A Letter to Mrs Genesky

.Dear Mrs. Genseky,

I am deciding to write a letter to reflect not just on my senior year but for high school as a whole and even just school. For me, going to high school was a significant shift for me from first being homeschooled from grades 2nd through 6th and then going to a public school in 7th and then a tiny charter school for 8th. Going to Millbrook high school was the first time I stayed at a school for 4 consistent years. Educationally, Millbrook was great for me because I was able to select and explore a lot of my interested, except for in the realm of art and literature. At least not until my junior and senior year where I got to join IB and the English classes finally introduced me to literature and benefited my writing ability exponentially. This is partially what I want to reflect on about school, until these last two years, my ability to write wasn't just limited by my dyslexia but rather than writing in a school setting the teaching is limited to a method that rather than learning to convey something, we learn to match a structure and length. IB is the only thing that has truly furthered me and I wish the approach to writing that IB (or maybe just my awesome teachers) takes should be something present in every grade level. I am not saying that a change in the curriculum would in any way help my own issues regarding school, but I do believe that the current approach to education that is taken by many public schools is ineffective. Of course, that is just me getting my opinion out there, but I feel that it explains to a certain extent my animosity towards school. My negative mindset towards school kept me from further involving myself in Millbrook, something which I think might have benefited my work ethic. My ability to get things done is influenced by a lot of things so I can not put the blame solely on the structure of school, especially since I didn't take part in it for a large portion of my childhood. Looking back on high school the one thing I wish I had done differently was turned in every assignment, no matter whether it was complete or not, just getting in what I was able to do. Sadly I can not go back in time to change how I acted then, and now those bad habit I built up are still affecting me, but I can say that I’ve been able to find more intrinsic motivation for getting things done.

A lot of this motivation has come from you Mrs. Genseky, along with my other awesome teachers. Particularly, in regards to your class, I feel that my ability to communicate my point has improved quite a bit, although not always demonstrated in my writing, the discussions we have in class are when I feel that I can demonstrate my understanding of the text and literature in general. The motivation I talked about comes from the feeling of understanding the material for me, rather than completing things. While I know being able to complete things is important, I can not do that without motivation, and your understanding and helping personality has allowed me to work on those skills while maintaining my level of motivation about the subject. I’m very glad that I had you both my junior and senior year, and that you continued to maintain a higher expectation level for me, which although I do not often meet it, the rewarding feeling I get from being able to do it when I am able to has helped me get through these last two years of high school.

Now as I write you this morning, I am nearing the end of my four years here at Millbrook, and the end of this letter, I think of the call to action from Whitman’s work, and I think of how I will respond to that call from him and you. In regards to your classes, I can tell you that my goal is never to stop reading and thinking, although my ideas and interpretations can be odd, I think it is important for the world to have people like me, that despite challenges and criticisms, I push through to prove myself to others as well as to myself. Concepts and beliefs always have come from those who think differently, and so I want to be able to go past the expectations of society and live my own life. I am not sure whether that means I will be a writer (with a really good editor), or an artist, or a doctor, but all these passions I hold will turn into something that I want to use to change peoples lives for the better. That change can be simply a smile or a new idea brought to mind, but it is what I am going forth into the world to accomplish. Although I feel that I have not completely demonstrated this to you in my years in your class, I hope that my future will make you proud and show to you the positive impact that having you as a teacher has had on me.

Thanks for being my teacher,

Mae

Pages of Life

The first thing that stands out on the first page is what appears to be dates because they are numbers followed by “th” although this could also refer to the place of a particular thing in a list which could be a reference to his common use of cataloging. Along with the numbers that are clearly visible on the page, there are a few clear words that seem like names, these are “Lenian” or “Lenan” which stands out the clearest at the top on the page, the i is not clearly marked but the dot above would indicate one. The second name visible appears to be “Cleremont” and then the third readable one is “Charles”. The third name is the most obviously a name and is the easiest to interpret the correct spelling. Moving to the second page, the words are a lot more clear and make what might be coherent sentences.

