Actors for Hamlet

Nice Guys Finish First (Prisoner's Dilemma) (The Selfish Gene pg.202-233).

The Prisoner’s Dilemma was difficult to understand at first. After understanding, it was very interesting to see how people react towards different situations in which they have to choose between different options without knowing what the other person will do. I relate this to my reading because it is the perfect example and explanation to human selfishness, and to what Dawkins has been trying to prove.
I related this dilemma with something that could happen to any student in CNG at any time. For example, three friends are called into the office because one of them stole an exam. The principal puts the “witnesses” in different rooms, and the one that stole the exam sits outside. Both friends have two choices, either they tell the truth and get rewarded (loved) by the teachers, or they stay quiet and do not gain a good reputation with their teachers. However, if one of them helps the teachers and the other one doesn’t, one will be really appreciated by the teachers while the other will not. The same thing happens if they act in the opposite way. If they both stay quiet neither wins anything but both help their friend. I thought this was the best way to relate the prisoner’s dilemma to my own life, and the best way to explain what I understood about the dilemma

Passive and Active voice.

1.Joanne was delayed by a client when she was leaving the office.
2.A meeting was being held by the tennis club at 6:30.
3.Shelba, the dog, blocked the doorway.
4.Sheba had to be taken to the vet.
5.The vet was worried by her condition.
6.The vet treated the dog while Joanne went home.
7.Joanne was told to get out of the house.
8.Joanne was confused by the telephone call.
9.The burglar was captured by the police.
10.His fingers had been bitten off by the dog.

The bottles were not open by the children easily.
Right outside her front door, a road was built by the government.
As he walked through the store, the antique vase was broken by Mr.Ross.
She was amazed by the changes when she arrived.
Street repairs are being made all month long, by the construction workers.
His retirement will be celebrated by The party.
Right in front of him, his oral exam was being discussed by his professors.
The homemade cookies were eaten by my son.
The hull of the ship was damaged by Corrison.
While I was there, the old homestead was being visited by some children.

The Gene Machine (pg. 46-65)

I never thought we could compare genes with computer programmers. Genes control our behavior. It is very interesting to see some of the ideas Dawkins shares to us because we learn about biology but in a more discussed way. He provides examples and stories that help understand biology and help prove his further points. “I am trying to build up the idea that animal behavior, altruistic or selfish, is under the control of genes in only an indirect but still very powerful, sense.” This quotation helps the reader to understand that humans and animals behave in certain ways because of the genes that carry.

“Therefore in order for a behavior pattern altruistic or selfish to evolve, it is necessary that a gene ‘for’ that behavior should survive in the gene pool more successfully that a rival gene or allele…”This quotation was the one that helped me the most because it clearly explains how a gene influences in our behavior, but first he has to “survive in the gene pool.”

Sources

INSTRUCTIONS
1.See if the article I am reading works for the topic I am discussing.
2.Take into consideration what point of view the author is adressing.
3.Is it a primary, secondary, or terciary source?
4.See how much does the article covers my topic.
5.How reliable is the source I am using.
6.Take into consideration if the article is updated or old. Does it work?
7.Does it have links to other articles that might also work for your topic?
8.Is the webpage credible?

EBSCO
-How women's rights got a splashy push By: Doup, Liz. Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL).

-Fay Weldon: Longtime Observer Of Women Vs. Men By: Goldberg, Carole. Hartford Courant, The (CT), 06/18/2006.

-Interview: Rachel Ivie on a study showing an increase of women in physics professorships By: NEAL CONAN. Talk of the Nation (NPR), 02/23/2005.

-Tortured Woman Had Told Of Abuse by One Suspect. By: Urbina, Ian; Stratton, Chris. New York Times, 9/13/2007.

-Rebuilt to last: Woman's Club of Albany working to restore its home and civic mission By: Howley, Dan. Times Union (Albany, NY), 11/04/2007.

Immortal Coils (The Selfish Gene pg.21-45).

Definitions:
Allele:"When two genes are rivals in a chromosome".
Meiosis: Cell division by sexual relations.
Mitosis: Normal, natural cell division.
Point Mutation:"Error corresponding to a single misprinted letter in a book."
Mimicry: Edited or rearrenged.
START symbol: Used to define when a gene sequence begins.
END symbol: Used to describe when a gene sequence ends.
Gene: Is defined as a piece of chromosome which is sufficiently short for it to last, potentially, for long enough for it to function as a significant unit of natural selection."

"As far as a gene is concerned, its alleles are its deadly rivals, but other genes are just part of its environment..."

The Replicators (The Selfish Gene pg.12-20).

