Contrasting to my earlier comment of praising Harry Potter, I can remotely understand the other point of view: Harry Potter is not that great as people claim it to be. People state that they cannot relate to the novel because it is merely fiction, because wizards, witches, wands, etc. clearly do not exist in real life. Others may think that it is just a bunch of rubbish where it is ideal for kids, not adults. However, this book is not only about magic; there are important lessons. For instance, Rowling states, ““We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are” (150). This shows that not everyone is 100% evil or pure hearted, there is not black and white, but a grey area. What distinguishes between people are our actions; do we choose to be good or bad? Therefore, although I understand why some people may not like Harry Potter, I think that it’s a great novel where it teaches morals as well as fun magic.
All posts by j.lin1
Out of World Experience
After reading the third book in Harry Potter, I was greatly intrigued and now understood why it was such a popular series a few years ago. This book allows for our creativity to flow and experience life outside of the ordinary. Furthermore, there is just so much visual images in my mind from reading all those magical creatures that Hagrid brought to class, as well as the “riddikulus” scene where the students had to turn their worse fear (boggarts) into something funny, under the guidance of Lupin. Even Neville managed to turn his fear of Snape (the cruel potions teacher) into dressing him up in his grandma’s clothes, as Snape sprouted “a bright colored hat and dress” (Rowling 125). Furthermore, I had a clear image of their all time favorite sport, quidditch, as they described the game process and how Harry got the snitch through diving and weaving. All these exhilarating actions throughout the book eventually made me continue reading the series and eventually, will watch the movies as well. Students are often too used to being confined at school, living a boring normal life. However, reading Harry Potter books allows you to temporarily escape from mundane reality and enter a world where magic awaits you.
Introduction Exercise 2
Known to many, having an education is a key factor in becoming successful. This accordance among most people may diverge based on the means of the varying methods in obtaining education. The preconceived notion is that people should attend an institutionalized setting (i.e. college) in order to achieve knowledge. However, an increasing number of students disagree and feel that other methods (such as experience of their surroundings) can maximize the potential benefits they can receive. Therefore although education is one of the main ways to achieve knowledge, it is certainly not the only (effective) method. Knowledge is obtained through sensations and reflections, specifically the accompaniment of various thoughts and various sensations with a perception of delight, as stated by John Locke’s paper, An Essay concerning Human Understanding (Book II), which is displayed through Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, where the monster learns through experiences and how to make decisions, such as murdering Victor’s loved ones, based on the perception of delight, with the absence of any preconceived ideas and innate principles.
Sensations and Reflections with Delight
Knowledge is obtained through sensations and reflections, specifically the accompaniment of various thoughts and various sensations with a perception of delight, as stated by John Locke’s paper, An Essay concerning Human Understanding (Book II), which is displayed through Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, where the monster learns through experiences and how to make decisions, such as murdering Victor’s loved ones, based on the perception of delight, with the absence of any preconceived ideas and innate principles.
Education Allows for Hope and Opportunity
In response to Jenny’s post “The Path Towards, But Not To, Freedom” I agree that education is a essential source that allows for hope and opportunity. In the novel A Lesson Before Dying by Earnest J. Gaines, an African American man, Grant, was a teacher. He was completely different because unlike the other blacks who had to work in the field/plantation, Grant had a high education. Grant stated, “I was too educated for Henri Pichot; he had no use for me at all anymore” (21). This quote emphasizes that with knowledge, he had his own thoughts and opinions, and therefore did not want to stay listening to the white master’s demands. However, as Jenny states, education alone, will not lead to freedom, rather, it is a path towards freedom. The main issue here is ignorance as well as discrimination towards blacks.
Further more, I agree with Jenny about the emphasis Emma makes on the word hog. Obviously, hog is stated in a negative connotation as she states, “Now his godmother wants me to visit him and make him know—prove to these white men—that he’s not a hog, that he’s a man” (23). With an increasing education, Grant slowly makes the transformation from a hog, to ultimately, a man.
Importance of Education based on Surroundings
In Emile: or A Treatise on Education by Jean Jacques Rousseau, he stated an important quote, “The inner growth of our organs and faculties is the education of nature, the use we learn to make of this growth is the education of men, what we gain by our experience of our surroundings is the education of things.” (1). Rousseau emphasized how important education is and how it can be obtained through our experience of our surroundings and the situation that we are in.
This is applicable to “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” because he made use of his surroundings in order to achieve education. He originally was convicted of robbery and spent a total of seven years in prison. During his time in prison, Malcolm learned from the dictionary as he “started copying what eventually became the entire dictionary” (Malcolm 1). As a eventually learned how to read, he learned about history and what was happening in the world, including the horrors of slavery. Malcolm X stated, “I knew right there in prison that reading had changed forever the course of my life” (1). This emphasizes Rousseau’s quote about how important education is and how it can be obtained through our surroundings. Malcolm X did not let his incarceration bring him down, but he let this event be an opportunity for him to grow more as a person. His self education achieved in the prison cell eventually led to him being a leading spokesman for black separatism, which sought for African Americans to cut ties with the white community.
