Thursday, June 30, 2011
100 word sentence
Everyone was in the state of panic and horror and ran around aimlessly while screaming shrilly and banging one another before the security guards and the police arrived to the packed shopping mall which had almost up to a thousand visitors at all time containing hundreds over shops and stalls after a was heard bomb hoax by a suspicious skinny tall man with unkempt hair and wearing a mask as if deliberately to cover up his face to avoid being recognized by the police who had attempted to track him down to capture him for his several bomb hoaxes attempt long time ago
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
R & R war
Passage A
GUNS,
Long, steel guns,
Pointed from the war ships
In the name of the war god.
Straight, shining, polished guns,
Clambered over with jackies in white blouses,
Glory of tan faces, tousled hair, white teeth,
Laughing lithe jackies in white blouses,
Sitting on the guns singing war songs, war chanties.
Shovels,
Broad, iron shovels,
Scooping out oblong vaults,
Loosening turf and leveling sod.
I ask you
To witness—
The shovel is brother to the gun.
(“Iron” by Carl Sandburg, Chicago Poems, Henry Holt, 1916)
1. “Guns / Long, steel guns / Pointed from the war ships” (lines 1-3). What type of
gun is Sandburg describing here?
Iron Guns
2. “Laughing lithe jackies in white blouses, / Sitting on the guns singing war songs,
war chanties” (lines 8-9). Who are the “jackies” in these lines, and why would
they be singing “war chanties”?
The jackies referred to the seamen. Theses "jackies have repeatedly do the same work, hence singing to ease the boredom.
3. “The shovel is brother to the gun” (line 16). Explain what Sandburg means by
this statement.
Both the Gun and the shovel are made from iron. The gun is created to kill, and the shovel to dig the graves. Hence, without the consequence of the shovel, the guns will not be created, hence, the shovel is the "brother" of the gun.
Passage B
SMASH down the cities.
Knock the walls to pieces.
Break the factories and cathedrals, warehouses and homes
Into loose piles of stone and lumber and black burnt wood:
You are the soldiers and we command you.
Build up the cities.
Set up the walls again.
Put together once more the factories and cathedrals, warehouses and homes
Into buildings for life and labor:
You are workmen and citizens all: We command you.
4. What is the significance of the poem’s title, “And They Obey”?
To show that after a country is taken over by another country, the citizens have lost their rights and voices. They could only listen and obey. The commanding army then have very high authority, even if it was only a minor soldier in the army.
5. What is the effect of the contrasting actions between stanzas 1 and 2 (smash/
build, knock/set up, break/put together)? What is the persona’s attitude toward
the soldiers and citizens in the poem?
It was about how different were the soldiers of the opposing army and the citizens of the town does. It also showed the irony, on how the army had told their soldiers to break down these buildings, however, again, it was them who commanded the citizens and workmen to rebuild all these buildings once again. Hence, it was an anti-war poem, to show the resent, of the poet towards war, and questioning the need of war.
6. In your view, is it harder to tear a society down, or to build it back up again? Use examples from current events to support your answer.
In my view it is harder to build a society back up than to tear a society down. To tear down a country, it can be in the matter of weeks, days or even seconds! Howecer, to rebuild the society, years are needed. In the recent Japanese earthquake, only a wave of earthquake that occurred only for minutes had reduced the buildings and propeties into rubbles. However, it was estimated that for the city to be rebuilt, it may take up to five years. With this example, I can tell that rebuilding a country is much harder.
Passage C
IN the old wars drum of hoofs and the beat of shod feet.
In the new wars hum of motors and the tread of rubber tires.
In the wars to come silent wheels and whirr of rods not yet dreamed out in the heads of men.
In the old wars clutches of short swords and jabs into faces with spears.
In the new wars long range guns and smashed walls, guns running a spit of metal and men falling in
tens and twenties.
In the wars to come new silent deaths, new silent hurlers not yet dreamed out in the heads of men.
In the old wars kings quarreling and thousands of men following.
In the new wars kings quarreling and millions of men following.
In the wars to come kings kicked under the dust and millions of men following great causes not yet
dreamed out in the heads of men.
7. Explain the progression of onomatopoeia in the first stanza. What do you
imagine the sounds of the future wars represent?