The replicator is said to be, a molecule that can multiply itself. “AT some point a particularly remarkable molecule was formed by accident. We call it the Replicator. It may not necessarily have been the biggest or the most complex molecule around, but it had the extraordinary property of being able to create copies of itself”.

Dawkins then talks about “building blocks” which I understand are further going to be DNA. These building blocks will attach to the replicator, and the building blocks will form a sequence copied by that of the replicator. This process continues until many layers are stacked on o top of the other. “This is how crystals are formed”.

I find it very interesting to learn about biology through this book. However, it has been very challenging since it is very long and difficult to read.

Paraphrasing,Quotation, and Summary

Paraphrasing:
Roger Sipher argues why students should not be obligated to attend school since it does not bring positive consequences nor improvement in education.

Summary:
In this essay Sipher provides the reader valuable arguments in which he states why it is not efficient to force children into school. He also tells us how students who do not like or appreciate school only disturb and molest the ones who do want to learn. He provides different points of view in which the reader can conclude that forcing students to go to class is only a waste of time, money, and other people's talents.

Quotation:
Roger Sipher not only talks about the consequences of forcing students to class, but also shows the benefits of not forcing them to class, ¨Communities could use these savings to support institutions to deal with young people not in school. If, in the long run, these institutions prove more costly, at least we would not confuse their mission with that of schools¨(Sipher).

Why are People? (The Selfish Gene pg.2-11).

According to Dawkins, being altruistic means, doing things for the well of a community or a group, not for ones own interest. “An apparently altruistic act is one that looks, superficially, as if it must tend to make the altruistic more likely (however slightly) to die, and the recipient more likely to survive”. I realized Dawkins was arguing and giving examples of this behavior so he can compare it to selfishness, which clearly is much more common between humans. I personally think that in many cases I am a very selfish person. However, I am altruistic in some other cases, for example, when I help my friends before helping myself, or when I think of others first. I also behave in an altruistic way when I take decisions that will benefit others and not myself.

Like I said before, talking about altruistic behaviors led Dawkins to talk about selfishness. According to him, being selfish is refusing to share, and acting for ones own benefit all the time. “…Selfish behavior may simply consist of refusing to share some valued resource such as food, or sexual partners”. I think being selfish is sometimes useful because not everyone has good intentions and sometimes they just want to see you get hurt. When you act in a selfish way the possibilities of getting hurt are much less than when you benefit everyone else.

Five Sources Rhetoric

1. Wikipedia-Women Rights Refrences:^ United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Introduction

2.Living The Legacy The Women's Rights Movement: http://www.legacy98.org/

3.Women's History in America: http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm

4.The Strengths of a women:http://www.angelfire.com/ca5/catalen/ACaterinaGranphics/AmazingStrengthsofwomanl.html

5.Women Rights are Human Rights:http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/isswom.htm

Right or Wrong? (The Power and The Glory p.161-183).

What does having money mean to the priest? The priest although he is a priest, is also human. Humans tend to have an ambition towards money because all of the advantages and luxuries it brings. However, a priest is not supposed to think that way. At least that is what I have learned in mass. At the beginning of the chapter the priest seems to be trapped on whether or not he needs money. It is obvious that he needs money to survive, but he is taking the money away from people who need it even more. He establishes that he will be charging one peso fifty per child that gets baptized. “ ‘On peso, father. We are very poor.’ ‘One peso fifty.’ A voice from years back said firmly into his ear: they don’t value what they don’t pay for. It was the old priest he had succeeded at Concepcion who had explained to him…” (p.167). In this quotation a poor woman is trying to convince the priest of lowering the price of the baptisms. I believe it is absurd the way he thinks about the stuff he needs, and he does not realize the people of that village needs that money even more!

Nevertheless, the priest then comes to his senses and gives all the money he receives to a schoolteacher. I think it is very important to notice that although this priest is a “whiskey priest” he is still trying to do what is best for the people and not for him. I find it really interesting that in the only village he is received with excitement and without fear, he immediately took advantage and began charging for his “services”. It is not fair that a priest thinks that way; he should be thanking everyone in the village for being so welcoming with him.

Selfish or not? (The Power and the Glory pg.140-159).

The priest, like every human has patience until one point. Throughout the story he has tried to help as much people as he can, and he has tried to give mass, and confess people. However, in this last chapter I was able to tell he was getting tired. After being caught, confused with another person, and released again, the priest seems to be, totally exhausted. It is very difficult to tell whether or not the priest is a good person, or a convenient person. In some chapters he helps people. In others he stays in people’s houses without caring if the police comes and kills them the next day.

