All posts by jb151563

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Earnest Gaines A Lesson Before Dying and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter can be related on the aspect that it shows how the justice system has its flaws.  In A Lesson Before Dying, Jefferson was accused and unfairly sent to jail.  Many knew that Jefferson, a black man, was wrongly sent to jail however there was nothing they could do because the man who was killed was a white man.  Jefferson was unfortunately at the wrong place at the wrong time and paid the price.  This shows the flaws in the justice system in the novel A Lesson Before Dying.  This same injustice can be seen in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,  Buckbeat whom was being disrespected by Draco Malfoy retaliated and hit him on the arm and was executed for doing so.  Another example of injustice in Harry Potter was when Sirius Black was framed for killing multiple people and the betrayal of James and Lily Potter.  Although he was deemed innocent by numerous people the Minister of Magic just wants to kill him to prove the integrity of their justice system.  When Sirius Black escaped it hurt the image and authority of the Minister of Magic so to redeem his powerful status he felt he must convict Black whether he is innocent or not.  Ultimately, both A Lesson Before Dying and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban both show the injustice of their legal systems.

 

 

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Black Shack Alley

In the novel Black Shack Alley, the main character Jose had to deal with numerous punishments whenever he was wrong.  Mam’zelle Fanny felt in order to get her point across and to obtain the correct answer a beating/whipping was the best way to do so.  As mentioned in another classmate’s post Jose and his friends childhood was filled with bitterness which contradicts Rousseau’s idea of how a child should be brought up at a young age.  Rousseau feels a child should not be living in fear and dealing with threats while at a young age.  He states, “cruel education… burdens a child with all sorts of restrictions and begins by making him miserable…” (Rousseau 4).  If one is associating punishment with education it might discourage a kid from wanting to obtain an education.  Why would one want to take risks and try to learn if they fear being beat if they can not provide the correct answer.  I feel this is not a good  nor correct way to teach the youth if you want to keep them engaged and motivated.  Why should one not be praised for being right on the other hand?

 

Peer Response Post

Response to: PERFECTION ≠ HAPPINESS

Perfection ≠ Happiness

I agree with your idea that perfection does not equal happiness.  While one might assume that these two words go hand and hand with one another I would agree that they do not.  I liked the quote you used a quote from Benjamin which I felt was very meaningful.  It reads, “a benevolent man should allow a few faults in himself, to keep his friends in countenance” (Franklin, 9).  People are often jealous and envious of someone whom may be portrayed as perfect.  Normally when one is envious of another they usually do not like the other person very much.  As mentioned one may strive to be better or become perfect but, does this guide one to happiness and fulfillment?  I agree with your idea where you state Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography relates to Tom Sawyer that one can be happy even if he/she isn’t perfect.  I feel this relation speaks volumes and that one should be happy with his/her life even if they feel it isn’t “perfect” because at the end of the day what really is perfect?

 

 

Through the lens post

douglas and kant

Kant defines enlightenment as “the human beings emergence from his self incurred minority”.  Meaning one does not have the ability to think on their own when they are young and mainly rely on someone else’s opinion.  However, one can not reach enlightenment until one is free.  Kant goes on to define freedom as, “[the ability] make public use of one’s reason in all matters”.  Freedom gives one the ability to think for themselves and make their own judgements.  Kant’s idea is seen in Frederick Douglass’s autobiography.  After being transferred to Baltimore, Douglass is given the opportunity to read and write.  This is where he then learns what his actual role in society is as a slave.  Douglass begins to question the white man’s power to enslave the black man and is determined to escape to obtain his own freedom.  Before he was able to gain an education Douglass did not know how to think for himself and was unaware of his position in society.   Which can relate to Kant’s points of enlightenment and freedom.  Douglass having gained the ability to read and write helped him become free and enlightened.  Douglass is no longer reliant on others to make his decisions and dependent on them for what is right or wrong.  Ultimately Kant’s theory is easily relatable to Douglass’s autobiography and life as a slave.

 

Through the lens post

descartes and locke

In the writing by Bach, Secrets of Bucaneer Scholar, his main point of view regarding education is that is more important than school itself.  He believes institutional learning is an inferior way of giving one an education and there are other outlets to gain an education.  This theory is seen in the text by Descartes who once attended one of the best schools in Europe.  After he finished his schooling and had graduated he started doubting that this form of education was beneficial to him.  Descartes had began coming across experiences in life that his education was not helping him with.  This had led him to find a new way to teach himself.  Descartes spent his time traveling and gaining knowledge through his experiences along the way.  This relates back to Bach’s theory that an institution is not the only way for one to gain knowledge.  This theory is also found in Lockes writing  An Essay Concerning Human Understanding.  In Locke’s writing he says that we have no innate principles in mind when we are born.  He believes that when born we have a clean empty mind and our knowledge is built through real life experiences.  Ultimately, with experience one can develop an education.