In the beginning of the poem, the "hoofs and beat of shod feet" was probably caused horses that the soldiers used during the war. Then, the "hum of motors and the tread of rubber tires" was probably caused by the cars or tanks used for the modern warfare. Then it was silent that represented the future wars. This may represent that that the technology in future was beyond imagination, or that the future may not even require such physical fights anymore, probably through a higher form of technology.
8. “In the wars to come kings kicked under the dust” (line 9). Taking an example
from current events, discuss one “king” that has been “kicked under the dust” in
recent times.
One example would be Muammar Gaddafi the leader of Libya, who had been removed from office. It was largely due to his over-usage of power to control the country which caused the rebel against him.
GUNS,
Long, steel guns,
Pointed from the war ships
In the name of the war god.
Straight, shining, polished guns,
Clambered over with jackies in white blouses,
Glory of tan faces, tousled hair, white teeth,
Laughing lithe jackies in white blouses,
Sitting on the guns singing war songs, war chanties.
Shovels,
Broad, iron shovels,
Scooping out oblong vaults,
Loosening turf and leveling sod.
I ask you
To witness—
The shovel is brother to the gun.
(“Iron” by Carl Sandburg, Chicago Poems, Henry Holt, 1916)
1. “Guns / Long, steel guns / Pointed from the war ships” (lines 1-3). What type of
gun is Sandburg describing here?
Iron Guns
2. “Laughing lithe jackies in white blouses, / Sitting on the guns singing war songs,
war chanties” (lines 8-9). Who are the “jackies” in these lines, and why would
they be singing “war chanties”?
The jackies referred to the seamen. Theses "jackies have repeatedly do the same work, hence singing to ease the boredom.
3. “The shovel is brother to the gun” (line 16). Explain what Sandburg means by
this statement.
Both the Gun and the shovel are made from iron. The gun is created to kill, and the shovel to dig the graves. Hence, without the consequence of the shovel, the guns will not be created, hence, the shovel is the "brother" of the gun.
Passage B
SMASH down the cities.
Knock the walls to pieces.
Break the factories and cathedrals, warehouses and homes
Into loose piles of stone and lumber and black burnt wood:
You are the soldiers and we command you.
Build up the cities.
Set up the walls again.
Put together once more the factories and cathedrals, warehouses and homes
Into buildings for life and labor:
You are workmen and citizens all: We command you.
4. What is the significance of the poem’s title, “And They Obey”?
To show that after a country is taken over by another country, the citizens have lost their rights and voices. They could only listen and obey. The commanding army then have very high authority, even if it was only a minor soldier in the army.
5. What is the effect of the contrasting actions between stanzas 1 and 2 (smash/
build, knock/set up, break/put together)? What is the persona’s attitude toward
the soldiers and citizens in the poem?
It was about how different were the soldiers of the opposing army and the citizens of the town does. It also showed the irony, on how the army had told their soldiers to break down these buildings, however, again, it was them who commanded the citizens and workmen to rebuild all these buildings once again. Hence, it was an anti-war poem, to show the resent, of the poet towards war, and questioning the need of war.
6. In your view, is it harder to tear a society down, or to build it back up again? Use examples from current events to support your answer.
In my view it is harder to build a society back up than to tear a society down. To tear down a country, it can be in the matter of weeks, days or even seconds! Howecer, to rebuild the society, years are needed. In the recent Japanese earthquake, only a wave of earthquake that occurred only for minutes had reduced the buildings and propeties into rubbles. However, it was estimated that for the city to be rebuilt, it may take up to five years. With this example, I can tell that rebuilding a country is much harder.
Passage C
IN the old wars drum of hoofs and the beat of shod feet.
In the new wars hum of motors and the tread of rubber tires.
In the wars to come silent wheels and whirr of rods not yet dreamed out in the heads of men.
In the old wars clutches of short swords and jabs into faces with spears.
In the new wars long range guns and smashed walls, guns running a spit of metal and men falling in
tens and twenties.
In the wars to come new silent deaths, new silent hurlers not yet dreamed out in the heads of men.
In the old wars kings quarreling and thousands of men following.
In the new wars kings quarreling and millions of men following.
In the wars to come kings kicked under the dust and millions of men following great causes not yet
dreamed out in the heads of men.
7. Explain the progression of onomatopoeia in the first stanza. What do you
imagine the sounds of the future wars represent?
In the beginning of the poem, the "hoofs and beat of shod feet" was probably caused horses that the soldiers used during the war. Then, the "hum of motors and the tread of rubber tires" was probably caused by the cars or tanks used for the modern warfare. Then it was silent that represented the future wars. This may represent that that the technology in future was beyond imagination, or that the future may not even require such physical fights anymore, probably through a higher form of technology.