The page seems to be titled with the word “Dialogue” which is evident because it is underlined and located in the middle of the top of the page. The following sentence is placed right under “Two characters as of a dialogue between A…” the final couple words are not clear but the sentence seems to end with a question mark. The first part that can be easily read could be referencing how the narrator of Whitman’s poems seem to be having a conversation with the person reading. But then the other clear sentence “Lessons for a President elect” sets up the following seven pages of what appears to be a letter to the president. The language of the letter heavily reflects many of the elements that are present in the poems within Leaves of Grass, particularly on the final page of dialogue where he uses anaphora when he repeats “ship of…” at the start of each sentence. He also asks many questions but the words are less clear to read, some at the very beginning seems to pertain to philosophy in some way. This dialogue could his way of reflecting on his own philosophies and values which he would then put into his poems, this is evident as the handwriting becomes more sloppy which would suggest it is more train of thought base rather then well-contemplated ideas.

What follows this dialogue is the most intriguing element of the journal, which just by looking at the images alone in the order of their page numbers, there seems to be a story of a man growing old and ultimately dying. The first picture is a profile of a man's face which appears to be older but still on the younger side, as he lacks many wrinkles and looks relatively put together. The second profile of the man is very similar in artists ability but showcases more elements of aging such as a longer beard, out of place hair and significantly more wrinkles on the forehead. As well, the nose stands out (partially because it is highlighted by the notes and so looking at it is unavoidable) because of how it is now shaded, which would indicate a blush or sickness that is causing it to turn red, but as well, reddened noses are often something present on older men. Another aspect of this sketch is the body which previously had not been drawn. The body appears almost as if it has been drawn in a different art style which is reminiscent of more modern political or Disney cartoons, whereas the profile of the face is very realistic and correctly proportioned, unlike a cartoon.

The third image gives the man a hat which resembles one that you might expect a traveling hobo to wear in the movie rendition of Bud, Not Buddy. This picture again shows age, mostly around the eyes with them being lowered, almost closed, suggesting tiredness, and the increase in the number of wrinkles. The next image is a much less detailed drawing, it could almost be another artist version of the third image. This shows the man as much angrier with a huge frown on his face, and shading that could suggest anger or sorrow. Skipping down to the final image that depicts a human, the man is now a skull, which has been stabbed through the heart with the background of what looks like a sunset. The meaning of this is not clear other than its depiction of death. Because of this final image of the man, the other images would seem to be showing the man as he aged and progressed towards death. The two images skipped over of the harp and the newspaper heading, do not have any stand out meaning.

Going into the notes on this journal, the first thing which I failed to notice was the presence of addresses on the first page of writing, which presents an explanation for the names and numbers. The second note gives insight into who the president of the time was, Abraham Lincoln which helps gives some context to other aspects of the dialogue such as the repetition of the word “ship” on the final few pages. The notes also help to make clear that the difficult parts of the writing to read were abbreviations of names. The notes confirm my understanding of the dialogue as being Whitman's way of discussing his own philosophies and values, and the presentation of this in a “brochure”, an imaginary title that would indicate this to be something that would be shared knowledge. Furthering my understanding, the notes help to decipher the more difficult parts of the written text and tell me that Whitman is discussing and comparing religions, which could be what results in his goal of becoming the Kosmos. The notes that follow explain the meaning of the dialogue that I couldn't really read, and so it did not stand out to me, but finally, they get to the discussion of the sketches. The notes look at the images as separate from each other to an extent, with the “older” man just being a drawing of a drinking buddy, and the final image of death being an allegory for America. Looking at them in such a way does make sense, but with there presentation to me in the particular order makes me wonder if my interpretation is not correct, or maybe just an unintentional message that reflects Whitman's own aging and existence and how it differs from his God-like portrayal of himself in his poems. These highlight what is revealed about Whitman himself as an individual, which differs greatly from his poems which connect to the universal “everything”.

Let's Get This EMOTIONAL STABILITY

There may be an expectation to be optimistic about the “American Dream,” for this to serve as a proper expression of my views I have to point out that a word should be added right in front of “American.” For accuracy we should add in the ever important descriptive word “white,” and an even more critical view, which actually best represents my views, might put “cis-male” and “heterosexual.” But that would be something heavily influenced by my feminist liberal views, but those views also affect my reading of The Great Gatsby. For example, my interpretation of the female characters in the novel could be more bias towards seeing them in a more powerful and meaningful way such as with the elegant and positive descriptions of Jordans, but at the same time, I might be ignoring the demeaning depiction of Daisy’s approach to life. Considering the background of Fitzgerald, I have to assume he did, in fact, have some bias against the status of women, which then leads into how he portrays the “American Dream.”

