In Before the Law by Franz Kafka one of the main themes is the hierarchy of power. From the very goal of the man trying to get through to meet with the law we begin to see a hierarchy of power form. One of the points is how the hierarchy is formed even though we aren’t able to see any of it. When the man comes to the gatekeeper to be let in, all we are able to see if the gatekeeper there and we learn that beyond the gate lies the law. The first thing we are able to notice here is that there is a definite barrier between the people and the law.  Even when the man attempts to look through the gate, he isn’t able to see if there is anyone there in the hierarchy. The interesting part is what all the different pieces are able to represent. The way I understood it, was the law was accessible to everyone, yet they are unable to understand it like modern day law. In this metaphor the gatekeeper would act as people who interpret the law for everyone and translate it to everyone else. This can be seen in the line of “If it tempts you so much, try it in spite of my prohibition.” The gatekeeper is telling the man that he would be able to see the law and speak to it, yet he would be met with resistance in trying to do so. This is showing the disconnect of those who are working within the law system and those who are only allowed to “see” the law.

In I felt a Funeral, in my Brain by Emily Dickinson, she is able to write about about her slow descent into madness. Emily Dickinson writes how she loses consciousness and slowly is absorbed by the darkness of her mind as she has no more control over herself.  I felt that while reading this that Emily Dickinson slowly described what it was like for her to descend into madness. With the line “Kept beating, beating, till I thought My mind was going numb” Dickinson shows how the constant effect that the madness has on her. She uses this metaphor to show how the darkness kept slowly creeping up on her and taking her over. This can be seen in the last stanza of the poem where Emily Dickinson writes “And then a plank in reason, broke And I dropped down and down–And hit a world at every plunge”. In this quote Emily Dickinson shows how she kept falling into a pit of darkness where she was standing on the edge of a plank to show her descent into becoming irrational. She shows that while standing on a plank is an insecure feeling because of how unbalanced she is, while having herself on the edge of that plank, her rationality is unbalanced as well, and in a single tip, could cause her to fall. She also states how she hits a world at every plunge, this could show how she plunges down her descent faster and faster, because of what is happening to her.

After reading both of the critiques on Victorian realism, along with Adam Bede, by George Eliot, one of the things that stood out to me the most was how much the ideas about realism went against and fought the ideas of what being fictional is. For instance if we were to take the exact definitions of what each one is, realism would be the writing of realistic stories, such as non fiction. But when comparing it to the ideas of what a fictional story is, it would be more about the writings of what isn’t true, and fake such as Frankenstein.

When it comes to the ways that they each viewed realism and fictional ism , each one of the authors took a different stance. Eliot took the stance of fiction is in a way parallel to real life. It could mirror what people are living and how they are feeling as they want to create a realistic story. For example when Eliot was writing her novel, she shows that she wanted to make the characters in it as close to the real thing as possible. This is so we, as the audience, are able to relate to the characters more and feel what they do.

However when it comes to the way that Elaine viewed the ideas, she took a different stance on it. She pointed out the the people who wanted to write novels with the ideas of realism, had their own responsibilities as authors. As the time period where many people were arguing over romanticism versus realism, the ones who wrote about realism were subject to listen to and respect the opinions of those who wrote these styles of novels. Yet because of this, there is a limit in the way that one can write.

In the poems between the Chinese and Japanese writer, there are multiple similarities, yet at the same time differences. When it comes to the Japanese poem, the author uses very specific imagery to express what they are currently trying to say. For instance when it comes to describing the location of where they are the Japanese poem tries to paint a very specific scene so that you can understand the situation that he is in. The picture he is trying to paint shows how he missed his wife and the distance between them. In the Chinese poem the author is attempting to show him missing his old country. This was because at the time in China there were multiple political wars being waged.  The Japanese poem however highlights the people of Japan and how they were feeling. This is because at the time the Japanese people were trying to avoid conflicts when it came to politics and instead focused on themselves. This is where the similarities tie in. In both poems they are crying out for help and trying to save something. In the poem by the Chinese author they are trying to cry out about how old they are and how little they can do to try and save their own country from falling into political turmoil. This is from “white hairs, fewer for the scratching, soon too few to hold a hairpin up.” This shows that because his hair is growing white, along with the fact that he is beginning to lose his hair, that he is growing old in age. In the Japanese poem the author is showing how they had lost their wife. The author shows how he was chasing after his wife, yet because she disappeared, he will never be able to truly be reunited with her. This can be found in the line “Disappears, leaving me full of regret, So vanishes my love out of sight;” Another similarity they have is the relation nature. In the Japanese poem it states “Oh, yellow leaves falling on the autumn hill.” along with the line before of “But because of the yellow leaves
Of Watari Hill, Flying and fluttering in the air”. In the Chinese poem it relates to nature by stating “feeling the times flowers draw tears; hating separation, birds alarm the heart.” In both of the poems they have the events that are affecting the author, effecting the nature and world around them as well. These poems relate to romanticism by painting what the author is seeing at the time. Without the knowledge of the time period’s current events these poems would be much less meaningful. However with the knowledge we are able to see how the authors were feeling at the time, and the way they were viewing the world around them.