8. “In the wars to come kings kicked under the dust” (line 9). Taking an example
from current events, discuss one “king” that has been “kicked under the dust” in
recent times.
One example would be Muammar Gaddafi the leader of Libya, who had been removed from office. It was largely due to his over-usage of power to control the country which caused the rebel against him.
Will the Singapore gorvernment allow same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage will not be allowed by the Singapore government even in the future. This is because same-sex marriage was often linked to people that have psychological problems, or not having the right sanity. Then, it can cause more health problems. Finally, Singapore is a multi-racial, religion country, people of different religion or races that are more conservative may find it hard to accept.
Firstly, same-sex marriage was often linked to people that have psychological problems, or not having the right sanity. An example would be an article, showing if the citizens of the countries will accept a homosexual MP. Even though there were a large number of citizens showing that they had no opinion on such an issue. However, amongst the citizens that disagreed, most said that these people are not in the right sanity to govern or handle the national affairs. Due to such thinking that was going on, citizens may find it hard to accept such marriages, since they may think that it is a platform for more instability of the country.
Then, same-sex marriages can cause more health problems. With reference to a report made on homosexuality, In the USA, it is estimated that nearly 255,000 men who have sex with men were living with HIV/AIDS in 2007, and nearly 5,400 had died. Around 48% of all people diagnosed with AIDS in America in 2007 were probably exposed to HIV through male-to-male sexual contact. In the UK, by the end of June 2009, around 45,947 diagnoses of HIV had been in men who had probably become infected through sex intercourse with another man. 53% of these men were aged below 35. This showed that the rate of diseases to occur is higher on homosexuals. These marriages will be a platform to encourage these intercourses that can cause more diseases. With that, it can, finally affect the population of the country.
Lastly, same-sex marriages will be opposed by more citizens since Singapore is a multi-racial, religion country, people of different religion or races that are more conservative may find it hard to accept. An example would be in one case that caused international controversy, Iran executed Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni on July 19, 2005, after they were convicted for the rape of a 13-year-old boy. Soon after, a British group alleged that the teenagers were executed for consensual homosexual acts and not rape. This had proved that according to the Islam law, homosexual acts were even a more serious crime than raping, showing how religions can be against such acts.
In conclusion, same-sex marriages can cause social problems as the citizens do not have right concept about homosexuality. To top off that, it can cause more health problems. Finally, it had not gained enough recognition.
Reflection:
As though I have stated that Singapore should not allow same-sex marriage, I feel that the society should not be prejudiced against these people.
Firstly, these people did not choose to become what they were now. Since this was beyond control of the ability of a person, and they did not choose to become such, the society should empathize these people and try to put themselves in others shoes.
Secondly, these people should be allowed to be given the same treatment. The fact that these people have affection towards the same gender does not suggest that they do not have the right sanity. Moreover, it cannot prove the abilities of these people and they could contribute the society as well. The way these people act do not affect others live, less mentioning that it will teach children the wrong concept. Since, they do not have negative effects on others, why should they be criticized upon.
Hence, I feel that with more empathy in the society, can we accept more differences and learn to respect others decision. Such a concept cannot be educated immediately; however, I believe that if we were to start from ourselves, respecting everyone in our lives, then we can influence others to be gracious Singaporeans as well. However, I know that this will need time and due to many factors, especially religious reasons, it may need a long period of time, or maybe forever to be implemented.
Firstly, same-sex marriage was often linked to people that have psychological problems, or not having the right sanity. An example would be an article, showing if the citizens of the countries will accept a homosexual MP. Even though there were a large number of citizens showing that they had no opinion on such an issue. However, amongst the citizens that disagreed, most said that these people are not in the right sanity to govern or handle the national affairs. Due to such thinking that was going on, citizens may find it hard to accept such marriages, since they may think that it is a platform for more instability of the country.
Then, same-sex marriages can cause more health problems. With reference to a report made on homosexuality, In the USA, it is estimated that nearly 255,000 men who have sex with men were living with HIV/AIDS in 2007, and nearly 5,400 had died. Around 48% of all people diagnosed with AIDS in America in 2007 were probably exposed to HIV through male-to-male sexual contact. In the UK, by the end of June 2009, around 45,947 diagnoses of HIV had been in men who had probably become infected through sex intercourse with another man. 53% of these men were aged below 35. This showed that the rate of diseases to occur is higher on homosexuals. These marriages will be a platform to encourage these intercourses that can cause more diseases. With that, it can, finally affect the population of the country.