Within the book, one of the main themes revolves around Gatsby's desire to achieve this dream, this hope is represented by the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. But a notable part in chapter 5 is when Gatsby has Daisy at his house, essentially he has her at this point in the novel, and in the same scene, it is pointed out that the green light is obscured by fog. The disappearance of the light would indicate Gatsby had reached his goal, and within the context of the 1920s, the “American Dream” refers to wealth, objects, and materialistic items. This would suggest that Daisy is one of these objects Gatsby obtains to reach the American Dream, just like his money and his house. But then again, considering my biased opinion, this could simply be my interpretation that does not correlate with what Fitzgerald was trying to convey. Another way of looking at this could be that because of the context Fitzgerald grew up into, he is portraying this aspect of society so as to criticize it, but a simple reason I do not feel that this particular interpretation applies is because of the understated nature of these elements compared to others.

When considering wealth, I do not think of it as referring to money or items, but rather the value someone finds in any element in their lives. These two ideas are actually juxtaposed in The Great Gatsby with the demonstration of monetary wealth and emotional wealth. The monetary wealth is clearly shown through the affluence of the main characters and the emotional wealth is represented by the connection and love that Gatsby feels for Daisy. The novel might actually be suggesting that this emotional wealth is more important than the monetary wealth because of the before mention scene suggests that Gatsby does not achieve the “American Dream” until he has gotten this emotional wealth from having Daisy by his side. I can actually feel a significant personal connection to this aspect of life, with my desire for wealth that I believe all people share to a certain extent, the emotional wealth of life is much more what I strive for than material wealth.

IOC PRACTICE

My Recording: https://vocaroo.com/i/s0vHgzGGlBBD
My Self Evaluation:
For Criteria A, Knowledge and Understanding of Text or Extract, I believe I would give myself a 5. I know I don't deserve higher because of my inability to properly communicate the relations of everything within the story, but I did show some awareness of the story, its progression and was able to reference particular parts to somewhat back up my point. Ultimately focusing on a single or just two point would better my ability to express the aspects of my understanding, rather than just giving general overviews.
For Criteria B, Understanding of the Use and Effect of Literary Features, I would give myself a 6. I give myself this score because I was able to demonstrate my understanding of Ishiguro's use of literary features, but like the previous criteria, my explanations of them were limited by an attempt to bring in many points but also just my general nervousness limited me as well. Knowing myself, focusing on just one literary device I'd easily fill the time constraints of the IOC so limiting my points would assist me in this criteria
For Criteria C, Organization, I give my self a 3 because I made clear attempts at connecting the points, with one leading into another but failed to present a clear conclusion to summarize the points. Ultimately this one would have been assisted with more planning on my sheet as to what exactly I would talk about so that it would be all I talk about.
For Criteria D, Language, I will give myself a 2. My difficulty speaking and constructing sentences is exemplified most when I am nervous and this was just what happened in this practice. I switched the direction of sentences halfway through, failed at the pronunciation of some words and overall had difficulty summarizing the points creating long drawn out run on sentences.

