Candide Chapters 3 and 4

I loved the way that Voltaire embodies reality in this chapters. When talking about war, the truth is that both sides lose. Apparently there is a winner, but in the end both sides have lost lifes, they´ve created destruction and desperation. It is obvious how he criticizes and attacks religion. I believe he tries to be respectfull towards it, by not putting direct arguments. He decides to convert his religious discomfort, into a story that in the low makes people understand it´s real meaning. At the same time, Voltaire creates a character (Jacques the Anabaptist) that is neutral and that in a way portrays the god in this world, the good in human kind.

Candide Chapters 1 and 2

Did I really understand??
When I read this first two chapters I thought I had understood their meaning and waht they were trying to say. The truth is that after reviewing the chapters in class I came to the conclusion that I had not understood the majority of what the book tried to say. The book tries to use hyperbole and irony creating satire, and this is the way I need to start to read, learning to find the absurd, the exagerated and the target in every sentence.

Evaluating during reading

When searching on a specific topic, were you need to find sources that is effective and can back up the information, enriching what you arlready know. it would be good to use some tips that can make the best of your searching process and can lead you to a good source of information wothought wasting your time.
1. Determin if the source is complete enough and fullfills your expectations. Is the source what you really need?
2.Reading the index is always a very intelligent thing to do. It will help you on getting an idea on what you are reading and the topics the document covers.
3. When searching for a specific topic you always want to read over the document and look for specific key words that will make you certain that the document is what you are looking for.
4. When searching on a topic, it is good to go through the blibiography and find some sources that may take you to get a better information.

So That Nobody Has To Go To School If They Don't Want To

Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing

Quoting: By opening this essay with "One reason for the crisis is that present mandatory-attendance laws force many to attend school who have no wish to be there.", Roger Sipher gets directly to his main point and expresses his opinion greatly.

Paraphrasing: "Ask high school teachers if recalcitrant students learn anything of value. Ask teachers if these students do any homework. Quite the contrary, these students know they will be passed from grade to grade until they are old enough to quit or until, as is more likely, they receive a high school diploma. At the point when students could legally quit, most choose to remain since they know they are likely to be allowed to graduate whether they do acceptable work or not." Students who feel obligated to attend school simply don't put any effort in school tasks. The whole point of attending school is getting a diploma, to get later on in life a work or something worth for living. The worst thing of all is that teachers in general know about what the kids ar doing.

Summarizing: By presenting different arguments, Roger Sipher tries to explain how obligating kids to attend school, only makes things harder and makes society decline.

American Rhetoric

This is in my opinion, a great example rhetoric. It demonstrates how a simple school speech can become so credible and interesting. I loved this video, because it shows a common example of a student who seems a bit stupid, and for who you would not expect anything great or in this case such a strong argument. This is a great speech because it uses a personal expirience, which relates with what she is talking about. In the video we see the use of ethos because it is a speech that is definetly trust worthy and by the personality she demonstrates, you definetly cannot say she is lying. When talking about the Statue of Liberty I believe she is using logos because we all know that no where in the statue exist something that says is RSVP. This was actually a great argument! It supported her point of view in the best possible way. As the statue´s name says; it is a representation of LIBERTY.

Thanks (last blog on The Soccer War

Again in the novel and in a very precise time, Kapuscinski talks about what for him is the most important honors of all. "´I know him`my friend Kofi said. ´He isn´t African.`That is the highest compliment that can be paid an european. It opens every dorr for him." (p.230) In the last pages of the novel Kapuscinski demonstrates, and lets the reader understand that by coming back to the topic of Africa he feel complete and full. Although this man always traveled and visited many places in the world, the one place that made his spirit blow was Africa. In my opinion, it is very interesting that a European has such an open heart to consider Africa, part of him. I really loved this novel, because it not only narrates a stroy, but it includes real fatcs, real events that make a big part of the worlds history. I also liked the fact that I could relate many parts in the novel, with past or current events that have happened in the world and specially in Colombia. Kapuscinski was a great writer and a great reportes.

Should we have faith in those who make war?

