Monday, December 13, 2010

American Born Chinese

(1) Why did Jin move to america?


(2) Why did the monkey leave flower mountain?


(3) Who is really Danny's cousin?


(4) Why was monkey punished for 500 years?


(5) What nationality is the foreign exchange student Wei Chen?


(6) What is the name of the girl Jin falls in love with?


(7) What is significant about all of these personalities and how do they effect one another?


(8) What are some good reasons that this story is an allusion to Buddhism (must have at least two)?


(9) What is significant about the time and setting of Jin's story?


(10)

American Born Chinese

American Born Chinese is an allusion to buddhism
In Danny's story Danny is  avoiding his ultimate Chinese stereotype of a cousin that keeps ruining his reputation. Danny is symbolically running from who he is. When he realized that he was running from his heritage he accepted who he was and didn't care about what others thought of him as much. So he realized that he was trying to be something he is not. This is telling us to be proud of who and what we are.

In the monkeys story, it is related to buddhism. Monkey was king of flower mountain. But he wanted to be a god, not a monkey. So he gathered followers and disciples so he could be accepted. It is symbolic because he strived and aimed for heaven. But instead he was "punished" for 5 hundred years. Monkey disguised himself Danny's cousin. But when danny knocked off his mask monkey came out of hiding. He was not worried about himself anymore and was therefor enlightened like Sidartha.

In Jin's story, he is a new exchange student from china. He doesn't fit in with the other students so he "hides" himself. He is embarrassed of his heritage. When a new exchange student similar to him comes to school he tries to avoid him. But he soon makes friends with him. When he realizes that he has been ignoring and trying to hide who he is he gained confidence and stopped caring about what people think about him as much.

This concludes my points why these stories are allusions to Buddhism. The morale could be to be comfortable with yourself and be confident for who you really are.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Recently, the Euthanasia bill has not been passed. As a recap from my other blogs, euthanasia is the killing off of people in our society that we don't need anymore or reliving pain in life by death. But assisted suicide is another name for it. 11 votes supporting it were four greens, six labor members, and one national. Compared to the 24 votes against it. Nick Goiran collected 7,000 votes against it, he had a huge part in making it illegal. though some may still disagree, now that the huge debate is over, the members of the Western Upper Australian House think they have made a good, safe decision.

NEWS WEEKLY

In China,the one child policy is hurting their society deeply. The sex trafficking in women has gone up. The crime rate has gone up as well. Recently, two guys were sentenced to death for stealing 46 male babies and selling them on the black market. China's desperate attempt to narrow down the populations have violated Human rights and more. China has been forcing abortions even when the woman is nine months pregnant. Since 1974, the population has gone down by 400milion. The law has been working but it has been violating human rights and causing more crime. Babies have been drowned, parents have been tortured, and China is letting it happen. Any of the people who have revolted have been either killed, or beaten and tortured.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

The MDBA are taking 30% of the farmers water and putting it in other areas. Because of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, 800 workers are out of the job and will reduce agricultural production by $800,000,000. Farmers were burning the Draft Murray-Darling plan last week. Hundreds are outraged and out of the job. Some families are struggling to eat. Many are scavenging the cities looking for jobs.

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Obama's "political failures have left him in a tough spot. All of the republicans are winning over democrats due to Obama's fail to live up to his word. The House of Representatives elections are coming up and it doesn't look good for democrats. As you know, Obama promised to pull the troops out of Afghanistan which he has not done. He is quickly losing support and unless he changes something it isn't going to be good.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Picking who gets the nobel peace prize is a hard decision. Many people deserve it, but Professor Liu in china is "the rightful winner." Professor Liu was a professor at Bejjing university. His nonviolent protests against human rights have landed him in jail for 11 years. People are arguing over whether to give the Nobel Peace Prize to him or Aung Sun Suu Kyi, the leader of Burma's Democratic opposition. 

Friday, November 5, 2010

4) On page 120, when aunt Naomi was sick. Uncle Caleb said that they would call a doctor for her if she needs one. And then he says that "they" believe in modern medicine. This was interesting to me because it made me curious that Uncle Caleb wasn't that devoted to the religion, and i didn't know who "they" were.

     Another interesting scene to me was when Kirby and the kids were at the park. This whole book Kirby is trying to fight this religion when many times, she is kind of following it. She took off her shoes and dipped her feet in the water. Isn't that like baptism? Afterwards she felt cleansed and nice. Cleansed of her sins? It stuck out to me because it is kind of like godless with Jason Bock. Jason rebels against Christianity but still kind of follows it.

    
2) Kirby, or Esther is the main character in this book and she wants to go home and to have everything back the way it was. Kirby misses her mother and she wants her back. In I Am Not Esther, Uncle Caleb is the mentor because he is trying to guide Esther on her way to find faith. Esther does not understand that some things are best unknown.

