Style Anslysis

Fitzgerald's reflective and epiphanic tones communicate his ultimate realization that in human life, no matter the scenario, our nature causes us to lose sight of what will truly make us happy. Happiness doesn't always rest in success, in achieving our dream, happiness is rooted not in the resolution, but in the dream.

As the narrator is watching the scene around him, as the "moon rose higher" and the "inessential houses began to melt away," Fitzgerald immediately jumps into an obvious extended metaphor of our human condition. When the true and pure light of the moon shone down on the world, the unimportant, and extra things that humans had added faded away from the narrator's sight. He saw the "old island" that was once there, the "fresh, green breast of the new world." When the push comes to shove, when the hard times and the piercing, yet subtle light of the truth pokes through to our innermost thoughts and emotions, the useless material things fade away, revealing the original base outline of our happiness, unclouded by materialism.

As the narrator broods, he thinks of Gatsby who "could hardly fail to grasp" his "dream," when all along, he had already moved passed his dream. That it lied in the past. His goal, his happiness, lied not in the accomplishment of his dream, but the mere concept of having a dream. The concept of hope, of having something to move toward is what Fitzgerald proposes is the true root of having happiness. Humans must always have a dream, a goal to work towards. A dream that lies "back in that vast obscurity beyond the city." The happiness that consists not of accomplishing our dream, but the happiness is in the concept of the dream itself.

My Wood

I reacted very well to the work "My Wood." It was a great work, and made the point very clearly. We have sunk ourselves into a world of consumerism. Once we get what we want, we only want more, and we want change. It's not actually that we personally want more, our society has just molded us to think that's the only thing that can make us happy.

The point that the author is trying to make is that humans are not necessarily designed to be like we are now, that our society has molded us into these morphed, transmogrified, mutated beings that we are now.

Reading List

I have read 3 books, an equivalent of 5 books.

-Camelot, 145 pgs (3 books)

-The Great Gatsby, 180 pgs (1 book)

-If I Stay, 272 pgs (1 book)

I enjoyed reading Camelot because it has a great plot with some small bit of historical accuracy buried somewhere deep within the faeries, witches, and incest. The book tells the story of King Arthur, and obviously Camelot, of the rise and fall of the system of chivalry thought up bravely by King Arthur. This book was very interesting, because it combines all of the great elements of a comedy, a tragedy, and drama all in one play.

Consumerism Quote

There are two ways to get enough: one is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.

-G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936)

This quote speaks volumes about the solution to our main problem. Our mindset. We as consumers, will never solve our problems of over-consumption without spending ourselves dry, unless we train ourselves to want less. This quote is from many years ago, and it's obvious that the idea of reducing our consumption is going to improve our lifestyles. And this was written even before the big problem of overconsumption that we know today came out.

This quote has hit me very well, and it's kind of like a duh moment. This quote seems totally profound, yet when looked at in its simplest concepts, it is one of the most obvious, yet most overlooked things in our society.

www.walmart.com

This advertising slogan, by Walmart, "Save money, live better," was Walmart's strategy to reach out to customers during the recession. Walmart used this new slogan to tell customers that they are looking out for their basic needs, they realize that money is tight, and they want customers to know that they can, for the best price, give customers the best value on the best products to get them through this recession.

This strategy is using a lot of pathos, they are appealing to the desire of consumers to have a solution, to have something that will make them happy, and will come at a price they can afford in this time of recession.

I react well to this advertising technique used by Walmart, they are not giving out false information, they really do have great prices, and with all of the different items in their stores, there must be something that would make someone's life easier. Whose to say that I can't find something in there that will make my life easier, and help me "live better."

What a Tangled Web We Weave

The article Learning to Lie on New York News and Features makes some really compelling points in research about reasons why kids are drawn to lying, and examples that they are actually following to develop these habits.

The article goes over the basic childhood time line of lying. The child starts out young, and avoids punishment by lying about their actions, then it progresses to white-lies, which the article points out were actually initiated through parent's examples and encouragement. When a parent tells a child to put on a happy face and act like they love a present at Christmas that they really hate, that is lying. Yes, the lie may make someone feel better, but it is still a lie.

When parents encourage children to lie, they are setting them up for a life of dishonesty. The question that must be answered is: where does the line need to be drawn? Obviously we don't want kids getting gifts and screaming their outrage and hate over them, but at the same time, we don't want them lying about bigger things, like matters of safety and morality.

So the question posed by the article is: Where do children get hooked on lying? Well, lying is a stage that most children go through at some point in childhood, but they usually grow out of it through socialization. However, if they find lying works for them, or that they see others around them doing it, and succeeding, they will continue. Telling a telemarketer you don't speak English is lying. Cheating on taxes is lying. Lying is lying, plain and simple. Don't try to sugar coat something that is plain and simple as day. Children learn by example, and while things aren't always the parents fault, there is the possibility that detrimental behaviors learned by children didn't just pop out of nowhere, they started closer to home than we may think.

I Had a Great Fall

I got on my bike, my mind prepared for the task at hand, my fingers clenched around the handlebars, my teeth clenched, my body totally ready. I was ready to peddle my bike; I had to make it over the ramp; I had to get to the other side. My task, getting over the ramp, seemed simple enough. I had to get up the ramp, over the top, down the side, and back to the ground, safely in one piece. I began the to pedal my bike over to the ramp. Simple enough...right? As I climbed further up the ramp and as I began to reach the top I began to become scared as I began to fall. My fall was terrible in appearance, yet the pain was little. On my hand, blood I saw spreading. Why did I feel no pain? I began to walk inside, and walked, and tripped, and found, and spoke to, my mom. Her view of my wound and her awe at the grotesqueness and my lack of panic, moved her to slowly but surely clean and bandage my wound, patting me on the back for my bravery.