Back of the Throat

Intelligent thoughts for AP Lang

[jhoward95-blog]

Chapters 12-13

At the beginning of Chapter 12 Gene is focusing a lot on Finny, which makes sense as he had just broken his leg again. He also confronts Finny in a way and Finny actually blames him for the first time he broke his leg. Maybe he can't deny some of the feelings he has noticed. "'You want to break something else in me! Is that why you're here!'" (184). After this Gene has no sense of self. He thinks that everything around him could show him something but he can't listen. He connects himself fully to Finny as a person. A lot of Finny's problems seem to be a result of the fact that he feels useless. He can't fight in the war or anything. The only thing that has any meaning in his life is his relationship with Gene. He convinces himself of things relating to Gene in order to keep the friendship, "'I think I believe you, I think I can believe that'" (191). They both rely on each other a lot and feel useless outside of the relationship between the two.

When Finny died a lot of Gene dies with him. He says, "I could not escape a feeling that this was my own funeral, and you do not cry in that case" (194). Finny was a part of Gene. Even with the numerous problems between them they were still the most important people to each other.

Everyone realizes in the final chapter that the war is not what they thought it was. They have experienced it through the soldiers on the campus as well as their classmate Leper. They realize that there is no true glory or honor in the war. Gene's war, however, is fought within himself mostly. He narrates, "Because it seemed clear that wars were not made by generations and their special stupidities, but that wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart" (201). He has experienced his war and goes into the actual war with a sense of peace.

[jhoward95-blog]

Chapters 9-11

In chapters nine and ten I could see the juxtaposition between the war and youth that Gene constantly goes through. At first, with Finny, he doesn't care about the war and it seems mostly because Finny does not fear the war like the others do because he won't have to do it. "This was my first but not my last lapse into Finny's vision of peace" (123). Then one of his classmates goes into the war which brings him into the war more. There is then a conflict between the other classmates and Finny with Gene in the middle because the others all think more about the war and joke about it but Finny tries to ignore it. When Leper, the classmate, returns from deserting the war, he immediately shifts Gene in a way because he has to acknowledge the war because that brings it impossibly close to home. "I no longer wanted this to be true, I no longer wanted it to be connected with spies or desertion or anything out of the ordinary. I knew it was going to be, and I no longer wanted it to be" (143). He tries to not acknowledge it now that he has to.

There seems to be a connection between Finny and Leper. Leper is a guaranteed connection to the war when on the other hand Finny can not go into the war. Brinker then forces both Finny and Gene to confront what actually happened on the tree. Gene doesn't want to confront it, "But I couldn't make the confusion last" (171), but is eventually forced to, which breaks the peace at home as well. 

[jhoward95-blog]

Chapter 6-8

There is a clear shift here from the relaxed summer session to the much more strict regular session. It also starts to mention the war in this section a lot more. It also makes a difference that he is not interacting with Finny in Chapters 6 and 7. He doesn't seem to want to replace Finny by going into sports until Finny tells him to, "'Listen, pal, if I can't play sports, you're going to play them for me,' and I lost part of myself to him then" (85), and he still sort of seems to want to "combine" with Finny.

In chapter 7, after the contact with Finny, Gene seems very guilty about what happened to Finny and then he does work and the war has more emphasis put on it. I think he is really trying to escape from his problems because he thinks, "To enlist. To slam the door impulsively on the past, to shed everything down to my last bit of clothing, to break the pattern of my life..." (100). He immediately changes his plans when he meets Finny again. His entire life is based around Finny more than anything or anyone else.

In chapter 8 the friendship seems to grow stronger than before. Finny only sees anything from his own perspective and Gene has a difficult time separating himself from Finny who seems to be holding him back in a way and living through him.

[jhoward95-blog]

Chapters 4-5

Gene seems to center everything Finny does as a part of a rivalry that they have between each other that doesn't necessarily exist. He seems to have to constantly remind himself that he is supposed to be rivals with Finny such as, "It was surprising how well we got along in these weeks. Sometimes I found it hard to remember his treachery..." (55). Why does he try so hard to hate him and see a rivalry that I don't think is there? There doesn't seem to be a point. Nothing good so far has really come from the relationship between the two. He's got some major problems near the end where it states, "With unthinking sureness I moved out on the limb and jumped into the river, every trace of my fear of this forgotten" (60). Why does his supposed friend falling lead to him forgetting about his fear? I think that the only thing that affects him really in this situation is Finny.

Something weird is going on. He is seriously screwed up with how he seems to replace Finny with himself through putting on Finny's clothes for a night. There seems to be some big problems with the relationship between the two. When he immediately assumes, after Finny says he reached out for him, "'To drag me down too!'" (65), there is clearly some mistrust between the two, specifically on Gene's end. He deals with it by separation while Finny deals with it by denying anything.