 

Introduction Exercise #2

Introduction

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The theory of nature vs. nurture is illustrated in the texts Learning to Read by Malcolm X and Immanuel Kant’s What is Enlightenment? These two literary texts portray the theory of nature vs. nuture. Kant argues that one must have courage to make use of their own understanding, whereas Malcolm believes the ability to read plays a significant role in life. Malcolm states in his writing that reading had changed forever the course of his life. Kant argues that enlightenment is the human being’s emergence from his self-incurred minority.

Close Reading Post, Weekly Post-Check-In #3

Writing, Freedom, Manhood

In Malcom X’s text there is a connection between writing, freedom, and manhood.  Malcom really matured into the man he became in jail through reading books, initially the dictionary and then eventually books on slavery.  In the quote “In my slow, painstaking..” (page 2) Malcom mentions how he educated himself on reading and improving his penmanship by copying down the dictionary.  Once he actually started building his vocabulary he was able to read books he was never able to.  Even though Malcom was locked up in jail at the time, he never felt so “free” through his new found ability to read.  In a quote he states, “-and my reading of books, months passed without me even thinking about being imprisoned.  In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life.” (Page 2) Another quote that stuck out to me was when a man from England asked Malcom, “What’s your alma mater?” and Malcom replied, “Books”. (Page 3) As mentioned earlier Malcom grew into the man he became and more educated through books.  His education made him understand life and opened his eyes to the real world.

Close Reading Post

Frankenstein #2

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The education of both Victor Frankenstein and the Monster can be compared to the argument of nature vs. nurture in Rosseau’s “Emile.” Victor’s self-education plays a critical role in shaping Victor Frankenstein’s monster. Frankenstein’s education was from reading many scientific textbooks, mainly scientific in nature. This can be related to Rosseau’s theory of educating oneself. The Monster has been neglected and has been shown no love. Since he has been abandoned by Frankenstein, he is forced to educate himself in both survival and life. Everything the Monster learns is through his own experiences; there is no one to teach him what to do. This relates to individualism and the idea that parents shouldn’t tell their children what to do, just encourage them to make their own decisions. The Monster uses all experiences around him to learn how to communicate and love. Loneliness and isolation both play a large part in the Monster’s actions. Victor Frankenstein has caused him so much suffering and therefore he cannot accept himself because he wasn’t given any parenting, education or love by his creator.

 

Close Reading Post, Weekly Post Check-In

Close reading post

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In the text “Emile” by Jean Jacques Rousseau the relationship between isolation and individualism is described. “God makes all things good; man meddles with them and they become evil.” This quote from the text supports the argument of nature vs. nurture. Isolation (nature), supports the idea that one should not be corrupted by society and will learn right from wrong without parent interference. Individualism (nurture), supports the idea that parents should encourage their children to choose what they like not make decisions for them, as well as allowing them to find their mistakes on their own without being corrected. These ideas go hand in hand with one another. Rousseau also expresses that “education comes to us from nature, from men, or from things. With isolation, he wants us to learn directly from the environment/surroundings, whereas with individualism it comes from both the environment and the encouragement of parents with them finding their own solutions rather than being told. “We are born sensitive and from our birth onwards we are affected in various ways by our environment.” This supports the argument of nature vs. nurture. Isolation relates to individualism in the fact that both want one to learn from oneself rather than be told or shown. “True happiness consists in decreasing the difference between our desires and our powers, in establishing a perfect equilibrium between the power and the will.” What one learns from the environment is just as important as what one learns on their own through their mistakes. He states that nature does everything best, showing the importance of learning from it (isolation). Finding equilibrium between both isolation and individualism leads to happiness. With individualism imagination becomes your true self, which overpowers everything else good or bad. Imagination feeds the desire to satisfy therefore linking the two ideas. Again he shows the difficulties between what you want vs. what is deemed acceptable by society (isolation vs. individualism). “A man must know many things which seem useless to a child, but need the child learn, or can he indeed learn all that the man must know?” This shows that man can learn from child and child can learn from man. Therefore, this shows that one can learn from the environment (isolation) and from another (individualism).

Peer Response Post

Motivation is the key to success (response)

First off Bach and Kanye both raised great points to their different but similar views. I felt they both had separate views on going to school while their underlying message was more about the importance of studying and following what excites you and what you can see yourself doing in the future. Not those nonsense high school classes where you learn about trigonometry and wonder to yourself “when am I going to use this in real life”. Bach’s main point where he mentioned, “school is temporary but education lasts a lifetime” is a great point and I never really thought of it like that. Like J.Lin mentioned you’re are not stuck in school you can leave and pursue your own valuable education. I also agree where j.lin said, students should be giving more options instead of being forced to “memorize” facts in school, and learn by observation and experience. As for Kanye’s view on education he feels success isn’t only obtained by college degrees but if you can’t become a famous rapper as a college dropout than a degree is a very important thing to have in this “hard real world”. He feels you need to give yourself as many chances as you can in order to be successful. Kanye also raises a great point similar to Bachs where he talks about the importance of offering classes about things that kids are interested in rather than the basic curriculum. Like the cliché phrase you hear from everyone older, when you find a job you enjoy working you’ll never work a day in your life. Basically follow your dreams and do what makes you happy.