Lastly, same-sex marriages will be opposed by more citizens since Singapore is a multi-racial, religion country, people of different religion or races that are more conservative may find it hard to accept. An example would be in one case that caused international controversy, Iran executed Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni on July 19, 2005, after they were convicted for the rape of a 13-year-old boy. Soon after, a British group alleged that the teenagers were executed for consensual homosexual acts and not rape. This had proved that according to the Islam law, homosexual acts were even a more serious crime than raping, showing how religions can be against such acts.
In conclusion, same-sex marriages can cause social problems as the citizens do not have right concept about homosexuality. To top off that, it can cause more health problems. Finally, it had not gained enough recognition.
Reflection:
As though I have stated that Singapore should not allow same-sex marriage, I feel that the society should not be prejudiced against these people.
Firstly, these people did not choose to become what they were now. Since this was beyond control of the ability of a person, and they did not choose to become such, the society should empathize these people and try to put themselves in others shoes.
Secondly, these people should be allowed to be given the same treatment. The fact that these people have affection towards the same gender does not suggest that they do not have the right sanity. Moreover, it cannot prove the abilities of these people and they could contribute the society as well. The way these people act do not affect others live, less mentioning that it will teach children the wrong concept. Since, they do not have negative effects on others, why should they be criticized upon.
Hence, I feel that with more empathy in the society, can we accept more differences and learn to respect others decision. Such a concept cannot be educated immediately; however, I believe that if we were to start from ourselves, respecting everyone in our lives, then we can influence others to be gracious Singaporeans as well. However, I know that this will need time and due to many factors, especially religious reasons, it may need a long period of time, or maybe forever to be implemented.
HBL 24/5 Poem Analysis Task 2
"Children in the Darkness" by Henry M Bechtold
Difficulty Rating: *
There are children in the darkness
Who have not seen the light
There are children in the darkness
Who someone will teach to fight
Chalk and blackboards will not be
To this door there is no key
From this life they can not flee
And these children are not free
Could we simply light a candle
Could we give them half a chance
Could we teach them how to read
Could we teach them how to dance
Or will a war consume them
Their body and their soul
Will their life and blood be poured
Down some endless thirsty hole
Back into the darkness
From which there is no flight
Back into the darkness
Into which there shines no light
ANNEX A
1. Whose Point of View
Statement:From the Persona's/Poet's point of view
Evidence:"Could we simply light a candle"
Elaboration:The poet speaks in the first person point of view, in which he talks about the children while including the own thoughts
2. Situation and Setting
Statement:It is in the war time. They are most likely in a cave.
Evidence:“Or will a war consume them”, “Who someone will teach to fight”,” Back into the darkness”
Elaboration:The poem stated that it was during a war time. The war was specifically referring to the vietnam war, in which, during the war, soldiers hid in caves of tunnels to hide themselves, explaining tha darkness.
3. Language/Diction
Statement:Personification and repetition
Evidence: “From which there is no flight”, “Into which there shines no light”, “Or will a war consume them”
Eaboration:For the first two evidences, the "ight" sound was being repeated at alternative lines. For the last evidence, the word consume was used. However, war cannot literally consume anyone, it is just the use of personification that represented the children being sacrificed in the war.
4. Personal Response
Statement:I pitied the children involved in the war.
Evidence:"Chalk and blackboards will not be""Will their life and blood be poured"
"Back into the darkness
Into which there shines no light"
Elaboration:The first evidence suggested that these children's rights (studying in this case) had been taken away from them. The next evidence told me that the children had to put their lives at risk at almost every moment. Even so, the children were still ignorant, and had almost no control over their fate. Finally, the last example, showed the helplessness, of the children, in which this darkness will never be gone, and always haunting them. The children, at a tender age, will certainly be afraid of this, be it deep in their heart the darkness or their surrounding.