[jhoward95-blog]

Chapters 1-3

Why does Gene Forrester have a fear of the stairs and the tree? I really like the quote "Because, unfamiliar with the absence of fear and what that was like, I had not been able to identify its presence" (10). This first chapter really shows peer pressure in what I think is a rather realistic way. There is always the discussion of people essentially "forcing" others into something like drugs but I think that this description of it is much more accurate.

There is also some sort of problem in the relationship between Finny and Gene because he thinks "What was I doing up here anyway? Why did I let Finny talk me into stupid things like this? Was he getting some kind of hold over me?" (17) which is not how a good friendship goes.

The second chapter addresses jealousy a lot. It seems like if these feelings aren't kept in check the friendship between Gene and Finny could easily deteriorate even if Gene keeps trying to justify his thoughts, "I couldn't help envying him that a little, which was perfectly normal. There was no harm in envying even your best friend a little" (25). I can see where he's coming from but really, he saves his life so why should you still be jealous?

Chapter 3 addresses the fact that even if Finny saved his life, Gene still felt that it was his fault that he was there in the first place. There is no way that I can see this friendship going well. Something is fearful about the tree for Gene in the future and his "best friend" that is the reason that he goes there all the time he really seems to not like all that much.

Finny doesn't seem like a bad guy. He doesn't brag about beating the record or anything and he saved Gene's life but he also sort of forces Gene to go on the tree. Gene also never really tells him no though so I'm not really sure.

I also looked up what school John Knowles wrote this about because even if it is a fictional school and story it seems like it should be based somewhere and found this Biography. Here is the school he went to that it seems to be based on.

[jhoward95-blog]

The closest thing that I could find for an original idea were these stair drawers. They are based off of two separate objects but the combination of these two is original.

[jhoward95-blog]

Rebel Without a Cause

1. The teens in this movie are accurate, but extremely over dramatized. Teenagers do have issues with some of the things discussed in this movie such as control and finding/validating themselves. The over dramatization is simply what comes from it being a movie but I believe that the underlying issues are the same.

2. The separate characters in the movie are believable, but the interactions  are not. For example, Jim is a believable character alone and he has believable issues but his interactions with Plato where he basically becomes his father would not occur in real life.

3.

AUDIENCE- Appeals to teenagers because they feel that they can relate to it more and feel the issues that the characters feel.

PURPOSE- To put more light on the issues that teenagers had but did not talk about.

SPEAKER- Someone who knows or remembers how it was to be a teenager and is trying to relate to them.

ADULT OPINION- My parents agreed that the base of the characters was believable and accurately portrayed teenagers but were just over dramatized because all movies are.

Done with Jacob Crabtree

[jhoward95-blog]

            When I was young, everything that happened to me seemed much more traumatic. Even the simplest of experiences in elementary school felt like huge deals to me. It is for this reason that being kicked off the play structure seems like the worst thing to happen to me in elementary school.

            Every day for recess I would hang out with my friends. We would play, run, and generally have a good time. Recess was a time to relax during an already relaxing day. Rarely did anything bad ever happen at recess. This time of fun was highlighted by things such as playing football with the principal and building snow forts in the field. It was so happy and carefree, in fact, that I was caught completely off guard when I was yelled at for running on the play structure. I was the type of kid who rarely got yelled at; I tried to keep myself out of trouble and I was successful most of the time.

            My friends and I were playing on the play structure and we decided on some destination that we wanted to go to. In our quest to this point on the playground, we happened to pass along the play structure. Instead of the usual fun time I had during recess, however, my elementary world was destroyed when one of the adults decided that I was moving too fast along the structure even though I was just following my friends who were moving at the same pace. I was kicked off of the play structure for that day and my spirits were crushed even though it was not a big deal. One recess without the play structure made no difference, in reality, but I was not used to being yelled at so I took it personally and it hurt me to feel like I did something so wrong compared to what I usually experienced.

[derpcat14-deactivated20131017]

This is why we need assault rifles

[jhoward95-blog]

This person is using sarcasm in order to show how ridiculous it is to "need" assault rifles. Her audience seems to be those who believe it is necessary to have assault rifles, because of the way it is presented. It makes no sense to use an assault rifle to kill these deer. It also makes no sense that one needs an assault rifle for self defense. There are so many deer that one would not be able to do anything with. Even if the hunter were to get one deer it would be enough. The writer seems to believe that assault weapons in general are unnecessary for the common people to own.

[fuckyeahsexeducation]

By now you may have heard that Arkansas is receiving an onslaught of proposed bills and new laws that limit people’s reproductive choices. These are just a few of those laws and bills:

* New Law, currently in affect: a ban on abortion after 20 weeks except in cases…

[deannahill10]

Many states have had different approaches towards abortion. While some are pro life, others like Arkansas are anti-choice. They are trying to propose bills and laws to restrict the woman’s options. They aren’t allowing her the choice to do what she pleases with the baby inside her unless she was raped or her life is at stake. It is almost as if the baby isn’t hers and even though it is in her, it isn’t her decision. She has to take many things into account before making her final decision of killing the baby. Even though I am against abortion, I still think the mother should have the choice.