Translation

Gotta use my gimme because I am really sick

Whats In an image

The first cover, the girl in the red shirt sitting alone, and the fourth cover, one of what appears to be a girl dancing in a blue dress with shortish brown hair, are unique of the four because they are the only two that have a full, and presumably alive, person on them. This creates a clear indication that the following story will revolve around a girl, and her living her life in some way. There is a contrast in the color scheme of the images as well as what they emotion of the central girl is, the first has black and many shades of green, with a pop of color with the red shirt of the girl, indicating something out of place, especially when considering that red is opposite of green on the color wheel. The fourth cover also shows a contrast in colors, but there is a blending of the two, indicating that the girl, although different, is in some way a part of this warm background.
Adding into the depiction of a person, the third cover also has what seems to be the outline of a person's torso, and the organs contained inside. This third one is unique out of all of them because of its overall dark tones in color, blue, black, and greys that all present a sort of ominous and almost mechanic feeling to them, that contrast what one might expect from a portrayal of something that indicates life. This one is to me the most intriguing and so I’ll go further into exploring it along with the first one in the following paragraphs. But to continue comparing the set of four, I have failed to mention the second cover, the one of a boat on what appears to be a lake shore. The only cover that has no imagery of humans, although it shares with the other three an element of isolation, as in each there is only one key figure to focus on. The contrasting images likely show the many ways that a reader could interpret the themes of this books, the fourth does best in showing Ishiguro's rather positive views, and the other three indicating the more sinister and lonely aspect presented with the books dystopian themes.
Now to look more closely at individual covers, I’ll first go to the one I’ve already broken down some of the parts of. The first novel is interesting a conveys to me a lonely girl sitting in a field, I assume this is Kathy H. our main character of the novel. This scene actually reminds me of one in the second part, where Kathy is describing how, unlike the veterans of the cottages, some of the people from Hailsham sat out in the fields to read, even when it was getting colder. I can clearly imagine this is Kathy sitting in the frost covered field, looking down at her book. Knowing this part of the book, it makes it clear that the bluish tones in the grass could indicate that frost from the cold weather Kathy describes. This would indicate to me the cover is trying to convey the calmness and level-headedness of Kathy throughout the story. The second cover that portrays a lot of meaning to me is the third one with the barbed wire outline of a human torso with the vital organs clearly present. My initial reaction to this is that it is referring to the donations that the characters of the book will and do make throughout the novel. This imagery would lead me to believe in a somewhat negative and scary element to the book, maybe it's about a serial killer or surgery in a prison? But having read the book I know this is portraying the fact that the clones, who were created for their donations, are trapped in their prescribed lives, as indicated by the barbed wire. I feel that this kind of interpretation of the book is overly negative, and does not properly convey Ishiguro's messages throughout the book. I believe this was probably made to intrigue fans of dystopian novels, who would be pulled in by a strange society. Ultimately the images are used in different ways, some to sell the book by capturing the audience's attention, and others convey the ultimate truths found within the novel.

Dark Side of Stories

Rhetorical Analysis for https://www.ted.com/talks/suzanne_duncan_the_dark_side_of_storytelling

"The Dark Side of Story Telling" is a TED talk given by Suzanna Duncan, this TED talk serves to highlight the ways in which storytelling in our daily life can have unintentional negative consequences. She explains that in a research study she had done of investment professionals to understand why the industries business model is broken. Her results showed her that stories were the leading cause, or is psychology terms, an attribution bias, which buts blame of positive things internally and negative externally. She then pulls in a personal example of her utilizing this attribution bias with her hobby of horse shows, where it negatively effects her because she is unable to internalize the criticisms of her trainer and thus fails to improve. She follows this with a reference to how a story created in a teenagers head lead to the largest act of domestic terrorism in America, and how this was due to all the fictional stories he told himself, and ultimately believed to be the truth. Transitioning to a lighter note, she addresses the audience and begins to tell the audience how they can avoid being negatively impacted by the daily fictions we tell ourselves, this is done through learning how to learn and lie detect. She goes on to explore how those two things mean to be able to recognize patterns in your stories and ultimately be able to reflect without the presence of the attribution bias.

Suzanna Duncan is the senior vice president of State Street's Center for Applied Research, lending her information the needed to create an ethos response to what she's delivering. The audience is able to use the established credibility and just from the introduction of her position to begin to have a bias in believing her superiority in the field which she will be having her discussion in, even though its notable that her superiority label has nothing to do with stories. With this established, the proceeding discussion of attribution bias already has an appeal to the logos of the audience, which goes further as she begins to dive into the examples, which spark understanding and relatability in the audience, thus appealing to their logical side, that yes, in fact, what she's saying does make sense.

Another aspect of these examples is how she uses pathos to envoke an emotional response from the audience by referencing an instance of massive loss of life. Pathos in this instance is useful for her argument because it creates not just a familiar connection but also an emotion one, strengthening her argument. Finally, the majority of the argument is presented near the end, where the audience is already brought in through the rhetorical devices and thus will be more susceptible to her suggestions. In watching this, I feel myself fully connecting to the message she is delivering. Her personal story leads me to think of my own and makes me feel a need to address this potentially negative situation which has now been clearly identified for me.