Warning: Propaganda

         I can not think of a better term for this type of propaganda than a direct command.  This means that in this type of propaganda, the audience is not given much of a choice other than buying into whatever product is being sold.  It means that the option is not simply the better choice, but rather the only option, consequently meaning, the only thing that can be done.  A perfect example for this would be the Nike ads and their tagline Just Do It.  This has no questions asked, simply a command.

Dog Years

            I feel most connected to someone when I watch them face an obstacle dead on.  In those moments, all I see in their eyes are determination and focus.  It is in these moments that I see their strength.  Never would I have thought that I would feel that same gripping sensation from anything not human.  Honestly, why would I think that there could be any other being on earth that could bring that same amount of emotion to me?  Why would I think that something other than man could be strong?  It was because I was looking but I was not seeing.

            Our dog, Pep, had been with the family since I was 5.  He had lived a happy life in his youth, making his rounds around the neighborhood and impregnating all the other dogs.  He had his fair share of walks, or maybe it would be more appropriate to call them dog chases.  He was a ball of energy that we could hardly contain. He lived like he could not lose, he was strong. But just like me and my siblings were, he was getting older.  We reached a position where we no longer took him out for walks.  We no longer played outside for hours, tiring ourselves out. Pep had reached a standstill.  It was a nadir in his life where he simply watched the days pass, hoping to do something exciting, but too old to actually do anything.  He was 11 years old and just getting older.  Then, the fateful day had come where watching another day pass by was not going to happen.  Pep was dying.

            I do not think that many dog owners have really watched their dog die.  My siblings and I did though.  We were totally aware of what was happening.  Pep could not stand up, so we all just lied there next to him.  I always knew that he was officially a part of our family, but it was only when he was dying did I realize that he knew it too.  He would not let go.  I saw him suffering.  I saw him crying out.  But he was not allowing himself to take that last breath while we were still around him.    

           For about an hour, we just told him that it was all right, we were going to be okay.  But he just would not.  It was almost as if I could hear him saying "No, not while you all are here, not while you all are watching, I am not weak."  The look in his eyes had more vitality than I think I will ever see in a human's eyes. There were no doubts in them, it was untainted vigor.  He did not want us to see him die.  So we left him, and he died.  But that look in his eyes, full of strength, full of force, will never fade away from my memories. I saw strength in its purest form that day, and I saw it in a dog.

Reaction: Two Views of the Mississppi--Mark Twain

    Twain made a very interesting comparison of the Mississippi River and a book.  He says that those who are unfamiliar to the realities of the danger of the river are like illiterate people who do not understand the text in a book.  He gave many comparisons like punctuation, italics and capitals to describe the river.  Also he did not ever mention that the river being described was the Mississippi River, it was only implied in the title of the reading.  I found this very smart.

  The essay opened my eyes to two things.  Firstly, that it helps for us to look at things in this world in different perspectives to make everything more interesting.  The other is that things that may have seemed wonderful before may turn out to be not so wonderful when we learn more about it. 

   This second point is a curious one.   It makes me wonder whether trying to fully understand things would be a good thing or a bad thing.  Do I want to maintain the mystery in things and risk not uncovering hidden wonders in things? Or would I like to learn everything in depth about a thing and risk finding out things that I might not like about it?

Reaction: The Ngong Farm

    The Ngong Farm was very descriptive Africa.  After reading the excerpt, I felt like I had just come from a tour through Africa.  I learned much about its geography, the imagery of its cities, some of it culture and the lifestyle.  With all of these things implanted in my head after just reading the selection, I believe that it would be right to say that the author was successful in making an effective descriptive essay of her farm.

Reaction: Photographs of my Parents -- Maxine Hong Kingston

     In this day and age, pictures have become very popular.  It is now so easy for us to document our lives on a daily basis.  Back then, randomly taking pictures was not too common.  

 
     In this selection, Kingston talked of the things she noticed from looking at the few pictures of her parents she had.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  Consequently, Kingston put tens of thousands of words into those photos of her parents.  She inferred a lot of things about her parents and how they adjusted to the change in setting from China to the US.                                                                                                             
   I guess that the same can be said for me when looking through my parents' old photos.  I could observe a lot about the fashion, the fun things to do, the environment.  Many things have changed yet there is still some odd connection to the present that can be felt. Because of this connection, I feel like I would like to take many pictures of the things that go on around me so that, in the future, people could connect themselves to my past as well.