“He thought: I have to get to shelter- a man’s first duty is to himself- even the Church taught that, in a way. The whole sky was blackening.” (p.155). This quotation shows how the priest tried to think about the woman (Indian) but he couldn’t. He had to think of himself because he was going to die if he kept getting wet. The priest like I said before sometimes thinks about himself only, but he also thinks about others. “ ‘vamos,’ the priest said, but the woman scraped the sugar with her sharp front teeth, paying no attention. He looked up at the sky and saw the evening star bottled out by black clouds. ‘Vamos.’ There was no shelter anywhere on this plateau.” (p.155). He tried so hard to convince the woman to go with him, but she would not go, in this case I support the priest’s decision in leaving her there.

It is very tough to be hiding all the time, and at the same time completing a priest’s duties. I do not always agree with the Priest’s behavior, but I do admire his way of escaping from every situation and at the same time achieving his duties as a priest. Is he a whiskey priest or not?

Priests and Activists Join Together to Condemn Priest

In this video you can see how a Priest is being condemned. People from Poland are asking the Vatican to take measures regarding father Tadeusz Rydzyk. It says, "As Polish Catholics, both lay and religious, we protest against the scornful and anti-Semitic remarks made by a representative of our Church. Such attitudes negate the Gospel of Love proclaimed by Jesus Christ. It also contradicts the teaching of our compatriot, the Pope John Paul II, who called the Jews "our elder brothers in faith", and described anti-Semitism as "a grave sin". We want to express our solidarity with all our Jewish brothers and sisters offended by the director of Radio Maryja, which advertises itself as "the Catholic voice in your home". As I was reading The Power and the Glory, I found this video to be related with the theme of the book because in both people are condemning priests. Although their reasons are totally different they both have the same goal: punish or accuse one specific priest. This is the link towards the video I am talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y_2Z51fdqw.

Loyalty (The Power and the Glory pg.60-80).

Loyalty has always been a problem between human beings. It is not something we find easily, and it is not something that is easy to keep. In The Power and the Glory we have seen how the Priest has hidden in all the villages and how people have helped him not to get caught. I do not think this has been fair. People are going to die because of this hiding priest. However, the people of the villages keep on helping him hide, and keep on covering his back. It is ridiculous that people have died because of one person who could have turned himself in and receive his “punishment”. “ ‘They are taking hostages now – from all the villages where they think you’ve been. And if people don’t tell…somebody is shot…and then they take another hostage. It happened in Concepcion.’ ” You can tell people are scared to bring them in their houses and letting him sleep there. However, they still believe in God so they do not know what to do. The Priest should have told them not to worry and he should have left. If he gets caught them he must accept his responsibility. I can tell people from those villages really believe in God and in religion because in every chapter you can tell people miss mass and confession. I think their loyalty towards their faith is what keeps them from turning in the priest. It is their loyalty towards God and towards helping people that convinces them to permit him to sleep at their houses.

It is very rare to find people with such loyalty, and I believe it is something to appreciate and be thankful of. I predict many people are going to get killed in The Power and the Glory and only until someone the Priest really cares for get killed, he is going to keep on hiding without caring how many people die because of him.

The Bystanders (The Power and the Glory pg.48-60).

“There were few people about; it was too hot. If only, he though, we had a proper photograph – he wanted to know the features of his enemy. A swarm of children had the plaza to themselves. They were playing some obscure and intricate game from bench to bench.”

It is amazing to see how many children get brainwashed and used during wars or revolutions. In this chapter of The Power and the Glory I have learned that people who live in poor areas are extremely naïve. What do I mean with poor areas? I mean places were children have to work instead of going to school. I mean places were grown ups boss children around all the time. Sadness, is the word I can use to describe what I feel when I read about children living in terrible conditions. Feeling this made me realize education is indispensable in life.

In The Power and the Glory the lieutenant is walking around a plaza and a bottle smashes at his feet. He then starts talking to these children who are playing around. He talks to them about how they are all in the same side, for they are not “gringos”. He then shows them his gun, and they all seem to be amazed and excited. “ ‘Did you throw that bottle?’ The heavy brown eyes stared sullenly back at him. ‘What were you doing?’ ‘It was a bomb.’ ‘Where you throwing it at me?’ ‘No.’ ‘What then?’ ‘A gringo.’ The lieutenant smiles- an awkward movement of the lips.” This quotation clearly explains how the lieutenant takes advantage of what had just happened and tries to brainwash the children. These situations happen every day. In Colombia, for example, the guerrilla finds little kids running around all day. Their job is to convince these kids that to fight for their rights and freedom is not a bad thing to do. Soon, these children get completely brainwashed and end up either killing other people or participating on the illicit drug organizations.