The Desire to Learn
In The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, by Frederick Douglass, Douglass is a slave who yearns to learn how to read and obtain knowledge. However his first owner, Mr. Auld, stated, “If you teach that nigger (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master” (29). His emphasis on preventing Douglass from learning motivated Douglass to read even more. This mere drive and motivation led to his ultimate success, where he eventually escaped slavery.
The quote Mr. Auld stated relates to Black Shack Alley by Joseph Zobel. Although Jose wasn’t a slave like Douglass, he was a minority as well, under the oppression of white owners. Under the insistence of his grandmother, he goes to school to obtain an education. His grandma did this in order to prevent him from working on the fields as well, like the other young children. Jose went to school and avoided working at the sugar cane fields, where he even achieved a scholarship because of his outstanding essay. Jose also stated this quote I found very meaningful: “Wasn’t the very act of reading a pleasure more substantial than that of playing or eating, for instance, even when one was starved?” (115). This shows just how important school is and how it can potentially lead to a positive road ahead of you. Both Douglass and Jose have their achievements due to them having an education and their desire to learn.
Lack of Moral Perfection
I agree with Jenny’s post in regards to her statement that Tom Sawyer supports Benjamin Franklin’s belief in The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, that “a benevolent man should allow a few faults in himself, to keep his friends in countenance” (Franklin 9). Franklin states that striving towards perfection isn’t always a positive thing to achieve. He learned from this because in his novel, he listed thirteen virtues to achieve moral perfection. Although he talks about the thirteen virtues, Franklin states that we do not have to achieve all of these virtues in order to be content. One particular quote Jenny stated that I found to be meaningful was when she said that happiness is sometimes embedded within one’s flaws. I agree with this and in the novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Sawyer lacks moral perfection but manages to live a joyous life anyways.
I agree with Jenny’s example of how Sawyer enjoys life despite not having moral perfection when she discusses about how Sawyer lied to Mary. He didn’t want to bathe for Sunday school and attempted to fool Mary into thinking that he had bathed. Furthermore, another example that I think would fit is when Tom, Huck, and Tom’s friend Joe Harper run away to an island to become pirates. While “frolicking around and enjoying their freedom,” (Franklin 236) the boys become aware that the community was extremely worried about them. This instance shows how Sawyer lacks moral compassion because he was selfish and wanted to play around, without wondering how worried the community would be about his disappearance. Sawyer stated, “All the long afternoon the village seemed empty and dead. Many women visited Aunt Polly and Mrs. Thatcher and tried to comfort them. They cried with them, too, and that was still better than words” (235). However, all is well because his return brought happiness amongst the community and he was admired as well as envied by all of his friends.
Experience of our Surroundings Results in Education
In Emile: or A Treatise on Education by Jean Jacques Rousseau, he states an important quote, “We are born weak, we need strength; helpless, we need aid; foolish, we need reason. All that we lack at birth, all that we need when we come to man’s estate, is the gift of education. This education comes to us from nature, from men, or from things. The inner growth of our organs and faculties is the education of nature, the use we learn to make of this growth is the education of men, what we gain by our experience of our surroundings is the education of things. (1). Rousseau emphasizes here is that we are born without any knowledge, which is obtained through education. He further explains that education comes to us through nature or experiences.
This is applicable to the novel The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, a man who was born into slavery during the 1800s. Immediately after Douglass was born, he was separated from his mother and was placed into a family to work. Truly, Douglass did indeed lack education. However, he did not let his status as a slave, deter him from obtaining an education. His great desire was to learn how to read. However, his owner strongly opposed when his wife started to teach Douglass how to read, because he feared that Douglass would be educated and learn how to rebel. The owner Mr. Auld, stated, “”If you teach that nigger (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave” (6). Mr. Auld distinguishes the importance of education and how it could even lead slaves to be disobedient to their masters. Douglass relates to the quote by Rousseau because he made use of his surroundings to obtain knowledge, and therefore education. Douglass stated, “The plan which I adopted, and the one by which I was most successful, was that of making friends of all the little white boys whom I met in the street. As many of these as I could, I converted into teachers. With their kindly aid, obtained at different times and in different places, I finally succeeded in learning to read” (7). Ultimately, Douglass was born into a situation where he was helpless and bound to his master. However, he made use of his surroundings and through experience, he taught himself how to read and eventually, escape slavery.
The Linking of Experiences and Sensations
Knowledge is obtained through sensations and reflections, as stated by John Locke, which is emphasized through Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, where the monster learns through experiences with the absence of any preconceived ideas and innate principles.