Should we really trust politicians or politics in general ? Are they saying everything that they are supposed to ? How can we really be faithful to them? Many say that politicians are trustworthy and that the have great ideas and love their country. I believe otherwise, I think that politicians at first may be whatever we want them to be, the problem is that time makes everything change and things start getting complicated, when factors such as money and power get in the way. This factors take whatever person, be it good or bad, to become ambicious and greedy. "Today one hears about noise pollution, but silence pollution is worse. Noise pollution affects the nerves; silence pollution is a matter of human lives." (p.190) In our world many lose their homes and even their lives, while living full of terror and desperation. The world keeps lots of information, information that may be crutial for the existence of the same. Placesin the world are suffering, right in this instance, but who cares? who even notice what´s happening? Sources and powerful countries keep alot of information, sometimes for strategy or because they don´t want the world presence what we would consider massacre and the violation of the human rights. "War is the most brutal of things for a simple reason; it demands horrendous sacrifices." (p.200)

Reality, cruel? or simply real ?

This chapter on "The Soccer War" was really really interesting and full of emotion. When Kapuscinski meets with the soldier who has no real intention of being and participating in the war, I realized that this is a reality that many have to live in. How harsh can this be? In this case a great example and comparison would be Colombia. In my country there are people that have to participate in the colombian army because they can´t pay (like many of the people in the "high class" society can) to be exented on taking part on the army. At the same time there are many farmland workers who have been taken to work and fight for a idiology which is not theirs and that which they don´t even agree with eg. Las FARC or ELN, when kindnapping poor people to fight for them. "He was a recruit, a dirt farmer; he had been called up a week ago, he didn´t know the army; the war meant nothing to him. He was trying to figure out how to survive it.
"He answered that when you live in a village it´s better not to ask questions because questions arouse the suspicions of the village mayor, and the mayor would volunteer him for the road gang..." (p.180)

It was really interseting what happened to this character (the farmer) and what he did when realizing that there were shoes that could be used by those in his family. How amazing can this be, that even in the middle of a war some details like this can become such a great and meaningful emotion. An emotion that can tear our hearts in small pieces, and emotion that is a reality for many in this world.
"He would strip a few of the dead of their boots, hide them under a bush and mark the place. When the war was over, he would return and have enough boots, for his whole family." (p.178)
"Now the war had a meanin g for him, a point of reference and goal." (p.178)

A world full of exageration and excess

It was really interesting reading on information about Latin America. This part in novel caught my attention because we live in the latin community, and I personnaly have more knowledge on what is happening in this side of the world, when comparing to places such as Algeria or Uganda, etc. It was very interesting to see how Kapuscinski mentions his visit to Chile and what a big contrast he found in society. "In reality, however, the residences of this old ladies were simply a pathological and kitschy manifestation of Latin America- that is, the universal prevalence of the baroque: but also as general commitment to excess and electicism." (p.151) This is just one of the characteristics that most definetly describe Latin America. Most of the spanish speaking countries have a different and peculiar way of living, our culture is definetly, I believe, a contradiction. We as a bicultural community believe in progress, and we have the ability to get influenced by the most stupid ideas which make us naive. We create great idiologies but we never take advantage of them, and when we use them something goes very wrong.

Coming back to the book I made an interesting connection with another novel that I read some years ago from the author Isabel Allende. In the moment I can´t remember the books name, but it talked about the social situation in Chile, some years ago. "There is alot of everything here and everything is exagerated: everuthing wants to impose itself, shock, knosk the beholder sideways." (p. 151)

Another interesting fact that is mentioned in the novel, and that gives a great example of what the Latin society portraits is; when the girl from El Salvador shot herself after watching the soccer game, between Honduras and El Salvador. "She then shot herself in the heart." (p.158) What happened in this moment id definetly not something positive, but what really caught my attention was the fatc that after her death people followed her and used her as an example of patriotism and love for her country.

Rethoric

Logos- argument by logic
* "the big sister, the brainy one"
* "18 year old, able to vote"

Ethos- argument by character and something that can gives clues to his personality
* "class president"
* " has had the highest grades in his class for the past year"

Pathos- argument by emotion
* "Texas Chain Massacre, we are all sorry for this unexpected and unimagible event"

Video on Kapuscinski´s death

I really liked the video because it made me understand Kapuscinski way of writing. At first, I didn´t consider this book as a novel. For me it was more of a text that named facts on different conflicts in the world. But, after listening to the video I understood the authors point of view. Kapuscinski was a reporter who let the world know about his expiriences, through his writing. I believe he had a very particular way of living and he had diferent goals as if compared with most of us. Basically something that I really like from him, was the fact that hewanted to expirience everything by his own means. He didn´t care about the struggling and the hard time that the world was going through, he was so active and knew that everyone can learn by expiriencing reality. "I was driving along the road where they say no white man can come back alive. I was driving to see if a white man could, because I had to expirience everything for myself." (p.130)