Every child in the world deserves a chance to be someone. They deserve a chance to learn. They deserve the opportunity to have a better future that the ones their parents might have. This can only happen throughout education. Hopefully, on the next couple of years everyone in the world learns to read and write, and hopefully everyone gets the chance to work and get to be better people.

The Journey (The Power and the Glory pg. 30-48).

Captain Fellows is extremely angry, but most of all, he is nervous. His daughter decided to help the Priest! How crazy is she? This chapter caught my attention because I saw a line that proved that the stranger is actually the Priest. “The stranger came into the clearing. He wore what used to be town shoes, black and pointed; only the uppers were left, so that he walked to all intents barefoot. The shoes were symbolic, like the cobwebbed flags in churches.” This quotation happens when the Priest (the stranger) arrives to a very poor village. His clothes are torn to pieces, and he is really tired. I could tell the stranger and the Priest are the same person because the old man from the little town asks him if he can confess him. I found it really interesting that the author tries to confuse us (readers) by introducing the stranger and the Priest as different people in different situations (although these situations connect). What I haven’t been able to understand is why Greene wants to confuse us, and why he presents the story from different perspectives.

Nonetheless, it is very important to take into consideration the different perspectives of the book. For example, one story, talks about a mother reading a story to her children. The other one is about Mr. Tench, another one is about Captain Fellows and so the author keeps on doing this. I believe he does this so we (readers) learn to connect the stories to reach one final conclusion. What do you think this conclusion, or this mystery is all about?

The Passenger by Andrew Rice

Dear Andrew Rice,

I agree with you on most of the things you wrote about Kapuscinski's work. It is probably true that Kapuscinski did not do most the things he says he does.However, i do believe he was in most of the wars he talks about in The Soccer War. Your point is totally valid,I do not think Kapuscinski is the hero or the inmortal person he shows to be. Its impossible that nothing ever happened to him, while facing the most chaotic situations in the world.It is also important to know that Kapuscinski also writes cruel things that happen to him. For example, when they get him in the road blocks and beat him up. However,this is only one situation compared to a thousand others that he "survived without any help." You also talked about family, love, and sexual desires. I believe The Soccer War is not about this topics. I believe it is about the wars and his point of view while being in the different countries. I likes your article and it helped me realize or see Kapuscinski from another perspective wich I never thought of.
Sicerely,
Mariana Gutierrez

The Priest (The Power and the Glory pg.20-30)

Who is the stranger? As I said on the previous blog, I thought Mr.Tench was not a dentist and that he was an evil person. However, I discovered in chapter two that I was completely wrong. Mr. Tench is an english dentist; but, the stranger is The Priest. "As for the Church - the Church is Padre Jose and the whisky priest - I don't know of any other." This quotation made me realize that the stranger was the Priest. I concluded this, because he little boy was the boy "the stranger" helped. The stranger also was trying to get on the boat to run away, but he missed it for helping the little boy. I was amazed by the way this novel is written because at first I could not understand anything, but now I am started to understand the suspense Greene is trying to create.

Meanwhile, I believe the lieutenant is really greedy and thinks he is the best in everything. I got the impression that he is going to do something suspicious in the novel. He gives the impression that he thinks he is really wise but I have the impression he is going to betray someone. "The lieutenant said suddendly, 'I will tell you what I'd do. I would take a man from every village in the state as a hostage. If the villagers didn't report the man when he came, the hostage would be shot - and then we'd take another." This quotation made me realize the lieutenant is really mean. He is going to kill inocent people just to find what he needs. This example from the novel shows how people use other people, and how many people die just for the benefit of others. I believe I am going to learn a lot with this novel. Hopefully, later on, I will be able to prove my theory of wether the lieutenant is a hipocrite or not.

A Dentist? (The Power and the Glory pg.7-20).

The Power and the Glory began with Mr. Tench. He is an english man who lives in Mexico because he wanted to become rich by being a dentist. He then gets stuck in Mexico because of the money changes. Making him grumpy. He seems to be in a bad mood all the time. "Mr. Tench's father had been a dentist too." This quotation informs the reader that Mr. Tench is a dentist;however, he seems to be upset or worried about something. It says, " 'Home,' Mr. tench said, 'my home's here. Did you see what the peso stands at in Mexico City? Four to the dollar. Four. O God. Ora pro nobis.' 'Are you a Catholic?' " giving us the idea that he is afraid of the stranger being catholic. Why is Mr. Tench scared?

Predicting what will happen next, I realized Mr.Tench is hiding something. He is probably another person with a completely different personality. He probably is not a dentist nor anything that has to do with that profession. He acts as if he were really mad, in a bad mood, and treats the little child in a really poor way. This made me believe he is trying to hide his real identity by acting as a complete different person. What will happen to Mr.Tench? Is he really a dentist? Who is he?

The Emperor by Ryszard Kapuscinski

Fascinating! This is what I can say about the story The Emperor. The descriptions Kapuscinski uses to create the scenario are amazing. "Mountains of meat, fruit, fish, and cheese rose on the tables. Many-layered cakes dripped with sweet, colored icing. Distinguished wines spread reflected colors and invigorating aromas. The music played on, and costumed clowns did somersaults to the delight of the carefree revelers." Since I read The Soccer War I have noticed how Kapuscinski describes everything with exact precision so we can imagine it. I like this way of writing because it is similar to Gabriel Garcia Marquez's writings. The descripition he uses creates a peaceful atmosphere that you can picture all along the story.

Nevertheless, so much description made me realize how fancy this dinner was. It is really shocking to see how later on in the story, Kapuscinski describes the beggars outside, and how they are waiting fo the emperor's servants to throw away the left overs. Hopefully the protagonist changes or realizes how poor people live and how blessed he is to have everything he has.

Boots (The Stranger pg.192-215).

A war between Syria and Israel leads to two important conclusions. Like Kapuscinski says, "When war breaks out, everyone in Israel goes to the front and civilian life dies out. While in Syria, many people did not find out about the 1967 war until it was over." I agree with Kapuscinski when he states that the only excuse for Syria loosing the war was because the country, the people, did not support their army. They did not show them any motive to fight with all their might, while the people in Israel do the exact opposite. Throughout my whole life, I have seen the difference of doing something by youself, and doing something with the support of others. When you are supported you are more motivated to do things, you feel appreciated. It is very important to feel supported in every thing that you do, wether you are playing in a team, or wether you did something wrong and you need people beside you. I believe it has been very clear through history how people succeed with the suppert of their friends and family and how others fail for being all alone and without any motivation.

Another interesting topic to discuss is how Kapuscinski describes the daily life of the Greeks, while being at war. "All day beginning in the morning, the Greeks sit in chairs in front on the little cafes. Until noon they sit facing the sun; at noon they pull the chairs into the shade;in the afternoon they move back into the sun. these are the men-no women." How can this be pissible? How can the Greeks avoid conversations with each other so they do not start arguing over the war? How can people be or act as if they were calm, when their army need their support? All these questions crossed my mind whie reading thins chapter. It is amazing to see how many people lost their homes, and meanwhile, others just pretend that nothing is happening. This chapter really made me think how much time we spend each day thinking about ourselves, while we could be supporting and helping people that get affected each day by the situation in Colombia and around the world today.

The Cause Of War (The Stranger pg.173-193)

The chapter called The Soccer War continued to impress me even more! As I kept on reading Kapuscinski I thought about the real purpose of the war between El Salvador and Honduras;however,I kept in mind that it began in a soccer game.
Finally,Kapuscinski explains that the struggles between these two countries began with a population problem in El Salvador. Salvadorians were living in Honduras because they had better lifes and because El Salvador has the greatest population density, while Honduras has much more "space" for people than El salvador. "In this circumstances the match between Honduras and El Salvador had taken place." This quotation caught my attention because it resumes how a little problem, or small conflicts add up until they end up in a war like it happend in the book.

Nontheless,as dicussed in class developing countries have the same conflicts, and have wars over almost the same things. It is extremely sad to see how developed countries advance in science and technology every day, while developing countries try to catch up with each new invension. The soccer War has showed me not only different wars in different countries, but how naive and forgotten are the third world countries.

The Soccer War (The Soccer War pg. 151-172)

Kapuscinski arrives in Latin America to witness and describe a war between El Salvador and Honduras. He first begins to write about, Mexico, Bolivia, Chile and some other Latin American countries. When I got to the chapter called The Soccer War, I got really excited to see what it was about, because the book has the same title. However, I began reading and I noticed it was about a war that began in a soccer game; I was not so excited anymore.

Latin American countries have always been seen as violent, third world countries. I found it very interesting that Kapuscinski wrote, "But there was no way to stop that metal monster, it was like something possesed, banging against the cobblestones, smashing into lamp-posts, thundering and booming." I can compare this quoation to the trashcan being a group of revolutionary people and the cobblestones and lamp-posts being the rest of the country. Why do I relate this quote with groups of people? I believe the noise I could hear in my head while reading this quotation is the exact noise I hear everytime the news talks about terrorist atacks. Everytime "Las FARC" (guerilla group in Colombia) does another criminal assault. It is amazing the disturbance I felt when I read this quotation, I could feel the tension he felt while the trashcan bangged on the floor everytime!

