performed.

Should Dul's Father be Blamed for the Actions of his Son?

Abdul Qodir Jaelani, also known as Dul, is a 13 year old boy who found himself with the death of 7 people in his hands. He, undoubtedly, should be blamed for the unhappiness that he has caused because of his irresponsible actions. However, it seems that some people think that the father should have been blamed for Dul’s actions. We, as a group, disagree that his father should be blamed for Dul’s irresponsibility.

Firstly, Dul’s father had admitted that he did not know about Dul using a car alone. People might argue that his father should have been more responsible about the situation, but to have a job that pays so highly, and hire a person specifically with the task of making sure Dul reaches his destination (driver), the father has legitimate reason to believe that his son was in safe hands. However, Dul had told his driver that he wouldn’t need his services for a period of time, without sharing this news to his father too. Dul had planned to go to Bogor as the driver and ended up crashing into 2 cars and killing 7 people. The father had little chance to know that Dul had gone off by himself.

Secondly, people may argue that Dul is still too young to have made proper decisions. There is some truth to this; during puberty the human minds’ ability to make rational decisions slightly lags behind development. This may be one of the causes for Dul making a very irresponsible choice. However, it does not mean he can go and kill 7 people while using his father as a scapegoat. Being young should not void you from punishment, especially when somebody lost their life. To charge the father for an act he did not do, was not entirely involved in, or even knew about during the action, would be irresponsible as well.

This problem could be fixed, somewhat. Nothing can bring back those 7 people, but to stop something like this from happening again would be the most important. To teach people what it means to be responsible, to care for the people around you and what your actions could do to them, would be the most effective. Any person who cares enough to think before he drives at a 100 KPH, without proper training, wouldn’t do so. They shouldn’t take the chance to kill people, on the hope that they don’t. To add to this, we need to properly punish the people who commit these acts. Maybe sending them to 20 years in prison, while they’re only 13, is overkill, but time in Juvenile Hall, for more than just several months, without bail is necessary.

In conclusion, his father should not be blamed. There are many people who might disagree, but I feel that his father had no intention to hurt these people, and no capability to do so, unlike his son. Dul, himself, should be punished heavily for his actions, not his father.

Off topic: Overkill is actually a word in the dictionary!

Boredom

This isn't a post about how bored I am, this a post about why we get bored. So, why do people get bored? Most of you will think that its only because we have nothing to do. Then again, we have computers, games, books, friends and knowledge to gain just by at our surroundings, but we still get bored. Why?

From what I have gathered, it's because we strive for new knowledge, basically. For example, people get bored of old jokes, movies they've seen or books they've already read because they know what's going to happen. They know how the joke or story will be presented and this makes the person uninterested. I feel that was obvious enough. Yet, why do we feel bored in classrooms when people are telling us new information almost every hour?

This is because we don't feel the need to learn the knowledge for immediate usage. We know we need to learn the knowledge eventually, but we don't need it at the moment so we find the information boring. It goes deeper than that though. Boredom has played a huge role in our evolution and advancement as a whole. Without boredom, we would probably be years, if not decades, behind in technological advancement than we are now.

Boredom, as stated, means the mind desires new knowledge. When somebody is bored, it means he has run out of things to learn and has wants to gain more. There are people out there who would turn this boredom into a chance to learn something new. People like this are the reason we have things like working wheels. So, when you get bored again, remember that your boredom has helped your ancestors lived better lives in the past.

Why does creepiness exist?

Why does creepiness exist? When we feel safe, we're calm, composed or happy and excited. When we're in danger, we feel scared and, at the same time, active. Yet, when we see something creepy, we only feel cautious, wary and unsafe, but never to the point that the mind decides between running or fighting. Why is this?

According to several studies, it's because the mind can't decide whether it is in danger or not. It does this when it finds something that it cannot define the intentions of. For example, if you saw a bunny running away from you, there would be no reason to be afraid and the mind would be at ease. If a bear is trying to kill you, the mind would easily identify the bear as an enemy and react as it would if it's in danger. However, if you see a man staring at you from outside your house at night from a distance, you would most likely just be spooked and uncomfortable, but not in any overwhelming fear.

This is because the mind can't decide whether the man is a threat or not. Will he try to enter your house? Will he just continue walking down the road? The mind doesn't know and so it invokes the emotion of creepiness. This puts you on edge without forcing you to make a decision, simply getting you ready for anything that might happen. This is why masks can make us uneasy. If you search just 'mask' in google images, most of the pictures that appear make you slightly uncomfortable. No fear is involved but it does put you in a position of slightly more caution.

As said before, it's because masks can hide the wearers emotions. If somebody wears a mask, you can't tell if this man is angry at you or neutral because his expressions are hidden. This forces the mind to be cautious and invokes creepiness.

More information here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEikGKDVsCc