Irony

True irony occurs when we expect something to go one way but something else happens instead.  In the story “the destructors” there is an excellent example of irony, when the gang breaks into a house and instead of stealing the money they burn it on the floor.  This is true irony, because it goes against what a thief is supposed to do.  Many people believe that every bad thing that happens when we don’t want it to happen is irony, but really they are just inconveniences in life that make are day harder.  So once again the gang burning the money, is true irony because it isn’t an inconvenience, but is a true “shocker” that isn’t expected to happen in an everyday occurrence. 

NPR Great Gatsby program

1. The main theme is that there is no American dream.  Money rules everything, and money that is given is very different then money is earned.  Everything is not fair so hard work is crustal.

2. He was a failure in school and in college, which is a great example of Nick's life in the novel.  Fitzgerald and Gatsby are also similar because both of the individuals were looked down upon in society.

3.Everyone can relate to the fact that we all want a glamorous life, the life that we always dreamed about.  Money and social status is also a key concept that everyone can relate to.

4. Fitzgerald really did not like the title and tried to change it several times, but finally went with "the great Gatsby"

5. In today's society rappers like Jay Z are similar, they work their lives around money and freedom.

Research

Awl. "Wikipedia and the Death of the Expert." Theawl.com. Web. 25 Sep 2011

< http://www.theawl.com/2011/05/wikipedia-and-the-death-of-the-expert>

Intuitive Blog. "What Wikipedia Lost: Credibility." intuitive.com. Web. 25 Oct 2011

            http://www.intuitive.com/blog/what_wikipedia_lost_credibility.html

New York Times. "Week in Review” newyorktimes.com. Web. 25 Sep 2011

             http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/04/weekinreview/04seelye.html

PCWorld. "Wikipedia Color Codes for Credibility." pcworld.com. Web. 25 Sep 2011

http://www.pcworld.com/article/171113/wikipedia_colorcodes_for_credibility.html

 

Identity and Changing Names

1)   I do feel that I have different identities in different environments.  Such as at school and at home I m really relaxed, calm, and can be the funny and goofy person that I am.  However when I am in a more series atmosphere I retain my goofy nature and bring my series self out, so I can impress individuals and make a good impression for myself.  I am still the same person, because my series side still has the humor of the my funny side; likewise, when I am at school my series side tells me when to stop making jokes that way I do not get into trouble.  These different personalities co-exist in the same person to make a well rounded whole.

2)   I do agree with the speaker.  Even the most simple of people have multiple sides.  A husband a father can show caring, compassionate, and nurturing nature when he is at home.  Then when he is shipped to Iraq, he turns into a ruthless killer that will die or even kill for his country.  Then he could also be the individual that would give up a wallet to a mugger to protect his family instead of risking a fight that might cause them harm.  This individual I described has three sides of his personality, just like a prism shows when light is sent through it.  Multiple colors are extracting from a single beam of light, all these individual lights (personalities) coming from one whole being.

3)   He never really achieved this objective, because even though he seemed like a person that achieved riches; however, inside he was still the farm boy.  He would always act as the boy who grew up on the farm.

4)   Every individual is different.  No two humans are the same, even twins.  We all have original personalities along with our unique looks.  Some individuals have personalities that change them completely.  Most individuals have multiple personalities, but they choose to take certain characteristics and use them to their advantages at certain times in life.  To sum it up, all we are is big bags of personalities, emotions, and life.

5)   I do not believe that an individual can truly change.  A bank robber can choose to change his life after he gets out of jail and become a good person, but the emotions and personalities that caused him to rob the bank in the first place, are still inside him he has just learned to “control” them.  So he never really truly changed, because the feelings and personalities are still inside of him.

My thoughts

I believe that America is run by a hidden class system; however I believe it is an individuals responsibility "to an extent" on which class system they are put in to.  Today's world is full of many opportunities to be something if an individual wants to get ahead they can with the right amount of work.  However, there are many factors that can stop an individual from progressing (such as a lack of jobs or identity theft).  This ties back into the social/economic classes running America.  The individuals at the top of the economic pole control everyone underneath them, because for the most part, these individuals control the money that flows through everyone else.  People have to have money to survive and to provide for their family, so the individuals that have a grasp on the wallets, have a grasp on the individuals themselves.

Hidden class system in America

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21272238/ns/us_news-gut_check/t/who-or-what-middle-class/

A New Leaf

            Both of these literature works, the novel The Great Gatsby and the short story “A New Leaf”, were written by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  They have similar settings, plots and roughly similar storylines.  One theme that the two pieces story share is the inability to forget the past, and that that has a huge effect on our futures.  Both stories involve the chemical romance known as love and entail a man not being able to give up his sweat heart.

            In The Great Gatsby, the theme entails Gatsby and his love Daisy.  They are separated, and the story is about Gatsby being able to forget her. Daisy is the person from his past and the time they spent together before he went to fight in the war are the events.  Even after Daisy is no longer a part of his life, Gatsby focuses on her, and his continued love of her makes him act the way that he did. Daisy was always on Gatsby’s mind, which caused him to freeze in his life, unable to move forward, because she is always on his mind.  He buys a large expensive house, in hopes that she will be impressed.  He befriends Nick (Daisy’s cousin) in hopes that he will reacquaint the two of them.  He throws outrageous, extravagant parties all the time in hopes that she, by some stroke of luck, will attend one of them and he will be able to work his way back into her life.

            This theme also applies to “A New Leaf”, because of the relationship between Julia and Dick. Julia meets Dick while they are in Paris, and continue a relationship with each other despite the multiple warnings Julia receives about Dick’s reputation.  Throughout the rest of her stay in Paris and once she returns to America, Julia cannot forget about him. Fait seems to play in favor of this relationship as Julia and Dick meet again on the way back to New York.  Eventually they get married, but is put on hold because Dick is having an affair with another woman. She can never truly get over her feelings for Dick, and the incorrect opinion that she had formed of him.  Even though she appears to move on with her life because she marries another man, she tells him before their wedding that essentially she will always love Dick. So, like Gatsby, she never really forgets about the person from her past, and this changes her future, because she is never able to truly move on with his life.