I could not believe there are children that get shot, and continue fighting! While being a delegate at the Model United Nations in Bogota, I realized how many children get demoralized and mistreated by grownups who want them to fight, not only in Colombia, but everywhere around the world. Kapuscinski says, "A wounded boy arrived in a truck. A Salvadoran. he had taken a bullet in a knee. He was ordered to lie down on the grass.The boy was barefoot, pale, spattered with blood...He used his fingers to pull out the bullet. Then he poured iodine into the wound and wrapped it in a bandage." It is incredible to see, how a boy gets shot and takes the bullet out by himself! Although this happened a while ago, children are still being used for different war purposes. For example, they are used to walk over mine fields so they get hurt and not the older ones. They are used to fight and to carry weapons when the older ones get tired! I just do not believe this is fair. Children are supposed to be studying and getting educated. Furthermore, children are children and they deserve a chance to play, learn, and grow up to be good people. In what world will we end up living if the future leaders of the world learn to fight, shoot, and hurt others? Is this what we want our future to be?

Behind The Desk (The Soccer War pg 135-151)

The life of Kapuscinski while being a journalist was a risky but a very active one. Kapuscinski, had the opportunity to presence real conflicts and real countries at wars. I believe he was a very brave person, and therefore he was a very good journalist. I thought about the feelings he described while passing through the roablocks, and I concluded that if I were in that position I would not have the guts to stay still and I would definitely show a lot of weakness. I enjoyed reading the way he described his situations while being on the hands of the UPGA. "The Irony of the situation was that I would die out of responsibility for colonialism; I would die in expiation of the slave merchants; I would die to atone for the white planter's whip; I would die because Lady Lugard had orderes them to carry her in a litter." This quoation is a perfect explanation of what was crossing Kapuscinski's mind, he perfectly describes the situation, and what the UPGA was doing with him and his Peugeot.

On the other hand, I found it very interesting that Kapuscinski could not work behing a desk. I never thought about offices and desks as an influence on who you are, but after reading Kapuscinski's descriptions I realized, desks do make a lot of differences in you life. It is very true that a small desk demonstrates you have a low paying job, while a big fancy desk shows you have an important job in whatever job you work on. I found it very special that Kapuscinski gets so desperate in his desk because this demonstrates how he has the strength to become a real journalist. I mean a real journalist by a person who lives each moment he is about to document, and not a someone who sits all day long waiting for information to come in. "When my editor became convinced that all his efforts had been in vain and that there was no way to get me doing office work, he decided to do something with me. It would be best if I went somewhere." This quotation resumes everything I just talked about, and how he proves to his boss what job he was born to do.

Listening About The Author of The Soccer War

Kapuscinski was a great journalist that I did not knew of before. This week in class we have started to read The Soccer War. For this reason we have learned about Kapuscinski, and his writings. I found very interesting the way he was a journalist during the day, and a novelist during the night. In the interview they talk about his work, and when he began writing.

It was very interesting when they mentioned Gabriel Garcia Marquez because in spanish I am reading a novel that he wrote. I did not knew Kapuscinski and Gabriel Garcia Marquez tought classes together, and I would love to read and learn more about their relationship.

Taking Over (The Soccer War pg.115-135)

Are you afraid of people taking over a country?
I think it is amazing that Kapuscinski wrote this book because this way I have been able to get to know real life conflicts involving politics in different countries. I have seen throughout the first two chapters that taking over the government was really popular in those times. It says, "During the course of the military takeover that I was about to witness, I did not see a single armed soldier. This distinguished the present coup from that of October 1963,when the army used weapons..." I have always thought about the day when a colombian president takes over the country, or when someone takes the place of the president without voting. Kapuscinski writes about these events as he witness each of them, but he does not describe how people feel or act, he makes it look as if everyone was terrified, and he only describes how the army check the cars, bags etc... My real question is, how has this affected those countries? Do these things happen only in third world countries? Are these countries all in Africa? Hopefully, as I read ahead I get the answers of this questions because they are really confusing my comprehension of the book.