Vocabulary

1. Mareango
2. Algiers
3. slumped
4. hearse
5. geraniums
6.inquiries
7. taciturn
8. strode
9.brandished
10. chaplin
11. dwindling
12. prince-nez

Vocabulary

1. Mareango
2. Algiers
3. slumped

Vocabulary

1. Mareango
2. Algiers
3. slumped

Africa is part of me

After reading some more I understood that the reporter did not want to die..."I wanted to live, but life was abandoning me. I wanted to live, but I did not know how to defend my life. My life was going to end in inhuman torment."(p.134)

But continuing with what I was stating in the past blog when I mentioned that the reporter is trying to find explanations I want to highlight a quote that seems really interesting. " I did not regard my stay in Africa as merely a job. I had gone there after years of having to function as a cog in a complex mechanism of instructionsand commands, these and guidelines, and Africa had been, for me, liberation, where-between 37º21`and 34º52`latitude and 17º32 and 51º23`longitude, between Rass Ben Sekka in the north and Needle Point in the south, between Capo Almadi in the west and Raas Xaafun in the east I had left part of myself behind." (p.144) The reporter seems like a stranger when coming back home. Will he find more answers after flyng to South America? After expiriencing new emotions in Africa, it is difficult for the reporter to get used to other things. He left something behind, something that is understood only by him.

I would like to mention that it is very interesting how the author makes the use of history in the book, although sometimes this history gets really monotonous and makes the reader lose it´s interest in the novel. From the moment Kapuscinski gets on the car to travel through the coutry while at civil war and until he reaches his office in France he makes his emotions clear. The book starts getting finally interesting, letting me as a reader understand each and every detail of Kpuscinski´s emotions through out the novel, it is as if I am in the reporters position.

I have to say that many thing are left flying around with no response. For example what happens to Ben Bella and Boumedienne?

Have we lived in a real harsh atmosphere?

Did the reporter go through the roadblock 3 times, just to expirience the emotion o f war ?
"I was driving along the road where they say no white man can come back alive. I was driving to see if a white man could, because I had to expirience everything for myself." Why would someone want to expirience such misery?I believe the reporter has found a completely different sense to life. A sense that not many people have found, and that is more personal and makes the human being mature and find themself and what they always wanted, struggling for a reason a constant battle for knowledge . In this point I would like to make a connection with Meursault and how he acted upon what was happening in his life, Maman´s death, the Arab´s death and being accused with the death penalty. Maybe the reporter and Meursault have many things in common. I would have to say they are both trying to understand what life is all about, trying to escape from all that is monotonous in them.
"Over the distance of 520 kilometers, I had been cheked twenty-one times and subjected to four body searches. Everywhere there was an atmosphere of tension, everywhere the smell of gunpowder. " (p.127) The reporter had to go through many uncomfortable situations to expirience what war was all about. At the same time he made his emotions clear after crossing each and every roadblock. "...the worst thing is to make a gesture of self-difence, because that emboldens them, because that unleashes a new wave of agression in them." (p.131). He was caught in dispair and knew that each second could be his last. At the end of the day the repoter was alive, but something was left unclear. Did the reporter want to die ??

THE SOCCER WAR ...Typical Contrast on Third World Countries

"Algeria Hides It´s Face". What a great title for this chapter. This is what many countries do, specially those considered as Third World Countries. This countries hide behind facts that some (those who control the world) would consider acceptable. After reading this chapter I realized how similiar Colombia is to Algeria in terms of Contrast. The rich people who have the possibility to own a computer, a television , a great car, etc. While others live in missery, not even understanding what things such as internet and messenger are all about. Although at the same time, I understand that in Algeria things are classified in a higher scale.
"An image characteristic of a colonial country is the modern automated electronics factory, and beyond it´s walls are caverns inhabitated by people who still use wooden hoes. `Look what beautiful highways we´ve built for them.' say the colonialists. Indeed: but along those highways lie villages where people have yet emerged from the palaeolithic age. " (p. 99).
How harsh can this be, that even after more then 30 years the world is still struggling with such examples?