[jhoward95-blog]

I agree that women should have the choice, but I agree with the first law on there that says it is currently in effect, the one about 20 weeks. At 20 weeks, the women is 4-5 months pregnant. At this time, the baby can move and has limbs. For me, this seems a little too late to have an abortion.

[political-cartoons]

[jhoward95-blog]

This is an interesting political comic showing the jobs related to guns. On top are the jobs related to making and selling them, while below the gun are people who do work related to those people hurt by the guns. At first glance it may seem that this is a positive view on guns, but looking at the actual jobs makes one realize how negative it is. There are two professions that are very interesting on here, police and prison guards. These two professions need guns, but other than that there is no real reason to have them, according to this poster. It makes it seem that nothing good can come out of guns.

[msnbc]

Many Americans expected a real change in the nation’s gun laws after the killing of 20 first-graders in Newtown. But three months later, the outcome looks unclear. No fewer than four pieces of legislation have passed a Senate panel over the past two weeks to move to the Senate floor. “It’s a step forward,” Debra DeShong Reed, spokeswoman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, told MSNBC.

(Photo credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

[jhoward95-blog]

It makes sense to make gun laws. In reality, there is no reason that one needs a automatic weapon other then to hurt others. Some may say that it is for "self defense," and that even if they are banned it would still be possible for criminals to get them. A handgun is all that should be necessary for self defense. It is just as leathal as a machine gun for defending yourself against one person; automatic weapons are designed to kill large amounts of people.

[jhoward95-blog]

Human Value

Value is how much something is worth. This can be interpreted many ways: monetary worth, usefulness, or general importance. The value of the old, sick, and crippled can be very different, depending on the interpretation. If one simply means monetary worth, then these people are worthless, as they contribute no money and take a lot. These people are also worthless in regard to usefulness. It is difficult or impossible to employ the old, sick, or crippled. The only value these people have is that they hold some significance to other people. This value, however, is very hard to analyze as it is not a simple as the person's monetary value or usefulness.

People all have value. Unless one has formed absolutely no positive relationships through life, that person will have value. He or she is important to somebody, a person who will be affected by his or her death.

[jhoward95-blog]

“Political Power grows out of the barrel of a gun” ~ Mao Tse-Tung

It is difficult to think about politics without thinking about the many times when the person with control of the military has control of the country. In this way, Mao Tse-Tung is correct. Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. One could argue that this statement is false. For example, in the United States, we have a country where the head of state is not chosen by military force, but by a vote. However, if one thinks back to the beginning of the country's independence, that person would realize how correct this statement really is. Although the power gets passed around from party to party, it was still born from the revolution. It is in this way that the power is growing from the gun. Even though the power is not necessarily maintained that way now, it was still started that way.

[jhoward95-blog]

Theatre is an after school activity for many students in high school and this is an activity as early as fifth grade. Although it takes work, acting at this level is most often regarded as play. This changes as it turns into the professional world.

Voice actor Hugo Weaving complained about his work on Transformers 3, saying "I just happened to be the voice of one of the iconic villainous characters.  But, my link to that and to Michael Bay is so minimal.  I have never met him.  I was never on set.  I've seen his face on Skype.  I know nothing about him, really.  I just went in and did it.  I never read the script.  I just have my lines, and I don’t know what they mean.  That sounds absolutely pathetic!  I've never done anything like that, in my life.  It’s hard to say any more about it than that, really." 

While students act because it is enjoyable for them, it becomes blurred once it becomes a job and the person has to do it to make a living. 

[jhoward95-blog]

Work and Play

“Work and play are words used to describe the same thing under differing conditions.”

~Mark Twain

Most people work to make a living. Some of these jobs are typical, such as working on a computer or on an assembly line. However, there are other professions that most people would think of as "play,"  because they are things like sports or acting. When people are not getting paid for these things they are typically not pushed as hard for results as people who are. This is the key difference between work and play and is why Mark Twain's assertion is correct. One could play soccer for fun, but as soon as that person gets paid to do it, results are expected and the person has to work harder. That is the differing condition that changes something from work to play.

[jhoward95-blog]

Altruism

Altruism - unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others

Is it possible?

I think that it is so rare that it may as well be impossible. People put themselves above others, even for the most selfless of acts. People are always thinking about how this act can help them out in the long run. Because of this, an act of altruism is impossible.

[jhoward95-blog]

Sorry, I forgot this part. This relates to caring and sharing week because most of the participants are not doing it because they are altruistic but because it makes them feel good about themselves. Optimistically there are a few people who are doing it completely selflessly, but more realistically, there probably aren't any.