However, I did find interesting the idea about thinking what would happen if someone took over Colombia, or better yet the current president; Alvaro Uribe. It has been a real shock to most colombians that Uribe has been elected to be the president of Colombia for four more years! Although most colombians did vote for him, I am feeling afraid that he is going to stay as president for a very long time. This happened to Venezuela, and Chavez is not seen in a good way around the world, especially in the United States. I believe that presidents that are in charge for a very long time become power mongers and slowly start to take over without concerning for the people. I found a quotation in The Soccer War that describes an event that I do not want to see happening in Colombia, "Mobutu had arrested President Kasavubu and named himself president for five years. The most characteristic thing about Mobutu's speech was the precision of the decree that he would be president 'for five years'." I do not want to see this happen, because developing countries have very naive people that get conviced over anything. For example, if someone arrests Uribe, and takes over for five years, he will probably say and promise things that benefit the lower class, therefore, the lower class will love him or her, and therefore he or she can stay in control for a very long time until he takes over and bring disadvantages to our country. I believe this novel will give us some idea of different situations in different countries that will enrich our knowledge and will bring a lot of topics to discuss.

Two men, Similar and Different (Soccer War pg.95-115)

Do Ben Bella and Meursault have something in common or are they completely different? As I began reading The Soccer War by Ryzard Kapuscinski I started thinkis what this book had in common with The Stranger. I then decided to compare the main character of the The Stranger (Meursault) with one of the characters of The Soccer War. As discussed on the precious blogs, Meursault is a very different person from the rest of us. He does not show feelings at all, he is very straigh forward and honest. However, Ben Bella is said to be brave and original. "Ben Bella tried to create the conditions in which youth could develop, to free slaves, to fight for the rights of women: Algerian women despaired when they heard that ben Bella had been removed; they dressed in mourning." This quotation is very interesting because it says Ben Bella fought for women's rights while Meursault did not care when Raymond hit his mistress. This quotation clearly demonstrates a difference in their believes and ways of living their lifes. Another difference is, that Meursault did not care about anyone, he could not care less about his girlfriend, his neighbor, his boss etc... Meanwhile, Ben Bella cares for the people, and wants to handle Algeria for this reason.

An example of a similarity in their personalities is their personal strenght and confidence towards themselves. "He was so sure of himself that he felt the moment had come to deal with his main opponent, the very force that had carried him into power, that for three years had stood not so much behind him as beside him-the army." This quotation is an example of Ben Bellas strength and confidence. Another example is, He believed in his own strength, in his own star, in his own popularity." Some people believe in themselves, others live their whole life regreting their every move, I believe Meursault and Ben Bella are both very brave and in some way proud of who they are. This is the last connection related to the novel The Stranger.
Taking into consideration that the auther of The Soccer War was actually present in all the wars he describes, I am ancious to see what will happen next!

The Punishment (The Stranger pg. 100-123)

Did Meursault receive the punishment he deserved? I have been asking myself this question since I finished the book. Throughout the whole story I was angry at Meursault for being the way he was! I did not understand why he had to be so empty inside and so careless about everything. Nevertheless, I found a quotation of the book that made me feel pity for him. "I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate." I find this quotation extremely strong. It shows Meursault's total confidence towards his way of living and his way of being. I admire his way of not changing his personality just because a priest, a judge, or his lawyer tells him to. However, I do not encourage being like Meursault, although, throughout the book I did learn to respect his decisions and his way of being.

Having analyzed Meursault's personality I thought it was interesting to discuss society and how many people have been punished for being different. In class we have talked and compared Sisyphus, Meursault and Jesus. We discussed how they were all punished for being different.
It is obvious that society today takes a while to adapt to change, and to new different ideas. But, how many people have to die for us to realize being different does not make you guilty of anything? If we think, throughout history, changes have happened and it is because of some people that have thought differently. It is beacuse of this that we have technology or philosophy. It is because of this that some ancient people have become famous, it is because of this that people get rewarded. But, do people have to die because of this?

Scared of Death (The Stranger pg 80-100)

Guilty as charged! This what the judge had to say since the beginning of the trial. Wether or not, he did it on purpose or not, Meursault did kill a man. I understood throughout the whole book, that Meursault had no feelings at all about anything around his life, however that does not make him innocent. It really shocked me when I read "It was then I felt a stirring go through the room and for the first time I realized that I was guilty." At first I got confused when I read this, and I thought he migh have felt guilty, but then I realized i was wrong. He said he knew he was guilty, but he was talking about the decision the jury was going to make, he did not feel anything.

I am also very impressed with how Meursault goes through the days. For the first time in the book I admire his personality. It is because of his lack of feelings that he can spend months thinking about his memories, and sleeping. I think that if I had to be in that situation I would probably get bored to death! I could never pass a day thinking about things that have happend to me before, because I would be sad all the time. I can not even pass a day in my house by myself! It is frustrating that Meursault's personality is this way, because in a way I really do admire him... Sometimes I overreact about little problems that at the end are not so relevant, and this is the time were I would love to be like Meursault! Is Camus trying to prove something by making Meursault guilty?