Difficulty Rating: *
There are children in the darkness
Who have not seen the light
There are children in the darkness
Who someone will teach to fight
Chalk and blackboards will not be
To this door there is no key
From this life they can not flee
And these children are not free
Could we simply light a candle
Could we give them half a chance
Could we teach them how to read
Could we teach them how to dance
Or will a war consume them
Their body and their soul
Will their life and blood be poured
Down some endless thirsty hole
Back into the darkness
From which there is no flight
Back into the darkness
Into which there shines no light
ANNEX A
1. Whose Point of View
Statement:From the Persona's/Poet's point of view
Evidence:"Could we simply light a candle"
Elaboration:The poet speaks in the first person point of view, in which he talks about the children while including the own thoughts
2. Situation and Setting
Statement:It is in the war time. They are most likely in a cave.
Evidence:“Or will a war consume them”, “Who someone will teach to fight”,” Back into the darkness”
Elaboration:The poem stated that it was during a war time. The war was specifically referring to the vietnam war, in which, during the war, soldiers hid in caves of tunnels to hide themselves, explaining tha darkness.
3. Language/Diction
Statement:Personification and repetition
Evidence: “From which there is no flight”, “Into which there shines no light”, “Or will a war consume them”
Eaboration:For the first two evidences, the "ight" sound was being repeated at alternative lines. For the last evidence, the word consume was used. However, war cannot literally consume anyone, it is just the use of personification that represented the children being sacrificed in the war.
4. Personal Response
Statement:I pitied the children involved in the war.
Evidence:"Chalk and blackboards will not be""Will their life and blood be poured"
"Back into the darkness
Into which there shines no light"
Elaboration:The first evidence suggested that these children's rights (studying in this case) had been taken away from them. The next evidence told me that the children had to put their lives at risk at almost every moment. Even so, the children were still ignorant, and had almost no control over their fate. Finally, the last example, showed the helplessness, of the children, in which this darkness will never be gone, and always haunting them. The children, at a tender age, will certainly be afraid of this, be it deep in their heart the darkness or their surrounding.
HBL 24/5 Poem Analysis Task 1
"Children in the Darkness" by Henry M Bechtold
Difficulty Rating: *
There are children in the darkness
Who have not seen the light
There are children in the darkness
Who someone will teach to fight
Chalk and blackboards will not be
To this door there is no key
From this life they can not flee
And these children are not free
Could we simply light a candle
Could we give them half a chance
Could we teach them how to read
Could we teach them how to dance
Or will a war consume them
Their body and their soul
Will their life and blood be poured
Down some endless thirsty hole
Back into the darkness
From which there is no flight
Back into the darkness
Into which there shines no light
The first stanza suggests that the children had not seen light, suggesting that the children were still ignorant on what was going on, not mentioning the war. This contradicts the fact that soldier normally fight for their country due to the loyalty for their country. The last sentence of the first stanza stated that "someone will teach them how to fight" suggests that they had no self-defence in the first place, and had to learn to both adapt and defend the country from the start.
The second stanza "chalk and blackboards will not be" contrasting the reader's view of school with the way these children are taught, showing that these children are unble to receive an adequate education. The next 3 sentences describes that the children are extremely helpless with their situation, and are unable to escape and regain freedom.
The third stanza are questions, asking whether the children would be able to receive the same education as any other children.
Finally, the last stanze answered those questions. Similiar to the second stanza, it showed that the children will still be unable to recive these education and had been stranded in such situation.
Difficulty Rating: *
There are children in the darkness
Who have not seen the light
There are children in the darkness
Who someone will teach to fight
Chalk and blackboards will not be
To this door there is no key
From this life they can not flee
And these children are not free
Could we simply light a candle
Could we give them half a chance
Could we teach them how to read
Could we teach them how to dance
Or will a war consume them
Their body and their soul
Will their life and blood be poured
Down some endless thirsty hole
Back into the darkness
From which there is no flight
Back into the darkness
Into which there shines no light
The first stanza suggests that the children had not seen light, suggesting that the children were still ignorant on what was going on, not mentioning the war. This contradicts the fact that soldier normally fight for their country due to the loyalty for their country. The last sentence of the first stanza stated that "someone will teach them how to fight" suggests that they had no self-defence in the first place, and had to learn to both adapt and defend the country from the start.
The second stanza "chalk and blackboards will not be" contrasting the reader's view of school with the way these children are taught, showing that these children are unble to receive an adequate education. The next 3 sentences describes that the children are extremely helpless with their situation, and are unable to escape and regain freedom.
The third stanza are questions, asking whether the children would be able to receive the same education as any other children.
Finally, the last stanze answered those questions. Similiar to the second stanza, it showed that the children will still be unable to recive these education and had been stranded in such situation.
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