An example of modern day Frankenstein would be in the movie Ex Machina. This movie, which released in 2015, details about a man named Nathan Bateman, who is a CEO of a software company, along with being a genius. Bateman, who has locked himself away in his remote home. Bateman reveals that he has been trying to create an AI as close to a human as possible, therefore creating artificial life. As this was a more modern take on the story of Frankenstein it modernized lots of the parts of the movie. For example when it took the creation of life, it was no longer creating a human, but creating something human like. When it comes to how faithful it is to the original it is faithful in some regards, while having its own take on other pieces. For instance when it comes to the monster, in the original story Victor creates life from human parts. In Ex Machina, Bateman is creating life through technology. In both of the stories the monster has issues coping with itself. A major theme that plays throughout Ex Machina and the original story is the idea of identity. Both of their creations struggle to cope with their own ideas about what being human is. However a major difference is when it comes to the people who create them. In Frankenstein Victor is very afraid of his own creation and actively tries to run from it, or destroy it. However when it comes to Ex Machina it is in fact Bateman who is the main antagonist. While both the creations are struggling with their own identity, the adaptation differs when it is the creator oppressing his creation rather than the other way around. However they have multiple similarities. The creation of both of the “monsters” are very similar, as both Victor and Bateman lock themselves away from the rest of society until they get it correct. Another major difference however is how the stories are being told. In the original story it is told out through Victor telling us about how he regrets his own creation and how we see it unfold like memories. But when it comes to Ex Machina, the story is told as a side character who is witnessing it unfold in front of him. We are able to see more how the monster feels and reacts in the modern storytelling rather than how it felt when the monster meets Victor on the mountain. A key similarity however is the creation of the monsters. In the stories both Victor and Bateman are picking out body parts for their creation and trying to make it as beautiful as possible, they both are mad scientists who want to create life in the most beautiful from they see fit. However the key difference is how one fears his creation, while in Ex Machina, Bateman wants to improve upon it.

Frankenstein in my opinion is a very peculiar book that delves into the world of science and philosophy. It explores the curious nature of human beings and our ever growing passion to learn more about the world. There is no truer example of this concept than of Victor Frankenstein himself. Curious about the origin of life and death he creates a creature that horrifies even him although he himself created this creature.

In the book Frankenstein besides exploring the human psyche also presents to the reader a glimpse of the scientific community back in the 1800’s. By having Victor Frankenstein use electricity, which at that point of time when it was written in the 1800’s, electricity was only beginning to be explored and understand. And so, Mary Shelley use of the mysticism surrounding electricity played another role in my opinion of helping this book become for fascinating for it the protagonist is playing god, making a creature out of electricity which at that time wasn’t fully understood.

While I was reading I particularly liked chapter 5 because it shows the consequence of mankind’s action. We often do things in order to benefit ourselves without think about the consequences whether they be good or bad, just like how Victor Frankenstein created Frankenstein because he envisioned the creation of a new race of wonderful beings.  However once the monster came alive, Victor Frankenstein regretted his decision. In a way, the creation of the monster by Victor reminds me of Robert Oppenheimer who many considered to be the father of the Atomic bomb. His creation of the atomic bomb was only meant to stop the war in the pacific. However after he saw the destruction that the bomb could cause he regretted creating the bomb for he saw that this was a weapon that could cause many harm. In Fact he most famously quoted “I have become death, the destroyer of worlds: in acknowledgement of the vast destructive property of the bomb.

The plan I have to achieve the balance is the Pomodoro Technique Timer. For this plan for every few minutes I spend doing work, I know will be met with a few minutes of relaxation. By using this method I am able to work without procrastinating and get much more done. This achieves a balance in my life because I am able to achieve my goals with more focus and able to get them done in a swift manner. Since I have started practicing this method, my life has become easily balanced out between focusing on my future, and relaxing. This has made it so I have been able to study more, and achieve better grades.

Work rest work rest work

The constant battle with them

To help me later

The second way I try to achieve balance is by finding a way to get rid of stress at the end of the day. The best way I have found to do this is by going for a run every day of the week. When I run I am able to achieve a zen like state. Since I am able to plug in my music and ignore all distractions around me I can just go on my run and think. This is calming for me as I feel great afterward and have relieved most of my stress from the day. This has also been found to create a sense of unity for me, since I am able to just think about my day, future, and reflect on myself.

Keep running forward

Every single day for me

A balance achieved

The way I try to balance out my lifestyle is by doing something productive and healthy following every act of being lazy or unhealthy. For instance if I were to eat very unhealthy for a day, I try to follow that up by having a week in which I eat exclusively healthy for that time. By doing this I feel I can balance out every poor act, and make up for it. Another way I try to balance out my life is by setting my education and school life, away from my social life. The way I try to do this is I try to make friends and socialize outside of school.

A perseverance

Pushing away temptations

A way to help me

Hi I’m Zachary Tashiro, I’m a sophomore and am planning on majoring in finance, for now at least.

When I was reading Kant’s ideas about enlightenment, one had stuck out to me. His idea that enlightenment being able to function and think on your own. Kant states how the ideas of enlightenment could be summarized as being able to think on your own without the help from others. Kant in the text states that enlightenment is difficult to achieve as we do not want to work in order to gain it. He believes that as a society we are lazy and find it much easier to be able to follow one’s orders than to make our own. Kant also believes that a large part of not being enlightened is out immaturity, he shows how another large reason that we are not enlightened is how we do not have any courage in order to go out and achieve it.

Personally I do not think that we live in an enlightened age. Currently we have the large majority of people who take whatever they can find at face value. In fact it’s quite difficult to find someone who does research on everything they hear. People tend to take lies they read, and pass it off as factual information. If I were to propose a new definition for what enlightenment is, it would be the ability to question everything. This is because it would allow people to be able to think for themselves, but it would also mean that we are able to logically think about whatever information we get. This would also create the ability to argue, and discuss more. People would be able to be open to new argument and accept the fact going in, that maybe they could be wrong.