Twisitng The Truth (The Stranger pg.60-80)

Monsieur Meursault has shown throughout the book that he has no feeling towards anything around his life. I learned in this pages that what I said before is not true. In the book there is a specific example I found wich clearly explains why Monsieur Meursault acts the way he does. "He asked me if I could say that that day I has back my natural feelings. I said, "No, because it's not true".He gave me a strange look, as if he found me slightly disgusting..."pg. 65. He won't tell lies althout his lawer is almost begging him to do so, in order yo win the case. With this example we can also know Monsieur Meursault, is not a person who tells lies, not even to save him from going to jail. He would just not twist the truth in order to save himself. This just kept me questioning will he get released any time soon? What is his veredict?

The visit of Marie, also caugh my attention. I can not imagine what it is like to be in jail, nevertheless, to have someone visit me while I am in jail, but Monsieur Meursault did not show any enthusiasm towards Marie's visit, and I think I woul have been very excited if someone came to visit me. "I was feeling a little sick and I'd have liked to leave. The noise was getting painful. But on the other hand, I wanted to make the most of Marie's being there" pg. 75. This is an example of how he did like Marie's visit and did get excited, but however, his way of not caring about anything still shows a little, specially in the part where he says, " "I was feeling a little sick and I'd have liked to leave. The noise was getting painful"pg 75. I see Marie's visit as a sign of how maybe being in jail and away from everything might have changed his way of feeling, and might encourage him to be more emotional, however this is just a prediction which I will have to see if it ir right on the next pages.

A Day on the Beach (The Stranger pg. 40-60)

"He looked upset and told me that I never gave him a straight answer, that I had no ambition, and that that was disastrous in business. So I went back to work" (pg.41). This specific quote from the book caught my attention as soon as I read it. Its the perfect example of how Monsieur Meursault sees his life. It is the first time in the book that I see that someone is straight forward to Monsieur Meursault, it clearly shows how he really does not get excited or motivated about anything. How can a person marry someone he doesn't love? How can he not love Marie if he spends almost all weekends with her? How can she not care? This book has really given me reasons to believe there are many people aroung the world who just live day by day without even realizing what they are living, they just "go with the flow". Personaly, I like people who have an influence on life, who know what they want and what they want to do. For this reason I do not like Monsieur Meursault personality.
Furthermore, a murded occured. Monsieur Meursault, ended killing an arab guy who he didn't even know. I was impressed when this happend because I didn't see it comming. It was obvious Raymond was on to something but I never imagined Monsieur Meursault was going to get involved.

Women Rights (The Stranger pg.20-40)

Monsieur Meursault, talkes about the people he sees in the street and how by the end of the day everyone seems to vanish. Then he starts describing his nighbors and one of the neighbor's dog. It is here, that I realize how women rights is a topic to be dicussed in these twenty pages. Raymond, is one of Monsieur Meursault's neighbors, and he was having a relationship with a woman who he though was being unfaithful to him. Raymond treated this woman like and animal he beat her although she screamed in pain. He talked about her as if he wanted to make her life miserable. What I dislike about this, is that men do not realize how many times a year, a day, a month, even a week they are unfaithful to their wifes or girlfriends. They do not seem to notice they do the same things as in this case Raymond's girlfriend did to him. I am not agreeing with the fact that being unfaithful is a bad thing, I am just saying that Raymond treated his "girlfriend" unfairly because there is no reason in the world for a man to hit a woman! Women have been treated unfairly and unsuperior for a very long time, but now a days, women control the world, so its time for men to realize their position and its time for them to act with some respect.

Marengo (The Stranger pg.3-20)

Monsieur Meursault, seems to be tired of his life, impressed with his boss, and comepletely clueless about his mother's death. In the first twenty pages of this book, the main character which is also the narrator, gives the impression of being bored with his monotonous life. It really shocked me that he did not seem to care about his mother's death. Randomly Monsieur Meursault, goes to the movies with a girl which he used to be involved with, but after a night in the movies and in his house she just left, and he again shows no feeling about this. Can a human being be so empty inside to not feel anything ever?

Reading goes beyond what you see!

Reading a novel does not always mean you understand it, like it, or even enjoy it. Throughout my high school experience I have learned how to analyze and critize books through different types of themes, and topics of discussion. Nevertheless, Twelve Grade English will give me the opportunity to share my thoughts, opinions, critiques, and responses of the books I read in this page. My name is Mariana Gutierrez and I will be enjoying your responses towards what I write on my blog!