Friday, October 29, 2010

If i mess up one more time my dad is going to put me at Inmin middle school. I like paideia, i don't want to go. So i wouldn't like you to tell them if i am late, haven't done my work, or not participating in class. Sometimes i can hear whats going on, but i just tune out. Just because i'm not making eye contact with you doesn't mean i'm not paying attention.
I dont really know. I guess the truth? I would probably like you to say something good but i dont really know. Maybe the truth is better.
i think you will say that i am a smart kid but you don't think i'm applying myself. Most of my teachers say this and i'm used to it. Teachers always think i'm not applying myself and sometimes i'm not. I admit it but i do try. I stare off into space. It may not seem like it, but i am impacient and can easily get stressed. If i feel crowded with work or chores i get stressed and i shut down.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

On news weekly, a group called the greens have been embracing death. Many people like Rammesh Ponuru (who wrote a book against abortion) have been getting very angry with this group. They believe that people not handy are useless people. At first they started embracing abortion. Then they moved on to old people and soon to handicapped people. They want to kill everyone who is handicapped or old. Most people think its wrong but its your choice who to side for.
On news weekly, This weeks issue states that China and Taiwan have been haveing problems in the past. Recently, China has been building 30 percent of their military right next to taiwan unadvertized. This is threatening Taiwan and many other cities including Delhi and Tokyo. China is bieing suspicious and the capitols are wondering how to fix all these delemas.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

If i could change anything it would be that Luscious was more racist toward Boston. You found out he was in the beginning but i felt there was more of a friendship between Boston and Luscious than hate. I wouldn't make any other changes though because i loved the comedy and the emotion and i felt as if they balanced it out well.
Della's locket acted as a symbol because it was it represented memories of Twist's mother. Della had the memories of his mother and passed it down to Twist. Twist didn't know who his mother was or even what she looked like until he got the locket. Then he could know her as she was for the first time. The mardi graw outfits represented happiness. Twist was surrounded by happiness and fun and games when he was taken away from the fun. Della realized he was finally happy when she took him away. Then she realized she was being selfish. The orphanage acted as hard times. Twist was bullied, pushed around, and abused by the orphanage people. But Twist slowly worked his way up until he was with a family.

Friday, October 1, 2010

The mentor was Prudhomme because he gave twist a home when he needed one. He gave twist advice and treated him nicely for the first time in his life.
Twist was named twist because of his dancing. Dancing involved twisting and his father was a big dancer. You also saw twist twist when he was dancing a lot.
The theme of this musical is do whats best for your child and make the best decision. You don't know what you've got until its gone.

Friday, September 24, 2010

I want to send a little deer. I am passionate about hunting. It is so calm and peaceful in the woods. Who needs therapy when you have mother nature. I love being out there. Deer are magnificent animals. They look great and elegant in the wild. It is nice to get away for a while. I love the woods so much. I have a little toy deer that i would like to send as a gift to the students in ghana.
I want to send a little deer. I am passionate about hunting. It is so calm and peaceful in the woods. Who needs therapy when you have mother nature. I love being out there. Deer are magnificent animals. They look great and elegant in the wild. It is nice to get away for a while. I love the woods so much. I have a little toy deer that i would like to send as a gift to the students in ghana.

Friday, September 17, 2010

LUV THE CHEESE
Im having a great year so far and i like my fellow classmates. I dont think any of them are intimidated by me because i try to be nice to everyone. Somedays i might slip up and be a little mean. But i tend to be grumpy in the mornings. i like mostly everyone. But some people may annoy me or make me angry but i always try to be nice. Unless they take it too far, but i wont get into detail about that.
In junior high everyone knows each other. Every one is friends with someone. I can walk down the halls and people say,"hey Alec, how was your day?" I love these people. But math is kind of hard. Ali is really nice but i don't think he likes me. One time on homework i got every single question right, i was excited to show it to him. But apperently i didnt copy the original problem so he gave me like half off. I saw a quick glance at other peoples grades in my class that have been doing just as poorly but have grades in the nineties. He tells me if i keep it up ill get a C.
Junior high is awesome. I really like it. The teachers are nice, the students are nice, and i get breaks and recesses. I'm practically going to school in paradise. Sometimes homework is a little rough on my schedule but otherwise i love junior high. Sometimes i cant do the home work because of sports, but some of my teachers understand. In sixth grade people told me it was awful, and that you got 3 hours of homework a night. In some cases, this is true. But its worth it.

Friday, September 10, 2010

 I want the kids in Ghana to learn about our culture. And as a token of our gratitude to them I think we should make something, like a class quilt or a big drawing and give it to them. This way, they will remember us and they could cary America with them wherever they go.
I think music brings us all together no matter what. Who doesn't like music?! You cant walk down the street without hearing it. Whether if its blaring in someone's car or if its the sounds around you blending together. Everyone likes a kind of music. When people listen to music it can control there emotions. If we listened to music that can make us feel good, why not listen to happy music?
I dont really promote peace, but i don't promote violence ether. I think of Paideia when i think of peace. Mainly because Paideia is full of good people who care about one another. I also think of the Vietnamese war when I think of peace. People were being drafted into the army to go to war some were taken from their families when they were needed. So people started protesting to save there families. Thats what i think of.
In ghana, we will be connecting with a classroom and sharing each others cultures back and forth. I am excited because i love to try new things and i cant wait to meet someone halfway across the world.