Other quotes that made me think were; "...the soldier-political with a rifle in one hand and an agitprop manuel in the other." ( p.105) How many countries haven´t stuggled with their army trying to get politcal control? Even Colombia can relate with this topic, taking in consideration that we had a president that many considered a dictator...El general Gustavo Rojas Pinilla who took control of the country and governed hand by hand with the army.

"Progress comes with great difficulty along such a road. The politician begins to push too hard. He looks for a way out through dictatorship. The dictatorship then fathers an opposition. The opposition organizes a coup. And the cycle begins anew." (p.106) History constantly repeats it´s self.

And this is by far the quote that shoked me the most; "´This is the man who is preparing the conspiracy against me.` And he asked: ´How are the intrigues coming along'`´Quite well, thank you.`Boumedienne replied."(p. 111) To what extent can cinism be present? Did Ben Bella know beforehand that something was wrong, and that a conspiracy was being planned to overthrow him from the power?

Climax

Wow!!!!Fianlly something different has happened in the novel. After reading chapter 6, the story changes drastically. I would have never expected that Meursault would have had the guts to pull the trigger and kill the Arab guy. This is very peculiar and interesting at the same time, because it would be very naive to think that it was something that just appeared. With this I mean that Camus definetly planned to write the novel in a plain way, with lots of details, but having very little important aspects to them, so that when he decided to post such an event, the reader would react in amazement. Now I start to understand the meaning of the book and what Camus is trying to do by amazing us with such abrupt events. Since chapter 2 I wanted something like this to happen in the novel, because I was starting to get bored by the fact that nothing changed. This is definetly the climax of the novel, and I have to say, WHAT A GREAT CLIMAX!!!Camus was filling the story with monotonous events so that as readers we would get distracted and apart our thoughts from expecting such remarkable events.

Make The Most Of What You Have!

After reading chapter 5, I realized that Salamano although was tuff with his dog and cursed him every single time, he loved him and he indeed misses his company. It is hard to think about it, but theres many realtionships were people simply don´t get along but they manage to stay together because they need each other and complement each others life. "We´d have a run-in every now and then. But he was a good dog just the same." (p.45) A month ago I lost a friend, who was really close to me when I was smaller. Together we talked about everything, he supported me, and he was always there for me. As time went on, we changed and things in our relationship got cold. We stopped talking as often as we did and I never realized how hard it would be to lose him. When I found out about the accident I couldn´t believe that it was true. I definetly regret not spending more time with him. If I could go back in time I would have changed many things, but now that nothing can be done It´s hard to confront reality. It is hard to understand why we need to have hard expiriences to realize and give thanks for what we´ve got. This is something that in the novel is happening to Saramago and I think that will happen to Merasault, when he actually realizes that his mom is gone.
23 de agosto de 2007 19:26

Amazing

"But, in the first place is not my fault if they buried Maman yesterday instead of today..." (p.19)- Why would someone who has lost his mother even care about his job? It´s rediculus that someone would have to say to his boss, that he is "sorry" for missing a day or two at work, because someone close in his family has just died. Personally, I´d be completely destroyed if my mother died. But, at the same time and after reading chapter 2, I concluded that Merasault is maybe excaping from his reality. In a way he may be acting indiferent towards the situation because inside it hurts so much, that he decides to cover up all that emotion and pretend that nothing is really happening. This is of course not healthy. But, I can personally tell you that it is a very easy way to protect yourself and escape. I say this, because I´ve had a personal expirience were something so shoking happened and my inmidiate reaction was staying away from everything and pretending nothing had happened, but the truth was otherwise, and at a point I had to confront my feelings and accept the truth. This is what I believe is going to happen to Merasault in the next chapters. He is going to understand that his mother is gone and that he misses her alot!

The Stanger

After reading the first 15 pages of the novel I could not understand why wasn´t Maman´s son upset by the fact that she had died. In that moment I started thinking about the name of the novel "The Stanger", and the first thing that came up to my mind was relating the name with the character and his coldness towards Maman´s death, in a way Maman seems like a stanger to him.

Our Own Creative Space

Hi! My name is Maria Paola Amezquita and I am a student at Colegio Nueva Granada who is very interested in reading. In reading good and controvertial books. This is a very personal space for all of us to express our feelings and our thoughts towards each topic that will be posted. Lets all let loose our imagination and write! Please if you definetly dont agree with what I've posted, dont hesitate on expressing your disagreements.

Comment, you are all welcome!!!